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He loomed in her doorway, almost brushing the top jamb with his blond hair. Stacked with muscle, he still seemed intimidating to her, even with his hands up.
    She looked at the other investigator, Chad, and caught his gaze. Kindness gleamed from his blue eyes. “I know, he’s a big SOB, but he’s a good man, I promise you.”
    In a little over a day she’d begun to trust his words, because the sick knot of tension in her stomach began to ease. Her eyes returned to the giant’s shattered face.
    He rubbed his hand over the marks, almost self-consciously. “I kn-know it’s shocking. S-sorry.”
    Her heart clutched at the stutter.
    “I w-was trying to find your coffee.”
    Lora blinked and stood away from the wall, straightening her t-shirt. “It’s in the cupboard below the coffee maker,” she whispered.
    The big man gave her a thumbs up and a grin, then returned to the kitchen. She heard a cupboard door open and close. Within a few seconds, she heard the gurgle from the machine.
    Chad stood watching her. “Are you okay? Can I get you one of your painkillers? Or an icepack for your face?”
    Shame overtook her. She hadn’t even stopped in the bathroom before coming downstairs. The damage from yesterday had to be even prettier today. “No, thank you. I’ll get some Advil and coffee and I’ll be fine.”
    Chad seemed to take her at her word. He gave her a small smile before he turned for the kitchen.
    Lora escaped to her room and bathroom. The bed was still in disarray from Derek attacking her. She hadn’t wanted to deal with it last night, but she would today. Everything would be set back to rights today. The alarm clock on the floor blinked twelve o’clock, and she wondered what time it actually was. She would have to call off work. Mercy would not be going to school either. If Derek tried to get her, it could be disastrous.
    When she flicked on the bathroom light, tears came to her eyes. It physically hurt, but she also couldn’t believe how far she’d fallen that she was so unconcerned with her looks. Her looks were what had grabbed Derek’s attention to begin with. She huffed in exasperation. It was too early in the morning to think about right now.
    She used the bathroom and washed her face, looking at the shower longingly. Maybe later. After she’d gotten used to having weird people in her house.
    Gritting her teeth, she ran a brush through her long hair, trying to drag out the snarls. She peeked under her bangs at the stitches at her hairline. Once they came out, the scar wouldn’t even be noticeable. Though her face was a mass of bruises right now, they would fade over time. And as long as the swelling went down, she could cover most of it with makeup. She’d gotten very good at that over the years.
    Feeling better, she grabbed clothes from her closet and changed, finding more bruises. Her stomach ached and she thought she remembered him punching her at some point.
    Standard MO.
    When she entered the kitchen, Chad sat at the table, but the big man had left.
    “I told Zeke to go home for now. He’ll be back tonight.”
    She nodded and poured herself a cup of coffee, inhaling deeply. In spite of the burning heat, she took a sip. Not bad.
    Lora moved to the opposite side of the table from Chad. He didn’t move or even look at her as she settled into the chair, just sipped at his mug of coffee and looked out the window to the backyard.
    She cleared her throat. “I’m sorry I reacted the way I did earlier. I didn’t know anybody else had come inside the house.”
    He glanced at her and grinned. “No biggie. Zeke’s had people react to him like that before, so he probably didn’t think anything of it.”
    Lora frowned, feeling even guiltier at the misassumption. “It wasn’t because of his scars. I didn’t even see them at first. He was just this big shape backlit by the sun. I though…well, I thought it was one of Derek’s goons or something.”
    Chad looked at her for a second, then away.