Break, page 28
I swear, every time that woman leaves a room, the three of us stop what we’re doing just to watch her. It’s not until she’s out of our vision that we all move again like we’ve just pushed play on life.
Ethan heads outside and I offer to make coffee for Max, who already looks exhausted, and the day has barely begun.
“Guys?” Ethan calls from the entryway as he shuts the door behind him.
“What’s up? Want some coffee?” I call to him where I’m busy scooping grounds into the filter.
“No. We have a problem.” I can hear the fury in his voice. Immediately, I set down the coffee stuff and find him holding a stack of mail, staring at an envelope on top of the pile.
Max isn’t far behind, pushing past me to grab the envelope in question. “What is th-” His words cut off as he reads the hand-written address before his face contorts with rage. “That motherfucker!”
“What is it?” I ask, growing concerned over their reactions.
“We need to get Mina and take this down to the station. We can’t open it here.” Slapping it down on the small table against the wall, I walk over and read the front.
Narrowing my eyes, I hiss out a chain of expletives. Danny has got some fucking balls.
The envelope is addressed to Mrs. Wilhelmina Reed. Flipping it over, I see where he’s written a note on the back.
Baby, read me immediately. I’ll be waiting for you.
~The Letter~
Baby,
Enough is enough. It’s time to come home. I’m not mad at you anymore, and I think you’ve been away long enough to have cooled down. All of this has escalated so far beyond what it ever should have, and people are talking. My parents haven’t been able to go anywhere without being questioned about whether or not I’m a wife-beater, which is absolutely asinine. Even your father is getting questioned and has essentially washed his hands of both of us, and my family. I think it’d be best for both of us if we just put this all in the past and forget it ever happened.
When you come home, I’ll agree to some rules that will allow us both to coexist peacefully, to ensure nothing like this will happen again. These are the rules that I propose, and I’d be willing to hear your opinion on them once we can sit down and go over them.
Rules for me:
1. I will continue to provide you with all the things you need to maintain a comfortable livelihood. (i.e., food, clothing, housing, vehicle, and health insurance)
2. I will refrain from jumping to conclusions over concerning behavior and agree to sit down and talk them out in a peaceful and rational manner.
3. I will agree to regularly scheduled marriage counseling (conditions will be listed below under your rules) where we will both promise to be 100% truthful over the events that occurred in the past month.
4. I will allow you more freedom to come and go as you please. As long as you keep me up to date and aware of where you are and who you are with. (I think this is a fair concession considering the things I have seen over the past few weeks and your past behavior, but again, I will address this later under your rules)
5. I will apologize verbally for all wrongs you feel I’ve committed once we sit down and you share those things with me.
6. I will never physically hurt you.
7. I will not raise my voice in anger.
8. I will provide you with your own bank account with a monthly allowance of funds in which you may spend however you wish. The amount is to be determined after we discuss and agree.
9. I will consider you acquiring a part-time job as long as certain household duties are still completed, and I feel comfortable with the environment you’ll be working in. In turn, I will agree to picking up more of the slack for things that you’re unable to do.
I feel that these are reasonable rules for me that should provide you not only more comfort but also ease any concerns you have regarding our marriage. These are the rules I propose for you to follow, and again, when we sit down to discuss these, I’d be willing to hear any changes you propose.
Rules for you:
1. You will come home immediately and stay home.
2. You will allow me to spend as much time with you as needed to rebuild our marriage to what it was before the events that transpired over the past month.
3. You will apologize verbally for all wrongs I feel you’ve committed once we sit down, and I share those things with you.
4. You will never physically hurt me.
5. You will never raise your voice in anger.
6. You will agree to regularly scheduled marriage counseling, where we will both promise to be 100% truthful over the events that occurred in the past month. Conditions for this would be for you to also seek and abide by regular one-on-one counseling for yourself to work through your mental health and flair for dramatics. I don’t say this to hurt you because hurting you is never my intention, but the way you view yourself as always a victim is the core issue here, in my opinion.
7. You will allow me to provide for your financial stability as the sole breadwinner for our household and our future family.
8. You will allow for me to be involved in every decision that is made regarding our home, marriage, work, as well as future children, and agree to discuss if there is a disagreement.
9. You will not maintain any sort of relationship with any persons that you’ve become involved with since our temporary separation. I’m willing to overlook any improprieties that you’ve committed over the past month, but I think it’s fair of me to ask that you cut off any inappropriate friendship and/or relationship that you’ve developed.
Please excuse my next words if they come across as angry. I’m not angry, but I am frustrated and deeply hurt that you have made a mockery of our marriage and wedding vows by cavorting through town with men who claim to be my friends, holding their hands, hugging, and allowing them to kiss you. That’s not how a wife behaves and honestly Mina, this is a sticking point for me. You’ve truly cut me deep by behaving like this. I’ve always had concerns about your friendly nature with the opposite sex, but this has gone on for too long and has gone too far. Again, I’d like to discuss this further with you when you come home, and we sit down to have the conversation we should have had before you ever left our home. All of this could have been avoided, and this relationship with them should never have started. You’ve cost me my closest friends, and I’ll be honest, this is going to be the hardest thing for me to move past. But I’m willing to do it for us.
