“Okay,” she whispered.
He let out a sigh then added the whiskey to her coffee—not all of it, but enough to sooth her nerves. He slammed back the rest of it before setting the tumbler down on the table.
“Let me take care of your lip,” he said softly.
“I…there’s nothing you can do.”
He shook his head. “You don’t know that.” She knew they weren’t talking about her lip just then.
She let him wipe down her cut and clean it. It was already healing and had stopped bleeding, but it still hurt if she touched it.
“You bit your lip, Autumn,” he said, his voice smooth, overly controlled. “Can you tell me why? Can you tell me why you’re as white as a sheet and shaking?”
“I can’t,” her voice broke and she took another sip of her whiskey-laced coffee, careful of her lip.
“You can, Autumn,” he said, his voice breaking ever so slightly. “You can tell me anything.”
He took the mug from her hands and cupped her face. She held back a sob.
“Autumn. Tell me. Please.”
Her body shook and her heart raced. She’d kept everything inside for so long, never allowing another to know her thoughts, to know her feelings. No one knew her past. If they did, they could be hurt…but what if she didn’t hold it in any longer.
What if she told him?
Griffin’s eyes stayed on her, his face begging her as much as his words.
She didn’t know what she’d say, what she’d do, and when she opened her mouth, the word she uttered surprised her. It shocked Griffin too from the way his eyes widened.
“Okay.”
“Okay,” he repeated on a breath. “Okay. Tell me.”
She swallowed hard and pulled away from his hands. He frowned, but she took his hands in hers instead. She couldn’t speak when he cupped her face.
“My name isn’t Autumn Minor.”
His eyes widened, but he nodded. “Okay.”
God this man was so strong, so…ready to listen. She had to be ready to say it all. Reveal her truths, reveal her past.
She could do this.
“My name is Hannah Daniels.” He didn’t interrupt her, and she gained the courage to continue. “I…didn’t exactly go about it legally when it came to changing my name.” She paused.
“We can deal with that. If you’re running from something that forced you to change your name, then we can deal with that.”
“I hate the word running,” she said softly. “I feel like I’ve been running all my life.”
“Autumn…”
She let out a breath. He still called her Autumn, not Hannah. She liked that. She was his Autumn…if only for the moment.
“I have a brother and two parents. They loved me…they might still love me, but as I haven’t spoken to them in ten years, I don’t know. I left home at eighteen and never turned back. I couldn’t.”
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I’m saying this all out of order. I should start at the beginning.”
Griffin pulled away only to unscrew the bottled water and hold it to her lips. She swallowed a big gulp and nodded in thanks. He knew what she wanted before she did…
“In high school I did pretty well academically. Got all As and knew I would be going to college. I wasn’t the all-star athlete or popular girl who would end up valedictorian with those grades. I was just an average good student, if that makes sense. I took the right classes and had a few friends who I hung out with. Everything was good. Not great, not bad. I didn’t hate high school…until my senior year.”
She took another sip of water and let Griffin run his hands up and down her thigh, comforting her.
“I had AP History with Mr. Sanders. Jeff Sanders. He was the awesome teacher with the great reputation. The one with the fantastic smile that the single moms—and some not-so-single moms—tried to flirt with. He was the one that the teenage girls and some of the teenage boys had crushes on. He was the popular one. Everybody loved Mr. Sanders.”
The last part she bit out through clenched teeth, and Griffin cupped her jaw. “Baby…”
She liked when he called her baby. When he called her Fall. She just liked him.
But that wasn’t what she was talking about then.
“There were always rumors about him, you know. How he slept with a couple mothers, but anyone who heard that and loved him said it must have been the slut women making up stories. It was always the woman’s fault for daring to want to sleep with him. Mr. Sanders could do no wrong.”
She shook her head.
“There were also rumors about him with the girls in his class, even the ones that hadn’t quite reached eighteen yet. Everyone was allowed to pick their seats in his class, but for some reason, the front row was always girls. Usually girls who wore skirts. I never knew how he made that work out for himself.” She shuddered. “He sat me in the front row my senior year. I loved wearing skirts, loved the way the silk felt on my legs.” She sighed. “I still do. I wouldn’t let him take that away from me.”
Griffin squeezed her thigh. “Good.”
She smiled sadly. “He paid special attention to me. I was young enough to think of it as him being a good teacher. At first. Then it became…more. He would ask me to stay after class. Would gently brush my hair back as he leaned closer. It scared me.”
“That man deserves to be shot.”
She rubbed his hand. “It gets worse.”
“Tell me,” he repeated.
“When I told my parents about it, they brushed it off.” Tears filled her eyes and she blinked them back. If she started crying again, she wouldn’t make it. “They brushed it off. They thought I was just making it up. This was Mr. Sanders. He wouldn’t do that. I was just confused.”
“Fuck them.”
She sniffed. “Yeah, fuck them. They were wrong. Maybe they would make a different choice now, but they were wrong then.”
“Fall, tell me all of it.”
“He got angry when I told him I’d told my parents. One day he cornered me after school and said that I was bad. That because I had told my parents, even if they didn’t believe me, that I would be punished. He had all the power and I had nothing.”
