“Can you give us a few minutes, Draegan?”
“Sure.” He left the room again.
Doc studied her thoughtfully before he took her hands in his. “It’s okay to cry. It’s okay to grieve.” Doc had gone from one extreme to the next. One minute, he’d been ready to take up arms and fight for this woman. Now, he was prepared to hold her while she grieved.
“No.” She looked lost. “That can’t be right.”
“Was he your husband?”
“Yes…ex. We’ve been legally separated for nearly three years.”
He wondered how her ex-husband had managed to pull that off. He apparently had friends in high places. Then again, the McCoy name held a lot of clout behind closed doors. If a judge could be bought, he typically didn’t mind taking a McCoy’s money because they were rumored to pay extremely well.
“Sable, it’s perfectly natural if you mourn—”
She looked at him with bewilderment in her expression. “Mourn him?” She swallowed then and her expression twisted into one of pure disgust. “Mourn a man who forced himself on me, a man who beat me until I blacked out? Mourn him?” Her face twisted into one wrought with unbearable pain. “I’ll never mourn Tony McCoy, but I will fear the coming wrath and you should, too.”
“What coming wrath?” Doc had seen a lot of abuse since he’d started living and working in Trouble. He’d listened to the victims’ stories. So many of them were similar. Very often the abusers could die or end up behind bars, but none of that mattered to their victims. They always thought someone else was coming for them or the dead would soon rise, the incarcerated would somehow break free. “Sable, you’re safe now.”
“I wish that were true.” She sniffed and sobbed. After a few minutes, she wrapped her arms around her torso and rocked back and forth. “You don’t understand. If Tony is dead, Doc, I’m in more danger now than I ever was when he was alive.
“Tony’s father will kill me. He will kill me and everyone I care about, so if you know what’s good for you, you’ll take me back to that hospital and you’ll leave me there.”
“You’re not going anywhere,” Doc assured her, cupping her left cheek and stroking her bottom lip. Aware of several pairs of booted feet marching down the hallway, Doc pointed at the door and added, “And if I were a gambler, I’d bet on four more fellas telling you the same.”
Chapter Ten
Nicholas had hung back for about a minute, but then he charged her like a bull breaking free of its pen. Mac behaved in a similar manner. Once they reconnected with her, they touched her everywhere, obvious in their efforts to check her out and make sure she was okay.
“I can’t believe this,” Harley said. “We’ve looked everywhere for you and right here you are.”
Mac remained quiet. After he hugged her, he gently kissed her lips and Nicholas observed quietly. Like Mac, Nicholas was so fucked.
Between the hugs and the promises, the tugging and pulling, Nicholas had acknowledged a mix of emotions. An overwhelming sense of relief had left him more grateful than he’d ever thought possible.
It was then when he realized how much Sable already meant to him. In the midst of their struggles to find her, to track down information or people who knew her, Nicholas had bargained with anyone and everyone, even the man upstairs. Now, he sent a prayer of thanks that way, too.
“She looks good to me,” Mac said, seemingly anxious for Nicholas to agree.
“She’s black and blue,” Nicholas pointed out, tapering his rage if only for a little while.
“But she’s alive, man, and that’s worth a whole lot given what happened out there today.”
“You’re right,” Nicholas said, shuddering as he considered the unthinkable.
When the initial reunion was over, Sable peered up at them with that beautiful smile and that’s when Nicholas was reminded of why Trouble had been established.
“Thank you.” She connected with each of them then, if not by touch by a lingering gaze. “I know you were out there fighting for me and I want you to know I appreciate each of you.” She then leveled a blank stare on Nicholas. “But you shouldn’t have killed Tony.”
“We didn’t,” Harley quickly told her.
Nicholas was rendered speechless. Had she taken him for a killer or did she believe he was the only man there capable of fighting for her?
“What do you mean you didn’t kill him?” Her tone changed and Nicholas detected a hint of elation. “He’s alive?”
“No, Sable.” Mac frowned. “He’s dead, but none of us killed him. Markie was the one who shot him.”
“Markie? The one who was at the hospital with me?” She turned to Doc. “That Markie?”