Page 70 of Rage's Heart

“Sorry, buddy,” I told him, scratching under his chin. “I’ll be back soon.”

The Coffee Press was about fifteen minutes from our house, a cute little café with mismatched furniture and the best cinnamon rolls in Jacksonville. When I arrived, Sarah was already there, hunched over a mug at a table near the back, her eyes darting to the door every few seconds.

My heart squeezed at the sight of her. She looked smaller somehow, her usual vibrant energy dimmed. Dark circles hung under her eyes, and she was wearing a long-sleeved tee despite the warm weather.

“Hey,” I said softly, sliding into the chair across from her.

She forced a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Thanks for coming.”

“Always.” I reached across the table to squeeze her hand. “You want to talk about what happened?”

Sarah took a shaky breath, her fingers trembling slightly around her mug. “It’s been getting worse since you moved out. At first, I thought he was just upset about your boyfriend and his friends embarrassing him, ya’ know? But then he started saying these things…” Her brows pulled in and she shook her head like she couldn’t believe whatever it was he’d said. “He talks about you a lot. About how you’ve never liked him, how you’re trying to turn me against him.”

It was my turn to shake my head. Her man was only on my radar because he was a douce who hurt her. “Sarah?—”

“I know it’s not true,” she rushed out. “I know now. The way he talks about you... God, Mac, it’s scary. How did I not see how obsessed he was? And then last night...“ She shifted in her seat, and I caught the wince of pain she tried to hide.

“Sarah,” I said carefully. “Did he put his hands on you?”

Her eyes filled with tears, and she pulled up her sleeve, revealing fingerprint bruises on her wrist. “He said it was an accident. That I shouldn’t have tried to walk away while he was talking to me.”

White-hot anger flared in my chest. “That’s bullshit and you know it.”

The tears she’d been trying to hold back since I sat down finally spilled. “I know. I think I’ve known for a while, but…” She wiped at her face. “I feel so stupid.”

“You’re not stupid,” I whispered fiercely, leaning forward. “This is not your fault.”

If I saw Chad again I was going to kick his ass myself for hurting my best friend. She didn’t deserve it. No woman deserved it.

For the next hour, we talked,really talked, about her relationship with Chad. She told me things she’d kept to herself. I admitted to all the things I noticed that felt like huge red flags to me. The controlling behavior, the isolation tactics, the way he’d slowly chipped away at her confidence.

“I don’t know what to do,” she admitted finally, her half-eaten muffin lying forgotten on the table between us. “I’m afraid if I try to leave?—”

“—You can stay with us,” I offered immediately. “Rage won’t mind.“ He’d told me himself to make the offer before I left the house.

Sarah looked hesitant. “I couldn’t impose like that.”

“It’s not imposing if I’m inviting you,” I insisted. “Just until you figure out what’s next.”

A glimmer of hope flickered in her eyes. “You sure you’re boyfriend is okay with it?”

“I know he will,” I assured her, already mentally rearranging the guest room that currently served as storage for boxes I hadn’t unpacked yet. “We can go to the apartment right now and grab some of your things.”

Sarah nodded slowly, looking slightly relieved. “Okay. But, let’s do it now, while he’s gone.”

We paid for our drinks and headed toward the exit, Sarah already rattling off what she needed to pack first.

As I pushed open the door, a strange prickling sensation crawled up my spine. The feeling of being watched was so intense that I actually stopped in my tracks and scanned the parking lot.

A young mom was buckling her toddler into a stroller. An elderly couple was strolling toward the café entrance. A man was sitting in a black sedan with a baseball cap pulled low.

That was a little odd but not completely out of place.

“Mac?” Sarah’s voice broke through my paranoia. “You okay?”

I shook my head to clear it. “Yeah, fine. Just got a weird feeling for a second there.”

She gave me a weak smile. “I’m sorry. It’s probably all of my stuff.”

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