Now or Never(67)
“Go ahead.” His father wipe the sweat from his brow with a menacing laugh that seemed to bubble up from somewhere deep inside his darkened soul. “Do it. Hit me, boy. You know you want to. Do it . . . Hit me . . . Hit me! . . . Hit! Me!”
Jay’s arm shook so badly the vibrations traveled all the way down the belt. His eyes clouded over with memories Em couldn’t imagine in her worst nightmares. All she could do was watch in dread as Jay glared at his father with a vengeance she’d never witnessed before. His fingers clenched tighter around the leather strap—if that was even possible—and then . . . he let go. The belt coiled into a harmless lump at his feet and she remembered how to breathe.
“No. I’m not you.”
Em could have cried with relief.
“That’s your problem, isn’t it? You’re not strong enough. Never were. You were always too weak to do what needed doing. You couldn’t protect yourself. You couldn’t protect your mother. And now, you can’t protect . . .” He took one step toward Em and Jay doubled him over with a lighting fast slug to the gut.
“I’m not weak, either, you son of a bitch.”
Em hopped back, allowing Jay to tuck her safely behind him once more—he needed that much from her—as red and blue flashing lights illuminated the room and the sound of wailing sirens met their ears. The Calvary had arrived.
Chapter Thirty-seven
Em
Em fisted Jay’s shirt and his arms came around her, holding her tight as five police officers flooded the house through the open front door. It was a whirlwind of activity after that. Someone shouted for Jay to step away from her. It took him a moment, but he complied. One look at Jay’s raw back and his father was in cuffs being led back out of the house to the awaiting car.
A pair of EMT’s were next to arrive and immediately converged on Jay, but he wouldn’t allow it.
“Em first. Help her first.”
“Jay, let them—”
He took her face carefully in his hands, running his thumb gently below the cut on her cheek. “You. First.”
Em scowled. There really was no arguing with him. “Okay, but then you.”
“Deal.”
The team led her to the sofa, where they poked and prodded at her face and arm, finally deciding on a few butterfly bandages and an icepack. By the time they’d finished a female officer was waiting to take their place. Em watched them head into the kitchen where two other officers had taken Jay and sighed. It was only the beginning of a long night to come.
The officer was nice enough, talking in gentle tones as she asked her again and again about the events leading up to that night. About Jay’s past. About his father. And finally what had transpired over the past few hours. But the questions were beginning to grate on Em’s brittle nerves. She was exhausted, overwhelmed, and about to crash hard from the adrenaline high she’d been riding all night.
Finally, the officer handed her a small white business card with her name and number on it and explained that she’d be in touch. The EMT’s had left sans Jay, which made Em feel a little bit better, but the officers still weren’t finished with him in the kitchen.
She could hear the hum of their voices, but not what they were saying. Slowly, the stress of the past few hours caught up with her. She couldn’t even remember lying down, but when a gentle shake roused her, it was pitch dark outside the window.
“Em, baby, come to bed.”
“What time is it?”
“Late.”
Em came fully to her senses, looking up into Jay’s drawn, weary face. “The police?”
“They left. A little while ago.”
“Ash and Mason?”
“They talked to the cops outside and Mason took Ashlyn home. We’ll have to take her car back to her tomorrow.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep. I–”
“Don’t be silly. You’re exhausted, Em. We’re both exhausted.” His thumb gently caressed the inch long gash on her cheek that had been cleaned and bandaged by the EMT’s. “But it’s over now. The bullshit is finally over.”
Em quietly followed Jay down the hall and into their bedroom, not even bothering to turn on lights as they went. His words filled the silent space between them as she crawled into bed beside him. It felt good to be back. To be home. Where she belonged. But he was wrong, it wasn’t over. The past would never be behind them until she could put it in its place. It would never stop interfering in their lives, in their relationship, or in their bedroom if she couldn’t find a way to move past it.
“Jay?” She ran her hand over his hard chest and down his side to toy with the edges of his bandages. Raw, red welts covered most of his back. A few cut through the skin and needed tending, but it was decided he didn’t require any stitches.