“Did you beat up Dr. Hofstadter?” I ask, and his head dips down toward me, his eyes going guarded, his body going alert. “Please don’t lie to me if you did do it.”
“Angel.”
“Harlen,” I whisper, and he rolls until he’s half on top of me then tangles his legs with mine.
“Yes,” he replies, and my eyes slide closed. “I won’t apologize for what I did to him, Angel. He deserved to know how it felt to have hands on him that he did not want, that he did not like. He needed to know his voice would not be heard no matter how loud or how much he pleaded for help.”
Bile crawls up the back of my throat from his words. Hofstadter did that to at least one woman, and who knows if there are more? There could be countless more women who felt that their choice was taken from them, felt backed into a corner because of what he did, what he told them he would do.
“I won’t apologize,” he repeats.
I open my eyes and meet his gaze. “He deserved that,” I whisper, and his eyes slide closed while his forehead comes to rest against mine. “You’re right. He deserved to know how it felt.” I slide my hand up his side to rest against his neck, and his eyes open. “I… I just wish you would have told me.”
“I should have told you,” he agrees, touching his mouth to mine. “I’m sorry I didn’t.”
“Okay,” I say, hearing the honesty in his voice, and he pulls back to look at me.
“That easy?” His eyes search mine. “We’re not going to fight about this?”
“I understand why you did it. I’m not happy you did it, but I get it, since if I could have done it myself, I would have. I just…” I pull in a breath, letting it out while moving my hand to his cheek. “Next time, just talk to me so I’m prepared.”
“There better not be a next time,” he growls, and I hear the warning in his voice, that warning sending a shiver down my spine. I hope for Hofstadter’s sake there really isn’t a next time.
“You’re kinda scary,” I tell him softly running my hand up his chest to rest on his shoulder.
His hand comes up to cup my cheek, and his fingers glide softly across my skin. “I’d never hurt you.”
“I know.” And I do know that. I know it with every fiber of my being.
“I’d never let anything hurt you,” he adds, and I raise my head up off the bed and place my mouth against his.
“I know that too.” The moment our lips meet, I touch my tongue to his bottom lip and he takes over the kiss. Then he proves what I already knew to be true. His hands have the power to make me feel a million different things, all of them good.
***
“I’m not drunk. You are.” Willow laughs, pointing at me, and I shake my head, grinning at her.
“No, you are!” I giggle, lifting one of the pillows off the couch, shoving my face into it, and laughing so hard my sides hurt. It’s safe to say we are both drunk, but after drinking two bottles of wine, anyone would be. I needed this. I needed to eat junk food, drink too much and relax and laugh with my sister. I needed to forget about what happened last week when I thought I was being followed home. And I needed to forget about what’s going on at the hospital.
I’ve talked to Amy a few times since the first time we met and over coffee one day, I finally told her what I overheard her saying. She was visibly shaken as she informed me that she went to HR and filed a complaint along with three other nurses, who had similar things happen with Hofstadter, and none of them have heard anything back.
When I told Harlen this news, he was pissed… or more pissed than he already had been. He called Evan, my dad, and Cobi, and told them they needed to get in contact with Amy and find out who the other nurses were. I learned after his phone call with my dad that Dr. Hofstadter’s family is on the board at the hospital and that his uncle is CEO. That was news to me—big scary news. That information means that not only does Dr. Hofstadter have power because he’s a doctor, but he also has it because his family will no doubt look out for him.
“I miss this,” Willow says, bringing me out of my thoughts.
I pull the pillow away from my face to look at her, feeling my eyes get soft at her admission. “Me too.”
“We need to do this more often.”
“We do, and we will, especially now that I have a bed in the guest room.” A bed Harlen told me to pick out no matter the cost and have it delivered. At first, I wasn’t sure how I felt about using his money to pay for it, until he told me, “It’s not a private jet, Angel. It’s a bed for our home, a bed your sister will sleep in, and my aunt when she comes for Christmas. Pick something, or I will.” When he said that, I forgot about feeling weird about it and just ordered the perfect bed for the room, a double daybed that fits perfectly in the small space. While I was shopping online I also picked out rugs for the bedrooms and the living room since I had the money I saved up to use for the dog door.
