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And I can’t do that.

“I’m sorry. I should have stayed upstairs, but I didn’t want to be alone,” she cries.

“It’s okay,” I tell her again.

Sadie leans back against the back of the couch on my patio, then closes her eyes. I watch, terrified to take my eyes off of her for a second, as she regains control. Slowly, minute by minute, she comes back to me.

“Can I have that water now?” she asks.

“Yeah.” I push up from the seat and rush inside my apartment. With a moment of my own to breathe, I flip the lock on my door and grab two bottles of water from the refrigerator. Then, I head back out onto the patio.

Sadie is still leaning back, her eyes closed.

“Here,” I offer her the water, and she opens her eyes before taking it.

They look clear again, that glossy, million-miles-away look gone.

With her leveling back out, I sit on the chair beside the small couch, hoping it will offer her some additional space. Then, I check my phone to see a text from Ryker.

Ryker: Someone called the police. I spoke to Leopold and explained things, but he wants to talk to you and Sadie tomorrow.

Fantastic.

I set the phone on the small table between the couch and the chair, opting to deal with it tomorrow. Tonight, I need to focus on her.

Just on her.

“What happened, Sadie?” I ask.

Her brows draw together, and her bottom lip trembles. “I don’t know how to talk about it.” She sounds so broken, so tortured. And I hate it.

“I told you that I’m an Army Ranger,” I tell her, trying to find some connection at all with where she is. “My dad was Army, so it just made sense that I would enlist too.” I never talk about my time in the service or what happened while I was overseas, but if I share a bit of myself, then maybe she’ll share, too. Maybe then, I can find out what I’m up against so I can protect her.

Because protecting this woman has been all I can think about since I found her in that alley last night.

Less than twenty-four hours, and she’s got me so wrapped up I’d do anything just to chase away whatever haunts her.

“At first, I was so proud to be a soldier,” I continue. “I excelled in training because I’d been preparing for it my entire life. It wasn’t too long before I got deployed.” I take a deep breath. “Being overseas changed me. The things I saw, the horrors that took place right there in front of me, replay every time I close my eyes.”

Her bottom lip trembles. “I can’t stop seeing him.”

Yes. Keep talking, Sadie. “Who?” I lean in closer, and she shakes her head.

“I don’t know who he was. He never took off his mask.” A tear slips down her cheek. “But I can feel his breath on my neck. The way he touched my hair.”

Anger burns hot and fast through me, a potent rush of fury that calls for this man’s blood to be spilled for what he did to her.

“Did he assault you?” Just saying the words sends bile up the back of my throat.

She shakes her head again. “He told me that we weren’t ready for that step yet. But he—” She takes a deep breath, then reaches down to lift the bottom of her shirt up just a few inches.

I drop to my knees in front of her, trying to get a better look beneath the dim light of my porch.

Then I see it.

My blood boils.

Vision turns red.