Damaged (11 page)

Icy anger descended on Seth. “What?” he asked
through his teeth, looking down at her. She refused to meet his gaze. “You went into the city?”

“
It’s no big deal, Seth. We just went to the apartment for a bit. Sarah couldn’t find her locket and remembered that she had left it on the bathroom sink back at the apartment.” Shifting nervously, Monica pulled the jacket tighter around her body and dropped her gaze to the ground. “I was careful, I promise,” she whispered.

Running a hand down his face, Seth bit back his anger
, very aware of the curious detective watching them closely. “We’ll talk about it later. Are you done with her?”

Detective Owens flipped his notepad shut and shoved it back into his pocket
, not even trying to hide the smirk on his face. “All right, that’s all I need from her for now, but I’ll need her to be available if further questions arise. Thank you, ma’am.”

Seth started to leave with her, but the detective’s voice stopped him
in his tracks. “I didn’t say I was done with you, Officer Jackson.”

“Go inside
. I’ll be in shortly,” Seth sighed, giving Monica’s hand a gentle squeeze for comfort. The blue and red flashing lights reflected in her eyes momentarily, telling of the chaos that was going on around them. Even in the middle of the shit-storm taking place, she was as beautiful as ever.

Taking a deep breath as he turned back to the detective, the acrid taste of smoke and char assaulted his senses. The shed was nothing but a blackened stain on the ground with a few support beams still standing.
The arson team was packing up their samples while the photographer snapped a few final shots.

“Have any idea why someone would be out here setting your shit on fire?” Owens asked
, crossing his arms over his chest. All traces of the professional detective had left with Monica, leaving the hard-ass man who was ready for answers. Seth had been working alongside the detective for two years, so there was no need for the charade.

Seth shook his head and propped his fists on his hips as he stared at the remains of his shed. “No fucking clue, man.”

Owens shot him a sideways glance. “You never mentioned that anyone was living out here with you. How long have you had guests?”

“That has nothing to do with this,” he bit out. “Don’t worry about it.”

The detective laughed, shaking his head. “Let’s not pretend that you don’t know how this works, Jackson. You’ve got a woman and two kids staying with you out of nowhere, and suddenly you’ve got trouble. Doesn’t seem like much of a coincidence to me.”

Owens was right. He did know it was suspicious, but he wasn’t going to draw any attention back to Monica
if he could help it. “Well, you’re wrong this time. Focus on finding out who did this, not on my living arrangements,” he drawled. “Probably someone I pissed off with a speeding ticket. If they wanted to do actual damage, they would have gone for the house. This was just some coward trying to send a message.”

“How well do you know this young woman?”

Seth’s nostrils flared as he pinned the nosy detective with a warning glare. “Well. We done?”

Owens pursed his lips and looked thoughtful for a moment. “Probably not, but we can finish up when we have more information on what happened.
Give me a call if you see, hear or find anything of use to the case. We can continue this at the station tomorrow.”

“No problem,” Seth grunted before walking away, only to come face to face with an amused
-looking Evan. This was not what he needed right now. “What the hell is your problem?”

Evan glanced at the house, where Monica was watching the scene through the dining room window. “I think you left out how serious you are with this girl. She’s living with you?”

“What the fuck is with you people? I don’t broadcast my doings to the world. Can’t a guy have any privacy anymore?” Seth growled, unbuttoning the top few buttons of his uniform as he moved toward the house. “It’s none of anyone’s fucking business.”

Evan stepped in front of him, blocking his path to the house. “Cut the bullshit, Jackson. You’ve been sneaking around, acting suspicious, and now you’ve got someone fucking with you.
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that it’s got something to do with the girl. You know I’ve got your back no matter what, right?”

“I know, but it’s nothing I can’t handle,” he sighed. “I appreciate you
r concern and everything, but I’m not going to worry too much about it.”

His partner’s eyes narrowed in that way they always did when Evan knew he was lying.
“You’re protecting her. Who’s after her?”

