Five

FIVE

Huck

It had been five days since I saw Josie.

And over the course of those five days, I'd found myself struggling to think about anyone or anything else but Josie.

It was a wonder I'd managed to successfully get through my classes I needed to teach.

No matter how hard I tried not to allow it to happen, visions of her beautiful face flashed in my mind. I kept hearing her sweet voice replaying in my head. And even if I hadn't wanted to, I continued to question just how honest she'd been with me.

Granted, I didn't think she came right out and lied to me, but she certainly wanted to avoid certain topics, and I believe she'd done that by not divulging her true reality, whatever it was.

I couldn't stop recalling some of the reactions she'd had, especially the way she flinched when I moved to hug her after I'd first arrived at the diner. That reaction indicated to me that there was something else going on in her life.

Of course, even though there had been plenty of good things I'd had moving through my mind over the last few days, there was bound to be some unwelcome thoughts. In addition to the unsettled feeling I had about her physical reaction to me offering her a hug, there was the issue of her confirming she had a boyfriend. That had been the one thing I'd desperately tried to ignore, but I couldn't seem to make that happen.

Worse yet, I was concerned about whether her reaction to me had anything to do with the way her boyfriend might have been treating her. I hoped he was being decent to her and treating her the way she deserved.

I didn't want to imagine the possibility of Josie ever allowing herself to remain in a situation that was harmful to her. As a kid, I recognized her options had been limited. But she was an adult now, and she was smart. What worried me was that she hadn't gone on to do what she'd talked about doing in high school and gotten herself that career as an obstetric sonographer.

Though it was possible things had fallen off the rails for her, or she simply could have changed her mind, I had this awful feeling that wasn't the case for Josie.

Doing what I did for a living, I recognized the signs. I'd seen how bad it had gotten for quite a few women who'd stepped through the front doors of Harper Security Ops looking for help. And though it was possible Josie had trauma lingering from when she was a kid, a lot of time had passed. I didn't think she would have reacted to me the way she had.

At this point, I just needed to see her again. Luckily for me, I taught several classes already and had just finished my last class for the day. So, I was going to head to the diner for a mid-afternoon snack. I had promised Josie I'd come back for pie, and considering how badly I wanted to see her again, I didn't think there was any better time to make that happen.

"Hey, Huck. Do you have a minute?"

I turned around and saw Greyson coming in my direction, concern written all over his expression. "Yeah, sure. What's up, man?"

"Are you okay?"

"Me?" I countered.

He gave me a nod in response. "Yeah. I just… well, maybe I'm crazy, but you seem like you've been a little bit distracted the past couple of days. I guess I just wanted to make sure everything was alright."

I sighed. All I wanted to do was leave so I could see Josie, but I owed Greyson an explanation. "I'm sorry, Grey. I'm mostly okay. It's… well, I ran into an old friend the other day."

His brows shot up. "An old friend? Like, a lady friend?"

A chuckle escaped. "Yeah. I guess you could say that. Her name is Josie, and we were friends in high school. I haven't seen her since we graduated, but she was working at the diner when I went there the other day."

A mischievous grin spread across Greyson's face. "So, Jake was right. You did find your girl at the diner."

If only that had been the case.

Shaking my head, I shared, "She's currently in a relationship."

"Bummer. So, what's going on with you, then? What does seeing this girl again have to do with why you seem distracted?"

I inhaled deeply and held my breath as I considered my response. Then I explained, "I have this gut feeling. Josie didn't have the best home life when we were in high school. She lived with her dad, who used to abuse her. And after seeing her the other day, I can't shake the feeling that either she hasn't recovered from that trauma, or she's got something else going on."

"Damn, that's terrible. Were you two ever?—"

"No. We were just friends. But I walked away from her after graduation, went on to enlist, and accomplished so many things I wanted to accomplish in my life," I told him. "That doesn't seem to have happened for her. Anyway, since I don't have any additional classes today, I'm going to head over to the diner."

Greyson raised a curious brow. "I thought you said she had a boyfriend."

I jerked my chin down. "She does. But until I can confirm that she's not in any danger, I'm not going to pretend she doesn't exist."

"Will you do that if you can confirm she's safe?" he asked.

That was the million-dollar question. Nothing had happened between Josie and me the other day, and I hadn't been able to get her out of my head ever since. Greyson knew what he was asking me. I needed to admit to myself that this wasn't just about Josie's safety. It was about something so much deeper than that. I'd never tread on her relationship, but that didn't mean I wouldn't put myself in her life in a way she wouldn't be able to avoid me. If things were okay in her relationship now but eventually turned sour, I wanted to be the guy she saw.

Knowing I could trust Greyson with my life, I didn't hesitate to give him the truth. "Probably not."

