Taking Care Of Leah (16 page)

“What’s going on?” Leah asked.

“We need to take him for questioning,” the woman said. “There has been a serious assault, and Mr. Sinclair is going to help us find out what happened.”

“If this is about Jerry, I can already tell you what happened. He attacked me and Ty came to my defense. Jerry is at fault here, not Ty.”

“And that’s what Mr. Sinclair told us. Unfortunately Mr. Warner gave us a different story and we need to check it out.”

“He called his brother, didn’t he?”

The woman gave Leah a pitiful look. “Here…” She handed Leah a business card. “These are my contact details. I shouldn’t say this, but it’s unlikely Mr. Sinclair will be charged. Both of them are known to us, especially Jerry Warner. We have to do our job.”

Leah nodded, staring at the white card between her fingers.

After the police had gone, Leah grabbed her belongings, fishing her phone out of her bag. Four missed calls from Neil, and a text asking where the hell she was. “I’ve got to go!” she yelled to Rainie and Lance before heading for the hospital.

* * * *

She wasn’t allowed past the waiting room. The smell of fresh disinfectant permeated her senses. Leah tried to keep her mind off her sister, screaming in a room down the corridor, and took in her surroundings. Mint-green walls were broken by a darker dado rail. White uPVC windows had been cleaned until they sparkled. Everything was pristine and polished.

Running the pad of her thumb over her phone’s screen, she fired off a text to Yvonne, telling her all that had happened. With Maggie in the throes of labor, Rainie holed up with Lance and Ty talking to the police, what she really needed at that moment was a friend. Someone who knew how vulnerable she could feel. How alone.

Neil creaked the door ajar and folded his arms over his chest. “She’s okay,” he said without being asked. “It could be a while yet, though. You may as well go home. I’ll call you.”

“I’d rather stay.”

“There’s no point.” He sat beside her, stretching out the muscles in his arms. “The midwife said she’s not fully dilated yet. If it wasn’t for the bleeding she had, they would be sending her home.” Neil looped an arm around her shoulders, giving her a brotherly hug. “She’s fine,” he assured her. “They’ve given her some painkillers, and have said that they’re keeping a close eye on her. We heard the heartbeat and it’s strong. Everything okay? You look…tired.”

“There was a party. And a fight. Ty got arrested. Turns out he’s my boss’s nephew and has a criminal record.”

“You can move back in.”

“No, I can’t. You need the room. I’ve texted Yvonne. She offered me her sofa. I’m just waiting for her to reply. At least I still have time to get myself together before going back to work.”

“Not long, though. Are you going to be okay?”

“I’ll be fine. We’re strong women, us Beauchamps. Promise you’ll call me?”

“Promise.”

Leah nodded.

She didn’t cry until she was sitting behind the steering wheel of her car.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Yvonne’s home was the polar opposite of Ty’s. She lived on the first floor of a house that had been converted into four flats. The front door opened into a private hall and a set of stairs, littered with sealed post and a pair of muddy wellies that had once been black with bright purple flowers. The rest of the flat fared no better.

The lounge walls were lined with bookshelves, adorned with books gathering dust, DVDs and
Star Wars
figurines. The TV was about fifteen years old, with its behind jutting out toward the life-sized Han Solo poster that had been plastered behind it. An abused coffee table hid beneath magazines boasting health and fitness and more unopened envelopes.

In the corner, a dining table cried for help, its legs threatening to buckle under gym bags, weights and huge tubs of protein powder. A cross-trainer stood by the one and only window with pride, being that it was the only thing in the room that wasn’t draped or covered. It was actually used.

“There’s a sofa somewhere under there.” Yvonne gave a vague wave at the mound of wrinkled skirts, shirts and workout clothes. “You’re welcome to stay as long as you need to.”

“I’ll be out of your hair soon. I just need somewhere to crash while I get my head around everything that’s happened. I’ll move back in with Ty as soon as he’s released, but I feel a little uncomfortable staying there after last night.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Yvonne ran her fingers through her chestnut locks, scraping them back into a ponytail. She started stripping out of her clothes, tugging on a pair of leggings and a sports bra.

“Not really.”

“Why don’t you come for a run with me? It’ll do you good.”

“I can’t remember the last time I ran.”