Seth shook his head, rubbing the back of his neck. “You’re making assumptions, Evan. How do you know they’re after her? It’s my job to piss people off on a daily basis. Some whack-job is trying to scare me, and it’s not working.
” Glancing at the house, Seth sighed. Monica stood with his jacket still wrapped around her, dwarfing her small form. Biting her lip between her teeth, she looked so vulnerable. “Pick me up in the morning.”

With that, he strode away, leaving his partner to his own devices. He was done
dealing with it, and Monica owed him some serious explanations.

Chapter Eleven

Seth looked pissed. Judging by the way he paced his living room with hands on his hips, her assumption was correct. In the ten minutes he’d been in the house, every shade had been pulled, every window and door had been secured, and a thorough check of every room had been completed, yet he hadn’t breached the subject of her visit to the city…yet. Monica had a feeling that would be coming very soon now that he’d calmed a fraction.

As if he weren’t making her nervous enough, Monica watched from her place on the couch as he pulled his service weapon from the holster at his hip and checked it over before placing it back. Without looking at her, Seth pulled the shade aside to watch as the last of the emergency vehicles left his driveway. “I don’t know what you were thinking today, but it can’t happen again, understood?” he said, his voice unnervingly calm, despite his demeanor.

“We were only gone for about forty-five minutes. Sarah wasn’t going to rest until she had her locket back around her neck. I didn’t see any harm in picking it up.” Pulling her feet up onto the couch, Monica wrapped her arms around her legs, resting her chin on her knees. “Our grandmother gave her that locket. It means the world to her, and it’s the only thing of sentimental value she has left. What was I supposed to do?”

Seth turned from the window, his lips pulled into a grim line. “You could have waited and I could have taken you to get it.
It’s not safe for you to go out alone, especially since I allowed that asshole in your building to live.”

“We were fine. The cab waited for us, and we came right back here afterward,” she sighed.

“Where did you even get the money for cab fare?” Seth asked. The subject of the conversation was apparently doing nothing to calm him down.

Monica shrugged. “I still had money left from the
night when you paid for me to get home. I saved it.” Picking at the frayed edge of the blanket that covered her feet, the guilt started creeping in. He had warned her to stay at the farm, but Sarah’s pleas for her keepsake had won out.

“How long do you plan on running from Dan?
It’s only a matter of time until he finds you,” he warned before motioning to where the smoldering remains of the shed lay outside. “If he hasn’t already.”

The question was like a bucket of cold water poured on her head. How did he know about Dan? Monica’s eyes snapped to his, anger steadily boiling her blood. “How do you know about that?” she asked through clenched teeth.
Just the name of the man who had ruined her for life was enough to make her want to vomit, and Seth just threw it out there like it was nothing.

Seth ran a hand over his head and returned to pacin
g, as if Dan’s name had the same effect on him. “I’m a fucking cop, Monica. How the hell do you think I found out? You wouldn’t tell me anything, so I did some searching.”

“You had
no
right digging into my personal life, Seth!” Monica shouted, rising from the couch. “My past is none of your business, dammit!”

Seth shook his head slowly. “It is now. What did he do to you, Monica? What makes an eighteen
-year-old girl flee home with her younger siblings to go into a life of hiding, huh?” His eyes burned into her, leaving her no option but to stare back, holding her ground. “I need to know what I’m dealing with here, because it’s not just you involved anymore. It was my fucking shed that was set on fire. On
my
property.”

Shit
. Don’t cry, Monica
. Tears stung at her eyes, but she blinked them back, holding her head high. “Fine. You want to know what makes a young woman flee home? I’ll enlighten you,” she spat. Seth’s brows rose at her sharp tone, but he kept his mouth shut. “One gets tired of being a plaything for men twice her age, Seth. Being prostituted out to stepdaddy’s friends can do a lot of damage to a girl,
Seth
.” With every word, she stepped closer to him, until she had her finger poking into his broad chest. “When one’s own mother doesn’t even step in to stop what’s going on, it leaves one with few options. Are you happy now?” she hissed through clenched teeth. “Or should I go on? Go into detail about how the men would fuck me while my disgusting stepdad watched? Is that what you want? Because I could go on all night.” Barely able to breathe, her chest ached with the force it took to hold back the tears.

