I fought the urge to roll my eyes. “Then bring it to the table,bruh.”
He just grinned and headed for the food. Hallie took that as her cue and extricated herself from Charlie’s dance moves. We were all sitting down in a matter of minutes, Luke included.
He was quiet at dinner, which was typical, but the tone of the silence tonight had a different quality to it. Every now and then, I caught him stealing glances at Hallie. Only it wasn’t with derision this time. It almost looked like worry or guilt.
I knew something was really wrong when he didn’t argue when I asked him to do the dishes with Drew. Pushing back from my seat, I glanced at Hallie. “Do you have a few minutes before you head home?”
A hint of apprehension passed over her features, but she quickly rose. “Of course.”
I led her toward my office, slipping inside and closing the door after us. I motioned to a large couch opposite my desk. Hallie sat and immediately twisted her fingers into a series of intricate knots.
“You’re not in trouble, I swear,” I said quickly.
Hallie nodded but didn’t seem entirely convinced.
I blew out a breath, wondering how long it would take her to be completely at ease around me. “Did something happen with Luke today?”
Hallie stiffened, and I had my answer.
“What did he do?”
Her fingers tightened, knuckles going white.
The instinct to touch her was so strong I had to bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself. “Hallie.”
Her gaze flew to mine. “I might’ve messed up.”
I doubted that. “Whatever it is, we’ll deal with it.”
She swallowed hard. “I wasn’t thinking, and while I was making dinner, my sleeves were pushed up.”
My brow furrowed.
Hallie took a deep breath and pushed up one sleeve of her sweater and then the other. Thin scars crisscrossed her forearms. So many there was no way I could count them all.
Bile churned in my gut. I’d known the man who kept her had cut her. After I’d found Hallie half-dead in the snow, I hadn’t been able to let go of the case. I’d read everything I could get my hands on, which hadn’t been much since I wasn’t on the state investigation team. But I’d read enough. I knew he’d tortured her—hurt all the women he held.
Hallie stared down at her arms. “Luke made a comment about me being a cutter.”
My body jerked, hands fisting on my knees. “Hewhat?”
“He’s angry, Lawson. It wasn’t about me. I informed him that I didn’t do this to myself, but if I had, I’d need help and not judgment. It might’ve been the wrong thing—”
“No, that’s exactly what you should’ve said, but I’m damned ashamed that he said something like that in the first place. I’m going to talk to him and—”
I started to rise, but Hallie put a hand on my forearm to stop me. “Don’t.”
It was the first time she’d touched me since the interview. I’d thought for sure the jolt I’d felt that day was simply shock at seeing Hallie after all these years, but I’d been wrong. Because her fingers ghosting over my skin now felt like a bolt of lightning to the system. Every part of me was attuned to every part of her.
“We have to find our way, the two of us. If you step in every time, that’ll never happen.”
I stared at the woman opposite me. So damn brave. So damn strong. “I don’t want my son to be cruel. That’s not how we operate in this house.”
Hallie’s expression gentled. “I’ve been here forty-eight hours, and I already know that. I think Luke got the message. If it happens again, I promise I’ll tell you.”
“Or if anything else happens,” I demanded.
“Okay. We can have check-ins about him and how he’s doing.”
