Chapter 5

Gwen

”It”s just a guy who is being a little...aggressive.”

”Aggressive?” Jordan demanded, looking pissed.

”Not in a bad way,” I said, trying to defuse her. ”He asked me out this morning. And after I said no, he got my number from the front desk.”

”Aw,” Dani sighed. She rubbed her belly with one hand, a grimace on her face.

”No,” Seek told her, scratching Auron”s ears as she spoke. ”Not aw. That”s just your hormones talking.”

”Is he bothering you?” Kit asked. She and Seek were watching me closely. They were both the mama bears of this group—Slone and Jenny were the mama hens. The difference between the two was the eagerness to cut off appendages of anyone who messed with those they loved. I very much appreciated their concern.

”I think the more important question,” Jenny interrupted, ”is whether he”s cute or not.”

Jordan tilted the bottle to her lips then nodded. ”You know what? She”s right. You haven”t been asked out since...” She trailed off, grimacing. Because my ex was the last man to ask me on a date. And that same ex had tried his best to kill me in a coked-out rage.

”Since Trent,” I said, though my lips trembled a little as I forced myself to say it. ”I know.”

”The most important question,” Seek argued, her eagle eyes not missing a damn tremble on my uncooperative body, ”is if you feel as though you”re in any kind of danger from this guy.”

It wasn”t very typical that a woman was pursued by a man and she got this line of questioning from her friends. But they were all incredibly protective of me. Which was exactly why I hadn”t told them how hard of a time I”d been having since the attack. ”No,” I replied. ”I don”t feel like he”s any kind of danger. He”s...” I scrunched my nose, not really wanting to say the next part, but they were all hanging on every word.

”He”s what?” Eva breathed, her eyes shining with excitement. Jecht was laying over her feet, snoring.

”He”s one of the cops that was looking into the break in.”

Most of them exhaled the breaths they”d been holding audibly.

”Oh boy,” Susie said with a chuckle.

”That”s a problem,” Tori said in agreement.

”You think that”s the main problem here?” Kit asked with a laugh, sitting back in her chair.

”What else is a problem?” I asked her.

”Uh, only the sexy lawyer biker who”s-” Jordan was cut off with a grunt as Daisha elbowed her.

I looked around at them all. ”Who”s what?” I asked.

They were all smiling as though they had a secret. Finally, Dani rolled her eyes. ”Well, if no one else is going to then I”m just going to say it. Honey. That man wants to fold you up like a pretzel and eat you.”

We all stared at her. All I could do was blink in shock.

”Of all the analogies in the world, and that”s what you come up with?” Seek asked, looking incredulous.

”Sorry,” Dani said, there was a sheepish look on her face as she rubbed her belly. She was almost nine months pregnant and looked adorable as she waddled around. Not that I”d ever tell her she waddled. ”I guess I”m hungry. Damn now I want a pretzel. One of those huge soft ones? With mayo.”

”Okay, well that”s disgusting,” Jordan said.

”What Dani is trying to say,” Sloane said, taking over, ”is that Static likes you.”

”Of course he does,” I replied. ”There”s no reason for him not to-”

Jordan sighed. ”Sweetie. Try to keep up. He likes you and wants to stick his parts inside you. That kind of ”likes” you.”

I glanced over at the kids, who were still completely involved with the show and not listening, then shot her a dark look. ”Language. And no...no he doesn”t.” I wasn”t going to lie to myself. Her words brought up a visual that was anything but gross despite the way she phrased that. I couldn”t stop my brain from conjuring up the image of Static and I naked, his body pressed against mine, and his tongue stroking against my skin.

”Why are you blushing?” Daisha teased.

”I don”t think he”s interested in me like that,” I denied, ignoring Daisha.

”Why?” Eva asked. ”I know I”m new here, but even I know he watches you when you”re not looking.”

”He does?” I asked. Shaking my head, I tried to contain the hope that was rising up. Just because I liked him—not that I planned to do anything about it—didn”t mean he felt the same. And even if he did. I couldn”t date anyone right now. I was a mess.

”Like he”s a fat kid and you”re the last piece of chocolate cake,” Dani said in a gleeful tone. Her smile turned to a pout when everyone looked at her in amusement. ”Fine. I”ll stop.”

”You”re making me hungry,” Susie complained.

”Welcome to my life,” Dani sighed.

”And I don”t even need to ask you how you feel about Static,” Jordan said. She rolled her eyes when I gave her a curious glance. ”You”re my best friend. I know when you like a boy.” She said it as though we were kids in a school yard, not like I was twenty-nine years old with two children of my own.

”It doesn”t matter,” I sighed. ”I have too many things to focus on right now.” My heart sank a little in my chest. ”I can”t put all this on Static.”

”I think he”d like it if you put all that on him,” Seek said with a laugh.

The joke eased the tension.

”Gwen-”

I cut Jordan off. ”Can we please talk about something else?”

”Sure,” Kit said, a mischievous glint lighting up her eyes. ”How about we talk about your cop?”

