Page 22 of Chasing Forever

Her unease was quickly replaced by a look of anger so terrifying it would have every man in the vicinity cupping their balls for protection.

“It washim,” she said. And just like that, a blanket of red coated my vision.

Chapter Thirteen

Tristan

It was taking everything in my power to keep from losing my shit, and with each passing second, the grip on my control slipped just a little more. The only thing keeping me in check was the realization that an outburst from me was the last thing Merritt needed.

We’d moved to a conference room for more privacy, and Harrison had taken Merritt’s and Blythe’s statements when it became obvious I wasn’t going to be able to. It was hard enough listening to them recount what had happened, how he’d tried to manipulate the situation with my sister and insinuated that Merritt wasn’t mentally sound.

I’d seen that behavior before. It was right out of the abuser’s handbook. As a cop, I’d dealt with my fair share of domestic situations. But this was the first time one had touched me so closely, and I wanted to find that prick and rip his spleen out.

Merritt had been working so hard to pick herself up and start over after finally getting away from him. With every day that passed, I saw a little more light in her eyes, a little more curve in her smile. She seemed happy, and she’d been so damn excited about getting that job. This should have been a day of celebration, and that asshole popped his head out and managed to ruin it for her.

The light that had been steadily getting brighter dulled once more. Where she’d been holding her shoulders straight and her head high, now she hunched over like she was trying to hide herself in plain sight. Her cheeks had lost their rosy glow, but what was worse than all of that was she was back to clenching her hands into fists. I’d seen her do that off and on whenever she got anxious, and more than once I’d spotted blood where she’d squeezed so tight her nails had broken the skin on the heels of her palms. That was how she was holding them right then, and the thought that she might be hurting herself made my stomach sour.

I wasn’t able to stay quiet any longer after seeing that. Leaning forward in my chair, I rested my forearms on the table and met her gaze. “Merritt, I think you need to file a temporary restraining order.”

Her eyes flashed with panic as her head whipped around in my direction. “No. No restraining order. That’ll only make things worse. He cares too much about public perception. After what happened today, he’ll probably back off. He can’t stand the idea of being embarrassed. He won’t want to go through that again.”

I could read her like a book, and I knew she was trying desperately to convince everyone in the room that was the most likely outcome. But she knew better.

I lowered my voice, reaching over to place my hand on hers. I slid my thumb between her fingers and her palm and gently coaxed her fingers to loosen. I let out a sigh of relief when she unclenched her fists, and I didn’t miss the way my sister watched the exchange, missing nothing. “Honey, you don’t really believe that, do you?”

She sniffled, those sage-green eyes going glassy as her lower lip began to tremble. I could see her fighting to keep tears from falling and applauded her strength when she succeeded. “No,” she admitted quietly.

“You know I’m not gonna let anything happen to you and Levi, not as long as you’re under my roof. But this is another layer of protection.”

“But it’ll make him so mad.”

“He can get as mad as he wants. He still won’t be allowed to get anywhere near you. And if he does, I’ll haul his ass to jail myself.”

“He’s right, honey,” Blythe spoke up. “I know you’re scared, but I really think you should do this. It’ll make a statement. Right now he thinks he can still manipulate you. This’ll show him how wrong he is. Don’t let him take more from you than he already has. You’re on your way to a great life; he doesn’t get to ruin that.”

I really had lucked out in the sibling department. Between my two step-siblings, my younger half-brother, and Blythe, I had it better than most. But it was situations like this that reminded me of how big a badass my big sister was. She took shit from no one and wouldn’t hesitate to go to bat for the people she cared about. It put me at ease that she’d clearly brought Merritt into that circle. She deserved a friend as fierce and loyal as Blythe.

“Okay,” Merritt finally said after giving it some thought.

My shoulders sagged with relief. I was going to do everything I could to make sure a judge granted her that TRO. I’d even include the pictures Rhodes had taken of that final assault as evidence to show exactly the kind of man Warren Bell was.

He wasn’t going to get away with hurting her. And I was going to make sure he never had another opportunity to scare her and force her back into that shell she’d worked so hard to climb out of.

“You’re making the right decision,” Harrison assured her.

She slowly straightened her spine, lifting her chin so she was no longer hiding. She was still shaken up after what had happened, but as we all sat there, I could see her fighting to find the version of herself that had come out of the shadows these past few months. Warren had seriously underestimated Merritt’s strength and courage.

It was a relief to see it hadn’t taken her long to find that backbone. I already knew it had been there all along. It just took her a second to realize that herself.

Merritt

Despite my insistencethat I was fine and more than capable of taking care of myself, Tristan had insisted on cutting out of work early and driving me home, despite the fact I had driven myself into town earlier.

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it,” was all he’d said when I mentioned that my car was still parked downtown, a couple blocks from Muffin Top, and it took me by surprise that my immediate reaction was to trust him.

As I sat in the passenger seat of his suburban, surrounded by the scent of cloves and spice that was so distinctly Tristan, I realized I trusted him with more than my car. That was why I’d agreed to the restraining order in the end. Because if he thought filing one was for the best, I trusted that he was right.

“What’s goin’ through your head over there, Dandelion?”

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