Where We Belong (A Touch of Fate #1)(97)

“Ms. Logan,” he prodded gently. “I promise that I don’t want to ask this any more than you want to answer it, but I need to know what happened next.”

Feeling more put out with him than I should, considering I knew he was only doing his job, I answered, “Well, if you must have a play-by-play, let’s go upstairs—”

His eyes widened immediately. “Are you okay to go back in there?”

“Sure, why not? And probably the sooner, the better. ‘Getting back on the horse’ and all that…” I trailed off, then turned and started up the stairs. I could hear the detective following behind, happy that he was following me instead of creepy Joe, and that this time, there wasn’t a gun barrel pointed at my back. Oh, and that I wasn’t about to be raped. Ah, the little things in life.

As soon as we entered, an involuntary shiver shot through my body. I began speaking quickly in hopes that he didn’t notice. “The first thing I did was go directly to this side table,” I said, indicating the one beside the king-sized bed where I sleep. Slept was more like it. No way was I ever getting in that bed again, despite what I just told the detective.

“I pulled out a condom and—” I noticed that his jaw had dropped and wondered if his shock was due to the fact that I kept protection in my house. If only it had been another form of protection…now that would have been helpful.

“You got a condom?” he asked disbelievingly.

“Yes.”

“And he agreed to use it?” he questioned, not attempting to hide the doubt in his voice. What, did he think that I forced the guy to wear one? I tried to subdue my frustration.

“Not at first. But I threatened him with eighteen years of child support if I ended up pregnant, and after telling me that I was more trouble than his ex, he agreed.”

“You’re shitting me,” he deadpanned.

“No, I assure you I’m not.”

“Unbelievable. Not that I don’t believe you,” he quickly corrected himself. “But the fact that you were able to get him to use a condom or listen to you at all, for that matter, is unheard of. I can’t think of a single case where this has happened.”

“Well, I did what I had to do, and with my luck, I definitely would have ended up pregnant. And since this guy was ugly as sin, it wouldn’t bode well for my future child, now would it?” I added, trying to lighten the tone of the conversation.

He stared at me and then shook his head slightly, as if to clear it. “So after he agreed to wear a condom…”

“He told me that he was through talking and to get undressed. I had promised to cooperate, so I did what he said. He wanted me to undress him, so I did.” I said this in an almost clinical fashion, hoping he could just use his imagination for the rest. Evidently, he couldn’t.

“I’m sorry, but I have to ask…” And he truly did look sorry. In any other situation, I probably would have felt bad for the guy.

“I know,” I said with a heavy sigh. Deep breath, Celeste. Then I began….

***

After reliving what had happened for hopefully (but not likely) the last time, I finally looked up into his eyes and saw pure, unadulterated compassion. Since it wasn’t pity, I could deal with it. Pity just pissed me off. He didn’t seem to be able to speak, and I was ready to get going, so I asked, “Where do we go from here?”

Snapping out of it, he answered, “Well, I need you to meet with our local forensic artist, who will sketch a facial composite based on your description of the attacker. This will be crucial to our investigation, so please provide every detail you can remember. As glad as I am that he wore a condom, for your sake, it makes our job a hell of a lot harder without a semen sample. Not saying that it’s impossible though, and maybe the hospital can—”

“DNA won’t be a problem,” I interrupted him. He looked at me questioningly, so I continued. “Even though he didn’t seem like the brightest crayon in the box, I knew that if he had half a brain, he’d flush the condom down the toilet…which he did. So, I raked my fingernails down his back. Of course, the dumbass probably thought it was an act of passion. Regardless, I haven’t washed my hands since it happened, which has been extremely difficult for me not to do, I might add.”

“You’re shitting me.”

“Nope, still not.”

“What would make you think to do that?”

“You mean, do I watch CSI? No, actually, I don’t even have cable, even though I am well aware of what a great babysitter the TV could be. But I would much rather read or play games with the twins or spend time outside or—”

“You didn’t answer my question, but those are nice things to know,” he interrupted gently. I couldn’t help but notice when one of side of his mouth barely turned upward.

I sighed. He was probably going to find out anyway before this whole nightmare was over. “Let’s just say that this isn’t my first rodeo,” I answered quietly and looked away, but not before catching the look of horror that swept over his face as recognition hit him as to what my statement meant.

“This has happened to you before?” he breathed, barely above a whisper.

“Yes. State of Texas v. Jared Kyle Young. You’re welcome to look up the case if you want, not that it’s relevant. The two incidents are nothing alike.”