Page 16 of The Moments You Were Mine

I heard a clang as the shovel hit the concrete sidewalk, and then Ace’s voice got quieter as he and the officer moved away. A rap on the door was followed by a woman demanding we come out with our hands up.

My body quaked as I unlocked the door. I’d barely started to swing it open when Celia pushed past me, almost colliding with the female officer on the other side.

“She had no right to interfere! No right!” Celia shouted, her eyes wild.

The officer raised her gun. “Hands up.”

Celia started toward the officer as if she hadn’t heard the command. Her eyes were locked on the scene taking place farther away, where a cop had Ace handcuffed and was leading him to a police car. She was going to get herself shot.

I flinched as if in expectation. Expecting the jerk of her body just as I’d seen once before. Expecting the nauseating smell of gunpowder and blood. The horror of watching life disappear from someone’s eyes.

I stepped out of the restroom with my palms raised and said shakily, “Celia, raise your hands and stop moving.”

Finally, Celia seemed to register the situation, and her feet froze as she lifted her arms.

Another cop car squealed to a stop in the parking lot, and two more officers emerged, hands on the guns in their holsters as they took in the scene.

Time blurred. My vision turned spotty as the adrenaline began to leave my body.

They placed Ace in the back of a squad car, and Celia and I were separated to give our statements.

Memories and reality blended.

I vaguely heard JJ’s voice calling my name from a distance, worry coating it. The drama of the police cars had drawn the crowd from the bonfire, but an officer was keeping everyone at bay.

A truck squealed into the lot behind the police cars.

A man jumped out. A man I hadn’t seen in months. His black hair gleamed in the streetlights, and his steel-gray eyes looked dark as night. He moved with a grace and ease that seemed contradictory to the deeply honed muscles he’d earned as a SEAL.

His eyes locked with mine across the distance. The fury in them turned to relief as he searched my body for wounds and came back empty.

My entire being shook. I needed his arms around me.

I needed to feel safe.

I needed Parker.

Celia was screaming at the officer interviewing her about how I’d interfered, how there’d been nothing going on. How they needed to let Ace go. He hadn’t hurt her. She’d fallen. She’d tripped down the cement steps leading to the beach. And no, those weren’t hand marks on her throat. She got so agitated that the cop put her in cuffs and sat her down on a bench.

When the officer who’d gotten us out of the bathroom asked me what had happened, I explained what I’d seen and what I’d done to try and save Celia.

“I won’t testify against him! He didn’t do anything wrong!” Celia cried. “Don’t listen to that bitch!”

The officer questioning me met my gaze with a frustrated one. Resignation crossed her face as her jaw tightened.

“I’ll testify,” I said quietly. “I know what I saw. He would have killed her.”

A tremor ran through me as Ace’s angry eyes came into focus again. I’d seen that look before too. Wild. Inhuman. I’d seen it in the eyes of our attacker in the bar.

My body was a mass of horrible memories. My knees were shaking so badly I wasn’t sure I’d be able to remain standing for much longer.

The officer left me to consult with the other cops, and Parker flashed his military ID at them. They nodded, and he pushed past them. In five long strides, he reached me and pulled me to him.

The scent of him washed over me. Earth and pine. Security. I buried my face in his chest, and one strong arm banded my waist. The trembling stopped. The fear stopped. I was where I belonged.

Except, I wasn’t. I was so messed up.

Parker stroked my hair, and a sharp pain zipped through me, making me gasp. He jerked back.