Betrayed: Powerful Stories of Kick-Ass Crime Survivors Read online

  “I don’t know what happened. He’s never done this,” she said, tears streaming down her cheeks.

  My motherly instincts were to pull her into my arms and tell her all would be fine, but she resisted my touch, grimacing in pain.

  “Let me see your arm,” I urged as she tried to pull away from me. “Stop. Let me see. What did he do?”

  She removed the sunglasses to reveal two swollen eyes and a still-bleeding gash on the bridge of her nose. “This.” She yanked up her jacket sleeves. “And this. It started on Tuesday. We had a fight. It…” her voice trailed off.

  A calendar hung on the refrigerator door. “Tuesday?” I asked. “Today is Thursday. Those bruises are fresh. The cut on your nose is fresh.” I didn’t want to accuse her of lying, but I needed a clearer picture. The bruises on her arms bore a distinct pattern—finger marks. “Did you get those today?”

  She shook as she cried, nodding her head in agreement. “I shouldn’t have come to you. I can handle this.”

  I shook my head. “No, you can’t. Not now. You’re here. We have to call the police.”

  She lurched back, hitting the front door. “No. Please don’t. I don’t want to get them involved.”

  This situation was out of my wheelhouse. Abuse cases were prevalent, but what happened in my capacity as a nurse, never followed me home. And it never happened to someone I knew.

  Fighting to keep my voice even, I dared another question. “You thought coming to my house, the house I share with my husband, Lake Villa’s police chief, was the best way not to involve the police?”

  Ty may have shattered her sense of security, but he hadn’t taken her sense of humor. She spoke in between giggles, “You’re right. It wasn’t the best idea.” She moved to leave, but I stopped her.

  “After we get you cleaned up, we can get Noah. He’ll love the new playroom,” I said.

  “Thanks for offering, but I don’t think so. I don’t want to disrupt his schedule. You know how rough it can be for kids?” She didn’t owe me an explanation.

  I nodded my agreement, noticing fresh tears flooding her eyes.

  “I’m a mess. Do you mind if I use your restroom?” She stopped short in the doorway, staring at the staircase. She looked over her shoulder. “Where is it?”

  “Follow me,” I said, motioning for her to follow me, beyond the foyer, through the formal dining room, and into Charlie’s home office. “There’s a small restroom in here.”

  She was wide-eyed. “Wow. This is gorgeous. Is the wood original?” She touched her hand to the wall.

  I shrugged. “I have no idea. I still can’t believe I get to live here, considering how much this place scared me when I was a girl.”

  She glanced around the room. I’d never noticed how formal the office appeared. Charlie bought the manor several months prior to our marriage. He renovated it for me. After a lifetime in a modular home, I doubted I’d ever get used to a manor. Some would say this home was haunted, and by some, I mean myself and my friends.

  “I think it’s beautiful. I can’t imagine ever living in a house like this,” she said.

  Tina’s home sat in a cookie cutter style neighborhood. Nothing set it apart from the other homes. I’d visited once, but never returned. It had nothing to do with her. The sterile décor didn’t welcome a person. White walls, parquet flooring, and stainless steel were fine for hospitals, but didn’t make me want to settle in for a long stay.

  “You’re welcome to stay as long as you like,” I offered. “My door is always open. I’d love the sound of little feet running around. We won’t see Scarlett until she comes to visit for Christmas.” I glanced at the photos of my only grandchild. “Tell me you’ll think about it.”

  She grinned. “I’m not making any promises. I can’t. My life is a mess.” She glanced at the bathroom door.

  “Oh, right. We can talk later.” I turned to walk out of the room. “I’ll meet you in the kitchen. I hope you’re hungry.” She looked like she hadn’t had a good meal in a while, hollow cheeks and yellowish pallor. The fresh scrapes and bruises took precedence.

  “I’m not hungry,” she said, an unconvincing smile on her face.