“Even after you’re married?” she asks, and I focus on her.
“Yes, even after I’m married.” I smile then watch as she picks up my newest snow globe off the coffee table. When Harlen and I were coming home from the cabin two weeks ago he stopped at a small pompom-and-pop store to get gas. When he came out he handed me the clear glass ball with a cabin in the middle of the woods inside of it not knowing that it meant just as much as the ring he put on my finger.
“You’re so lucky,” she murmurs.
“You’ll find someone,” I tell her instantly and she looks up at me doubtfully. “You will when the time is right. It will happen. I didn’t expect to find Harlen. It just happened, and it will for you too.”
“Maybe.” She shrugs, putting the globe back down and picking up her almost empty wine glass before downing the rest of it.
Hearing the front door open, I look that way then smile when I see Harlen walk in. Taking him in, I fight back a girly sigh. He’s always handsome, but with the colder weather, he’s wearing his normal jeans and boots but adding flannel shirts and his leather jacket, he looks like he just walked off the pages of a magazine for bikers. In other words, he looks beyond hot. And he’s mine.
“Hey, Angel.” He smiles at me, and then his eyes go to my sister. “Hey, Willow.” He lifts his chin to her, and she grins as her eyes come to me, her expression silently telling me she really is happy for me.
“I’m gonna head to bed,” he says. His eyes go from me, to the empty bottles of wine on the coffee table, to the half-eaten pizza, and then finally the bags of opened Hershey’s chocolate. Moving his gaze back to me, he smiles, and I tip my chin back when he gets close, then feel his fingers curve around my jaw right before he softly touches his mouth to mine. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” I grin, and his eyes search mine.
“Drunk?”
“A little.” I shrug.
His lips twitch. “All right, enjoy your time with your sister,” he says quietly.
“Thanks, honey,” I murmur, and his lips tip up right before he touches his smiling mouth to mine once more before he lets me go and starts to move away.
“See you in the morning, Willow. I’m making waffles,” he tells her over his shoulder.
“I can’t wait,” she replies, and I look at her and see her eyes on his retreating back, and she doesn’t stop watching until he’s down the hall and closing the bedroom door behind himself and Dizzy, who decided to go with him. “I’m so jealous that you have that,” she tells me, and I feel my stomach melt.
“I’m lucky,” I agree.
She smiles then looks at the mess on the coffee table. “We should clean this up and get to bed.”
“Are you tired?” I ask, looking at the clock. It’s not even midnight yet.
“No, but if I had that man waiting in bed for me, I would leave your ass quicker than you could say ‘Bye, Felicia,’” she tells me, and I laugh. “Plus, I want to enjoy his waffles, and I don’t think that will happen if I have a hangover. And I will have a hangover if we drink any more.”
“Good point.?
?? I get up off the couch, picking up the empty bottles while she grabs the pizza box. Once we have everything cleaned up, I shut off the lights and head down the hall, watching her disappear into the guestroom with a quiet, “Goodnight,” before she shuts the door.
Going into my bedroom, I find Harlen in bed with his back to the headboard, his eyes leaving the TV and coming to me when I walk in. I strip out of my clothes then dig through the dresser. I find a simple nightgown at the bottom of the pile, black cotton with thin straps and small details just under my breasts. I slip it on over my head and climb into bed next to him, tucking myself into his side.
“You didn’t have to come to bed, Angel.”
“I know.” I snuggle closer to him, resting my cheek to his chest and my thigh over his. Looking at the TV, I notice he’s watching one of his detective shows that I have never been able to get into.
“Did you have fun?”
“Yeah,” I whisper, my eyes already getting heavy. “Tomorrow night, we’re shopping, going out to dinner then going to a movie—a really girly one,” I tell him, and he laughs.
