Megan glanced away, and pulled her hand free, her shoulders hunching. “Yes, but I wasn’t exactly in a good headspace, and like I said, I didn’t want to be responsible for Mum’s career ending. I was also embarrassed. My family never liked Charles and they told me I was moving too quickly, but I ignored them because I thought I knew best.” She sighed. “He hadn’t injured me too badly up until that point and I figured I could fix the whole thing without them finding out. My sister, Mikayla, is so strong. She’d never have let herself get into a situation like this. And Mark, my brother, is the golden boy. I didn’t want to give anyone another reason to think of me as the weak link, so I gathered my things and had a bag ready to go. Unfortunately, a partner position came up during that last week, and one of Charles’s colleagues got promoted over him. He took out his anger on me. I don’t think he broke anything, but he cut my forehead and bruised me all over. I knew I needed to get out of there immediately, so I ran.”
16
Tione’s jaw worked.He knew what came next. She’d fled to Sanctuary, where he’d attacked her. God, he hated that he’d had any part of hurting her when she’d already survived hell.
“Did you tell anyone you were leaving?” Elliot asked. “Who knew what was happening in your relationship?”
Megan’s gaze was steady as she met the lawman’s eyes. “No one, as far as I know. I didn’t tell anyone what was going on because I was too embarrassed, and I didn’t share my plans to leave in case it got back to him.” She paused, then added, “I just wanted to get on with my life and not have to face up to my mistakes.”
His heart ached for her. How lonely she must have been. He knew how it felt to be in trouble, with no one to talk to. A time machine would come in handy right now. He’d go back and beat the ever-loving hell out of her ex before he laid a finger on her.
“Why Haven Bay?” Elliot prodded.
Megan’s shoulders slumped, and she looked weary as she answered, “My brother is friends with Sterling, who raved about what a nice place it is for starting over.”
Kat’s brows shot up. “You knew Sterling before you came here?”
She shrugged. “We met once or twice.”
Kat’s eyes sparked. “He didn’t say a word. I’m going to kill him.”
“Please don’t,” Megan said, turning to her. “He was only trying to help me by staying quiet, and it’s not that I didn’t trust you, I just wanted a fresh start. I didn’t want you to judge me based on my past.”
“Oh, honey.” Kat’s expression softened, and she reached over and patted Megan’s shoulder.
“Okay, folks, back to the matter at hand,” Elliot broke in, steering the conversation into safer territory. “You saw Mr. Wentworth today, is that right? And is it the first time you’ve seen him since you left?”
“Yes, although one of his associates was here last week. Seeley James.” She glanced at Tione, then Kat, and added apologetically, “He’s a private investigator who works for the Wentworth family. He’s licensed, but I don’t think his operation is strictly legal.”
“Seeley James,” Elliot muttered, making a note of the name. “What happened when Mr. Wentworth approached you today?”
Tione awaited her answer with interest. He’d only arrived in time to catch the tail end of their confrontation. She nibbled on her lip, and closed her eyes, like she very much didn’t want to relive it.
“He told me to come home with him. I said no. He threatened to hit me, and I reminded him he couldn’t do that in public. I told him to leave me alone. He called me names—”
“What kind of names?” Elliot interrupted.
If possible, her shoulders hunched further. “Is it important?”
“Yes.”
She inhaled deeply. “Bitch. Slut. Useless skank.”
Air hissed between Kat’s teeth. “Jeez.”
“He’s not a nice guy,” Megan said, in the understatement of the year. “After that, he tried to drag me to his car. Tione arrived, and told him to let me go. Between the two of us, we convinced him to leave, but he said it wouldn’t be the last I saw of him.”
“He threatened you?”
“Not directly,” she said, at the same time Tione interjected with a “Yes.”
Elliot looked from one of them to the other and grunted. “Okay.” Then he set his pen down and gave Megan his full attention. “I appreciate you stepping me through that, Megan. The big question now is: do you want to press charges?”
You can do it, Tione silently encouraged her.Be brave.
She straightened her back and set her jaw. “Yes.”
He tried to communicate with his eyes that he’d make sure she wouldn’t regret her decision. When she didn’t respond, he took her hand, raised it, and kissed the back of it, heedless of the others in the room. She needed to know he was here for her.