It was strange being back on my feet again. Ivan was right when he said Adrian wasn't going to get away with what he had done. He was charged with attempted murder, and after a medical workup, they found scaring from previous strangulations. He plead non-guilty, of course, so there was a trial.

But after four months of not looking over my shoulder, I felt alive again.

And I indulged in pizza often and happily.

People at work would look and whisper about me in the beginning, but it helped that the higher-ups all had my back and supported me. For a while, Dimitri walked me to my car every day and would glare at anyone who was whispering too close to me. In the end, I gained a friend with the man who was my boss.

I was invited to his family Christmas, and he helped me work up the courage to call my parents. It was harder than I could imagine telling them what had happened, but they understood. Mom in particular understood. She realized immediately that they were symptoms of a textbook abuser, and apologized profusely over the phone.

It helped with the healing process considerably.

A hand rested on my shoulder while I went through some files, fumbling with them and they scattered on the floor. I sucked in a breath and Dimitri held his hands up in surrender.

"It's just me," he said gently, "I didn't mean to startle you."

I waved him off and bent down to pick up the files, silently berating myself for jumping. Dimitri helped me gather them up and set them on my desk, taking the ones out of my hands and setting them down as well.

"I need to tell you something," he said.

"What's up?" I asked, turning to gather the files again. Dimitri stopped me and took my hand in his, making me look up at him.

"Adrian made bail."

I choked on my swallow. "What?"

"He got a lawyer to work things with a judge. He makes bail this afternoon," Dimitri said, "If you don't feel safe at your apartment, you can come to stay with me again."

I chewed my lip and sat on the edge of my desk. "I just got used to not looking over my shoulder," I said defeatedly.

Dimitri crossed his arms over his chest and looked at me. I gritted my teeth together and the fear and sadness made way for unbridled anger. I gripped onto the glass paperweight on my desk and hurled it at the steel door, watching it shatter into dust.

I sniffed and rubbed at my cheek, standing up and walking around my desk. "I'll clean that up," I muttered.

"I liked that paperweight," Dimitri said sarcastically, and I glared at him.

"I think I'll be okay," I said quietly. Dimitri nodded and helped me clean up the glass before the other assistant came back. I couldn't stand Avery, but I couldn't complain that she took some of the load off of me.

My workload was crazy before all of my personal crap got in the way, but now it was worse. Dimitri hired her a month or so ago, but she was useless. I have to walk her through every step for three weeks before Alberta sent one of her clerks down to train her so that Dimitri's practice didn't fall far behind.


When I got to my door I slowed as I got to it. Something was off. When stopped in front of the door I noticed that the door was just ajar. I pushed it open with the toe of my shoe and I swallowed as the squeaked on the hinges. I sighed to myself when I saw the scattered items on the floor. I knew not to step into the apartment and left the door as is and went back down to the main lobby where I knew there were cameras.

I called Ivan and chewed on my nail as I waited for him to answer, trying to keep myself calm.

"Detective Zeklos," he said into the phone.

"Ivan? It's Rose."

"Hey kiddo, what's up?"

"He found me," I whispered.

Ivan muttered under his breath and I heard scuffling. "What?"

"He broke into my apartment. It's trashed," I said with a shaky breath as I rubbed my hand under my nose. "I thought he wasn't allowed to get near me!"

"He not," Ivan said dryly, "Where are you?"

"In the lobby of my building."

"Stay there. I'm on my way," Ivan said before hanging up. I backed myself against the wall and sank down, wrapping my arms around my knees. I sat there for a while until Ivan and another uniform officer showed up.

I stood up and bit my lip, clutching my purse tightly in my hands. Ivan gave me a sympathetic look and gave mea gentle hug, rubbing his hand over my back.

"Did you go in?"

I shook my head as I pulled back. "No. I just pushed the door open with my foot saw my stuff all over the floor," I explained as we rode the elevator to the third floor. Ivan nodded and started to document the apartment. I hated seeing what Adrian had done to my apartment. The couch was slashed, TV was smashed, and clothing cut up.

