Page 19 of Under His Watch

“Elliot Hines. He’s a lawyer at J.R.G. firm.” I grimaced. “Fuck. His name sounds so damn familiar.”

“I agree.” Nina walked over the patio, her face pinched with worry.

My father frowned and held his arm out for her to sit in his lap. He never excluded her, even from conversations about business, but she never inserted herself into our serious talks, either.

The fact that she was now, clearly overhearing some of what I said, was suspicious. The windows were all open, so it wasn’t as though I’d tried to hide what I was saying. But her expression…

“What’s wrong?” I asked her.

“Elliot Hines does sound familiar.” She glanced at my father. “It sounds like the creepy asshole my best friend, Tessa West, has been avoiding for years.”

Tessa West.I had her full name now. As Nina lowered to sit on my father’s thigh, she peered at me. “How did you find her?”

I sighed, hating that I’d need to break the news to her that her friend had been raped. It wasn’t my story to tell her. But Tessa could. I wondered why she would tell me that she had no one, and that no one ever helped her, if Nina claimed they were best friends.

“I’ll take you to her now, and she can explain.”

And she can explain to me how she’s friends with my father’s fiancée.

Itwasa small world, but I wanted to make sure that Tessa simply stayed in mine, however she might already be connected. Because now that I’d found her, I couldn’t imagine letting her go.

8

TESSA

The next time I woke in the same bed that Romeo held me in, I wasn’t hit with the instant dread and trepidation. I lay there for several minutes, scanning the room that was already becoming so familiar. Not only did I easily recognize these four walls and the sort-of-hideous striped wallpaper that the seventies wanted back, but I also knew I’d be safe behind the closed door.

Romeo had to be near in this old house, and if he wasn’t, he’d come back. He had so far, and I believed him when he said that he wanted to help me. The look in his serious, ice-blue eyes suggested that he wanted to take care of me in every way I needed assistance.

He killed a man—three men—for me.

If that wasn’t an ultimate act of going over the top to see to someone’s needs, I wasn’t sure what else would count. I hadn’t realized how much I wanted those men dead, too stuck in the dismay and pain of what they’d done. But the moment I saw the sign of his wounded knuckles from punching someone, I wasstruck with a need to inflict pain in kind. Or to know that they’d been taken care of.

Danicia warned me that I would be very tired, exhausted down to my bones no matter how much I rested. The emotional turmoil. The survival instinct and running on fumes. That wasn’t including how fatigued I was on a normal day just from working myself so hard.

I’d never had a chance to sleep in, always expected to do chores and whatever else my mom and dad asked of me. They never let me rest, and they were judgmental when I wanted to be lazy. “Self-care” was a laughable notion to them.

Here, I could just… be. It couldn’t last, but I dared to dream that what those men did to me triggered a turning point in my life.

I yawned as the last threads of sleepiness left me, and I got up to go to the bathroom. On the way there, I spotted the tray of food. A note had been added, and I stared at the sharp penmanship of Romeo’s message.

I’ll be back.

-R

I set the note down, glad that he’d given me an indication of his pending return.

See? Hewillbe back.I didn’t have to worry about being left here or stranded.

Using the shower, I grimaced at the signs of wear and tear in the small room. While my standards were low,reallylow to the degree that I was super easy to please, I wondered if this huge house was under renovation. As I cleaned up, careful with my wounds, I envisioned how nice this place could look. New paintand hardware. Remove the chipped and stained tiles. A more up-to-date window with a screen. Even the décor. It all needed fixing or replacing, and mentally redecorating and renovating gave me an escape from reality. Once I was done, I applied all the creams that Danicia left. They went a long way in soothing my stinging flesh.

Back in the room, I smiled at the neat pile of clothes left on a chair.

Romeo asked that I come back today and check on your vitals. (All good.) I didn’t want to wake you. You need all the rest you can get. These clothes are extras, in case you need something to change into. If you need ANYTHING, don’t hesitate to call me.

-Danicia

She really went above and beyond. While it should’ve alarmed me that she came in the room without my knowledge, it wasn’t any different than if I’d gone to the hospital and the shift nurse came on a vitals check. I appreciated it, and I hurried to put on the yoga pants and shirt that seemed closest to my size. The garments were a bit baggy, but it was good enough.

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