Following Me

by K. A. Linde

  “I know he shouldn’t,” she said. She had known that for a long time.

  “You deserve to be with someone who makes you happy. Someone who won’t complicate your life. Somebody who won’t hurt you.”

  “Someone like you,” she said.

  “Someone like me.”

  COOK COUNTY CIRCUIT Court was about a twenty-minute drive outside of the Loop in downtown Chicago. Devon stared up at the imposing building with its all-glass entrance. Her hands were shaking, but when Brennan touched her back, she began to relax. She could do this. She could be strong.

  The wait was to be expected, and more than a half-dozen times she had tried to convince Brennan that they should just leave. He had smiled at her for strength before he told her that they had made the drive out for a reason. He was happy to wait it out with her.

  He had called in at work again. Devon had heard Jenn bitching at him through the line, but he had carefully explained that Devon had a concussion. Jenn hadn’t sounded pleased, but really, Devon needed Brennan around to help take care of her. She was doing a lot better, but she didn’t trust herself to be alone.

  “Devon Sawyer,” a woman in a suit called when it was her turn.

  She looked over at Brennan anxiously. “I can’t do this. I can’t. Brennan, what am I going to tell them?” She was panicking.

  “The truth, Belle. Just tell them the truth, just like you told me. I’ll be here waiting for you when you get done,” he reassured her.

  “Promise?”

  “Promise,” he said with a smile.

  Devon stood stiffly and walked across the room with her head hanging down. “I’m Devon,” she told the woman.

  “Come with me,” the woman said. She had a comforting voice, not what Devon had been expecting.

  They walked down a hallway, and the woman took a seat behind a desk at a cubicle. Devon sat across from her and folded her hands.

  “How can we help you today, Ms. Sawyer?”

  “I, uh…want to file a restraining order against my ex-boyfriend,” she said, trying to keep her voice from shaking.

  “Of course. Let me get you the paperwork.” She rifled through a file cabinet against the wall and handed it to Devon. “Just fill this out, and then I’ll see when we can get you in to see the judge to plead your case.”

  “Thank you,” Devon said softly, staring down at the paperwork in front of her. There was no turning back now.

  A FEW HOURS after her arrival, Devon exited the Circuit Court office with a temporary restraining order in her shaking hand. The judge had approved her case and scheduled an official hearing in three weeks. She didn’t like the thought of what might lead up to that. Reid would get served papers. He would realize what she had done—that she had taken legal action. It was a complicated system, and she would have to face him in court to make it permanent. The thought of seeing him again made her stomach twist.

  Brennan seemed pleased that it had worked out in her favor. He had suspected it wouldn’t take a lot of effort to get a restraining order. Her face was pretty beat-up, and she hadn’t even had makeup at his place to hide any of it. She was a pro at covering bruises with makeup.

  The drive back into the city had a calming effect, and Devon found her eyes drooping. It had been a long couple of days, and with her head injury, she was just so tired.

  “Hey,” Brennan said, shaking her shoulder softly.

  She peeled open her eyes and saw that they were parked somewhere. She rubbed her eyes, and immediately, she regretted it as pain shot through one side.

  “Where are we?” she asked with a yawn.

  “Jenn’s. I just wanted to stop by and get my check. Is that alright?” he asked, his face showing concern very clearly.

  “Yeah. I’m not going inside though,” she said, looking around. She could see they were parked in the alley behind the restaurant.

  “I didn’t expect you to. Want me to grab yours while I’m in there?” he asked.

  “I got mine last week. I don’t know how you could even forget.”

  “Distracted by a beautiful woman, I guess,” he said with a smile. He leaned forward and planted a kiss on her lips. “I’ll only be a minute.”

  “Alright. See you soon,” she said sleepily.

  Devon closed her eyes and leaned her head against the window. She could fall asleep again. When they got back to Brennan’s, maybe she could sleep through the afternoon. She hoped he would hold her. Being with him calmed her nerves and allowed her to actually rest.

