by Box Set
The sheets on the couch had been soiled. Where was her father? Mama couldn’t go to the bathroom without help. He knew that.
Her mother tried to stand up, but ran out of energy halfway up. “I’m hungry. Did you bring me a sandwich?”
She only ate sandwiches at lunch. Had he been gone that long?
“I have dinner for you. Chicken and mashed potatoes. What did you have for lunch?”
“I think he forgot. He’s pretty busy with his new job.”
New job? “What are you talking about?”
“Marco needs to go out every day. He’s usually back by now. I worry about him. Too much stress.”
Trinity lifted her mother to the recliner and pulled at the dirty sheets. She then hustled into the kitchen to find her father. Dishes were piled in the sink as usual, waiting for her to come home and do them. Her father, however, wasn’t there. After bathing her mother and getting her settled with a hot meal, Trinity went up to her father’s bedroom. Nothing.
It was his job to be with her mother when Trinity wasn’t home. She wasn’t able to take care of herself. Where the heck was he? Trying to maintain the status quo for her mother had been a joke. Instead of keeping her safe at home, Trinity had left her mother with an irresponsible jackass. And if he could leave her alone all day, could he verbally and physically abuse her as well? The thought sent shivers of regret straight through her gut.
By midnight, her father was still not home and her mother had fallen asleep watching the news. Griffin had been right all along. Only delusions and a lot of luck had kept the household stable for so long. Reality might stop her from getting her degree, but it would save her mother’s life. She could slow down her coursework and take on additional shifts at the diner to afford a placement at one of the facilities. Even if it was two hours away, Trinity needed to help her mother.
The front door opened and her father thundered inside. No quiet steps to keep Mama calm. He roared into the living room, straight to Trinity. Then his anger turned ugly. “What the hell are you doing telling everyone our business? A woman came by asking about your mother. She wanted to take her away from here. No one is taking Maria from me. Do you understand?”
His slurred words warned her to be on guard.
“Where have you been?”
“Taking a break.” It looked like his “job” was spending the day at the bar. She tried to pass him to get to her mother’s side. They were leaving tonight. He clasped her arm, gripping it until the pain numbed into a general throb. “You trying to get rid of me?”
“You’re drunk,” she shot back at him. “Go sleep off whatever you drank tonight. We can talk in the morning.”
He shifted her closer to his face, his spit showering her cheeks, and his gaze cutting into her will. “I will not have people questioning me in my own house.” He backhanded her across the face, sending her tumbling to the floor.
Her cheek ached, and her forehead and the old injury flared as well. “Let me take Mama and get out of here. Please.” She crawled away from him as she dialed her phone.
Before she could stand, he kicked her in the stomach. The air in her lungs exploded out her mouth. The pain wrenched her muscles, and her eyes watered from the impact. She struggled to take another breath as she pushed herself back up, trying to get back to her phone, but it had slid under the table.
“Papa, stop.” But her words became lost as he continued kicking her. She saw her mother try to stand. Her father did something he’d never done in front of Trinity before. He pushed his wife in the chest and sent her flying back to the couch. No! Trinity tried to help her, but he stopped her cold when he kicked her in the face.
***
The night shift had so far been a peaceful evening spent driving through the streets at a slow cruising speed with a cup of coffee. There had only been a small fender bender and a couple of loitering kids to make the evening move along.
Dispatch buzzed through his concentration. Domestic disturbance. Trinity’s address. Not again. His head felt crushed with worry after dispatch played out the continuing 911 of her crying out over her father’s threats. He could hear firsthand what she’d battled through. The reminder of his own father’s threats yelled at his mother intensified his movements. He told dispatch to keep the connection to his radio. How much worse could it all get? The blood on the mug stained his thoughts and burned his emotions.
Bradley and Dawson were both closest to the scene and both responded. Griffin, however, had to get there. Again. Shit. Why hadn’t she listened? He sped way too fast even with lights on and sirens blazing. When he arrived, the officers were standing next to one of the squad cars.
“Any progress?” he asked.
Dawson shook his head. “He won’t come out. He’s threatening his wife and daughter. We hear a woman crying in the background. Not sure who it is.”
“We’ve called in the county SWAT,” Bradley added. “They should be here in about ten minutes.”
“We may not have that much time.” Griffin tightened his fists then released them to release the stress jumbling his composure. She needed him focused.
“Sergeant, you’re too close to this. Don’t do anything rash.” Dawson was a veteran cop with no aspirations for anything more than a squad car and a few days off a week. If anyone else had challenged his decision, Griffin would have ripped them up, but Dawson had a point.
“Call the house line. Let’s see if we can talk him down.”
“Okay.” Dawson pulled out his phone and dialed. The line rang, but Dawson shook his head as the call went to voicemail.
Hale arrived in her car a few minutes later. No doubt worried about Trinity. They took different positions around the house as Dawson continued to use a bullhorn to try to coax Estrada out of the house.
Waiting sucked, but it was the right thing to do. Griffin took control of the neighborhood, advising some of the closest neighbors that they could leave the area, but would not be allowed back into the scene.
