Claim & Protect Page 30
Something tripped. A trigger inside her unleashing years of repressed hurt and anguish in an all-consuming fireball of rage. She was done with taking Wyatt’s shit. Anyone’s shit. Especially when they tried to hurt or defame the people she loved. She forced her shoulders back and held her ground, her voice shaking with fury. “No! You don’t get to talk about Trevor like that. He’s a good man. More of a man than you’ll ever be!”
“Oh, he’s good all right. Good at smuggling in those dirty products you were so quick to condemn me for.”
Her head jerked back as surely as if he’d dealt her another backhand.
Wyatt prowled closer and leered down at her. “What? Didn’t know your latest fuck had his hands in the cookie jar, too? You gonna dump his ass the way you did mine?”
It wasn’t true. Wyatt was a liar. A manipulator that twisted and abused the truth. Trevor wouldn’t peddle bad goods. He was good. Honorable. All the things that Wyatt wasn’t. “I didn’t leave you because of what you were doing. I left you because you hit me.”
“Hit you?” He chuckled low, the sound of it laced with so much evil her stomach pitched. The malevolent grin on his face slipped to show the pure ugliness underneath. “That wasn’t a hit. This is a hit.”
Before her brain could fully process the meaning behind his words, he reared back and slugged her jaw.
Her head whipped to one side, pain detonating out from her jaw and shearing down her spine. She fell against a wall, the smooth drywall slipping beneath her palms as her legs gave way.
Wyatt fisted her hair and yanked her up, pinning her shoulders against the wall that had broken her fall. “Tell me something,” he spat. “Were you as frigid in the sack with him as you were with me?”
“Wyatt, please stop,” she croaked as much as her jaw would allow. The taste of blood coated her tongue and the ache inside her skull was too great to fully open her eyes. How had she ever thought Wyatt handsome? Gentle and caring? “You’ll regret this. Go away. Go home.”
“Leave? Now?” Wyatt cocked his head, sneered, and squeezed one breast in an excruciating clench. “I don’t think I will. I think I’d rather stay right here and take what’s mine.”
* * *
Trevor glanced at the dashboard’s readout, scowled at the idiot who’d taken too long with their left-hand turn before the light had turned red and forced a slow exhale. If he knew Nat, she was more than ready to get on with dinner so she could get Levi to bed at a decent hour. He was good with that. Levi’s bedtime meant playtime for him and Natalie, and man, did they have some playing to catch up on.
The light finally turned green and the red Prius in front of him inched through the intersection, Trevor on his ass the whole way. Oh, who was he kidding? It wasn’t sex that had him fired up to get to Natalie’s house, it was the ring in his pocket. The second Natalie had pulled out of the parking lot to pick up Levi, he’d beelined it for the safe and watched the clock ever since. The only question now was if he should ask her in front of Levi, or when they were alone later.
Yeah, maybe later. He could take a hell of a punch, but if Natalie turned him down in front of Levi, his ego wouldn’t surface again for days.
His phone vibrated in his back pocket and the Bluetooth ringtone fired through the truck’s cab. The stereo’s display showed Levi Jordan. He grinned and punched the talk button. “Hey, bud. I’m just a few minutes away. You guys ready to go eat?”
Muffled shouts sounded in the background. A second later, Levi’s voice whispered down the line. “You gotta help Mom. She’s in trouble.”
Everything around him dropped into slow motion. The cars, the people, the businesses—everything except Levi’s shaky voice and Natalie’s stifled cries. “Who’s there?”
“My dad.” His voice was a little stronger, but still obviously trying not to draw attention. “He showed up a few minutes ago. He’s really, really mad and...I th-think he hit her.”
Trevor punched the gas and shifted lanes, barely missing a lumbering semi. “Where are you?”
“Mom made me go in my room and lock my door.”
“That’s exactly where you need to be. You know your address?”
“Yeah? They make us learn it at school.”
“Then you hang up right now. You call 911. You tell ’em there’s an intruder in your house and you stay put behind that door until you hear me ask you to open up. You got me?”
