“I don’t know what’s happening here, but you must leave her alone.” I crack my neck as I calculate his height and weight. He’s at least sixty pounds lighter and four inches shorter, so I’ll have the upper hand on him. And from the puffiness of his face, I’m guessing he drinks heavily and never hits the gym.
“Mind your own business.” His chest puffs out, and he lurches toward me.
“I wouldn’t go there if I were you.” My jaw twitches as I stand my ground. I’m not a fighter. Or at least I don’t go looking for fights, but I’m not letting anything happen to Daisy.
She pulls her phone out of her purse and steps around me.
“Daisy,” I growl and block her movement with my arm.
“Alexander, it’s fine.” She grabs my bicep and turns her attention to the other man. “Rick, give me your keys, call an Uber, and sober up. You can’t keep doing this. Dana has filed for divorce. When you get drunk, you lose control of your temper.” She waves her hand in front of her and toward him. “This is a case in point of what I’m talking about. Dana refused to see you, so you got drunk, came after me, and tried to intimidate me.”
“Shit.” He drops his face toward the pavement as if he’s finally sober enough to realize that he’s made another mistake. “I never thought she’d leave.”
“You need to focus on yourself and your issues. Once you’ve dealt with why you need to control a significant other and stop your drinking, maybe you can move on.”
“But….” His head jerks upward. “I want Dana.” The pain in his eyes makes my stomach clench.
“I understand that, but it’s not what’s for the best. Sometimes we must live with the consequences of bad decisions.”
He shakes his head, digs his hands into his jeans, pulls out his keys, and hands them to her. “I’ll call someone and wait.”
“Thank you, Rick.” She tilts her head. “Are you ready to get some help? We’ve talked about this before. You have abandonment issues from your mom and self-esteem issues from your dad’s emotional berating. If you ever hope to have a fulfilling life, you must deal with that.”
“I’m sorry.” Rick looks at her with woeful eyes and shoves his hands into his pockets. “I shouldn’t have come at you like that. It’s my fault she left, and I know it.” He clears his throat. “I’ll go to a group this weekend.”
“Good. Do you need me to call someone?”
“No, I’ll call my brother.”
“I’ll leave the keys with Melissa. Tomorrow morning, stop by and grab them.”
He disappears to the other side of the parking lot with his phone to his ear.
Who is this woman? I’ve seen her shy and babbling. I’ve seen her caving under other people’s scrutiny. I’ve seen her sexy as fuck. But I’ve never seen a cape-wearing Daisy. I grasp her shoulder. “I take it you’re okay and don’t need me to call the police or knock him out?”
“Yes.” A slow smile curves up to her cheeks. “I’m good, thank you.”
“Okay.” I glance over at my car. When I got out, I didn’t bother to turn it off or shut the door.
She grabs my hand. “But you can wait until I drop the keys off to leave.”
“Of course.” I encase her shaking fingers with mine. Her bravado is only skin deep as she clutches the keys in her fist. Her movements are slow and tense, as if the exchange has exhausted her.
I drop her hand and step backward to give her space. She bites her bottom lip as a flash of hurt crosses her face. But it’s quickly replaced by a wall. A wall devoid of emotions. “Come here.” I wrap my arms around her and haul her to my chest. “That scared the crap out of me.”
“You and me both.” She shudders and lays her cheek against my heart. “I’ll never get used to the other side of domestic violence.”
I rub her back in a slow circle as I inhale her scent–vanilla and coconut. Even though the situation was tense, being near her fills me with peace. Or maybe it’s the adrenaline seeping out of me. “I take it you work at a women’s shelter. I thought you were on the pre-med track?”
“I volunteer at a women’s shelter several days a week. It’s a passion project, but I’m going to medical school like my father.”
We stand like that for several minutes. It’s dark and quiet in the parking lot. I inhale, taking a deep breath. The exhaust fumes and asphalt scent ruin the intimacy of the moment.
She comes out here several days a week, wandering around after dark, putting herself at risk. This is too dangerous. My eyes never leave the guy leaning against the bumper of his car as he waits for his ride.
If I hadn’t shown up, what would he have done? Beat her up? Rape her? My hands curl into fists until my knuckles are pressed into her back. Fuck. I bury my face into her neck and inhale. Being close to her knocks some of the edge off my anxiety.
“Thank you,” she mumbles and steps backward. “Thank you for stopping. I appreciate it. I’m not sure what he would have done when I didn’t divulge her whereabouts.”