  Chapter Two

  If I had to stay up all night, at least I had a good reason. Tina only stayed long enough to compose herself. She said her goodbyes, promising to call me if things went awry again. My heart begged me to make her stay. Short of locking her in, I had no way of making her stay. Some situations could be changed with a conversation. Their situation wouldn’t. I had to find another way to help her.

  I chose the next best option. Thank goodness for speed dial!

  Charlie always worried when he was out of town. “What’s wrong?” he answered.

  “I’m fine.”

  “You want to tell me how much you miss me?” I could hear the smile in his voice.

  “Not today. Are you busy?” I had to figure out how to tell him without telling him. This was the best option I could come up with on short notice. There was no time to spare. After all, Tina’s move from Nebraska to California was my fault. I’d planted the seed in her head. I nattered about how great it would be for her and her son. She needed a fresh start. I opened my home to her.

  Charlie stammered, “Yes…no…I guess not. What’s going on? If it’s about the stain on the living room floor, I’m on it. I found a video online. I know what to do. I promise, I won’t eat in there again.”

  He stained our brand-new wood floors?

  “What did you do?” I asked as I went in search of the blemish. “Amateur,” I groaned as I yanked a carpet square out from under a side table. “A carpet remnant? Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”

  He laughed. “You wouldn’t have noticed had I not confessed.”

  “Is this wine?” My knees creaked as I knelt to get a closer look. “It’s marinara sauce, isn’t it?” My mind immediately went to my pristine, white sofa cushions. “You didn’t get any on my...”

  “Now, hold on. That can be fixed. You know they sell products to protect furniture from stains,” he started, but I didn’t want to hear it. He’d flipped the cushion over to hide the stain from me.

  “My sofa,” I groaned. “I swear you’re worse than having a child around. If Scarlett had spilled something, she would have told me right away.”

  He laughed. “Because she hasn’t earned her grandmother’s wrath yet.”

  “Not funny. I don’t have a mean bone in my body,” I protested, reminded of why I’d called him. “Speaking of wrath, the reason I called is--”

  “You broke a bone?”

  “No. Say, someone—not anyone we know—showed up at our door, covered in fresh bruises and scrapes on her face and arms. How would you handle it?”

  He fell silent.

  “Did you hear me?”

  “What did you do now?” he joked.

  I tried another approach. “Have you ever dealt with battered women?”

  “Is it a patient of yours?” he asked, his tone all-business now.

  “This is a hypothetical question.” I didn’t like to lie, but I had to play this right. I’d heard far too many stories about things escalating to horrible levels if someone intervened. I couldn’t risk it.

  Charlie made grumbling noises. “Who? If it’s Diana, I’ll kill him.”

  “No, it’s not Diana,” I protested. “If it was my daughter, you think I’d call to chat and offer hypotheticals? No. I’d go ballistic.”

  He let out a long sigh. “Who, Mercy?”

  I had to slow this runaway train. “It’s a question.” I needed a better story. This wasn’t working. “It’s a case study for my continuing education course.”

  His tone told me my story still didn’t fly with him. “The question is what would you do outside of a work situation? Isn’t it ill-advised to practice medicine outside of the office, or did something change?”

  Oh, he was good, but I was better. “It’s not ill-advised. We should consider all the possible
consequences and weigh the liabilities before we get involved. If the situation arose, I might want to help,” I said, adding a lilt to my voice where necessary. If he could see me, he would have noticed the coiffed eyebrow lift every other word or so.

  “And did it?” he asked.

  Confused, I asked, “Did it what?”

  “Arise,” he answered. “Did the situation arise? What did you do about it?”

  I had to chuckle. His law enforcement instincts rivaled Sherlock Holmes himself.

  “Look, sweetheart, I have to get to the conference. Tell me or I’ll have to cut this short.”

  Thinking on my feet was a skill I prided myself on, but sleep deprivation and worry weren’t helping my brain function. I had no energy left.

  “I can’t tell you who. I promised I’d keep my mouth shut,” I said.

  “You promised? Why?” he asked, his tone angry.

  I counted three full beats before I asked, “What if he hurts her again?”

