And that was all she could promise. She squeezed her eyes shut. This is how Noah felt, she thought. Hamstrung and useless.
“Helena, you’re going to get through this,” she added, running her hand over Helena’s disheveled hair. She couldn’t offer the weeping woman anything beyond survival. They could take her away from here. They could deliver her to her friends and family. But no one could change the past or guarantee that Helena wouldn’t spend the rest of her life looking over her shoulder, waiting for her past to tear her apart all over again.
Maybe Helena will be stronger. Maybe she’ll break free from the past.
Caroline felt her own tears hot against her cheeks as Helena’s fingers pressed into her skin.
Or maybe we’re both out of second chances.
CAROLINE WIPED AWAY one last tear as she leaned against Helena’s Mercedes-Benz. She’d backed the car out of the garage while the woman they’d come to rescue spoke to the officers. Despite her initial rush onto the scene, Caroline was trying to stay in the background. But she couldn’t exactly jump in the pristine hedges and hide every time an officer walked by her. Cops now swarmed the yellow mansion.
Standing on top of the redbrick stairs, just outside the front door, Helena nodded to the officers. She motioned for Caroline to join them. She walked over and placed her hand on Helena’s still-trembling arm.
“We’ll need to speak with you again in the morning, Mrs. Watterson,” an older man with a weathered face and grey-green eyes said. He wore plain clothes, a black polo and khakis. He’d arrived after the first two officers in uniform—the ones who’d caught hold of Mr. Ashford Watterson when he’d taken a swing at Josh—had radioed for backup. With his gentle smile and tall build, the officer in charge reminded Caroline of Josie’s dad, Forever’s police chief.
“If you change your mind about seeking medical attention,” the officer added. “Or a rape kit—”
“No,” Helena said firmly. “I want to leave, to get away from here.”
The officer nodded. “I understand. I still need to ask you some questions in the morning.”
“If it’s all right with you, sir,” Josh said, speaking directly to the Josie’s dad look-alike, “my friend here will take Mrs. Watterson back to our hotel. We’re a five minute drive away. And we can bring her to the station in the morning—or the hospital.”
The officer nodded and held out a business card to Helena. “Call me if you need anything, ma’am.”
She nodded and moved to Caroline’s side. Helena took her hand. Together, they headed for the Benz.
“I’ll need her name for the report,” the lead cop said. “Your friend’s name.”
Caroline stumbled on the brick path to the driveway. Her name. Oh hell, this was it. If they ran her identity, they’d find the warrant. She would be arrested—maybe not tonight, but in the morning.
She glanced at Helena. Even after all she’d been through, after what Caroline had heard through the open phone line, the other woman held her chin high.
If I end up in a cell . . . it was worth it.
The trip, the series of dates, and their crazy, poorly planned rescue—if she lost her freedom in the morning, it would all have been worth it. She’d taken a chance. She’d made love to a man whom she loved. And she’d helped someone who needed her as much as she’d needed Noah. Maybe she hadn’t been able to save herself and find the number for the hotline while stationed in the middle of nowhere in Afghanistan. But she’d saved Helena tonight.
It’s worth it.
Caroline glanced back at Josh.
Even if I lose him.
Her heart hiccupped. She’d fallen for Josh Summers and she didn’t want to walk away.
“Caroline?” Helena murmured.
She turned away from Josh. Love wasn’t enough. She took another step toward the parked Benz. As soon as Josh gave the officer her name, her second chance would crash and burn. Her happy-ever-after had been stripped away long before now, when she’d given in to fear and run away. Josh, their love, and their future—it had been impossible from the start.
Settled into the driver’s seat, Caroline took one last look at the redhead with the tempting smile chatting with the lead cop. She’d fallen for Josh. But what kind of future would they have if she stayed in hiding?
She put the car in reverse, looked over her shoulder, and guided the Benz down the drive. Failure had been closing in on her from the beginning. And there was only one thing she could do to stop it.
“When we get to the hotel,” Caroline said as she drove past the security gate, “I need to leave for a while. Before Josh gets back. You’ll be safe and I don’t think he’ll be much longer.”
“You’re running away?” Helena said. “Now?”
“No, I’m done running.”