AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I offer a tight smile, but my lips struggle to turn upward.
He swallows. “How is she?”
“Tired. The nurse would like her to get the baby checked out in the morning, but the heartbeat is good, and she’s moving. Hannah has a bunny at home and is struggling to sleep without it. Beth wants to go back and get it.”
Horror fills his eyes. “It’s okay. I’ve called Sam to let him know. He’ll have a car check her house in the morning, and if it’s clear, Sam will bring her to get her things. Hannah is six. She’s too young to understand everything, and if a bunny brings her some comfort, she should have it.”
The information doesn’t make him relax. Sitting, I reach out and squeeze his knee.
“She’s safe here, Jake.”
He turns to look at my hand, and I almost snap it back, but he links our fingers, keeping my hand in place. A shock rushes across my skin.
“I wish you were right.”
There’s so much suffering in his eyes, I feel it. It’s in the clench of his fist, the strain across his forehead, and the heart, I’m sure, is breaking.
“While that bastard is breathing air, she’s never safe.”
In a place full of hope, he sounds hopeless.
I dip my head to meet his eyes. “I need you to promise me something.”
As if reading me, he sighs. His breath tingles across our interlocked fingers.
“It’s not a promise I can keep.”
“You need to. You can’t seek him out. I don’t know your story, or Beth’s but I know this is personal. I know you’re angry, but please don’t go back. It will only make things worse.”
Frustrated, he stands, and my hand drops to my side. I immediately feel his absence.
“You know what happened the last time someone protected him?”
“I’m not protecting—”
“Fucking Beth happened, Claire. He’s been getting away with this for years.” I jump as his palm comes down on my desk. “It was almost Jess. It was almost Beth. There are too many almosts. Someday, he won’t stop. He won’t stop until it’s too late.”
My blood runs cold. Swallowing the bile rising in my throat, I try to stand, but my legs are shaking.
My voice breaks as I whisper, “Jess? Your wife?”
He turns his head over his shoulder, hardly glancing at me before his lids shut tight over his eyes.
Thisispersonal.
It’s more personal than I ever imagined.
“I got to her in time,” he rasps, his voice a whisper in the silence. “I got to her in time.”
Oh, no.
My throat is dry, and no matter how hard I swallow, I can’t rid myself of the lump. A tear slides down my cheek and falls to my lap.
“Jess wanted to forget about it, but he beat her so badly, the police tried to press charges anyway.” There’s silence, and for once, I have no desire to fill it. “They weren’t even together anymore. She was pregnant with Jay-Jay, and when he found out, he showed up at her apartment.”
I close my eyes, struggling to absorb any of this.
He laughs without any humor. “You know what Rob does for a living? He’s a family law lawyer. Beth was too. But he wanted her to stay at home, so she gave it up.” He laughs again, but it only causes a chill to run down my spine. “His father is a judge, and yet, there’s no justice for people like him. They do what they want when they want.”