  “He will. They always do.” He rustled the phone as he continued speaking, “She needs help. I understand your loyalties, but what’s most important is her safety. If there’s kids involved, the situation becomes more dangerous.” He sighed. “Don’t do anything crazy. Promise me you won’t get in the middle of this. She has to find her own way. Tell her you care and you’ll be there for her, but under no circumstances are you allowed to get in the middle of this. Understood?”

  I was with him until the word ‘allowed’. “Is that an order, sir?”

  “Mercy,” he started. “You know what I mean. No, it’s not an order. It’s a strong suggestion. Encourage her to call the police.”

  “I doubt she will,” I muttered.

  “What?” Charlie asked.

  “Love you. Have a good meeting. I’ll talk to you later.” I hoped my rushed goodbye wouldn’t raise his suspicions. I had my reasons. I always did. This time, I hoped my reasoning and common sense would work together. No one wanted a dead Mercy, least of all me.

  Chapter Three

  “Nonsense,” Diana said. “You can’t get in between them. I love Tina and Noah like they’re family, but you can’t play vigilante. She shouldn’t expect you to either.”

  I knew this call would backfire. “Sweetheart, no one asked me to do anything. This is my idea. It’s not safe for them to be alone with him.”

  “You thought he was sweet when they first started dating, remember? If you go over there, it might cause a rift. I mean, you hosted their engagement party.”

  “I don’t care. I’m too old to care what they’ll think of me. Have you seen my hair? If so, you’d know I’m not worried about what people think,” I said.

  “Tell me about it,” Diana groaned. “What’s your grand plan? I hope it involves staying away from Ty.”

  “No such luck,” I mumbled. The truth was, I had no real plan.

  “Does Charlie know about this?” She adored Charlie. From the first moment they met, they couldn’t get enough of each other. They were instant friends, and now, family.

  She was on to me. She’d been taught by the best. While her father believed honesty worked best, I knew the facts had to be fudged sometimes, otherwise there would never be a moment of peace in my house. Shared custody proved it. For him, she was a ray of sunshine, polite, pleasant, and easy to please. For me, she was stubborn, sassy, and excellent at manipulating me. Yup, we raised her right.

  “Of course, I talked to him. Did you forget we’re married? It was a big deal as I recall,” I joked.

  “You’re impossible. I’m sure you didn’t give him the whole story.”

  “How would you know that?” I pretended to be shocked.

  She forced her laughter to sound like a cackle. “I know how you operate. Daddy and I used to make bets about how long it would take for you to meddle in someone’s business. I always won.”

  “Why wouldn’t you? You were the queen of manipulation.” I meant it in the nicest way possible.

  Her tone changed. “Now, what?”

  I shrugged, my eye on my sleeping dog. “I haven’t figured it out yet.”

  “When does Charlie come back?”

  “In two weeks. Why?” I could guess why she wanted to know.

  Something always happened when Charlie left town. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he set traps to keep me entertained. Charlie was a worrier. He couldn’t help it.

  “Don’t do anything dangerous.”

  I replied in a breathy, oh-so-innocent tone, “What would I do to get myself in trouble?”

  “Plenty,” she answered. “Scarlett’s awake. I better run.”

  I looked at the time. Diana had started working from home since she had the baby. Gio, her New York City firefighter husband took care of the baby while she worked. She did the same while he worked. I didn’t know how that worked out for them. Every time I spoke to her she multitasked like a champ, so I had my doubts.

  “Where’s Gio?”

  “He’s asleep. He just got off a 72-hour shift. Wait till I tell him what you’re up to,” she said.

  He was one of those macho types. He found out soon after meeting Diana that we weren’t the damsel in distress kind of women. We preferred to take matters into our own hands.

  “Tell him I said hello,” I offered. “And maybe remind him that you need time to yourself too.”

  Diana groaned, “Don’t start. You’re only allowed to interfere in one marriage at a time.” She cleared her throat. “By the way, when you see Tina, give her a hug for me.”

  “What makes you think I’ll see her?”

  She laughed. “I know you. You won’t be able to resist. Be careful, okay? I might need summers off when Scarlett gets older. If you’re not around, I’ll have to find a suitable replacement. Daddy’s new girlfriend loves kids.”

