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She didn't care what anyone said. She didn't care what anyone thought about it, she loved her husband. She didn't care that Jay beat her, she didn't care that sometimes he used her in the bedroom so roughly that she could barely walk for days, she didn't care that he’d broken her bones and shed her blood, she loved him with her whole heart.
“I won't mess up,” she promised.
Maria climbed out of the truck’s cab as did Jay and followed him as he walked around to the back and opened it, shining a torch on Hayley Hood who lay inside. The woman didn't move, didn't indicate that she was aware of their presence, but she wasn't sure if it was just Hayley playing possum or whether the woman really was still unconscious.
“I think I’ll spend a little time with our guest while we wait,” Jay said. That familiar glint in his eyes, the curl of his lip, the way his forehead crinkled, all of it sent an arrow of jealousy through her.
She didn't want him laying a hand on Hayley Hood.
Those hands of his were hers, they should be on her body, they should be hurting her, wrapped around her neck, hitting her, making her scream.
“Are you pouting?” he growled in her ear.
“N-no,” she said with a shudder. She was sure she had been, and she knew that meant he was going to punish her. She hoped he would. She needed him to. It had been days since she’d last seen him and the wounds he had inflicted had already begun to heal and no longer caused her much pain.
She needed it.
Pain was her drug of choice.
Without it, she felt like she was going to shrivel up and die.
“Come here,” he ordered, wrapping a hand around her arm so tightly his fingers dug into her muscle, and she winced.
Jay dragged her up into the back of the truck and propped one foot up against the door, bending her over his knee, he yanked her skirt up, exposing her bare backside and slapped her five times in quick succession. Her skin stung, but it wasn't enough, she needed more. So much more.
“Now go,” he said, roughly releasing her, causing her to stumble. “They know now that you're involved, even if they don’t know to what extent, they might have already called and told the group home not to let you near Kinsley.”
Maria nodded and climbed out of the truck. She wasn't going to let anyone keep her daughter away from her any longer. She was going to walk in there, ask to see her child, then grab Kinsley and run. If anyone tried to stop her then she was going to use the gun Jay had given her.
The street was clear of cop cars as she hurried further down the block and then down the path to the front door. She hoped they weren't hiding somewhere, she was ready to just get Kinsley and get out of here, start over somewhere else, somewhere where no one knew them, and no one knew what had happened to Leah.
She was shaking by the time she knocked on the door. Her hand brushed the gun hidden in the deep pockets of her jacket.
It felt like an eternity until the door was opened by an older woman with a pretty face and a huge mop of white curls.
“May I help you?”
“I’m Maria Turner. My little girl Kinsley is here. I was wondering … could I please … I just want … I know I'm not supposed to … I just want to tell her that I love her. Please,” she added for extra emphasis. Technically, the cops and child protective services had removed Kinsley because of Jay who they believed had killed Leah, and not because of her, so she was hoping that the social workers might have pity on her and let her see Kinsley.
“I'm really not supposed to,” the woman said, but her brown eyes were sympathetic, and she looked like she really wanted to say yes. It was the holidays, and she was no doubt saddened by the fact that a little girl wasn't at home with her family.
“Please. Just for a second. Could you call someone maybe? Ask for permission? The social worker assigned to the case is Hayley Hood, and the cops looking for my husband are Adam Abram and Jessica Spears.”
“If a judge has already signed to say that Kinsley should be removed then you’re not allowed to visit with her until you’re granted visitation or it’s deemed safe for her to return home.”
Maria was losing her patience.
She wanted Kinsley back, and she knew that Jay was out in the truck with Hayley Hood, she wanted to get to them as quickly as she could. And the cops could come at any moment. They knew she had helped Jay kidnap Hayley. They could be worried that the two of them might try to come here and get their daughter.
“You’ll have to leave, Mrs. Turner. The children are about to have their dinner, and I think it will be worse for Kinsley if she sees you here.”
She was about to yank out her gun and demand that the woman bring her daughter, but fate was on her side, and all of a sudden, a group of about ten children came running down the stairs, Kinsley amongst them.
As soon as her daughter saw her, she came running over.
Maria snapped her arms around her little girl before the social worker had a chance to grab her.
Then she pulled out her gun. “I don’t want to shoot anyone, but I will if you try to stop me.”
