Chapter Twenty
Chloe had been dreading making that phone cal to the police for so long that she'd assumed her stomach would be in knots for hours, if not days afterward. But she didn't feel weak or shaky. Just the opposite. She felt so much lighter now, like she could sprint up the mountain and not even be winded when she got to the top.
The lavender planted in front of the guest house was in ful bloom and she could smel it as the sun warmed her and the flowers and the grapes growing on the vines al around the stunning Napa Val ey property. Smiling, she moved to the plant with her scissors and had just started cutting a thick bunch when she heard a sudden sound behind her.
The instant it took her brain to realize that Chase wouldn't be sneaking up on her was a moment too long to jump out of the way of the hand that came down over her mouth.
The scissors fel out of her hand as a man yanked her hard against his body. "You little bitch, I saw you in there playing house with that guy."
Dean.
How had he found her here?
Chloe worked to stil the panic inside. If she let fear rule her, she wouldn't be able to think straight enough to fight back. To fight for the life she deserved.
In place of fear, she let fury fly free.
Because she wasn't going to run this time.
No, she was never running again.
Her ex-husband's hand was smooth and sweaty across her face as he hissed in her ear, "Are you begging him to f**k you in al those ways you used to beg me to f**k you?"
He was even angrier today than he'd been at her apartment. His pride had to be pretty badly battered at the way she'd knocked him out with the paint can. And after living with him for so many years, Chloe knew how his brain worked: He figured since she hadn't gone to the cops yet that she must be too scared to tel anyone what he'd tried to do to her.
She knew what he expected her to do. He expected her to take what he gave her. He expected her to cower. Just like she must have al those years they were together. He hadn't even needed to use force during their marriage to get her to surrender her power to him. Al he'd needed to do was look at her like she wasn't worth a damn thing...and she'd believed him.
Wel , she knew a hel of a lot better now what she was worth. And who she was.
Using his underestimation of her to her benefit, Chloe bit down on his palm as hard as she could. She tasted his blood in her mouth as he screamed in pain.
Taking her chance, she kicked behind her, hoping she was nailing his family jewels, and dove for the scissors.
Chloe almost had them when her hair was yanked back, hard enough for tears to spring to her eyes. Somehow she bit back her whimper of pain, knowing now that Dean would get off on that.
"I tracked down your car and bribed the tow truck driver to tel me where he picked it up," he bragged. "But I didn't think you'd be mouth-to-fucking-mouth with some guy when I got here." He yanked her hair again, hard enough that her vision almost went black with pain. "Answer me. Is he f**king you raw like the slut you are?"
She knew what would happen if she told him the truth. He'd hit her again. She could see how much he wanted to do it.
Oh God, it had hurt so much the first time, but Chloe knew al she needed was to get a few inches closer to the scissors. And then she'd make damn sure the tables were turned.
Permanently.
Moving her mouth up into an insolent smirk, she said, "Yes, he's f**king me raw with his huge cock."
Just as she'd expected, his fist came at her. Only this time, she wasn't afraid, wasn't simply trying to get away like she had that horrible night when he'd come at her in his apartment. She wasn't able to move far enough to avoid his punch, but the shock of being hit paled against the victory of grasping the scissors in her fingers a few seconds later.
His fist was halfway to her face again when she ducked, turned, and aimed the sharp tip of the blades at the man she'd once made vows to in front of her family, al because she hadn't been brave enough to trust her own heart.
She final y trusted it, damn it. And she wasn't going to let anyone take the love she deserved away from her.
As she nailed him with the tip of the sharp scissors right beside the dark bruise and cut she'd left him with when he'd attacked her in her apartment, Dean's screech of pain had him stumbling back...straight into Chase's path.
Chase's fist landed square in the middle of her ex-husband's jaw, the crack of bone against bone sounding loud and horrible in the once tranquil vineyard.
Dean's eyes actual y crossed as he stumbled back, but Chase didn't stop there, just kept slamming his fist into her ex-husband's face again and again until he looked like a bobble-head dol with his head wobbling around on top of his skinny neck.
A voice in Chloe's head - a fairly smal , quiet voice - told her she should stop Chase before he did permanent damage. But before she could, Dean's legs fel out from beneath him.
He hit the ground hard and she expected him to be unconscious, given the loud sound his skul made when it landed in the dirt, but he stil blinked up at her, groaning as a line of blood trailed from his mouth.
Chase was down on the ground beside him, his hand around Dean's throat, a moment later.
"Apologize to Chloe."
She'd never seen Chase like this, with his control frayed and torn. Yes, she'd known al along just how strong, how powerful her lover was, but it was stil amazing to watch him protect her like this.
When her ex didn't say sorry fast enough, Chase tightened his hand around his throat to the point where he started coughing.
"I'm going to give you one last chance to apologize to her."
Dean's eyes started to rol back in his head, but Chase wouldn't let him pass out, shaking him until he groaned again.
"Apologize right now. Or else."
The menace in Chase's low-pitched voice had Dean's eyes opening and his gaze locking with hers.
"I'm sorry, Chloe."
She couldn't speak, could only nod.
Dean started to pass out again, but Chase shook him. "You're not done yet, asshole."
She'd never seen her ex-husband look so miserable. His face was bloody and bruised, he was crying, and he had dirt smeared in with the snot running from his nose.
"Are you ever going to come near her again?"
