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The benefit wound down. My smartwatch vibrated with the personal call tone. I glanced at the small screen expecting it to be Rory asking if I clawed my own eyes out yet watching the elite of Manhattan brag about their new yachts. It was Julie.
He came to my job again. I’m home. I’m ok. I need you.
I called her instantly. She was trying to keep her voice even but it was shaky like she’d been crying.
“You’re okay?” I asked.
“Yeah. I guess. I left my shift early because he was there.”
“You didn’t have to treat him, right?”
“No. He hurt himself again. That’s why he had an excuse to come in. He’s doing this on purpose so he can have access to me.”
“Did you call the cops?”
“Yes. They said that he was allowed to be there and since I didn’t have to work on him there was no reason to get so upset,” she scoffed. “Cause the son of a bitch never jammed the barrel of a loaded pistol under their chin and said he was gonna do it this time.”
Her bitter laugh broke on a sob and cold sweat came out on my back when she said that. I knew he’d done horrible shit to her, but I hadn’t pried for details. I could see it. It flashed in my mind when she said it, her head tipped back, face flushed from crying, a meaty hand on the butt of a gun, pressing the barrel to the soft skin beneath her jaw. I had kissed her there, stroked her face, looked in her eyes while I moved inside her. He had treated her, body and soul, like she was an object, like she didn’t matter. I’d known men like that even in the service, who used cruelty and the fear of women to feed their emptiness, fill them with a feeling of raw, filthy power. I wanted to kill him. I had to take a second to calm myself down and remember my training. Blind rage was sloppy and made mistakes. Blind rage made you forget that you can’t spend human life like a handful of pennies.
“Never again, Julie,” I said, my voice hard. “I’ll be off here in ten minutes. Keep your door locked. I’ll text when I get there.”
“Thank you,” she said. “I can’t believe I called you.”
“I want you to call me,” I told her.
It wasn’t long before I was in my truck blazing in her direction. I needed to see her with my own eyes, feel her with my own hands to know she was safe. There was no way I was letting her stay there alone after this.
In no time I was at her door; she opened it and fell into my arms. I stepped in and shut the door with my foot, held her in my arms. My hand made slow circles on her back and I felt her relax little by little.
She turned her face up to me, her eyes bright with unshed tears.
“You’re safe. I’ve got you,” I said roughly.
She nodded and when she blinked, a tear slipped down her cheek. I kissed it. Tasted the salt on her skin. My stomach twisted. I bent and took her mouth. Her lips trembled as they parted for me. Julie put her arms around my neck, stretching to reach, and whispered. With one arm around her waist, I lifted her, pressed against me. I kissed her soft and deep, claiming her, letting her know she was mine; I’d protect her no matter what. She melted into me so easily,
My thumb on her jaw, touching the corner of her mouth even as we kissed, made her moan. She turned and kissed the pad of my thumb, broke our kiss enough to meet my eyes.
“I meant it, Darren,” she said, dropping her eyes from mine as if embarrassed. “I need you. To feel safe, to feel whole again. Seeing him and hearing his voice, knowing he can get to me whenever he wants, it took something from me, some strength it’s taken years to build up. I know we have to do something. The cops say he’s not doing anything wrong. But I know he’s coming for me—” she broke off, her eyes wild with fear.
I anchored her to me with e strong band of my arm beneath her ass and held her level, so we were eye to eye.
“I told you, I’ve got you,” I said evenly, but it sounded like a growl. Like a predator had looked at my woman, and I had to destroy him. But not before I reminded her whose she was.
“I need you,” she repeated, this time meeting my eyes. “I need you to just—I don’t know, my body feels wrong, like it’s not mine,” she shook her head.
I set her down on her feet and took her hands in mine. “You listen to me, Julie. You belong to yourself. It’s your body. You were never his. He tried to make you his, and he failed. Because you were stronger than he ever knew. Look at me. You got away. He’s never going to lay a hand on you again. I swear to you on my life.”
