by Rachel Dylan
“Sounds like prison,” Sarah muttered beside him.
Jessica, obviously hearing that comment, led them to a window overlooking the common area where several women were gathered around the coffee table while a small child played with blocks on the floor nearby. Jessica’s face softened as she addressed Sarah’s concerns. “We have a large kitchen, a play area for kids, daily Bible study plus a weekly support group. We’re currently housing five other women and four children. You’re not a prisoner here, but it is safer for you to remain inside as much as possible.”
Sarah nodded her understanding then turned back to staring at the child. Having always wanted children, she had a soft spot for them.
“Would you like to see the rest of the facility?” Jessica asked.
Before Sarah could say yes, Andrew stepped in. “We don’t need the tour. I’m taking her home with me.”
Jessica’s eyes pierced him as she looked his way. “That’s a bad idea. We have the resources to protect her. Isn’t that what you want?”
He wasn’t in the mood to argue. He’d made up his mind. Sarah was not staying. But before he could voice his objection, Sarah spoke.
“She’s right. Robert doesn’t know about this place. He won’t know to look for me here.”
“Sarah, I can protect you.”
“Staying here sounds a lot safer than being locked up in your apartment. Besides, what about your job? What will I do when you have to go to work? I don’t want to be there alone. At least here I have other people to talk to.”
He took her hands and squeezed them reassuringly. “We’ll work all that out. I want you to come home with me.”
She looked to Jessica then slipped her hands from his. “I think this is the best choice for me right now. What if Robert returns and you’re not there...like you weren’t last night.”
All the air left his lungs at her statement. He’d promised to keep her safe and he’d already failed her.
Jessica motioned toward Mia. “Will you show Sarah to a room?”
Sarah turned to go with the girl then ran back to Andrew and hugged him tightly. “Thank you, big brother, for everything. I love you.”
The urge to pray for her safety flooded him, a leftover remnant of his old life. He shoved that urge back far down in the depths of his soul. Who would he be praying to, anyway? An absent God that didn’t hear his prayers? Or a God that heard but allowed bad things to happen anyway? Prayer had done nothing to save the woman he’d loved, and he wasn’t going to depend on it for his sister’s safety, either.
He turned to face Jessica. Was he really ready to depend on her to make sure Sarah was out of harm’s way?
Jessica, at least, unlike God, had never let him down.
* * *
Jessica saw his pained expression as Sarah disappeared around the corner. That look of protectiveness caught her breath as she realized this entire situation was too familiar for comfort.
Overprotective brother.
Vulnerable sister.
And a dangerous, obsessed abuser.
She’d been here before, and it had not turned out well.
“So what do we do now?” Andrew asked turning back to her.
“Now we wait.” Jessica motioned him into her office. Once there, she kicked off her heels and enjoyed the coolness of the concrete floor on her tired feet. She slid into her desk chair and watched as Andrew swept her office with a critical eye. It wasn’t much. Everything from the couch to the bookshelves had been donated, but Jessica had tried to give the room a homey feel with a few throw rugs and photographs. She’d tried to do the same throughout the shelter. Donated didn’t have to mean trashy.
“What do you mean we wait? Wait for what?”
“For Robert to make his move.”
“What kind of move?”
“Generally one of three things happen—he’ll decide it isn’t worth it and move on to someone else—”
“I like that.”
“Or he’ll see the error of his ways and agree to go to counseling and anger management classes.”
She smiled at the way his expression changed from optimistic encouragement to disgust and loathing.
“I don’t care for that one, either.” She finished her list. “Or he’ll continue escalating, in which case we’ll have to make different arrangements for Sarah.”
“You forgot the one where he goes to jail and stays there.”
“I wish it were that simple.” She folded her arms and looked at him. He wasn’t some ordinary person off the street. He was a prosecutor. He knew better than anyone how the system worked. “You of all people know we’re not going to get more than a misdemeanor charge for this assault.”
He pulled up a chair and sat down, leaning his elbows into his knees and letting out a long, weary sigh. “I know. But I also know he won’t stop. He’s—what did you call it—escalating.”
“I agree.” She’d caught the evil intent in his eye. They hadn’t seen the last of him yet. “Tomorrow morning we’ll take Sarah down to the precinct so she can give her statement and swear out a complaint against him. She refused to do it at the hospital. It’s not much but it might keep him confined a little while longer. I will also notify the police that he violated his restraining order.”
“Do I need to be there?”
“No.”
“Good. I’ve got court in the morning.”
“Really?” She marveled at how clueless he was. “Didn’t you tell Sarah you could protect her if she went home with you? How were going to do that from the courthouse?” She could see his mind working, searching for an answer. Finally, he looked at her, his face set and determined. “I would do anything to get her away from that man.” He locked eyes with her. “Anything.”
A shiver raced up her spine at his determination to protect Sarah. Anything was a dangerous mantra to live by.
“Why didn’t you call me? I could have intervened before now.”
He pulled his hand through his hair. “I thought I could handle it. I tried to talk to her. I tried to convince her to leave him, but she wouldn’t.”
