Page 20 of Saving Trinity
“You know, I was going to leave you the fuck alone,” he slurred. Jimmie pulled me between his spread legs, pressing my back to his chest, then wound his arms tight around me. My heart was thudding so hard in my chest, it hurt. “But you just couldn’t leave me the fuck alone, could you? I let you run off with him. You thought I could never tell that you wanted him? I chose to ignore it because I thought you’d never allow yourself to be with him. Should’ve known the moment things went fucking sideways, you’d call him. Hell, maybe you were talking to him the entire time. Maybe you’d been planning to use me to become a doctor, and then, you were going to chase his dick.”
None of this made any sense. Jimmie and I had been nothing but friends. But of course, after Zac attacked me, I was going to call him. Zac had raised his hand to our son. Why wouldn’t I have called Jimmie? And did he really think Jimmie wouldn’t find out what happened and just not come get me? Jimmie had never been that kind of man, and he never would be.
“You’ve ruined everything, Trinity,” Zac growled, his words only becoming more heavily slurred the angrier he became. “I had to get this cheap ass phone since you blocked my number to be able to tell you just how much you’ve fucked up my life. I lost my job at the hospital. I’m losing everything. You pressed fucking charges. And my attorney is telling me I should just plead guilty at my court hearing to get a lesser sentence because there’s too much evidence against me. Are you fucking happy with yourself? My entire life is fucking ruined!” he shouted.
I was trembling, and my teeth were beginning to chatter. But I wouldn’t stop the voicemail. I would need to report this to Officer Wilcox since he’d violated the restraining order, but I wanted to hear everything he had to say to me, even if it was terrifying. I didn’t recognize this man anymore.
He certainly wasn’t the man I used to love. That was for sure.
“I’m not going to court. I won’t have my image smeared than it already is. I won’t be splattered all over the fucking news. I won’t give you that satisfaction.” The distinct sound of a gun cocking echoed down the line, and my heart stopped. My blood froze in my veins. Jimmie tensed behind me. “And you won’t get the pleasure of watching me go down in court, Trinity. You don’t get to have that after ruining my fucking life like this.”
I shrieked when a loud, piercing gunshot echoed in the air right before the call ended. My hands were shaking so badly, I dropped the phone. Jimmie tightened his arms around me, damn near crushing me as I tried to focus on breathing. But I needed that because what the fuck.
Zac had committed suicide. That was what I’d heard, wasn’t it? He’d victim-blamed me in a fucked-up, twisted way, tried to make me feel like shit for the consequences of his own actions, and then committed suicide.
He’d taken the coward’s way out.
“Did he…” I croaked, my teeth chattering so hard, I was unable to complete my question.
“Yeah, baby,” Jimmie murmured, tucking my head beneath his chin. I shuddered, squeezing my eyes shut as I swallowed vomit. “I think he did.”
Chapter Seventeen
Trinity
Once my shaking eased some, Jimmie and I laid back down in bed, and he curled his body around mine as I dialed Officer Wilcox’s number. My entire body felt too cold despite the blankets on top of me and Jimmie’s body heat. I knew I was going into some kind of state of shock after hearing my ex-fiancé literally kill himself on my voicemail. I wanted to do nothing more than dissociate again, but I needed to make this phone call.
A wellness check needed to be performed, and if Zac had accomplished committing suicide, I wanted to know. I would be furious sometime later that he’d taken the easy way out, but maybe if he’d actually accomplished it, I could live in peace and begin healing from what he did to me.
The anger could come later. Hell, I knew it would. But right then, I just wanted to feel free again and no longer shackled by fear.
“Officer Wilcox,” he answered, sounding wide awake.
“Hi,” I croaked. “It’s Trinity Lennon.”
“Hello, Miss Lennon,” he greeted. “What can I do for you?”
I drew in a deep breath. “Zachary Vale contacted me, but I didn’t answer the phone since I was asleep. He left me a voicemail. I—I b-believe he committed suicide.” I drew in a shaky breath. “I’d like someone to perform a wellness check.”
“Give me one moment.” I heard him get on a radio and relay some codes, as well as relay Zac’s address. After a few moments, he came back on the line. “Miss Lennon, can you tell me what happened?”
“I don’t think I can repeat it,” I croaked. “Can I call you back from my son’s father’s phone and let you listen to the voicemail?”
“That’s fine,” he assured me.
I ended the call, and without a word, Jimmie handed me his phone. “Two-nine-seven-three,” he murmured against my shoulder when the prompt to put in his passcode popped up. I typed in the numbers, and hit okay, and his home screen popped up. After typing in Officer Wilcox’s number, I closed my eyes, listening to the phone ring.
“Officer Wilcox.”
“It’s me—uhm, Trinity,” I clarified, hating how rough and strangled my voice sounded. “Just let me know when you’re ready.”
“I’m ready,” he told me.
I pressed play, then clamped my hands over my ears, not wanting to hear the voicemail again. I didn’t want to hear the hateful things Zac had to say a second time. And I didn’t want to hear that gun cocking or the sound of that gunshot again.
And Jimmie, bless his fucking heart, pressed his hands over my ears, too, helping to block out any sound I hadn’t been able to block out completely. It wasn’t until he removed his hands that I did, too, reopening my eyes as I did so.
“Okay. I recorded this on my end as well,” Officer Wilcox informed me. “I just ask that you don’t delete that from your phone. We’ll need it for our investigation.”
