Uncovered by Truth (12 page)

“Not until I see that you’re okay. I’ll stand out here all damn day and night if I have to.” No, I won’t. I’ll break down this fucking door if she doesn’t let me in soon.

The handle rattles a little and the door inches open. “I’ll let you in if you promise one thing.”

“Anything.” Now I’m really worried and will agree to just about anything to get inside.

“Don’t freak out.” The door swings the rest of the way open and the sight in front of me steals all the oxygen from my lungs. I’m momentarily frozen, taking in what I see. My state of shock quickly fades as pure, raw anger takes over, threatening to engulf everything.

“What the fuck happened to your face?” The veins in my neck and forehead bulge as I try my best not to yell. I walk into the house and close the door behind me. Cupping my hands around her cheeks, I angle her head up to get a better look at the black and purple bruise circling her right eye that fades to green and yellow down her cheekbone. My chest rises and falls at a rapid rate as rage festers inside of me.

Her eyes cast down at the floor, like she’s ashamed to look at me. “Don’t look away from me,” I say in a calmer voice. She looks back up and just about breaks me. Tears fill her eyes as her lip trembles, trying to hold in her sobs. I wrap her in my arms and hold her tight. She winces in pain when I squeeze her, causing me to immediately release some of the pressure. “Tell me, sweetheart, what happened?”

“Cal.”

That motherfucker. There are no words to describe what I’m feeling. The amount of hate and disgust I have inside of me can’t be summed up by a group of letters. Without a word, I turn toward the door and am about to leave when her hand on my arm stops me.

“Please, don’t go. You promised me.” Fuck me and my promises. I look up at the ceiling weighing my options. I’m stuck between a rock and hard spot, and know there is no good solution for this.

I turn back around to face her. “Elizabeth, you’re asking me to do something I don’t think I’m capable of. You’re asking me not to be a man, not to protect what’s mine.” Doesn’t she see that I need to do this? I have to go after him and make him pay.

She nods. “I know. It’s why I didn’t want you to see me like this.”

“Why didn’t you call Gump in your email?” She should have told me something was wrong.

“Because of this,” she says, waving her hand out at me. “But I’m begging you, do this one thing for me.” I stare into her pleading eyes—eyes that can get me to do anything—and know that I can’t leave her. That doesn’t mean I’m letting this go. No, Cal will get his. It may not be today, but he’ll get what he deserves and I can’t wait to be the one who gives it to him.

Taking in a deep breath, I let it out slowly. “Fine, I won’t go after him, but I need to step outside for a few minutes and get some fresh air and try to calm down. Because seeing what he’s done to you has me in a bad place.” She nods and looks back down at the floor.

Closing the door behind me as I walk outside, my feet carry me with purpose. The usual caution I use maneuvering behind trees and other objects to conceal myself is abandoned. In this moment, I don’t give a shit if someone sees me. A minute or so later, I’m banging on Tyler’s window. He unlocks the doors and I hop in. My face must say it all, because his eyes widen when he takes me in. “Are you watching the fucking video feed?” I say in an eerily calm manner.

“Yeah . . .” he draws out.

“So you saw that prick put his hands on Elizabeth?” My knee bounces up and down, needing someplace to channel this toxic energy within me.

He sighs and runs his hands through his hair. “Yeah, I saw it. I tried to tell you, but you—”

“You didn’t think anyone needed to be notified of this?” My hands ball up into tight fists.

“I called it in when it happened.”

“And? Why wasn’t he arrested?”

“The department’s main focus is getting him on these big charges, not something small like assault and battery. They don’t give a shit about his domestic issues.”

“Something small, huh?” It’s getting harder to take in air as I try to calm myself down. I know at any second I’m going to say fuck it and run out and kill Cal. I’m teetering on this ledge, one side telling me not to jump, the other side telling me it’ll feel so damn good. My fist collides into the dashboard once. Twice. A third time. “That’s it. You tell Turner that Plan B starts
now.
” I hop out of the car despite Tyler’s protests and walk back to Elizabeth.

