Chapter 15
Matt
After sweeping the perimeter of Sienna’s house, along with the street, I head back inside to check on her. No matter how she well she appears to have continually brushed all of this off, I know this shit can’t be easy on her. It sure as hell has been hard to watch her go through it. The cop in me wants to dig in and see the person responsible brought to justice. The man in me wants to drag them out into a back alley and stomp them into the goddamn pavement.
I have felt protective of Sienna since the moment I met her. With the added chaos spiraling around her, that feeling has only intensified. When I step into the house again and see her sobbing, every fucking thought about protocol and the best plan of action goes right out the damn window. All I want to do is hold her. I need to show her she is safe, make it clear that she isn’t alone and I won’t let anything hurt her. Because I won’t.
I protect what’s mine and there is no doubt in my mind that Sienna is exactly that. The time we have been together is irrelevant at this point. I have come to terms with that.
I can’t get across the room fast enough. Lifting her into my arms, I sit in the chair, pulling her close. “Got a unit in route now,” I tell her, knowing that honestly, she doesn’t give a shit about the damn police report right now. Everything is crashing down around her. Literally. She only wants it to stop.
Pressing her face into my neck, she sobs softly, her hands clinging tightly to my t-shirt. It isn’t until the sound of sirens pierce the air, and flashing lights of the approaching squad cars appear through the broken window that Sienna finally releases her hold on me. “I’m sorry,” she sniffles, sitting up in my lap.
“You don’t have a damn thing to be sorry for, baby,” I tell her, brushing away a stray tear.
Nodding slowly, she stands to her feet, glass cracking and crunching beneath her shoes as she moves toward the front door. Following behind her, I jerk my chin at Beckett when I see him step inside. “Hey, Liam.”
“You guys okay?” he asks, glancing between the two of us.
“Yeah,” I nod, draping my arm over Sienna’s shoulders. “Just a little on edge.”
“I’d say so,” he admits, looking to me. “What have we got?”
Taking him into the living room, I start breaking down what happened. Sienna speaks when needed, though she seems completely disconnected from the conversation. I can see her mind working, her green eyes filled with conflict and worry. That fear she claims to never have felt before, now written all over her beautiful face. The danger of this situation now all too clear to her given how, had this been last night, she and Kelsie would have been sitting right on that very couch.
“You see anything?” Liam asks, shifting some of the glass with his boot.
“No.” Clearing my throat, my eyes lock on the corner by the stairs where the pink lace panties Sienna had on earlier lay wedged beside the leg of the chair at the entrance to the room. “We were in the front room. Had only been inside a few minutes.”
“Sounds like they tailed you here,” he says, and I couldn’t agree more.
“Sorry,” Sienna blurts, her voice so low I almost miss it. Swallowing hard, she avoids eye contact with both of us. “Can I have a minute?”
“Sure thing,” Liam says, nodding in understanding. Reaching out, he gives her arm a squeeze. “Take a breath. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”
Sienna’s face is devoid of all emotion. Turning, she heads toward the stairs. “Throw some shit in a bag while you’re up there, babe,” I call out the moment her hand grabs the banister. “You’re sleeping at my place tonight.”
Her body stills, those green eyes meeting mine. I expect them to spark, for her to give me some of the sarcastic sass I generally get for bossing her ass around. I don’t. Instead, she gives me a quick nod of acceptance and disappears from view.
Yanking a hand through my hair, I focus my attention back to the shit storm going on down here. “Alibi and lawyer or not, that son of a bitch is behind all of this shit, Lee. I fucking know it. There’s no way he isn’t involved somehow.”
“Anderson?” he asks, staring at the charred sofa and curtains. “I’ve got Daniels out front finding out where he’s at now. If he’s played a part, we’ll get his ass. Count on it.”
I believe him. Beckett and I have that in common. Not only do we mean what we say, we also have no toleration for someone mistreating a woman. Ever. Seeing him with his wife and daughter says it all. I wouldn’t work closely with him otherwise.
“Your girl,” he says, jerking his chin in the direction of the stairs. “If she were mine, she’d have an active R.O. yesterday.”
“First thing in the morning that’s happening. Bet your ass,” I reply, knowing damn good and well that if I have to, I’ll haul Sienna into the police station over my shoulder to get that restraining order on Jimmy.