He let out a laugh. "Fair enough. Good luck."

"Thanks, man. See you tomorrow."

Fifteen minutes later, I'd gotten the biggest relief when I walked into Betty's diner and saw Josie in the distance. She'd just walked out from behind the double doors that led into the kitchen. She hadn't immediately spotted me, but as she rounded the corner of the bar, her eyes met mine.

I smiled at her, hoping and expecting I'd get something similar in return.

I didn't.

If anything, Josie seemed rather uncomfortable. That's when I noticed she wasn't wearing her apron, and she was carrying her purse in one hand and keys in the other.

When she came to a stop in front of me, I asked, "Are you leaving?"

"My shift just ended."

"Aw, man. I was hoping I'd be able to have that pie now," I shared. Before she had the chance to respond, I asked, "Do you have anything pressing going on? Would you like to join me for a slice of pie?"

She dropped her gaze to the ground, confirming I hadn't been wrong. Josie was the opposite of happy to see me. "Oh, um, well?—"

"If you can't stay, I understand," I assured her, even though I wanted nothing more than the opportunity to spend some time with her. "We can do it another time."

Josie returned her attention to my face, and the disappointment was etched into every feature on her face. I prepared myself for the worst, but she surprised me when she said, "No. No, it's okay. I can stay for a little bit. I've got to be out of here in thirty minutes, though."

The feeling that moved through me was wholly unexpected. The smile was back on my face. "Thirty minutes should be plenty for pie, shouldn't it?"

She gave me a small smile and a nod in return. "Yeah, I think so." Turning to the side, she spoke to the hostess. "Hey, Brenda. My friend and I are going to grab a table in Lori's section."

"Okay."

Looking back at me, she asked, "Ready?"

"Lead the way," I urged her.

Josie didn't wait. She walked away from the entrance to the diner and toward a booth on the opposite side of where I'd been seated when I came in days ago. "Does this work?"

I would have sat on the floor if I was going to have the opportunity to spend some time with her. "It's perfect."

As we slid into opposite sides of the booth, I couldn't miss the look on Josie's face or the way she moved.

"Are you okay?"

"What?"

"Hey, I didn't know you were staying." That statement came from the waitress standing beside our table.

"Oh, hey, Lori. Yeah, I saw my friend coming in as I was heading out," Josie explained. "So, I'm just hanging for a bit while he has some pie."

"Perfect. Any idea what you'd like, or should I grab some menus?" Lori asked.

My eyes went to Josie. "What do you recommend?"

"They're all good. We've got a wildberry, apple, cherry, and blueberry if you want a fruit pie. You probably wouldn't be disappointed with the chocolate cream or banana cream. If I recall correctly, you don't like coconut, so I wouldn't recommend the coconut custard. We also have a lemon meringue."

"Do you have a favorite?" I asked, ignoring the way it felt to hear her admit she hadn't forgotten about my aversion to coconut.

"It's a toss-up between the apple crumb and the wildberry. I think both are best when served a la mode, if you don't mind adding some ice cream to the mix," she said.

With a curt nod, I looked up at Lori and said, "We'll have one of each, just as Josie likes them with some ice cream."

Lori beamed at us. "Great. Anything to drink?"

"Josie?" I asked.

"Oh, um, just a cup of tea," she murmured.

"I'll have a coffee."

With a nod, Lori said, "I'll be back shortly."

As soon as she took off, leaving me alone with Josie, my eyes were immediately on the woman sitting across from me. She seemed nervous, uneasy. And her eyes were staring out the window.

"Josie?" I called quietly, pulling her attention away from whatever she'd been focused on outside.

She brought her gaze to mine. "Yeah?"

"Do you want to tell me why you had so much trouble sitting down?" I asked.

Her throat bobbed with the deep swallow she took. "I… I hurt myself two days ago."

I knew where this was heading, and I didn't like it one bit. Doing my best to remain neutral until I had all the facts, I replied, "Really? Was it here at work?"

She looked away from me, her discomfort becoming more and more obvious with every second that passed. The time ticked by, and I felt myself growing more concerned. "No," she whispered. "I was at home when it happened. I fell in my kitchen."

"Are you okay? What did you injure?" I pressed.

"Just my ribs and my shoulder," she confessed, her voice holding a slight rasp.

I opened my mouth to ask another question, but Lori returned. "Here's your coffee and tea. I've got some cream here for you. And the sugar is on the opposite side of the table. I'll be back in a few minutes with the pies."

"Thank you," I said.

The moment she was gone, my focus was back on Josie. "How did you fall? Did you get checked out by a doctor?"

She shook her head. "No. No, I'm okay."

I cocked a brow. "You struggled to get into the seat. That doesn't seem okay to me."

