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“Y-you can’t do that!” Charlotte pales when my eyes snap to hers.
“Why not?”
She swallows, and I feel like a jerk when she seems to make herself even smaller.
“I can’t afford it… yet. I need some time
to get my resources together and—” I blink, not sure if I heard her right.
“You’re not paying for this.”
Her eyes narrow, despite the pain she is in, and she hisses, “I don’t want your charity, Philip.”
I let her words pass, because I know she is suffering and frustrated, but there is an inherent satisfaction in my next words.
“It’s not charity if we’re married, Charlotte.”
She glares at me, and then I see her face crumple, as the events of the night start overwhelming her. I push Zayn away and cup her face, forcing her to look at me, my words a quiet plea.
“Let me look after you, Charlotte. Even if only for these next few days. I need to know you’re okay.”
Her eyes swim with defiance and something else that I can’t identify, before they darken, and she leans her head against my chest. I take that as acquiescence. But then her form goes limp and I loop an arm around her waist, dragging her against me before she falls onto the ground.
Zayn’s lips are pursed before he speaks.
“It’s about time she passed out. I don’t know how she was holding on. Take her to your place. I know someone who’s discreet. He’ll take a look at her.”
I meet his gaze.
“Document everything here. Whoever that man was, he intended to kill her and destroy this place.”
Ian walked in, his phone in his hand.
“I told Greg and the boys to join us here. I’ll oversee them. Is she—”
The flash of concern on his face has me tightening my arms around the light bundle in my arms.
“She’s just passed out.”
Ian looks over at Fergus, who is wading through the mess in the kitchen, and then informs me, “The window in the back has been jimmied open. Once our team does a full sweep, I’ll call the police; report a break-in.”
Zayn twitches, his icy blue eyes disdainful.
“If the police get involved, the reporters will follow. We need to keep the media out of this. Get Agatha on board.”
Ian stuffs his phone in the back pocket of his jeans.
“I’ll swing by her place right now and get her up to speed.”
I look at my friends and the way they are effortlessly shouldering every responsibility, and I pull Charlotte closer to me. I never realized how precious she was to me until I saw her today, lying on the floor, desperately fighting for her life.
Those big meaty fists raining down blows on her soft flesh; the sight had driven me into a blind rage. Dragging him off my bleeding wife has been instinct. Using my own fists to inflict maximum damage on the son of a bitch has been blind fury.
I would have killed him if I hadn’t been distracted by the sight of Charlotte lugging around the huge fire extinguisher. The man had punched me in the abdomen, and while I gasped out a breath, he’d jumped to his feet and darted out the front door.
I saw a side of this woman today that I had always been aware of but never been a firsthand witness to. She was brave, so very brave. And strong.
Although she was devastated at the losses she suffered, she tried her best to keep it together. It wasn’t stubbornness that kept her wits about her, but a quiet steadiness. She demanded my assistance where she needed it as a last resort, and yet she refused to lean on me.
