Chapter Fifteen
Sean looked over Ava’s car and got madder by the second. How in the hell could someone slash four tires and scratch the whole car in the light of day and not be seen? He glanced at the coffee shop where Ava sat, wanting to get to her as quickly as possible.
“I’d like to talk with Miss Blanchard,” one officer said.
“I’ll take you to her.” He looked around and saw one of his employees. “Hey, Todd, make sure this gets to Monty’s Garage, okay?”
Todd raised his hand. “You got it.”
“Let’s go,” Sean said and started across the street.
His first look at her face made him want to howl in fury. He hated the fact that someone had taken a sense of security from this beautiful woman.
“Hey, baby.” He drew her up off the chair, sat, and pulled her onto his lap. Then he hugged her tightly against his chest. “I’m so sorry.” He watched everyone, but the police officer moved away and give them some privacy.
She leaned against him, pressed her face against his neck, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
She didn’t say anything or even cry, but he knew once everything settled, she’d give in to the pain of what had happened. At the moment, she was holding it all together, and he was so proud of her.
“Miss Blanchard, I’m Officer Devan Thomas. May I ask you a few questions, please?”
She peeked at him and nodded.
He went through the basic questions first. “Now, tell me, is there anyone who is angry with you, or you think disliked you enough to hurt you?”
Sean looked down at her when she tensed. Using his fingers, he raised her head to see her expression. “Who, baby?”
“The only one I can think of is my ex, Alan Capaldi, but I don’t know why he’d drive across the country and do it now. We’ve been apart for over a year.”
“Did it end badly?”
She hesitated.
“It’s okay, tell him,” Sean said.
She nodded. “Yes. At the end of our relationship, he became … abusive.”
“Can you explain that?” Devan asked.
“He came into my life after my mother’s death, and I was grieving. At first, he started alienating my friends and controlling my whole life. I didn’t notice until they were all gone, and I didn’t feel like I had any control. He’d always put me down, but it got so I didn’t hear it anymore. When I started fighting against his control is when the physical abuse started. First, it was just slapping, then he started punching and kicking me.”
Sean vibrated with fury at the thought of this woman getting abused. Fuck, he’d like to get his hands on the bastard.
“What happened to change it?” Devan asked.
“He put me into the hospital again. That time was pretty bad. The doctor and nurses always questioned me before, but he was always right there or close by. He also made sure he took me to different hospitals. Anyway, the last time, the doctor had security take Alan out of the room before they questioned me. I broke down and told them everything.”
Sean rubbed her back when he felt her start to shake. “I’ve got you.” He pressed his lips to the top of her head.
She sniffed and nodded. “They called the cops, and they took a lot of pictures. Someone hired a lawyer for me. Even though we weren’t married, Alan was a lawyer, and the people helping me didn’t want there to be any chance that he could turn it around and make me look like the villain. Alan agreed to let me go and not bother me if I didn’t press charges. He was told that he’d be put in jail if he gave me any trouble, and the pictures of what he did would be in the newspaper. I had several people help me pack my things, even a few of my friends he pushed away. I stayed with Alaya, one of those friends, and she helped me find this job in a different state and a place to rent. While I was with her, I found out that she’d been trying to get to me even though Alan said I didn’t want to see her. She even went to the cops, but they couldn’t do anything unless she had the evidence I was being abused.”
Devan nodded and wrote a few things down before he looked up at her. “I’m going to check into your ex.”
“I’ll get some people on it,” Sean said.
“Okay. I’ll still see what I can find from my end.” Devan stood. “I think that’s it for now. I’ll contact you if I have more questions.”
“She’ll be with me,” Sean said and pulled out a card and handed it to him.