Ben was jerked up to a sitting position, watching as Tim was cuffed as well. Tim was sitting up, grinning as he stared at Ben. It was then Ben realized he had fucked up. Tim had come after him again and let him get the upper hand on purpose. He’d set him up.
Two officers unceremoniously yanked him to his feet, causing him to wince in pain.
“He’s not the one you’re supposed to arrest,” Katherine pleaded, following the cops outside.
“Get back, miss. We’ll have someone take your statement in a second,” one of the cops told her.
“I’m okay,” Ben assured her.
“He needs a doctor. By law you have to provide him with medical attention,” Katherine said firmly.
One officer opened the back of a patrol car and stuffed him inside before slamming the door. He turned to see Katherine, her hands on her hips as she argued with the police. He could hear her trying to defend him, but no one was listening to her. He’d been caught red-handed, literally. He knew there was blood on his hands. He looked down and saw blood on his shirt as well. It did not look good.
He heard Katherine shouting again and saw a police officer point for her to go sit down. She was going to get herself in trouble if she didn’t obey. Ben was shaking his head, trying to tell her to stop when he saw Tim walking out and being placed in a cop car with no cuffs.
“Oh shit,” he groaned.
They weren’t going to arrest Tim. Tim would be free. Katherine would be left alone and exposed.
“You don’t understand. That man is my husband. He was trying to attack me,” Katherine was saying.
Talia walked up to Katherine, wrapping her arms around her. He couldn’t hear what was being said but could see tears in Katherine’s eyes when she looked back at him.
“It’s okay,” he shouted through the glass.
Her eyes drifted to the other car, then back to him. “I’m so sorry,” she mouthed.
He smiled, hoping to calm her down. He knew it wasn’t okay. He looked ahead and saw a cop talking to Tim, likely getting his side of the story. He could only imagine what the man was saying. It was about ten minutes later that an ambulance pulled up. The medics went to Tim, assessed him and loaded him in the back of the ambulance.
It just got better and better. Tim was going to play up the injuries. Ben leaned back on the hard-plastic seat. He had fucked up.
When the door opened, it was the first cop he’d seen. “You’re being arrested and charged with assault. The man wants to press charges.”
He rolled his eyes. “Of course, he does. I trust you’ll gather all the witness statements?” he asked.
The cop shot him a glare. “We’ll do our job,” he said, and slammed the door.
Ben growled low in his throat. How in the hell had the day gone from being so good to so horrible? He didn’t regret showing up when he did. There was a good chance Katherine would have been severely beaten or worse if he hadn’t stepped in. He was willing to go to jail if it meant keeping her safe.
But had he kept her safe? He may have just made things much worse for her.
“Hey!” he shouted, trying to get someone’s attention.
The cop opened the door. “What?”
“You have to keep her safe! That man will kill her. You can’t let him just walk away!” he pleaded.
The cop slammed the door shut without saying a word. Ben closed his eyes, fighting back the panic he felt. As soon as he was at the station, he would demand a phone call. He was thanking his lucky stars he had put the attorney on retainer. He needed to get bonded out so he could protect Katherine. She wasn’t safe!
Another thought crossed his mind. He turned his head to look out the window and saw her talking to a female police officer. He prayed the officer would listen to Katherine’s story and provide her with some protection. Katherine’s eyes met his through the window. She looked crushed, distraught and he knew what that meant.
If and when he got out of jail, she’d be gone. She would run. In many ways, he didn’t blame her. As he sat in the back
of the car and felt the pain in his side and the bruise that was surely developing on his jaw, he understood why she kept running. No one should ever have to live in that much fear. No woman should ever have to experience that kind of pain at the hands of the man who had vowed to love and cherish her.
He heard the boop-boop of a siren and turned to see the ambulance pulling away. He wished he would have done a lot more damage. If he was going to be charged with assault, he should have gotten his money’s worth. He had a feeling Tim would sue him once he figured out who he was. The piece of shit would want a fat payout.
Ben wouldn’t give him a dime. He’d find a way to shut the man down. After another twenty minutes of sitting in the car, watching the police mill about the bakery, the flash of a camera reflecting off the windows every few seconds, he saw Katherine approaching with two officers. A sliver of hope buoyed him. The nightmare was over. They had listened to her story and were going to let him go. He smiled as he watched her walking closer.