“Look at me, baby,” he said firmly. Chloe lifted her eyes to his, and the devastation in them brought tears to his. “I promise you I’m going to fix this.”
Tears tumbled down her cheeks as she nodded.
“I love you, baby. He will not get away with this.” He pressed his lips to hers, vowing to live up to that promise. He looked at Reba, a silent affirmation of her agreement to take care of Chloe passing between them.
Preacher and Conroy stepped beside him, and Reba and Serena moved closer to Chloe, causing her to cry harder. Despite knowing Chloe was in safe, loving hands, letting go of her and taking a step back was the hardest thing he’d ever done.
Until he walked out the front door, leaving his heart, his love, behind.
CHLOE FELT LIKE she’d been ravaged by the sea, and she wasn’t drifting—she was drowning. Even in Reba’s and Serena’s arms, the waves crashed over her, sucking her under. In her devastation, she couldn’t catch her breath. She loved Justin for standing up for her, but at the same time, she hated that he’d put himself—and them—in an even worse situation. Her anguish didn’t stop there. She hated herself for not giving more weight to Justin’s instincts about Alan, and she despised Alan Rogers.
She was not going to let that man ruin their lives.
I can do this. I have to do this. She willed her strength back into her legs, inhaling deeply, filling her lungs with determination as she stepped out of their arms and said, “I need to change my clothes; then I need to go to the police station to file a report.”
“I know you want to get those clothes off and feel more like yourself,” Reba said caringly, “but it’s important that the police see what he did to you. You don’t have to go to the station. Cuffs arranged for an officer to come here. We were just waiting for you to be ready.”
Chloe swallowed hard, wiping her eyes. “Thank you.”
“I’m staying here tonight,” Serena said. “Drake is outside, along with about twenty Dark Knights. Tank and Blaine are going to stay until Justin gets back.”
“If he gets back,” Chloe said, tears welling in her eyes again.
“Our attorney is waiting at the station, and he’ll be with Justin at the arraignment in the morning,” Reba explained. “Justin should be out on bail and home by midday tomorrow.”
Arraignment. How did their lives go so wrong? “I should be there, too.”
“No, sweetheart. You’ve been through enough,” Reba said. “Talking with the police and relaying what you’ve gone through is going to take everything out of you. You’re going to need to rest so you’re strong enough to fight this.”
“But Justin—”
“No buts, baby. I promise you, there is nothing he can’t handle. Justin’s only worry is that you and Serena are safe, and seeing you in that courtroom will not help him in the way you think it will. He knows you support him. He knows you love him. But he will be stronger and better able to focus if you’re here, safe. I think you should give him that peace of mind.”
Guilt and worry strangled Chloe, but she managed to nod.
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to stay here tonight, too,” Reba said. “Just in case you girls need anything.”
Chloe and Serena exchanged grateful glances, but there was no holding back the rush of tears for Justin’s family’s love and support. “You’ve already done so much.”
“You girls are family now, and family doesn’t put limits on taking care of one another.” Reba took hold of Chloe’s hand, then reached for Serena’s and said, “We’re all going to get through this. It’s going to be hard, and heart-wrenching, and there might be times when you think you can’t go on. But when your legs give out, I’ll stand for you, and when mine need a break—”
“I’ll stand for you,” Serena said through tears, drawing more sobs from Chloe.
Reba pulled them both into her loving arms and said, “And all those men out there? They’ve got some mighty strong legs for us, too.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
JUSTIN SQUINTED AGAINST the bright sun Tuesday morning as he pushed through the courthouse doors after the arraignment. Preacher and Justice, a tall, sharply dressed black man with serious eyes, a baritone voice, and a no-bullshit attitude, followed him out. Preacher posted bail, and the trial date was set for five weeks from tomorrow. Justin hated being away from Chloe for even