When the SWAT team arrived, a newly trained negotiator took charge of the bullhorn and the negotiations. Detective Brenda Fisher. The curtain shifted to the side in the front window, but they couldn’t confirm it was the father.
Fifteen minutes into the negotiations, Griffin’s calm exterior shattered. Screw professional, Trinity and her mother were both at risk. He hated being behind the SWAT unit. Guilt, fear, and terror pressed him so tight, he had to walk back to his car to release as much negative energy pulsing through his system as possible. With his officers maintaining the perimeter, he was in charge of coordination with the county unit.
“How is it going?” he asked Fisher. A petite woman, dressed in jeans and a SWAT jacket, with a Kevlar helmet, she maintained a frequent discussion with the occupants of the house, despite receiving no answer. Her calm demeanor kept the team focused and able to relax during an otherwise tense time.
“He’s drunk and tired. If we can find an opportunity, we should move in. The biggest issue is the location of the two women, and if Mr. Estrada is armed.”
He couldn’t answer that question. Guns showed up in houses where none were registered all the time.
“We have a clear spot to place the gas,” one of the SWAT members called over to Fisher.
She waved to her captain, who was standing nearby. “They’re ready to go.”
“Go ahead,” he ordered.
Two team members shot the gas canisters through the windows. Echoes of the teams chorus of “Go, go, go, go” gave way to the varied radio calls to the command post clearing rooms and counting victims. The darkness and the spray of spotlights along with the two waves of police entering the house created the atmosphere of a movie set at the black moment, only this was real. Life and death. And the love of his life.
Griffin had to find Trinity. He ran up the front steps and pushed past one of the SWAT team members. Smoke was settling toward the ground as men in black swarmed through the rooms. Estrada was cuffed and being pushed toward
the front door. Mrs. Estrada was being carried out by two officers to a waiting ambulance. They’d wrapped her in a blanket, a comfort to a woman already confused and now in a state of panic.
Four officers were huddled in the corner of the room. Two crouching on the ground. Griffin didn’t need to see her to understand that Trinity was there on the ground. He pressed past the standing officers and squatted beside her. Someone mentioned something about him being her friend, and wearing blue allowed him some leeway. Her eyes were shut, and her face was badly bruised. Griffin’s gun hand twitched, needing to release a bullet into the head of the scum who had hurt her so badly. Instead, he clenched his hand and gritted his teeth.
“Trinity, are you okay?”
Everyone around him backed up to give him space. He brushed a wisp of her dark hair away from her eyes. Her breathing seemed slow, but steady. His breathing, meanwhile, had become shallow and erratic.
She blinked, but the bruises and the swelling made any movement of her facial muscles difficult. He leaned in closer.
“It’ll be okay. You’ll never have to go through this again. I promise. I won’t let it happen.” He meant those words. Her father was going to jail. Her mother would be well cared for. Griffin could get a second mortgage if he had to in order to place her mother nearby and in a comfortable home.
Her hand gripped his, a solid connection and mild agreement. Her eyes closed just as the paramedics arrived. He backed away from her and let the ambulance crew do their job. He wanted so badly to ride in the ambulance with her, but chose to take his squad car. Following her broken body across town turned every mile into a tortured list of regrets, mostly for not protecting her at the moment she needed him. He’d let his mother down and now Trinity. He should have done more for her, barged into the home himself and forced her out if he could have. He drove a few yards behind her, wishing that life provided mulligans instead of heartache and sorrow.
Chapter 9
Flowers bloomed throughout Trinity’s hospital room. Every patron from the diner seemed to have sent a garden of colors. The long red roses sat closest to her. Griffin’s way of announcing their relationship to everyone around them. She’d seen him a few times, but the drugs in her system had made her groggy, and the bruises on her face had made her want to hide. She’d been as courteous as possible under the circumstances, but had asked the medical staff to keep visitors out for a while. She needed time to heal. Her mother had been placed in an Alzheimer’s unit in a decent facility in the next town over. Probably an emergency stay, because there was no way Trinity could afford the place. She’d already looked at it a year before. Nice, but expensive.
From the police reports coming in, she learned that her father had been charged with battery toward her mother and her. He was out on bail and living at the house. An emergency restraining order had been filed to keep him away from both Trinity and Mama.
Marilyn, the day nurse, opened the door and peeked in. “Are you up for any visitors? Griffin is here to see you. He’s holding a teddy bear. Really cute. The bear is, too.”
Did she want to see him? Yes, and no. She’d lied to him and had she opened up to him, he could have prevented all this from happening. “Sure. Let him in.”
Marilyn gave her a thumbs up and then disappeared. A few moments later, Griffin entered carrying a soft brown bear and a box of chocolates. He approached slowly, perhaps waiting for an invitation.
“Thanks for the flowers,” she said.
His hesitation disappeared, and he sat next to her. “You’re welcome. I brought you these, too.” He placed the chocolate on the bedside table beside the flowers and handed her the bear.
“What’s his name?” she asked because honestly, she felt as though they were starting from scratch.
