Page 7 of Elevating Eve

Christ, what a day. The poor thing had to be exhausted.

Two police cruisers arrived twenty minutes after Jonathan called, quickly taking Frank into custody. They pulled the gag out immediately, tossing Jonathan’s ruined tie onto the ground and giving him a look that said,Really?

He had exactly zero regrets on the subject. Especially after Frank started screaming a string of expletive-laden insults as they dragged him away.

Eve looked so fucking fragile as she held her hands over her ears, attempting to block out the hateful words. It hadn’t improved as the police asked her questions, two men towering over her as she struggled to speak through her tears.

Relief washed through Jonathan when a third officer—a woman this time—ordered the others to step back, then sat down beside Eve on the floor. “We’ll take this at your pace,” the woman promised. “Let me know when you’re ready.”

Eve rallied after that, drying her tears away with one hand, the other once again pressing the bloody handkerchief against her cheek. The strength it took to answer all the officer’s questions after what she just went through took his breath away.

She’d need that strength to make it through to the end of this process, especially if Talley took this to court instead of taking a plea. Jonathan made a mental note to reach out to his lawyer first thing tomorrow.

Now here they were, nestled in the safety and peace of his office. She watched over the rim of the mug as Zach all but tiptoed back out into the hallway, closing the door behind him with barely a sound.

“I like him,” she said softly, still looking at the door. “He’s always sonice to me. The way he talks to me...it makes me feel like I actually matter.”

Her choice of words made his chest ache. Not that it surprised him. A guy like Talley would do everything he could to make a woman feel less than. Miniscule. Worthless.

Anything to keep her under his thumb.

“You matter to more than just Zach,” he assured her, trying to keep the pity out of his eyes. That was the last thing she needed right now. “We all figured out you’re the real brains behind this project in less than a week. Talley is a fucking buffoon.”

That made Eve chuckle, which he filed away as a win. He desperately wanted to get that haunted look out of her eyes.

Her humor faded as quickly as it arrived, and she stared down at the mug now resting on her lap. “I’m sorry I caused you so much trouble.”

Jonathan moved to the chair across from hers, perching on the edge of the seat. He leaned forward, his forearms resting on his thighs, so their eyes would be level. “You haven’t caused any trouble at all, Eve. The only thing I’m upset about is that you got hurt. That I didn’t get there fast enough to keep it from happening.” After a moment, he felt compelled to add, “I didn’t tell him you were the one who told me about the tiles.”

Her head jerked up in surprise, her brown irises seeming to shine almost gold in the light pouring through the windows. “You didn’t?”

“No,” he assured her. In fact, he’d spent half the night on the phone with two of his partners, Leo and Aiden, trying to figure out the best way to confront Talley without even hinting at his source. “I did everything I could to keep you from getting into any kind of trouble.” He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “Obviously, I failed.”

Eve lifted a tentative hand toward her injured cheek, her fingertips not quite touching the battered flesh. “Then how did you know to come rescue me?”

Jonathan sucked in a sharp breath at her words, though he tried to cover it up with a small cough. Something about the way she said that mesmerized him, but he couldn’t put his finger on what.

Pushing that puzzle to the back of his mind to work out later, he said, “I watched Talley through my office windows afterhe left. I wanted to see what he’d do. When I saw him go into the new building, and then everyone but you came rushing out looking worried, I knew something was wrong.”

A smile played at the edges of her beautiful, full lips. “Thank you. For everything you did today.” She met his gaze for only a moment before looking back down at her lap. “I know I must seem pitiful. Just standing there while he...” She let the sentence trail off with a sigh.

“Was this—” He paused, considering the best way to word this. He wanted to be as kind as possible. “Has he ever hit you before today?”

Her shoulders hunched forward, and he immediately regretted asking the question. What a stupid fucking thing to do.

She surprised him, answering in a voice so soft he leaned forward to better hear her. “He didn’t used to. Not like this, anyway. But the last couple years, he’s changed. A lot.”

“What do you mean,not like this?” Jonathan’s brows drew together as he tried to work it out.

A blush colored her lovely, pale skin, rising up from her neck and spreading across her cheeks. Then she surprised him even more by smiling.

Beautiful.

“You know what you do?”

“What I do?” he repeated.

Her smile broadened, grew almost wicked. “What I saw you doing out by the pool.”

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