Nothing but silence followed her name. I didn’t know what to say. Even Knox was speechless, his blue eyes wide as he processed what I'd just shared with him. When I told Karley that Maya could call if the situation were dire, I didn’t think she’d ever call, especially after me denying initial contact.
“Hello, Hazel? Are you there?”
“What, yes, yes. I’m sorry, I’m just…”
“Surprised?” Her voice was soft. “I know. I am too, but here we are. Rather than sit here and make this more awkward than it already is, I’m just going to come out with it. If you’ll hear me out, that is.”
“Go on…”
I need your help,” she’s blurted out.
“My help? With what?” I asked, thoroughly confused, setting the phone on speaker.
“Saving my life,” she deadpanned.
What. The. Fuck.
Knox and I shared a horrified look.
“What do you mean, saving your life?”
“It’s my husband, Hazel. He’s exactly the man my dad warned me about. I should’ve listened and gotten myself out of this mess way sooner, but now it’s too late and I'm stuck.”
“Does he hurt you?” My question came out much softer than anticipated.
“Yes.”
“How long has it been going on?”
“A while, but in retrospect, the signs had always been there.”
Holy crap. Knox was right. After Luis and Reyna left the day we met with Karley, Knox admitted the situation was nagging at him. He’d said both him and Luis agreed something was going on behind closed doors, and they were afraid it could be something violent.
“How bad is it?”
“Just a toss here or there, sometimes a slap or a tight grip on my throat. But it's harder every time and I know it's only going to get worse.”
I gasped and momentarily hesitated to ask the next question. “Is he sexually abusive too?”
“I guess on some level, yes. I’m never actually in the mood to be with him, but when he wants it, I give it up. I always regret it afterward though.”
“Why?”
“Because I wake up with bruises,” she admitted. “He usually only fucks me when he comes home drunk, and when he’s drunk, he's rough. And not the good kind of rough.”
Knox growled beside me, completely disgusted by what he was hearing. I can't lie, I was disgusted too. It took a special and twisted type of human being to do this kind of shit.
“I'm sorry to throw this on you, Hazel, I really am, but you're my only hope,” she said, her tone shaky as though she were fighting back a stream of tears. “I don't expect you to say yes, considering we’ve never met and up until a few months ago, I had idea who you were. But I had to at least try.”
“It's okay, really. I've been curious about you for years and despite my feelings regarding what happened between you and your dad, I'd do anything for him.”
“Those were Karley’s exact words.” She sounded only mildly amused.
“Huh?”
“When I spoke to her after your meeting and she gave me your phone number, she said you'd do anything for my father, even in death.”
“She's right, I would,” I agreed, stealing a glance at Knox, who was now dressing to go to work. “Which leads me to ask, how can I help you?”
His head snapped toward me at the same time Maya uttered a shocked, “Really?”
“Absolutely. I'd never be able to live with myself if I hung up this phone and learned that later on down the line, your husband did irreplaceable damage.”
“He's done plenty of that already, trust me.”
“Well, then let's make sure he can't do anymore. What do you need from me?”
“Shelter. Bodyguards. An army, really.” She laughed nervously.
“Based off what you've told me about him, and the little I knew from Karley, I doubt he's just going to let you fly across the nation to meet with someone connected to your dad.”
“No, no he most certainly would not. I'll have to sneak out here while he's at work.”
“And is that as easy as you're making it sound?”
I doubted that would be the case, but I figured I'd ask anyway.
“No. He has two guards home with me all day; however, they’re not the issue. It's buying an airline ticket that’s going to be the hard part.”
“And what about if you already had a ticket?” I asked, because I knew what needed to be done.
“Then I'd be good to go.”
“Give me a sec.”
Muting the call, I gripped the phone tightly in my hand, and lifted my gaze to where Knox stood at the end of the bed. “This is fucked.”
He nodded warily. “Very.”
“I want to help her.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. We can't pretend she never called. Imagine how Bernie would feel if he knew what she’s been going through…”
“He'd be sick to his fucking stomach,” Knox gritted out.
“Exactly. She's his baby, and she's in serious danger. If we don't help her, he could kill her. She said it herself, it gets worse every time.”
Sighing deeply, he ran a hand through his hair. “So, what do you think we should do?”
“I say we find a ticket for the next week or two, and let her hunker down here. We can have Karley send divorce papers, if that what she wants, and help her rebuild. Bernie left money and his house, so it's not like she doesn't have anything to come home to.”
“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked, a concerned look dragging across his face.
“Why, you don't?”
“No, I do, but this is huge, baby. It could get complicated and messy.”
“I don't think we have a choice, to be honest,” I said, as he came to sit beside me once more. “I'd be failing Bernie if I simply dismissed her.”
Taking my hand in his, he placed a kiss on my wrist and gave it a light squeeze. “Then let's do it. We’ll look at flights over the next few days and give her some options. How soon does she need to leave?”
I don't know.
But we were about to find out. Tapping the microphone on my screen, I unmuted the call and brought the phone back up to my mouth.
“Maya?”
“I'm still here,” she answered, the blaring horn of a taxi resounding behind her.
“Okay, so, we can get you a one-way ticket from New York. Your dad left you his house, but you’re more than welcome to stay with us until everything blows over. We’ll have security covered, too, regardless of where you decide to stay.”
“We?” The word sounded foreign on her tongue.
“Yes, my boyfriend and I. Karley’s brother.”
“Oh my God, you two live together?”
“Yes… Why is that a problem?” I asked, trying to keep my voice even.
“I don't want to intrude…” she whispered.
“It's not intrusion if we’re offering.”
“I know but, couples should li-”
“Do you want the help or not?” I questioned, suddenly annoyed.
“Y-yes,” she stammered. “Yes, I want the help.”
“Then just take the deal. You'll be safe here, Maya.”
The line went silent, and for a moment I thought it might’ve cut off, or worse, he caught her on the phone. I checked the screen, only to find we were still connected. Panic raced through my veins.
“Maya?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m here, sorry. Just processing. You're really saving my life, Hazel,” she said, and this time I knew was crying. “Thank you, seriously.”
Bernie’s sweet face popped into my mind and my heart clenched because if Maya was hurting, I knew he was hurting too. “Your dad meant everything to me. He shaped me into the woman I am today. This is simply me repaying him for all he did.”
“Regardless of why you’re doing it, I’m very grateful.”
“Knox and I are going to check out some flights tonight when he gets home from work. Is it okay for me to text this number once we have the information?”
“This number is safe. Dimitri has no idea I have this phone in my possession.”
“Jesus, it's worse than I thought.” I pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling a headache coming on from the hail of crap that had unfolded in less than five minutes. “How soon do you need to leave?”
“The sooner, the better.”
“Okay, so we’ll search for next week or the following. Does that work?”
“Two weeks would be better. He leaves on a business trip to Russia in exactly two weeks from today, which would be the ideal time for me to leave.”
“Two weeks then,” I confirmed, peering at a very silent Knox beside me.
“Two weeks,” she agreed.