She got up and walked around the desk, towered over him as he sat. “What you did, Counselor, was to put me and your sister in jeopardy because you’re dealing with a psychology you don’t understand.”
“I put you in jeopardy?” He rose from his seat. “You placed yourself in a dangerous situation that you didn’t need to be in. But that’s nothing new for you, is it? Everyone in town knows you thrive on putting yourself at risk.”
“You’re the one who put me at risk when you didn’t get Sarah to the car like I said. You should have been out of the house and in the car before that situation had a chance to escalate.”
“What kind of man would I be if I left you to fight that maniac alone?”
Indignation swept through her. How dare he turn this around on her? “Don’t give me that macho bravado spin. You wanted him to see you leave with Sarah. You wanted him to know that you were going to stop him.”
“I did what I had to do to protect my sister.”
Without her heels, she had to look up at him, but that didn’t stop her from locking eyes with him and issuing a stern warning. “Your form of protection is going to get someone killed.”
She didn’t realize she was yelling until a voice from the doorway interrupted their conversation. “Children, children, behave.” They both turned at the reproach. Her friend Margo was standing in the doorway. She’d been the first friend Jessica made when she came to Jackson from Atlanta. She’d been instrumental in helping start and fund the shelter. Slim and athletic, she didn’t need the badge or gun at her hip to exude authority. It flowed from her personality.
Margo stepped between them. “I’m calling a time-out for you two kids. What’s going
on?”
“Nothing.” They both spoke in unison then turned away.
She glanced at Jessica and smirked as if knowing how childish Jessica felt at that moment. Margo always treated her like a mother hen and now she’d caught her playing tug-of-war with the school yard bully.
“Margo, this is Andrew Jennings. Andrew, this is my friend Detective Margo Stephens.”
He held out his hand but all Margo returned was a cold stare. “I know who you are. You let Tim Meadows slide with a three-month probation on misdemeanor assault.”
He pulled his hand back. “We almost didn’t get that. As I recall, Mrs. Meadows refused to testify about how she received her injuries. All we had to prosecute was the bystander he punched.”
She turned back to Jessica. “What’s he doing here?”
“I’m helping his sister.” She saw the surprised look Margo gave her. “Sarah needs help, regardless of who her brother is.”
Margo’s eyes widened and she rushed to Jessica’s side. “You’re bleeding.”
Jessica touched the spot on her head. The pain had already faded from a jackhammer into an ice pick jabbing into one spot on her temple. “It’s nothing. I’m fine.”
“I’m taking you to the hospital right now.”
She pulled away from Margo’s grasp, hating being treated like a child for the second time today. “No, I’m going home. I can’t wait for a long soak in a hot bath. After that, I’ll be fine.”
“Well, where is your car? It wasn’t in the parking lot.”
She’d forgotten. They’d left in Andrew’s car. “I had to leave it.”
Margo sighed. “Give me the address. I’ll go get it and bring it to you after my shift ends.”
She scribbled down the address and handed it to Margo along with a spare set of keys.
“I’ll take you home,” Andrew offered.
Margo turned to him. “She is not going anywhere with you, Counselor.”
Usually, Jessica didn’t allow anyone to know where she lived, but Andrew wasn’t just anyone. She knew him and despite their differences on past cases, he wasn’t the type to hand out her private address.
Plus his offer would save her from the loving rebuke Margo was sure to give her on the car ride to her house.
You have to be more careful, Jessica.
You have to think about your safety, Jessica.
Her friend meant well, but Jessica was too tired and too sore to argue tonight. “Thank you for the offer, Andrew. I accept.”
Margo shot her a curious look but didn’t belabor the point. “I’ll see you later, then.”
Jessica let Mia know they were leaving then walked with Andrew to his car.
But as he opened the passenger door for her and she slid inside, she realized how uncharacteristically quick she’d agreed to let him drive her. She’d trusted him so easily and not only because she knew him in a professional sense. She’d seen beneath the shell of the man he projected to the media and the courtroom and she’d caught a glimpse into his soul. Since the moment he’d pulled Sarah into his arms, ever since she’d seen the protectiveness in him, her opinion of him had been altered. He was no longer just the spoiled rich golden boy of the D.A.’s office. He was more than that now. He now possessed a quality that made him even more attractive than good looks or charm or expensive suits could ever do.
Or had he always had that quality and she’d just never noticed?
She recalled that moment in the car when he’d touched her face, his fingers gentle and nimble on her wound. He’d leaned so close she could hear the pounding of his heart and feel the warmth of his breath on her skin. Her heart fluttered at the memory just as it had at the moment.
She blew out a breath and turned her head away as Andrew started the car and drove.
Maybe getting into the car with him again wasn’t such a good idea. She had to remain strong and in control. She wouldn’t allow herself to become one of the many women falling over themselves to get Andrew Jennings to notice her.
Copyright © 2014 by Virginia Vaughan
ISBN-13: 9781460337561
OUT OF HIDING
Copyright © 2014 by Rachel Saloom
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