There had to be a better reason than that. Jewel knew all about that kind of inner turmoil. She softened her voice. “Didn’t you want to stop him from doing it again to another woman?”
“Yes.” Bettina raised her head, brown eyes swimming with tears. “That’s why I’m here, talking to you. Reba says you’re her friend, that you’ve been through a lot. I don’t want to hear about another victim to his craziness.”
Colton? Part of Jewel wanted to howl. The other part, the savage, wild part, wanted to attack him with claws and teeth. She took a deep breath, trying for calm. This wasn’t her small town in upstate New York. The police here wouldn’t automatically take the man’s side. Would they? “Call the police. Report him. Do it now, before your bruises fade.”
“No.” Bettina’s voice went sharp. She looked from Jewel to Reba, her puffy eyes narrowed to slits. “You said I only had to talk to her. You didn’t say nothin’ about talking to the police.”
Reba nodded. “Jewel, please. Give her a break.”
“I don’t understand. Why not report him? Why not get him locked up?”
Wiping her nose with the back of her hand, Bettina sniffled. “He threatened to kill me if I did. You might not be so lucky. He might not even give you a choice.”
Shoulders hunched, she began crying in earnest. Instantly, Reba enfolded her in her arms, shooting Jewel a meaningful look over the other woman’s back.
“See what I mean?” she mouthed.
“And the time before last night? How long ago was that?” Not bothering to disguise her rage, Jewel stared at Bettina’s bowed head, waiting to hear her response.
But Bettina was crying too hard to answer.
Reba answered for her. “She told me the last time they made love was three days ago.”
The day of the fire. Sickened, unable to press the issue any longer, Jewel turned to go. She needed some time alone to try and reconcile this woman’s accusations with the man she’d come to know and trust.
And believe in.
“Wait!” Bettina raised her tear-streaked face. “Right now you’re probably thinking I’m crazy. You’re thinking Colton is the kindest, most even-tempered man you’ve ever met.” She sniffled. “He was like that with me, too. At first.”
Like Leo.Leo had disguised his true nature until the marriage ceremony was over and he had his new bride alone in their bedroom.
Blood running cold, Jewel couldn’t keep herself from asking. “What changed him?”
“Sex.” Bettina swallowed, lifting her chin. “Just don’t have sex with him. He likes it rough and hard. That’s when he’ll hurt you the first time, that’s when he’ll draw blood.”
Jewel stared. Leo had used that excuse beyond reasonable bounds. The first time they’d made love, he’d cut her. The second, she’d suffered broken ribs, the third, a broken arm, and lost a tooth. After less than a week, she’d known he meant to torture her until she begged for death, all in the guise of love.
How had she managed to find two violent men? Even here, in the Texas countryside, she’d managed to prove her judgment would never be good.
“I’ve got to go.” Lifting her hand in a halfhearted wave, she couldn’t meet Reba’s gaze. Instead, she focused on the other woman, trying to understand. “Thanks for warning me. Take care of yourself, Bettina.”
Bettina lifted a tearstained face to give her a watery smile. “You, too. And Jewel, please don’t tell him you’ve met me. I don’t want him coming back to finish what he started.”
On the long walk home, Jewel tried to come up with a plan. She had to leave. Mentally, she counted the money she’d been able to save. She had roughly $265. Not enough to buy a car, though she could purchase a one-way ticket on a red-eye to LaGuardia. She wouldn’t need a car in New York and the huge city would swallow her, giving her precious anonymity.
It was a good plan, except for one thing. New York City was crawling with Leo’s associates.
She’d have to reverse direction. Go west. Or south.
Thinking of the South made her think of Colton, with his slow drawl and bedroom eyes. Colton, who like Leo, wore two faces, beautiful on the outside, but rotten at the core.
Just don’t have sex with him.God alone knew how close she’d come.
God and her wolf.
At the thought, her inner beast snarled.
Colton had awakened to sunlight streaming through the windows and an empty house. Wandering into the kitchen, he found a fresh pot of coffee and a note. Jewel had gone into town to look for a job. Squinting, he reread her signature line. She’d even written the time she’d left—eleven. It was now two. She’d been gone three hours.
