Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 94624 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94624 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
“Charges?” I moaned.
“Dad saw the video, and he said the guy grabbed you and pinned you up against the wall.”
I couldn’t argue with that, so I stayed quiet.
“On top of that, the guy didn’t notice he cracked your skull open even though you were bleeding. I mean, what the hell?”
“Cracked my skull open, buddy? Really?”
“It’s a small cut,” Jake chimed in, which was very helpful. “But you know, those bleed a lot and normally look worse than they are.”
“So, am I going to have a scar?” I asked hopefully, because that could be cool. Especially a small one that I could make up a fun story about.
“No scar,” Kola told me. “Uncle Aaron called his plastic surgeon, and he’s one of the best in the country, and he told Dad that there will be nothing and gave you some cream to put on to make sure.”
“But I could skip the cream?”
“Stop being funny,” my brother said as he breezed into the room with his wife. “None of us find this the least bit amusing.”
Looking up at his face, he appeared a bit distraught. “I’m sorry.”
Aja bent over and hugged and kissed me as Hannah went to her uncle and got the hug she needed. She then went to Aja as Dane put his hand on the top of my head and gave a gentle rub. He was not a big hugger to begin with—except for his wife and sons—but he’d extended his demonstrativeness to me and my children, which I’d always appreciated. That was not to say he wouldn’t hug me when he came and left my house, but it was quick. At the moment, the tender touch nearly undid me.
Staring down at me, he said, “Though this Aiden Bernard is the one who is at fault, and who will pay for his mistake…we will no longer, as a group, be attending events on Valentine’s Day. I’ve called a moratorium. Dinner out will suffice.”
I was going to argue, but Aja coughed softly, and when I glanced at her, she just shook her head. When Dane was upset, it was best not to argue with him. After some time had passed…perhaps he might come around to changing his mind. But until he got over whatever it was—best not to argue or push.
“There is a question about Mr. Bernard’s intentions,” Dane said, his eyes narrowing as he looked at me. “From the angle of the camera, only the top half of the two of you are visible, so it was unclear what he was doing from the waist down.”
Meaning, on film, it looked like he’d thrown me up against the wall for some reason, but it was unclear what that was.
“I can’t imagine why this man would want to hurt you, so enlighten me if you will,” Dane said, his voice suddenly cajoling. “What did he want?”
I couldn’t say in front of my kids, but thankfully I didn’t have to, as Sam strode into the room. Kola got up so his father could move over to the bed, take his place beside me, lean over, and wrap me in his arms. He hugged me tight but only for a moment, releasing me quickly and then looking down into my face as he slid his hand around the side of my neck.
Just seeing how he was looking at me, how soft his eyes were, made my eyes well with tears. I could see the love plain as day all over his face.
“I’m okay,” I managed to get out.
“Yes,” he agreed. “You only have a slight concussion from being thrown into the wall and having your head cracked open.”
That helped bring me out of the love daze I was in. “As Jake pointed out earlier, any kind of head wound bleeds a lot.”
“Yes,” he agreed, “but there would be no bleeding if people didn’t throw other people into walls.”
He wasn’t wrong.
“Now,” Sam said, and I saw his jaw clench for a moment. “Am I adding something more to the battery charge?”
“Like what?” I asked innocently.
“You know damn well what,” he growled at me.
I took a breath. “I handled that, as you realized when you watched the footage, because from the time he grabbed me to the time he let me go was quick, wasn’t it?”
His glower was dark.
“Yes?”
“Yes,” he agreed. “But he wanted you, and that was the way he went about it. Who’s to say he hasn’t done it before?”
I smiled at my husband. “I know very well that you have run that man’s entire record and know that he is not a sexual predator.”
Sam was stroking my hair. “Perhaps.”
“Do I think he’s performed that maneuver before and not hurt anyone and whoever was on the other end probably liked it? Yes, I do. But I scared him, so he left.”
“Did you tell him Dad would break his face?” Hannah asked me.