AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Kit frowned. It sounded like this Justin was a nasty, abusive piece of work. A scoundrel of the lowest order. He watched intently as Stephanie ended the call and slid to a sitting position on the dusty floor. She drew her knees up, and a sob left her lips. Despite this, despite Cole telling her not to blame herself, Kit could see she was.
This was a dilemma for Kit. He didn’t like to kick anyone when they were down, and this girl couldn’t stay. She had to leave, but at this precise moment, she was extremely vulnerable.
“Damn you, Justin, why wasn’t my love enough for you?” Stephanie asked the empty room.
Kit wanted to answer her. Many men were bounders and had no idea how to cherish the adoration of a good woman. This Justin clearly had been one.
His eyes narrowed as Stephanie rubbed her wrist. But it wasn’t in a comforting way. It was as if it hurt or pained her from a lingering injury.
Kit stiffened. Had this girl been abused?
Stephanie
It was hard to accept Justin’s death. Once, they’d been so close and so in love, or so she’d believed. Instead, Cole’s cousinhad been a wolf in sheep’s clothing. His charm vanished the moment she professed her feelings for him. Justin turned cold and calculating, overjoyed at taking someone from Cole. Every time Stephanie had visited with her friends, and that included Cole, Justin had punished her.
Cole spotted marks Justin had left on her once, and he’d nearly punched him. Luckily, she’d been able to calm Cole down that time. But Justin had been just waiting for an excuse. Any excuse to get Cole in trouble. And Stephanie swore she wouldn’t be the reason.
A few months later, Justin beat her badly, and Cole had seen the results. There’d been no stopping him, and he’d beat Justin black and blue. Even if she’d wanted to stop it, she wasn’t able to.
Justin had wanted to call the police, just as she’d known he would. But Cole’s parents stepped in with some very detailed threats, which shut Justin and his parents down. Basically, Cole’s parents had threatened to cut the entire family off, which, as his parents were paying Cole’s aunt and uncle’s mortgage, forced them to behave. But it bred a hatred in Justin that spiralled. Stephanie hid at home and stayed out of his way, but their paths occasionally crossed, and the spite in Justin’s face made her cringe.
Cole and her friends had surrounded and protected her ever since.
At first, Stephanie had been a mess. She’d hidden in her little house and not left. Cole and his parents arrived and removed everything of Justin’s from there, giving her a reprieve. One of the girls picked her up in the morning and took her to work, and Cole always brought her home. And bless his heart, he’d insisted on checking her house was empty before letting her in. Stephanie knew why. Justin wasn’t above plotting revenge against her and Cole.
It had taken a while to break free from the chains Justin had wrapped around her heart, emotions, behaviours, and home. Such as making sure all tins were lined up with labels facing forward and all cup handles faced the same way. Stephanie slowly broke the rules Justin had placed upon her. But recovering from the emotional abuse had been harder than the physical. Stephanie woke at night for months, crying in fear and horror and certain that Justin was in the house. Finally, Cole had moved in so she could sleep easier.
Stephanie wiped the tears from her eyes.
“No more, Justin, shall I cry over you. You nearly destroyed me in your hate for Cole. I wish you peace, but I doubt you’ll find it. Go with God’s blessing and leave me alone,” Stephanie whispered and pushed to her feet.
“You’re nothing but a memory of pain and violence, abuse and misery. I’m free of you, Justin, and will remain so,” she said louder and stronger.
Her shoulders straightened, and she stood tall. No stupid man would ever tear her apart again.
Kit
He bit his lip as he listened to Stephanie’s words. Blast and damnation, shehadbeen abused, and Kit was stuck. He had no intention of terrorising a girl already a victim of a man’s abuse. But she couldn’t stay. Kit knew what a target and prize she’d be to what he guarded and protected the world from. Her delicate stature and emotional fragility would tempt the evil, and she wasn’t strong enough to fight it off.
What a dilemma. This was a situation Kit hadn’t experienced or imagined. The question was how to chase her away without harming her permanently. Kit sucked his lips in as he tried to devise a plan, his mind working furiously for several minutes.
There were a few choices, such as the obvious haunting, the poltergeist, the invisible fear, and so on. Which method could Kit choose that wouldn’t harm Stephanie beyond repair? Usually, he didn’t give a damn. The intruder had to leave, and he made them one way or another. But he sensed the fragility of Stephanie, and he really couldn’t stand abusive males. Stephanie’s apparent abuse left Kit in a quandary.
Thoughtfully retreating to his room in the attic, he stalked the floor, torn. The White Witch raised her awareness and poked at him, curious why there was a human living inside her walls.
“I know,” Kit muttered. “But she’s been harmed, and I don’t know what to do.”
The White Witch slapped him around his head, and Kit scowled.
“No need for that, you damnable wench. I am a gentleman. I will not harm an innocent lady, especially one who has already been brutalised.”
Kit sensed The White Witch pause, and then he received another slap. He rubbed the back of his head ruefully. She was making her stance very plain. The girl had to go.
But how?
He had no interest in destroying someone, just in chasing them away. Kit had a dilemma on his hands, and clearly, The White Witch would not help him.
Stephanie
