“Let her go,” Ethan said.
Joey took a step closer to Ethan, his body tight with tension, his hands balled into fists at his sides. If it had been me he was walking toward, I would have turned and ran. I could read his body language, and I knew he was looking for a fight.
“You’re just asking to have your ass kicked, aren’t you?” Joey asked. He moved so that he was standing directly in front of Ethan. “I suggest you leave before something regrettable happens to you.”
Things seemed to speed up after that. Ethan drew back and punched Joey square in the face. The next thing I knew, they were both on the ground, kicking and punching each other like they wanted the other one dead.
I could hear someone screaming, and it took me a moment to realize it was the woman Joey had been kissing—no, it wasn’t just her. I was screaming, too. Ethan’s name escaped my lips over and over again, but I didn’t dare move closer to them with Amelia in my arms.
Neither of them would give up. I kept waiting for them to pull apart, but they never did—not willingly at least. Instead, two uniformed officers appeared from nowhere and pulled them away from each other. I watched what was happening in front of me in complete disbelief. The officers forced them onto their stomachs on the ground. Before I could blink, Ethan and Joey had handcuffs on their wrists.
Joey continued to struggle on the ground, clearing not ready to give up the fight. That had always been his problem. He never knew when to stop. Even with a police officer’s knee in his back, Joey wouldn’t back down. Add in his fiery temper that took almost nothing to evoke, and he was someone you didn’t want to mess with.
He had hidden his temper from me until after we had gotten married. It was probably because he knew it would have scared me away. He was right. If I had seen him act the way he was now before we were married, I would have run. I might have been clingy and desperate for love, but even I wasn’t so desperate that I would have taken a raging bull as my husband.
Ethan, on the other hand, lay perfectly still on the ground. The cop holding him down stood and helped his partner get control of Joey.
“Settle down now!” the cop on top of Joey said, using a tone that said he was about two seconds away from showing a temper of his own.
It took a few more minutes of struggling before Joey finally realized he wasn’t going anywhere. He stopped fighting and lay face down on the ground, panting hard from struggling so much.
I stood only a few feet away from both men and the officers, unable to believe what was happening. The red and blue lights of the police cruiser flashed behind me, reflecting off the windshields of the cars around us. I had no idea how I hadn’t noticed them pulling in. Obviously, I had been too focused on Ethan and Joey beating the hell out of each other.
Once the officers were sure Joey wouldn’t start struggling again, they patted him and Ethan down before rolling them onto their backs. Horror filled me when I got a look at Ethan’s and Joey’s faces. There was blood everywhere, enough that it had run down their faces and now soaked the front of their shirts. I couldn’t tell who looked worse. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.
Both men were helped up and taken to separate sides of the parking lot. I stood, transfixed, in the lot, unsure of where to go or what to do.
“This is insane!” a voice said from behind me.
I turned to see the woman Joey had been with.
She was standing only a few feet away, shaking like a leaf. “I didn’t sign up for this. I’m leaving.”
“I don’t think you can leave,” I pointed out. “The police saw both of us here. I’m sure they want to talk to us.”
She shook her head. “Who are you?”
I bristled at her question. All we need is for another fight to break out, I thought sarcastically. I managed to keep my voice calm as I said, “I’m Joey’s wife—well, soon-to-be ex-wife.”
The look of mortification and guilt on her face told me what I’d needed to know. She’d known he was married. He hadn’t lied his way into her pants. No, she was as guilty as he was.
“Are you Ms. Sanders?” a male voice asked from behind me.
I turned away from the woman to see one of the officers standing in front of me.
Talk about perfect timing.
He’d just saved that woman from my wrath. She was nothing more than a dirty homewrecker.
“I am.” I nodded.
He looked over at the woman. “And you’re Ms. Jefferies?”
“Yes,” the woman said from behind me.
Jefferies. Well, at least I knew part of her name now.
“Ms. Sanders, can you come over here with me, please?” the officer asked. “Ms. Jefferies, please stick around. I’ll need to speak with you.”
With Amelia still in my arms, I followed the officer over to his patrol car. I couldn’t believe that she hadn’t made a fuss yet. Maybe she realized that something bad was happening. Whatever the reason, I was grateful. I couldn’t see myself struggling with a baby in my arms while trying to talk to the police.
“Ms. Sanders, I need to ask you a few questions.”
“Caley, please. I hate being called Mrs. or Ms. anything,” I said.
He smiled at me. “Fair enough, Caley. My name is Officer Bradshaw. My partner over there with your husband is Officer Daniels. I’ve talked with both Joey and Ethan, but I’d like to hear from you what exactly happened here today.”
I swallowed roughly. “Okay.”
He smiled encouragingly. “Start at the beginning, and don’t leave anything out.”
“I was unlocking my car when I saw Joey. Uh, he’s my husband,” I said, stumbling over my words. I’d never talked to a cop before, and I would be lying if I said they didn’t make me a little bit nervous. “Anyway, I saw Joey and that woman kissing. I’ve never seen the woman before in my life. She was holding my daughter, Amelia, and I got upset. I went over and grabbed Amelia away from her. I tried to leave, but Joey stopped me. He wanted to explain, not that there’s any way to explain what he was doing, but I told him to leave me alone. He kept blocking me, and that’s when my friend Ethan showed up. He must have seen me and then realized something was wrong. When he tried to help me, Joey went after him. He hit Ethan, and it just took off from there.”
I was lying, I knew I was, but I didn’t care. There was no way I would let Ethan take the fall for this. He was the one who had thrown the first punch, which put him at fault. I guessed it was safe to say where my loyalties were—with Ethan. I would throw Joey under the bus if that meant Ethan wouldn’t be in trouble.
“So, basically, Ethan tried to help you get away from your husband, and that’s what caused the fight.”
I nodded.
“Okay, good. I just want to make sure I understand. Did you fear for your life when your husband wouldn’t let you leave?”
I shook my head. “No, I was holding Amelia. He wouldn’t hurt her.”
“But he would hurt you?” the officer asked, his voice softening, as if he already knew the answer.
“My husband and I are getting a divorce,” I explained, hoping to change the subject. “I’ve tried to get him to agree to one, but he’s refused. I think that, after today, he should be more than willing. I mean, he’s clearly cheating on me.”
The officer scratched his head. “Your husband refuses to divorce you, but he’s cheating on you?”
“Life’s screwy, isn’t it?” I asked, my sarcasm clear. I regretted the words as soon as they’d come out of my mouth. I didn’t want the officer to think I was being smart with him.
I was relieved when he laughed.