“Fuck, Monica, I didn’t…” Se
th started, shaking his head as he reached for her.

Monica pushed away, turning her back on him, too damn raw from the memories to allow him to touch her. “Well
, now you know. You can judge me however you want, but I was not going to sit back and watch the same thing happen to Sarah. And it would have. He’ll have to kill me first before he gets his hands on her.” Gulping air to fight the tears, Monica turned to face him. “My past is something I’m faced with every day, but I chose to fight rather than to let it destroy me. In two months, Sarah and Jack will be eighteen, and they’ll finally be free to live semi-normal lives. Me? I’ll never be normal, and I tried to warn you of that,” she said sadly, holding her arms out at her sides. “What you see is what you get. There’s no undoing the damage that’s been done.”

For a few tense moments, Seth just stared at her
, not saying a word. Panic clawed at her insides, screaming at her to flee, to hide like she always did, but her pride stood front and center, refusing to back down this time. “Please say something,” she whispered, desperate to break the silence.

“
Your past doesn’t define who you are, Monica,” he stated, still not moving. “If you let it, then we can never move forward. I’m not going anywhere.”

Pure
astonishment shocked her still. “Did you not hear anything I just said?” she muttered, shaking her head.

“I heard.” He moved toward her slowly, his expression serious. “Why would that change the way I feel about you? You’re blaming yourself for what happened. Punishing yourself for the things they did. You were young, vulnerable, and they took advantage of you,” Seth explained, coming to a stop mere inches away before cupping her face in his hand. “Believe me, sweetheart, if I were to come face to face with any of them, I’d put a fu
cking bullet in every one of their heads. As of right now, you’re not fighting this alone. It’s
us
from now on, okay? Both of us. You and I, understand?”

Speechless
. He rendered her utterly speechless, but there wasn’t much need for words. His eyes said it all. He was completely serious. The hand on her cheek slid around to the back of her neck, and his head lowered until his lips brushed over hers, leaving a tingling sensation where they touched. Without a second thought, her eyelids fluttered closed and a soft sigh slipped from her lips as he deepened the kiss, pulling her flush to his body. Warm and wet, his tongue pressed into her mouth, teasing until she returned the favor.

His groan sent shivers down her spine while his hands tangled in her hair to tilt her head back as he slanted his lips over hers. The kiss was different than the first time
. There was an urgency there, like he was staking his claim. By the time he pulled away, she was dizzy, disoriented. His scent, his taste lingered on her tongue like an exotic elixir, clouding her thoughts. Looking up into his vivid blue eyes, for the first time in her life she felt like a human being. For years she’d muddled through life, a ghost of her former self, pushing away any and all forms of affection. But Seth tore those walls down. He made her feel beautiful. He made her feel…like a woman.

“Us, okay?” he asked, holding her face in his hands.

Monica nodded, swallowing past the lump in her throat. “Okay.”

A broad grin broke out over his face and her insides melted. Damn that smile
. He was beyond handsome, but when he smiled, she lost all rational thought. “We’ll deal with what comes our way as it happens. Together.” She couldn’t help but smile back. He’d already proven that he’d stand by her no matter what. Now it was her turn to prove that she was capable of doing the same.

Seth warmed that part of her soul that had iced over, becoming hardened against affection. Never in her wildest dreams would she have believed someone would ever care for her again. It was far from a fairy tale, but she wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Taking her hand in his, Seth pressed a lingering kiss to the back of it. “Listen, there’s this thing every year that the station puts on, and I’d like you to come with me.”

“What is it?” she asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

Seth chuckled. “It’s the annual police ball.”

Monica’s eyes went wide. “Like…dress up in a gown and heels type ball?” For someone who only owned two pairs of blue jeans, the mere thought of it nearly made her pass out. “Seth, I don’t have any—”

“Don’t worry about it,” Seth interrupted, placing a finger over her lips. “I’ll take you shopping tomorrow. You can pick something out.”