“Glad I’m spared from that.” He kisses the top of my head, and I give his waist a squeeze right before I lose the battle with my eyelids and fall asleep.
***
Waking to the sound of laughter, I force my eyes open then roll to look at the clock. It’s already after nine. I slept in. Not only did I sleep in, I slept longer than I have in a while. Forcing myself to get out of bed, I get dressed, brush my teeth, and then tie my hair up into a ponytail. I leave the bedroom and stop dead, staring at not only Harlen, but also Willow, my mom, and my dad all standing around in the kitchen, plates and coffee cups littering the surface of the butcher-block island.
“Hey, honey.” Dad smiles at me, and I come unstuck, moving further into the room. “Harlen called and said he was making breakfast,” he tells me, and my eyes go from my dad to Harlen, who’s leaning against the counter near the stove with a cup of coffee in his hands, a small smile playing on his lips, his bare feet crossed at his ankles. I still haven’t gotten used to my dad and Harlen getting along, and I’m not sure I ever will.
Seeing Harlen’s eyes soften on me, I give him a small smile then go to my dad and give him a hug. I then do the same with my mom, getting a kiss to my cheek from her before she lets me go.
“You ready for a waffle, baby?” Harlen asks, as I tuck myself against his side, and he slides his arm around me, kissing the top of my head.
I look up at him. “You should have woken me up.”
“You needed to sleep. You haven’t had a chance to sleep in, in a while.” That’s not a lie; with class, work, studying, and spending every second I can with Harlen, sleep has been a rare commodity.
“Mom didn’t lie. Harlen is the master of waffles,” Willow inserts, and my eyes go to where she’s sitting at the island, an empty plate in front of her that still has remnants of syrup on it.
“They’re good,” Dad agrees.
“The best,” Mom counters, and I grin at her.
“Kiss me then let me go so I can make you one, baby,” Harlen orders on a squeeze.
I lean up on my tiptoes and kiss him then let him go before I head for the coffeepot to make myself a cup. Taking a sip, I lean against the counter and watch him as he puts the batter into the waffle machine. I feel warmth hit my side, and I look at my dad as he wraps his arm around me, leaning into him as his lips touch the top of my head.
“So what are you and Willow doing today?” Mom asks, and I look at my sister then my mom.
“We’re going shopping, out to dinner, eating sushi, and then going to a movie.”
“That’s fun.”
“You wanna come, Mom?” Willow asks.
Mom’s eyes go to her and soften. “No, honey, you and your sister have fun. Your dad’s taking me to Nashville tonight to see a show.”
“Really? What are you guys seeing?” Willow perks up.
“The King and I,” Mom replies, and I look up at my dad and smile when I see he doesn’t exactly look as happy as Mom does. He’s going, because Mom wants to go, because he loves her. My eyes go to Harlen, and I feel my chest get warm and my belly dip. He’d do the same thing for me. He’d take me to a show, take me shopping, take me to the moon if I asked him to, and do it without complaint, because he loves me. If I had made a list of traits I’d want in a husband and checked each item off one at a time, Harlen would check every single box. Every single one of them.
Chapter 12
Harmony
“I’LL BE RIGHT BACK. I’M just going to the bathroom real quick,” I whisper to Willow, and she takes her eyes off the screen to look at me.
“I told you not to get the extra-large soda,” she mutters, and I grin at her.
“Whatever.” I stand and duck out of the theater, hearing everyone laugh behind when something funny happens. Wanting to get back so I don’t miss anything, I hurry toward the bathrooms then stop when I run into a huge body. “Sorry.”
I look up, feeling my lungs tighten and my heart stutter when I see my own refection staring back at me through a pair of dark sunglasses. I turn to get away and start to scream, but before I can even make a sound or take a breath, my mouth is covered by a large hand holding a cloth.
