I snorted. “I do like to mess with him, but he’s mixing his metaphors. Am I a low-life or a do-gooder?”
She shook her head, still not meeting my gaze. “Neither,” she whispered. “You are a champion of those of us in need.”
Her words did something to me. Fractured a small part of the wall I kept around myself, splitting it open enough to make me reach out to her. I captured her hand in mine, holding it tight.
“Thank you, Fee.”
“It’s the truth.”
I squeezed her fingers. “What happened?”
“He said a lot of things. That I chose you to get back at him. That I was going to regret my decision. He said if I had listened to him, he would have looked after me. That this could have been done with no acrimony, but instead, I had stabbed him in the back by going to you. He swore I would walk away with nothing and I would be begging for mercy when he was done with me. He said I was worthless and a lousy excuse for a wife.” She stopped, but I knew there was more.
I almost laughed at his choice of words. He ended their marriage, made her feel like nothing, and didn’t think there would be any acrimony? He was more of an idiot than I thought.
“Truth,” I repeated, needing the entire story.
“He said I was a lousy lay, but I was probably screwing you behind his back. He swore he had proof. I think he’s going to try to damage your reputation.”
I wanted to get up and go find him. Beat the shit out of him until he begged for mercy. But that wouldn’t do either Fiona or me any good. I had to stay calm for her. “He’s desperate and stupid, Fee. He has no proof of any such thing. I’m not the least bit concerned.”
“He warned me it was going to get ugly and he was going to make sure I paid for this embarrassment.” She let out a quivering sigh. “By that point, he was screaming and shaking me.”
She ran a hand over her head, resting her forehead against her palm. “Joanne came into the room and said she was calling the police. He shouted and cursed some more, and her neighbor showed up. Scott left after that.”
“Of course he did. Bullies always leave when threatened. And make no mistake, he is a bully. A stupid one at that.” I shook my head. “He’s digging his own grave here. Did the police show up?”
“No, Joanne hadn’t called them yet.”
“Dammit,” I cursed. “I would have liked that on the record. But we have witnesses, so that works too.”
“He scared Joanne. I don’t know what he said to her, but she was so frightened, she was in tears. She had an abusive boyfriend years ago, and it left her skittish. I knew she was scared that he might come back, so I lied and told her I had another place to go. She didn’t believe me at first, but I convinced her. I told her I was leaving in the morning, but I left after she was asleep.”
I shook my head in disbelief. Fee was more concerned about her friend than herself.
“So, you left? With nowhere to go?”
“I waited until it was late. I knew Scott was gone—we had heard tires squealing after he left. I think he was driving intoxicated.”
“A shame he hadn’t hit a wall and taken himself out,” I stated wryly.
She offered me a small smile, knowing I had been joking.
Sort of.
“Anyway, I waited until about two and left. I walked a few blocks away to a coffee shop and called an Uber. I came here because I knew he wouldn’t think to look for me at my lawyer’s office in the middle of the night.”
“Why didn’t you call me?”
“It was late, Halton. I didn’t want to disturb you.”
“Disturb or bother me, you mean?”
She shrugged, and I knew I was right. I hated the thought of her out in the middle of the night alone, scared, with nowhere to go.
“Fee, I’m your attorney. You can call me anytime. Especially for something like this. Understand?”
“All right,” she said quietly.
I glanced at her suitcase. “Were you planning on staying here all weekend?”
“I hadn’t really thought about it. I knew I couldn’t stay with Joanne anymore, and I had nowhere else to go.”
I frowned. “You can’t stay here. Sleeping in a chair, living out of a suitcase.”
Alone, I added in my mind.
“I called around when I got here, but with the long weekend, a bunch of conventions in town, and some hockey games, the hotels that were close were all booked. I’ll make some more calls in a while and find a place.”
She shifted, taking her hand away. I hadn’t even realized I was still holding it.
She rubbed her arms, wincing slightly.
“Let me see.”
She pulled up her sleeves, and I had to hold myself back from cursing and going to find Scott, regardless of the outcome. Bruises were forming on her upper arms. Dark, angry bruises with the distinctive outline of a hand. Scott’s hands. I couldn’t risk him finding her again. She needed to be somewhere safe.
She looked away as I took pictures of her arms. That bastard was going to pay for this.
Studying her, I made another snap decision. They seemed to come easy when it involved Fiona.
I retrieved her suitcase. “Get your purse, Fee. You’re coming with me.”
She followed me to the elevator, nervous. I stood close, letting her know I was right there for her. We were silent as I made sure she got into the car. I stowed her small suitcase in the back seat and pulled out of the garage.
“Where are you taking me?” she asked.
“To my place.”
Halton
I opened the door to the guest room, placing Fiona’s bag on the floor beside the bed.
“The bathroom is across the hall. I know there are towels and things in there. My housekeeper makes sure it’s well stocked.”
She looked around, obviously still in shock. Aside from gaping at me in the car when I told her where I was taking her, she hadn’t said a word.
She sat on the edge of the bed, holding her purse close to her chest.
“You don’t like people in your office. You guard your privacy.”
I crossed my arms. “Yes.”
“But you brought me to your home, Halton. I don’t understand why.”
I didn’t know why either, except the bottom line was I couldn’t stand the thought of her sitting alone and scared in a hotel room.
I kneeled in front of her, pulling her purse out of her tightly clenched fingers. I wrapped my hands around hers, noting how cold they were. “Because you need a friend.”
“Are we friends?”
“I think so.”
Despite the situation, she smiled. “I think so too.”
“Then you can stay here for the weekend, and we’ll figure it out. No one can get to you here, Fee. I won’t allow it.”
“I’m worried about Joanne. What if Scott goes back and gets aggressive with her?”
“I’ll take care of it. Why don’t you have a nap? Or take a bath. Or both. Relax and let me make some calls. I’ll order some lunch in a while. Anything you fancy?”
“I, ah, love Swiss Chalet.” She chewed her lip. “Scott hated it—he said it was common, and he refused to ever have it.”