Page 153 of Safe Word

She met my eyes again. ‘I… I don’t remember. I hit the panic button, and then—’

‘Call the police,’ I cut in, moving a stray strand from her face. That made her pause. I watched the shock and confusion slowly thawing at the corners.

She inclined her head, tears quivering on her lashes. ‘They’ll be here soon.’

Her fingers curved around my hand that I held her chin with. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. ‘I am okay,’ she said, her voice small but steady.

Relief washed over me, but it was short-lived. An unshakable guilt lingered.

I’d come so close to losing myself, to becoming everything I hated, and the only thing that had stopped me was her. She was my anchor, the last tether keeping me from slipping into the abyss. I’d even forgotten about the cameras that could have recorded me killing the fucker. I would’ve been in some serious shit then.

Christ, the trouble I get myself into…

‘Get your stuff. You’re coming with me.’

Paula’s eyes widened, her face a mixture of exhaustion and surprise. ‘But we said—’

‘I don’t give a flying fuck what we said,’ I interrupted, sharper than I meant.

I exhaled, reining it in. ‘I’m not leaving you alone here. After the statement, you’re staying in my guest room until that arsehole is either out of the country… or dead.’

That last part fell harder.

Did I mean it?

Fuck yes. I meant it.

I would kill him – for her, for myself, for my mother, for every goddamn person who’d been dragged through hell by someone like him.

The thought burned in my chest like fire… and scared the hell out of me – because a part of me welcomed it.

Her small frame crashed into my chest, fists gripping my shirt as if it were the only thing holding her to this world.

Sobs shook through her quietly. I pulled her close, arms wrapping tight around her.

I was probably holding her too hard – but she didn’t let on.

I pressed a kiss to the top of her head. Reflex, not thought.

A small gesture.

But it felt monumental.

She looked up, her eyes red, wide with lingering shock.

I breathed her in. The swelling at her brow scraped something raw in me, and I had to coach myself – don’t go after him. Not yet.

‘Take me away,’ she whispered.

Something cracked wide open in my chest.

I must have had a concussion from last night, because for a second, I pictured us in some snow-covered cabin, wrapped in blankets…

And chains.

With my duffel bag in the corner.

The police were efficient, in and out within half an hour. Statements. Questions. Footage.