Descent (Black Heart Romance presents Heaven & Hell)

Calvin proves an unlikely savior, stepping in when Officer Davis is waiting for me to offer up
DNA evidence to help them catch their guy and telling him I’ve had a very rough night and he thinks
I’ve been through enough today. Playing the concerned, supportive boyfriend, he pretends to check
with me. I nod my agreement because I just want the cops to leave.
As he’s walking the officer out, I overhear Calvin telling him that any DNA evidence there might
have been is likely gone now, and that I don’t wish to deal with that very private experience legally.
Officer Davis advises against that, telling him we can always decide not to file charges, but if we
change our minds later and want to, this is the only time to collect the evidence. Of course, Calvin is
immovable on the matter.
I’m sitting alone at the table when he walks back in. A soft blanket is wrapped around me like a
cocoon, but it can’t protect me from the icky grime of what I just overheard.
Calvin stops by the table and gazes down at me. “Are you all right?”
His tone is cool and detached though his words express polite concern. It doesn’t feel fake like
his performance in front of the cops, more a routine question he reminds himself to ask me. I don’t
think he’s accustomed to checking on the wellbeing of others.
“I guess,” I answer, because honestly I’m not sure how I feel. “You realize you implied to the
cop just now that I was raped last night after I was hauled out of that alley?”
The expression on his face doesn’t change, but he reaches a hand toward me and casually
caresses my cheek. “Weren’t you?”
My jaw falls open as I stare up at him, appalled at how casually he says that.
He drops his hand and walks around the counter. “I don’t typically have a prepared breakfast, so
I don’t have Chef Ryan coming today, but going forward I can ask that he stop over and prepare us
breakfast if you’d like. I can even have him prepare lunches for you like he did at your place so you
don’t have to worry about that and you can focus on your work or Marie or whatever else you’d
rather spend your time on.”
“How can you just… say that so flippantly?”
He looks back at me, a frown creasing his brow. “Scheduling Chef Ryan isn’t a big deal, Hallie.
It only makes sense to outsource tasks like that so you can spend your time on more important things.
You don’t see me working the mail room at my company, do you? Of course not. That would be a
waste of my talents.”
“Not that.” I shake my head, marveling at how he could possibly not know what I was referring
to. He just casually mentioned raping me last night, and the man thinks I’m in awe about him hiring a
chef to make breakfast?
His confusion is so sincere, though, I decide not to bother along that tack. It’s odd, but he’s odd,
so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. “All right. Full disclosure, Chef Ryan probably thinks I’m a ho
now. He overheard me talking to Charity about the date she was fixing me up on and I was all, ‘I’m