She flinched and turned away. What part was she reacting to? Me taking care of her or leaving? I couldn’t change either part of it. I’d give anything to be able to stay with her. For her to want me to stay. For me to not have to leave to talk to the cops about the suspicious man I ignored minutes before the rape. Everything about this was so fucking wrong.
She remained quiet and guarded as we walked in, took Thor out, and returned to her apartment. She sat on the couch with Thor while I excused myself to use the bathroom and did a discreet walk-through of her apartment, needing to know she was safe but not wanting to freak her out. Everything looked secure, and there was no reason why I couldn’t go talk to thepolice now. Except for the way Jenna was sitting on the couch, her skin pale, and her eyes unfocused, with her legs curled up under her and her cheek resting on Thor’s back as he sat on alert next to her.
I had to go, even if it ripped my heart out to walk away from her like this. I squatted in front of them.
“I have to go take care of something. Will you be okay?”
“Of course.”Liar.
“Do you want me to come back?”
“No, I’m just going to go to sleep, and…”
And she wasn’t comfortable with me there while she slept. “I get it, that’s fine. Thor, you take good care of her, okay buddy? And you, call me if you need anything.”
Jenna nodded but didn’t move otherwise.
“Sorry to make you get up, but come lock the door behind me.”
She nodded and stood robotically.
“Firefly,” I whispered. She was breaking my heart. I held her face between my hands, gently caressing her soft skin. Her eyelids fluttered closed, and she leaned into me. I kissed her forehead, my lips lingering, trying to convey everything I couldn’t say.
Before I could pull away, she snagged me around the neck and stood on her tiptoes, demanding a kiss. Her mouth opened the second my lips touched hers, her tongue dueling with mine almost desperately. I gripped her hips, holding her in place safely away from my cock that didn’t care that this was not a happy kiss, and I gave her what she needed.
“Everything’s okay,” I soothed as I pulled away.
“I know. Sorry I’m all over the place. It’s just… I can’t help thinking. I know it’s not anything, really. I’ll be fine by tomorrow.”
Fuck. I hated to leave, but I had to. I prayed that when I saw her next, I could actually believe myself when I said it was okay. “Lock the door behind me,” I said before kissing her on the forehead and walking away like an asshole.
I grabbed my phone the second I stepped out of the elevator.
“Axton speaking.” Quint Axton answered the phone on the first ring, and I’d never been so grateful for my connection to a cop. He was a friend, and a fantastic San Antonio police officer, and he was one of the first to leave the restaurant tonight, so I knew he was on the case.
“Quint, it’s Liam Lamonti. I need to talk to you.”
“I’m a little busy, as you know. What’s up?”
“I was at Atteren Park this afternoon. I may have some info.”
His voice sharpened, his full attention on me now. “On the rape?”
“Nothing solid, but it’s worth sharing. Are you at the station?”
“No, I’m at the park. Can you meet me here?”
“Yeah, I’ll be there in twenty.”
“Text me when you arrive.”
There was no traffic at that time of the night, and fifteen minutes later, I was back in the lot where Jenna and I had parked earlier. My gut clenched at the amount of law enforcement vehicles where she’d just been. I texted Quint and walked toward the bench, heartened to see two security cameras. One was near the parking lot and the other one was near the bench, facing further down the walking path. Giving the bench a wide berth, I squatted in front of it, looking at the view from there. A perfect shot of the spot where we’d parked. Fuck. What would he have done if Jenna had walked back to her car alone?
“Hey, man. Whatcha got?” Quint asked as he approached.
I recognized the call from afar as a warning to avoid startling me, but there was no need. I’d clocked him seconds earlier. Ifilled him in on the man I saw, feeling foolish that I had to admit I didn’t do anything. Between the book in front of his face and the hat and sunglasses he’d been wearing, I was only able to give the barest of descriptions: Caucasian male, average weight, average height, no hair showing beneath the hat, and wearing jeans, a black T-shirt, and a gray hat with an indistinguishable white logo on it.
“I’m sorrier than I can say that I just let him walk away.”