Dmitri’s brows drew together as he pressed a hand against Kyler’s shoulder. “Sorry to hear you’ve been dealing with this. I suspected something of this nature was going on with her, but I didn’t know it still affected her.” His gaze flicked to the cruiser, and he frowned. “Or that the problem was so violent.”
Aidan sidled up to them, and his hands were tucked firmly into the pockets of his jeans. His eyes narrowed on the cruiser, blazing red hot. “So, that’s what this is all about?”
Kyler inclined his head.
“Fuck.” Aidan yanked his hands out of his pockets and crossed his arms. “I wish she would have told me about this. I could have helped her, or at least provided more security for her at work.”
You and me both. “She didn’t tell me, either,” Kyler replied.
Aidan’s head whipped around to Kyler, his brows drawn together. “How did you find out about it, then?”
Kyler scraped a hand over his face and muttered, “Ella called in to the Savannah PD when Rory approached her. A friend of his from Savannah is on the force and wanted us to keep an eye out for him.”
“Christ,” Aidan grunted. “She doesn’t deserve this.”
“She doesn’t deserve a lot of the shit that has happened to her.” Kyler pushed off the cruiser and approached Maggie. “Take Rory back to the station. Give him coffee and let him sober up.” He hesitated, considering next steps. “Don’t call your friend in Savannah just yet. All right?”
She nodded, her eyes searching his. “Anything else I can do?”
He imagined every cop in the vicinity knew this was personal to Kyler. He couldn’t hide his emotions. Not now. Not with having all of this explode in Ella’s face. All he’d wanted to do was protect her from more pain, and somehow he had failed. “That’s good for now. I’ll be at the station soon.”
“Yes, sir.” She turned, heading to her cruiser.
Kyler noticed how quiet Rory was now, which only infuriated him. So aggressive with ones who couldn’t protect themselves, but one statement from a cop had his head hanging.
Pathetic.
Strong men don’t need aggression or force to hold power. Weak men need it, because they control nothing. The advice from an older Dom that Kyler had met when he first joined Chains carried through his mind.
As the cruiser drove off with the other two following behind, Kyler stared after them. He sensed Porter step up next to him. Then Porter said in a soft voice, “You’ve taken good care of her, Kyler. She’ll be okay.”
“Will she be?” he asked, gazing at the lights fading off in the distance.
“She has you,” Porter stated.
Is that enough? echoed in his mind.
Was this a step forward or simply a huge step backward? He knew what this night would do to her. The embarrassment she’d face having everyone know what happened to her, which was a secret that she’d done her best to keep to herself. And he also knew of her habits of running away when things got tough.
Tension battered him as he turned to Porter. “You’re right, she does have me.” To make her safe. To remove this threat. To be the cop that she desperately needs in her life.
All he could do was act and do something to better the situation.
The rest he’d figure out later.
Chapter Twenty
With Rory and all the Club Sin Masters gone from her house, Ella slumped down onto the couch. Her hands shook as she grabbed her lap quilt off the back of the couch and wrapped it around herself. Kenzie was off in the kitchen, making tea, leaving Presley and Cora with Ella.
She had yet to decide if she should tell everyone to leave or beg them to stay. All she knew, she was suffering a serious state of shock that included part embarrassment and the other part sheer horror at what had happened.
This was exactly why she never wanted to talk about Rory. For once, her life resembled that of a normal person, one not touched by so much pain. Now everyone knew all her horrible secrets.
Where is a hole to crawl into when I need it?
Presley dropped down onto the couch, rubbing Ella’s leg. Her gaze was as soft and sweet as ever. “Jeez, girl, I wish you would have told us about him. We could have been there to help you, somehow.”
Ella sighed, tightening the blanket around her and fighting off the chills. “Yeah, isn’t that a great start to a friendship. So, I have this husband that pushed me into a table and gave me this scar. Oh, and he also won’t divorce me. Wanna be friends?”