I suck in a lungful of air that burns my throat and buck back, feeling my feet come off the floor. Feeling something jab into the side of my neck, my eyes that are suddenly too heavy to keep open start to close, and my body feeling like deadweight falls. I hear people chatting and try to fight, try to open my mouth to yell, but it’s useless as I’m dragged into the darkness.
Hadley
As the credits on the screen start to roll, I stand from my seat, grabbing my purse, my half-eaten bag of popcorn, and my empty soda cup. I smile at the couple that had taken up the seats next to me and scoot past them, not bothering to stick around for the extra feature. Heading down the steps and out of the theater with the crowd, I toss my cup in the garbage and tuck my popcorn away in my bag, figuring I paid close to ten dollars for it, so I might as well pretend like I will eat it later.
Stopping at the restrooms, I wait in line forever for a stall, and by the time it’s my turn, the bathroom is almost empty, so I quickly use one of the stalls, wash my hands, and leave. Going to the exit closest to where my car is parked, I push the door open and start down the sidewalk, hugging my jacket around me to ward off the cold night air. When I see movement out of the corner of my eye, I turn my head and my heart drops into my stomach as I watch a figure dump what looks like an unconscious woman into the trunk of their car and slam it shut.
“Oh, God,” I breathe, covering my mouth with my hand, and then I quickly duck behind the hood of a truck when the person stops and turns my way at the sound of my voice.
Did that just happen? No. No way. I close my eyes, trying to convince myself that I’m imagining things. Hearing a car start up, my lungs compress and I take off at a run without thinking, crouching low behind two cars and down an aisle to where I parked. When I get into my car, I start the engine and grab my cell phone out of my purse. I don’t even know what I’m doing as I pull out after the car, but something in my gut urges me to follow it.
“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?”
“I just witnessed a man put a woman in the trunk of his car!” I shout into my phone hysterically.
“Where are you, ma’am?” the woman asks, and I tell her the theater name then hold my breath when the light in front of me goes from red to green.
“The light just turned green. We’re leaving the theater parking lot now!” I cry, holding on to my steering wheel tightly as I press down on my gas.
“Which way are you heading?”
“I don’t know. Can’t you track my cell phone or something?” I yell, panicking as the car in front of me speeds up.
“Ma’am, please calm down. Do you see any street signs?” Calm down - is she crazy?
I scan the road, but there is nothing. ?
??I don’t see anything. I’m in a bright blue Nissan Altima. He’s in a black Ford.”
“We’re looking for you,” she says, and I swallow then jerk my head to the right, seeing a sign.
“We’re on Bitterknot Road. I don’t know what direction we’re going, but I just passed mile marker five.”
“Good, that’s good.” She sounds relieved, and I let out a deep breath while sending up a silent prayer. “Ma’am, I’m transferring you over to an officer,” she tells me, and I nod. “Are you still there, ma’am?”
“Yes, sorry, I’m still here.”
“Transferring you now,” she says, the line going quiet.
“This is Detective Cobi Mayson. Who am I speaking with?” a deep voice rumbles in my ear, and I swallow. Cobi Mayson. I know him—or knew him—when I was in high school. Okay, I hadn’t actually known him, but I knew of him. Everyone did. At least, every person with a vagina did, and since I have one of those, I knew him. “Hello.”
“Sorry… Um… Hadley… um… Hadley Emmerson,” I whisper, clutching the phone to my ear.
“Where are you now Hadley?” he asks, and I look for a mile marker on the side of the road.
“Mile maker eighteen.”
“Good, that’s very good. I’m about five minutes behind you,” he says, and I don’t close my eyes in relief even though I want to.
“Thank God,” I whisper.
“You holding up okay?” he asks softly.
I shake my head, then answer, “I just saw someone put a woman in the trunk of a car. It’s dark, scary dark, and now I’m following them, so I’m going to go with no, I’m not okay,” I reply.
I swear I hear a smile in his voice, when he mutters, “Good point.”
Keeping back so I’m close but not too close to the car in front of me, I watch as their brakes light up and they slow, then I watch as they pull off the highway, onto a small dirt road surrounded by trees.