  She felt herself drifting away when the handle of the car door clicked. Her reaction time was off, and when the door swung open, she tumbled sideways out of the car. She landed heavily on her hip as her hand struck the pavement.

  “Ugh,” she grumbled. She wiped gravel off her clothes and picked it out of her hand. A sharp piece had embedded itself into her palm, and blood pooled at the point of injury. “Great. Add that to the list.”

  She turned her head to look up at what had been the cause of her fall, and her vision blurred. She scrambled backward, but he was on top of her before she moved two feet.

  “Did you think I would just let you leave?” Reid grabbed her arm and hauled her to her feet.

  He looked terrible. His clothes were a mess. His usually perfectly manicured hair was tousled. His eyes were bloodshot, like he hadn’t slept all night. Still, it was nothing compared to how she looked.

  “Reid, stop! Leave me alone,” she said, trying to pull away from him.

  He ignored her and started dragging her down the alleyway. Her balance was shot, and she kept tripping over her feet and falling.

  “Stop! Reid, fucking stop!”

  “You’re mine, Devon. And I said I would have what is mine,” he said. “I always keep my promises.”

  She knew Brennan would return soon, but clearly, it was not soon enough. She didn’t know where Reid was taking her. If he got her somewhere private, she didn’t know what would happen. Putting all her energy behind it, Devon screamed at the top of her lungs. Someone had to hear her.

  Turning around, Reid covered her mouth with his hand and shoved her back against the wall to hold her in place. “Shut up!” he yelled into her face.

  Her eyes went wide at the ferocity in his gaze. He had gone crazy, completely crazy. Whatever shred of humanity he’d had left in him had evaporated.

  “If you make another sound, I’ll knock you out and carry you back to the car.”

  Devon didn’t put it past him. Her heart was beating so hard that she thought it might jump out of her chest. She couldn’t stop staring into his eyes and wondering where the man she had once loved was. Where was her greatness? Had he never actually existed and she had only clung on to hope like a child?

  “I’m going to release you, and you’re not going to make a sound or try to get away. Right?” he asked threateningly.

  Devon nodded slightly. She was lying. She would fight him tooth and nail to get away.

  He slowly dropped his hand, and she kept her mouth clamped shut. She wanted to take him by surprise. She heard footsteps crunch on the gravel, and Reid’s head whipped to the side. Devon used the distraction to her advantage, and for the second time in two days, she brought her knee up into his groin. She hoped he would never be able to reproduce after this.

  Reid dropped over, holding himself. She turned to run, but his other hand shot out, catching her in the chest and slamming her into the wall again. The air quickly left her lungs as he knocked the wind out of her, and she cried out. She heard footsteps running toward them, but she didn’t look up to find out who it was. She was concentrating too hard on trying to breathe.

  “Hey, get away from her!” Brennan yelled as he approached them.

  Reid stood and faced Brennan, planting himself between Brennan and Devon. “Stay out of this. She’s none of your concern.”

  “I beg to differ.”

  “Just get the fuck out of here!” Reid cried.

  “I’m not leaving her,
” Brennan said determinedly.

  “Brennan,” Devon gasped out.

  “I’m not going anywhere. Don’t worry,” Brennan said to her.

  “Don’t you talk to her,” Reid growled. “Don’t even look at my girl.”

  Brennan stared Reid down. “I think you should just calm down and step away from Devon. She’s hurt and probably needs medical attention. She suffered a concussion last night. Somehow, her head connected with a table.” He waited for Reid to react, but he didn’t. “If you care about her,” Brennan said skeptically, “then you’ll let me take her to a hospital.”

  “You’re fucking stupid if you think I’m ever letting her near you,” Reid said. “She’s fine. She doesn’t need to go to a hospital.”

  Devon slowly straightened, feeling air fill her lungs again. She closed her eyes and opened them again, adjusting to the light. She leaned back heavily against the wall for balance. “Reid, stop it,” she said breathily. “Leave him alone.”

  “You can stay out of it, too,” Reid said, not even looking at her.