Chase emphasized his question by banging Dean's skul into the dirt a few times.
"No." Dean was sniveling now. "Never. I'l never bother her again."
His eyes final y rol ed al the way back in his head and he went out. Cold.
Chloe was staring down at her ex-husband, lying on the ground, looking smal er to her than he ever had before, when Chase's fingers brushed warm and gentle across her smarting cheek.She turned her gaze to him as he pul ed her into his arms. "Chloe, sweetheart. He hit you.
Again."
But she didn't care about her own face, not when she could stil hear the shockingly loud crunching of bones smashing together each time Chase had nailed Dean with his fist.
"Please tel me you didn't hurt your hand."
"I'm made of steel, not marshmal ows, remember?" he said with a smal smile. "It's going to take more than a few punches to hurt my knuckles." She could feel the anger, the fear for her safety, radiating off him. "Bloody hands are wel worth the satisfaction of making sure he never comes near you again."
She knew Chase wanted to do more damage to Dean to make up for what her ex-husband had done to her - not just the bruise on her cheek, but for years of control ing her...and not loving her right.
Chloe pul ed both of Chase's hands into hers and held them over her heart. "You said you would do anything for me."
"Anything," he confirmed.
"He isn't worth it. He isn't worth any more of your anger. He isn't worth hurting your hands on his hard head when you need those fingers and knuckles working perfectly so that you can take your beautiful pictures. I want you to let the police take it from here."
A loud frustrated breath whooshed out of Chase's beautiful mouth. "It's going to kil me to let him walk away, Chloe. To know that he's hurt you and hasn't paid for it."
"But you wil , won't you? You'l walk away. For me."
She watched him battle within himself, loving him even more for the way he wanted to take care of her.
Final y, he said what she'd known he would: "Anything, sweetheart. I'd do anything for you."
She went on her toes so that her mouth was a breath from his. "I know. And I'l do anything for you." She pressed her lips to his, then whispered,
"Everything."
A few seconds later, she took the cel phone he handed her and cal ed the police, tel ing them to come right away. And although she wouldn't let Chase tear Dean apart the way he clearly wanted to, she had no issues whatsoever with letting him tie her ex up with some heavy-duty rope. Tight enough that Dean came to.
Ignoring his groans, Chloe and Chase moved to the porch, where they kept an eye on him while they waited for the cops to arrive. She knew he didn't want to leave her for more than a few seconds and he zipped into the kitchen for ice faster than should have been humanly possible.
Pul ing her onto his lap, he held the ice to her cheek just as he had that first night she'd met him, and softly said, "I'm so sorry, Chloe. I should have been out there with you."
"It's not your fault that he came after me here. Just like you said earlier, neither of us could have known what he was going to do next. But I'm pretty sure he won't hurt me again."
"No," Chase said in a low voice, "he won't. Do you know why?"
"Because he'd like to keep the teeth you left him with. And once he finds out there are five more sets of fists like yours..."
"You're right. He's scared senseless. But not because of what I did, not because of what I said."
"What do you mean?"
He smiled at her, a smile so fil ed with love - and respect - that it took her breath away. "The reason he won't hurt you again, sweetheart, is because you had him. You didn't need me to hit him to make sure he didn't come at you again. You had already won the battle. The scissors were genius. And perfectly aimed." He looked a little sheepish. "You didn't need me to get in the middle of it al - I just couldn't help myself. Not when I've been wanting to get at him al week."
Chloe didn't care that grinning hurt her newly bruised jaw. She couldn't have held her smile back for anything. Chase believed in her.
He wasn't the only one. She final y believed in herself, too.
"You know what I've realized this week?"
"That I'm a sex god."
The laughter that rippled through her felt like it was washing al the hurt, al the pain away.
"Yes, Hotstuff, you are definitely a sex god. But also, I've realized that I like being a team. With you."
She'd wasn't sure she'd ever seen Chase look happier, not even when she'd told him she'd fal en in love with him.
And she was just as happy. Because she hadn't just been looking for warmth her whole life...
she'd been looking to be part of something bigger than just herself, too.
A family. She wanted to know she was part of a family that loved her, no matter what.
Always.
Forever.
Just then the sirens blared through the Sul ivan Winery gates. Chloe spoke with the police officers and watched them put her ex-husband into the backseat of one of their vehicles.
"How are you feeling, sweetheart?"
Chase hadn't let go of her hand for one single second and as the police cars drove away, she turned into his arms and rested her head against his broad chest.
"I'm a little sad," she admitted. "Al those years...I keep trying to tel myself none of them were wasted." She lifted her face to look into his beautiful eyes. "They led me to you, Chase."
Before she realized what he was doing, Chase was down on one knee in the middle of the garden. Reaching out for the lavender bush, he pul ed off a flowering stem.
"Chloe Peterson, I love you."
She loved hearing those three words that fil ed her soul with such warmth - and endless happiness. But even if he never said them again, she would know what he felt for her simply by looking into his eyes.
"Wil you marry me?"
Chloe no longer doubted that she was a strong woman. She also knew she didn't need to be strong with Chase.
Which was a very good thing, because her legs suddenly felt weak, her eyes were wet, and it was al she could do just to nod and whisper, "Yes," as Chase gently wound the lavender around her ring finger.
And as he stood up and kissed her, Chloe was amazed to realize that her fairytale wasn't coming to an end, after al .
It was only just beginning.