“All the more reason to come with me. We’ll start slow, just a couple of miles. It’s been almost a week since I worked out, thanks to that bloody bug.”

Leah caught the pair of shorts thrown at her. “I guess it couldn’t hurt.”

“Good for you! Endorphins are the best antidepressants. Plus, it gives you time to tell me all about Ty.”

Leah jumped as a ball of fur rubbed against her leg and began to vibrate.

“Oh, meet my new flatmate, Chewie.” Yvonne bent down and scooped the cat into her arms. “He’s a rescue. Some awful person left him in a box, all matted and covered in fleas, outside the vets. Didn’t they, Chewbacca? Yes, they did!”

The Himalayan let out a meow, and Leah understood how he’d been named.

* * * *

Gray paint flaked from the plaster. Brittle fragments clung for dear life, stained by the memories of all who had sat in that room. Ty leaned into the wooden chair, far from comfortable, and stared at the empty space in front of him. He’d answered all their questions. He’d reiterated the events from the night before and explained why Jerry had a fractured nose, two black eyes and a thick lip. They’d believed him, from what he could make out, but he still had to wait for paperwork to be filed before he could escape into the summer air and back to Leah. If she was still waiting for him. After all he had divulged, it had to have been a shock, then seeing him led away by the police… His heart broke a little at the thought of not seeing her again.

The door opened and a sergeant stepped inside.

“Hi, Craig,” Ty greeted, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Did he deserve it?”

“Yeah, he deserved it.”

Craig sat in the seat opposite and began to sift through a file. “I can’t keep letting you off assault charges, Ty.”

“You know that none of them had any substance. Not then, anyway.” He swallowed his pride. “I’ve taken the blame for your brother for too long.”

“You’re a good friend,” Craig acknowledged, rubbing a hand over his clean-shaven jaw. There was no similarity between the brothers. Craig was always well-kept, with dark blond hair closely cropped and navy blue eyes aged with experience.

“And a better boyfriend,” he said. “He’s lucky I didn’t kill him.”

“Leah Beauchamp…” Craig nodded. He looked Ty square in the eye. “I know how you and Jerry like to…” He waved around the room, as if the words would appear in his hand. “Whatever it is you’re into.”

Ty felt his cheeks flush. “Once or twice maybe. You know how it can get.”

“Not really.” Craig held his hand up, and the light reflected off the golden band that circled his finger. “But I get it.”

“Don’t try to make excuses for him, Craig. Leah’s different. I made that abundantly clear to him. He stays away.”

“Women aren’t property, Ty. You can’t treat them like objects to pass on to your mates.” He blew out a frustrated breath. “Miss Beauchamp… She’ll back your side of the story, I assume?”

“Of course she will.” He said it, but didn’t know if it held any truth. He wouldn’t have blamed her if she’d run screaming for the hills.

“Okay…” Craig banged the files onto the table, straightening the edges. “Jerry’s going to stay at mine. Obviously you two can’t live at the same address. I’ll talk to him and maybe he’ll drop the charges. But if I can’t get him to change his mind, Ty…” He let the warning trail off before pushing away from the table. “Go home, have a shower and get changed. You smell like a nightclub.”

Ty sniffed at his T-shirt. Craig was right. The stench of stale alcohol and sweat was tinged with dried blood—his and Jerry’s.

“Thanks,” he said, standing up and following Craig out of the station.

Craig grabbed his arm as he walked past. “I meant what I said, though,” he warned. “You both need to think about how you treat women. It’s time you both grew the hell up.”

“It’s not me you need to remind,” Ty shot back, tugging his arm out of Craig’s grip.

* * * *

Sweat poured down, blurring Leah’s vision. She didn’t understand how Yvonne, who professed to be recovering from a stomach bug, was still going. They’d run at least a mile and a half with the morning sun beating down on them.

“Keep going!” Yvonne encouraged.

“It’s all right for you,” Leah panted. “You slept last night!”

“It’s a good start for the day.” Yvonne jogged back to her friend’s side. “Tell me about those jerks from last night. What were their names?”

“Lance…and…Jerry…”

“Sounds like a cartoon duo.”

“They’re Ty’s friends.” Leah stopped, bracing her hands against her knees, grabbing gulps of fresh air. “They were both after Rainie from work…”

“The drama teacher,” Yvonne said, hopping from one foot to the other. “The one who was crashed when I got there.”

