Page 6 of Fighting Conviction
“You’re really not gonna report it?” Naomi asked again, the relief in her sigh made Ellie wonder for the hundredth time whether the decision to trust the survivor was a good one.
“No, I’m not gonna report it. We’ll keep documentation for our office, just in case you ever need it, but we’ve designed the fine print for our shelter so our staff aren’t considered mandatory reporters in this state. We’ll give you a phone number you can call anytime and someone will help you with whatever you need. I wishyouwould report it. But I can’t make you and I won’t take that choice away from you.”
Naomi might have scrunched her nose up like her daughter, but her face was too swollen for it to accomplish the same effect. Her chest puffed out on a deep inhale. After a long moment, Naomi finally shook her head.“It was just a bike accident.”
Ellie rubbed the fiery ache in her chest, yet another survivor refusing to bring her abuser to justice. It’d hit hard the first few survivors who’d refused to prosecute and receive all the help Sasha Saves could provide. But they had a saying around the clinic: ‘Help doesn’t always mean justice. Sometimes it means escape.’ If they scared survivors away then they wouldn’t even be able to provide that.
“Alright, I understand.” Ellie reached out and placed her hand over Naomi’s resting on the examination table.
Naomi’s breath hitched before quiet rivulets trailed down her cheek. “Thank you. Just… thank you.”
Her shoulders slumped and she suddenly looked much older than she was, which was twenty-five, according to her chart. The poor woman had been carrying so much for so long. Ellie gingerly patted her shoulder and squeezed.
Naomi carefully dried her tears with gauze. “Can I take this off?” she asked Dev before indicating the ice pack she’d pulled from her cheek. Ellie couldn’t help her eyes widening. The iced side of Naomi’s face was mottled with purple bruises and the thin skin of and around her eyelid was swollen shut to the size of a golf ball.
Dev checked his watch. “In a few minutes.”
Ellie averted her stare from Naomi’s injuries and brought her hand up to massage her forehead.
“Well, our attorney should be here soon—”
The door behind them crashed open and everyone’s eyes snapped to the noise. Naomi clutched her chest and threw one leg over the side of her seat while the other was poised on the floor, ready for escape. Dev’s back was suddenly in Ellie’s view as he shielded her with his body, so she peeked around him to see who it was.
Blue hair was the first thing Ellie noticed as Snake stood in front of the doorway. He lifted an awkward hand in greeting despite the fact both hands were holding boxes of wires. His pale cheeks flushed to a bright crimson.
“Oh… um. Hi.”
Chapter Three
Ellie couldn’t help but grimace in secondhand embarrassment at the less than graceful entry. BlackStone Security’s intelligence commander and former Night Stalker in the Army, Wesley “Snake” James, laughed nervously as every eye watched him close the door with his foot.
If Clark Kent had navy blue streaks in his hair, he and Snake could be twins, especially with Snake’s glasses accentuating his piercing blue eyes. And if Superman had a full sleeve of tattoos and talked a mile a minute, they’d be identical. He was tall and fit, but much leaner than Dev, and would’ve totally been Ellie’s type if her eye wasn’t already on the quiet, muscular redhead in front of her.
Not that the feeling’s mutual.Ellie swallowed back the disappointment that had become a constant bad taste in her mouth ever since she realized Dev was out of her league. The clinic was no place for her to throw a pity party.
Snake cleared his throat. “H-hello,” he stuttered, his baby blues concentrating solely in Ellie and Dev’s direction. Naomi lifted her chin, almost in defiance, but sucked in a short breath as the ice pack shifted on her cheek.
“Snake.” Dev shook his head as he spoke low. “I know you’re not used to coming to Sasha Saves but you can’t barge in like that.”
“I, uh, I know. I’m sorry.” Snake waved his hand to the corners of the room. “I’m here to upgrade the security for the pla—shit.”
Snake’s face contorted with his lip curled and his black brows pinched together, almost as if in pain. Ellie shifted to follow his gaze until she realized it was laser focused on Naomi’s injuries. Her mind raced to find ways to protect Naomi from the horror written all over Snake’s reaction, but it was too late. Naomi flinched before averting her head in shame to the black-and-white tiled floor, hiding her wounds.
Ellie’s heart jolted in empathy and she whipped her head up to glare at Snake. At least he had the decency to look contrite, but his response was inexcusable. Sure, seeing a survivor injured as badly as Naomi was always hard, but Snake never handled it well. Unless he was absolutely needed for his security expertise, he was the only BlackStone agent who made it a point to steer clear of the clinic. Based on his reaction, apparently for good reason.
Dev cleared his throat. “Can you come by later? We’re kinda in the middle of—”
“Hey, look what I got.” Thea’s sudden appearance made Snake jump, before she jabbed a corner of the tablet into his stomach, forcing him to catch the device and juggle the boxes at the same time. The tense furrows in his brow relaxed as he looked down at his tiny assailant.
“Oh wow.” Snake smiled genuinely before setting his boxes aside and bending to her height. “What do you have there?”
“It’s Merida, from Brave. You hafta come watch.” Thea clutched his long sleeve and pulled him to the bean bag.
“Thea—” The girl paused to listen to her mother but didn’t let go of Snake’s shirt. “Baby, don’t be rude. What if he doesn’t wanna watch the show? He has things to do.”
“Sorry,” Thea mumbled and toed the ground with a green slipper. “You hafta come watch… if you wanna.”
Snake’s smile lifted at the corners. “I think I have some time. As long as it’s okay with your mom.” He glanced at Naomi and gestured with the tablet. “Um, is this… is this alright?”
