“Because of this,” she says, waving her hand out at me. “But I’m begging you, do this one thing for me.” I stare into her pleading eyes—eyes that can get me to do anything—and know that I can’t leave her. That doesn’t mean I’m letting this go. No, Cal will get his. It may not be today, but he’ll get what he deserves and I can’t wait to be the one who gives it to him.

Taking in a deep breath, I let it out slowly. “Fine, I won’t go after him, but I need to step outside for a few minutes and get some fresh air and try to calm down. Because seeing what he’s done to you has me in a bad place.” She nods and looks back down at the floor.

Closing the door behind me as I walk outside, my feet carry me with purpose. The usual caution I use maneuvering behind trees and other objects to conceal myself is abandoned. In this moment, I don’t give a shit if someone sees me. A minute or so later, I’m banging on Tyler’s window. He unlocks the doors and I hop in. My face must say it all, because his eyes widen when he takes me in. “Are you watching the fucking video feed?” I say in an eerily calm manner.

“Yeah . . .” he draws out.

“So you saw that prick put his hands on Elizabeth?” My knee bounces up and down, needing someplace to channel this toxic energy within me.

He sighs and runs his hands through his hair. “Yeah, I saw it. I tried to tell you, but you—”

“You didn’t think anyone needed to be notified of this?” My hands ball up into tight fists.

“I called it in when it happened.”

“And? Why wasn’t he arrested?”

“The department’s main focus is getting him on these big charges, not something small like assault and battery. They don’t give a shit about his domestic issues.”

“Something small, huh?” It’s getting harder to take in air as I try to calm myself down. I know at any second I’m going to say fuck it and run out and kill Cal. I’m teetering on this ledge, one side telling me not to jump, the other side telling me it’ll feel so damn good. My fist collides into the dashboard once. Twice. A third time. “That’s it. You tell Turner that Plan B starts now.” I hop out of the car despite Tyler’s protests and walk back to Elizabeth.

“WHERE DID YOU go?” she asks quietly when I let myself in through the back door.

“I just went out to get some fresh air.” The fresh air didn’t do shit to calm me down. My jaw starts to tick seeing her bruise again. “Let’s sit down and talk real quick,” I say tightly. She nods and we walk into the living room and have a seat on the couch. “I need you to tell me what happened. Are you hurt anywhere else?”

She shakes her head. “I’m fine, just a few bruises here and there, but nothing major.” Bruises? I only see the one on her face, which means he hit her in places that aren’t visible right now. Son of a bitch. I can’t wait to get my hands on that spineless piece of shit.

“Nothing major?” I shout, pissed at her blatant disregard for her safety. She winces from my sudden outburst. “Have you looked in the fucking mirror, Elizabeth?”

She sits up straight, pins her shoulders back, and looks me in the eye. “Yes, I have.” She’s so composed yet firm and it instantly calms me down. Here I am freaking the hell out while she shows nothing but strength. This woman amazes me.

“What happened?” I struggle to maintain a normal tone.

She shrugs while shaking her head. “I don’t even know how it escalated so fast. I was sitting in my room reading. He kept yelling, telling me how worthless I am and I just snapped. I slapped him as hard as I could across the face. He was stunned at first. I guess he expected things to go back to the way they were before you came along. Back then, I’d never in a million years dream of doing something like that to him. Soon, the shock wore off and he made sure to show me who’s in control around here. He punched me in the face and kicked me in the ribs when I fell to the floor.”

The air in my lungs gets trapped as an image of her lying curled up on the floor while he kicks her flashes across my mind. It makes me feel nauseous instantly. I do the only thing I can right now, and that’s love her. Gently grabbing her arm, I pull her into me and carefully hold on to her. After I kiss the top of her head, I say, “God, I’m so sorry I wasn’t here to protect you.” Fuck! I knew I should have gotten her out of here the day I caught her gulping down a bottle of pills.

“It’s not your fault, Alex. None of this is. As much as it hurt when he hit me, I’d probably do the same thing all over again.” I pull away and look at her like she’s crazy. “I know it sounds insane, but for the first time in a while I feel alive. I knew when he was yelling at me that it was my time to fight. I’ve been slowly dying inside ever since I married that man. Well, no more. I had two choices: fight or die. I chose to fight. And live.”

I stare at her in awe. She has suffered so much but still finds the will to keep going. She may have lost hope briefly, but it’s back stronger than ever. With determination like that, I know we’re going to make it through this. I place a soft kiss to her lips and pull back. “Did you go to the doctor?”

She shakes her head. “No, but I swear I’m fine. Like I said, just a little sore and bruised. Nothing is broken.”

“I thought Cal was gone for a few days.”

“He came home a day early. Said he needed to check on something.”

Shit. “Where is he now?” My adrenaline starts pumping with the fear that he’s still in town.

“He left this morning.”

We don’t have long. He could come home at any moment. “We’ve got to get out of here.” I stand up and hold my hand out to her. She takes it and I help her up. There’s no way in hell I’m leaving her alone with Cal after this. I know this is going to blow everything all to shit, but I won’t allow him the opportunity to touch her again.

“What do you mean? Where are we going?” Her head tilts to the side and her eyebrows furrow in confusion.

“You’re not staying here. Let’s pack you a small bag and get going. I’ll explain a little more once we’re gone.” I move toward her room, but she doesn’t budge.

“I don’t think I can,” she says while shaking her head. “I mean, what if he finds me?” She’s the bravest woman I know, but it would be hard to miss the fear pouring off of her in waves.

Cupping her face with both hands, I bring her closer. “He won’t,” I tell her with confidence.

“You don’t know that.”

“Do you trust me?” I stare intently into her eyes, needing to know the answer to this question.

After a moment, she responds, “Yes.” A sense of relief hits me with that one word.

“Good. I promise to protect you. He won’t put another hand on you again.” She looks into my eyes, seeming to weigh her options before she nods and leads me upstairs.

Once we’re up to her room, I say, “Do you have a backpack or something like it that’s easy to carry?”

“Yeah, hold on.” She disappears into the closet and hollers at me, “Are you coming with me?”

“Of course.” Where else does she think I’d go?

She comes out of the closet with a small smile on her face, holding a Louis Vuitton sack looking thing in her hand. “I don’t know if you want to bring that bag, sweetheart. We’re not exactly going to the Ritz.”

Glancing down at the bag, she looks slightly embarrassed. “I don’t care where we go as long as we’re together, but it’s all I have.”

I walk up to her and kiss her, needing to show her how she makes me feel. How with that one statement she managed to make me feel like the luckiest bastard in the world. “Pick out only essential stuff, okay?” She nods and moves around the room quickly, grabbing a few pieces of clothing and bathroom items. But there’s one thing she has that I want.

“Where’s the button?” I ask her. When she just looks at me like she has no idea what I’m talking about, I clarify a little for her. “You know, the one I ripped off your shirt.” I raise my eyebrows up and down suggestively, but when she doesn’t smile and looks at the ground, I put all joking aside. “What’s wrong?”