“Wow, Seth…I don’t know. I’m not good with social situations. I get all awkward, and end
up hiding in a dark corner. It’ll be no good for either of us.” Monica pushed her hair back, cringing at how the dry ends felt on her hands. “I don’t own makeup, I haven’t been to a salon in ages, and I won’t even get started on my nails. No, this is a bad idea, sorry.” She sounded like a crazy person, but the amount of work it would take to make her presentable was beyond imagination.

She hadn’t even realized he was laughing until she had finally stopped talking. Propping her hands on her hips, Monica scowled. “What’s so funny?”

“God, you’re adorable,” he groaned, running a hand down his face. “You don’t have to get all dolled up, sweetheart. You could show up in jeans and a t-shirt and I’d still be damn proud to have you on my arm. I’ll take care of everything. All you have to do is be your usual beautiful self. That’s it.”

Sighing in frustration, Monica
let her head fall back. “I don’t want you to pay for everything. I’ll pay you back. When’s the ball? I’ll find a part-time job and make enough to cover most of it.”

Seth stepped forward, taking her in his arms, smil
ing from ear to ear. “Next month. And I already said I was taking care of it, so quit overthinking it already. When was the last time you were spoiled?”

Monica
frowned. She couldn’t even remember one time. “Never.”

“Then now’s your chance. I don’t want to hear any more about it.”

Resting her head on his chest, Monica blinked back tears, unable to stop smiling. “You’re something else, you know that?”

She felt him nod before he placed a kiss on the top of her head. “Besides, we can make use of that dark corner if you go hiding on me. I see no problem with that.”

In one swift move, he scooped her up in his arms. Wrapping her arms around his neck, Monica rested her forehead against his. There was no apprehension being in Seth’s arms. Only warmth, safety. Walking down the hallway, he passed by her bedroom and kept going until he entered his room. Kicking the door shut behind him, Seth turned, pressing her back against the door so she could straddle him. The feel of the cool wood at her back and the heat of him between her legs was an erotic sensation.

“Kiss me,” he growled, nuzzling at her jaw. “God
, you drive me crazy, Monica.”

“Feeling’s mutual,” sh
e panted, before taking his mouth in a devouring kiss. Sucking at his full lips, Monica felt the rush of wetness between her thighs as he pressed the bulge of his cock against her, grinding slowly in time with the way his tongue played in her mouth. It didn’t take long before her body came alive, humming with arousal as their kiss intensified, becoming fevered and reckless.

His hands slipped under the hem of her shirt, pushing it up her body until he pulled it off, tossing it aside.
Monica moaned, biting her lip when his head lowered. Placing warm kisses over her collarbone, they gradually lingered lower. The warm swipe of his tongue over the swell of her breast had her writhing against him, desperate for more. “Please don’t stop,” she begged, nearly choking on her own breath when he unclipped her bra, tossing it aside as well. His uniform rasped over her bare skin, adding a delicious tingle of fire to the burn that was steadily growing in her womb.

“You’re so beautiful, Monica,” he growled against her flesh
, nibbling and licking a path to her aching nipples. “Fucking perfect.”

Wet heat enveloped her breast as he lowered his head once more, sucking a tight peak into his mouth. The groan that fell from her lips was primal, animalistic. His tongue swirled over the sensitive flesh, eliciting a shiver down her spine. It was overwhelming, but she didn’t
want him to stop. Seth switched to the other breast, treating it to the same pleasure, nipping and laving at the bud until she was rocking her hips into him, nearly sobbing for relief.

“Not here. On the bed,” he ground out, his voice gravelly with lust. “I should have done this right the first time.”

He moved before she could protest, stalking across the room and laying her gently against the comforter as he kissed a path down her belly. Monica fisted her hands in his hair, her breath coming in strangled gasps as his head moved lower. Hooking his fingers in the hem of her shorts and panties, he pulled them down her thighs, tossing them over his head without a care for where they landed. His eyes never left her body. Something wild flashed in his eyes, and she knew he wasn’t going to be as gentle as he was the first time.