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VICTOR KNEW JULIETTE was aware the moment the door opened; he'd felt her tense against him. Was she hoping they'd think she was asleep and leave her alone? Did that mean she felt safe in his arms? The thought made him feel insanely protective.
"She's pretty tired. It's been a brutal night," he said, hoping they'd get the hint and not bother her too much.
"Poor baby." Phoebe slid onto the sofa beside Bob who worked his nose out from under the afghan to greet her.
"I'm taking her home with me," Renata declared, dropping her purse into a chair. "And just why are you here, Officer Jarrett?"
Taken aback by the woman's aggression, Victor was momentarily at a loss for words. Finally, he simply said, "She needed me."
Renata reached up to tighten her ponytail. "Well, we're here now so you're free to go."
"Renata! Don't be so rude." Phoebe scowled up at her sister then turned back to Juliette and Victor. "We should be thanking you, Officer Jarrett, not dismissing you. I'm so glad you were here. Gia told us you were quite the hero tonight."
Her words made his gut ache. No, he'd been nothing like a hero tonight. He hadn't been here to keep Mike from hurting her. He hadn't been here to hold her, comfort her, and support her during the ordeal of paramedics and police reports. He hadn't been here when she collapsed, all alone, on the cold garage floor, with only her dog to keep her warm.
He'd been too busy sniffing her pillow.
Well, he was going to change that. Right now. He wasn't going to run anymore, not even from scary sisters.
"I'm no hero," he stated. Then he looked up at Renata. "But I'm not going anywhere unless she wants me to. And I need to hear it from her."
"Stop talking about me like I'm not here." Juliette's voice was muffled because her face was still pressed to Victor's chest, but no one misunderstood her.
"Sorry, Jules." Phoebe grinned and reached over to squeeze her big sister's foot.
Just then, Gia and Mrs. Cork burst through the front door, coming to an abrupt stop at the sight of everyone gathered in the living room.
"Everyone's gone now," Gia stated, as though she could think of nothing else to say. "How is she?"
"She's tired, Georgia. I'm going to take her home with me." Renata was still standing, shuffling a little now from foot to foot.
Juliette lifted her head. "Rennie, sit down. Please. And again, please stop talking about me like I'm not here." Her voice sounded like it was coming from far away, but it was firm, decisive.
Surprise raced across Renata's face, quickly followed by indignation, but she did what Juliette said and sat primly in the chair, propping her purse on her lap. "I was only answering Georgia's inquiry about you."
"I know. It's okay." Now Juliette pushed away from Victor just enough to be able to see everyone, but she stayed pressed up against his side. He smiled with satisfaction and pleasure. If she wanted his protection, even from her own over-bearing sisters, he was glad to give it to her. It certainly didn't hurt that she seemed to fit so perfectly against him.
"Oh my goodness!" Renata gasped. "Your face!"
"It's just a fat lip."
"Just a fat lip! Why didn't you go to the hospital?" Renata glared accusingly at Victor, as though he'd somehow prevented Juliette from seeking necessary medical treatment.
"I'm fine, Ren. It'll be gone in no time; you know how quickly I heal." Juliette lifted a hand and gingerly brushed her fingers over the corner of her mouth, wincing a little. "And although I know you're trying to be nice to me, I'm not going home with you. I'm staying here. This is my home and I have Bob."
"Bob? Who's Bob?" Renata glared at Victor again. "I thought your name was Victor."
"Not him, Ren." He felt Juliette tense beside him, but she didn't pull away. "Bob is Tootles. Tootles is Bob." The dog's tail thumbed the sofa cushions at the sound of his names.
"Tootles? What do you mean, Tootles is Bob?" Then Renata flapped a hand in the air. "Oh never mind. I don't want to know. What I do want to know is where he was when Mike broke in?" Renata wasn't happy about being denied. "Some protector Tootles—"
"Bob." Victor pressed his lips together to keep from smiling as Juliette corrected her sister on the scruffy dog's name.
"—Bob is," Renata finished lamely.
"Bob was next door with me," Victor answered for Juliette. "We walked Mrs. Cork home and were only gone a few minutes."
"A few minutes?" Renata's eyebrows rose in disbelief. "It only took Mike a few minutes to practically rape my sister?"
"Hey!" Phoebe shot a warning look in Renata's direction. "Let's be a little more sensitive, shall we? Etre agréable, Ren."
"This is no time to be nice, Phoebe! We're talking about a crime here! Why is everyone taking this so calmly?"
