His hands came up, cupping her cheek and she leaned into the callused palm. “The man who beat you.”
For a long moment, she didn’t speak. But slowly, she nodded her head. “Yes. I think so.”
“Did you see him?”
“No,” she whispered. “But he put yellow daisies on my front porch.”
There was a moment of silence, those words hanging between them. Finally, Derick asked, “What’s the significance of yellow daisies?”
She shifted, leaning into him so that her head nestled into the curve of his shoulder. “He used to bring me daisies when we were dating. It was sort of his thing.”
Derick listened, his hand stroking her back reassuringly. For a long time, she just enjoyed his touch and his strength. But slowly, she explained.
“He was nice at first.” She blinked, staring out the window. “His name was John and he was so charming. A lot of fun. Jealous, but not in a crazy way. At least, not at first. But slowly, he just…I worked in an accounting office.” She lifted her head and looked at him. “I’m a certified public accountant. I used to work long hours during tax season, working on corporate tax filings and personal taxes. I loved it,” she sighed. “I loved the details and the intricacies of applying the tax code.” She laid her head back down on his shoulder. “I was good too. Really good. But John didn’t like the long hours I had to work during tax season. He thought I was cheating on him. There were nights I’d work until midnight or later. Plus weekends. He’d wait outside my office for me, then he’d yell at me, demanding to know who I’d had sex with.”
Derick’s arms tightened around her and she felt him press a kiss to the top of her head.
“He finally stormed into the office with a golf club and smashed up my boss’s office, screaming at him that he couldn’t have sex with me. John threatened to tell each and every one of my boss’s clients about the affair if he didn’t stop having sex with me.” She inhaled deeply. “After that, my boss told me that it would be better if I didn’t work for the firm any longer. It was too dangerous.” She paused. “Basically, John got me fired. Then word spread around the accounting community about John’s crazy behavior and accusations. After that, no one else would hire me.” She sighed, shivering for a moment, and pressed closer to Derick. “John apologized and, because I was so scared about how I was going to pay my rent, he convinced me to move in with him. He was sweet for a while. Very sweet. But…” she sighed, moving off of Derick’s lap to the passenger seat. “He wanted me to marry him. I was still too upset about how he’d gotten me fired and black listed so I said no.” She turned her head away. “That was the first time he hit me.”
“Jolene…I…”
“My name is Carrie,” she interrupted, staring out the passenger door window. “Jolene is the fake name I came up with. I even have a fake ID with that name on it.” She smiled, straightening her shoulders. “I tried to leave him once. He went to work and I waited. I waited for over an hour. Then I packed up everything I owned and got into my car.”
“What happened?” Derick asked.
“Someone in the neighborhood must have seen me packing my trunk and called him. He came home and dragged me back into the house. That time, it was more than just a slap.”
Derick held his temper, needing to hear all of it. If he was going to protect Jo...Carrie, then he had to hear it all. “What happened next?”
“My car was impounded. The officer who had it towed away said I’d have to prove that it was mine.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
She shrugged and looked at him. That’s when he saw the tears streaming down her cheeks. “I was powerless. I had to appease John. I had to convince him that I would stay so the beatings would stop. I cooked and cleaned. I made cakes and pies, but then he beat me because I spent too much time baking. So, I spent more time cleaning, fixed up the things that were broken by watching how-to videos. Then he beat me because I wasn’t cooking his favorite meals.”
“He’s a bastard.”
“I know.” She sniffed. “I never thought I’d be one of those women who cowered. But I did, Derick. I cowered whenever he walked into the house. I cowered when he came towards me. I cringed whenever he demanded sex. At first, he was nice. But after he’d slapped me that first time, he…”
There was another long silence. When Derick spoke, his voice was rough, as if he were speaking around cut glass in his throat. “He raped you, didn’t he?”
“Just about every night,” she admitted. “He demanded sex. If I asked him to hold off, he slapped me, then pushed me onto the bed and just…took it. He didn’t care if I found any pleasure in it. He just…” she stopped and looked away.
“That’s why you wanted to be on top during sex with me, isn’t it? You needed to be in control.” She nodded and he continued. “How did you finally get away?”
She smiled at the memory and Derick knew that he was going to like whatever she said next.
“He worked late one night. So, I snuck out the back door, dressed all in black. I’d found my wallet in his safe and had it in my pocket. I ran. I just…walked out the back door and ran. I didn’t stop until I came to a bus stop, and jumped onto the bus. I’d hidden my hair under a knit cap and had big sunglasses. It wasn’t much of a disguise. But the extra clothes I’d put on underneath the big shirt helped. He was looking for a thin woman and I looked like I was more than forty pounds overweight.”
Derick didn’t laugh. He was still too furious and horrified by what she’d gone through.
“I eventually found a construction firm that hired me and paid me cash under the table. I also learned a lot of good skills.” She smiled, shaking her head. “The boss of the crew was totally unethical, cheating me out of several hours of pay. But he taught me a lot. He taught me how to build a house and how to tear one down. How to use tools and I also slept in the houses we were building. They made excellent hiding places.” She sighed and looked away. “He’s also the guy who helped me find someone to make my fake ID. That helped a lot. I bought a car with those credentials. And transferred all of my money from my bank to a new bank account. Thankfully, John hadn’t emptied my accounts. He was still waiting for me to marry him so that he could take control of my money.”
“You bought a house, fixed it up, and sold it.”
She grinned weakly at his accurate assumption. “Yep. I made a huge profit on that house. It was just pure dumb luck. I’d stupidly bought a house that was on the edge of a gentrification project. I made about fifty thousand dollars on that one.”
He whistled, but remained silent. “The next house was a bit more adventurous. It took me longer to renovate it.” She shuddered. “It was also the place where John almost found me.” She looked down at her fingers, her nails completely torn and ragged from the hard work. “I learned from that lesson. Lost a lot of money too since I wasn’t able to finish the house. I sold it for less than I’d paid for it. But I got away. The next three houses I made sure were fast and easy. I fixed them up in less than six months and moved on.”