The days passed, but the adage “time heals” didn’t seem to apply. An unfamiliar heaviness surrounded me that I hadn’t even encountered after my divorce. How that was possible seemed ridiculous. I mean, why would losing a non-relationship that lasted only hours hurt so bad? Stupid. But true nonetheless.

Hope. The loss of hope was the likely culprit. A beaming ray in the darkness, a yearning for not ordinary, not boring. Something wonderful. A wish you didn’t know existed.

The shitty thing was now I knew what I was missing. I dared to believe that something like that—no, someone like that was within my reach. Stupid girl. There was no Mr. Wonderful out there for me, and I wasn’t going to settle for an asswipe like Gabe again. That left me alone.

As I drove to work, the shining sun seemed incongruous with the constant ache in my heart. I parked and gathered my work stuff.

At what point was it considered stalking? I’d asked myself that many times the past couple of weeks. My body craved her, my mind called out to her, but I knew it was better if I stayed away. Life was complicated, but my life was a series of unfortunate events. She deserved better than me and the baggage I came with.

But that still didn’t keep me from following her on occasion. I drove past her work or apartment in the hopes of catching a glimpse of her to satisfy my brain and ease my guilt. Maybe she’d met someone else already. Someone good enough.

That thought ate away at my gut, and I rubbed my hands on my face to try to forget. I also needed to know if that dickwad contacted her again. But of course, picking up the phone and asking her would be too easy. No, I had to stake out her work and home to make sure she was safe.

Everything seemed fine. She came and went with nothing unusual happening. I’d inquired a few times about her to Vivienne, only to get shot down. Diplomatically, of course. “Jack, she’s fine. But this is between you two. If you have a question, I’d rather you ask her.” In other words, she preferred it if I’d man up and grow some balls. Well, she’d be waiting a long time for that.

I took a deep breath in as I watched Harper’s car arrive for work. Same time, almost to the minute, every day. Out she got, juggling a bunch of work shit and bags, and closed the door with her foot. Her hair shimmered like gold in the sunlight. My hand itched to touch its silkiness.

Fuck. I needed to stop this. She was fine. This irrational fear I carried that someone or something was going to hurt her was contrived. My hands gripped the steering wheel even harder. It was time to let go of this situation. But just as I started the ignition, I witnessed a man approaching Harper. Hmm. Probably just an early customer, overeager to start the day.

She seemed to know him, so I lowered my hackles and reached down to put my SUV in gear. I drove my black Land Rover, so Harper wouldn’t recognize the vehicle. Just as I hit the brake, Harper’s papers and bags flew all over. There was a substantial breeze today, so the mess quickly spread. What was it with this woman and spilled papers?

Oh, I did not fucking think so. My heart beat out of my chest at what I saw. The man grabbed Harper’s arm and forcefully pulled her across the lot. She grappled with him but was no match for his strength. Before I knew what I was doing, I peeled out of my seat, my brain exploding in fury.

Harper managed a futile cuff to his head, but it did nothing except fuel his rage. He screamed at her before backhanding my woman across the face. The force from the blow knocked her to the ground.

As soon as I ran up to them, I recognized the bastard as her good-for-nothing ex-husband. My blood boiled at the sight of him, and then I punched the creep in the face. That sent him reeling back like a windmill. It would have been comical if it weren’t so sad to watch. The look on his face was one of complete and utter shock as he collapsed on the hard pavement. He tried to climb back up, but I delivered a well-placed kick to his flank and he hurtled back down. Clutching his side, he choked and struggled for breath. But I wasn’t done with the asshole. Not by a long shot.

“You like attacking defenseless women, you little dick?” I blasted at him. My fist opened and closed, ready to deliver another jab.

“She’s a fucking whore.”

Red flashed in front of my eyes and anger shot through me. Nobody called Harper a whore. Especially not this asshole. The sound his head made as it smacked against the pavement ignited my fury. Somehow, I managed to straddle him, and my temper flared. Hit after hit, he came back for more. My ego craved the satisfaction of pounding the shit out of him, vengeance my only goal.

Sounds of pleading rang in my ears, but his grunts gave me a rush of adrenaline, and I continued battering the little fuck. “Buddy, hey, Jack, enough. Stop it.” I heard as someone cranked my arms together behind my back. Blinded with rage, I challenged my captor and attempted to break free. “Jack, for fuck’s sake, stop. He’s down.” I found my feet and stopped. Harper was crying, and witnessing that killed me. The asshole on the ground held his jaw and his ribs. Yeah, your pretty face wasn’t so pretty anymore, was it? He turned his head, agitated, and bolted.

My instincts kicked in, and I was ready to chase the idiot down again as he scampered away, sliding on the gravel, but Dean caught me. “Let him go. You did enough damage, trust me. Are you okay?” That question was so bizarre, I burst out laughing. Was I okay? I wasn’t the one who just got the shit kicked out of him.

“Uh, yeah, Dean,” I said and shook off his hands. He reluctantly let me go. I advanced on Harper like an out of control speeding train and scooped her up.

“Fuck, are you all right? Did he hurt you?” Her sweet body melted into mine, and her hands clutched my shoulders until her nails dug in. She shook her head and continued to sob into my chest. Jesus, I forgot how much I loved feeling her against me like this.

“How…how…how did you know he was here?” she said, and her tear-stained eyes made me feel like dirt. The sight of the red mark on her cheek shot me through the gut. This was my fault. If I hadn’t dumped her, I would have been here to protect her sooner.

I lied, “I was in the parking lot when I saw him grab you. Good timing, I guess.” She nodded her head and sighed. “Has he been contacting you since we…since that first time in my office?” Her head again responded with a “yes”. Shit. The little prick had been terrifying her all these weeks, and I was off licking my wounds like some fucking coward. Well, that ended now.

“He’s been texting, calling, and showing up in odd places.” She frowned. “Sometimes he’s mean. Sometimes he wants to get back together,” she said and rolled her eyes back in her head. “Which is so insane. He can’t think I would actually go back to him, can he?” The look on her face broke my heart into a thousand pieces, and all I wanted in life was for her to glue them back. But this time, they needed to be put together correctly. Years ago, my heart was ripped to shreds, and until this very moment I hadn’t realized it never healed.

In order for something to completely mend, it needed to completely break. And my heart was shattered. All these years I’d been protecting a fragmented soul. For what? Was I any happier? But this woman, she knew pain and disappointment. She understood how life handed you shit on a platter and you just had to fucking deal with it.

I looked into her eyes and pushed her hair back with my hands. “Have you reported him to the police?” Her eyes darted to the side, and I had her answer. “We have to go. Now.” My eyes pleaded with her. “Honey, you can’t let this slide. It sucks, but you have to let the authorities know.”

Harper’s shoulders slumped in defeat. “Yeah, I know. I’ll just clean up this disaster and get to work. I can go to the police station tonight.” Like hell she would.

“Dean, can you guys clean this up? I’m taking Harper to the precinct.”