“WHERE DID YOU go?” she asks quietly when I let myself in through the back door.

“I just went out to get some fresh air.” The fresh air didn’t do shit to calm me down. My jaw starts to tick seeing her bruise again. “Let’s sit down and talk real quick,” I say tightly. She nods and we walk into the living room and have a seat on the couch. “I need you to tell me what happened. Are you hurt anywhere else?”

She shakes her head. “I’m fine, just a few bruises here and there, but nothing major.” Bruises? I only see the one on her face, which means he hit her in places that aren’t visible right now. Son of a bitch. I can’t wait to get my hands on that spineless piece of shit.

“Nothing major?” I shout, pissed at her blatant disregard for her safety. She winces from my sudden outburst. “Have you looked in the fucking mirror, Elizabeth?”

She sits up straight, pins her shoulders back, and looks me in the eye. “Yes, I have.” She’s so composed yet firm and it instantly calms me down. Here I am freaking the hell out while she shows nothing but strength. This woman amazes me.

“What happened?” I struggle to maintain a normal tone.

She shrugs while shaking her head. “I don’t even know how it escalated so fast. I was sitting in my room reading. He kept yelling, telling me how worthless I am and I just snapped. I slapped him as hard as I could across the face. He was stunned at first. I guess he expected things to go back to the way they were before you came along. Back then, I’d never in a million years dream of doing something like that to him. Soon, the shock wore off and he made sure to show me who’s in control around here. He punched me in the face and kicked me in the ribs when I fell to the floor.”

The air in my lungs gets trapped as an image of her lying curled up on the floor while he kicks her flashes across my mind. It makes me feel nauseous instantly. I do the only thing I can right now, and that’s love her. Gently grabbing her arm, I pull her into me and carefully hold on to her. After I kiss the top of her head, I say, “God, I’m so sorry I wasn’t here to protect you.” Fuck! I knew I should have gotten her out of here the day I caught her gulping down a bottle of pills.

“It’s not your fault, Alex. None of this is. As much as it hurt when he hit me, I’d probably do the same thing all over again.” I pull away and look at her like she’s crazy. “I know it sounds insane, but for the first time in a while I feel alive. I knew when he was yelling at me that it was my time to fight. I’ve been slowly dying inside ever since I married that man. Well, no more. I had two choices: fight or die. I chose to fight. And live.”

I stare at her in awe. She has suffered so much but still finds the will to keep going. She may have lost hope briefly, but it’s back stronger than ever. With determination like that, I know we’re going to make it through this. I place a soft kiss to her lips and pull back. “Did you go to the doctor?”

She shakes her head. “No, but I swear I’m fine. Like I said, just a little sore and bruised. Nothing is broken.”

“I thought Cal was gone for a few days.”

“He came home a day early. Said he needed to check on something.”

Shit. “Where is he now?” My adrenaline starts pumping with the fear that he’s still in town.

“He left this morning.”

We don’t have long. He could come home at any moment. “We’ve got to get out of here.” I stand up and hold my hand out to her. She takes it and I help her up. There’s no way in hell I’m leaving her alone with Cal after this. I know this is going to blow everything all to shit, but I won’t allow him the opportunity to touch her again.

“What do you mean? Where are we going?” Her head tilts to the side and her eyebrows furrow in confusion.

“You’re not staying here. Let’s pack you a small bag and get going. I’ll explain a little more once we’re gone.” I move toward her room, but she doesn’t budge.

“I don’t think I can,” she says while shaking her head. “I mean, what if he finds me?” She’s the bravest woman I know, but it would be hard to miss the fear pouring off of her in waves.

Cupping her face with both hands, I bring her closer. “He won’t,” I tell her with confidence.

“You don’t know that.”

“Do you trust me?” I stare intently into her eyes, needing to know the answer to this question.

After a moment, she responds, “Yes.” A sense of relief hits me with that one word.

“Good. I promise to protect you. He won’t put another hand on you again.” She looks into my eyes, seeming to weigh her options before she nods and leads me upstairs.