Leah nodded, unable to find her voice. “But they… Oh, I dunno…”

“Don’t know what?”

“They’re into weird shit.”

“You mean drugs?”

“No.” Leah shook her head and stood up, arching her back and forcing the tension from her spine and hips. “Sex. They share, you know.”

“Ahh the classic ménage à trois. Oh…” she added. “Ty too, huh?”

“I’m not sure. Jerry made out that it was like one big orgy—wife swapping, but without the marriage part.”

“Seriously?” Yvonne stopped, lifting the bottle she held in her hand and taking a swig before passing it to Leah, who guzzled the lukewarm water. “That’s not so bad.”

“He’s into BDSM as well.”

“Who? Jerry?”

“No, Ty. He’s got this entire wardrobe full of…
toys
.”

“You sound like a complete prude.” Yvonne laughed. “But I get it. After Kyle, who could blame you for being wary?” She started to jog again, slowly so that Leah could keep up. “So what does he do?” she asked, intrigued and desperate for the juicy details.

“He likes to tie me up,” Leah confessed. Heat rose in her cheeks. “And spank me. And I kind of like it.”

“And you think that’s BDSM? Holy hell, Leah, I have an ex who wanted to strap me to a crucifix and turn me on my head to give him a blow job while he fucked me with a dildo. Being tied to a bed and having your arse slapped is hardly kinky.”

Leah stopped in her tracks. “I don’t mind the spanking part,” she admitted. “Or the toys. In fact, he gave me one to use when I’m on my own. None of it has been weird yet, but it’s the yet part that scares me.”

“Shit. You love him, don’t you?” A dog barked in the background.

“Yes. And I’m terrified he’s going to turn out to be some kind of deviant. I’ve just found out that he’s been arrested a couple of times. He got carted off by the police this morning… What if his fantasies extend way beyond what he’s told me?”

“So he’s got a bad boy past. Who hasn’t these days? But you’ll never know if you don’t talk to him and find out. How far would you be willing to go?”

Leah shrugged. “I’ve never thought about it before. Kyle creeped me out big style, and after that I swore only boring men for me. But Ty is far from boring.”

“It sounds like you’ve already made up your mind.” The two women began to walk back to the flat.

“We barely know each other.”

“That’s the best part of a new relationship. Discovery. You learn about him, and he’s obviously helping you to find yourself again.”

“I don’t think Maggie trusts him.”

“He’s not Maggie’s boyfriend. Anyway, she’s about to have a baby. Her hormones are all over the place. I remember when my sister was pregnant. All I had to do was look at her wrong and the world was falling to pieces.” Yvonne shoved the key into the lock. “Crash here for as long as you want, but once the police have released him, you really should go and talk to him. And have some great, kinky sex,” she added.

* * * *

I’m home. Please call me. X

Leah stared at the screen.

“Just call him,” Yvonne urged, slumped in a corner on the sofa with Chewie purring on her lap. “Kinky sex, remember? Anyway, I need a shower.” She shoved the cat onto the floor and let her feet land with a heavy thump. “When I get out, I expect you to have called him.”

Leah chewed on her lip in contemplation. She was curious to find out what had happened with the police. Were they charging him? Was it about the party, or the fight that had ensued? She hit his name and watched as it filled the screen.

“Hi,” she greeted when he answered. “I’m sorry about last night, or this morning, whichever. Are you okay?”

“Worried about you. Where are you?”

“At Yvonne’s. Maggie’s gone into labor. I’m waiting for Neil to ring.”

“I should let you go then.”

“No, wait! I should have stayed. It was just…” She heaved a breath. “A shock, that’s all. Jerry scared me, but it’s nothing that I haven’t dealt with before, and then the fight, and everything you said, and the police, and then walking in on Lance and Rainie! I had to get out of there.”

“I don’t blame you. Are you coming back?”

“Yes. Von and I had a good chat and… I love you, Ty.”

There was silence from the other end.

Shit
, she thought.
It was just a bit of fun for him.

“I love you too. Come home.”

“I will. I need to know Maggie’s okay first. She might need me. How’d it go with the police?”

“It’s being dealt with.”