I groaned. ”He”s not my cop.”

”Do you want him texting you?” Dani asked.

Opening my mouth, I hesitated before answering. ”I don”t know. I”m not interested in dating anyone right now.”

”Why?” Sloane asked softly.

There they were, watching me like I was a little sheep in the lion”s den. There was knowledge on their faces. Did they know? Did they somehow figure out that I was trying to hide the pain and fear I”d been living in since Trent attacked me?

”Honey,” Sloane said, catching my attention, ”we know.”

Is she a mind reader?

”Yeah,” Seek said, giving me a soft smile.

”And if anyone would understand what you”re going through, it”s us,” Sloane added. ”You can talk to us whenever you”re ready.”

She was right. She”d been beaten for years while she lived with the cult. If anyone would understand the fear and feelings of weakness and doubt I was experiencing, it would be her.

”Until then,” Kit said, ”we won”t pry, but we hate seeing you struggle alone.”

They knew. This whole time they knew and hadn”t forced me to speak about it. That was part of my problem. I needed to get my control back. I needed to feel like I was in control of my own life again. ”Thank you,” I told them. ”I appreciate it.”

”We”re always here,” Jordan added.

”You”re all such good friends,” I whispered.

”And the cop,” Kit added. ”You know, if you need help getting rid of him, let us know.”

Nodding, I smiled at them. ”It”s okay. I”ve got this.”

Stuffingthe card into my purse, I shrugged it onto my shoulder and marched into the police station. My feet stuttered a little as I went through the door, but squaring my shoulders I continued to the front desk. It was the next morning and I had just dropped my children off at school. I had the day off and I was determined to put an end to this.

If I was going to date someone I”d be tossing myself into Static”s arms. There was no way I could drag another person into the circus that was my life, though.

”Can I help you?”

”Hi,” I said, my voice trembling a little as I stared at the man in uniform behind the welcome desk. I never used to be a timid woman. And really, I wasn”t now, but with everything that had happened over the last year, I was allowed to be a bit nervous. ”May I please speak with David Torres?”

His brows rose as he eyed me, but he jerked his head in a nod. ”Hold on.” He picked up the phone, hit a number and continued to watch me as he waited with the phone to his ear. ”Torres.” He waited again. ”You have a visitor.” Then he hung up.

”Thanks,” I said.

”Through those doors,” he said, pointing to a door at the end of a hallway.

Taking a deep breath, I marched down the hallway, my shoes squeaking against the tile. My heart started racing as I saw David walking toward me. A surprised smile was on his face.

”Hi, Gwen.”

”Hi,” I said, twisting my fingers together. ”Can I talk to you?”

”Of course.” He opened a door to our right. ”After you.”

I looked around as I stepped inside then jumped as the door slammed shut.

”Sorry. I forget not to let those slam,” he said. His eyes searched my face. ”Before you start,” he said when I opened my mouth, ”I owe you an apology.”

That stopped me in my tracks, the speech I”d practiced dying in my throat.

”My sister told me that getting your phone number like that and then texting you was creepy and totally inappropriate,” he said in a tone that said he was repeating word for word what she”d told him. He gave me a wry smile. ”I swear I wasn”t trying to be a creep. I just-” He huffed out a breath. ”I was married. Got married young, when I was nineteen. High school sweethearts,” he said, continuing when I gave him an encouraging smile. ”We got divorced a couple years ago and I”m just now getting back into the whole dating scene.” He shrugged, a dull red creeping up his neck. ”I”m not very good at it.”

He was endearing. And I believed him. ”Thank you,” I said, responding to his apology. ”And I”m not trying to be rude. I just... I was also married,” I confided with a smile. ”It ended...badly.” Jordan”s terrified face flashed through my mind as she was dragged backward by Trent inside my kitchen. She”d been trying to protect me and had ended up fighting him alone after I passed out again. I swallowed hard, looking down. ”Really, really badly,” I added. A quick glance up and I saw anger and empathy in his eyes.

”Is he still around?”

”No,” I told him. ”He”s gone. But I”m still trying to put the pieces back together. So...I”m not very good at this either.” I sighed. ”And I have children. So I can”t just jump into something, even though I think you”re cute and seem very nice.”

He grinned. ”Thanks.” He shifted from foot to foot. ”I don”t have a problem with you having kids, but-” He pulled his cell from his pocket and showed me my contact info on the screen. With it still facing me, he hit the delete button. ”I won”t bother you anymore.” He gave me a searching look. ”But Gwen, I still would love to take you out to dinner one night. You still have my number. Call anytime.” He spread his arms, hands up. ”Or you know where to find me.”

I laughed softly. ”Thank you.”

”Let me walk you out.”

Nodding, I followed him out of the interrogation room. He really did seem like a nice guy, but I was relieved the pressure was off. He wouldn”t be texting me again. And someday, in the future, if I wanted to try to date again, I could always try him then. I didn”t foresee it happening anytime soon, but who knew what would happen.