Once we’re up to her room, I say, “Do you have a backpack or something like it that’s easy to carry?”

“Yeah, hold on.” She disappears into the closet and hollers at me, “Are you coming with me?”

“Of course.” Where else does she think I’d go?

She comes out of the closet with a small smile on her face, holding a Louis Vuitton sack looking thing in her hand. “I don’t know if you want to bring that bag, sweetheart. We’re not exactly going to the Ritz.”

Glancing down at the bag, she looks slightly embarrassed. “I don’t care where we go as long as we’re together, but it’s all I have.”

I walk up to her and kiss her, needing to show her how she makes me feel. How with that one statement she managed to make me feel like the luckiest bastard in the world. “Pick out only essential stuff, okay?” She nods and moves around the room quickly, grabbing a few pieces of clothing and bathroom items. But there’s one thing she has that I want.

“Where’s the button?” I ask her. When she just looks at me like she has no idea what I’m talking about, I clarify a little for her. “You know, the one I ripped off your shirt.” I raise my eyebrows up and down suggestively, but when she doesn’t smile and looks at the ground, I put all joking aside. “What’s wrong?”

“Cal put it there,” she says quietly. Her eyes are downcast as a pained expression takes over her face.

“I’m not following you. Put what, where?”

She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before bringing her gaze back up to mine. “Cal saw us on the cameras that day. He dug the button out of the trashcan and left it out for me to find. He tainted it.” Her voice drops on the last sentence, conveying her sadness.

Fuck.

Knowing he was watching us—watching her—lose herself with me puts a lead ball in the pit of my stomach. I can only imagine how she feels having him taunt her and try to ruin something that was important to the both of us.

“Don’t do that. Don’t you dare let him take that moment from us. And I’m not talking about when I had you laid out on the kitchen island underneath me either. I’m talking about the day you gave it to me in a frame and claimed my heart. Who gives a fuck if he put it there? That moment was real and he can’t taint that.” I search her eyes hoping what I’ve said sinks in.

“I love you,” she says, walking up to me. Her arms wrap around my neck and she kisses me softly. She leans back with a soft smile on her face.

“I love you, too. You got everything you need?”

“Almost.” She turns and walks to the side table next to the bed. After opening the drawer, she pulls out the frame I was asking her about. She hands it to me and I can’t stop the images that come to mind. When she pulled me to her by my tie, I thought I was going to devour her right then. It was so damn sexy to see her confidence and to act on something she wanted for once. I’ll never forget the first time my hands touched her soft skin, saw her full tits, or tasted her sweet lips. I felt like I had died and gone to heaven. “Now I’m ready,” she says, pulling me out of my daydream.

We’re just about to walk out of the bedroom, when I hear the front door open. We both freeze.

“Elizabeth!”

“Oh, God,” Elizabeth whispers.

“I thought you said he was gone?” I whisper back.

“I-I thought he was.” She looks pale and I can hear her heart racing in fear. “This is just like last time,” she says as she stares straight ahead. I know she’s thinking about the last time she was going to leave.

“Let’s go.”

Shit.

We only have seconds

“We can’t go through the door.” Her voice trembles.

“We’re not.” I pull her to the window.

“I-I can’t.” She’s frozen. We don’t have time for this.

“We don’t have a choice.” I lift the window and look back at her. “We’ve got to move,” I urge her.

I sit on the ledge and swing my legs over. “I’ll catch you. I promise.” I say as I look back at her.

She nods her head, still shaking.

“Elizabeth?” I hear Cal shout out again, only he’s closer this time.

She gasps and her eyes go wide.

Dammit.

Quickly, I brace my hands on each side of my hips, and turn over so my stomach is resting on the ledge. I inch the rest of the way out until I’m hanging by my hands then let go. Once my feet hit the ground, I crumble and roll to the ground to help distribute the impact of the landing. I get up quickly and glance around, glad that we’re on the back corner of the house. I look up in time to catch Elizabeth’s bag she throws down. I toss the bag to the ground, then glance back up to catch her. Except now the window is closed.