He's Captured My Heart (Captured Series Book 1) (30 page)

“Right. Let’s get started. Miss Stewart, I’m Detective Inspector Lorna Tate, and this is my colleague, Constable Neil Phillips.”

I go through all the details from yesterday at the football, and I describe the events of today. Hearing it all out loud, it sounds like a bad movie. She asks lots of questions about my relationship with Jeff, including the timing and circumstances of our breakup. Alex tries to stay calm and quiet as I go over every
detail, but it doesn’t work. I feel his chest tighten, and the word “fuck” leaves his mouth all too often. DI Tate glares at him in warning to keep quiet, but she doesn’t say anything.

I didn’t think it would be this hard to talk about what happened, but I find myself stammering and pausing a lot. DI Tate keeps reassuring me that I am doing extremely well. If it wasn’t for her words of encouragement and the warmth of Alex holding me, I’m not sure I would be up to this. I am tired now. It’s been such a long day. I don’t even know what time it is.

“Officer, are you nearly done with the questioning?” Alex asks. “Libby looks exhausted. I really think she needs some rest.”

“Yes, Mr. Mathews, I agree we should leave it here. We have enough to press charges against Mr. Ross,” she says. “He’ll be taken into custody tonight. His injuries aren’t severe enough to keep him in hospital overnight, so he’ll be spending the night in a cell.”

“Thank you,” says Alex.

“No thanks necessary. We’ve taken up enough of your time tonight. Miss Stewart, when the doctors discharge you, will you be going to the hotel or your parents’ home? I understand that your mother wants you at home.”

“I haven’t given it any thought.”

“That’s fine. I have your mobile number, so if we need to speak with you in person, we’ll contact you
first by phone. Again, thank you for your time. We’ll leave you to it. Get some rest.” She closes the notebook in which she’s been jotting things down and shakes my hand, then Alex’s. “Mr. Mathews, you’ll be at the hotel should we need you again?”

“Once Libby’s discharged, I’ll be wherever she is. Until then I’ll be here.”

“No bother. I’m sure we’ll speak again soon. Hopefully I’ll have good news for you by then,” DI Tate says. “And Mr. Mathews? If it’s any consolation, if I’d been in your position, I would have done the same thing.”

With that they leave, and I breathe a sigh of relief. I sink back into Alex’s arms. God, I’ve not even asked him what’s happening about him. I completely forgot that Ethan said Jeff wanted to press charges.

“Alex?” My voice is barely a whisper.

“Yes, baby?”

“Ethan said Jeff wanted you arrested. Will everything be okay?”

“Nothing for you to worry about. I just want you better.”

“But you’re worried enough that you called your lawyer.”

“Libby, your father’s lawyer is dealing with it. Yes, I called me parents, knowing that my mother would be frantic if she found out about this online or in a newspaper. As for my father, he told me that they were both taking the first flight they could get. He
wants to make sure your father’s lawyer is doing a good job—which I don’t doubt for one minute he will do. But I am sure my mom is the main reason for the unscheduled trip.” The smile on Alex’s face is warm and sincere.

“So I guess I’ll be meeting your parents sooner rather than later?”

“Yes, baby. Don’t worry about it. They’re going to love you,” he says before kissing my head.

My eyes close voluntarily. I no longer have the energy to fight the sleepiness that is hanging over me. I am not sure how long I sleep, but it seems like days later that I hear voices.

“Are you sure you’re all right? I’ve never seen you that mad.” It’s Michael speaking. He’s out in the hallway.

“Yeah, I am fine now. It just took me back instantly to ten years ago…although this time I was in a position to do something about it,” Alex says. “Look, Michael, I don’t want to be talking about this. In case Libby wakes up, you know?”

“Okay, understood. So have the doctors said how long they plan to keep her here?” That was a quick change of subject.

“There are no physical injuries that need observation so probably in the morning after she gets some sleep.”

“What about you? Are you coming back to the hotel tonight with me and Kirsty?”