“Did he touch you, Autumn? Did he hurt you?”
“He never raped me. Never touched me inappropriately. I never gave him a chance. He was obsessed with me. He left me notes, was always where I was when I went to the movies or to my job at night. He was always there. And no one believed me. It was all coincidence, they said. They blamed me for trying to harm a good man’s reputation.”
Griffin squeezed her hands. “What happened next? Why are you running?”
“The day after graduation, things went to hell. You see, when I was so scared during my last half of the semester, my grades slipped. I passed everything, but I had brought shame and humiliation to my family. I didn’t go to graduation, didn’t go to any parties. I just stayed at home.”
She shuddered.
“That’s how he found me. While my parents and brother were out to dinner as a family,” she hiccupped, “he came into my home. I don’t know if he wanted to kill me or…well…you know.”
Griffin let out a low growl, and while that should have scared her, it settled her more than it should have.
“I hit him with a frying pan of all things. I had wanted eggs, and it was the only thing close. He came at me again, hit me until I bled. I screamed and screamed. And no one came. I hit him again with the skillet and escaped with my cell phone.”
Griffin moved then, pulling her onto his lap. “Baby.”
“I called the police, but the captain there was friends with Mr. Sanders. Best friends, in fact. There were things about alibis said, and the fact that I was a liar. Some said I must have hurt myself.” Griffin cursed. “Others said it was a home robbery or my loser boyfriend—which I didn’t have, but they all thought I must have—that’d hit me. No one could believe it was Mr. Sanders.”
&nb
sp; “I don’t understand how no one would take your word for it. You had bruises, baby. They should have taken that as fact.”
“They didn’t. No one believed a teenage girl where a very, very smart man went against her. His reputation was intact, while mine was tarnished. I was on a scholarship for the college I had planned to go to. It was revoked on account of my…transgressions with the police, as it wasn’t a full academic one but also relied on my honor.”
“What the fuck?”
“Yep. Pretty shitty, huh? The thing was, even though I couldn’t go to college, and my family didn’t trust me like they should have, I ended up with nothing because I was damn scared. And through all of that…I wasn’t safe. He was still there. Watching. Oh, he was different about it, you know? Much more careful. He never touched me again, but he was always there.”
“So you ran.”
She nodded. “At first it was just to get away from the looks, the fear. And after the first time he showed up at my job four states away, I knew I would never be safe unless I kept running.” She let out a whimper. “I need to run again, Griffin. It’s not safe for you.”
“Why do you say that? For me? Fall, you’re the one getting hurt each time. You’re the one on the run. How am I not safe? How can I help you?”
“He hasn’t hurt me since I’ve been running, but he’s hurt others.” She pressed her lips together. “Every time I get too close, others get hurt around me. Mary, a waitress I once worked with, ended up hurt because she wouldn’t tell him where I was. Others have been hurt, too. I can’t risk you. I need to go.”
She tried to stand up, but he held her tightly on his lap. He kissed her temple, and she closed her eyes. “You’re not risking me. I’ll be the one to risk myself.” He paused. “Why haven’t you gone to the police since?”
“I need to keep running. Jeff Sanders has money and knows enough people to get what he wants. He never got caught any other time he hurt someone. He always wiggles his way out.”
“You’re with the Montgomerys now. You go to the police now. We won’t let anything happen to you.”
“I want to believe that. God, I want to. But I can’t. I need to go.” She kept repeating that, knowing it wasn’t safe. “He was in my home tonight, Griffin. He ruined almost everything I own.”
Griffin’s hands tightened on her. “What? What the fuck, Autumn.”
“He’s here, Griffin. He’s here.”
Griffin kissed her temple again and rocked her back and forth, his body as tight as a bow. The rage coursing through him was so palpable she could almost taste it.
“We should call the cops.”
“Not now.” She pressed her face into him. If she called the cops, Jeff Sanders would just get angrier. That’s how things worked.
“Baby.”
“I…I…”
“Then move in here. You can’t go home. Stay with me, Autumn. Stay until we can figure it out. Let me keep you safe.”
He kissed her softly, begging her to stay. She was just so…tired. Tired of running, tired of the fear. Tired of having no one to lean on. She could stay the night, maybe another day, but then she would run again and keep him safe.
“Okay,” she whispered.
Griffin squeezed her tight. “Thank you.”
He kissed her again, and she leaned into him. Only for the night, she told herself. Then she would gather her courage and keep the others she cared for, keep Griffin, out of the line of fire.
It was all she could do.
Chapter Fifteen
Griffin kept his eyes on Autumn as she slept in his arms. She’d let him put her to bed, though she’d slept in her clothes. She hadn’t wanted to be without the ability to run on a moment’s notice.
It broke him that she was so scared. That this seemingly confident woman would shake and not be able to breathe because of a teacher with an obsession, made him want to scream and rage. It was more horrifying than any novel he could write, any plot he could dream up.
He wanted to fix everything for her, fix things like he had countless times before for others. But this wasn’t something he could easily do. Not only was there a man out there threatening her, but she’d also forged documents and had had to lie to the police at least once that he knew of.
