by Maya Hughes
“She was really nice.” He could hear her starting to get choked up and squeezed her even tighter. “I was finally ready to go. After years of living in fear of him, I was ready to go. Jenna had figured out what was happening and gotten me all the help I needed. She set me up with someone at a women’s shelter and I made my plan to leave. She knew I was going to do it that night. We were supposed to meet at a park around the corner.” Tears were leaking out of eyes that she had squeezed shut.
“What happened when you tried to leave?” he said gently, trying not to push, but needing her to finish it.
“Jon came home early. He was supposed to be golfing with his dad, but there was some rain, so they canceled his group. He came home early and saw me with my bag. He lost it. He completely and totally freaked out unlike I’d ever seen before and that’s saying something. I knew he was going to kill me. I just knew it.” She shuddered in his arms. “I was late meeting Jenna, so she came to the house and saw his car. She called 9-1-1, like the shelter counselor told us, but she came into the house. She never should have come into the house,” she said, her voice cracking.
Rox trembled and he pulled the blanket up over the two of them and squeezed her even tighter.
“She came in to try and help. Jon turned on her. Started screaming and shouting at her about how she’d poisoned me against him. I knew he was going to attack her and she tried to get between us. I went after him to try to stop him from hurting her. And he put me through the giant plate glass window at the back of the house. I sliced my back to ribbons when I broke through, broke some ribs, and collapsed a lung. I couldn’t do anything but lie there bleeding. I could see the pool of red growing bigger and bigger around me with each passing second. And then I felt something slam into me. It was Jenna. She’d fallen through after me and landed on a huge piece of glass.” She took a few gasping breaths and he almost stopped her from continuing. No one had been there to protect her. She’d been on her own. Her friend tried to help and had gotten hurt. Rox always tried to be so strong. But he was there now and he would stop at nothing to keep her safe. He kissed the top of her head and ran his fingers across the nape of her neck. After a few moments, she continued.
“I laid there, completely unable to move with Jenna bleeding out next to me. Jon was standing over both of us and that was when I knew he was going to kill us both. I could see it. He had murder in his eyes, and he was bearing down on the two of us with a fireplace poker when the cops showed up, guns drawn and ready to take him down.” She dropped her eyes, tears dripping into her open palms. She fisted her hands, reliving the agony of lying there filleted on the ground and seeing her friend’s unblinking eyes staring back at her. “It was too late for Jenna. One of the shards sliced an artery. She tried to save me and it cost her her life.”
Anger and sadness coursed through him, thinking about everything Rox had gone through. She didn’t deserve that. No one did. His family had their own run-in with an abusive father, but his mom had managed to get away when they were only ten. It was another reason he’d dedicated so much of his time to boxing. He never wanted to feel like he couldn’t protect himself or the people he loved from danger. Getting over the guilt of not being able to protect his mom was something he dealt with even now, even though he knew it was crazy. Kids couldn’t protect adults from terrible things other adults wanted to do.
He rubbed her shoulder and held her close, not knowing what he could say to take away the pain. He kissed her on the top of her head again and brought both arms up around her, lying on their sides facing one another.
“I know you don’t believe it, but I’ve never met a woman stronger than you.” She scoffed and he pulled back, tipping her chin up so he could look into her eyes.
“I mean it.” She tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let her. “I’m serious, Rox. With everything you’ve been through, stuff that no one should have to go through, you’ve managed to build a life for yourself. You work with a great staff, run that kitchen, make amazing food, and have loyal friends like Mark. And he’s not just friends with anybody. You have to be pretty great for him to put so much faith and trust into you.”
“I could say the same for you. He gave you The Bramble to look after. That place means the world to him.”
“We’re talking about you. I know you have these crazy things running through your head, self-doubt, guilt, anger, and there’s nothing wrong with any of that, but I want you to know that I’m glad you made it out of there. I’m happy I know you and I know my life is better with you in it.”
He let her chin go and she gave him a small kiss on the lips before going back to rest her head on his chest. Running his fingers through her hair, he knew he'd do whatever it took to keep her safe. He’d have to make a few calls in the morning and see what could be done about the Jon situation and what measures he needed to put in place to make sure that bastard didn’t get anywhere near Rox again.
Things were still new, but he’d never felt like this before about anyone. And he wasn’t going to let anyone take her away from him.
13
Chapter
It had been over a week since her place had been broken into and the cops still hadn’t found Jon. They said he was nowhere to be found after checking his usual haunts, including his parents’ house. It was almost scarier not knowing where he was. She felt like he was lying in wait for the perfect time to pounce. The security system had been upgraded at The Bramble with a whole host of options for contacting the police, if required, and Liam had even arranged for some more security at his house. She didn’t want him to go too overboard, but she appreciated he was trying to keep her safe.
