“Like I said, my aunt has been with her boyfriend for the past few years. He’s a creep. But a smart creep. Cold. Calculating.”
She shivered as though cold. Linc pulled off his jacket immediately and put it around her.
“We need to get you a jacket, teeny,” he told her.
“I’ve been meaning to go to Goodwill to get one.”
Linc muttered something she couldn’t hear.
Ed cleared his throat. “What happened, sweetheart?”
Linc glared at him, and she was unsure why. But it didn’t matter. There was a lot she didn’t understand. Especially when it came to men.
“That night, I came home and found my aunt and him in the house, and they were, um . . .” She could feel herself blushing at the memory. “Anyway, I wasn’t paying enough attention. I walked into my bedroom and there he was, sitting on my bed, holding my eReader.” She swallowed hard, her heartbeat speeding up. “He seems to take delight in terrifying me. I’ve had run-ins with him a few times. But never in my room. He . . . he was saying how my aunt marrying his dad would mean that I was under his control. That when that happened, he wasn’t going to let me out of his bedroom for a good long time.”
“Fucking hell. That fucking asshole.” Linc stood suddenly, making her shy back. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. His hands, which had been clenched into fists at his sides, gradually loosened and he stared down at her with regret. “Sorry, teeny. I didn’t mean to scare you. I hope you know that I would never hurt you.”
He reached out to touch her face then pulled back before touching her. She hated that. That she’d made him hesitate. Quickly, she grabbed hold of his hand, holding on tight.
“I know you wouldn’t. Sorry, I didn’t mean to flinch. It’s just that talking about this has brought it all up. It’s close to the surface and I just reacted without thinking.”
“I get it. Christ. Please tell me he didn’t touch you,” he begged.
She ran a shaky hand over her hair, tugging at her ponytail. “Not like that. He grabbed my wrist. Hard.”
“The bandage, that’s what it was covering?” He glanced down at her wrist. The bruises had finally healed. “Why didn’t you tell me
the truth?”
“I didn’t know you that well, and then once I did know you better and I realized how protective you are . . . he’s dangerous, Linc.”
“You didn’t think I could protect you?” He almost sounded hurt and she flinched.
“I don’t know what he’s capable of. And I didn’t want you to feel like you had to protect me.”
“Damn it, Marisol.”
“I’ve never had a friend before,” she whispered. “I didn’t want to scare you off.”
“What sort of friend would I be if I ran at the first sign of trouble?” he countered.
Ed cleared his throat. “Can you keep going, Marisol?”
“Yes. I’m not sure what would have happened if we weren’t interrupted by his dad banging on my bedroom door.” She took in a shuddering breath. “They had to go because there was some trouble with some of their guys. He threw my eReader that’s how it broke. Then he said he would be back.”
Linc started pacing up and down the office. She stared at him for a moment then over at Ed.
“You didn’t think to report this?” Ed asked.
“All he did was bruise my wrist and make some vague threats. It wasn’t anything his lawyer couldn’t argue against,” she told him dully. Her head was really thumping now. And she was worried about Linc’s reaction. “Besides, you know how I feel about cops.”
“So I take it they were at the party?”
“Yeah, they were. That was my mistake . . . I should have left before now.”
“Left?” Linc strode over and sat back in his chair. “What do you mean? That you should have left your aunt’s? You certainly should have. Christ, I can’t believe you stayed there when they could turn back up at any time.”
“I stayed because of you,” she cried.