Page 86 of Death, Interrupted

“Probably next week. I’ll have to take her for a ride then.”

She smiled at me. “Aw, you miss her, huh?”

“Are you kidding?” I deadpanned. “You know howtorturous it is to drive your car? I can’t wait to sit on my baby again.”

Sumner pursed her lips. “Hey, my car’s just fine.”

“Yeah, maybe. But it’s a car.”

“And April’s your baby, of course,” she teased.

I chuckled and went to stand behind her, wrapping my arms around her. “She’s my number two. Which makes you my number one. But you can’t tell her because she’ll get jealous.”

“Right.”

We both laughed, and I pressed kisses to her shoulder and neck. “I love you,” I whispered into her ear.

She leaned back against me and tilted her head to the side to kiss my jaw. “I love you too.”

“You’re getting better.”

She went quiet for a moment, then she nodded. “Yeah, I am. But mostly because you’re by my side.”

There would still be bad days, but we’d conquer them together. And even when she healed, I would never stop protecting her.

***

It seemed that just when things were starting to feel like they were settling down, another obstacle appeared. This time, it was the court. The system had decided that both Sumner and I needed to testify against Joey, even though the idea of stepping backinto that environment made both of us tense.

I hated the look on Sumner’s face. The fear in her eyes since we got the letter was hard to watch, and I hated how quiet she’d become over the past two days. She had only just been released from the hospital, and now she already had to sit in the same room as that monster, telling strangers in detail what he’d done to her.

I tried to give her strength, told her this was the first step toward the ending we’d both been waiting for. She looked steady on the outside, but I could see the pain and exhaustion sitting just beneath the surface.

When the day of the hearing came, I held her hand the whole time and never let go. I tried not to glare at Joey, but it was hard not to show my anger while he sat there all fucking nonchalant, as if he hadn’t tortured her for years. Every time Sumner had to speak, I rubbed my thumb across the back of her hand, hoping she could feel how proud I was of her. The more she talked, the steadier her voice became, and I could see her strength growing with every word.

That’s my girl.

My Supergirl.

The strongest person I’ve ever known.

After the hearing ended, we didn’t say much as we walked out to her car. The lot was mostly empty. We slid into the car in silence, each of us taking a moment to collect ourselves. The windows were slightly fogged, and the silence made it feel like we were in our ownseparate space, even though we were together.

“I can’t believe he pled guilty,” Sumner finally whispered, her voice small and hesitant. She kept her eyes straight ahead, still trying to process everything that had happened inside those walls.

I nodded, letting her have a moment to gather herself. “I can’t believe it either,” I said after a pause. “He just…gave up.”

Sumner let out a quiet breath and picked at the skin around her fingernails. I reached over to stop her, because I knew how annoyed she’d get with herself if she started bleeding again. Skin picking was her way of dealing with anxiety, but this wasn’t worth it. Not one bit.

“It thought it would’ve been harder,” she murmured to herself. “It feels unreal.”

“But it wasn’t, and as surprised as I am, I’m glad he surrendered. He owed you this much,” I said, keeping my tone calm. “This was the outcome we wanted, the one that would actually protect you. He gets what he deserves without dragging you through more of that mess than you already had to go through.”

She started to nod, but then she shook her head. “Why do I not feel relieved?”

I turned more toward her and cupped her face with both hands. “Because you’ve been through so fucking much, Sumner. You don’t have to let everything make sense right now, and you get all the time you need to understand exactly what you’re feeling. Mostimportant thing is that he’ll be locked up for the foreseeable future, and he won’t ever hurt you again.”

Her eyes stared into mine, and the tears that formed told me that there was something more bothering her.