Page 12 of Static

She was right. She'd been beaten for years while she lived with the cult. If anyone would understand the fear and feelings of weakness and doubt I was experiencing, it would be her.

"Until then," Kit said, "we won't pry, but we hate seeing you struggle alone."

They knew. This whole time they knew and hadn't forced me to speak about it. That was part of my problem. I needed to get my control back. I needed to feel like I was in control of my own life again. "Thank you," I told them. "I appreciate it."

"We're always here," Jordan added.

"You're all such good friends," I whispered.

"And the cop," Kit added. "You know, if you need help getting rid of him, let us know."

Nodding, I smiled at them. "It's okay. I've got this."

Stuffing the card into my purse, I shrugged it onto my shoulder and marched into the police station. My feet stuttered a little as I went through the door, but squaring my shoulders I continued to the front desk. It was the next morning and I had just dropped my children off at school. I had the day off and I was determined to put an end to this.

If I was going to date someone I'd be tossing myself into Static's arms. There was no way I could drag another person into the circus that was my life, though.

"Can I help you?"

"Hi," I said, my voice trembling a little as I stared at the man in uniform behind the welcome desk. I never used to be a timid woman. And really, I wasn't now, but with everything that had happened over the last year, I was allowed to be a bit nervous. "May I please speak with David Torres?"

His brows rose as he eyed me, but he jerked his head in a nod. "Hold on." He picked up the phone, hit a number and continued to watch me as he waited with the phone to his ear. "Torres." He waited again. "You have a visitor." Then he hung up.

"Thanks," I said.

"Through those doors," he said, pointing to a door at the end of a hallway.

Taking a deep breath, I marched down the hallway, my shoes squeaking against the tile. My heart started racing as I saw David walking toward me. A surprised smile was on his face.

"Hi, Gwen."

"Hi," I said, twisting my fingers together. "Can I talk to you?"

"Of course." He opened a door to our right. "After you."

I looked around as I stepped inside then jumped as the door slammed shut.

"Sorry. I forget not to let those slam," he said. His eyes searched my face. "Before you start," he said when I opened my mouth, "I owe you an apology."

That stopped me in my tracks, the speech I'd practiced dying in my throat.

"My sister told me that getting your phone number like that and then texting you was creepy and totally inappropriate," he said in a tone that said he was repeating word for word what she'd told him. He gave me a wry smile. "I swear I wasn't trying to be a creep. I just-" He huffed out a breath. "I was married. Got married young, when I was nineteen. High school sweethearts," he said, continuing when I gave him an encouraging smile. "We got divorced a couple years ago and I'm just now getting back into the whole dating scene." He shrugged, a dull red creeping up his neck. "I'm not very good at it."

He was endearing. And I believed him. "Thank you," I said, responding to his apology. "And I'm not trying to be rude. I just... I was also married," I confided with a smile. "It ended...badly." Jordan's terrified face flashed through my mind as she was dragged backward by Trent inside my kitchen. She'd been trying to protect me and had ended up fighting him alone after I passed out again. I swallowed hard, looking down. "Really, really badly," I added. A quick glance up and I saw anger and empathy in his eyes.

"Is he still around?"

"No," I told him. "He's gone. But I'm still trying to put the pieces back together. So...I'm not very good at this either." I sighed. "And I have children. So I can't just jump into something, even though I think you're cute and seem very nice."

He grinned. "Thanks." He shifted from foot to foot. "I don't have a problem with you having kids, but-" He pulled his cell from his pocket and showed me my contact info on the screen. With it still facing me, he hit the delete button. "I won't bother you anymore." He gave me a searching look. "But Gwen, I still would love to take you out to dinner one night. You still have my number. Call anytime." He spread his arms, hands up. "Or you know where to find me."

I laughed softly. "Thank you."

"Let me walk you out."

Nodding, I followed him out of the interrogation room. He really did seem like a nice guy, but I was relieved the pressure was off. He wouldn't be texting me again. And someday, in the future, if I wanted to try to date again, I could always try him then. I didn't foresee it happening anytime soon, but who knew what would happen.

CHAPTER 6

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