“Yeah.”
Trevor took the next turn to Natalie’s house so fast his shoulder hit the window. “Say it back.”
“Call 911. We have an intruder. Give them my address.”
“Good job. Now hang up and make the call.”
“Hurry, Trevor.”
The terror in Levi’s voice ripped him from the inside out, an echo of his own voice all those years ago. “I’m coming. You make the call. I’ll be there in two.”
Not waiting for Levi to respond, he hit the end button and floored the accelerator. The houses and apartment buildings on the quiet side streets went by in a blur. The past blended with the present, the same thick dread he’d felt opening the door to his parents’ too-quiet mobile home that day after school pooling around his heart. He should have stayed home that day. Had known how on edge his father had been. But he hadn’t. The same way he hadn’t driven Natalie.
He whipped into the parking lot and slammed his truck out of gear. His boot heels thundered against the concrete, as loud ricocheting off the buildings around him as his pulse in his ears.
Ahead, a woman and her daughter skittered off the sidewalk at the sight of him barreling their direction.
He took the stairs two at a time, rounded the landing, and shoved open Natalie’s door.
Natalie lay pinned to the floor. Wyatt straddled her hips and manacled her hands above her head with one hand while the other squeezed her bared breast in a punishing grip.
One second. One terrorizing and fury-inducing second seared the image into his brain before instinct took over. He didn’t register moving. Felt no remorse at ripping Wyatt off his woman and all but throwing him the opposite direction. One punch. Then another. And another. Rage poured out of him. Everything unspent from his youth and a fresh, untapped well from the present. No one touched the people he loved. Not again. Never again.
His forearms ached and his knuckles throbbed, but he couldn’t stop. Wouldn’t until the son of a bitch couldn’t breathe. He reared back for another strike.
A hand coiled around his wrist and yanked him back, another banding around his other arm for added leverage. Voices waded through the animalistic haze, masculine ones he didn’t recognize. He fought to free himself.
“Whoa, buddy. Take it easy.”
Reality crashed around him, his eyes clearing enough for his brain to register two policemen restraining him, one on each arm. On the floor, Wyatt was curled in a ball, his arms around his gut. It wasn’t enough. Not for what he’d done to Natalie. “I’ll kill him. He hurt her, I’ll kill him.”
The man on the left muttered, “Think you damn near did already.” He paused long enough to study Trevor’s face. “Hey, Mike. This one of Beckett’s boys?”
Trevor fought for air. Tried to steady the ragged in and out of his lungs and the unsteady beat of his heart. Eyes still on Wyatt, he managed a ragged “Beckett Tate’s my brother.”
The same cop who’d recognized him motioned to his partner with a jerk of his head. “Call him up. Let him know his buddy just went ape shit on some guy.”
“That’s not just some guy,” Trevor growled. “That’s her ex and he hurt her. Had her pinned to the ground.” His gaze shifted to Natalie, another policeman kneeling next to her.
Braced against the wall, she’d pulled her shirt down and had her knees pulled up to her chest as though she were freezing. Her elbows were on her knees and her fore
head braced against her palms.
“Let me go.” He tried to shake himself free, but the cop on his right held tight.
“We let you go, you gonna start pounding that guy again, or are you gonna rein that shit in?”
“You cuff his ass and haul him in, I’ll leave you to it. Nat needs me.” He wrenched his arm free and barked a command at the cop beside her. “I’ll see to her. You call an ambulance.”
He dropped to his knees. “Natalie?” Christ, he wanted to touch her. Wanted to hold her, but was too terrified he’d hurt or scare her. “Nat, sweetheart. Look at me.”
Her shoulders shook on a ragged sob and she lifted her head. Her dark hair clung to her tear-streaked face, but it couldn’t hide the nasty red marks at her cheek and jaw. They’d bruise. Badly. Already, the places Wyatt had hit her were beginning to swell. “I don’t want Levi to see me like this,” she whispered.