"For the time being, I don't recommend staying here. I will speak to your building manager about getting access to the security system to see if we can see Adrian on any of the cameras. Have you called your lawyer?"

I shook my head. "No. I don't have one yet."

"How do you not have one yet? You work for one."

"Dimitri doesn't practice that type of law. He works in general practice," I whispered. Ivan raised his brows at me and I pulled my phone out, frowning to myself as I dialled a number I felt terrible calling.

A part of me didn't want Dimitri to answer the phone, but the other part of me wanted to hear his voice simply because it was calming.

"Hello?"

"Hi, it's Rose."

"Is everything okay?"

I sighed and shook my head. "Adrian found me. He broke into my apartment and trashed it. I know that you can't represent me, but I need a recommendation. This is going too far."

"Where are you?"

"At my apartment with Ivan," I said.

"I'll be there in ten minutes," Dimitri said before he hung up. I shook my head again and sat down on an unruined portion of my couch, putting my head in my hands.

"What did he say?"

"That he is on his way," I said into my hands.

Ivan didn't say anything and went back to taking his notes. I rubbed at my face and groaned. This felt like one long nightmare that I wasn't going to wake up from. Ivan said that I could go into my room and pack a bag for the night. I stood up and went into my room, grimacing at the damage in there. Photos were smashed and torn; pillows torn. It was overkill.

I packed what clothes that were still intact into my bag and collected my non-broken makeup too. I felt numb but at the same time, I just wanted to cry. I was tired of feeling like this. I zipped my bag up and went back into the living room, finding that Dimitri was already here talking to Ivan.

I set my bag on the couch and looked at Dimitri tiredly. He turned away from Ivan and found me, a sad look on his face. I let go of the idea of right and wrong and went to him, wrapping my arms around his waist. Dimitri wrapped his arms around my shoulders and rested his chin on my head, rubbing my back comforting.

"It's okay. You're going to be okay," Dimitri whispered soothingly.

"I find that hard to believe," I muttered.

Dimitri gripped my shoulders gently and looked down at me. "That's a promise, Roza. I won't let him hurt you again!"

"Roza?"

"Sorry. Sometimes I have a hard time sticking to one language. It's just your name in Russian," Dimitri said after a hot moment.

"It's okay," I said quietly, "It's pretty."

Dimitri's lips quirked and he gave a short jerk of his head before letting, turning to Ivan.

"How did he get this close to her?!"

"I don't know. He's on house arrest. Beacon and everything," Ivan said with a shake of his head. "To be honest, I don't even feel safe with you staying in a hotel. I'd prefer if you stayed with Dimitri."

I looked between the two of them and raised my brows. "Why?"

"Because I know that Dimitri knows how to use a gun, and I know that he wouldn't let Adrian get close to you. And until we put this sick son of a bitch behind bars again, it's either that or you get your own police detail," Ivan explained and put his hands on his hips.

"So the choice is yours. Stay with someone that you know, or you stay with me and switch off with three others?"

I looked at Dimitri and found that he was grinning with a slight chuckle. "Ivan, that's not fair. Don't tease her. We both know that you would just eat all her peanut butter cups and then we'd have a dead cop on our hands."

"Nah, she wouldn't," Ivan brushed off but I shrugged.

"I smacked him once for grabbing a file once thinking he was going for my cups," I said nonchalantly before turning to Dimitri, "If your offer still stands?"

"Of course. I need to stop and grab something to eat first, but you can stay as long as your need. I have no issues," Dimitri explained with a soft tone.

I handed over my key to Ivan and warned him that he wasn't allowed to eat the snack in my place before leaving with Dimitri, and heading out to grab dinner. I sweet-talked him into grabbing Italian takeout, simply because carbs were my comfort food now that I wasn't banned from eating them. He acted like it was a hardship, but he was just as happy with the carbonara as I was.

