Safe Harbor by Tymber Dalton Read Free Book Online

on her bedroom door. It opened a crack and Sully softly called to her.
    “Clarisse? Are you okay, honey?”
    Mac had even hung a robe on the back of the bathroom door. She grabbed it and pulled it on. “Yeah,” she called out as she sniffled. She wiped her face with her hands.

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    “Is it safe to come in?”
    “Yeah.” She walked out to the bedroom.
    He stuck his head in. “Are you really okay?”
    She started to say yes, then burst into tears again and crumpled onto the end of the bed. He walked in and sat next to her. Despite her earlier hesitation, she let him put his arm around her as she cried against him. Mac appeared in the bedroom doorway.
    “We promise he won’t hurt you again,” Sully quietly said. “I swear.”
    “I’m sorry. I…it’s just that…it’s horrible. I look like a punching bag.”
    “I’m going to make a suggestion. Please keep in mind I was a cop for over ten years.”
    “Okay.”
    “Did anyone get pictures of your injuries? Did you go to the hospital?”
    “My friend Raquel took some. The cops took some. I don’t remember if the hospital did or not.”
    “Do you want me to take another round for backup? Just in case you need them later?”
    She didn’t want to, even though she knew it was a good idea. But she feared the file and the evidence getting lost and Bryan getting off, no matter how much they had assured her that wouldn’t happen.
    He continued. “I can give you the roll of film to have developed. I don’t even have to see it after I take them.”
    She took a deep, shuddering breath. “It’s probably better someone else has them. In case.”
    Mac stepped into the room. When he spoke, his voice dropped in anger. “I’m telling you, if your boyfriend shows up, we’ll fucking kill him, I swear we will. We won’t give him another chance to hurt you.”
    Sully flashed him a look that obviously meant shut up . “I’ll go put in a fresh roll of film. We can do it right here. Mac will get you a large towel so you can stay covered.”

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    She nodded.
    He gently patted her thigh before leaving the room.
    Mac fetched a large towel from the bathroom and turned on all the room lights. She felt touched that he held the towel and averted his eyes as she slipped the robe off and pulled the towel around her.
    When he saw the bruises on her thighs, he sucked in a sharp breath.
    “Son of a bitch,” he whispered. “That motherfucker.”
    She couldn’t meet his gaze. Instead, she kept her eyes on the collar around his neck. “They don’t hurt as much as they did the other day.” Then again, she suspected her exhaustion had masked a lot of her pain.
    Sully walked in while adjusting the camera and pulled up short when he saw her bruises. It shouldn’t have shocked him, considering what he’d seen as a cop, but it did.
    A surge of rage welled inside him. The asshole that did this to her would not get away with it. It pissed him off that any man would do this to a woman.
    It brought back his own nightmares.
    She lifted her gaze to him, briefly, then her focus skittered away again. He took a deep breath to steady his voice.
    “Let’s start with your back. Sit on the bed and you can let the towel fall open, okay?”
    She nodded. Mac stepped back, holding her robe ready to put on her as soon as they finished.
    Bless Mac’s heart. Sully could easily see where this would lead Mac if she spent any length of time with them. Wanting to prevent the past from repeating itself.
    Sully took the pictures, fighting through his own anger as he saw the bruising on her back. The digital readout on the camera confirmed the shots. He would save a backup of each picture while still committing them to film. He did each arm, then her legs. He focused on her sweet blue eyes through the viewfinder.
    Her crippling fear bubbled just below the surface, he suspected.
     
     

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    Then came time to photograph her torso.
    “Where did he bruise you? Maybe we can keep you covered and not expose