  Brennan started walking carefully toward Reid, like a circus ringleader holding off a lion with a wooden chair.

  “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Reid asked.

  “I’m just going to check on her,” Brennan said, inching in closer.

  “Don’t come any closer!” Reid yelled. “We’re getting out of here.”

  Reid turned as if he was going to walk away from the scene, and then he countered and swung at Brennan. With considerable force, his right fist moved toward Brennan’s face, and Devon screamed. Brennan must have been anticipating it because he deftly blocked the punch as if it bothered him no more than a fly. Reid was thrown off balance with the force of his own throw, and Brennan took the opportunity to connect his fist with Reid’s jaw.

  Reid cried out in shock and rushed Brennan. Brennan sidestepped Reid’s advance, and then Brennan jabbed his fist into Reid’s kidney, causing him to double over.

  “Not as easy to take on someone your own size, is it?” Brennan taunted Reid. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone you were beat up by someone smaller than you.”

  Reid glared at him with murder in his eyes. He was bigger than Brennan, and that reminder made Reid try to counter with his size. Brennan saw it coming and ducked Reid’s advance, sending him sprawling to the ground. Brennan rushed forward toward Devon, planting himself between Devon and Reid.

  Reid scrambled to his feet and charged Brennan again. Reid threw a wild punch, but Brennan landed a hit first, cracking Reid’s nose with a terrible popping sound that rang throughout the alley.

  “You broke my fucking nose!” Reid screamed at Brennan.

  Devon rushed past Brennan to stand between Reid and Brennan. She wasn’t stupid though. She still stood closer to Brennan. “Stop!” she screamed. “Stop it! Just stop it! Hasn’t there been enough fighting?”

  “Devon,” Brennan said, taking a step forward to help support her.

  She was wobbly on her feet.

  “Reid, just stop. You’ve lost. You lost me,” she said, trying to stay as strong as she could. “You’ve been following me in my dreams for months…and I want you to stop. I want you to stop following me. I’m not in your life. You’re not in mine. You need to find a new life because we’re over.”

  “Dev,” Reid said, the life draining out of his eyes.

  “No, Reid. We’re done,” she said. “I’m never letting you hurt me again. You’ve done enough damage.”

  “The papers,” Brennan whispered.

  Devon nodded. “I filed a restraining order. Someone will be serving you papers, and you’ll have to appear in court.”

  “A restraining order?” Reid asked in a strangled voice. “But my med school applications.”

  “You should have thought about that,” Devon whispered harshly, barely able to keep the tremble out of her voice, “before you ever laid your hands on me.” She paused to let that sink in, and then she released a shuddering breath. “Low scores are the least of your problem. Good luck having your dad get you out of this one.”

  Devon felt herself sinking. Her vision blurred, wavered, straightened, and then blurred again. “Brennan,” she said, her voice coming out slow, like her tongue was stuck to the roof of her mouth.

  “Yeah, Belle?” he asked, pulling her in closer.

  “You saved me.”

  “I’d do anything for you.”

  She smiled. Then, she felt her world tilt, and she lost consciousness.

  BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

  Devon’s chest slowly rose and fell with the strange beeping noise. It clouded her already fuzzy thoughts, and it seemed to take over her consciousness. She tried to concentrate, but she found that tended to intensify the annoying sound. Instead, she thought about the placement of her body. Five fingers on the right hand. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. And five on the left hand. She could feel all ten of her toes, up to the balls of her feet, and across her arch to her heel.

  Her face felt right but also wrong. It didn’t hurt, but it didn’t feel normal either. Her tongue felt solid, and her lips felt heavy. When she thought about her cheek, it only seemed to throb more, so she stopped. Her throat was dry, like she had swallowed cotton balls, and she started coughing at the thought.

  Someone was at her side, taking her hand and slowly lifting her head off the pillow. She began to breathe easier. Devon remembered her eyes then, and they opened to the harsh lights. She blinked a few times, allowing her eyes to adjust, and then she squinted at her surroundings.

  She was in a hospital. That much was obvious. White curtain, white bed, white floor. Sanitation heaven.