After dinner it was so late that we both crashed, me going into the guest room I was in last time. But sleep eluded me. Every time I closed my eyes all I could see was Adrian's face, or him standing in my apartment. When I finally fell asleep I woke up from a nightmare of him standing over me with a gun.

I tossed in bed for a few more minutes before getting up and grabbing the blanket from the end of the bed. I padded quietly out of the room and into Dimitri's, standing silently in the doorway as he slept. He seemed so peaceful and relaxed, arm tucked behind his head.

I didn't want to be alone anymore, but I didn't want to disturb him. I had already done that enough these last few months. I crept to the armchair that was near the window and curled up in it, tucking the blanket around me. At least here, I wasn't alone.


"Rose?"

I moaned quietly and tucked my face into the blanket.

"Roza?"

I peeked my eye open and remembered that I was curled in the chair in his room. I lifted my head and blinked at him.

"Hmm?"

"What are you doing?" he whispered.

I shifted in the chair and yawned, covering my mouth with the blanket. "I didn't want to be alone," I said quietly. Dimitri nodded and leaned forwards, wrapping his arms around me and lifting me out of the chair. I was too tired to react and he set me on the other side of the bed. He pulled the blanket down and waited for me to climb under it. I did and watched him move around to the other side of the bed, flicking the lamp off as he did.

"Did I wake you?"

Dimitri looked at me softly. "You were whimpering. Nasty dream?"

I nodded and tucked the blanket tighter around me. "You know, I used to be the kid who got suspended for punching people out monthly. I don't know how I got here," I whispered.

"Nobody chooses this, we just fall victim to it. People prey on our vulnerability," Dimitri said and he laid on his side and faced me.

I looked at him in the dark, just able to see his eyes in the reflection of the street lights.

"I hate feeling weak."

"You aren't weak," Dimitri said immediately, "Don't let him make you think that way."

I sighed and ran my finger over the edge of the pillowcase, rubbing the pad of my finger over the seam. Dimitri shifted and moved his hand to rest between us, brushing his pinky against the side of my hand. I looked at him again and gripped his fingers with mine, surprised at how rough his fingers felt against mine.

"You're pretty awesome, you know? You have been my biggest support for me," I whispered.

"I just don't want to see you hurt again."

I nodded and closed my eyes, letting the feeling of his hand against mine ground me. It gave me something to focus on aside from the fear that lingered in my mind.

When I woke again I felt my breathing catch in my throat. There was an arm wrapped around my waist and a chest against my back. I felt my heart start to pick up and my breathing started to stutter in my chest.

It couldn't have been a dream.

I hadn't realized that I started to shake when the body behind me jolted, breathing in sharply and rolling me the slightest bit.

"Roza?"

My breathing started to come up in hiccups when I heard Dimitri's voice, the fear that was starting to consume me bleeding away.

"It's just me," Dimitri said as he started to pull his arm off me but I stopped him, gripping his fingers tightly. I tried to regulate my breathing and closed my eyes, swallowing heavily as I tried to calm down. Dimitri didn't move but squeezed my fingers back firmly, letting me hold onto his hand.

It took a few minutes for my heart to leave my throat, but once it did I blinked the tears out of my eyes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Dimitri said whispered as he started to pull away again but I didn't let go of his hand.

"I thought that all of this was a dream and I was back in that house," I whispered up at the ceiling, still holding onto his hand.

"You aren't. It's just me," he said gently. I nodded and shifted so I was laying on my back, his hand resting on my stomach.

"I know. I could smell you once I realized where I was," I said, "Can we just stay like this for a few minutes?"

Dimitri nodded and slipped his fingers between mine, letting me lay there for as long as I needed. It had been so long since I had been held like this and didn't feel like a prisoner. I spent four years of my life trapped with the devil and this is the first time where I didn't worry if I was going to wake up in the morning.

"When was the last time you were held and weren't terrified?"

I opened my eyes and turned my head to look at him. "Other than right this moment? Maybe six months after I started dating Adrian."

"How long was that?"

"A little under five years," I admitted quietly.

Dimitri shook his head and laid back down beside me, letting me hold his hand still.

