Page 36 of Irresistible

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Wednesday Evening

Pressing her bloodied face into Brock’s uniformed chest, she felt herself on the edge of a breakdown. Too many emotions were warring. Which one would win? Utter despair, physical pain, anger or shame? They all had a place. His deep voice rumbled against her being and held the threads together. “Thank you,” was all she could manage. Tears started to pour down her cheeks as her heart cracked open for what had just happened, for the man holding her, for the person he’d proved himself to be.

People always talked about what choices they would make if life tested them. But they never really knew until they found themselves in the very situation that would demand an honest answer. Brock had just proved to her exactly what kind of man he was. He’d managed to pull himself back from the brink. When faced with a very real choice, he’d made the one she could live with.

Not many men could resist retribution when they witnessed someone brutalizing the woman they loved. And, yes, she knew he loved her. The same way she loved him. Completely and absolutely. Sure, they’d been dancing around it, but the truth was as it always had been, two hearts entwined.

He carried her into the kitchen and set her on the counter next to the sink. Popcorn was hot on their heels and continued to let out low moans of distress. “I’m okay, boy. You did good, getting help,” she said. “Give him a treat,” she instructed Brock. “They’re in the pantry.”

“Let me get you cleaned up first.”

“No. Give him a treat. He did an amazing job.”

“Okay, honey.” He walked over to the pantry and pulled out the box. “One or two?”

“Three.” When he pulled out the biscuits, Popcorn didn’t move from her side. “Go ahead,” she told the dog. When he looked up at her and didn’t move, she slipped off the counter and gave him a hug. “You are the best dog in the world.” Brock walked over and handed her the treats. She took one and held it out. When her dog laid his head in her lap, she collapsed on the floor and held him tightly. “We’re going to have to get rid of the people who keep trying to hurt us.” Popcorn barked in agreement and a laugh escaped her. She pushed the treat toward him. He took it and sat on her feet.

Brock sat next to them and slipped his arm around her shoulders. “I’m so damn sorry.”

“There is no sorry. You came at just the right time.” Leaning against the cupboard, she looked up and saw how much pain he was in. “I’m okay.” When he tipped his head against hers, she knew he didn’t agree.

“Let’s call your mama. I’m going to get pulled in and maybe brought up on charges tonight.”

Leaning back, she gasped. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“I almost killed Drew. It was your voice that saved his life.” He stood, pulled a towel out of the drawer and turned on the water. “It is what it is. No need to pretend otherwise.”

The fact that he uttered that statement in such a matter-of-fact tone made her a little nervous. In her mind, his actions were completely reasonable. But he was in uniform, responding to a call and acting in a professional capacity, which might make the events of the afternoon troublesome. To say the least.

He crouched down next to her and dabbed her face with the warm, damp towel. He was gentle and caring, just like she’d expected him to be. What he’d done earlier made perfect sense, but would she be the only one who saw them that way? Perhaps.

After she called her mama, she was going to call Loren. Her record of success in criminal cases was going to be important if Brock ended up being charged. Not that Lilly thought it would come to that. But it was always good to be prepared. Tilting her head up, she let him take care of her. Hell, he’d been doing it for years. He was a damn expert.

There was a knock on the door, and Brock stood. “That’s got to be the paramedics. I’m going to let them in.”

After that, they had no time to talk. It was a bustle of activity. Between the paramedics and the police interview, she didn’t have a moment to tell him how she felt. When he was pulled away, she figured she would tell him later. After all, they had the rest of their lives together.

***

Brock leaned against his SUV and waited for the undersheriff to arrive. The tapes from the dash-mounted camera were probably being reviewed at this very moment. He’d done the inexcusable and used excessive force when subduing a perp. Seeing Lilly in danger had ripped off the veneer of his control. It was only Lilly’s voice that pulled him back from doing the unthinkable. Thirty more seconds and he could’ve ended the scumbag’s life. The conversation they had the other day about sin and virtue came tumbling back into his mind. Every person was multidimensional, and no one was purely good or purely evil. His experience had shown him that most folks slid on the scale daily, making decisions moment by moment, circumstance by circumstance. He wasn’t any different, the exception being he was a trained warrior and defaulted to that mindset automatically.

Turned out, leaving that behind and becoming a civilian wasn’t that easy. And he certainly proved that earlier. Hearing the call, driving up to Lilly’s house and seeing her beaten was about the worst situation he could have found himself in. It tested every bit of humanity he possessed, and he’d failed.

Once he pulled Drew off Lilly and cuffed him, he was no longer a threat. He could’ve left it there, but the red-hot rage that filled him didn’t allow that. Drew’s words snapped the thread when he uttered the words, “She made me do it.” As far as Brock could tell, there was no lower form of life than a man who raised a hand to a woman and then blamed her.

Why hadn’t he seen what Drew was capable of? If he had, he probably could’ve circumvented the events earlier. Scrubbing his hand down his face, he blew out a breath. That might be wishful thinking, though. Monsters often didn’t let on until it was too late. And that’s certainly what Drew had done. Looking down at his hands, he saw how red they were. He also noticed the scars and nicks from old battles. Closing his fists, he also closed his eyes. If he couldn’t control his temper when it counted, then what made him any better than Drew? Maybe his transition into civilian life was never going to take and he would always be one step away from doing the unthinkable.

The last of the sun sank into the sky, and he saw the undersheriff pull up. Whatever consequences occurred because of his actions were going to be well-deserved. He’d made an oath to uphold and protect the law, and today he had failed spectacularly.

Mama Bertrand’s station wagon came into view and he felt his heart slow down. Lilly would be taken care of, and he could rest easy while he went through the interview process. It was probably going to take most of the night, and the last thing he wanted was for Lilly to be alone.

Which made him think of Ruth. He hadn’t had the chance to let Lilly know that her stalker had been released. Another shit-storm in the making. The man he’d called earlier hadn’t gotten back to him, so he still had no idea where the woman was or what sort of restrictions were being placed on her movements. The undersheriff approached, and he knew that next couple of hours were going to be brutal. The department took these things seriously, as well they should. Which meant his actions would probably cost him his job.

That, surprisingly, didn’t bother him as much as the question that kept circling his mind: Was he worthy of Lilly if he was capable of that kind of violence?

That wasn’t something that was going to be answered right away, but eventually, it would. And until he could answer it himself, he didn’t think he should be around her.

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