Page 5 of Saved By the Lieutenant
“Will do, nothing else will happen to her,” he assures me, and I know he’ll do whatever it takes to keep her safe. He's the only person in this world that I'd trust with her life.
“I'll see you in a few hours,” I tell him. “Call me if you need me.” I end the call and get started. I've a lot to do and little time to do it all.
First thing first, ensure that my commanding officer approves my leave of absence. I have all my days available to me and if needed, I'll be taking it all. I need to ensure that Amanda is safe, and I'll be staying with her until this asshole killer is found. I won't leave her alone, no way in hell.
Once I have my absence sorted, I need to get the cabin ready. We're in the midst of winter and it's snowing up in the mountains, it's going to be cold, and the cabin hasn't been used in a while. I know that when Amanda shows up at the cabin, she's going to be pissed that she'll have to spend time with me. It's been two years since we last saw one another and the saying absence makes the heart grow fonder is bullshit. Amanda can hold a grudge better than anyone and I hurt her, fuck, I broke her heart and I doubt that there's any way I can mend it. I'll take all that hate and anger directed at me as long as she's safe.
That's my main goal. Keeping her alive and safe.
It's almostone in the afternoon and I'm finally at the cabin. The snow is even worse than I had imagined, and it's only meant to get heavier. Peter should be here within the hour. From what little he said, Amanda didn't put up much of a fight about coming out here and I have to wonder how much he actually told her about what's going to happen when she gets here? I doubt she'd be so solemn about coming here if she truly knew I'd be here. Amanda can argue with herself if given the chance, there's no way that she wouldn't argue with Peter about staying with me.
I'm runningon little to no sleep, but right now I don't give a fuck. I need to see Amanda and make sure that she's safe. Since I received the call from Peter, my chest has been tight, I know the feeling is fear. Amanda is the only woman I've loved. Walking away from her was the hardest decision that I ever had to make, but it was the right one. But knowing that she's been hurt, that she was almost killed, it shifted something within me. I always knew that I'd do whatever it took to keep her safe and I made a promise to Adam that I'd watch over her. I'll never break that promise, not ever.
Tires crunching against the snow lets me know that a car is approaching. This cabin belongs to me, it was something I purchased after my grandfather died, I wanted a secluded place I could retreat to if needed. When I met with Adam and Peter in the military, I gave them the location, letting them also have the peace and tranquility that the cabin brings. With Adam gone, only Peter and I know the exact location. Making it the safest place for Amanda to be. I have the most up-to-date securitysystem. there are cameras placed within a six mile radius, so if someone's on my land, I'll know about it. Not to mention it's at least an hour away from the nearest store. For however long it takes to find that monster who's killing the women, Amanda will stay here with me.
Opening the door to the cabin, I watch as Peter's Toyota Camry rolls to a stop outside. I slide my gaze to the passenger's seat, she's glaring at me, her eyes shooting daggers into me. The heat of her angry gaze warms my chest. Fuck, it's been two years since I last saw her, and she looks even more beautiful than I remember.
Peter exits the vehicle first, sighing heavily as he closes the door. “She's pissed,” he states. “She had no idea that you'd be here.”
A small smile plays on my lips. “I was wondering how you managed to get her to come here. I see now that you didn't tell her that it would be me that would be protecting her.”
He lifts his shoulders and shrugs. “She's a fireball,” he says. “I thought it would be best to deal with that later. She's here now, you can deal with her anger.”
Peter, he never changes anything to avoid drama. “Don't you think she deserved to know before you brought her here?”
He walks around to the passenger's side of the car and opens Amanda's door. “If I’d told her, she wouldn’t have come. I need her safe, I need her away from the firing line in order to do my job. I can't have my attention split between protecting Mandy and finding this fucker. It's why I called you. I need you and I know as much as Mandy hates it's you, there's no other choice.”
He's right about that, there is no one else. We're all she has left now that Adam's gone.
“I am here you know,” Amanda drawls as she exits the car. My brows knit together at the roughness of her voice. “I can speak for myself.”
Peter nods. “You could, but you shouldn't. You need to rest your voice.” There's anger in his voice that has me wondering what the fuck I'm missing.
“I'm fine,” Amanda says, waving her hand in the air.
“No,” Peter says thickly. “You're not. Wearing that turtleneck is only hiding the bruises that mar your neck. The makeup you're wearing does a piss poor job of concealing the beating you took, and not to mention, you barely slept.” He releases a heavy breath. “You're far from okay, Mandy and I get you're pissed at being here with Jake, but I need you safe and for that to happen, he's the only man that I trust to do so.”
I watch as Amanda's entire body sags and she pushes her body into Peter's. “I'll stay here, doesn't mean I like it,” she says low. “Thank you.”
He curls his arm around her shoulders and holds her tight. “Don't thank me,” he growls. “I should’ve answered your calls a long time ago, and this wouldn't have happened.”
“We don't know that,” she sighs.
He doesn't respond, instead, he pulls away from her and turns her to face me. “I'll grab your bags, you go on ahead and get warm.”
I watch as she takes a few deep breaths before she gathers the courage to move toward me. With every step she takes, it's like a sucker punch to the gut. Her beautiful face is bruised, even with the copious amount of makeup she used trying to conceal it. Her eyes, normally vibrant and full of life, are dull and filled with fear. The impact of seeing that look on her face, the fear she feels, it's gut wrenching. Fuck.
She doesn't say a word, just breezes past me into the cabin and I'm left seething, wanting to find the asshole who's done this to her and kill them.
“Bury it,” Peter says. “She doesn't need to feel the anger from you, Jake. She needs to feel safe. What you're feeling, you need to bury it.”
I glare at him. “Her face?—”
He nods. “It's worse than what you can see. She needs you right now, no matter how things were left between the two of you. You’re the only one she's truly ever felt safe with. So, bury that anger, and go do what you do best. Protect her.”
I wish it were as easy as he claims. But fuck, how can I act as though seeing her hurt isn't affecting me? I've never, not once, felt the urge to kill until now.
“What has she told you?” I ask, needing a full debrief.
