Safe Harbor (5 page)

Sully walked in while adjusting the camera and pulled up short when he saw her bruises. It shouldn’t have shocked him, considering what he’d seen as a cop, but it did.

A surge of rage welled inside him. The asshole that did this to her would not get away with it. It pissed him off that any man would do this to a woman.

It brought back his own nightmares.

She lifted her gaze to him, briefly, then her focus skittered away again. He took a deep breath to steady his voice.

“Let’s start with your back. Sit on the bed and you can let the towel fall open, okay?”

She nodded. Mac stepped back, holding her robe ready to put on her as soon as they finished.

Bless Mac’s heart. Sully could easily see where this would lead Mac if she spent any length of time with them. Wanting to prevent the past from repeating itself.

Sully took the pictures, fighting through his own anger as he saw the bruising on her back. The digital readout on the camera confirmed the shots. He would save a backup of each picture while still committing them to film. He did each arm, then her legs. He focused on her sweet blue eyes through the viewfinder.

Her crippling fear bubbled just below the surface, he suspected.

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Then came time to photograph her torso.

“Where did he bruise you? Maybe we can keep you covered and not expose anything.”

Her face reddened. “Everywhere.”

He knelt in front of her. “If you don’t want me to—”

“It’s okay.” She took a deep breath. “If it’ll help later, help nail him.”

“I’ll make it fast. I promise.”

“Okay.”

“Let me focus first, before you drop the towel.” He prepared as best he could, then told her to move the towel. Shooting quickly, he fought back the bile in his throat. From the dark purple of some of the bruises over her breasts, he suspected they’d been nearly black when fresher. “Okay, that’s it.”

She wrapped the towel around herself while Mac swooped in to drape the robe over her. Sully spotted the tears in Mac’s eyes.

So did Clarisse, apparently.

That finished her. She broke down crying again. This time Mac consoled her. When she composed herself, Sully tried to offer her a comforting smile, although he suspected his anger had given him a harsh look.

“Go take a nice hot bath, take as long as you want. Do you want any Tylenol or anything? We’ve got hot tea.”

She nodded. “That’d be great. Thank you.”

Mac jumped up and raced to get them, leaving Sully alone with her. He knelt in front of her again. “Take your time. We can visit until eight tonight. We’ll see if we can eat dinner with him.”

“Okay.”

He left her alone.

Clarisse sat there for a moment before willing her legs to stand.

She figured why close the bedroom door? They were gay, what difference did it make?

Maybe she could trust Sully one day. Not right now. Not this

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soon. She sensed he wasn’t an ax murderer. Still, it made her uncomfortable baring her soul to him.

Mac was a different story. She trusted him, instinctively sensed he would die before he let anyone hurt her. Considering the men were all she had, she was willing to trust that much.

She’d crawled into the tub, comfortably immersed in the water, when Mac knocked on the bathroom door.

“I have your Tylenol and your hot tea.”

“It’s okay. Just bring them in.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

He opened the door and cautiously stuck his head in. “I didn’t know if you wanted sugar in your tea, so I brought some.” He walked in and set everything on the counter. He handed her two capsules and a cold bottle of water. When she downed the medicine, he took the bottle back and handed her the tea. “Sugar?”

“No, that’s okay.” He sat on the edge of the huge tub after he handed her the mug. She didn’t bother trying to cover herself or sink lower in the water. It was too exhausting, and, frankly, she didn’t want to expend the effort and feel her muscles scream.

He looked like he wanted to say something but caught himself.

“What is it?”

“Can we take you to the doctor? We’ll pay for it.”

She blushed and shook her head. “I let them look me over at the ER before I checked myself out. They x-rayed my ribs, said I wouldn’t die. It would have been stupid to waste time sitting in a hospital when I could have been moving.”

“Aren’t you hurting?”

