Safe With You: Winter's Rose #1 Read online

  He growled under his breath before he trailed his nose up the column of my neck. “I know what I’m hungry for,” he whispered.

  I gasped, surprised. “Seriously? After that? I thought I had worn you out.”

  “You wish.” He pulled the hair back from my neck. “The only thing I’m hungry for is you.”

  I giggled. “I thought you wanted the caramel bites,” I teased. I turned around and slid my arms up around his neck.

  “I couldn’t find them.” He leaned down and kissed my lips, sucking on my bottom lip. “I would much rather have you instead.” He pulled back, his face sobering before he spoke again. “Do you want me to come around and paint over your door?”

  I shook my head immediately. “No. I will report it to the landlord and the police.”

  He raised his eyebrows at me. “Are you sure about that?” He rubbed his thumb along my hip bone beneath my t-shirt.

  “Yes.” I nodded my head. “This isn’t the David that I once knew. I want to help him.”

  “Okay,” he sighed. He dipped his head to kiss me, but before he could, I reached up and placed my finger over his lips.

  “Will you come with me?” I asked. “I thought I’d report it to the landlord tonight and then we could go to the station tomorrow.”

  “Sure.” He held his hand out for the menus. “Why don’t you go and ring him and I’ll order us some food?”

  “Thank you, Alex.” I handed the menus to him and grabbed my phone, dialling the landlord’s number and filling him in on the latest dramatic episode in my life.

  13

  Alex

  After taking a bus to the police station that was based more in the centre of the city, I took Charlie’s hand in mine, attempting to ease her stress. She hadn’t slept the best last night and I knew that she was still feeling uneasy about this—about what she was minutes away from doing.

  “You okay?” I asked. I looked down at her, needing to check in with her.

  “Nervous.” She chuckled and I could hear how tense she sounded.

  “I know.” Before I could say anything more, my phone rang, disturbing us. “What?” I asked, answering James.

  “Where are you?” he asked. The clink of glasses sounded down the line before Scott’s laughter joined it.

  “I told you,” I snapped. “Me and Charlie are going to the police station to—” I stopped talking when I looked ahead of us. We were only a block away from the station and the sight in front of me had me freezing.

  “Alex?” Charlie asked, turning her face up to me. Her fingers tensed around mine. “What is it?” She turned her head to follow my line of sight. David was standing outside, leaning on a wall. A couple of police officers were with him, and I knew that whatever we had planned for today had just gone up in smokes. David had done something.

  The officers turned to face Charlie and me when David nodded his head.

  “Get down to the station, James,” I ordered. “Lisbon Road. Now.” I quickly hung up and slipped my phone in the arse pocket of Charlie’s jeans.

  “Alex, you’re scaring me,” she whispered.

  “It’s okay, my darling.” I lifted our clasped hands and pressed my lips to the back of hers. “Just stay calm.”

  The police officer approached us, looking official. Whatever it was, I knew that it was serious enough to have the officers facing me and Charlie instead of the sleazebag they had just left.

  “Mr. Winters?” the male officer on the left asked. He was tall and skinny but had a polite expression on his face.

  I nodded my head. “Is there a problem, officer?” I stared past them, glaring at the cocky smirk that appeared on David’s face.

  “We have had a complaint that you attacked this gentleman over my shoulder.”

  “What?” Charlie shrieked. She looked at David before going back to the officer. “That’s a lie!”

  “We have a statement that the marks on Mr. Smith’s face were from an altercation with you at his girlfriend’s address.”

  This just kept getting better, didn’t it?

  “That’s bullshit!” Charlie shouted, getting angry. “Who is this girlfriend?”

  The officer looked down at the notepad in his hand.

  “A Miss Charlotte Chase.”

