her. He wasn’t that kind of guy. He was a controlling, emotionally abusive asshole, but he was also a total coward. There’s no way he’d set foot in Glacier Falls. Not when he knew her brother would make sure it was the last time he ever used that foot.
She’d been so sure he’d leave her alone. He’d go off and lick his wounds and move onto someone else.
She’d been so sure.
Which was why she’d never said anything about the other calls.
She was such an idiot.
The phone rang again, and she fell to the floor and put her arms over her head. She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t let this man come in and ruin what was going so well. He’d already taken so much from her. She couldn’t deal with it. She couldn’t—no!
What she couldn’t do was sit there and let herself be a victim again. The words of her therapist, Lauren, ran through her head. “You are strong and capable. You always were. He didn’t take that from you; he just made you forget for a little bit. It’s time to remember who you are.”
Remember who you are.
Char took a deep breath and picked up the still ringing phone. She stared at it for a moment before closing her eyes and pushing the button to answer it. “You need to leave me alone, Billy.”
“I miss you.”
“No.” She worked hard to keep her voice even and strong.
“I do. You left me.”
She nodded, but didn’t speak.
“You weren’t supposed to leave, Char. That wasn’t part of the plan.”
“It was part of mine.” Right. Strong. “We’re done, Billy. You need to move on.”
“You shouldn’t have left.”
Was that a threat?
He’d never been violent with her. Not really. Well, not more than once or twice. At the time, she hadn’t considered his rough handling of her abuse. But it was. She knew that now.
“Good-bye, Billy.” She exhaled slowly, letting the tension fall from her shoulders. She was about to hang up when his words caught her attention.
“It’ll never be good-bye, Char. Never.”
She sucked in a breath and ended the call. She didn’t want to admit it, but he’d gotten to her. He’d—
“Who was on the phone?”
Nick stepped into the Lumberjack cabin, hoping to surprise Char with lunch, but he wasn’t prepared to find her sitting on the floor. And he definitely wasn’t prepared to see her looking so shaken.
“Who was on the phone?”
He hadn’t caught much of the conversation, but he was pretty sure he’d heard the name Billy. And if he’d heard what he thought he’d heard, he wasn’t happy about it.
Char’s head jerked up and he could see without her even saying anything that he was right.
“Dammit.” Nick fell to his knees on the floor in front of her. “It was Billy?” He pulled her into his arms and muttered under his breath, “Fuck.” A protective surge toward Charlotte washed over him. And why wouldn’t it? They were…friends. Good friends. He’d protect any of his friends the same way. Just because it was Charlotte didn’t mean anything.
“It’s fine. It’s—”
“Not fine. I’ll destroy him, Char. I—”
“You won’t and you know it.”
He pulled her tighter to him and stroked her silky hair. “I won’t. You’re right. But I swear, if he touches one hair on your head, I’ll—”
“He won’t.” She pulled back and looked him in the eye. “He’s not going to bother me. He’s just full of hot air and he’s feeling like a wounded little boy, that’s all. He’s harmless.”
Nick wasn’t so sure, but arguing with her about a situation he knew very little about wasn’t going to be productive. Instead, he sat flat on his ass, and spread his legs wide so he could pull her into him and wrap his arms around her. She relaxed into his arms and he could feel some of the tension escape her body as he held her.
He’d meant what he said, even if it had come out a little harsher than he’d intended it to. If that waste of space, excuse of a man tried to hurt Charlotte in any way, he would destroy him without even hesitating. No, he wouldn’t hurt him. He was too smart for that. But Nick had the means to make his life as unpleasant as possible. If he messed with Charlotte, he was messing with Nick. And if that was the case, that loser didn’t know what he was getting himself into. And he certainly wasn’t going to like it.
Nick forced himself to slow his breathing and he kissed