They could figure that out, though. He knew people on the force that he’d talked to at length during his research. Plus, he knew that she’d done what she’d done to protect herself; they weren’t fully lies. There was a difference.
He’d shot off a text to Decker before he’d gone to bed next to her to spread the word through the family that they should keep a look out. He hadn’t gone into detail, but after what had happened with Miranda’s ex, the family knew to keep tight in times of need. He also knew he wouldn’t be able to keep at least part of the events from his family once they were on a tear. Considering the way Maya and Meghan had both been texting all morning, he knew time alone with Autumn wouldn’t last long.
The idea that some asshole was after her…
She made a soft groan, and he released his hold on her, unaware that he’d started to squeeze tightly at the thought of that teacher trying to harm her.
He didn’t know if he loved the woman in his bed, didn’t know if they had forever or if this would fizzle out once they got it out of their systems, but he knew he cared.
Autumn mattered.
He’d have to show that without scaring her.
She turned toward him then froze, her eyes opening quickly. “Griffin.”
He leaned down and kissed her temple, brushing her hair from her face. “Fall.”
She sighed, and he kissed her lips.
“Morning breath,” she mumbled.
He snorted then kissed her again, this time leisurely tangling his tongue with hers. She moaned against him, her nails digging into his shoulders. He pulled away and rested his forehead on hers.
His thoughts went in a thousand directions, and he could feel hers do the same from her body language alone.
“I have toiletries you can use in the bathroom.”
She blinked up at him. “I have a bag in my trunk.”
He nodded, a little relieved and saddened at the same time that she had a backup plan. “I’ll go get it.”
Her nails dug into his arms once again.
“I’ll be safe.” He kissed her then took her keys from the nightstand and left her in bed, confused and a little rumpled. He wanted to put her at ease, but he wasn’t sure he knew how. He wasn’t as good at this as he’d like to think.
Senses on alert, he made his way out to the car, grabbed her suitcase from the trunk, and pressed his lips together at the sight of her emergency kit, extra water and rations, and countless other things in her trunk. No wonder she’d been so scared when her car had broken down. If she lost this, she’d have lost her way out. He knew the bag she kept on her person at all times was important, as well.
He couldn’t comprehend what it must feel like to be this scared all the time.
Trivial things like cleaning up after him and helping him finish his book paled in comparison to the hell she’d lived in for a decade.
He quickly made his way back into the house with her things, taking care to set the alarm system. He found her in his bedroom, frowning over his phone.
She looked up at him as he set her back down. “You told them?” Her tone wasn’t accusatory, more curious.
He went to her then and she opened her legs slightly so he could stand between them. He ran a hand through her hair, and she leaned into him.
“I didn’t tell them what is going on exactly, but I did tell Decker to gather the troops in case this guy knows about us.”
She let out a sound like a whimpering kitten, and he could have kicked himself.
“This is not your fault.”
She let out a breath and seemed to gather herself. “You’re in danger because of my presence. You had to tell your family to watch their backs and keep their children close without givi
ng them details because of me. How is that not my fault?”
He cursed and placed his hand on the back of her head, forcing her gaze to his. “I told them to be cautious. And I’m thinking that when it’s time, you will tell them everything. Not the children, of course, but you know what I mean. You are not alone, Autumn.”
“You keep calling me Autumn.”
He frowned. “That’s what I know you as. It’s who you’ve become. Autumn means change. Death before rebirth. You’ve become a woman I know and care about. If you want me to call you Hannah, I will, but I see you as Autumn. I see you as my Fall.”
Emotion ran over her eyes, and he couldn’t tell what it was. He hadn’t told a woman he cared about her since Lauren, and he’d been too young then to truly understand the depth of such emotion.
It should have scared him, but he was too worried about what could happen rather than what could come of letting go.
“I…I like you calling me Autumn.” She pulled away from him slightly. “I hate that I’m stuttering and having trouble coming up with words. I don’t like being the scared little girl.”
He nodded. “Then let’s get ready for the day and make breakfast. We’ll figure out what the next step is on a full stomach.”
She raised a brow. “You always think with your stomach.”
“True. Now, let’s get going.” He pulled her up, kissed her hard then turned her toward the bathroom with a slight smack to her ass.
Autumn stared at him before going around him to pick up her bag and head back to the bathroom. She looked like she wanted to say something but didn’t. Instead, she kept going, as if she needed to keep busy before everything crashed down. He knew how she felt. Or perhaps he was the one putting those thoughts on her.
He watched her go, his heart thudding in his chest. God, he was falling in love with her.
The big L.
Fuck.
He needed to make sure she was safe. Then he could think about more.
He quickly picked up a clean pair of jeans and went to the guest bathroom. He took the fastest shower of his life, wanting to be at least clean and ready in the kitchen when she came back. Hopefully, having coffee in her system as well as food in her belly would make her feel like she was human again. He hadn’t lied when he’d said he wanted her to stay there.
Written in Ink (Montgomery Ink #4) Page 16
