“Thanks for doing this,” I said with a heavy sigh as I took a seat.

Eric smiled across his desk at me. It wasn’t his usual happy smile, it was a sad but understanding smile. When I’d called him from my car after meeting with Peter, I’d barely been able to form the words I needed to explain what I wanted. He’d listened, and even questioned whether it was the right choice to make, but at this stage, I just couldn’t see an alternative. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something happened to Harlyn or the brothers because of Peter’s vendetta against me, so I was taking them out of the equation. Starting with my baby girl.

“This isn’t the usual law I practice,” Eric started as he gathered together the papers on his desk. “I had to ask an associate to go over what I’d written up, but don’t worry, it’s all confidential.”

I nodded. Not that it mattered anyway, as soon as these papers were delivered, everyone would know.

Eric stood up with the papers in his hand and came around the desk, he sat in the chair beside me and turned his body toward mine. His wedding ring sparkled in the light and I couldn’t help but smile.

“How is Lisa?”

Eric looked up, surprised by my question. He cleared his throat before answering. “Lisa went missing about a year ago.”

I sat back in shock. “Oh my God! I’m so sorry, I had no idea.” I felt fucking horrible, and he clearly looked upset, the color draining from his face.

He nodded. “Yeah… she uh… she went out one night with friends, the last I heard they were having a good time. Then nothing. Called the police the next morning, they checked security tapes, showed her and her friends hanging out with a group of guys who were trying to give the girls drugs.” He shook his head. “They’d all declined, and there was footage of them leaving the bar but that was it. She just never made it home.”

His voice was croaky with emotion, and I reached out, laying my hand over his.

“I’m really sorry, Eric.”

He offered me a soft smile. “I’ve come to terms with it, but I just haven’t ever gotten around to taking my ring off. Guess I’m not ready to move on just yet, and it’s a good deterrent for a lot of women.”

Lisa and I hadn’t been close, but during the time when Peter and my relationship was fresh and the darkness hadn’t set in, she and Eric would often join us for dinner parties, or we’d see them at most social gatherings. She was a sweet girl, young, ambitious and bubbly. Being around her was easy and I enjoyed that, especially when I would feel out of place. It wasn’t long before they stopped visiting so often and for the most part, I wouldn’t have known if they were there anyway.

“Anyway, let’s just get through this,” he said, turning the attention off himself and switching himself into lawyer mode, no doubt one place where his emotions couldn’t come into play. I knew Wrench had a serious distaste for him, but I also understood why. When he was working, he was hard and straight forward. He believed in the law and had no problem laying it down or putting people away who didn’t follow it.

“Have a read through this and let me know what you think.” He handed me the papers and I took a deep breath as I scanned through the words, the bile in my throat rising more and more the further I read down the page. I felt tears brim my eyes as I got to the end and reached for the pen that Eric offered.

“You don’t have to do this you know. I’m sure whatever it is that you have going on…” He gave me a pointed look. Eric knew the truth, it was one of the reasons that I felt so comfortable with him because he never once judged me or treated me any different. “We could find another way to work through it.”

I shook my head, my hand quivering as I put pen to paper and signed my name.

Right there on the dotted line.

A tear fell from my eye, directly on the letter and I quickly dabbed at it before it could smear the ink so much that it was unreadable. I flipped through them all, signing all the copies and other papers as well before handing them straight back to Eric.

He inhaled deeply and looked at me with sad eyes. “I’ll have them delivered for you,” he said quietly.

“Tomorrow. Have them delivered tomorrow,” I urged. I’d promised Harlyn I’d have dinner with her at the club tonight and I didn’t want to have to break that.

“Okay, no problem,” he agreed. “Is there anything I can do to help? Is this all because of Peter?”

I chewed my lip, I could feel the weight of what I’d just done crushing in on my chest.

No, I couldn’t break down now.

I grabbed hold of the arms of the chair and forced myself to my feet, my body wobbling slightly as I tried to hold myself up. Looking for the window and heading straight for it, needing light to surround me so I could breathe while I tried to fight it.

“Annabelle… Hey, it’s okay. Just breathe,” Eric soothed, his hand on my back, rubbing in soft circles.

It wasn’t okay. I didn’t want to fucking hear that it was going to be okay. I recoiled away from him but he kept following me. I didn’t want to be touched. I fought to keep my head straight. He was just trying to help, trying to calm me down, but what he didn’t realize was that it was only making things worse.

I placed my hands on the window sill. My legs felt like they might give way from under me at any moment, so I pushed down hard, holding my body up. I threw back my head as tears streamed down my cheeks, allowing my body to bathe in the sunlight that coursed through the window. The shadows couldn’t get me here, they couldn’t reach me in the light.

Eric’s hand stilled on my back and suddenly a chill filled me.

“Looks like you have someone waiting for you outside,” he said, a sharpness to his voice.

I slowly lowered my gaze, trying to focus on my breathing as I used one hand to swipe away the tears. He was right, there was someone waiting for me, and he looked fucking pissed off as he leaned against his bike, his arms folded across his chest and his legs crossed at the ankle.

Wrench.

Something clicked in my brain, and suddenly I needed to get to him.

He was comfort.

He knew what I needed.

“Get Wrench,” I rasped. “Please.” I looked over at Eric, his brow furrowed and I could see the apprehension. It wasn’t a secret that Eric’s firm and the Brothers by Blood weren’t exactly friends. Like I said, Eric was firm in his beliefs about the law, and the brothers, well, they like to put their own twist on it.

Unable to hold myself up any longer, I dropped to my knees.

Eric stepped back, clenching his teeth. “All right, I’ll get him. But only because I hate seeing you like this.” He dashed out of the room, and I twisted my body, pressing my back against the wall beside the window and curling my arms around my knees. The room was starting to shrink and I was finding it harder and harder to inhale a deep breath. I wanted to escape, but I knew I couldn’t. I knew there would be no point because I wouldn’t make it very far.

I’d fought so long, struggling to work through this shit on my own and get better on my own, but I wasn’t at home and I didn’t have the things I needed to help me. He was here, though, and I just needed him. I needed to feel him in the room, then I’d be safe from the shadows.

“She’s in here,” I heard Eric say with an obvious tightness to his voice.

“Swear to fucking God, if you’ve done anything to her…”

Wrench appeared in the doorway and took one look at me curled up on the floor and his face softened. He turned back to look out the door. “Stay out here. Don’t fucking come inside.”

“That’s my office.”

“Don’t give a fuck,” Wrench snapped before slamming the door closed.

I jumped, and he cringed. “Sorry, sugar pop,” he said quietly as he moved toward me. The closer he got, the easier I could breathe, sucking long deep breaths into my lungs.

He took a seat on the floor and then said two words that soaked into my body and allowed my muscles to relax finally. “I’m here.”

Not ‘you’ll be okay.’

Not ‘you need to calm down.”

Just… I’m here.

We sat in silence, the sounds of birds chirping in the trees outside the only noise between us. Wrench simply watched me as over time I slowly began to unwind my body and stretch myself out. He didn’t push or encourage me to do anything or even touch me.

He knew.

I looked up at the clock that hung over the doorway.

An hour. That’s how long it had taken. My body ached, my muscles crying out to be stretched into a different position. But Wrench stayed the same, his knees bent, his hands hanging over them casually.

Just watching me.

“I want to go home,” I whispered finally.

He nodded and pushed off the floor, climbing to his feet. Then he came toward me and held out his hand. I took it, and he pulled me to my feet. “Let’s go find that bath.”

I nodded. “Yes, please.”