Page 41 of Love Me Gently

“Right. If you change your mind…”

She scoffed and went back to reading the files the nurses had gotten copies of and brought with us.

Good news out of this was that Sheila didn’t think her cheekbone was broken. Her knee was swollen, and she believed it’d been stepped on, but at least not hard enough to do any serious damage. It was swollen and there’d be pain as it healed. She wouldn’t know until the swelling went down if there was ligament or tendon damage, but for now, she was okay. It brought no amount of joy to learn Jonathan hadn’t broken anything in her body, just bruised her from head to toe.

Something told me that wasn’t luck, but years of experience of an abuser knowing exactly how hard he could hit to bruise and damage but not break, and that part made my blood boil.

Jonathan Wolf deserved to be treated exactly like he’d treated Trina, and possibly every woman he’d known before.

My phone buzzed in my back pocket, and I yanked it out.

Kip’s name flashed on the screen, and I answered the call. “This is Cole.”

“How’s everything going? I heard your delivery arrived safely.”

“It did. And my truck.”

The man chuckled through the phone. “Good. That’s good. How is she?”

“Still sleeping. Our doctor here expects her to wake up soon, though. And there?”

“Good news is nothing pisses Jonathan off more than the idea of someone getting one over on him, so he hasn’t left his office, nor has he checked his phone.”

“Sounds like a man really concerned about his wife’s injuries.”

There was a slight chuckle that held no humor. “Good for us. He’ll be in the office for a while, and I’m hopeful the rabbit chase I’ve put him on keeps him focused for days. In the meantime, Valerie and I are headed out tonight for some dinner and dancing and drinks in town. I’ve been assured he’ll get a call later, and if he answers, he’ll finally learn she’s gone, but strangely enough, no one will know when she vanished.”

“And you’ll be in public after being in the office all day with him, so there’s nothing to suspect.”

“Let’s hope it continues that way. I should go, just wanted to check in. Let me know if you need anything.”

“Will do. Keep me posted on your end.”

“As soon as I hear if anything’s changed, you’ll be the first I call. Stay sharp, Mr. Paxton. He might be distracted today, but tomorrow could birth an entirely different kind of animal.”

“Of course. Thanks again for the call.”

I slipped my phone back in my pocket. He was right. Today was a distraction, and it worked in our favor, but our luck wouldn’t hold forever. I just needed to keep hoping that Kip did everything he needed to in order to make Jonathan’s search for her as difficult as possible.

That call down, I blew out a breath. “Shout if you need me,” I muttered to Sheila and left my room.

Left Trina.

But this time, at least she wasn’t alone.

I’d make sure she never felt that way ever again.

Sixteen

Trina

Then

Time flew.Days and weeks were suddenly spent traveling to a host of exotic and luxurious locations for work. More vacations and trips were taken for leisure and fun with Jonathan. During the football season, he spent most of his time in Atlanta, Georgia, but he also owned a penthouse in New York where I now lived full-time.

It was easier, given the way our schedules crisscrossed frequently, so when he’d suggested it and I was still living in the tiny little apartment with Stella because I never got around to finding anything else for us, I accepted.

Which reminded me…

---