Page 12 of Hart of Hope
He paled. “Kill him.”
“Exactly,” I said, dashing away tears.
He placed gentle hands on my knees. “Look, you’re right. I will never understand how it feels to go through something as horrific as what you’ve gone through. But let me in. Talk to me. You’ve never told me what happened to you. Is your therapist not helping?”
I gave up my therapist years ago, unbeknownst to my brothers. “No one will ever be able to rid me of the memories of my past, Duke. And I will not subject you, Dillon, and Denim to the details of my captivity. The scars on my back sent you guysinto a frenzy as it was.” I shivered as though I could feel the sting of the whip lashing my bare skin over and over again.
He growled, pain tightening his features.
I blinked several times to stop the tears from flowing. Seeing my brother’s sadness beneath his rage was gutting me. Damn it. I’d built a wall around myself, but the damn thing was crumbling.
“Stop, Duke,” I said in a gentle tone. “I’m fine. I need to see Andie.” She shouldn’t be alone. I was sure when she woke up, she would be in a state of panic. “I want to take her to Dillon’s shelter.”
Our dorm had prying eyes and big ears. Andie didn’t need the attention, no matter how much the girls wanted to console her.
He rose. “You’re not fine.”
It was my turn to snarl, but luckily, Ted came in, distracting us from a potential argument.
“Duke, you should call your lawyer. Grace’s arraignment is scheduled later today at two p.m.”
Fun times ahead.
“I called him before I got here. He’s on his way down,” Duke said.
If anyone could get me out of this situation, it was Kelton Maxwell. He had an impeccable record and knew how to argue for his clients.
But that was only one problem because the truth was—somethingwaswrong. I could feel it in my bones. I just didn’t know if the danger was real or if I’d finally lost my grip on reality completely.
4
GRACE
By four p.m. that afternoon, I was walking into the Hart of Hope House, the shelter that Dillon had tirelessly built from the ground up.
As soon as I entered the waiting area, I felt like I was home. The place always gave me a sense of peace and hope, not only for myself but for the women who came through here. I’d never been prouder of my brother for opening a hideaway for battered women. He’d gotten the idea when he’d been roaming the streets of Boston looking for me.
I’d spent many days here, but with my studies and work, I hadn’t been helping out as much as I would like to. I always found sharing my stories with guests here was far better than any advice from a therapist.
Soft spa-type music filtered out of the speakers overhead. A fountain in the corner opposite the welcome desk flashed through different-colored lighting every few seconds as the water trickled down into the well.
Norma, Dillon’s dedicated assistant, who’d been with him since the beginning, played with her lip ring as she typed on herlaptop at the front desk. “I’ll be right with you,” she said without looking away from her screen.
“It’s me, Norma. Is my friend Andie here?”
Fallyn had called Duke to let him know that Andie had been released from the hospital over an hour ago and Fallyn had dropped her off at the shelter while I was in front of a judge.
Norma regarded me with a warm expression. “Grace, you’re okay, although you look like crap.”
The bruising beneath my eyes wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. “Thanks. It's been a day.”
She grabbed the cross on her necklace. “Dillon told me what you did for Andie. I know you’re in trouble for it, but I would’ve hurt that asshole too.”
“I appreciate that.” Of course, Carl Dixon’s dad, Judge Dixon, wouldn't agree.
My arraignment had been canceled because Judge Dixon wanted to settle the matter out of court. According to Kelton, the judge didn’t want the attention. Not only was his reputation at stake, but so was his son’s. Carl Dixon aspired to be a politician one day, and any whiff of scandal, like him raping a girl, wouldn’t bode well for his future career.
Like I gave a shit. Carl should’ve thought about that before he drugged Andie’s drink. Test results showed that she had a high amount of Rohypnol in her system.