This letter should only take a few days to reach you, and I’ll give you a few extra days to process and decide if there are any particulars you’d like to go over with me. I’d like to see you home in five days from the date of this letter. I’ll accept nothing less and I know that when you really sit and think this all through, you’ll see that I’m being extremely reasonable and understand that I’m right.
You are my wife. I deserve the respect I’ve always shown you.
I love you more than words could ever express.
With all my love,
Danny
Chapter 38
Absolutely Not
Max
"There are a few things we can infer from reading the letter. First, and most importantly, is that he’s been in contact with his parents. I want someone watching them around the clock. Hopefully, we’ll catch him either arriving at their house, or them going to him,” Coop says, setting a copy of the letter on the table in front of him.
They took the original for evidence after they made copies for everyone. Ethan is sitting with Mina in one of the interrogation rooms while we discuss Danny. Not that she couldn’t be in here, but after she read the letter, she just sort of zoned out and shut down.
The lead investigator, Harrow, pipes in. “I think what’s more important is that he’s expecting her home in five days. This got delivered the day after he mailed it, so now four days. He didn’t say where to meet, but we can assume that with her ‘first rule’ of immediately returning home, he’s going to be close by, expecting her there.”
“So, we put someone in the house to wait for him,” Vincent interjects.
Cooper shakes his head. “That’s not going to work. I highly doubt he’ll just show up there and wait for her. I think Harrow is right. He’s going to watch and wait.”
“We could send her home. Draw him out.” Both Vincent and I glare at Harrow and his idiotic idea of using Mina as bait.
“Absolutely fucking not. You guys are not going to set her up as bait. You’d literally be leading her into the lion’s den.” Looking at Coop, I laser in on him so he sees how fucking serious I am. “I will not allow that to happen.”
Tossing a pen at the table, Vincent leans back and crosses his arms. “Agreed.”
Cooper holds up his hands in surrender. “So, we don’t use Mina as bait. But we still need to figure out how to catch him.”
Harrow speaks up. I really want to tell him to shut the fuck up after his ridiculous suggestion, but I bite my tongue. “What if we use a decoy? Someone who looks like Mina to draw him out?”
Vincent jerks in his seat, sitting up straighter. “I used to work with a woman at my last job who could pull it off. She’s thin, young, has dark hair. Her build is about right. Their faces aren’t too similar, but I bet she can pass for her from a distance.”
I’m not in love with the idea of sending anyone alone into that home with him, but honestly, if it’s not Mina, I can accept it.
“Give me the info and I’ll reach out to her captain and see if we can pull her in. Aside from this newest piece of garbage,” Cooper says, waving his copy of Danny’s letter in the air. “Is there anything else to go over?”
“What happened with Olson?” I ask, sneering his name. Bryce Olson should be jailed for feeding information to Danny. He helped keep Mina in an awful situation for far too long.
Tugging at his chin, Coop leans back. “He’s gone. I can’t really share more than that because of privacy issues, but he’s a non-issue.”
Narrowing my eyes at him, I grit out, “But he’s not a cop anymore, correct?”
Leveling his stare at me, he tells me all I need to know with fire behind his eyes. “Correct.”
“Thank fuck,” Ethan mutters.
“How’s she been doing?” Cooper asks, looking at Vince.
“Besides this setback, she seems to be adjusting well.” Vincent looks at me, asking if I’d agree with that.
“She is,” I tell them. “There’s also the hiccup with her divorce proceedings that she’s finding discouraging. Honestly though, there’s nothing we can do about it right now.”
“What hiccup?” Coop asks me.
“Well, she’s filed papers and charges against him, but since we can’t find him, they are undeliverable. He has no idea that she’s divorcing him. I’m sure that’s not going to go over well once he finds out,” I share that last as an afterthought.
Harrow scoffs. “Yeah, he’s going to fly off the handle.” Leaning on the table, he clasps his hands and studies both me and Vincent. “Look, it’s clear you all care about her, more than just a client if I’m not mistaken.” I want to respond, but he holds up his hand to stop me.
“I’m not saying anything negative, just making an observation. You all clearly care, but I’m going to throw this out, anyway. What if we inform his parents that the courts are looking for him to serve papers? Send someone new who wouldn’t know that we’ve already questioned them about his location. Let it slip that she’s filed for divorce. Obviously, they’ve been in contact with him. This could be a way to throw him off and draw him out prior to when he plans for Mina to arrive back home.”
It’s evident Cooper likes this idea, but he waits for a response from either Vincent or me before saying anything.
Vincent and I wordlessly debate this, and I know it’s not a bad idea. Vince shrugs when he sees my acquiescence. “We need to do something besides sitting and waiting. We’re already sticking to her like flies on shit. Poor girl can barely go to the bathroom without one of us following her.”
Cooper throws in a bonus to get a verbal agreement from me. “I’ll double the patrol we have watching your place and put someone on her out of uniform if you all leave. You just have to give me a heads up.”
