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“I’m going to be fine, Dad. At some point, he’s going to show up in my world so I’ll be prepared. Hopefully, he’ll see he doesn’t scare me and all his crazy fantasies of me cowering in fear will pop like a balloon. He has delusions of power over me, and I’m not going to let them persist.”
“Baby, if he comes anywhere near you, you call 911 and find safety. You understand?” Her father’s voice sounded nearing panic. She’d scared him by talking about facing her demons. She wasn’t going to provoke Robbie or try and to fight him. She wasn’t stupid. But she also wasn’t going to let that piece of crap think he had power over her. That’s what Robbie craved—her fear. She wasn’t hiding from him, for that would be giving him the gift of herself.
“I’m not dumb, Daddy. If I see him, I’m calling for backup. I have no delusions of being an ass kicker. But I’m not giving him my fear.”
“Good girl. I’ll be at your house when you get home.”
“I love you, Dad.”
“You, too, Angel Face.”
Addy placed the phone back on the receiver and turned to Shelia. “Robbie’s out.”
Her friend narrowed her eyes. “Time to use all you’ve prepared for over these past few years. I’m calling Sharon and Rochelle. We’ll all be there for you.”
Addy nodded. It’s what Survivors of Violence did. Constant support system. They had each other’s back, and Addy had spent many a night worrying about her friends in her therapy group. She’d made casseroles, held hands, and watched children all to alleviate the minds of the women in her group. They were a sisterhood of survivors and had gotten Addy through some hard times.
“I’m a little scared,” Addy admitted.
“Good. Being a little scared will aid you, honey. Being a lot scared will cripple you.” Shelia wrapped her arms around Addy and squeezed tight.
“Thank you, Shelia.”
“You don’t have to thank me, Addy. If it wasn’t for you, this job, and all you’ve done for me, I don’t know where I’d be.”
Addy lifted her head. “You know the offer?”
Shelia lifted her brows. “About buying into the business?”
“We should talk about it.”
“Let’s visit that topic when we’re less emotional. Today’s not the day.”
“Okay,” Addy said, stepping back toward her workstation and the arrangement she’d been trying to put together for a person having bypass surgery. She hadn’t been able to concentrate well, but things looked a little clearer for her. Resolve was a funny beast. It settled in the bones and made her breathing steadier, her vision crisp and her intent sincere. She could never imagine letting any piece of Fleur de Lis go. It was her identity, the world she clung to with tight fists. But at the moment she faced her demons, her life emerged from the fog, startling in its clarity.
She had to open her world a bit so she could breathe.
Last night after finding the photos, she’d been ready to pull the gates shut and man all stations to protect herself from every potential hurt… and that included Lucas.
Her initial reaction was to blame him for letting her guard down. He’d invaded her world and she’d let things slide—leaving her cell phone behind or not feeling the presence of danger. Allowing the Finlay children to scurry about her house, leaving doors unlocked, and distracting her from her vigilance had seemed a huge mistake.
She should have kept her mouth and her legs shut.
But maybe Shelia was right. If she tossed away what she thought she had with Lucas because of Robbie, who would win?
Not her.
Perhaps a leap of faith was long overdue. Tonight she would tell Lucas about Robbie, the threats, and show all her cards. No more shutting emotional doors with him. If they ended badly, it wouldn’t be because she’d hidden her past from him on any level. Sharing her fears with Lucas, being honest with who she was and what she wanted could only be the right thing… unless Lucas didn’t want to bother with a woman who had a huge helping of crazy on her plate.
Her stomach heaved as nerves latched hold. She reached for an antiacid and glanced out the window as if Robbie might suddenly appear.
In the blink of an eye her life had changed.
Monday nights made Lucas want to take to drink. In fact, hehadtaken to drink. He’d found the Glenlivet in the back of the pantry behind the saltines.
He’d also intended on finding some time to see Addy, but between massive amounts of homework, taking Charlotte to dance class where she did nothing more than hop around for fifty bucks, and picking Michael up from lacrosse lessons, he’d not made it over and now it was almost ten o’clock.
“Uncle Lucas!” Chris called, his high-pitched voice tumbling down the stairs slamming into Lucas as he finally sank into the recliner.
