The wait was to be expected, and more than a half-dozen times she had tried to convince Brennan that they should just leave. He had smiled at her for strength before he told her that they had made the drive out for a reason. He was happy to wait it out with her.
He had called in at work again. Devon had heard Jenn bitching at him through the line, but he had carefully explained that Devon had a concussion. Jenn hadn’t sounded pleased, but really, Devon needed Brennan around to help take care of her. She was doing a lot better, but she didn’t trust herself to be alone.
“Devon Sawyer,” a woman in a suit called when it was her turn.
She looked over at Brennan anxiously. “I can’t do this. I can’t. Brennan, what am I going to tell them?” She was panicking.
“The truth, Belle. Just tell them the truth, just like you told me. I’ll be here waiting for you when you get done,” he reassured her.
“Promise?”
“Promise,” he said with a smile.
Devon stood stiffly and walked across the room with her head hanging down. “I’m Devon,” she told the woman.
“Come with me,” the woman said. She had a comforting voice, not what Devon had been expecting.
They walked down a hallway, and the woman took a seat behind a desk at a cubicle. Devon sat across from her and folded her hands.
“How can we help you today, Ms. Sawyer?”
“I, uh…want to file a restraining order against my ex-boyfriend,” she said, trying to keep her voice from shaking.
“Of course. Let me get you the paperwork.” She rifled through a file cabinet against the wall and handed it to Devon. “Just fill this out, and then I’ll see when we can get you in to see the judge to plead your case.”
“Thank you,” Devon said softly, staring down at the paperwork in front of her. There was no turning back now.
A FEW HOURS after her arrival, Devon exited the Circuit Court office with a temporary restraining order in her shaking hand. The judge had approved her case and scheduled an official hearing in three weeks. She didn’t like the thought of what might lead up to that. Reid would get served papers. He would realize what she had done—that she had taken legal action. It was a complicated system, and she would have to face him in court to make it permanent. The thought of seeing him again made her stomach twist.
Brennan seemed pleased that it had worked out in her favor. He had suspected it wouldn’t take a lot of effort to get a restraining order. Her face was pretty beat-up, and she hadn’t even had makeup at his place to hide any of it. She was a pro at covering bruises with makeup.
The drive back into the city had a calming effect, and Devon found her eyes drooping. It had been a long couple of days, and with her head injury, she was just so tired.
“Hey,” Brennan said, shaking her shoulder softly.
She peeled open her eyes and saw that they were parked somewhere. She rubbed her eyes, and immediately, she regretted it as pain shot through one side.
“Where are we?” she asked with a yawn.
“Jenn’s. I just wanted to stop by and get my check. Is that alright?” he asked, his face showing concern very clearly.
“Yeah. I’m not going inside though,” she said, looking around. She could see they were parked in the alley behind the restaurant.
“I didn’t expect you to. Want me to grab yours while I’m in there?” he asked.
“I got mine last week. I don’t know how you could even forget.”
“Distracted by a beautiful woman, I guess,” he said with a smile. He leaned forward and planted a kiss on her lips. “I’ll only be a minute.”
“Alright. See you soon,” she said sleepily.
Devon closed her eyes and leaned her head against the window. She could fall asleep again. When they got back to Brennan’s, maybe she could sleep through the afternoon. She hoped he would hold her. Being with him calmed her nerves and allowed her to actually rest.
She felt herself drifting away when the handle of the car door clicked. Her reaction time was off, and when the door swung open, she tumbled sideways out of the car. She landed heavily on her hip as her hand struck the pavement.
“Ugh,” she grumbled. She wiped gravel off her clothes and picked it out of her hand. A sharp piece had embedded itself into her palm, and blood pooled at the point of injury. “Great. Add that to the list.”
She turned her head to look up at what had been the cause of her fall, and her vision blurred. She scrambled backward, but he was on top of her before she moved two feet.
“Did you think I would just let you leave?” Reid grabbed her arm and hauled her to her feet.
He looked terrible. His clothes were a mess. His usually perfectly manicured hair was tousled. His eyes were bloodshot, like he hadn’t slept all night. Still, it was nothing compared to how she looked.
“Reid, stop! Leave me alone,” she said, trying to pull away from him.
He ignored her and started dragging her down the alleyway. Her balance was shot, and she kept tripping over her feet and falling.
“Stop! Reid, fucking stop!”
“You’re mine, Devon. And I said I would have what is mine,” he said. “I always keep my promises.”
She knew Brennan would return soon, but clearly, it was not soon enough. She didn’t know where Reid was taking her. If he got her somewhere private, she didn’t know what would happen. Putting all her energy behind it, Devon screamed at the top of her lungs. Someone had to hear her.
Turning around, Reid covered her mouth with his hand and shoved her back against the wall to hold her in place. “Shut up!” he yelled into her face.
Her eyes went wide at the ferocity in his gaze. He had gone crazy, completely crazy. Whatever shred of humanity he’d had left in him had evaporated.
“If you make another sound, I’ll knock you out and carry you back to the car.”
Devon didn’t put it past him. Her heart was beating so hard that she thought it might jump out of her chest. She couldn’t stop staring into his eyes and wondering where the man she had once loved was. Where was her greatness? Had he never actually existed and she had only clung on to hope like a child?
“I’m going to release you, and you’re not going to make a sound or try to get away. Right?” he asked threateningly.
Devon nodded slightly. She was lying. She would fight him tooth and nail to get away.
He slowly dropped his hand, and she kept her mouth clamped shut. She wanted to take him by surprise. She heard footsteps crunch on the gravel, and Reid’s head whipped to the side. Devon used the distraction to her advantage, and for the second time in two days, she brought her knee up into his groin. She hoped he would never be able to reproduce after this.
Reid dropped over, holding himself. She turned to run, but his other hand shot out, catching her in the chest and slamming her into the wall again. The air quickly left her lungs as he knocked the wind out of her, and she cried out. She heard footsteps running toward them, but she didn’t look up to find out who it was. She was concentrating too hard on trying to breathe.
“Hey, get away from her!” Brennan yelled as he approached them.
Reid stood and faced Brennan, planting himself between Brennan and Devon. “Stay out of this. She’s none of your concern.”
“I beg to differ.”
“Just get the fuck out of here!” Reid cried.
“I’m not leaving her,” Brennan said determinedly.
“Brennan,” Devon gasped out.
“I’m not going anywhere. Don’t worry,” Brennan said to her.
“Don’t you talk to her,” Reid growled. “Don’t even look at my girl.”
Brennan stared Reid down. “I think you should just calm down and step away from Devon. She’s hurt and probably needs medical attention. She suffered a concussion last night. Somehow, her head connected with a table.” He waited for Reid to react, but he didn’t. “If you care about her,” Brennan said skeptically, “then you’ll let me take her to a hospital.”