  “Are you fucking high?” Charlie shouted at David before looking back at the officer. “I’m Charlotte Chase. David and I separated just short of a year ago.” She sounded like she was going to burst into tears. “I had a break-in at my apartment and wanted the locks changed. Alex was kind enough to do it and he...” She hesitated, staring down at the floor before straightening her shoulders and looking back up at the officers. “He stayed the night. The following morning, David came around to my apartment. He called me a slut and that’s when things got out of hand. He frightened me a little and Alex punched him in the face.”

  “Would you be willing to make a statement testifying to that, Miss Chase?” He looked down at her, waiting patiently for her response.

  I hated that she was under this pressure. I rubbed my thumb over her knuckles.

  She looked at David before nodding her head. “Yes.”

  The officers separated: one to handle David and the other walked Charlie and me into the station.

  “Miss Chase, if you’ll just step in here.” He held a door to an investigation room open, giving her a polite smile.

  “Can Alex come in?” she asked. She had a tight grip on my hand, showing me how much she was struggling.

  “I’m afraid not.” He shook his head. “He is welcome to wait here,” he said, waving his hand to a bench of seats that were situated against the wall.

  “It’s okay, darling.” I let her hand go and rested mine on the bottom of her spine. “I’ll wait here. It’s going to be okay.”

  She gave me a small smile and I fucking hated how watery her eyes looked.

  I took a seat on the bench, clenching my hands into a fist repeatedly. I was close to losing my fucking shit, and I knew that it wasn’t going to take much for me to completely lose it. David was trying to drive a wedge between Charlie and me. He wanted me to be arrested today. He—just like I didn’t—never expected Charlie to step up. She was a strong woman, but I’d underestimated her. She’d surprised me today, and I knew that she had also surprised herself.

  Looking at my watch, I sighed when I saw that she had been in there for over thirty minutes. I stood up to go and ring James from the payphone when the door to the interview room opened and out walked my girl—my girl who had been fucking crying going by the redness on her cheeks.

  I glared at the police officer, not appreciating that he had obviously pushed her fucking buttons—too many of the fuckers if this is what he had done to her.

  I took her face in my hands. I didn’t bother asking her if she was okay. It was fucking clear that she wasn’t.

  “Take me home,” she whispered.

  Home. Not to the shop but home.

  I nodded at her, wrapping my arm around her shoulders before tucking her into my side. We were halfway down the block before we were interrupted by the officer arsehole stopping us.

  “We will be in touch, Miss Chase.”

  She nodded before turning her head and hiding her face into my arm.

  I didn’t appreciate the way that he was staring at her. It was true that I didn’t like any man looking at her but fuck... Right now he was looking at her like he knew more than I did. It was clear that whatever she had told him in that room it was shit that she had refused to tell me about.

  Walking into the waiting room near the exit, we stopped when we saw James sitting there. He stood up when he saw us and came straight over.

  “Is everything okay?” He frowned down at Charlie before he hugged her. “Your phone call scared the shit out of me.”

  “We’re fine.” I rubbed my hand up and down her arm. “We just need to get Charlie home.” I gave him a pointed look over her head, urging him to catch on and help me get her the fuck
out of here.

  He nodded, leading the way to the exit and holding the door open for us as we passed him.

  We all piled into James’s car that was parked at the kerb with Charlie sitting in the passenger seat. As we got closer to her apartment building, James looked in his rear-view mirror, questioning me with his eyes about what the fuck was happening.

  I shook my head at him, climbing out of the car when he came to a stop. I helped Charlie from the car and steered her to the door. Before we could go through it, she turned to face down the block to where our bar and her café shop was.

  “I should go and close the shop,” she whispered. “Addie is there all on her own.”

  “James will do it,” I said, butting in.

  “Of course.” He nodded his head. “I’ll take care of it. Don’t worry about it.” He turned away and walked down the block, leaving his car outside the apartment building where it sat.

  We silently climbed the stairs before she led us inside, tossing her keys on the worktop and placing my phone down next to it.

  “Do you mind if I go and have a lie-down?” she asked, turning to face me.