"He didn't practically rape me, Ren." Juliette sighed, shaking her head. "He just came to talk." Victor felt his insides twist as he listened to her defend the abusive man, but he said nothing. "I thought...well, I was afraid at first, because I thought he was acting so strangely, but he had some kind of a breakdown, right?" She looked up at him, her eyes large, smudges of fatigue creating half-circles beneath them.
"That's what they believe, yes." He confirmed her story, although he didn't necessarily believe it himself.
"He looked awful," Juliette continued. "When he first came in I thought he'd been drinking or something. It was like something in a movie. He was suddenly just there. I was so surprised."
"Well, why didn't you scream bloody murder? Run?" Renata was still sitting, but just barely, her backside perched on the very edge of the chair. "Why did you let him in at all?"
"It was Mike, Ren. I didn't think there was any reason to scream. And just to clarify, I didn't let him in. I left the door open for Victor and Bob, and he just walked right in. In fact, I told him he had to leave and that made him angry."
"Is that when he did that?" Gia interjected, her voice still a little tremulous from all the activity of the night. She put a hand over her own lip in the same spot where Juliette's was split.
"No! This is Mike we're talking about."
"Yeah." Phoebe was calm, but the way she said the word made Victor straighten up and look at her over the top of Juliette's head. "This is Mike we're talking about. He's a bad seed, Jules. So if he didn't hit you, where'd you get that fat lip?"
"He started to fall and I went to catch him. His forehead slammed into my mouth."
Momentarily relieved, Victor gave her a little squeeze where his hand rested on her shoulder and upper arm. Juliette winced and he immediately lifted his hand.
"What's the matter?" He eyed her warily. Obviously, she wasn't telling them everything. "Are you hurt?"
"No, it's okay—ouch!"
"Liar," said Phoebe smugly, who had reached over and poked Juliette's shoulder. "Take off your shirt. Let's see."
"I am not going to take off my shirt." Juliette sat forward, slipping out of the circle of Victor's warmth. "Look. The guy was in pain, okay? He had a death-grip—literally!—on my arm at one point because he could barely stay upright."
"Liar," Phoebe repeated, sitting back into the sofa and crossing her arms. Victor couldn't stand it any longer.
"If this Mike guy's visit was so innocent, why was Bob locked in the garage? And why were the two of you in the bedroom when I found you? With the door closed?"
Juliette turned and stared at him for a long time, her eyes glistening with unshed tears of betrayal. Then she pushed herself up, swayed a little, but waved his helping hand away. "Et tu, Brute?" He lifted his hand toward her again and she took a shaky step back. "Don't touch me. You're just as bad as they are." Then she turned to face the rest of the room. "Why don't you all go home now. I'm going to bed. Come on, Bob." She patted her thigh and the dog leapt off the couch and came to her side.
She made her way across the living room and paused in front of her neighbor and the uncharacteristically silent Mr. Bobo. "Good night, Mrs. Cork. Thank you for coming to church with me. I'm glad we're friends." She hugged her quickly, squeezing a little yip out of the dog, then turned back to face the others. "Goodnight, empresses. This unofficial G-FOURce is officially over." She nodded once at Victor. "Officer."
He closed his eyes and clenched his teeth together as she exited the room. Some kind of champion he was turning out to be. Why was he always so ready to think badly of her? And even worse, let her know it? Faithful? Committed? Loyal enough to believe in her? Ha! Not once in the weeks—no, months—since he'd met her, had she tried to manipulate, lie, or coerce him into doing, or being, or thinking anything that he shouldn't. Why was he so afraid to simply trust her? He felt a hand on his forearm and opened his eyes to find Phoebe leaning toward him.
"Why don't you—"
"Please," he interrupted her, pushing himself up off the couch. "Please don't tell me what you think I should do, okay?" The costumed woman sat back again, eyebrows arched.
"Well, then, what are you going to do?" she asked, sarcasm and challenge dripping from each word.
"For starters, I'm going to send all you ladies home." He pointed at the spot he'd just vacated. "Then I'm going to crash right here on this sofa for the night."
"Excuse me? Send us home? Who do you think you are?" Renata was aghast. She turned to Phoebe for support, but Phoebe's eyes were glued on him where he stood in the middle of the room.
"Well, so far tonight, I haven't been the champion your sister needed, but that's going to change, starting now. Which means I'm staying here to look after Juliette, and you sisters," he eyed Renata in particular, "are going to have to deal with it."
"You can't just waltz in here and tell us what to do!" Renata was on her feet now, too, pointing a long finger at him.
"I can and I just did." He, in turn, pointed at the door. "It's time for you to go home. Your sister needs her rest."
"She told all of us to go home. You, included. Why on earth would we leave you, a complete stranger, here alone with her?"
