Free Her Only Salvation by J.C. Valentine Page A

will go back to jail, I promise you that.”
    Terri just shook her head. Luke didn’t understand. Randy was good at getting off with a slap on the wrist. If he hadn’t almost killed her the last time, he never would have seen the inside of a cell in the first place.
    “Let’s call the police,” Luke urged.
    With no strength left inside her to care one way or the other, Terri just nodded. Let Luke see for himself what it was like to be the victim. The criminals always got off, at least in her world, and now that Luke was a part of her world, it shouldn’t take him long to come to the same conclusion.
    She listened as Luke spoke to the 911 operator. He was calm, like she had been that night when Randy beat her to within an inch of her life. He relayed all the necessary information, and when the police arrived an hour later, he took charge of the situation then too, showing the officers the door and the broken knife blade he had found, and the letter.
    The officer reading the note looked from Terri to Luke questioningly. “Are you the lover?” he asked Luke.
    Luke spluttered in response. It was the first time Terri had ever seen him caught off guard or seemingly nervous. He was usually so composed, it surprised her.
    “No. I’m her boss,” he explained.
    The officer arched a brow that said he didn’t believe his story, but wasn’t going to press him about it. “Well, whoever wrote this note seems to think otherwise.”
    “It was my husband,” Terri said tonelessly. She had been telling them that since they arrived, but they kept telling her the same thing, that it was all circumstantial.
    The officer shot her a withering glance, as if she were a child he had run out of patience for. She shrank under those gray eyes. “As I said before, Mrs. Cunningham, the evidence is circumstantial. I can’t make an arrest on someone for writing a note. In the eyes of the law, no crime was committed here tonight.”
    Stiffening, Luke stepped closer to the officer. “The guy didn’t just write a note,” he said scathingly. “He broke into her home with a knife and threatened her, and me, if that note is indeed referring to me.”
    “Sir, please step back.” The officer’s hand twitched toward his gun seated in the holster that hung from his hip.
    Luke narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth, but eventually did as he was told.
    When the officer was satisfied, he continued. “As I was saying, there is also the problem with the fact that you two are still legally married,” he said, addressing Terri directly. “Technically, this is his home too, and I can’t arrest a guy for breaking into his own house.”
    Terri gaped, though she couldn’t say she was exactly surprised. “But I bought this place myself. With my own money. How can he have a claim on any of it?”
    “It’s all a matter of paperwork,” the officer said simply. Clicking his pen closed, he tucked it and the small tablet of paper he had used to take notes, into his breast pocket and moved toward the door. “When you get that divorce, Mrs. Cunningham, we’ll be able to do more. Until then, you might want to think about finding someplace else to stay.” He tipped his head at them both. “You two have a good evening.”
    “Oh, yeah, sure,” Luke snarled, closing the door behind him. He stood rooted in that spot for a long time, watching Terri, until she had to look away from the discomfort his steady gaze wrought. When he finally broke the silence all he said was, “Pack your bags.”
    Terri’s eyes snapped up in confusion. “What?”
    “I said go pack your things. You’re not staying here.”
    “What are you talking about? This is my home,” she protested.
    Luke stomped across the living room and stood in front of her. Looking down at her, he narrowed his eyes. “You heard the jackass,” he said, pointing at the front door where the officer had just left. “This might be your home, but until you get the divorce finalized, it’s his home