"That's horrible," he whispered.

I nodded against the pillow and smiled at him meekly. "I'm sorry I worried you."

Dimitri's eyes softened in the light of the moon, and he shook his head, moving the hand that held mine and brushed his fingers over my hair, tucking it behind my ear.

"It's okay, I worry about you a lot more than you know," he whispered.

"You don't need to," I urged.

Dimitri shook his head. "I do. I can't help it," he whispered softly.

I smiled at him and felt that unfamiliar flutter in my chest. In all the time I knew Adrian, I never once heard him say that he worried about me or cared. But to hear someone tell me that he worried and cared, made something inside me awaken.

I hadn't realized that over the last few months my platonic feelings for Dimitri had shifted to something different, but this didn't scare me completely.

"I know," I whispered. "I know it's a lot to ask, but can we stay like this for a bit?"

Dimitri nodded and ran his thumb over the back of my hand. I smiled to myself and got comfortable, rolling onto my side and laying our arms between us. Dimitri shifted too so he was close, pulling less strain on my arm as we laid side by side under the covers.

"I don't want this to sound creepy, but you're beautiful, even in your sleep," Dimitri said after a few minutes, his voice just above a whisper.

I smiled and opened my eyes, finding him looking at me. "If anyone else said it, I'd think it was creepy. But thank you," I said with a chuckle. Dimitri grinned at me and I felt the air shift between us. I had noticed that Dimitri's eye tended to linger longer the last few weeks, but I had always chalked it up to him looking for new bruises or signs of my internal struggle, but the comment made me think that maybe there was a different reason.

In the year and a half I worked for Dimitri I never saw a woman in his life romantically. I knew that he had a falling out with his previous fiancé and that she wasn't permitted into the office, but that was it. He had flirted playfully with other people in the building, but nothing serious.

But with me, I had heard subtle flirts and responded to them, but never thought past them being playful until now. I shifted closer to him hesitantly, peeking up at him from under my lashes. Dimitri shifted too and watched me carefully, shifting so that we were eye level with each other. When I didn't move away, he leaned in slowly, waiting for me to back away. But I didn't, instead, I leaned into him, pressing my lips tentatively against his. It seemed as if we were barely touching before his lips were firmer against mine. I leaned into him and moved my hand up his arm, clutching his bicep gently as our lips moved together.

Any time I had kissed Adrian I had just waited for it to be over, but this felt different. It didn't feel like a chore or an obligation, I felt it in my chest. Maybe that feeling scared me more than anything else? Because that feeling that fluttered inside me wasn't safe, it was what lead me to Adrian in the first place.

But feeling how gently Dimitri's hand rested on my waist, and how he waited for me to move, that fear subsided a little. He knew what I had been through; he had seen it firsthand. But at the same time, he didn't treat me like I was broken.

I could taste the mint from his toothpaste and I opened my mouth slightly, running my tongue against his lips. He opened his mouth too and pulled me closer to his chest, taking a little more control of the situation. I rolled with him as he rolled back, leaning against his chest as my hands twisted into his hair.

I shivered when his hand rested on the skin of my back, finding the spot where my shirt lifted away from my pants. But the contact didn't bother me, instead, feeling his calloused hands on my skin. I had noticed the callouses but never asked about them before. But the roughness sent goosebumps over my skin.

I pulled away to breathe, licking my lips as I looked down at him. Dimitri's eyes were low and dark but he reached up and ran his thumb over my bottom lip. I quirked a smile at him and shifted to lay down beside him, curling into him. I watched Dimitri as I did so that I didn't overstep, but Dimitri's expression was soft as I laid in the crook of his shoulder. Dimitri wrapped his arm around me once I was settled, pulling me close to him and kissed my hair.

I rested my face against his chest and closed my eyes, breathing in the smell of his body wash and the detergent on his shirt. It was so different from Adrian, and it was comforting beyond explanation.


Ouu! They kissed *insert evil laugh gif* The next and final chapter is hella intense!

Stay tuned. :)