No Safe Haven by Virginia Vaughan

Author:Virginia Vaughan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2014-08-14T04:00:00+00:00

EIGHT

“We’re ready to start,” Mia said, interrupting the conversation Jessica and Margo were having in the hallway about what to do with Marlon. Margo had suggested the animal shelter, but Jessica was thinking about keeping him as a mascot for Dean’s Den.

“Thank you, Mia. Will you put Marlon back into his kennel in my office?” She held out the little dog but Mia backed away, her eyes wide and terrified.

“Do I really have to?”

“He’s just a little dog.”

In response, Marlon growled as Mia’s hands came near him, and his high-pitched yap made her turn and rush away.

Margo flashed her a look. “That girl is weird.”

“A lot of people are afraid of dogs. I’ll go put him up.”

She put Marlon into his carrier then locked it so he couldn’t escape. She arrived back in the common room as the women were finding their seats. Three times a week, a counselor came to lead a support group. Margo hardly ever missed a meeting.

She scanned the group. “Where’s Sarah?”

“She’s not ready.” Sarah had refused to join the group today, but Jessica was confident she would change her mind. Because domestic violence often occurred in the privacy of the home, few women had someone in their lives who understood what they were going through. Though with a group, Sarah would have a roomful of women who understood.

Margo turned her gaze toward Jessica and studied her. “What about you? Are you ready yet?”

Every now and then Margo asked her that question. Jessica’s reply was always the same. “No.”

Margo found a chair in the circle. Jessica stayed back by the door. It wasn’t fair to expect the others to open up about their painful ordeals when she never had, but her experiences with Mitch were buried so far inside her she was certain dredging them up again would be too emotional. Besides, Jessica could support these women much better with a clear head and detached emotions.

When it came time to share, Margo was the first to volunteer. “He was standing by the foot of my bed when I awoke.” Her voice trembled as she recalled the details of the night that had changed her life and sent her on the path toward police work and a desire to help the weak and wounded. “I couldn’t see his face because of the darkness. He was only a shadowy outline. At first, I didn’t think he was real. But when he grabbed me, I knew. He clamped his sweaty hand over my nose and mouth. I couldn’t scream. I couldn’t even breathe. He raped me in my own bed, in my own apartment. Then he was gone.

“He took everything from me. My sense of self, my peace of mind. I had a fiancé who couldn’t even touch me anymore without me reliving that night. I wasn’t safe in my own home. I had to move. My life was a mess. I had nowhere to turn.”

As Margo continued her story, several women hung their heads and sobbed. Jessica knew they could relate.

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