  I rolled my eyes. I hadn’t met my ex’s new lady friend yet, and I hoped I wouldn’t have to anytime soon. The last new girlfriend turned out to be a royal dud.

  “I can hear you rolling your eyes,” she said.

  “Love you, kiddo.”

  “Love you more. And for the record, I know you’re up to something.”

  Chapter Four

  Plenty of people talked to themselves. But how many of them talked to themselves when trying to sneak onto private property?

  Barney startled me with a long series of sneezes. Only I would have the sickliest Pug in the world. I couldn’t take him anywhere without worrying about him having a reaction. Tonight, his chosen reaction was an endless stream of loud, slimy, someone-give-him-an-allergy-shot-STAT sneezes.

  “Quiet. You’ll wake up the whole neighborhood,” I whispered. “Here’s what we’re going to do.” I bent to pet him. “You stay here. You’re my lookout. Got it?”

  Barney had one expression: bored. He used it well.

  “Stay here, boy,” I said as I crouched low to the ground.

  Barney fought to keep his eyes open. Obviously, I didn’t provide enough entertainment to keep him awake for more than five minutes. So much for a lifelong companion. He was more like a disinterested party.

  “I’ll check the windows. If I don’t see him, I’ll go to the door and tell Tina to come with me. But if I see him…” I let my words trail off as I imagined the scenario. Running into Ty without law enforcement backup was the worst-case scenario I wasn’t qualified to handle.

  I inched forward. “Please don’t be home.”

  The kitchen light was the only light on as far as I could tell. I dared to stand up to peek in, but as I reached the window, a light came on behind me.

  “Get off my property,” an angry male voice said.

  Ty?

  I turned, forcing a smile on my face. “Oh, hi. I didn’t know you were home.”

  He lowered the flashlight. “I thought you were a burglar.”

  The outside light flickered on, blinding me.

  “Who is it?” Tina asked.

  Ty shined the flashlight on the back-patio do
or. “It’s Mercy. Go back inside.”

  “And Barney,” I added.

  Tina stepped outside, fighting to put her bathrobe on. “Why didn’t you ring the doorbell?”

  “I figured you were asleep.”

  “So, you decided to sneak in through the back door, and do what? Wake me up?” Tina tied the bathrobe.

  Barney sneezed again.

  Ty lurched forward, tripping over a sprinkler head. “What’s that?”

  “Barney,” Tina answered. She looked at me. “How did you convince him to go for a walk?”

  I shrugged. “Treats always work.”

  Under the glare of the porch light, her face didn’t look as bad. Some of the swelling had gone down. The purple markings had faded to a greenish color.

  “What’s wrong? I just got out of bed.” She covered her face with cupped hands. “You don’t have to critique me.”

  “I’m not critiquing you.” I glanced over my shoulder at Ty. I lowered my voice to a whisper. “I came here to get you out.”

  “Get me out of what?” Her eyes went wide.

  Ty had turned his attention to Barney.

  I urged her to leave with me. “My car is parked around the corner. Get Noah and run. I’ll keep Ty occupied.”

  My voice wasn’t low enough. Ty responded to my orders, “Why do you need to keep me occupied? What is this?” He did a great job of sounding wounded.

  She turned to me. “Can I speak to you for a minute?” We stepped inside, Ty watching us. “What the what, Mercy?”

  I glanced over my shoulder. “I’m saving you.”

  “Saving me from what?” she asked.

  I pointed my thumb in Ty’s direction. “From him.”

  Her hands went to her face again. “Wait a minute. You think he hurt me?”

  I nodded. “Yes.”

  In between her laughter, she cringed. “Ouch. That hurts.”

  Ty rushed to the door and flung it open. “Don’t. You’ll hurt yourself.”

  “Well, how great of you to care about her now.” I’d never been so angry in my life. My hands shook.

  “She asked me to do this. What did I miss?” He glared at Tina. “Is this what you talked about when you went out for coffee this morning?”