She laughed, setting off pain in her ribs. “Yeah, worse than I ever have in my life. I’ve got a high pain tolerance, though. It’s okay. I once smashed my hand in the rigging. When Uncle Tad wanted to turn around and head to dock, I wouldn’t let him. I just stuck it in ice for a few hours and kept sorting. My mom was pissed, but my dad

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was proud of me.” She studied her left hand as she flexed it.

A light scar traced across her palm. “Did that when I landed a lemon shark one night. Took ten stitches to close it when we got back, but I used butterfly bandages on it and didn’t let Uncle Tad see how bad the shark got me.”

Mac gently caught her hand in his, kissed it, and gently traced his fingers over the scar. “How long has he been hitting you?”

She didn’t pull her hand away. “Verbally? From day one.

Physically, this is only the second time he laid his hands on me. And the last.”

“You won’t let me take you to the doctor?”

“No, but thank you. I appreciate it.”

Mac released her hand and stood. “You’re not going to go back to him, are you?”

“Hell, no.” She sighed. “I need to get Bart, though.”

“Bart?”

“My dog. My friend Raquel is taking care of him for me.” A horrible thought hit her. “He’s little and he’s crate trained. Will Sully let me bring him back?” Then she did start to cry. “He’s my baby.

He’s the only reason I stayed sane. Bryan let me get him after the first time he hit me. I think he used him as a peace offering. He’s a really good dog.”

“Yeah. I’ll take care of it, honey. Don’t worry.” He started for the bathroom door. “Take as long as you need. Don’t rush.” He pulled the bathroom door partially shut behind him.

Clarisse sipped the tea and closed her eyes. She was safe and relatively secure here. She wouldn’t even try to say she was sane at this point, because she still felt like an alien in her own body. Partly due to the exhaustion and stress and pain, partly due to fear.

She set the mug on the edge of the tub and slowly sank deeper into the water.

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After their showers, Sully and Mac waited for Clarisse to emerge from her bedroom. Mac heated her some soup and fixed her another mug of hot tea. She sat at the counter, not looking at the men, her damp hair tucked behind her ears. It made the bruises look worse.

“Do you have any makeup?” Sully asked.

She shook her head. “He wouldn’t let me spend money on it even if I did wear it, which I usually didn’t.” She blushed. “I had some cheap powder and lipstick, but I didn’t bring it. I didn’t want to waste the space in my purse when I left. It wouldn’t have done any good on this anyway.”

Mac and Sully had changed into pullover shirts and jeans. Mac no longer wore his collar. In its place lay a heavy silver necklace. Sully reached into his back pocket, pulled out his wallet, and handed Mac a credit card.

“Run to Walgreens. They’ve got a makeup counter. Tell the clerk your little sister has a pale complexion and she needs some basics.

Get good stuff. Spend whatever you have to. Make sure to get a heavy concealer too. Tell her she’s got a burn scar or something that needs hiding.”

Clarisse started to protest. Sully overruled her. “If Tad sees you looking like this, he’ll be really upset. I’d rather not spring that on him. Hopefully he’ll be too happy to see you to realize how badly you’re hurt.” He looked at Mac. “Waterproof mascara.”

Mac nodded, grabbed his keys, and disappeared out the door before she could object again.

Clarisse stiffened in fear. She intellectually knew Sully wouldn’t

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hurt her. Emotionally, she didn’t want to be without Mac’s comforting, safe presence.

Sully leaned against the opposite counter and gentled his voice.

“I’m sorry to take over like that, but you’ll see I’m right. If you’re acting like a beat dog while trying to hide your injuries, it won’t be good for Tad.”

He was right, of course.

“I’ll pay you back,” she said.

“No, you won’t.” He left her alone in the kitchen to finish her soup. An hour later, Mac returned with a plastic bag full of cosmetics.

“I’m not much into makeup.” She picked up a bottle of concealer.

“I don’t know how to use most of this stuff.”

