I didn’t want to do it. I was mortified. A failure. How could she trust me to do my job, to help people, if I couldn’t even take care of myself? I didn’t want to risk the job I loved, but I had nowhere else to turn.

Like Eddie had said, I had no one.

No one except Squish.

And I’d almost lost them.

After slipping in the lasagna mess, I’d begun spotting. Thankfully, the ultrasound looked fine, but it could’ve been bad. The worst. I could’ve lost my baby.

That was why I knocked on the door. Not for me. For Squish.

“Come in.”

I swung it open to find Alice sitting behind her desk. She’d only been my boss for a year, but she was the best. Kind and considerate with the students and staff. She’d shown what kind of person she was.

I just hoped I’d shown her what kind of employee I was.

“What can I do for you, Mac?” Her pleasant smile faltered the longer she looked at me.

Closing the door, I didn’t cry. I didn’t scream. My body ached. My feet and legs stung with the blistered burns. The rough fabric of my slacks and my shoes were like torture devices, working to exacerbate the pain and never give me any reprieve. Even with all that, my shaking hands were the only sign anything was wrong.

My face was carefully blank as I used a trembling hand to slide my cardigan off my shoulder to expose the dark bruises on my arm. I heard her gasp, but I spoke like she hadn’t. “I need help.”

“Who did this? Was it a student?” Her face was stricken. “Staff member? Stranger? Your fiancé?”

Of course she’d guess him last. No one would ever expect him.

A fact he took advantage of.

A reaction must’ve slipped through at her mention of him because she asked, “Your broken wrist last spring?”

I reluctantly nodded.

She grabbed her phone.

“No!” I sucked a breath in, trying to stay calm. “You can’t call the police.”

“Why not? Mac, you have to report this.”

“You can’t call the police because he is the police,” I reminded her.

And a good one, too. He worked hard. He closed cases. He wasn’t crooked. Not dirty. He wouldn’t even accept the free coffee that shops offered.

It wasn’t just about his skills in the department, either. He was well-liked. Everyone’s best friend. He volunteered for the different drives and fundraisers and committees.

People talked about the blue wall of silence, but Eddie didn’t have one of those.

He had a blue fortress around himself

If it wasn’t so terrifying, it would be impressive how well he hid his sadistic nature.