Free Understood by Maya Banks Page A

Ellie. I’ll always come for you. Now let’s get you out of here. You look like you’re about to fall over.”

Chapter Eleven
    Ellie slept most of the afternoon. Jake had tucked her into his bed then climbed in beside her, covering every inch of her body with his. She knew it was his way of reassuring her, and she was glad for it. She had fallen asleep with her face snuggled into the crook of his arm.
    The sun was setting when she awoke. She blinked a few times trying to make sense of the events of the day. Had Ray really shown up on her door after all this time? Just a day after publicly accusing her of infidelity?
    The phone rang, jarring her from her dream-like state. Beside her Jake cursed and rolled slightly so he could yank up the phone.
    “Hello?”
    There was a long pause as she listened intently.
    “Fuck, no. I don’t want her any more upset than she already is. Is he leaving, at least?”
    Another long pause.
    “Good. Maybe he’ll stay away for good now.”
    Jake hung up and tossed the phone away from the bed.
    “Jake?”
    He turned back to her, curling his arms around her. “Sorry to wake you, sweetheart.”
    “I was already awake. Jake, what was that about?”
    He stiffened. “It’s nothing for you to worry about.”
    “Jake, tell me.”
    He sighed. “Apparently Ray isn’t leaving quietly. He’s holding a press conference from the airport. He’s flying out to Houston and then back to New York in an hour.”
    A tingle of dread snaked up her spine. “And when is the press conference?”
    “In five minutes.”
    She paused for a long time, uncertainty rocketing through her veins. Finally, she took a deep breath. “Turn on the TV, Jake.”
    “Ellie, no,” he said vehemently. “He’s not worth it.”
    She slid a hand up his chest and touched his cheek. “You’re here, Jake. Nothing can hurt me. I believe that. If he’s going to cause more trouble, we need to be prepared. We need to know what he’s saying if we’re going to deal with it.”
    He blew out his breath in a long whoosh. “Are you sure?”
    “As long as you’re here with me, yeah, I’m sure.”
    He reached over to the nightstand and picked up the remote. He turned on the TV then flipped through the channels until he reached the local affiliate.
    She sucked in her breath when she saw Ray standing in front of a crowd of reporters. He looked tired and haggard, a far cry from the smooth, polished man she’d seen on television just the day before. He resembled someone with the weight of the world on his shoulders.
    Her brow crinkled in consternation as the cameras zoomed in closer and he began to speak. Jake’s arms tightened around her in support.
    “A few hours ago, I was arrested outside the home of my ex-wife Ellie Matthews.”
    A flash of something that looked like regret glimmered in his eyes.
    “I didn’t go there to cause trouble,” Ray continued. “I went there to apologize. I handled it all wrong. I shouldn’t have just shown up like I did. I ended up scaring her, which was not my intention. Though, she has every right to fear me.”
    Ellie’s mouth opened in shock. She remembered him saying over and over how sorry he was, but all she’d focused on was the fact that the monster who had hurt her so many times was in striking distance of her again.
    “You see, I lied in my interview with Marty Stevens yesterday. Ellie wasn’t the problem in our marriage. I was. It took me watching the playback of that interview to see just how far I had sunk. You’ll never know how hard it hit me to see the man I had become.”
    Her hand flew to her mouth, and she began to shake in Jake’s arms.
    Ray paused and looked down, no longer staring straight into the cameras. When he looked back up, his eyes were moist with a sheen of tears.
    “I—I abused my wife during our three year marriage.” He broke off again and ran a hand through his hair. “I took a beautiful, trusting woman, and I hurt her in unimaginable ways. I