  She saw that it was Brennan holding her hand. That made her smile despite her being in the hospital.

  “Hey, Belle,” he said, bringing her hand to his lips. “Good to see you’re finally awake.”

  “I said no hospitals,” she said immediately.

  “I didn’t hear you when you were unconscious,” he said with a sad smile.

  Devon giggled. “Fair point.”

  “How are you feeling?” he asked, taking a seat in the chair next to her.

  “I’ve been better,” she whispered.

  “Are you in much pain? They gave you some painkillers, but I don’t know if they have worn off,” he asked, concerned.

  “I’m doing okay.” She squeezed his hand. “What happened?”

  “You don’t remember?” he asked with a frown.

  “I remember, uh…Reid showed up. You guys got into a fight. I told him that we were over…and that’s about it,” she said, biting the side of her lip that wasn’t swollen.

  “That’s about what happened. You passed out. When he pushed you into the wall, I guess it upset your already delicate condition. I scooped you up and drove you straight here. I was, uh…going to call the cops, but I was worried you might kill me when you woke up. I thought I’d leave that decision up to you…if that’s what you want.”

  “No hospitals. No cops. No court.”

  “I know, but you’ve already broken two of those,” Brennan said.

  Devon narrowed her eyes. “No cops. Just because you keep breaking the rules doesn’t mean I want to involve the police.”

  “I’ll break every rule to keep you safe. The doctor said it was really good I brought you in,” he said, pushing her hair back with one hand. “You’ve been out of it for a while.”

  “So…Reid just left?” she asked carefully. She was tired of being afraid of where he might turn up. She was beginning to see why the restraining order was a good idea.

  Brennan shrugged and scratched the back of his head. He chuckled softly and looked away from her. “He was here earlier. They had to reset his nose. Seems he managed to break it in two places.”

  Devon giggled with him. “I wonder how that happened.”

  “I guess he was unlucky when he ran into my fist,” he said. “Anyway, he tried to come see you. I hope you don’t mind that I showed the r
estraining order to the nurses. He was escorted out of the building.”

  “Oh! The nurses escorted him out?” Devon asked.

  “Uh…the cops escorted him out.”

  “Brennan! No cops!”

  “I wasn’t letting him anywhere near you. It’s not like they arrested him…like they should have.” He bent down and kissed her lips. “I’m just glad you’re safe now. I don’t care if you press charges. I just care that you’re safe.”

  “I’m glad I’m safe, too,” she said even though the injuries on her body told her that she didn’t feel that safe.

  Brennan leaned his forehead against her hand as he sighed softly. His lips found her hand, then her palm, and then the inside of her wrist. “You know what I’m going to do when you’re feeling all better?”

  “What?” she asked.

  His lips traveled up to her elbow. “I’m going to kiss away every bruise and every scar and every headache. I’m going to kiss away every thought of heartache,” he whispered. His kisses were now reaching her shoulder.

  “You…you are?” she asked through gulps. When the beeps on the machine picked up speed, she tried not to blush.

  “Yep. I’m going to kiss every inch of your beautiful skin, so when you look at it, all you see is me.” He stopped his kisses and stared down into her eyes.

  “All I see is you already,” she responded huskily, trying not to let her mind stray to all the things she wanted to do to his body.

  “I’ll be a happy man every day that is true.”

  He bent forward and kissed her lips. Devon reached her arms up and wrapped them around his neck, anchoring them together.

  Someone cleared her throat, and Brennan pulled back from the kiss. Devon blushed and looked over to see Hadley and Garrett standing together in the doorway.

  “Hope we’re not interrupting,” Hadley said, planting her hands on her hips.

  “Course not,” Devon said. She looked back at Brennan. “I didn’t know you called them.”

  Brennan shrugged. “I thought they’d want to know you were here.”

  “Of course we wanted to know you were here.” Hadley tossed her oversized purse on the floor and rushed over to Devon’s side. “You came to visit me when I was here. I couldn’t imagine not visiting you.”