Page 80 of Unravel You

“It’s been two days since Savannah.” I strode to the window and pulled back the curtains to let the midmorning sunrays shine through.

Valentina lay on the bed, still in her white tank top and shorts. Her hair was wet. That was a good sign. Even if she stayed in her sleep clothes, she’d at least had the enthusiasm to shower. I sat on the edge of the mattress and regarded her face. The bruises on her neck had turned a lighter shade of purple and red. What about the wounds I couldn’t see? How long before the Savannah episode became a faraway memory?

“I know.” Her voice sounded small.

I pushed wet strands away from her cheek, letting the back of my fingers linger on her soft skin. My pulse spiked. I wanted to hold her, but she’d kept her distance for the past two days for a reason. She needed space.

“I’m here. For whatever you need. I’m here.”

“I know that.” She glanced at me.

“What do you need?”

“I don’t know.” She gripped my fingers and slid my hand down until it rested on her lap.

“I love you.”

Her gaze snapped up at me. Tears brimmed her eyes, and my heart twisted. “I punched him.”

“What?”

She sucked in air, as if the words she wanted to say had lodged themself in the back of her throat. “Alex. He struck me, and I hit him back. I did that.” She touched her neck, shaking her head. “He was so surprised. Like he never thought I’d have the nerve to do that.”

“I’m proud of you for standing up to him.”

“I feel so light. I keep playing that scene in my head. It makes me happy.” A crease appeared between her brows. “Seeing him hurting. It made me feel good. Does that make me a bad person?”

“You’re not like him. Not even close, sweetheart. You know that, right? He pushed you to the limit. You had no choice.”

She met my gaze, then nodded. “I only wish I’d had the guts to do it before now. I wasted so many years of my life being afraid. It isn’t fair.”

“No, that’s not fair. But at least he’ll go to jail for a long time, even if it isn’t for the way he treated you before. He’ll still get what he deserves.”

“Thank you.” She puffed out a breath, and her tight hold on my fingers loosened. “Whether he’s in jail or not, now I know he can’t hurt me anymore. In a weird way, I’m glad about what happened in Savannah.”

“Well, I wished you’d find closure with him in a different way. But this works too.” I scooted closer to her on the bed. The strained muscles on my body relaxed for the first time since I found out she’d been taken.

“What a stupid thing to do, huh?” She scoffed.

“Going after Alex on your own wasn’t stupid. It was brave.”

“I think maybe deep down I wanted to see him.” She swallowed. Her unfocused gaze fell on the comforter tangled around her legs. “Not see him. I just always wondered if I would react the same the second time around.”

“You’re free of him now.”

“I am free.” She offered me a genuine smile. “How did you know where I was?”

I shifted my weight. We had said no more secrets. “After Alex came to sign the custody papers, I sort of bugged his phone. Not while he was at the house. Later.” I glanced down and adjusted my watch. “I wanted to know if he tried to reach out to you.”

Her mouth fell open, forming anO, but no words came out.

“I know this looks like I didn’t trust you, but it wasn’t about that. I just wanted you to be safe. He went dark before he left Arizona a few days ago. I should’ve said something to you that same day, when we lost track of him. I never thought he’d tried something like this. I feel stupid for not seeing it coming. I thought he just wanted to mess with me to make sure he got the rest of his custody money.”

“That’s why his phone was off.” She stared at her hands, not really seeing.

How many times had she replayed what happened in her head? Over and over, trying to make sense of it all. When I found her, something had switched on inside her. She’d been in survival mode, fighting Alex’s hold on her.

“When you turned it on, he showed up on our radar right away. We were in the city center a few miles away based on a hunch, if you can believe that. My team spotted their car at the gas station where they bought the burner phone.”

---