The pulse at the base of her neck pounded viciously. Report the crime. What she hadn’t, in her cowardice and shame, done before. She so indignantly informed the constable that she didn’t want this man to be free to terrorize others, and yet she’d done just that when she’d refused to report the crime against her so many months ago.
She eyed her attacker bleakly, shame crowding her mind, pushing her fear and anger and everything else solidly aside. She was a hypocrite. And a coward. She didn’t deserve justice because she’d never sought it for herself.
“You don’t have to be afraid,” her neighbor murmured. “I’ll go with you.”
Startled, she took a step back and found herself pinned against the wall again. She stared warily at the big man who’d come to her rescue, hating the inadvertent fear that raced up her spine.
He stood there waiting, not making a move toward her, almost as if he knew how badly he scared her. He watched calmly, waiting, his gaze drifting over her face, taking in every detail. It unnerved her and exposed her vulnerability.
“If you’ll come to the station straightaway,” the constable urged as he pushed Didier down the alleyway in cuffs. “I’ll need to log a full report so the proper charges can be pressed.”
Sarah swallowed the nausea that welled in her throat. Regret burned in her chest over past mistakes. But she wouldn’t make that mistake again. She was through being a victim. She wanted control back, and she was tired of living in fear.
Her neighbor held out his hand, palm up, his expression devoid of any emotion. It was though he wanted to appear as nonthreatening as possible; and the thing of it was, she wanted to take his hand. She wanted to lean on someone else, just for a few minutes. She wanted it more than anything.
She wiped her hand over her mouth to disguise the tremble and then averted her gaze. “We should go,” she said without taking his hand. She started after the constable, leaving her rescuer to follow.
He fell into step behind her, but he kept at least a foot between them. Still, he loomed over her, blocking the sun as they stepped onto the street. She quickened her pace, unsettled by him, and why, she wasn’t sure.
When they reached the small station at the far end of the town square, her neighbor held the door open and ushered her inside. There was no air-conditioning and it was a good twenty degrees hotter inside the boxlike building. None of the windows were open to allow the sea breeze in, and she glanced nervously back toward the door. She couldn’t remain in this airless place for more than a few minutes. She’d go nuts.
A younger officer sat at a desk idly flipping through paperwork. He looked up when she and her neighbor entered.
“Comment puis-je vous aider, madame?”
“English please,” she said. “Parlez-vous Anglais?”
The officer nodded. “But of course.”
“We’re here to give the constable our statement,” her neighbor said.
“Ah, very good. If you’ll have a seat, he’ll be with you momentarily.”
Sarah nodded and sank onto one of the metal chairs, relieved to be off her feet. She stiffened when her neighbor sat next to her, their legs grazing as he shifted to get comfortable.
“My name is Garrett.”
“I’m Sarah,” she said quietly.
“Pretty name. Very classic. I like non-frou-frou names.”
She glanced up and smiled. He smiled back and she found herself mesmerized by his deep blue eyes.
“Thank you.”
He cocked his head. “You’re welcome.”
“We’re neighbors,” she blurted.
He smiled again. “I know.”
“He tried to take my bag. I couldn’t let him.”
The words came pouring out and she winced at how defensive and silly she sounded. She hadn’t done anything wrong.
“It’s not worth your life,” he pointed out.
She shook her head. “You wouldn’t understand. Everything is in that bag. I can’t ... I can’t lose it. Especially not to some bullying jackass.”
Garrett chuckled. “I’m not convinced you even needed my help. You had him disarmed before I got to you.”
She made a face. “I was scared out of my mind. I’m so grateful you were there.” Then she frowned. “You were swimming when I left the cottage. How did you get into town so fast?”
He lifted a brow and amusement gleamed in his eyes. “Keeping tabs on me?”
She flushed and looked down. “I saw you exercising. When I left, you were in the water.”
“I came into town after my swim. I’d only just arrived when I heard the commotion in the alley.”
“You have excellent timing,” she said ruefully.
The constable strode into the tiny waiting room and gestured for Sarah and Garrett to follow him back. Sarah rose and nervously ran her palms down her sides. It occurred to her that as angry as she was, and as much as she wanted the asshole to pay for his crime, it was stupid of her to draw attention to herself. Even dumber to go on record where her name and information would be a matter of public record.
The problem was, she hadn’t thought. She’d reacted. She’d allowed emotion to overshadow common sense.
“I’ve changed my mind,” she blurted. “I don’t want to press charges.”
Ignoring the constable’s open mouth and Garrett’s frown, she bolted from the station, cursing herself with every step. The door banged closed behind her as she hurried onto the street. Garrett caught up to her before she’d even made it a block. Though he didn’t touch her, he stepped in front of her, effectively halting her in her tracks.
A scowl darkened his face. “Hey, what happened back there?”
She tried to step around him but he blocked her escape. “Nothing, okay? I changed my mind.”
“You’re going to just let him get away with that?” Garrett demanded.
She blew out her breath as rage curdled her veins. “Look, my preference would be to let the little bastard rot, but I can’t afford to draw attention to myself.”
She closed her eyes. Damn it, but she was a walking disaster today. Nothing was coming out right. She may as well have told him everything about her situation. She’d already slipped up and told him her first name. But that was okay. Sarah was a common enough name, and her neighbor didn’t strike her as the type to get chatty with the locals.
“Okay, I get that.”
Garrett’s deep voice washed over her, soothing her fraught nerves. To her surprise, there was no reprimand in his voice. Just an intimate gentleness that made her shiver.
