Aaron cleared his throat. “I’ll put your food in the kitchen until you’re ready.”
“Thank you.” She gestured to the armchair. “Would you like a seat, officer?”
The male nodded and sat down before he pulled his ledger out and navigated through it. But he kept glancing up at Talyn in a strange way that said he knew exactly who Talyn was.
“Are you a Ring fan?” she asked him.
The enforcer actually blushed. “Yes, mu tara. A huge one.”
She took Talyn’s hand in hers and led it to her cheek. “Then to answer your unspoken question, yes. He’s the Iron Hammer. You’re not crazy.”
A wide grin broke across his face as he shot back to his feet. “Ah, I knew it!” Biting his lip, he slid his stylus into his pocket. “This is so inappropriate of me, but could I please shake your hand?”
Talyn held his arm out to him. “Sure, Officer…” He glanced to the male’s name tag. “Hawas.”
The enforcer shook his hand quickly, then returned to work. “I’m so sorry for what happened to you, mu tara. I promise, we’ll make finding the male who did this a priority. No one attacks the Hammer’s female!”
Talyn didn’t speak as he sat down next to Felicia.
“I have most of the details and a description from your security guard. What I need are the specifics from you. Do you know him? Have you seen him before? Did he say anything during the attack?”
“Honestly, it all happened so fast that I’m really fuzzy on the details right now. All I remember is him grabbing me and shoving and shouting. And thinking that I just needed to escape him.” Tears welled in her eyes, but she quickly blinked them away. “Is there any way I can call you if I remember something more?”
The enforcer finished typing it in with his stylus. “Absolutely.” He pulled a card from his pocket and wrote a number on the back. “My office link is on the front. The back is my personal one. You call, day or night. If you feel threatened at all, we’ll gladly send someone over. And if anything comes to you, no matter how insignificant you think it is, give me a call.” He handed her the card. “And I hate to ask, but I assume the bruises on your face and arm are from the attack?”
She nodded.
“Would you mind if I took a photo of them for the evidence log? And your dress?”
“Sure.”
He held his ledger up and had her pull her hair back from her face and neck so that he could document it. Likewise, she removed the robe.
Talyn ground his teeth as he saw the tears starting to flow down her cheeks. He pulled her against his chest and held her close. “Shh, munatara. It’ll be all right.”
Her legs buckled.
Talyn caught her up into his arms. He met the enforcer’s concerned gaze. “If you’ll wait here for a moment, I’ll be right back. I just want to put her to bed.”
“Yes, sir.”
He carried her into the bedroom and covered her with the blankets.
“I’m sorry, Talyn.”
“Don’t you dare apologize. I know how hard it is. I’ll be right back.” He kissed her cheek and grabbed a magazine from the nightstand before he returned to the living room where Officer Hawas was chatting with Aaron.
“Thank you,” Talyn said to the enforcer. “I really appreciate your compassion with her.”
“No problem. I have a wife and daughter, and I know how furious I’d be if something like this happened to them.”
“Yeah. He better be glad Aaron was there and not me. Otherwise, this would be a homicide report.”
The enforcer nodded. “Thank you for your time, Major Batur. I’ll have a patrol in the area for the next few days. Just in case.”
“Thanks.” Talyn held up the Splatterdome magazine in his hand. “Would you like me to sign this for you?”
“Really! Gah, I’d be so honored. Could you make it out to Theris?”
“Absolutely.” Talyn signed it to him and handed it over. “Again, thank you both.” He walked them to the lift, then went to get dinner for Felicia.
Felicia came out of the bathroom to find Talyn in the bedroom with a large tray of food and wine. Love for him spread through her. No one had ever made her feel the way he did.
Beautiful. Cherished.
“I wasn’t sure what you’d like or what goes with the food since I can’t drink, so I brought both red and white.”
“Thank you, keramon.” Dressed in her nightgown, she slid back