to be here in this room. All I can think about is Bennett. Where is he? Is he okay and what type of questions are they asking him? When the detective steps into the room, I feel like I’m going to be sick to my stomach.
‘As you know, you’re here because your uncle gave a statement that he believes you are being held against your will. This is to assess your safety and well-being. Everything you say in this room is between us and you are safe here.’
Stopping myself from rolling my eyes, as I’ve not been feeling safe near cops for a while. Especially, back home where my uncle could control them.
‘How did you meet Bennett?’ he starts off.
‘I met my husband online,’ I answer, correcting him.
‘And what made you decide to move out here with a man that you met online?’
‘Well after my uncle tried to rape me, the cops in Chicago refused to do anything so I no longer felt safe. I was going to leave regardless, but it seemed better to go somewhere where someone actually wanted me.’ I can’t stop the bite in my tone.
‘Were there police reports filed and if so, where?’
‘Yes, I tried multiple times, but when your uncle is a big politician and has the cops in his pockets, they get swept under the pile.’ As he takes down notes, I give him the information that I remember about who I talked to and when and where.
‘And when you got here, you married Bennett right away for protection?’
I stop and just stare at him because nothing I have said so far has come anything close to that.
‘You’re putting words into my mouth. I did not marry Bennett for protection. I married him because I love him. Before I came here, we talked for quite a while. Then once I arrived, we dated. We went to the rodeo, had dinner with his friends, we were each other’s dates to Cash and Hope’s wedding, all before we got married ourselves.’
‘So why would your uncle think you’re being held against your will?’
‘He doesn’t really think that. What he’s doing is manipulating the truth to get me away from my husband so he can force me to stop me from telling what he did to me. Not only did he break into our cabin, but he’s been making threats left and right. Nor did I give him a forwarding address or any information. Yet he still found me. How?’
He scribbles down notes and asks me a few questions about different ways that I might have slipped up and my uncle might have found me. All in all, I feel like the questions are ridiculous at this point. The more questions he asks, the more irritated I get.
Finally, he steps out, and it’s just me alone in the room again. All I can think about is my husband and how he is doing and if he’s okay. It seems like I sit in that room forever before the detective is back.
‘All right, I have just a few more questions that I have to ask given the nature of the complaint,’ he says, actually looking sorry.
‘By all means continue to put words in my mouth.’ I roll my eyes because at this point I’m just done.
He looks at me almost apologetically.
“Sorry I guess I’m more stressed than I realized,” I mutter before he continues.
‘Has Bennett in any way put his hands on you in anger or any way that you were not comfortable with?’
‘He is not that kind of man. Of course he didn’t.’
‘Has Bennett ever forced himself on you?’
‘No, it was my uncle that tried to force himself on me.’
‘Were you forced to marry Bennett for any reason?’
‘No.’
He nods and again looks apologetic before stepping out of the room once more. But this time he’s only gone for a minute or two before stepping back in.
‘Alright, you are free to go. If you will follow me, I’ll take you to the waiting room where your friends are.’
‘Where’s Bennett?’ I ask not moving from the room.
‘Your husband is already waiting for you,’ he says.
I swear I’ve never moved so fast in my life. The moment I see my husband in the waiting room full on relief hits me. It’s followed by a wall of pure exhaustion.
I can tell the moment he sees me because he quits pacing, and his body relaxes. Without stopping, I walk right into his arms, and only then do I finally and truly calm down. I feel safe again and I realize that he’s okay, too.
‘Are you all right, sweetheart?’
I nod because he’s here now and that makes everything perfect.
When I sway a little, he wastes no time picking me up and carrying me out to the truck. All of our friends follow, but I don’t hear anything that they say. Instead, I snuggle into his chest and let him take control because I think he needs it as much as I need to let him.
Placing me gently in the truck, he puts the seat buckle on me and gets in. Then we make our way home. I don’t remember the drive or even falling asleep, but the next thing I know, he’s opening the truck door and carrying me inside.
Once inside the house, he heads straight for our bedroom and lays me down on the bed. A moment later he’s crawling back into bed with me, and pulling me against his chest, holding me tight.
Neither one of us moves as we lie there soaking each other in and enjoying the comfort that we’re both all right. Whatever tomorrow might bring, we’re both ready because we have each other.
Bennett
It’s been a few days since we’ve been at the police station and thankfully or unfortunately, things have been quiet depending upon how you want to look at it. Though I’m still completely on edge waiting for whatever her uncle decides to try next. I won’t be happy until he’s either six feet under or locked away for life.
The guys have been great with any help we need. We all agree that we don’t want Willow living in fear. Whether I decide to take matters into my own hands or not, I know they would be there to help me.
The problem is I’m not quite sure what to do. While I won’t leave her side or leave her vulnerable, I do need to figure out a game plan.
Detective Greer said that her uncle can get in trouble for filing a false police report. But the problem is the police on his end can make that go away fairly easily. If he is charged with filing a false police report, it’s at most a year in jail back in Chicago, but if he’s caught here, it’s only six months. What I want is for him to go to jail, and not have a chance to get out.
Most of all, I want him to go to jail here in Montana because the men here won’t put up very well with a man who tried to rape a woman, especially his own niece. It’ll satisfy me knowing justice will be served behind prison bars above and beyond his sentence.
This morning I’m out back chopping wood. The nights are starting to get cooler, so we’ve been lighting a fire at night. If I didn’t have Willow living here, I wouldn’t have started using fire word so early and would have more than enough stocked up. But she likes to curl up and snuggle by the fire, and I sure as hell am not saying no to that. So I figured I’d spend the morning chopping some more firewood to make sure that we have plenty.
Also, I can get some great thinking done with all the manual labor and I’m hoping maybe an idea or even the spark of an idea will come to me.
Cole is meeting with a buddy he served with who just moved to the mountain after finishing his last deployment. He said he’d fill him in on what is going on with Willow and her uncle. I figure it can’t hurt to have another helping hand. Cole says his buddy is a good tracker just like he is and he has some good military connections, so I guess I’m hoping for a miracle.
The longer I go without an idea, the more frustrated I get and the more I take it out on the wood. Before long, I’m lost in my own thoughts and have a strong rhythm going. Then all of a sudden, a blood-curdling scream fills the air.