“Ty.”
“Strange name for a bear.”
“It’s short for Tylenol. A memory of your time here and a reminder of your future in medicine.”
“It’ll be a long time, if ever, before I enter medical school.”
“Doesn’t matter. Make a plan and if I can, I’ll help you reach your goal.”
“You make everything sound so easy.”
“It is. My life revolves around one thing…you. I love you, Trinity. I love you more than anything. Seeing you so hurt put everything in perspective. If I have even a small chance of being with you, I’ll take it. A tiny, smidgen of chance. Any chance whatsoever.” He clasped her hand and absorbed some of the loneliness she’d held inside.
“I lied to you.”
He shook his head. “I forgive you if you forgive me for sending over the elder abuse agency during the daylight hours. I had no idea they’d threaten your father like that. For what it’s worth, the woman has been removed from her position.”
“You were only trying to help me. I don’t blame you at all.”
He bowed his head and swallowed. He’d never appeared so downtrodden before. When he looked at her, his eyes were shiny. He gripped her hand, and she held it tight to ease his pain and help herself face an unknown future.
“I’ve been hiding something from you, too,” he said. “Maybe it would have made a difference, but I was too ashamed to say anything. When I was seventeen, I was sent away from home. My dad had been an ugly alcoholic, beating my mother and making my brother and me miserable.”
“Your father?”
“He has twenty more years in prison.”
“For beating your mother?”
A darkness clouded his expression, and his voice lowered to a faint whisper. “For murdering her.”
“Oh my God. No wonder you wanted me out of there.”
“When my mother needed help, I stepped in too late. My father had me arrested, effectively getting me out of the house and leaving my mother vulnerable. My brother didn’t have the strength to take him on alone. I’ll always carry the burden of her death on my shoulders.”
“Is that why you’re avoiding your brother?”
“What can I say? I bailed on him.”
“You couldn’t have stopped it.”
“Maybe, maybe not. Mom refused to leave, but I didn’t even try. I should have told you, maybe you’d have seen just how ugly abuse could get.”
“My ignorance is not your fault.” It had been hers. Unwilling to lose her future to save her mother.
“I tiptoed around the issues, scared of losing your friendship and instead, I almost lost you. I’m sorry.”
She sniffled and brushed a tear from her cheek. “You’ll never lose my friendship. Ever.”
They kissed for a moment, a re-acquaintance and an act of forgiveness. Her future had been turned upside down, but with him by her side, she was ready to face anything.
Chapter 10
One Year Later
Griffin pushed through the crowds for over fifteen minutes until he found her. Trinity was standing with a group of students, decked out in a flowing blue graduation gown with a gold braid over her shoulder, a symbol of all her hard work. When she noticed his arrival, she said goodbye to her classmates and faced him.
“What do think?” She lifted her arms, and stood like an Aztec Goddess.
“You’re gorgeous. Congratulations.” Someone jostled him, pushing him closer to her. He caught his balance and glared at the offender. “There are way too many people here.”
“Go ahead, Sergeant. Do some crowd control.” The challenge in her voice made him chuckle.
“I work in a small town to avoid these types of events.” He hugged the only person he wanted around right now. “Are you ready to go? I know a diner crowded with more people who want to see you. Your mom is there too.”
Francisco had made a partnership with Mrs. Estrada’s assisted living center to bring food over to the patients a few times a week. In return, they transported some of their patients to Indigo for a meal once a week. It was a win-win for everyone.
“Can we stop by the house so I can change?” She’d moved in with him after she left the hospital, and h
ad transformed his ugly little house into a colorful escape.
“Sure.” He hesitated. He had so much to tell her, but had no idea where start. Could he begin with the ring in his pocket or should he wait until they arrived at the diner, in front of all of their family and friends? Maybe start with something else first. “I called my brother this morning, like you’d insisted.”
“What did he say?” Her eyes lit up, and she beamed, like a true matchmaker.
“I think he’s been waiting all these years for the call. We caught up, nothing too mushy. He can’t wait to meet you.”
“You made plans to meet?” Her voice was optimistic as it should be. He wanted a family and that would be impossible without getting his own family back together.
“I did one better.”
“You did?”
“I invited him to be my best man at our wedding.”
She paused. “That’s too long to wait. You have to meet with him before I graduate medical school.”
Yes. They had planned to wait to get married, but it didn’t make sense to him. Not anymore.
“I can’t wait four years to meet him, and I can’t wait four years to marry you.” He knelt in front of her, and pulled out the ring. “Will you marry me as soon as possible, Trinity Estrada?”
She stared at the ring, a fairly simple diamond in a white gold setting. Did she like it? Would she say yes? He held his breath.
The second she lifted her gaze from the ring to his face, he had her answer. The smile alone beamed her enthusiasm for the idea. “Yes, Mr. Alexander.”
He pumped his arm in the air. There was still the chance she’d want to wait on a wedding, but medical school would have challenges and difficulties that she didn’t need to face alone. As part of a husband and wife team, she’d have the stability to pursue her dreams and feel connected to someone.