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She pulled back and looked away. “This is my fault.”
Bubba couldn’t stop the growl that tore itself from his throat. “Unless you jumped in front of his fists, this is not your fault and I never want to hear you say that again. What happened.”
She kept her face turned away, but she spoke. “His name is Troy and I’ve been seeing him for the last six months.”
Bubba remained quiet, hoping she’d tell him more.
Celia took a deep breath and let it out in a rush. “Maybe I should back up a little. Daddy introduced me to Troy. We started seeing each other. Things were going well. A few months ago, I got a little smart mouthed and Troy slapped me. I went to Daddy, and he told me I should watch what I say.” She looked at Bubba. He saw the unhappiness in her eyes. “I accepted it. Daddy has always been there for me. Anyway, I should have broken it off then, but I didn’t. I let it continue.”
Bubba wanted to ask questions but was afraid to interrupt. He didn’t want her to lose momentum.
“It happened a couple more times, nothing this bad, just a slap here and there mostly. Then yesterday it came out about Becky Lynn.”
Bubba frowned. Becky Lynn. The name sounded familiar, but it took a moment for him to remember the quiet girl with braids from their class. She’d always struck him as shy, almost scared of her own shadow. “What happened to Becky Lynn?”
“She was beaten to death by her husband.”
“Who did she marry?” He didn’t remember the girl dating anyone in school, but he had to admit, he hadn’t paid any attention.
“Some guy from Montgomery. I didn’t know him, only met him a couple times. She’d pulled away from a lot of our friends over the last few years. When I heard about her death, some sixth sense told me that was where I was headed. If I stayed with Troy, I might not be next, but the same thing would happen to me.”
“What happened to push that to sooner rather than later?”
Celia looked away again and licked her lips before speaking. “When Troy came by to pick me up for our date last night, I told him it was over. I didn’t tell him why, only that I didn’t think it was working and I didn’t want to see him again. He lost his mind. It wasn’t just slapping me once, he used his fists.”
“Is that all he did?” Bubba knew often beatings were not the only physical violence abused women endured, but he didn’t want to outright ask if the bastard had raped her.
Celia wouldn’t meet his gaze but looked away and nodded. Bubba wasn’t convinced that was all, but he wasn’t about to push, not now.
“What do you want to do?”
“I have to get out. I want to get away from here and never see Troy again.” She looked at him and met her gaze. “I’ve regretted letting Daddy push you away for a long time. I never forgot about you but thought it best to let you live your life away from us. I’m sorry to drag you back here when you’ve gotten away.”
“Sweetheart.” He reached out, used the tips of his fingers to turn her face to look at him. “Never regret bringing me back into your life. I’ll always be here for you, no matter what you need.”
“Thank you.” She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them in a movement she’d done often in high school.
Back then he would have pulled her into his arms and comforted her. Now, not knowing what kind of bruises her clothes hid or what kind of emotional scars Troy had left on her, he kept his distance. He wanted to destroy this Troy, but making sure Celia was okay and safe was more important. He stood, went to the foot of the bed, and paced as he tried to decide the best way to deal with this. He needed to get home. They needed to get to Tucson so his club could back them up. The last thing he wanted was a big face to face confrontation with Celia’s dad on his own turf.
“When was the last time you spoke to your father or this Troy?”
“Troy was last night. I don’t know what time he left. Daddy was yesterday morning. Why?”
“I’m trying to figure out how long until they’ll be looking for you.”
“Daddy may be already, but I used his credit card to book a ticket to New York City this afternoon and a hotel room, too.”
“That should buy us some time, but maybe not much if they think to check if you were actually on the plane.” He made a couple more laps before shedding the jacket. He tossed it on the back of one of the two chairs next to the window, then pulled out his phone. It might be nearly midnight here, but at home it was not quite ten.
He debated for a moment then sent a message to the club’s tech sergeant, Gizmo.
Bubba:Do me a favor, see if anyone is looking for a Cecilia ‘Sissy’ Metcalf of Mobile Alabama. I’d look in Alabama and possibly NY state/city.
He shoved his phone back in his pocket and turned to watch Celia.
“I need to check you over.”
“Why?” She looked up her eyes wide with panic.