Unable to stop himself, he pulled her against him, careful not to jostle her in the process. “It’s not that bad,” he lied. “Levi’s a tough kid. You’ll see. Let me get you taken care of then I’ll see to him.” Keeping her cradled against him, he jerked his phone out of his back pocket and punched up Zeke’s number.
His brother answered with the same carefree happy voice he’d used with Trevor and Axel at The Den. “Thought you’d be knee-deep in dinner by now.”
“Wyatt got Nat. He hit her. Bad. They’re calling an ambulance.”
Zeke’s tone shifted, the background noise and the way his voice modulated through the connection telling Trevor he was on the move. “I’m headed to Baylor. Have ’em send her there. Where’d he get her?”
Bile spun in his gut and surged up his throat. He swallowed it back. “Two hits to the face that I can see.” He pinned the phone between his ear and shoulder and shifted Natalie on his lap.
She buried her face in his shirt, the tears coming nonstop.
“Darlin’, need you to look at me.” He gently urged her face to his. “He get you anywhere else? Torso? Ribs?”
She shook her head and refused to meet his gaze.
“Just her face,” he said to Zeke. “They’re bad though. Swelling already.”
The Den’s background noise died away and the chirp of Zeke’s car alarm sounded through the phone line. “Any loss of consciousness? Dizziness?”
“She was awake when I got here.” The image of her beneath Wyatt lashed through his mind, how she’d writhed and tried to free herself. “She fought him.”
Sirens sounded outside, growing closer and closer by the second.
“The ambulance is almost here,” he said to Zeke. “How far out are you?”
“I’ll beat them there by a long shot. You just get your girl in the rig and we’ll take it from there.” His voice lowered. Calm and steady. “She’s going to be fine, brother. She’s strong. We’ll fix her. All of us.”
They would. His brothers were good that way. So were Gabe, Vivienne, and the moms. They’d fix whatever Wyatt had broken no matter what it took.
Levi’s shaky voice sounded from behind the bedroom door. “Trevor?”
Shit.
“Yeah, bud,” he called out toward the bedroom door. “You stay put a minute.” He shifted back to Zeke on the phone. “Gotta go. Gotta get Natalie situated and see to Levi.”
He stuffed the phone back into his pocket. Arms shaking from too much adrenaline, he got to his feet, cradling Natalie tight. He lowered his voice and muttered close to her ear. “Gonna let Levi out.”
She buried her face in his neck and whimpered. “He shouldn’t see this.”
“He’s not going to see the marks. He’s going to see his mom breathing and safe.” He gently kissed her temple, all the fear and turmoil he’d wrestled watching his dad hit his mom surging to the surface. “Trust me. I know where he’s at. He needs to see you. You understand?”
She fisted her hand in his shirt and gave him a jerky nod. “Yeah. Okay.”
Gently, he laid her on the couch and smoothed her hair away from her face. “It’s gonna be okay. Swear to you, Nat, I won’t let this happen again. None of it. He’ll pay for what he did.”
Something flashed behind her gaze. Fear maybe. Or hurt. He stood and scowled down at Wyatt, who’d yet to make it to his feet. Four policemen surrounded him, one crouched close and barking a string of questions. Trevor focused on the cop who’d recognized him. “That bastard was arrested early this afternoon. What the hell was he doing here?”
“Was out on bail.” The cop cast a disgusted look at Wyatt then gave Trevor his full attention. “Not thinking he’ll be able to stay out much longer after what he did.”
“I want him out of here.”
“He needs a medic.”
“He needs to get the hell out of my woman’s home. I don’t care if you have to drag him out to make that happen.” With that, he strode toward Levi’s room, paused outside his door, and pulled in a slow breath. He knocked on the door. “You ready to come out, bud?”
The lock snicked and the door inched open just enough to show Levi’s worried face. “Trevor?” The second his gaze locked on the Trevor, Levi threw the door the rest of the way open and charged into Trevor’s waiting arms.
Trevor hoisted him up, Levi’s little arms curled in a death clench around his shoulders.
“He hurt her,” Levi whimpered into his neck. “I heard him.”