Things were going well with her and Liam. They’d fallen into a nice, steady routine. On mornings he had other meetings, he would drive her to The Bramble in his car or they’d take their bikes out for a spin, or ride in together with her wrapped around him if he was going to be there for the day. Even if he had to go out, he always made sure that he was there to bring her back to his place in the evening or in the afternoons. Napping was still as essential as ever, maybe more so now. The stress of everything seemed to be taking its toll.
That couch got a lot more wear and tear than ever before, especially during the early afternoon break. She’d have to make sure they bought Mark a new one when he came back. Poor guy didn’t need to know he was sitting on their newest hot and heavy spot.
Liam had called in a few favors with people who’d performed at big events for his company and the bar was turning into somewhat of a music hot spot. People were banging down the doors to get their artists booked on the weekends. They even had some who wanted to come during the week. As much as she hadn’t wanted to admit it in the beginning, Liam was doing a pretty good job running things. He was using his connections to help increase the profile of the already thriving bar.
Her phone vibrated in her chef’s coat arm pocket. She wiped her hands on the towel tucked in front of her and pulled it out. Another unknown number, she debated whether to answer and decided it might be one of the case workers.
“Hello?”
“Juliette.” The blood rushed out of her head and her hands trembled. She gripped the phone tighter, her knuckles going white. How had he gotten her number? She debated hanging up, but was torn between wanting to know what he wanted and never speaking to him again.
“Jon, you need to leave me alone.” She cursed herself at how small her voice sounded. “Don’t call me again. How did you get my number?”
“I told you I would always be able to find you. I would always show you how much I cared about you. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t call you on our anniversary? I love you.” She flinched at his perverted use of the phrase. He could turn anything good into something ugly. Glancing down at the calendar on her phone, she saw that it was the terrible date that should have been forever burned into her mind, but it seemed the past trauma had wiped it from her memory. Today was the day seven years ago she’d moved in
with him. And it was also the day six years ago when he first hit her. It took him one year from her move in date to put his hands on her. One year to know she had no way out.
She’d been late getting home after checking out college classes at the local university. She’d been so excited to have this fresh new start. Dating Jon was like a dream. He was always so attentive and when she mentioned how difficult her situation was, trying to find places to stay, he’d jumped at the chance to have her move in with him. Having a place to live full time with a great guy seemed like the answer to all her problems. She could enroll in classes with a permanent address established. He’d even made a big show of carrying her over the threshold and opening a bottle of champagne to celebrate joining their lives together and made it clear he couldn’t wait to do it after they were married. She’d been absolutely giddy. Moron!
Running away from home hadn’t made enrolling in college easy, but if she wanted to make it in the world, she figured a degree was a good place to start. She hadn’t known that he was lying in wait for her at home. It was the one-year anniversary of her moving in with him. When she walked in to drippy candles and a drunk, irate boyfriend she hadn’t quite known how to handle it.
With her dad, she would have walked right back out the door and gone to a friend’s house, but with Jon she thought things were different. Being afraid when you walked into your house wasn’t normal. She’d learned that. She thought what she had with Jon was normal. It wasn’t normal, not at all. And the bruises she sported on her upper arms and across her neck after that night weren’t normal either, but it became a typical way of life for her for the next two years. His gifts after a night like that were always meant to show her how much he’d changed and it would never happen again. That’s how he’d finally agreed that she could attend college classes again. All it had taken was a broken wrist, a black eye and two cracked ribs. What she hadn’t seen was that he was further entrenching himself and decreasing her ability to run away, at least in her mind. She was completely dependent on him.
Shaking off the bad memories, she steadied her voice before responding.
“It’s not an anniversary I would want to celebrate.”
“It’s when I knew you were truly mine. That you were the type of woman I needed. The type of woman I could make into someone better.”
“I was a stupid child who should have run the second I met you,” she seethed. “I’m not her anymore Jon. I’m not that girl you met and I don’t want anything to do with you. You need to leave me alone.”
“It’s not over until I say it is. I love you and I’m not going to let you go. You know how this goes, Juliette. I’m the one in charge.” He ended the call and Rox stood frozen in the kitchen. The urge to flee was nearly overwhelming. She had some money tucked away, she could leave the state. But glancing around her kitchen, she knew she couldn’t leave this behind. This was the first place that truly felt like her own. How could she walk away from everything she’d built here over the past three years? Letting Jon make her run would only let him win once again. She jumped at a tap on her shoulder, clutching her phone to her chest.
“You okay, Rox?” asked Caleb, staring at her, worry in his eyes.
“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just a little hot,” she said, shaking her head and pulling her chef’s coat away from her body. “I’m going to take a break. I’ll be back in a bit.” Snap out of it! She had a job to do and she wasn’t going to let him spoil the one thing that was going right in her life. Then her thoughts shot to Liam. Should she tell him? Could she take it if someone else got hurt trying to help her? It was bad enough he was letting her stay at his place, but she didn’t want him to get entangled in her problems any more than he already was. The crushing guilt of Jenna still weighed on her and she didn’t want to add another person to that. She wouldn’t be able to breathe if something happened to him because of her.
