Page 91 of Saved By Two

She doesn’t know much about my time in the armed forces, and maybe one day I’ll tell her, but not yet. It’s hard, though, seeing her face fall from my confession.

“You’d do that. You’d what, beat him up, teach him a lesson—kill him?”

Jessica steps back. It’s such an unconscious move. I don’t think she even realises she’s done it until Noah wraps his arm around her shoulder.

“If I had to, yes. All of the above.”

Her mouth opens and closes as she tries and fails to respond.

It’s my job to protect her, yet the man who assaulted, beat and raped her managed to get into the one place she should have been safe.

Her eyes glisten as she leans into Noah. Does she not understand what I would do for the ones I love? Not that it matters. She probably thinks I’m no better than the cunt who hurt her. Without another word, I turn and walk towards the kitchen.

My heart constricts. Shit, it hits me out of nowhere. I’m no longer falling—I’ve fucking fallen.

“Caleb, wait,” Noah says, reaching out to stop me as I pass him.

I shrug him off. “No, I just need a minute.”

And with that, I walk away, feeling all eyes on me.

ChapterForty-Nine

NOAH

I stare after Caleb as he walks away, his shoulders tense. Control is something he prides himself on. The fact he admitted to her what he would do in a room full of people, friends or not, is a show of his control slipping. It’s a side of him I have no doubt he never wanted her to see, but nobody is flawless.

Jessica looks up at me, her brow furrowed. “Should I go and talk to him?” she asks.

As much as we all need to discuss this, I don’t think now is the time.

“No, just give him a second, okay?”

I kiss her temple as she leans into me.

Someone clears their throat, and I glance over to Elliot, who’s looking over the top of his laptop. His eyes slide back to the screen.

“What is it?” I release Jessica’s shoulder and walk towards him and around the chair to see the screen as I read what’s in front of me.

“What is it?” Jessica asks, her voice almost inaudible.

I look up as Caleb returns to the living room, his eyes going straight to Jessica and me as he stops beside her but keeps a cushion of air between them. My heart sinks until she reaches for his hand, entwining their fingers. A look of surprise crosses his face, but it only lasts a few seconds before he squeezes her hand, and I breathe.

“Your ex-boyfriend has been suspended,” Elliot says, turning the screen to face Caleb.

Caleb softly tugs on Jessica’s hand, coming over to see what’s on the screen.

I watch as Jessica reads it. Her complexion turns ashen.

“It’s my fault,” she says, her eyes wide as she looks up at me.

Caleb reaches for her shoulder, turning her to face him, her hand still in his.

“How is this your fault” he questions, his jaw ticking.

“I was thinking yesterday how I should report him. And look, he hurt someone else.”

Her eyes turn glassy. “You’re not the reason he’s been suspended for poor misconduct, sexual assault, or any of the other things listed. He’s the only one who is responsible—no one else.”

---