Josie nervously bit her lip. I hated it, because I knew she was hiding the truth from me. The last thing I wanted to do was push her to the point she got up and walked out of here, but I was no longer willing to sit back and do nothing. When she flinched days ago, I could explain it away as being some longstanding trauma response. Watching her need to lower herself gingerly into the booth told a different story, and I wasn't the kind of man who could pretend I didn't see it.

"I'll be fine," she insisted as she reached up to grab her spoon for her tea.

Deciding to give her a break for a minute, I prepared my coffee and took a sip. As she did the same with her tea, something else caught my eye.

It was the beginning of July, and Josie was wearing a long-sleeved shirt. That wasn't necessarily a huge concern, considering the temperature was kept cool in the diner. The issue was that as she lifted her mug to her lips, the sleeve had crept up her arm and exposed a gnarly bruise on her forearm.

Given her reaction to my questions, the fact she'd confessed to injuring her shoulder and ribs, and the presence of such a large bruise on her arm, I had all the evidence I needed. Now, I just needed to figure out how I was going to get her to trust me.

We sat in uncomfortable silence for a few moments. I spent that time trying to come up with a plan I could execute in less than thirty minutes that would lead to me being able to ensure her safety. Josie spent that time avoiding my gaze.

Lori returned and asked, "Okay. Who's getting which pie?"

"Which do you want?" I asked her.

"I'll have whichever you don't want," she answered, the rasp still present in her voice.

Looking up at Lori, I instructed, "Surprise us. We can switch if we change our minds."

Lori set the apple pie down in front of me, leaving Josie with the wildberry one. Unsure just how bad her situation might have been, I decided it was best to give her the opportunity to enjoy a treat.

After we both took a bite, I said, "You weren't lying. This is delicious."

The small smile had returned. "I'm glad you like it. Would you like to try the wildberry?"

I reached across the table with my fork and took off a piece of the pie with some vanilla ice cream. "Oh, that one is good, too," I declared. "Here, try the apple pie."

Josie reached her arm out to slice off a piece of the apple pie, and my eyes dropped to her forearm. More of it was on display, and the bruise was worse than I had originally thought. She quickly pulled her arm away and tugged on her sleeve.

When my eyes met hers, I had a feeling she realized she couldn't hide it any longer. "Josie, honey, please tell me what happened to you."

She pressed her lips together, tears filling her eyes, and she shook her head. "I can't."

"I will help you," I promised. "Whatever it is."

One tear escaped and rolled down her cheek. To see that tear, to know she was in pain, made me want to kill the person who did this to her.

"Do you live alone?" I asked.

She shook her head.

"With your boyfriend?" I pressed.

Her chin dipped slightly. "Fiancé."

My jaw clenched several times as I fought to rein in my emotions. She was engaged. Fuck. To top it off, it was clear she wasn't going to share information on her own, but it seemed she was willing to answer my questions. "Is he the reason you have that bruise?"

"Yes," she whispered.

"And the ribs?"

"Yes."

"Fuck," I hissed.

How I didn't lose my mind was beyond me. I sat there, staring at this beautiful woman, and felt nothing but regret. Could things have been different for her if I'd never left?

"How long have you been with him?"

"A couple of years."

Years.

Fuck, years.

"Huck, I'm getting out," she assured me. "I have a plan, and I'm working to make it happen. I just need more time."

"More time for what?" I questioned her.

"To be sure I do this the right way. I can't risk making a mistake," she answered.

"Honey, I don't think you can risk being where you are," I shared, my voice gentle.

"You have to trust me. I'll be okay. I'm so close to having what I need."

"What do you need?"

She shook her head slightly. "Just a few more shifts."

"Money? You need money?"

"I can only save so much of my tips from each shift," she explained. "But I almost have enough to get my own place. And I've already decided that once I move out, I'm going to come and see you at work. I want you to teach me how to defend myself."

There was the part of me that was relieved to know she wanted to do something about her situation, that she intended to get herself out of it. But the other part of me just wanted to fix it for her. "I can give you whatever you need. Let me get you out of this."

She shook her head. "I can't let you do that, Huck."

"And you think I can let you go back to a place where you aren't safe?" I countered.

"You don't have a choice," she murmured.

That's when it hit me. This wasn't my decision to make, no matter how much I wanted that to be the case. Before she left here today, I had to convince her. I didn't want to risk the possibility of this asshole putting his hands on her again.

I needed a plan.

So, allowing her to think I'd acquiesced, I suggested, "How about you finish your pie for now?"

"Okay," she agreed.

The thought of putting any food in my stomach made me sick, but if it meant I was going to have the opportunity to keep her here until I could figure out how to fix this, I was going to eat the pie. And I was going to make it look like I was savoring every bite while my head was filled with thoughts of what I intended to do to this guy when I got my hands on him.