Smoothing his hand down Levi’s back, Trevor bit back the need to rail on Wyatt all over again. “Yeah, he hurt her, but it looks worse than it probably is. You remember that when you look at her, all right? She’s safe now. I won’t let him near you again, not without me there. Okay?”
Levi hugged his arms tighter and nodded his head.
“Good.” He eased Levi to his feet, gave him a minute to pull his shit together, then squeezed his shoulder. “Let’s go take care of our girl.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Natalie closed her eyes and tried to ignore her mother’s quiet chatter in the corner with Vivienne. The topics had ranged from interesting events Vivienne had managed over the last few weeks, to the latest gossip at the retirement center she spent so much time at. While she appreciated her mom’s efforts to keep things light, all she really wanted was quiet. Quiet for her head and quiet for her thoughts.
The muffled voices of the nurses, doctors and aides on the other side of the closed curtain were oddly soothing, a reminder of days when she’d been proud of herself. Of her path forward in life and her judgment.
Oh, he’s good all right. Good at smuggling in those dirty products you were so quick to condemn me for.
Wyatt’s taunt slipped through her mind on constant repeat.
As if sensing her internal brooding, Trevor squeezed her hand. He hadn’t let go of it since he’d gotten here except the times Zeke had kicked him out to check her over and when they’d carted her off for a CT scan. Through it all, not once had he let go of Levi, either holding his hand, or letting him doze against his chest. So supportive. So solid.
Surely, Wyatt’s claims weren’t true. Wyatt was a liar. A manipulator so skilled no one ever saw through his machinations.
Told you I’d do anything for you. I meant that. For you and Levi.
Countless times he’d said it. Now she couldn’t help but wonder just how far that claim reached.
The trauma room curtain whisked to one side, and Natalie opened her eyes.
Zeke ambled in with the confident gait of a man thoroughly in his element. He’d changed out of the jeans and T-shirt he’d met her ambulance in and sported a pair of blue scrubs that looked like he’d thrown in on a few other emergencies while he’d waited for her results. “How’s our girl holdin’ up?”
She licked her dry lips and tried to muster the energy to talk. The Lortab he’d ordered for the pain had
been a godsend, but left her mouth parched and sticky. “Pain’s almost gone. You get the results?”
“All good. Just a mild concussion.” He squeezed her free hand. “You know the drill. Any memory problems, confusion, blurred vision, nausea—I want to know.”
Trevor sat up taller in his chair. The act woke Levi, who glanced around the room as though trying to get his bearings. “She can go home?”
“Yep. She needs to take it easy for a day or two. No heavy lifting. No wild nights out on the town. No mud wrestling.” He grinned at Trevor, a touch of sympathy blending with his teasing expression. “Seriously, bro. She’s fine. Tonight when she’s sleeping, you’ll want to wake her up a few times and make sure there’s no slurred speech or memory loss, but my guess is she’ll be fine.”
“Well, that’s a relief.” Her mom let out a relieved sigh, stood, and held out her hand to Zeke. “Thank you so much for looking out for her. I’m not sure she’d have come in if you hadn’t been here.”
Trevor stood and hefted Levi up on his hip, but still kept a tight hold on her hand. “Yeah, she didn’t get a choice in that.” He motioned toward the entrance. “Can I go get the car?”
“How about you give me a few minutes with Natalie before we wrap this up. Wanna go over some things with her.”
Trevor’s face blanked and a prickling wariness danced between him and Zeke. “Something wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. Just going to have a talk with my patient and I’m going to do it with her bristling Neanderthal out in the waiting room.”
The wariness escalated to something closer to aggression.
“Stand down.” Zeke waved him off and jerked his head toward the curtains. “Get out and let me talk to Natalie, or I’ll lace all your booze at Haven with a laxative.” He waited a beat for Trevor’s shoulders to relax. “I’m your brother. Get out and let me do my job.”
Mouth pinched in a tight line, he jerked a tight nod, leaned in to give Natalie a soft kiss on the top of her head, then held Levi aloft so he could do the same. “I’ll be back.” He pinned Zeke with a hard look. “Five minutes.”