  “You go on in, darling.” I rubbed my fingers down her arm before giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

  She nodded and walked to her bedroom, toeing her shoes off before laying down on her bed. She lay on her side and faced away from me.

  I closed her door gently and walked to the kitchen. Picking my phone off the counter, I dialled James’s number but stopped when I heard the front door open. I walked over, positioning myself in the line of view to warn James to be quiet so as not to disturb Charlie.

  Instead, Addie’s worried face met mine. James walked in behind her.

  “Where is she?” she asked. Her eyes flicked to Charlie’s closed bedroom door before coming back to me. She crossed her arms before she spoke again. “What happened?”

  I nodded my head to the kitchen, leading the way back in the direction I came from.

  “I’m serious, Alex. Don’t fob me off. What. Happened?”

  “David reported me to the police. Said that I had assaulted him at his girlfriend’s apartment.” I looked over Addie’s head at James, nodding my head at the look of shock that was on his face.

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” She looked at James. “Did you know about this?”

  I raised my eyebrows in surprise, noting the way she spoke to him. So familiar. Something was going on there.

  “No!” He raised his hands in surrender. “Fuck. I would have told you if I knew...”

  Definitely something going on.

  “Charlie had to make a statement. She was a bit emotional when she came out of the interrogation room.” I looked at Addie, wanting to see any sign that she may be hiding something from me. “She’s lying in her room now.”

  “I had better go and see her.” She turned away from me, but I stopped her before she could get too far.

  “Hold up.” I walked around her and placed myself in front of her. “First, you’re going to tell me.”

  She looked up at me, and I knew that by the expression on her face I wasn’t going to like whatever was going to come out of her mouth next.

  “Tell you what?” she asked. Her voice came out as a whisper.

  “Whatever it is that I don’t know.” I crossed my arms. I was trying my best not to intimidate her, but the way that I was feeling, I didn’t think that it was working out too well. “She was in that interrogation room for a long time. I’ve never seen her look so emotional. I can’t protect her if I don’t know what’s coming, Addie.”

  “Will you?” She sighed. “Will you protect her? Or is she just a new toy to pass the time with?”

  “What do you think?” I asked. “I’ve waited a long time for a chance with her, Adds. I’m not planning on going anywhere.”

  She nodded before she turned around and hoisted herself up on the worktop behind her. “It’s not pretty, Alex. But if you want to know...” She looked down at her lap before she shook her head. “She should have told you this herself.”

  “How about you tell me?” I asked her. “And stop beating around the bush.”

  She stared at me for several moments before breaking the silence and with it, my heart. “Charlie was pregnant.” She pressed her lips together. “It was about a month before she and David broke up. She had taken a test and was planning on telling him but she...” She cleared her throat. “She fell down the stairs. She was okay but she took herself to the hospital as she was bleeding.” She pointed to her crotch area, identifying what she meant. “She had lost the baby.”

  Fucking hell.

  “Did she ever tell David?” James asked from the other side of the kitchen.

  “No.” She shook her head. “She said there was no point as he wouldn’t understand. She went to the offices one night a couple of weeks later and found him screwing his receptionist on the desk. She ended it that night.”

  “Poor Charlie,” James whispered.

  “She threw herself into her technical job at the call centre and never mentioned it again. And recently, she’s seemed happy.”

  “What do you mean, ‘seemed’?” I asked hesitantly.

  “She started going out with you and I saw my old Charlie again.” She smiled at me. “You made her take a leap on her dream.” She jumped down and walked past me. “I’m going to go and see her.”

  I nodded, letting her go before I turned to face James, who was looking as stunned as I was.

  “He’s a dead man,” I threatened.

  14

  Charlie

  Lying in bed the following morning, I groaned at the light coming in through my window. Before I could open my eyes, an arm slid around my waist and I felt warmth cuddle into my back. The scent was too floral to be Alex. Only one person in my life smelled of rosebuds.

