Page 59 of The Agent
“You’re with me.” He kissed her shoulder and settled back against her.
The simple truth of that punched her in the chest. It didn’t matter where she was as long as she was with Tully. She didn’t feel in danger when Tully was by her side. She didn’t question that her stalker would be caught because Tully would do it. When he touched her or even just looked at her, her body responded. She’d entrusted him with the secret of how she assisted other women without a qualm.
She was with him in every way and that was not a good thing.
She twisted in his grasp to reach for her phone to check the time.
“If you keep squirming, things are going to get real interesting,” he said in a husky voice.
It was only six thirty, but she needed to get away from him. “I can’t sleep, so I’m going to shower.”
“Why don’t I join you?” he rumbled as he feathered a kiss on her temple.
Because she was afraid of what she was feeling. She turned her head to find him looking at her through half-open eyes. “You should get some more sleep,” she said. “I’m just feeling antsy about Regina’s meeting with the lawyer.”
“Alastair is a good guy,” Tully said. “He’ll make sure Regina gets the best divorce possible.”
He gave Natalie a sweet, lingering kiss on the mouth that nearly had her changing her mind about the solo shower, but he lifted his arm so she could slide to the edge of the bed. She sat there for a moment, thinking about how he had sensed her unwillingness so he hadn’t tried to pressure her to make love.
Matt had never cared what mood she was in. If he had wanted to have sex, he would do everything in his power to make her give in to his demands.
For all his strength and authority, Tully never forced anything on her.
Natalie and Regina sat at a small conference table across from Alastair York, the divorce lawyer KRG’s legal department had connected them with. The surprisingly young lawyer had auburn hair, a faintly British accent, and a gentle twinkle in his blue eyes. Natalie hoped he was tougher than he looked because Dobs Van Houten wasn’t going to be a pushover.
On the other hand, Regina had visibly relaxed when Alastair shook her hand with a disarming smile and led them into the small, almost intimate meeting room. The younger woman had confessed her nervousness to Natalie and Tully on the drive to the law office, saying that she was intimidated by the prospect of having a high-powered, cutthroat New York City lawyer represent her.
“Coffee, tea, or something chilled?” Alastair asked in his charmingly clipped voice as he hovered over a credenza with various beverages arrayed on it. Natalie would have expected him to have an assistant to pour the drinks. After all, he was a partner in the fancy law firm.
Instead, he brought two steaming mugs of coffee and one of tea to the sleek glass-topped table before he sat in front of a closed laptop.
Folding his long, elegant hands on top of the computer, he said with a sad smile, “I’m very sorry you have to use my services. Divorce is always difficult. I know a little of your story but why don’t you tell me in your own words why you are seeking to end your marriage?”
Regina straightened her shoulders and inhaled deeply. She was dressed in a blue-and-white-striped cotton blouse over navy trousers, an outfit Dawn had helped her choose. Natalie had styled Regina’s dyed-brown hair into a loose bun at the nape of her neck to give her some confidence.
“My husband has hurt me on several occasions. I finally left when he threatened to throw me down the stairs. He also insulted and humiliated me verbally whenever we were alone.”
Natalie had coached Regina to be concise and as unemotional as possible. As she’d learned from her own divorce, when you got right down to it, most of the negotiations were about the division of assets. Although this one had the complication of an unborn child.
Alastair looked sympathetic. “How long has this behavior been going on?”
“About six months.” Regina reached for Natalie’s hand. “I thought he was just stressed about us getting pregnant at first. He wanted it so badly and I kept getting my period. So I tried to smooth things over. I didn’t want to admit that Dobs was abusive but ...” She trailed off as her grip tightened. Natalie gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “But things escalated. He scared me.”
“Are you still afraid that he would do you bodily harm?”
Regina nodded before she said in a near whisper, “Yes.”
“Then our first order of business is to get a restraining order.” Alastair flipped open the laptop. “I apologize for making you relive this unpleasantness, but can you tell me specifically what he did and said? I also need to know if anyone else witnessed any of the incidents.”
“No, no one did. In public, he was loving and considerate, the way he had been before we got married and on our honeymoon. Every time we’d go out and he’d be so nice, I’d think—hope—that this was the real Dobs coming back.” Tears stood in Regina’s eyes and Natalie’s heart twisted. “But we’d get home and he’d go back to being ... horrible.”
Regina’s words dredged up ugly memories from Natalie’s marriage. How Matt would smile and laugh and put his arm around her when they were out with friends. The moment they were alone, he would whip his arm away from her and put two feet of distance between them. Then he would enumerate all the things she’d done wrong during their evening out.
The emotional whiplash kept her walking on eggshells as she tried to gauge Matt’s mood and propitiate him.
“Did you ever have any visible injuries?” Alastair asked, his fingers still poised over the keyboard.
“Bruises,” Regina said. “Natalie saw them on my arms. That’s when she told me I could stay with her. But I still didn’t think Dobs would really hurt me, so I didn’t leave then.”