“No, I’m staying here.”

“Okay, Kirsty wants to come in and see Libby before we go. Is that all right?” Michael asks.

“Yeah, of course. Although you should warn Kirsty that they’ve given Libby something that knocked her right out. She didn’t even stir when her parents said good night to her. I’ve to call Phil first thing in the morning to let him know what’s happening.”

I hear Michael’s footsteps as he walks away down the hall. Alex returns to my room. What happened ten years ago? My mind races. How bad could it be? Alex would only have been fourteen or fifteen. I suddenly remember the sadness in his voice during a conversation yesterday about Ethan. I’m now restless and have questions I want to ask him.

I open my eyes slowly and shift my position on the bed slightly. My mouth is dry. I lick my lips. Alex notices and releases his hold of me to pour a glass of water. He puts a straw in it. God, I’m not a baby. I take the straw out of the glass in his hands and take the glass from him as he watches. I put the glass to my mouth.

“Ouch.” I forgot how sore my lips and mouth were.

“See? There was a reason I gave you the straw. Here,” he says, as I shift uncomfortably in the bed. I take a slow drink through the straw. It quenches my thirst. “So how long have you been awake?”

“Long enough to hear your conversation with Michael.”

He takes the glass of water from me and gently places it on the cabinet beside the bed. He has yet to look me in the eyes. I sit waiting for his gaze to meet mine. His body is tense.

“Alex, please…explain.”

“Libby, can we talk about it later? You’ve been through too much already today without having to listen to stories from
my
past. It’s old news. It can wait.”

He doesn’t get to finish, and I don’t get to speak. Kirsty and Michael walk into the room.

“Oh, honey, you’re awake. Michael said you’d probably be sleeping. How’re you feeling? I suppose that’s a really stupid question.”

“Kirsty, I’m all right. Or at least I will be when the cuts and bruises heal. But I think I’m going to have to say no to going out clubbing tonight, if you don’t mind,” I say. When I try to laugh, my lips crack. Even that hurts.

“Elizabeth Stewart,” Kirsty hisses. “That is not funny in the
slightest
. I’ve been worried
sick
about you. If I saw Jeff right now, I’d kill the bastard with my bare hands.”

“Sorry,” I say. “But if I don’t laugh, I might cry. I don’t want to waste time feeling sorry for myself.”

I glance at Alex and Michael, who seem to be having an unspoken conversation about their earlier conversation—or rather about the fact that I heard
it. I gently squeeze Alex’s hand. His response is to put his other arm round me with a smile.

“You’re always so much better than I am at picking up the pieces,” Kirsty says. “Alex thinks you’ll be allowed to leave here in the morning. I’ll come to the hotel to sit with you when Alex has to leave to go to his meetings.”

“Guys, I don’t need babysitting. And I thought you needed to be in at the office early tomorrow?” I ask Alex.

“Your dad rescheduled for the afternoon. Your mom was going to take care of you at her house, but she’s watching Lucy tomorrow and—”

“God, no, Lucy can’t see me like this! I look like a monster!” I say. I find I’m once again having trouble keeping my eyes open. I can’t hold back a big yawn.

“Oh, honey. You’re tired. We should go and let you rest,” Kirsty says, leaning down to give me a kiss. “And it’s not babysitting, it’s company.”

“Okay, you win. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Alex gets up from the bed and walks them out of the room. I can hear him speaking with Michael outside. I’ll ask again tomorrow. Right now I’m too exhausted to think about it. My eyes close as sleep overcomes me.

“Libby? Libby, what is it? It’s all right; I’m here.” Alex’s voice brings me some comfort.

“Alex, what’s wrong?” I say.

“I think you were having a bad dream, baby. Do you want to talk about it?”

“No, not really,” I answer.

“That’s all right. I can guess what it was about,” he says, running his hand across my brow. “You’re a bit hot. You sure you’re feeling okay?”

“Yes. What time is it?”

“It’s seven thirty.”