“Why don’t I walk you home?” he offered. “Since I’m going the same way and all.”
She hesitated for a moment, lips pursed in concentration. Then she realized how ridiculous she was being. They were going the same way. They’d end up walking together whether he was officially escorting her or not.
She relaxed and offered the most convincing smile she could muster. “I’d like that. Thanks.”
CHAPTER 6
GARRETT kept pace with Sarah as they hit the center of town square. “Want to take the beach path back?”
She nodded and turned toward the coffee shack, leaving him to follow. He kept just a step behind her, taking the opportunity to study her up close. She’d been scared out of her mind when he’d pulled the asshole off her in the alley. She was still scared. She put on a brave front, but she was pale as death and her fingers shook uncontrollably.
He needed to get on the sat phone and talk to Resnick asap, but his first priority was making sure she was safe. More than that, he wanted to give her a chance to calm down and rid herself of the haunted look.
Something had happened to her beyond the day’s events. He knew that look. He’d seen it in his sister-in-law’s eyes more times than he cared to remember. Sarah had flinched when he’d touched her in the alley and she’d made it a point to keep her distance at every opportunity. Someone had hurt her.
All he knew was that she had barriers around her like most people wore clothes. She had a don’t- touch-me air that enveloped her and reflected in her frightened gaze.
Even though Sarah hadn’t pressed charges, and he understood why, he had no intention of allowing the little bastard to get away with what he’d done. He’d let Resnick deal with the asshole.
They walked in silence and he didn’t attempt to break it. He wanted to come off as concerned but not intrusive. Gaining her trust was going to be more difficult than he’d thought, and he had to tread lightly or risk scaring her away.
When they reached her cottage, she took a step toward her porch but then stopped and turned around to face him. He sensed that it took a lot of courage to stand there in front of him. She looked as though she wanted nothing more than to run for her cottage and bar the door. But she stood there, bottom lip pinched between her teeth and she leveled her gaze directly at him, her light green eyes catching the light and warming.
“Thank you again,” she said in a low voice. “I know you think I’m nuts, but thank you for everything you did and for walking me home. And ... for not forcing the issue back there.”
He offered a casual smile and shrugged as if it didn’t matter to him one iota what she decided. “You’re welcome. Glad I was in the right place at the right time.”
Not wanting her to feel awkward, he broke away first and headed toward his own cottage. Right place right time. He nearly snorted at how easily that fabrication had fallen off his lips. He’d tagged her as soon as she left her cottage. It had only taken him twenty minutes to return to his place, change and head into town after her.
He let himself into the house and went immediately for the sat phone. He called Resnick first and relayed the events along with the name of the constable and Sarah’s attacker. In half an hour, Resnick would know his dick size and the last time he took a shit. If there was anything Garrett needed to do, Resnick would tag him later.
His next call was to Sam, and he waited impatiently for his brother to answer.
“How goes the babysitting?” Sam asked.
“Just a hello works,” Garrett said sourly.
“But not nearly as fun. What’s up? Everything okay in paradise?”
Garrett rummaged in the fridge with one hand and pulled out a beer before diving back in for sandwich fixings. “It’s not bad. Got some fishing in. Been working out, doing some swimming. Not a bad vacation.”
Sam muttered something indecipherable, and Garrett grinned, knowing it would irritate Sam that Garrett was on a tropical island while Sam was stuck home on pins and needles waiting for his daughter to be born.
“Hey, is Van back from his gig?”
“Yeah, this morning,” Sam replied. “He’s sleeping.”
“Get him up. I need him to do something for me.”
“Can’t it wait? He’s on day four of no rest.”
“No, it can’t wait,” Garrett said impatiently. “I wouldn’t have called if it could wait.”
“Impatient bastard,” Sam grumbled. “If you get me into trouble with my wife for this, I’ll kick your ass. She’s ruthless right now.”
Garrett chuckled. “Still hasn’t dropped the kid, huh.”
“Hell, no. If she doesn’t pop soon, I’m seriously contemplating moving out.”
Garrett rolled his eyes. “I don’t know why you say that shit. You’re full of crap and we both know it.”
“Hang on, I’ll wake Van up.”
Garrett heard muffled voices and one distinct groan. He grinned. Donovan did love his sleep and he wouldn’t appreciate being pulled out of bed. But Garrett didn’t want to wait another twenty-four hours to find out what his brother needed while Donovan caught up on his beauty rest.
“What the fuck do you want?” Donovan’s bleary voice bled over the line.
“Hello to you too. I need you to run something for me.”
“This couldn’t wait a few goddamn hours?”
Garrett’s eyebrows went up. Cranky son of a bitch. He really must have missed some serious sleep to be this grouchy.
“No, it can’t wait.”
“Well hell,” Donovan muttered. “Give me a sec to get to Hoss.”
Garrett waited patiently, drumming his fingers on the counter by the can of beer. Deciding to utilize the time wisely, he propped the phone between his shoulder and ear and set about fixing a couple of sandwiches to go with the beer.
A few minutes later, Donovan’s irritable grunt sounded. “What the hell is so important that you couldn’t wait for me to catch a few hours’ sleep?”
“I need you to dig up some info on Sarah Daniels.”
“What? I already gave you her file. I can’t believe this.”
Garrett stuffed a bite of the sandwich into his mouth and then mumbled around it. “No, no, I need you to dig deeper. I think I’m missing something here. I want you to check on any police reports that might have her name in it. Hospital records. Anything that suggests she was a victim.”