Page 88
A bitter laugh slipped out before I could stop it.
“And then I realized I was the emergency fund.” The words tasted like ash.
When Lane finally spoke, his voice was lower. “Is there a restraining order?”
My eyes flicked toward the phone before returning to him. I nodded.
“And he’s violating it?” he asked.
“Multiple times.”
“Have you reported it?”
“No.”
That earned me a sharper look.
“I know,” I said quickly. “I know I need to.”
My pulse jumped in my throat.
“But it’s just not that simple. Jace is his brother, Lane. Brett manipulated me into adopting him, but that’s where he screwed up because Jace is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I wouldn’t trade being his mom for anything. I’m scared that somehow he’ll take Jace away from me even though I know he couldn’t. But that doesn’t make the fear just disappear.”
Lane’s expression didn’t change, but something in his eyes softened. Then it hardened again—not at me, but at what I’d been carrying.
“Baby, can I hold you?” His calloused hands opened, but he didn’t move until I stepped forward. For once, I didn’t have to be the strongest person in the room. His arms closed around me, and every muscle I’d been holding tight finally gave a little. I breathed in cedar and fresh air, something steady and familiar in a moment that was anything but. I rested my cheek against the solid warmth of his chest.
“We’ll figure this out.”
I pulled in a trembling breath. He held me until I wondered how long we’d stood there. A shaky breath left me as I pulled away and wiped at the moisture in my eyes.
He reached for the envelope and held it there between us.
“You’re going to tell me everything, and then I’m going to tell you something,” he said quietly, like it was already decided.
I hesitated. He didn’t look away.
“And then we’ll figure out how far this has gone, and we’ll make sure it stops.”
My stomach twisted. “That’s not your responsibility.”
He didn’t look away. “Cali, let me make sure you’re safe. Please.”
A beat passed. It was like he needed this more than I did. He spoke more softly, the words almost a vow:
“You’re done handling this alone.”
Something in my chest cracked again. This time I didn’t argue. Because part of me had been waiting a long time to hear those words. Even if I still didn’t know how to trust it.
Forty-Two
Lane
Brett had been finding new ways to reach her for months. Different numbers. Different excuses. Different ways to make her feel like ignoring him wasn’t an option. The odds of him showing up on her doorstep were low. But low didn’t mean impossible. And it definitely didn’t mean harmless. I’d spent years regretting every moment I hadn’t been there for her. I wasn’t going to stand here and watch Brett make her feel powerless.
I called a former teammate who had dealt with something similar with a crazy ex-girlfriend. Thirty minutes later, I had a security consultation scheduled, an attorney recommendation, and the first steps toward stopping Brett from reaching her whenever he wanted.
I told myself I was helping. I also knew I needed to make sure I didn’t start making decisions for her. I handed her the envelope and hoped like hell it wasn’t a mistake. She hesitated over reaching for it, like it might bite. Cali had been standing without moving, her phone finally silent in her hand, her other arm wrapped snug around her middle as if she were holding herself together on instinct alone. The air between us still felt charged from everything she had told me, like the house hadn’t quite caught up to the conversation.