“Don’t worry. The lady at the counter was very helpful and explained to me how to tell you to apply it.” He spied the receipt and snagged it before she could look at it. Sully returned to the kitchen, and Mac handed him the receipt and the credit card. Then Mac took her into her bathroom and supervised while she carefully applied everything. He helped her a little, examined the result, and called Sully in when she finished.

He nodded in approval. “You can still see it, but it’s not nearly as bad.” He handed her a pair of sunglasses. “You can use these, too.

They’re mine. Let’s go.”

They took Sully’s Jag. She felt a little embarrassed when Mac insisted she sit in the front seat while he took the back. Sully drove.

Fifteen minutes later, they pulled into the parking lot of a very nice-looking nursing home complex.

Mac jumped out, opened her door, then raced around, and opened Sully’s for him. Sully waited for her to step close to rest his hand on the small of her back. She cringed but forced herself not to draw away.

“It’s a really nice place. You’ll see.” He walked her inside while Mac flanked her. They stopped at the front desk where the nurse on duty flashed Sully and Mac a broad smile.

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“Hey! I thought you were going out fishing this weekend.” She frowned a little as she studied Clarisse.

Clarisse felt heat creep into her face, knowing the makeup and sunglasses didn’t hide all her injuries. She studied the spotless tile floor.

“We were,” Sully said, “but we ended up with an unexpected visitor. Mandy, this is Clarisse Moore, Tad’s niece.” Clarisse looked up.

Mandy’s eyes widened in surprise. Clarisse witnessed the nurse’s mistrust immediately transform to pity. “Oh, honey! He’s gonna be so glad to see you! Go on back, guys. I think he’s in his apartment.”

“Thanks.” Sully led her from the desk and down a hallway. The light and airy facility faintly smelled like oranges. “Tad’s got a small efficiency apartment. He cooks some meals still, when he’s not busy flirting with his nurses.”

Clarisse couldn’t help but laugh. That sounded like Uncle Tad.

They wound through the facility and stopped in front of a door numbered 125. This wing resembled an apartment building more than a hospital. A nursing station sat at the entrance, but other than that, nothing overtly identified it as a medical facility. Sully knocked.

“Goddammit, I told you I don’t feel like playing bingo! They’re running a
Dukes of Hazzard
marathon on TV this afternoon!”

The door opened. Clarisse didn’t know who was more shocked, her or Uncle Tad. He looked thin, drawn, one side of his face frozen in a lopsided droop.

After a stunned moment, he whispered, “Son of a bitch!” and then engulfed her in a weak hug she was afraid to return too strongly for fear of hurting him.

“Hi, Uncle Tad,” she lamely said.

He held her at arm’s length, frowning for a moment, then smiling.

“Please tell me you left the son of a bitch.”

She sniffled. “Yep.”

He hugged her again, then gripped her hand and led them inside to

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a small sitting area. He slowly lowered himself to the sofa, pulling her down with him. Mac and Sully settled into two chairs. The apartment was small but tidy. A four-person dinette sat near a window, and an open doorway led to a small bedroom. Another revealed the bathroom.

“Reecie, you scared the heck outta me, little girl.” He raised his hand to her face as if to stroke her cheek, then lowered it. “It doesn’t matter anymore. You’d better be telling me you’re moving here.”

Sully spoke up. “She’s living with us.”

Clarisse noticed he said “living” and not “staying.”

Tad nodded. “Good.” He grinned. “These boys are the best, but you’ve probably already seen that.”

They sat and talked with him all afternoon. Near dinner time, he handed Mac a wad of bills. “Why don’t you take Reecie to Plaka’s and get us some dinner? I bet she missed their gyros.”

Mac tried to refuse the money, but Sully shot him a look. “Go on.

I’ll stay here with Tad.”

Clarisse suspected her uncle wanted a few uninterrupted minutes to talk with Sully about the circumstances of her arrival. She didn’t resist when Mac laced his fingers through hers and helped her up from the couch. “You want the usual, Tad?” he asked.

“Yep. Go by Hellas, too. Get us something for dessert from their bakery.”