“So did I, but I have to go in there. Now. Move.” Em attempted to sidestep Mason, but he moved with her, continuing to block her path.
“You can’t! He’s—”
“In there with Jay! He’s in there with Jay, Mason! I have to go in. Now get the hell out of my way!”
“Let me—”
“No. Listen to me. If you go in there, you’ll only make things worse. You don’t understand. You know you don’t understand. So, please. Please wait for the police out here and let me handle this.”
“Em—”
“Let her go.” In her single-minded focus to get to Jay, Em had completely forgotten Ashlyn was even there. She stood beside Em, tears streaming down her pale face from terrified eyes.
“Ash?” Mason’s face hardened as his focus shifted to her. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“You have to let her go, Mason.”
There was some sort of epic stare down going on between the two of them that Em just did not have time for. She shoved past Mason while he was distracted, headed straight for the front door. In the porch light, she caught a brief glimpse of Ashlyn burying her face in Mason’s chest as he wrapped her up tight in his arms before she burst inside.
Em nearly tripped over her own feet when the most awful sight she’d ever experienced caught her off-guard. Jay was curled into the living room wall with his back arched outward as his father swung a thick leather belt down over him. The same belt he’d used to threaten her with.
She had no idea how long it had been going on. It had taken her far too long to get there and blood seeped through the back of his shirt in multiple places. That wasn’t the worst part, though. What was worse was the fact that Jay knelt there, slumped against the wall, making no attempts to protect himself. He wasn’t fighting back, he wasn’t trying to escape. He was just kneeling there, taking it. Like he’d given up.
The smack of leather against skin filled the room and propelled Em into action. She didn’t scream or cry. She didn’t even think. She just reacted to the one thing she knew: she couldn’t let him hurt Jay anymore.
Covering her head with her arms, she threw herself in front of Jay just as the strap fell again. A sharp sting encompassed her forearm and, despite her efforts, the metal buckle caught her face, tearing through the flesh just below her eye.
“Em?” Jay turned to stare at her with horror etched in every line of his face. His gaze immediately zeroed in on her cheek. “No!” The word sounded as though it had ripped free from his very soul.
Pulling her into his lap, he twisted, wrapping himself around her in a cocoon of safety. His grip was like a steel cage she couldn’t break free of even as she felt his entire body jump with each consecutive blow.
“No! No! Stop! Jay!” She fought him with all of her strength as his father hit him again and again, but he refused to let her go. Tears streamed down her face as she felt as much as heard the raw sob tear from Jay.
It was useless. He would protect her no matter the cost. Jay would keep her from harm at the expense of his body. His life. She knew that. She’d always known that. What he needed to know was that she would do the same for him. What they both needed to know was that she was strong enough to do the same. And with Jay by her side, she was.
Giving up her frantic struggles, Em leaned into him, pressing her lips to his ear and whispered, “Together.” His hold loosened infinitesimally. “We are stronger together. Please believe me. Please believe in me.”
She knew how hard it was for him to do—that it went against every last one of his instincts—but he let her go. Struggling to his feet, he allowed her to stand beside him.
His father’s next attack was met with an unexpected interruption. Jay grabbed hold of the belt, watching it wrap around the bare skin of his arm without a sound. Not a single emotion showed on his face. He’d turned it all off. His feelings, his thoughts, all of it hidden away, he stood before his father like some kind of machine. Em hated to even consider what he must have suffered to master such a reaction. Jay rarely spoke about his past, but tonight’s sneak-peek had been more than enough for Em to stomach.
He tugged with all his might, but the bastard on the other side wasn’t giving up control that easily. Lowering her shoulder, Em plowed into him with all her strength—which, admittedly wasn’t much—but it did the trick. Unprepared for her assault, Jay’s father stumbled backward as Jay tore the belt from his grasp.
Em backed away before he could retaliate and looked to Jay to find him holding the vile article in a white knuckled grip.