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“That’s okay. Grab some stuff and let’s get you out of here. We’ll talk more later. Do you have a place to stay?”
“No.” The word croaked from her tight throat and moisture filled her eyes.
A low grumble vibrated from Owen’s throat, and he circled his other arm around her, engulfing her in a hug. Warmth spread through her. She melted against him, making sure not to smash the now-sleeping Nora, and pushed away all the voices in her head.
The ones telling her to run, the ones telling her to stay, and the ones telling her that the nightmare she’d been living in for the past month was about to get a whole lot worse.
“There’s a women’s shelter in the next town over,” he said, voice soft and comforting. “It’s a nice, comfortable place and they’ll keep you and your baby safe.”
She cringed. “I don’t know. A shelter?”
Depending on anyone but herself made her skin itch. How could she trust people she didn’t even know to help her when she couldn’t even trust her own mother?
Owen rubbed a slow circle against her back, and her tank top shifted with the motion. “I know the woman who runs the place. She’s great, and even has a little one of her own. She’ll treat you like family, and even help with the baby while you’re there.”
“Okay.” Marie drew in a deep breath and instantly regretted it as the overpowering stench of blood assaulted her nose. She pulled away and offered Owen a weak smile. She’d go along with his plan for the time being. As much as she hated to admit it, she needed protection right now, and if she could offer any insight into finding her scumbag ex, she would.
Besides, it wasn’t like she had anywhere else to go. Her family lived hours away, she didn’t have any money, and the man who had invaded her life with a piece of blackmail against her mom was now a possible killer.
He might be injured, and on the run, but that didn’t mean she was safe. Bill had lived outside the law and used her mother’s addiction to worm his way back into Marie’s life. To keep her under his thumb, he’d threatened to throw her mother to the wolves and kill her sister—not to mention what he’d do to Nora. She had no doubt he’d stop at nothing to get her back again.
But this time, she’d do whatever she had to take him down for good.
Owen mentally created a checklist of all the shit he needed to get done as soon as he got Marie and her little girl settled at Safe Haven Women’s Shelter. The drive to Pine Valley was normally one he enjoyed. Winding through the mountains into the quaint little town with so much charm and so many good, solid people.
But not today.
Today he was the lead in a murder investigation, and the beautiful woman beside him was his only witness. A witness with seemingly no answers who was either trapped in a horrible situation or lying.
He’d figure that out later. For now, he had to focus on Marie and Nora. He’d called ahead and spoken with Laura Metcalf, the woman who ran the shelter, and she assured him they’d take good care of Marie and Nora. Not only that, but she’d sent one of the volunteers to Water’s Edge with a car seat so he could drive Nora safely in his cruiser.
Sadie Pennel, the volunteer who’d shown up and a fellow Sheriff’s Deputy, had offered to take Marie and Nora herself, but Marie’s hesitation had him insisting he could play the chauffeur. A quick glance in her direction made him doubt his decision.
“You doing all right?” he asked, peeling his gaze away from her to focus on the road again. She was such an interesting combination of hard and soft. Tough and vulnerable. Instinct told him he needed to keep his distance if at all possible or he’d fall hard for whatever secrets those deep, green eyes held.
She peeked over her shoulder at Nora before facing him. “I don’t know. I kind of feel like this isn’t my life. That none of this is real. That I didn’t get us out of that house alive just to find myself in even more trouble.”
He chewed over her words. “Were you in trouble before?”
She dropped her gaze to her clasped hands. The only sound in the car the bubbly gurgles of the baby.
Not wanting to push her too hard, he opted to change the subject. “She seems like a happy baby.”
Marie beamed, the first real smile he’d seen since he’d laid eyes on her that morning. “She’s the best. Always so happy and sweet. I don’t know what I did to deserve such a blessing.”
A pinch of sadness squeezed his gut. After the death of his mother when he was younger, he’d spent his life in pursuit of one thing…being an officer of the law. His singular focus had left him with very few relationships and a lot of loneliness. Definitely without hope of a child of his own.
Something he didn’t realize he even wanted until recently.
“She looks just like you.”
“Thank God for small favors,” she said with an indelicate snort. “I don’t want her to have anything of her father’s.”
Her firm tone invited no more comment. He cleared his throat and took the final turn into Pine Valley. The white gazebo in the middle of the grassy square stood out in stark contrast to the blue sky. Red brick lined the sidewalks, and colorful awnings highlighted the mom-and-pop shops clustered along the quiet streets.
Marie sighed.
“You okay?”