"Because she needs me." He ignored the stranger comment.
"Oh please." She rolled her eyes. "Juliette doesn't need you, she's needs us. She needs her family. She's coming home with me, whether she likes it or not. It's the best thing for her."
"But she doesn't want to go home with you," Gia stated, matter-of-factly, making Renata gasp in outrage. "I can stay overnight. I don't have to work until 9 tomorrow."
Mrs. Cork reached over and patted her hand. "I know your sister would appreciate you staying, sweetie. But I vote for Officer Jarrett." She looked over at the other two sisters. "In fact, I'd feel better knowing he was here."
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Cork," Renata interjected. "That is your name, right? I don't mean to be rude, but I don't see how this is any of your business." She glared at the older woman with steely eyes, but Mrs. Cork wasn't having it.
"Of course you mean to be rude, honey. I know because I behave just as badly when things don't go the way I want them to go. I still think Victor here is the best man for the job. He'll take good care of your sister for you."
Renata stood in stunned silence and Victor nodded his head in gratitude. "Thank you for your support, Mrs. Cork." Then he stuck out a hand toward Phoebe. "Let me help you up."
Phoebe eyed him for a few more tense moments, the two of them sizing each other up, then she grinned and grabbed his hand, pulling herself up to stand in front of him. "My, my, but you are a big boy." She tipped her head coquettishly and batted her eyelashes a few times, but he chuckled, understanding that she was teasing him, not flirting with him.
"Big enough to handle your sister when she finds out I'm still here." Phoebe sashayed past him toward the door, but something had transpired between them and he knew he had an ally in her. Now all he had to do was convince Renata to like him. That, he supposed, was going to be the real challenge.
"You guys! We cannot just let some strange man sleep on Juliette's couch! She's already been traumatized enough!" Renata clenched her fists and stomped her foot and Victor burst out laughing, the memory of Juliette looking just as flustered and indignant, making fists and stomping her own foot, washing over him, easing the tension from his shoulders just a little.
"I'm sorry," he choked out, when he caught his breath. "I wasn't laughing at you, Renata. But I think we're going to be friends, you and I."
"Well, I don't think so!"
"Maybe not tonight," he conceded, still smiling, "But someday. Someday, we'll be like this." He held up two fingers squeezed together, then laughed again as Renata's face blanched. "Now." He took a deep breath and raked back his hair with both hands. "It's time to say good night."
"I'm not leaving." Renata stood by her chair, arms crossed, chin out. "You all can go Judas on your sister, but I won't abandon her."
"Go Judas on her?" Phoebe repeated. "What on earth is that?"
"Betrayal, Phoebe. Something you know all about."
"Let's go home, Renata." Phoebe became serious, her voice firm. "Now."
"No." Renata dropped back to the edge of her seat and plopped her purse in her lap. "If he's staying, then so am I."
"No, I'll stay." Gia took a step forward. "Renata, I know you want to go back to your boys."
"But you can't stay here all alone with a strange man, either, Gia."
"Now you're being ridiculous, Ren," Phoebe piped up. "I don't think he's all that strange, and technically, Gia won't be alone with him. She'll have Juliette."
"And Bob," Mrs. Cork added.
"And Bob." Phoebe repeated. "So you and I are going home, Renata. Mrs. Cork," she turned to the neighbor. "If you see any suspicious behavior going on over here, will you call the police?"
"I'm especially good at that," the old woman chuckled. "Haven't you heard?"
"Oh, I give up!" Renata rose to her feet and started across the floor. Then she stopped, turned around, and marched right up to Victor. She jabbed a finger into his chest, and it was all he could do not to laugh again, so like Juliette she was. "If you make her cry, so help me, I'll kill you. Yes, I know you're a police officer. And yes, that is a real threat. My husband has a gun and I'm not afraid to use it." Then she stormed out of the house, not missing the opportunity to throw a shoulder, hard, into Phoebe, as she passed her.
"Ouch!" Phoebe exclaimed, but she was smiling. She turned her flashing eyes on Victor. "I like you, Officer. And I'm pretty sure our Juliette does, too. But," she reached out to take Gia's hand. "I want you to know that I love Juliette. We all do. And we Gustafson girls stick together. If Renata has to kill you, we'll be right there with her. Got it?"
"Got it." These girls weren't so bad, he decided.
Mrs. Cork sidled up next to Gia and the goddess. "Count me in, girls."
Phoebe put an arm around the old woman. "You're in, Mrs. Cork." She leaned down and planted a kiss on Mr. Bobo's head. "So are you, you little pooper."
