Page 24 of Hard Focus
Cole knew Audrey hadn’t wanted the notoriety of being a rape victim to color any part of her world, and he’d tried his best to make it happen for her. Still, everyone at the station knew. The staff at the hospital knew. Connie’s friend was Audrey’s lawyer, for Christ’s sake.
All the energy he’d spent hating her for being with that asshole, and she hadn’t the first clue.
He shook his head.That ain’t right. Something happened to Audrey that shouldn’t ever happen to a woman anywhere, and if asshole had his way, Cole suspected he would have done the same to Connie. Cole’s stomach twistedandhe shot off the bed, walking to the window. Teasing the curtains to one side, hestaredout at the houses across the street.Did anyone who lived next to the asshole know?Hell, even Cole didn’t know his neighbors well,those kindof friendly connections fell by the wayside with his job and demanding shifts.
So much negative emotion aimed Connie’s direction, and she hadn’t earned any of it. The straight-shooter side of Cole wanted to figure out a way to make it right.
The expression on her face haunted him, that moment when she figured out he wasn’t lying. When she heard the words and took it all in, understanding the meaning behind the sounds. Wrecked and devastated, she’d looked sick, horrified, and he could track the progress of her thoughts around to the what-if side of the tracks.
I should talk to her, make sure she’s okay.
His hand smoothed the curtains, closing out the night-shrouded street, allowing the houses to keep their secrets, whatever they might be.
I’ll do that.