  “Did you climb into the wrong bed last night?” I teased.

  She giggled before leaning over and kissing my cheek. “You know you want me.”

  I laughed before turning over to face her. “Busted,” I mocked. I cuddled my head into the pillow before turning my gaze back to hers. “So, how bad is it out there?” I nodded my head to the closed bedroom door. “Do I need to go into hiding?” I was only half-joking. Although, I wouldn’t have been surprised to find an empty apartment. It was more hassle being with me than it was worth.

  I kind of expected her to joke back, but when she only stared at me looking guilty, I knew that it was about more than what happened yesterday.

  “I told him about David,” she whispered.

  I tensed. “What about David?” I asked. I don’t know why I was bothering to ask. There was only one thing she could have told Alex about David and it was the one thing I hadn’t told him. How did you tell the guy that you were currently with that you almost had a baby with the guy that screwed you over? Literally.

  “I told him about the baby, Charlie,” she answered, needlessly filling in the blank.

  “Addie!” I stared at her, feeling somewhat relieved but also hurt—hurt that she’d abused my trust but also thankful that now I wouldn’t have to tell him without becoming an emotional wreck.

  “I’m sorry, Charlie! It’s just James came to the shop to get me and he looked panicked.” She reached up and tucked a loose curl behind my ear. “Alex… He looked so worried. I’ve never seen him look like that before.”

  “How did he take it?” I asked. “Was he… Did he get angry?”

  “He didn’t smash the place up if that’s what you’re asking. He took it okay from what I saw. After that, I left him and James in the kitchen, and I’ve been in here with you ever since. Do you want me to go and check if he’s still here?”

  “No.” I shook my head. “He’s probably gone home. I’ll call him later.”

  “Okay. Well, I’m going to go and take a shower.” She rubbed my arm comfortingly before she left me alone.

  I turned over on to my back and stared at the ceiling as I let my th
oughts run loose. I still couldn’t get over what had happened yesterday at the police station. I think if I hadn’t been there, they would have arrested Alex.

  I swung my legs out of bed and grabbed my cardigan before tugging it on. It was cream, woollen and had a chunky feel to it. My mum had a knitting hobby, and she was always knitting baby hats for the local hospitals. Whenever I wore this, I always felt like it was a big hug from her. I hadn’t called her all week, which made me feel awful. Maybe a visit home to Wales for a few days was to be planned.

  I pulled the door open, needing a cup of coffee to knock some life into me. I froze when I saw Alex standing in between the lounge and the kitchen.

  “Hi.” I was surprised he was still here. I walked through the lounge, hating how hesitant I was to approach him. I had become so comfortable being around him, but now, after yesterday, for the first time, I was unsure about us—unsure how he was after yesterday’s big revelation.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked. He took a step back as I approached him before he followed me into the kitchen.

  “I’m okay.” I wrapped the cardigan around me more. “Would you like a coffee?” I asked.

  “No, thanks. I should be going, actually.”

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I know how busy you are.”

  “It’s not that.” He shook his head and looked past me, staring at the vase of daisies. “I just think maybe you—or we, I guess—need a bit of time.”

  I hated that my eyes filled at his words. If there was ever a break-up pitch, that was one. The events of yesterday had pushed him too far past what he was comfortable with. It was clear that I was maybe too much drama for the worth of it.

  “I see,” I choked out. “I’m sorry about yesterday. If this is about what Addie said, I was going to tell you.” I was rambling at him now and I know that I must have looked pathetic.

  “I don’t think you were.” He sounded so cold. “I thought that we were honest with each other. I thought…” He chuckled and it sounded so mocking. “I poured my heart out to you. What I told you… I showed the worst part of myself to you, and I thought…” He stared at me for a moment before he spoke again. “I just thought that you trusted me more than that, but I guess that I was wrong.” He turned away and began walking out the door. “I was so fucking wrong.”