“Take your time!” Caleb called after her as she pushed her way out of the kitchen and headed straight for the office.
Lying on the couch, she grabbed the grey fleece blanket she’d used for the time she slept here and wrapped it around herself. She was shaking, tremors running through her, even though it was a warm evening. What was she going to do? Why couldn’t he just leave her alone?
Liam climbed the stairs to the office and threw the door open. He smiled. There was Rox, in her usual late afternoon spot, curled up on the couch wrapped in a blanket. He’d checked in the kitchen and they told him she shot out of there just as they were wrapping up lunch. It wasn’t like her, usually she liked to clean everything up and get things ready for dinner, but maybe she was finally loosening the reins a bit. Everyone down there had taken care of everything. Maybe if she saw that, she’d give herself some time off. Maybe even a whole day. He’d have to try to convince her to do that soon.
Crouching down, he brushed her soft hair back from her forehead and ran his thumb over her smooth skin. She always tried to be so strong, so tough, but sometimes even the toughest people needed someone to look out for them. Running his hand down her cheek, she jerked away from him and her eyes shot open. A look of initial confusion transformed into a smile when she saw him. The smile she gave him was enough to take away any worries he might have had in that moment. Bright and wide, she flipped the blanket off her and sat up. Stretching her arms overhead, she gave him another sleepy smile.
“Hey, what time is it?” she said, yawning.
“It’s five thirty.”
“Holy shit!” she said, trying to get up. He put his hands on her legs.
“Rox, chill out. It’s no big deal, I was just down there and everyone’s got everything under control.” She looked at him wide-eyed, like she was ready to knock him to the floor and sprint downstairs. “Really, I went and checked on them and asked if they needed anything. They have it completely under control. You’ve taught and trained everyone well.”
“What if something goes wrong?”
“I’m not saying stay up here all night, I’m just saying give yourself a little time to wake up. Grab a bite to eat and drink, don’t rush around thinking you have to do everything all by yourself.”
“I do that a lot, huh?” she said, giving him a sheepish look.
“Yes, you do. And you don’t have to.” He could take care of her, but he knew if he said that she’d most likely punch him in the nose.
“I like to make sure things are perfect. And I’m used to doing things on my own.” She stood stretching. Yes, he knew that too, but wanted her to know she didn’t have to. How could he tell her all this without completely freaking her out? “I’m going to go splash some water on my face and then I’ll head down.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Standing, she threw her arms around his neck. She smelled like all his favorite foods rolled into one and since she was the one that cooked them all it made sense. He ran his fingers up and down her arms, making her break out into goosebumps.
“And you know if you you’re taking less time in the kitchen, then that leaves more time for other things.”
“Other things like what?” she teased, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
He lowered his mouth to a hair’s breadth away from hers. She gave him a lopsided grin before pulling his head down to her lips. He took possession of her mouth, wanting to breathe her in, this woman who had worked her way into his heart. He could sample those soft, full lips all night. He resisted the urge to wrap her legs around his waist and take her up against the bookcase. Breaking the kiss, he left them both panting.
“You better get washed up, Chef,” he said, turning her around and giving her a gentle swat on her ass. She shot him a look over her shoulder that promised retribution later. The kind of retribution he was sure they would both enjoy immensely.
Rox stumbled into the bathroom. The sound of running water assured him that she was going to take her time with getting back downstairs. She was determined to run herself ragged and he was determined to stop her and
get her to take a break whenever he could. Thundering footsteps on the stairs did not bode well for their relaxing afternoon. Caleb burst into the office.
“Is Chef here?”
Rox poked her head out of the bathroom, wiping her face with a towel.
“Chef, I mean Rox, there’s a problem in the kitchen! You need to come quick!”
“I knew it,” she said, glaring at Liam before grabbing her chef’s coat off the couch and taking off back down the stairs. So much for getting her to relax some and not feel like she had to be in the kitchen at all times.
14
Chapter
She’d been working non-stop and the days ran together. It was an almost pathological need to be in the kitchen every day. It was one of the few places she felt in control of what was happening in her life. There were few surprises in her kitchen, a few flame-ups and maybe a small cut or burn here or there, but those were all manageable. Outside of the kitchen, that was where things got scary and uncertain.
Even where Liam was concerned. Had Jon not been after her, she had no idea if things would have progressed with him this way. She didn’t want to be some damsel in distress, that wasn’t her style, but she had to admit that having someone take care of things for her wasn’t all bad. Not that she was letting him run her life or anything, she was still very much her own person, but she could admit that hanging back sometimes was nice.
“Rox, you in here?” Liam called from the hall.
“No,” she grumbled, wrapping herself up tighter in the cozy warm blankets. This bed was like sleeping on a cloud and she was usually asleep in minutes. Nap thieves were not welcome here now. She was so tired, she wanted to sleep until tomorrow. The thought of prying her eyes open and being on her feet all night was not appealing right now.
