Page 26 of Keeping Kara

“I’m sure the detective will be able to get one for us. Because anyone who’s capable of doing what Nolan did to Kara has to have a record. Has to already be in the system.”

“Might be hard to find if Nolan Colins is a fake name.”

Chaos scowled. He’d thought of that himself, but he hoped with Kara’s help, the detective would be able to get a good description and still find a picture. Either in the state system for his driver’s license or in police records.

“Speaking of…” Edge said, nodding at a man walking toward them.

He was obviously in law enforcement. It was in the way he carried himself. He wore a pair of black pants with a long-sleeve shirt and a tie. His entire demeanor screamed “detective.”

The two men waited to be approached and the detective didn’t waste any time introducing himself.

“Beckett Blackwood. I’m with Asheville PD. I understand there’s been an incident.”

An incident. Yeah, there was a fucking “incident” all right. Chaos wanted to chew this guy out, and he would’ve if he hadn’t noted the determination in the man’s eyes. He wasn’t as uncaring as he sounded. He seemed as if he cared that a woman had been in the clutches of a madman and wanted to do whatever he could to make sure it didn’t happen to anyone else.

“I’m Chaos, this is Edge. Look, Detective, here’s the thing. The woman on the other side of this curtain has been through a lot. She’s lucky to be alive. And the man who kidnapped, assaulted, and tortured her is likely still out there. Go easy. She’s strong. Really fucking strong, but she’s also terrified of this guy and what might happen if he gets his hands on her again.”

“I will.” Blackwood took a deep breath. “I’ve got a wife and a little girl myself. Seeing the evil in this world firsthand just makes me more determined to put people like this guy away forever.”

Chaos nodded. “I’m going to be with her when you talk to her. Assuming that’s not an issue?”

“Not if she wants you there,” Blackwood told him. “But I’ll warn you, if she looks even the smallest bit reticent to talk to me with you in the room, I’m going to ask you to leave.”

“Fair enough.” Chaos was fairly certain Kara wouldn’t mind if he was there. She’d already told him what happened, so he hoped she’d want him there for moral support.

“I’m gonna go check in with the guys,” Edge said. He’d been listening to the conversation with the detective without interrupting. “If you need anything, just let us know.”

Chaos nodded. “Thanks.”

The detective raised a hand to knock on one of the metal bars holding up the curtains around the exam room, but the doctor inside opened the curtain before he had a chance to.

“We’re all done in here,” the woman said softly. “And for the record, we both heard everything you said. I suggest if you want to keep private things private, you lower your voices.”

Chaos could’ve kicked himself. She was right. He tried to think if he’d said anything terribly insensitive while talking to the detective but couldn’t remember. He needed to do a better job of protecting her.

“Thank you,” Blackwood said with a nod.

The doctor held the curtain back and stepped aside.

Chaos followed the detective into the small treatment area and his gaze immediately went to Kara. She was sitting on a table wearing a hospital gown with her legs crossed at the ankles, looking extremely uncomfortable.

Pulling out his cell phone, which he’d gotten from his duffel bag that had been left in the hangar, along with the rest of his teammates’ stuff—they never brought any of their personal belongings onto the choppers when they were on missions—he shot off a quick text to Edge to ask if he could find something for Kara to wear. Including shoes. It was a big ask, but she couldn’t exactly walk around in that hospital gown or put her filthy clothes back on.

Her black eyes and the bruises around her neck looked worse in the bright lights that had been brought into the treatment area. The throat wounds, in particular, were black and blue, not the yellows and greens of bruises that had faded after several days, telling him the marks were fresh. She also had bruises on her legs and arms…including the one Chaos had inadvertently left on her wrist by holding her so tightly in the water.

“How’s your shoulder?” she asked Chaos, looking at him and not the detective.

“Good. Doc gave me a few stitches and a prescription for antibiotics. How are you?”

She shrugged. “A little dented, but I’m okay.”

This woman. The more he was around her, the more impressed Chaos got.

“I want to press charges,” she said, getting right to the point, looking at the detective as she spoke. “Nolan’s definitely going to try to find me. He told me that he’d never give me up. That I’d always belong to him. My greatest hope is that he’s dead, but if he’s not, he’ll do whatever it takes to track me down. And for the record…he does terrify me. He hurt me. Demeaned me. Treated me like I was no better than dog shit on the bottom of his shoe. He raped me. Beat me. Strangled me. Denied me food and water. Made me lose my job, moved me out of my apartment, gave away all my belongings.

“He took everything from me. But he can’t take my determination to make him pay for what he’s done. And I’m sure he’s done this before. To someone who didn’t have the flood of the millennium come along to save her. I’ll do whatever it takes to make him pay, to send him to jail. But I’m also not stupid. If the police department doesn’t do everything it can to ensure my safety, he’ll find me and kill me.”

The thought of this woman dying was repugnant to Chaos. It caused an almost visceral reaction within him. He wanted to protest, tell her that she’d be fine. That he’d keep her safe. But he knew better than most how empty that promise would be. Shit happened. Bad shit. And he couldn’t always be by her side.