Page 25 of Covert Affair

He slips out the door and holds up a hand. “Whoa. Slooow down. You need to take a breath before you come in here.”

Something in his voice doesn’t sit right with me.

“How bad is it?” I ask through gritted teeth.

“She’s okay. Shaken up and bruises are already forming, but she’s okay. That’s what you need to remember.”

“Right. Let me in, Stefan.”

“Go slow, man. I’m warning you.”

I don’t need his goddamn warning. I can handle things on my own. It’s not the first time I’ve had to pull someone from a DV—domestic violence—situation.But she’s more than a client, my brain reminds me.

“Out of my way.” This time I do push past him and into the room.

Stacey’s scrunched up in one of the armchairs and focused on something outside instead of meeting my gaze. From this vantage point, I can’t really see anything but I’m willing to bet that’s exactly why she won’t face me.

It takes every ounce of strength I’ve got in me to calm myself enough to soften my voice. “Stace…Stacey. I’m here. Look at me,” I whisper, kneeling next to her and gently touching her arm.

She sniffles and brushes the tears away from her face before she turns my way.

“Cody.” My name on her lips nearly breaks me.

“Right here.” Anger rises all over again when I get a good look at the handprint on her face. “My buddy from the police department is on his way. He’ll get a statement from you and Waylon will be behind bars for the night at least.”

Her eyes widen. “No! No, no, no. You don’t understand. You can’t arrest him.”

The fuck we can’t. “Stace, he put his hands on you. It’s either Smitty arrests his ass or I kill him.”

“You don’t understand. He’s powerful, Cody. He knows people all over the world. He’ll only get out and then he’ll come looking for me. He’s…he’s into a lot of bad stuff Cody. It’s not good. I found some things that I shouldn’t have. He’s not…we can’t…”

“Jesus, Stacey. That’s not how this works. I don’t give a fuck who this asshole knows. He’s never going to lay a Goddamn hand on you again.”

She shakes her head. “It’s not that simple.”

“Stacey, let me ask you something…if you didn’t want my help, then why the hell did you call me? You could have just as easily called Stefan or Taylor and you know they would have stepped in. But you didn’t. You called me first. Why?”

“Because…” she sighs. “Because I think you’re the only one who might have the resources to actually help me.”

“Then I need you to listen to me. Trust me that I will keep you safe. I’ve done it once, I’ll do it again. Talk to Smitty. File charges. Don’t let that son of a bitch get away with this.”

“How are you going to protect me? You’re here. I’m… Oh God,” she puts her hand to her forehead. “I’m supposed to fly out for a show in Herefirth tomorrow! I can’t go like this.”

Herefirth? Overseas? Yeah she won’t be going anywhere tomorrow but she doesn’t need to know that right now.

“Breathe,” I gently hold on to her shoulders. “We’ll take care of all that. Let’s start with filing a report then we can call Jane and postpone your show or whatever needs to be done.”

“I can’t. Oh my God. This is such a mess. Why? Why the hell did he have to do this?” she chokes back another sob.

“How long has this been going on?”

Stacey shrugs. “I don’t know. It’s never been this bad before. Usually he’s just a grumpy asshole.”

“I’ll see to it that it won’t happen again,” I promise her as Stefan clears his throat.

“Your friend is here, Cody.”

“Let him in,” I tell him over my shoulder, never taking my eyes off of Stacey.

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