Flawless(38)

“But?”

“It wasn’t just that,” Tanya said, sounding as if she was barely breathing.

“What?”

“It was the things—the things he did with it.” Tanya was silent for a long moment, looking near tears. “The places...on me...he forced it. I couldn’t bear it anymore. I couldn’t take it. I couldn’t leave—no job and two kids. And I couldn’t—I couldn’t take the pain. I’m not stupid—I’m not well educated, but I’m not stupid. I know this makes it look like I am, but... I knew that I couldn’t do anything crazy, that they’d take me away and then my kids would be left with... But I wasn’t thinking when I did it. I just looked up after he made me bleed again, and he had a knife in the room to peel an apple he was eating in bed after and I...I just picked it up.” She fell silent again. “I never thought there would be so much blood. And he was screaming and screaming, and I...” She stopped speaking and lifted her shoulders, let them fall. “I called 911.” She shrugged again. “I hear they sewed it back on and that he’s going to live to brag another day. And I’ll go to jail for the rest of my life.”

Kieran hesitated. She wondered why she’d chosen this work. It was so hard to see the suffering in others.

“Tanya, what happened to you—what was happening—needs to be brought to the judge’s attention. My report is intended to help your lawyer. He or she will bring up the information about the way he was abusing you. I don’t mean to give you false hope, but—”

“Oh, my God, no!” Tanya said, her face turning scarlet.

“No—what?”

“People will know! They’ll know...what he did to me.”

Kieran was amazed that the prospect of others’ opinions could sway Tanya’s resolve to fight for herself.

“They should know,” Kieran said. “Why would you let this happen to someone else?”

Tanya was thoughtful. Tears sprang into her eyes. “My kids... Does that mean maybe I’d get my kids back?”

“I’m not a lawyer. But, as a therapist, I can assure you that telling the truth is what you need to do right now, and that if anything will help you, it’s the truth.”

As if taking Kieran completely at her word, Tanya launched into a flood of truths. By the end Kieran was surprised the woman hadn’t put the knife through her husband’s heart, though she didn’t say anything like that to Tanya. She assured her that she would write everything up and put it into the hands of her attorney.

For once, Kieran thought after Tanya had left in the company of her police escort, her mind wasn’t on her own situation. She typed away furiously, consulting her notes frequently and occasionally replaying part of the recorded session.

She had no idea how long she’d been working when she was startled to feel a presence behind her, though she’d never heard the door open.

She spun around and nearly gasped when she saw who it was.

Special agent Craig Frasier.

*

Moments after Craig arrived, Jake arrived at her door escorting Kevin and Julie.

“Looks like we were all of the same mind,” Kevin said, looking at Craig. “You here to help my sister escape unscathed, too?”

Craig nodded.

“Thank you. All of you,” Kieran said. “Are there...people out there on the street, or have I been worrying for nothing?”

“This is New York. Of course there are people on the street,” Kevin teased, but he sobered quickly. “Yeah, a few. One guy’s lounging against the building, smoking a cigarette, but I don’t think he really smokes.”

“How do you figure that?” Julie asked.

“He keeps coughing,” Craig said. “There’s a woman, too.”

“Is she coughing, too?” Kieran asked him.

“No. She’s holding a microphone and her news van is down the street,” he said. She winced, then looked at him hopefully, as if, he thought, she expected him to have an answer for her.

And, actually, he did.

“I tracked down the building superintendent. We can leave through the service entrance, then follow the alley out to the next street over. My car is on Park Avenue.”

“Thank you!” Kieran leaped up and grabbed her bag and coat. Suddenly she seemed to remember that she’d been working, so she quickly shut down her computer. “Ready,” she said.

The super was a nice guy. He had a heavy accent and had told Craig he was from the Ukraine. He was more than willing to help Kieran and kept bowing slightly toward her, making her flush and thank him over and over again.

They left through the delivery door, and as they made their way through the alley, out to the next block and then down to Park, Kieran kept her head low. He couldn’t help but think that with her height, especially in heels or shoe lifts, her head down and covered in a hoodie, she could be a match for one of the killers they’d caught on camera.

That was ridiculous. His heart—and the powerful sexual attraction he felt for her—fought against it.

She seemed in a lighter mood than she’d been in the previous evening. Maybe she was hoping that tonight would pass without a hostage situation or a subway mishap. And maybe she even felt a little warmer toward him; he had, after all, helped her make her escape.