Chapter Fourteen

SIMON

I guide Magnolia outside and over to the cops on the scene. “Evenin’, officers,” I call out.

“Did you make the 911 call?”

“No, sir, that would’ve been the employee at Elements.” I nod my head back toward the yoga studio. “My girlfriend—” Whoa, I just called Magnolia my girlfriend, but now is not the time or place to get into that revelation. “My girlfriend here had her car vandalized. She was out shopping, and when she came back, she saw the damage and called me.”

The officer turns to address Magnolia. “Ma’am, in the event of an emergency, you should always call the authorities, not your boyfriend.” His tone is scolding, and it pisses me right off.

“With all due respect”—I pause and glance down to where his name is embroidered on his shirt—“Officer Byrnes, she was terrified and did her best. Why don’t we go take a look at her vehicle?”

Looking slightly chagrined, the officer motions for his partner to follow him, and together we make the trek to where Magnolia’s car is parked. We walk around the vehicle, and my mouth drops open at the sight of it.

All four tires are slashed, her back window is shattered, and in red paint across her front windshield is one single, solitary word: MINE.

When Magnolia reads the word on her car, she starts shaking like a damn leaf, muttering to herself like a broken record. “N-no. Oh, no. No-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no.”

I palm her cheeks and tilt her face up to my own. “Magnolia, baby, talk to me. What’s wrong?”

“I…I think I know who d-did this.” Her voice is brittle and hoarse from crying.

Officer Byrnes walks over to us, leaving his partner to inspect the vehicle and to take photographs of the damage. “Did I hear you say you believe you know who the responsible party is?”

Magnolia opens her mouth to answer, but all that comes out is a choked sob. Instead, she nods.

“Ma’am, I’m going to need you to calm down and tell us what happened.” Thankfully, his tone has changed from stern to soothing, which I know will go a long way toward putting Magnolia at ease.

She launches into giving the cops a play-by-play of her afternoon, stuttering her way through her coffee date and shopping trip with the girls. Fury races through my veins when she tells them that the light for the parking lot was out, though Officer Dickhead doesn’t seem too concerned about it.

“And you said you know who did this?” he asks again.

“I-I think it w-was my h-husband.” Her shoulders drop and her chin trembles. “B-but that d-doesn’t make s-sense. He’s…he’s in Ch-Charleston.”

I stiffen a little at her use of the word husband—husband, not ex-husband—but right now isn’t about me, so I let it slide. She and I will hash that out later, when she’s not about to lose it.

Officer Byrnes, however, caught it, and has no plans of letting it go. “Your husband?” He glances down and checks his notes. “Didn’t this feller here introduce you as his girlfriend?”

The helpless look on Magnolia’s face claws at my heart. I’d give fucking anything to wipe away her pain.

“W-we’re…e-estranged.” I breathe easier for hearing that, knowing she’s not completely tied to that cocksucker.

“Gotcha. My wife and I are as well.” I’m not one to favor the end of a marriage, but right about now, I’m glad this man and Magnolia have some sort of common ground.

“O-oh,” Magnolia gasps at his straightforwardness. “I’m s-sorry to hear that.”

Officer Byrnes shrugs off her apology, clearly uncomfortable with the turn in the conversation. He scans his notes, looking desperate to get back on track. “You said your husband lives in South Carolina?”

“Y-yes, sir.” Magnolia looks down and studies her feet. “I…I’m s-sure it w-wasn’t him. I-I overreacted.”

Magnolia looks like she’s two seconds away from melting down, so I do my best to move things along. “So, what now?”

“Now, Officer Benson will finish up his report, and we will be in touch if anything useful turns up in the photographs. Otherwise, we will file everything with her insurance company, and they’ll handle it from there.”

“Th-that’s it?” Magnolia asks with a tremor to her voice.

“Unfortunately, ma’am. I wish we could do more.”

Magnolia begins to softly cry once again, and I swear to God, I can feel the fissures in my heart. Her tears are my kryptonite, and I’ll do anything to erase them. A woman as beautiful and kind as her shouldn’t ever know the kind of pain she does—the kind my mother did. The difference between the two of them, though, is that my girl is willing to fight, even if she doesn’t know it.

Officer Benson walks over to us, flipping through the images on his camera screen as he does. “All right, we just need you to sign off on the paperwork, and we’ll ask the businesses across the street if they saw anything as well as checking for any security cameras in the area. I hope your night improves.”

We thank both of them, and I tuck his business card into my back pocket. With a hand pressed to the small of Magnolia’s back, I guide her to my truck. “Hang tight just a second, okay?” I ask as I pull open the driver’s side door.

“Sure, S-Simon.”

Not wanting to let her out of my sight, I quickly flip up the center console so she can sit right next to me. I turn back to Magnolia to see her still trembling, silent tears snaking down her cheeks. I fucking hate seeing her like this. I remember getting mad as a kid when my dad would beat on my mom, but seeing my girl this upset rivals that in a way I can’t even begin to describe or understand.

It’s like I feel this primal need to protect her, to take care of her.

“C’mon, Goldilocks.” I lift her into the truck, toss her purse and shopping bag on the seat next to her, pull my phone from my pocket, and follow right behind her, securing her seat belt. Our thighs are pressed together and I can feel her shaking. “Gonna call Mateo, okay?”

I make quick work of dialing his number, knowing he’ll answer even though it’s technically after hours.

“Simon, mi amigo, what’s up?”

“Shit’s hit the fan,” I say on a sigh. “Someone vandalized Magnolia’s new ride, fucked it up real good.”

“No shit?” Mateo asks in disbelief.

“No shit. It’s gonna need a tow.”

“You got it. Where’s the car now?”

“The public lot downtown—trust me, you can’t miss it.”

“All right, let me grab Desi and we’ll roll out.” There’s rustling as he calls to his daughter in Spanish. I hear Desi yell back at him, rapid fire, but finally Mateo lays down the law and she relents. “Sorry about that, Simon.”

“Teenagers—what can you do?” I joke, trying to lighten the mood. I can’t imagine raising a teenage girl by myself; he’s fucking Superman in my mind, though Desi is a good kid—stubborn, but good.

“We’re on our way. I’ll be in touch tomorrow.”

I end the call and relay our conversation to Magnolia, since she only heard my side of it. Once the truck is in gear, I take her left hand in mine, stroking the top of her wrist gently with my thumb the entire drive.

About two minutes in, Magnolia’s exhaustion gets the better of her and she passes out cold with her head against my shoulder. Not wanting to wake her, I make the turn into my driveway as slowly as possible to keep the jostling to a minimum.

I throw the truck in park and lift her into my arms, cradling her. I keep my footsteps light and my gait even, shifting her just a bit to get the front door unlocked. I head down the hall toward her bedroom, and right as I go to set her on the bed, she blinks awake and throws her arms around my neck. A small whimper passes her lips and my soul aches for her.

“Y-your bed?” Magnolia rasps out, and I’m helpless to tell her no.