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I t was the middle of the night, at least, I assumed it was the middle of the night, when headlights shone through one of the windows. The snow was still falling and I could only assume the roads were a mess. The cabin had gotten colder and colder as the night wore on, and by the time Logan got there my teeth were chattering and I was at least fifty percent sure that Nicole had a concussion and possibly pneumonia.
An hour after Conlon got off the phone with Logan, he transferred us into the small, closet sized bathroom and tied our bound wrists to the towel rack. Nicole sat with her arms above her head and I stood, looking around the room. But it was completely empty except for a towel that smelled like cat pee and a single roll of toilet paper.
“Have you been here this whole time?” I asked as I heard a car door close, craning my neck to try and catch a glimpse of Logan.
“Yeah,” Nicole croaked.
“You want to tell me what happened that night?”
The truth was, I didn’t even want to know what happened that bloody, gruesome night at Conlon’s house. I couldn’t imagine the fear she must have felt, the threat that must have loomed over her as she grabbed that steak knife. I didn’t blame Nicole, I would have done the same thing if I was in that situation.
Then again, I never would have been in the type of situation where I stayed with a man who had been abusing me for however long.
I didn’t hate Nicole for coming back to Boston after what Logan had done for her. I’d never be in her shoes, never understand her mindset or why she did the things she did. I didn’t understand her and there was a good chance I never would. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t sympathetic towards her. Conlon had clearly warped her way of thinking and probably spent months gaslighting her into believing everything he said. Some people, both men and women, were more susceptible. It could happen to anyone and, unfortunately, this time around it happened to Nicole because Conlon targeted her.
“He was so drunk,” she whispered softly as I sank down next to her on the ground. “I came home from the store because he wanted a pack of cigarettes and he told me I took too long. Greg’s never been a patient man, you know? So, anyway, he started an argument and when I tried to walk away, he cornered me and started hitting me. Smacking me on the top of my head and flicking my nose. I always hated it when he flicked my nose. Wouldn’t you? He told me I was dumb, called me a cunt, and said he wouldn’t ever forgive me for leaving him and letting another man help me. I was his woman, I belonged to him, and I was lucky if he’d ever let me out of his sight again.”
“Greg just kept hurting me and calling me names. He wouldn’t stop no matter how hard I cried and begged. He kept going, and when he punched me in the nose I was done. It was… it was like all that fear I had transformed into anger. I hated him, Juliette. I fuckin’ hated him and I wanted to hurt him. I wanted to hurt him the way he hurt me. I… I wanted to kill him. So, I ran into the kitchen and grabbed the knife. It felt like it wasn’t even me doing it. It felt like it was someone else, like I was out of my own body and watching what happened next.”
Nicole was openly crying and I wanted to put a hand on her shoulder, but my damn hands were tied so tight it was making the skin around my wrists chafe and bleed. All I could do was sit and stare, picturing Conlon hulking over Nicole’s small frame, getting off on the fact that he was intimidating her.
Nicole wasn’t the only one who wanted to kill him now.
“By the time he was in the kitchen, I already had the knife and I tried to stab him. He put his arm up and I just… I cut him. It was so easy. I remember the way he cried out, how dark the blood looked as it dripped onto the floor. I was crying and screaming that I was going to leave him and I wouldn’t come back this time. Greg wasn’t going to hurt me anymore because I wasn’t going to let him. I’d kill him if I had to, but I was getting out.”
She turned her head to look at me. “I was going to call you and Logan the second I was out of the house. I’m so sorry that I didn’t. You’re here because of me and I’m so sorry.” She sobbed hard, her whole body shaking. “It’s all my goddamn fault that you’re here.”
I was already shaking my head, trying to soothe her while we were tied up in a bathroom with her psycho ex boyfriend in the other room. “None of this is your fault, Nicole. It isn’t your fault and it isn’t mine. This is all because Conlon is a sick, sick abuser. But don’t you dare, for one second, let him make you believe that any of this is because you did something wrong.”
For reasons unbeknownst to me, Nicole cried even harder, shaking her head and sniffling. “I see why Logan loves you as much as he does. You’re so nice.”
I smiled even though I was screaming inside. I was about to respond when I heard a familiar bark outside.
Mac.
Oh God, there was no way Logan was actually going to trade Mac for me, right? He had to have some sort of plan up his sleeve. We’d come too far and done too much to protect the pup from Conlon just to give him back like this.
There was a hard knock at the front door and I turned my head to the side, trying hard to listen for the comforting sound of Logan’s voice.
“Well, look how big the mutt is,” Conlon said as a greeting. I hated how muffled his voice was with the bathroom door closed.
“Where’s Juliette?” Logan asked as the wind howled outside.
“Juliette, say hi to Logan!” Conlon called out to me.
“I’m in here,” I responded, my voice scratchy.
At the sound of my voice, Mac started barking his ass off and I openly cried, tears rolling down my cheeks. No, no, no! Logan couldn’t give Mac back to him. I’d rather die than know that he was going back to an abuser like Conlon.
You have to have a plan, Logan. You have to.
“It’s nice to know you’re good at following orders, Ashford.”
“I held up my end of shit. Bring them out here.”
“In a minute. Come inside. Close the door behind you. Now.”
I heard the shuffle of Logan’s boots against the wood floor as he entered the cabin and closed the door behind him, Mac’s collar jingling as he, presumably, looked around.