“In the morning? Why is it so dark then?” I ask.

“Yes, in the morning. The nurse wanted to open the blinds earlier, but I asked her to leave them. You had a bit of a rough night—tossing, turning, and crying through the night. She agreed that you should sleep a bit longer.”

“Alex, now that I am awake, can we leave here? I want to go back to the hotel. I want to have a nice, hot shower. I want to be clean.”

“I’ll see if the doctor can check on you now,” he says. He gives me a kiss before leaving the room.

I know it will take more than a shower to feel right again.

18

IT’S EARLY EVENING,
and I’m just out of the shower again. I’ve lost count of how many showers I’ve taken today. It seems like the only time I get a minute’s peace and quiet is when I’m in the shower. The endless phone calls from my mother are starting to get to me. I know she’s concerned and worried, but she really needs to give me a break. Alex too. He sent a text right after he left me for his meeting, then another one every hour on the hour.

Kirsty spent the whole day with me at the hotel, after having spent the previous night here with Michael. She spent the entire day fussing over me, but I did enjoy her company—to a certain extent. She says I made the papers again. Sunday’s papers ran with a story and a picture from the football game, saying how good Alex and I look together. Today’s papers have all run with the same story and added what they
know about the incident yesterday. Three days in a row. Surely there must be some other news besides me? Around six o’clock, I told Kirsty just a little white lie, saying that I was exhausted and just planned to go to bed. She reluctantly agreed to leave so I could rest, but I really just wanted another shower before Alex got back.

Kieran was a constant visitor to my room throughout the day as well. He cried the first time he saw me, and I found myself crying with him. He was so upset. I was meant to be working today, so I got Kieran to bring up some of the important paperwork, which Kirsty helped me with. She also offered to come in and work for a few days while I was off, but I told her there was no need that I would be back to work tomorrow. Her response to that was, “We’ll see.” Kieran was surprised by what I said as well, but I can’t sit holed up in this room for days. I’ll go mad.

The police officers visited again today. They asked me more questions and answered some of mine about what’s happening with Jeff. He appeared in court today and was remanded into custody—no less than what he deserves. We’ll just need to wait and see how he pleads. I’m not looking forward to a trial. God, I can see the headlines already for that.

Kieran told me that Alex’s parents have checked into the hotel, which makes me nervous, even though he says they seem like nice people. Of course they will be nice people—I really don’t expect
otherwise—and Kirsty, Kieran, and Alex have all told me I have nothing to worry about. But how could I not? Shit, I really wish I wasn’t meeting them under these circumstances. It is my fault, after all, that their son is facing assault charges.
Oh god, they might hate me
.

Stephen also paid me a visit. He wasn’t shocked by my appearance. He’d been at the table talking to Ethan yesterday when Michael ran out to get help. I can’t remember seeing him in the storeroom or anywhere yesterday, but it’s still all a bit of a blur. Karl came by at lunchtime to bring a special room service delivery for me and Kirsty. He kept apologising for leaving me on my own, which is absurd since there is no way he could have known that Jeff was going to attack me. I tried to assure Karl that it wasn’t his fault, that if anything, it was my own for not joining them for the break, but DI Tate assures me that it was no one’s fault but Jeff’s. If he hadn’t done it then, he would probably have done it some other time, given the state of mind Jeff seems to be in. Karl told me not to worry about the kitchen or the restaurant either, as he and Kieran have brought in a couple of temps for a few days while he holds interviews. He’s promised to let me know if there are any suitable candidates for a second interview.

As I’m drying my hair, I suddenly realise that the one person I haven’t heard from all day is Ethan. I send him a quick text:

Libby: How did it go 2 day? Do you want to have lunch tomorrow x

Instantly he replies:

Ethan: Lunch would be perfect. Loads to tell you. Today went better than expected. X

Libby: Great x

Ethan: How are you today? X

Libby: Fed up. Sore but ok I guess x

Ethan: Ok see you tomorrow x