uncomfortably. He ignored her objection and lifted up her sleeves, displaying her bruised arms to Allie. Mia breathed through the threatening tears, not able to make eye contact with either of her best friends. Luke moved aside so Allie could see. Mia swallowed hard when Allie gasped.
“Show her the other ones.”
With tears in her eyes, she lowered the collar on her shirt, revealing the large fingertip-shaped bruises along her chest.
“Goddamn it!” Allie yelled, moving closer and examining Mia. “Ethan did this to you?”
She could hear the doubt in Allie’s voice. It wasn’t that she doubted what Mia said; she doubted that Ethan, of all people, could do this to his wife, the woman he claimed to love so much.
“Allie, did you know anything about Ethan’s interview with Kristen Ostermann last week?”
She shook her head before she responded. “No. Had no clue. I didn’t talk to him much while you were in Europe. Just yesterday to tell him about the changes to your travel plans.”
While Allie continued to talk about what she had said to Ethan, there was a knock on the door. Luke excused himself and went to answer it.
Mia’s eyes bulged when she heard the sickening sound of something hard slamming into flesh. When the loud thud of something hitting the floor reached her ears, she raced to the front of the house and skidded to a stop when she saw Ethan sprawled out on his back.
“What the fuck, man?” Ethan said, scrambling up from the floor. He stepped towards Luke, his golden eyes on fire. Mia ran between the two men, her hands feebly pushing against Ethan’s chest, trying to hold him back.
“That was for your wife because she sure as hell won’t do it, but it needed to be done!” Luke spat at him. Shock crossed Ethan’s face before the anger turned it red.
“Move, Mia,” Ethan ordered, grabbing her arms, making her wince in pain when his fingers connected with the bruises he’d made earlier. Luke punched him again. She didn’t even see his fist fly through the air, and neither did Ethan as it connected with his cheekbone.
Allie went to Luke, pushing him away from Mia and Ethan and then wrapped her arms around his chest. “Stop this now!” she ordered her husband.
“You lay a hand on her like that again, I’ll fucking kick your ass!” Luke yelled over Allie’s shoulder.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Ethan asked. While he waited for the answer, he opened and closed his jaw.
“Take a look at her arms, her wrists, her fucking chest!” Luke shouted at Ethan. “Look what you did to her!”
Mia did not want this happening here. Or at all. She removed her hands from her husband’s hard chest and quickly made her escape out the open front door and started running as fast as she could. She heard her name being called out, but she kept on running, sprinting the entire way home. She knew no one could catch her … well, on foot anyway.
She entered the house and hurried up the stairs to the master suite where she locked herself in the bathroom. Ripping off her clothes, she stood in front of the large full-length mirror, needing to see for herself the bruises that had both Allie and Luke cringing.
Despite that need, she had a hard time opening her eyes to actually look at them. After a few moments of prepping herself, she opened her eyes and regarded herself in the mirror. Her mouth dropped open when she saw the dark reddish purple marks littering her body. She traced the bruises his hands had left on her, easily making out the shape of his fingers. When she turned around, she was shocked to see even more bruises on her hips and ass.
Her husband did this to her. He put those marks on her body. Fuck! What the hell was going on? How was this even happening?
She walked into the shower, turned it on, and stepped under the hot spray, hoping the water would wash this all away, but knowing it wouldn’t. This hadn’t been what she’d expected when she’d come home. She expected tears of happiness not the fearful tears she’d shed in abundance already today.
Unless Luke and Allie stopped him, Ethan should be home any minute now. She showered quickly, being careful as she washed around the sore spots. When she stepped out of the shower, she heard the rumble of Ethan’s feet coming up the stairs. “Mia!” he called out, his voice