Sighing, I let my head fall back and stare at the ceiling. “I fucking hate it, but it’s not a terrible plan. Give it a day. Send them over to his house first, like they’re looking for him, just in case he’s watching the house already. Then over to his parents’ home. Make it look like they’re trying all their options.”
Cooper nods, happy that I’ve conceded. “I’ll get something worked out. If there’s nothing else, why don’t you all grab her and head on out?”
Thank God. I’m eager to see her and ensure that she’s not spiraling. I suspect she’s holding it together as best she can. She’s a lot tougher than I previously gave her credit for. So, when Vincent and I walk into the room where Ethan and Mina are waiting for us, my chest starts to pound, seeing her curled up on his lap, sobbing into his chest.
He’s leaning his face against the crown of her head, shushing her and mumbling incoherent words in an attempt to soothe her.
“Christ, sweetheart,” Vincent chokes out, then circles around the table to squat down and look at her face, brushing her hair back. “Mina. You’re killing me here.” He looks up at Ethan, pleading with him to explain how she got to this point.
Ethan answers him, speaking softly to prevent disturbing her. “Just all hit her at once, I think. She wasn’t really talking for a bit, then just sort of dissolved into this.” He looks at me with concern. “I didn’t know what else to do, so I just picked her up.”
“Mina, honey? Can I get you anything?” I ask her and am relieved when she answers me, shaking her head no.
“N-No,” she hiccups. “I-I just… I-I’m being ridiculous.” Leaning back, she looks up at Ethan with red-rimmed and puffy eyes. “So s-sorry… for c-crying o-on you… l-like this.” Sniffling, she uses the bottom of her shirt to wipe her eyes. Her breaths are coming out quickly and she’s shuddering each time she releases it.
“Not ridiculous. Understandable.” Ethan is quick to reassure her, pulling her back against his chest and running a hand up and down her back.
She lets out an adorable little growl, and it sounds so unnatural that Vincent barks out a loud laugh.
Smacking him on the back of the head, I glare at him. “Shut it, you ass.”
Choking back a sob, Mina actually lets out a small giggle before devolving back into tears. “I’m just so… so angry!”
Vincent shuffles closer to her, resting a hand on her thigh. “Tell us what you’re angry about, sweetpea.”
Blowing out another frustrated half growl, half whine, she clenches her fist in Ethan’s shirt. “He’s… Do you mind if I swear?”
This time, I laugh with Vincent. “Please, Mina. Swear away,” I urge her, locking my arms across my chest.
“He’s so damn delusional!”
Chuckling, Vincent teases her. “For the first curse word I’ve ever heard you utter, I was hoping for something a little stronger than damn, but I’ll take it for now.”
“FUCK!” she cries out, and we all freeze.
My eyes widen, completely fucking shocked by her outburst.
“Fuck me,” Vincent whispers out, then holds his fist out for her to bump. “That’s what I’m fucking talking about, Mina.”
Ethan is covering his mouth, stifling his laughter. When she sees him, she covers her own and starts laughing, her shoulders bouncing while trying to hold it in.
Grinning at her, he pulls her hands away and shakes his head, letting her know not to hide herself from us.
She snorts, and starts to slip to the side, laughing again, but Ethan catches her and sits her upright again. We’re all grinning at her ear-to-ear, enjoying this unexpected reaction from her.
Eventually, her giggles subside, and she sighs deeply, closing her eyes. “I’m just so furious that he’s doing this, sending me letters, making me afraid to go outside, controlling my life. It’s not fair, and he has no right!”
Ethan gives her another hug. “It isn’t fair, and you’re absolutely right. But just keep reminding yourself this isn’t going to last forever. It’ll all be over sooner than you realize.”
“You’re right. I know you’re right. I’m so sorry for this.” She waves her hand at her face and then at his chest.
“Don’t apologize. Never apologize for this.” I’m firm with my words, and when her eyes lock on me, she nods almost imperceptibly.
“You ready to get out of here?” Vincent asks, standing up and stretching his knees out from where he was down on the floor.
Nodding her head, she blinds us all with her smile.
“Screw Danny for trying to scare me. I want to do something.” I’m surprised by the vitriol in her words, but also loving this angry side of her. It looks good on her.
Get angry, little dove. You have every right to be.
Snickering, Vincent pulls her against him for a hug after Ethan helps her stand. “Whatcha thinking about, sweetheart? We could go shopping and grab a shitload of junk food and pull an all-nighter watching terrible B-rated films.”
She seems embarrassed by what she wants but swallows it down and shocks me for the second time this afternoon.
“I want to get drunk.”
Chapter 39
This Motherfucker…
Vincent
I hold my hand to block the sunlight from my eyes as I hold the door for Mina and my friends to follow through.
I won’t lie. Seeing that fire in her was a goddamn turn on and I’m fucking pumped to take her out tonight. Mina drunk? I bet she’s going to be a riot and I’m so here for it.
“Wilhelmina Joyce.” My head jerks to the side when I hear Mina’s name snapped into the air like a shot’s been fired.
