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Jesus, they weren’t the only ones who needed time. He couldn’t stop replaying the image of that guy on top of Jess, his hands around her throat, the sheer terror on her pale face.
“Your lip is cut and a little puffy, and I’m afraid you’re probably going to have a black eye, a bruise on this cheek, and on your neck,” Rhys barely grazed the red mark on her face before tilting her head back to look more closely at her throat.
“Makeup,” she whispered. “I can hide it all.”
Rhys nodded. “I think we should do the rest of this exam back at my office, Jess. This place is…” Rhys looked just as repulsed as Tony at the state of the bathroom.
“I want to get out of here,” she said.
“Kayden needs to talk to you. Are you up for it now, or should I push him off until tomorrow?” Tony asked.
“I want to do it now,” she replied. “And then I’m never talking about this again.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Tony said, intent on doing or saying or giving her whatever she needed.
Jess stepped out of the bathroom. “I’m ready,” she announced to Kayden.
Kayden took out his notebook and a pen.
“You want to do this in here or step outside? In the fresh air?” Kayden Gallo was a good cop, and once again, Tony was glad that he’d been the one to show up.
“Here is fine,” she said. “It’s cold outside and I…don’t want Jasper to see us talking. He might try to come up.”
“Okay. Do you want to step me through what happened?”
Jess began to relate her story, and Tony felt his blood go cold as she described the man dragging her inside, her fear for Jasper’s safety. He’d hit her, pulled her hair, kicked her, choked her. She mentioned he was angry at his wife for something, and that it felt like he was punishing Jess for it.
Rhys listened intently to every word, and Tony could imagine the doctor cataloging every single blow she described in preparation for her exam.
Kayden asked a couple follow-up questions, but overall, he simply let Jess tell it in her own way, in her own time.
“Okay.” Kayden closed his notebook and tucked it in his back pocket. “That’s good for now. If I have any more questions, I’ll call. Is there a number where I can reach you?”
Jess hesitated, and Tony wondered if she even had a phone. He’d never seen her with one.
“You can call my cell,” Tony interjected. “Jess is staying with me and Rhys.”
Through his peripheral vision, he saw Jess turn toward him at his proclamation, but for once—or maybe just for now—she wasn’t arguing.
“Let’s get out of here, Jess.” Tony put a steadying hand on her back as he guided her out of the room.
They’d all just reached the bottom of the stairs when Jasper came bounding out of the office, Rocco right behind him.
“Mommy!” Jasper raced toward her. Jess bent down somewhat gingerly, wincing when he leapt into her arms.
He and Rhys exchanged a glance, then Rhys stepped toward them, reaching for the small boy. “Hey, kiddo.” He extracted Jasper from Jess’s arms gently and took his hand. “It’s time for us to go home.”
Jasper’s face fell. “Oh. Okay.” He looked at Jess. “We’re going to the other shelter now?”
Jess shook her head. “No. Not tonight. We’re going to spend one more night with Tony and Rhys.”
“We are?” Jasper’s eyes lit up, but Tony noticed the little boy’s fear wasn’t completely forgotten.
“Yep,” Tony said, reaching down to lift the boy, putting him on his shoulders, grinning when Jasper giggled with surprise and delight. Tony held out his hand, palm up. “Why don’t you give me your car keys, Jess? Jasper and I will drive your car back to our place and you can ride with Rhys.” Until Rhys had a chance to properly check her out, Tony thought it best she remain with a doctor.
Rocco held out Jess’s huge tote bag and her coat. “Here you go, darlin’. I got these out of your locker.”
She took them from him with a quiet word of thanks.
