Page 44 of Serve and Protect
My bedroom door bursts open, and men flood inside, shouting demands. Two pairs of hands yank David off of me and throw him face down on the floor. A separate pair of hands catches me when my knees give out.
“I’ve got you, sweetheart,” Chris says. He helps me to my feet and walks me out of the room and down the hall to the living room, where he sits me down on the sofa. I’m shaking violently as my mind tries to catch up.
The sound of utter chaos comes from my bedroom—shouts and grunts and scuffles—as the officers fight to subdue and cuff David.
“Where’s Granny?” I cry, panicking. “Is she—”
“She’s in her room with an officer. She’s safe. Areyouall right?” Chris sits beside me and takes my hands in both of his, squeezing them reassuringly. “Jennie, did he hurt you?”
Overwhelmed, I can’t formulate an answer. Instead, I burst into tears.
Chris pulls me against him, wrapping both of his arms around me. “It’s okay. I’ve got you, and he’s going to jail.”
I feel Chris’s arms around me, so solid and strong. I feel his lips press against my temple, so very welcome, as he murmurs something unintelligible.
It takes me a full minute to realize it’shisarms that are shaking, not mine.
“You’re still not wearing your sling,” I remind him.
His chest vibrates as he chuckles. “I know. It just doesn’t seem important right now.”
Chapter 16 – Chris
I’ve never been so scared in my life as I am when we enter Jennie’s house through the unlocked side door. Dawn Keller had called the station, and Darlene forwarded her message to me. Dawn had left the side door unlocked.
When we arrive, it’s still unlocked, and that buys us several precious seconds. I, along with five other officers, sweep into the kitchen. We find Granny seated at the table, alone, looking terrified. The moment she sees us, she points toward the hallway. “That bad man is in Jennie’s room.”
We waste no time getting to her door and find it unlocked—thank God because every second counts. Jace turns the handle and kicks the door in so hard it bounces off the wall. Immediately, we spot Braggart pressing Jennie up against a wall.
The thoughts going through my head at that moment are chaotic and crazy. I want to kill him. I want to get my hands around his throat and choke the bloody life out of him.
But before I can act on this impulse, Jace and Randy grab Braggart and haul him off Jennie. She immediately sinks to the floor. I help her up and walk her to the living room so I can assess her condition. She and Braggart were both still fully dressed, so that allays one of my worst fears. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t hurt her.
She’s too distraught right now to answer any more of my questions, so I just hold her in my arms and let her cry.
“He’s going to jail for a very long time,” I tell her. “It’s over. No more fires. No more threats.”
Randy and Jace strong-arm Braggart, who’s cuffed, out of the bedroom. They drag him, kicking and cursing, toward the kitchen.
I start to set Jennie aside, so I can assist in getting Braggart out of the house and into a patrol car, but she clings to me, refusing to let me leave. And I don’t have the heart to release her just yet.
I can hear him scuffling with the officers as they drag him toward the door.
“You bitch!” Braggart yells. “You’re making a huge mistake! I’m the best thing that ever happened to you!”
Jennie flinches in my arms.
“Get him out of here!” I tell my deputies. Then, to Jennie, I say, “I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to go to the station. I need to oversee his booking and shove him into a holding cell myself. I’ll call someone to come sit with you.”
“Call Maggie,” she says. “Her brother usually takes over for her in the afternoons. She should be free.”
I make the call. Maggie promises to be here in fifteen minutes.
“I don’t want to leave you, but I have to,” I tell Jennie.
She nods. “I know.” As she turns to face me, she takes my good hand in both of hers. “Chris.” She can barely meet my gaze. “I’m so sorry. I’ve been so stupid.”
“Hey, no. Don’t say that.”
