Page 135 of Deliverance

I wonder if this will somehow be leaked to the press. And if it is, what will Tina say? Or how worried will my mother be? Perhaps worried enough to make that trip to L.A.

“Do you want me to go with you to the police station?” Zander asks softly, his grasp on my hand tightening just a little bit, enough for me to recognize he’s here however I need him. Or not. The last bit is an afterthought. Were it not for him, I would have fallen apart like a cheap suit right there and then, in front of all those people.

“I’m going to try and get an appointment with my lawyer first.”

I’m stalling. Filing that report will change everything. Will change who I am at my core and maybe, just maybe, I need a second to think it over, to truly be sure that a piece of paper signed by a judge can stop Rhys.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t around.” Zander hasn’t let go of me since we left the ER and I can’t help but notice the flicker of guilt in his eyes.

“You couldn’t have known,” I rasp out. My voice is still shot and sounds like a fork on a plate, but thankfully, it’s back.

“I shouldn’t have let you out of my sight.” He brings my hand to his face and kisses my knuckles.

“I definitely don’t want that.” A dry laugh escapes my lips. I’m surprised I can laugh right now. Rhys left quite a collar around my neck. Huge purple bruises had already formed by the time we got to the hospital and the receptionist eyed me with genuine shock. I didn’t want to spend the night being poked and prodded, but Zander was relentless about making me check in.

He also covered all the expenses.

I tried to argue, but since my voice wasn’t one hundred percent, I resorted to flinging my arms at him and stomping a few times.

It didn’t work.

“I’ll walk you in,” Zander says when the door swings open, chill air streaming inside. He grabs a spare jacket he brought with him and places it over my shoulders.

The driver stands off to the side, patiently waiting, and I realize that after we say our goodbyes, I’ll be sleeping all by myself in my empty apartment with my new horrible memories that Rhys has added to the pile of existing ones.

“I don’t want to be alone,” I whisper so quietly, I’m not sure he hears me, but the change in his expression tells me he did.

Something shifts between us.

“Never.” He brings his face to mine, his ocean scent wafting over me. “All you have to do is ask and I’ll come fucking running.”

I know he means it.

We step out of the car and Zander exchanges a few words with the driver, then lets him go. In the lobby, Bidal’s eyes widen with shock when he sees the marks on my neck peeking out where the jacket doesn’t conceal my skin.

“Are you okay, Ms. Kadence?” He stands up, ready to escort us farther if necessary, but I wave him off.

“I’m fine.”

“Let me know if you need anything. I’m here all night.”

“Of course. Thank you.”

With each step I take, things in my head become muddier. For so long, I’ve been protecting my privacy—my home—the only place where I’ve felt truly safe, and for so long, I’ve thought safe meant alone. But Rhys has managed to weasel his way into my life.

First nightmares. Then flowers.

Now he’s openly shouting at the world what his intentions are. To wreck everything I’ve created during these past two years, and sadly, I almost let him.

The elevator doors whoosh open and we step inside.

“I’m not sure what happened,” I whisper, looking up at Zander.

He takes my hands in his and closes the small distance between us, his cheek pressing to my temple, a lock of his hair spilling into the collar of his jacket and teasing my skin.

“I know how to defend myself. I used to take classes twice a week. But I just blanked when I saw him.”

“Don’t worry about him right now. He’ll be dealt with.”

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