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She pushed the lever to flush the toilet, then moved to the sink to wash her hands. She gasped when she looked in the mirror. Hideous. She was hideous. Her right eye was swollen, and colorful with hues of red, and purple. The white of her eye was red. A large bandage over her eyebrow filled in the rest of the look.
There was dirt on her face and smeared mascara still under her eyes. The cut on her bottom lip had bled during her sleep and a clot of blood crusted over it.
Turning to the small closet behind the bathroom door, she reached in for a washcloth. The water warmed in the faucet before she wet the washcloth. Squeezing the water from it, but not completely, she dabbed at the dirt on her face and cleared away the mascara that smudged her face. She rinsed and held the wet cloth over her bottom lip to remove the streak of dried blood, but only gently dabbed around the scab of dried blood as to not open the cut again.
Looking over her arms, she saw the cuts and abrasions from falling on the ground and the rocks gouging into her flesh. She remembered feeling it, but being so afraid it didn’t register what was happening. She thought he was going to kill her.
After she’d cleaned both arms and as much of her face as she could handle right now, she left the bathroom and shuffled to her bedroom. Spencer was waiting for her at the foot of her bed.
“Are you alright?”
“Why didn’t you tell me I looked like a monster?”
“You don’t.”
“Please. I scared myself in there.”
He grinned at her, and her heart fluttered. It fluttered! She shuffled past him and sat on the edge of her bed. The two tablets and a warm cup of tea on the bedside table greeted her, and she gratefully took the tablets and sipped her tea. Lying back, she pulled the covers up to her chin.
Spencer stood and stared down at her. “Are you okay now?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
He nodded and left the room. She felt bad about that. She felt safe with him around, and she kind of liked him. He differed from anyone she’d ever known.
She heard the sofa squeak as he laid down on it and she felt sad. Here he was taking care of her and he had to sleep on the couch. But inviting him back in here seemed wrong.
Then she heard the loud pipes of a truck driving past outside. Her clock said ten o’clock, and she figured the teens were out goofing off again. That was the last thought she had before drifting off.
13
That loud truck drove past for the third time, and Spencer grew irritated. He sat up and watched out the living room windows. He hid in the dark, but the bright moonlight outside made it rather easy to see the comings and goings on the county road below. A few cars zipped by, no one he recognized and certainly nothing concerning. He stood and stretched, then walked to the kitchen and looked out of the window. This side of the building looked out onto First Street. His truck was parked between this building and the law office next door, Smith Squared. That was what Kenna called the back. It was actually the side of the building, but it made her feel more comfortable to walk to the building from that vantage point, as they were hidden from view.
First Street was largely day businesses—Hairy Beards, the barbershop; Lady Liberty, another law office; Bloomin’ Lovely, the flower shop; and next to that, Squeaky Clean Laundromat. All on the opposite side of First Street from here. On this side was The Paper Trail, Smith Squared, Stackable Reads bookstore, Lara’s Delights, and Chestnut Grove furniture store. All of them were now closed for business, which made the street quiet.
The loud truck drove by again on the county road and Spencer hurried to the living room and glanced out the window as it went by. Colt Lowe. He was sure of it. Looking down at his watch, it was almost eleven at night. What the hell was he doing driving back and forth?
He settled back into the sofa and decided to wait. His thoughts ranged over Kenna and what Craig had done to her today, which he’d set aside. She needed to be taken care of right now. His anger with Craig would have to wait until she was better. Even as he sat here now, every time he thought of it he wanted to put a fist through a wall, or Craig’s head. But, when he thought of Kenna’s fear when she saw Colt, that made his stomach roll.
He stood and paced the room, which didn’t take long. It was a pleasant apartment but small and he’d easily gotten used to the large open space at the HOG. Funny how easy it was to get used to something.
He went to the kitchen and checked Kenna’s refrigerator to find something to fill his rumbling tummy. Discovering diet frozen dinners in her freezer, he thought that would have to suffice for the time being. He put one in the microwave and stood by it to turn it off before it beeped. He sent Tate a message to inform him of what had gone down and decided to head to his truck to grab his laptop. He could at least get some work done.
After he’d eaten his diet meal, which, good grief, was awful—he’d tell Helissa how much he appreciated her tomorrow—he eased himself down the stairs to his truck. As he closed the door and returned to the building, the truck drove by again on the county road. This time, it cruised by far too slowly. His skin crawled that Colt was scoping out Kenna’s place, and he was likely assuming they were hooking up. Which was none of his business, anyway. Still, it irritated him.
Once upstairs, he locked the door and sat at the kitchen table to get some reports written and check his emails. He also emailed his team to update them on what happened with Kenna and Craig and that he was staying here. He ended his email with a statement that he’d find out more from Kenna tomorrow before they said anything to Gerard or Jasiah. It would do no good to get things rolling up there without the full story.
He heard Kenna move in the bedroom and froze. He heard her feet pad down the hall. She stopped in the doorway to the kitchen and stared at him.
“Why are you still here?”
His heartbeat increased. She looked sleepy and sore. “I’m still taking care of you.”
“It looks like you’re working.”
He shrugged his shoulders and grinned. “I am. I found myself hungry and wide awake, so I went down and got my laptop. I’m sorry if I woke you.”
“You didn’t. I keep hearing that truck go back and forth.”
