Deep Burn (Burned Duet 2)

Elodie wouldn’t be able to move back into the apartment. I wouldn’t be able to waltz back into my shop and pretend the awful things that happened upstairs hadn’t transpired. Elodie wouldn’t be able to walk the school hallways without the weight of everything on her shoulders. Her work would never be the same. And her dancing…she hadn’t danced for nearly two weeks, and I wondered if she missed it.

As if she heard me thinking about her, she turned around, her gaze meeting mine from that far away. She’d made it to the edge of the lake near the tree I always practiced my MMA at when I was a teen, and I was up on the deck, ready to go into the house as soon as my cell rang.

She lifted her hand in a wave, and I stood, wanting to go down to her. Since our talk on the boat, something had changed between us. Things weren’t as harsh. They were softer, easier. All I wanted was to spend as much time as possible with her, but now the dark cloud of my call was hanging over my head and—

My cell vibrated, and I stared down at it, seeing my lawyer’s name and the area code along with his number. I held it in the air to show Elodie and pointed at the house, then walked into the kitchen. I hit the answer call button, greeting, “Hello.”

“Asher Easton?” a woman’s voice asked.

“That’s me.”

“I have Mr. Bennet on the line for you, please hold.”

I drifted over to the sink so I could look out of the window and spotted Elodie, making her way back onto the dock. She’d found her favorite place since we’d been here, and I knew that was where she would sit for hours, staring at the water, captured inside her own head. Sometimes I sat next to her, and other times I watched from the deck, knowing she needed time to process everything.

“Asher?” Mr. Bennet asked over the line.

“Hi.” I cleared my throat. “That’s me.”

“Ah, good. Sorry it’s a little later than we planned. I got held up in court today.”

“No worries.” My voice was stiff, as were my muscles.

“Let me see…yes. So, the victim woke up yesterday morning and gave his statement. The DA wants to press charges.” He cleared his throat. “They have witness statements from the officers who were called to the scene.” His tone was one that told me he thought I didn’t have a chance in hell of going anywhere but jail. “I’m in contact with the DA because the first charges they presented was attempted murder—”

“What?” I frowned, my blood boiling. “Are you fuckin’ kidding me?”

“Afraid not, Asher. The list of injuries they’re presenting—”

“He was raping my girlfriend. He was fuckin’ raping

her, and they want to charge me with attempted murder?”

“I know it’s a big charge—wait, what did you say?”

“What?”

“He was raping your girlfriend?”

I stared at Elodie on the dock, her head leaning back, and the wind whipping through her hair. “Yeah. That’s why I beat the fucker. I should have done it the first time he laid hands on her, but I let it go—”

“Wait. Go slower, I’m trying to write all of this down.” I frowned as I heard him mumbling. “I wasn’t aware of the circumstances.” He paused, and I heard papers shuffling. “Did your girlfriend report the assault?”

“Yes.” I gritted my teeth together, hating that I was having to tell him something that happened to Elodie. I shouldn’t have said anything. I should have taken whatever the DA wanted to charge me with and be done with it. If this went to trial, she’d have to go through the entire thing again, remember every tiny detail, and then there was her own case. I wouldn’t do that to her. I wouldn’t be the reason she was put through so much pain. “I don’t want you to use that,” I ground out, and my feet carried me back to the door. “You’re not to bring her into anything, understood?”

“Asher, this changes everything. If she would make a statement as to what happened and—”

“No.” I stepped out onto the deck. “Find another way that doesn’t bring her into it.”

“But—” I didn’t wait for him to finish as I ended the call. I wasn’t going to put Elodie through anything else. She’d been through enough heartache, and I was determined to protect her from anything coming her way, even if that meant I was charged with attempted murder. Fuck. I could spend the rest of my life in prison if that happened, and the prospect of not being a free man gutted me, but it was nothing compared to the thought of not being able to be with Elodie. I wouldn’t be able to hold her, touch her, sleep next to her. It could all be taken away in the blink of any eye, but for her, I’d do it. I’d do anything if it meant she was okay.

My feet carried me down the wooden walkway my dad had built as a kid, over the rocky area where the lake came partly on, and onto the pier. Elodie didn’t look up as I got closer, but I didn’t miss the smile working its way on her face. I didn’t say a word as I lowered down next to her and put my feet into the cool lake water. We sat there for several minutes in silence, neither of us needing to fill the void with useless chatter.

The lake house had always been my favorite place to be. We’d spent most of our family vacations here, and sometimes a random weekend too. It was my family’s second home, and the first place any of us wanted to come to when we needed a break. I’d spent months here when I’d left the Marines. My days would be out on the water, and my nights would be spent sitting on the deck watching the sunset, amazed by the colors in the sky it would leave behind before darkness took over.

“How was the call?” Elodie’s soft voice asked.

I shrugged in response, not wanting to talk about it. “Good.”