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“Will daddy come there?” she asked fearfully, and a sob slipped from me as it just became too much. She was terrified and I had done that to her. I had made my three year old daughter fear people hurting her. “I don’t wants daddy to come and stay wiv us again, mommy. He hurt you and he was always mad at me,” she sniffled.
Strong arms wrapped around me and Willow and I knew it was Nico by the sheer size and strength of him at my back.
“Willow, daddy’s not going to come near you and mommy, okay? You’re going to go with Hunter and you’ll be safe there. You’re going to have lots of fun, and me and Aunty Mia will come and visit you all the time,” Nico explained as I fought for control of my emotions.
“Nico’s right. We’re going to have so much fun. We have a big house with a swimming pool in the yard. And we have a dog there too,” Hunter added as he came closer and sat on the floor at my side, placing a soothing hand on my thigh. As much as I wanted the small comfort he was offering, my bitterness wouldn’t allow it. I lifted my leg enough to dislodge his touch, and he looked to me with hurt in his eyes.Good, he deserved to feel hurt, I thought to myself. But I still felt crappy for doing it.
“You do?” Willow lit up at that information. She lifted her head and looked to Hunter, thankfully taking his attention from me. “What’s his name? Is it a boy or a girl?”
“It’s a boy and his name is Dozy because he sleeps a lot,” Hunter laughed, making Willow smile even wider. “No one is ever going to hurt you or mommy again, pumpkin,” he assured her as he reached a hand out to brush the wild hair from her face. “Me and my brothers - Kai and Cameron – we’re going to take good care of you now.”
Willow looked to me for confirmation, her huge eyes wide with question and the need for me to assure her Hunter was telling the truth. It took everything in me to push past the huge lump in my throat to speak.
“Everything is going to be better now, honey. I promise. I’ll make sure of it,” I told her. I had no idea if I could ever forgive Hunter and the others and move forward from there, but they were pretty much all I had at that point. It was a chance I had to take, relying on my own instincts that I was doing the right thing, and the trust Nico seemed to have in them all. But if it didn’t work out then I would have the strength to walk away this time. Never again would I put my children in a situation like the one we had just escaped. They came first from now on, in every decision I ever made. Fear had ruled my life for too long and this had been the wake up call I had needed.
“How about we take a look on the internet so you can show me how you’d like your new room to look?” Hunter suggested to Willow.
“I know what you’ll pick,” Nico spoke up. He was still sat behind me, his arms around me, making me feel safe, and I wasn’t sure I ever wanted him to move. It felt too good. How long had it been since I had been held like that? Certainly never by Edward. Our relationship had just never been that close or caring. I couldn’t remember a single occasion when he had just held me. The last time I felt safe had been in my teens, with the guys. That had been forever ago. “Lots of pink and princesses everywhere, right?” Nico teased.
“Yuck!” Willow scowled at Nico. “I don’t like princesses. I likes animals. Lots and lots of animals, right mommy?” she looked to me, making me smile with the indignation on her face.
“Right. No pink princesses,” I agreed.
“Come and show me then, Willow please, otherwise I might pick something terrible like unicorns,” Hunter said as he got to his feet and held a hand out to her.
“Unicorns aren’t real, silly!” Willow scoffed as she took his hand and followed him to the sofa. I watched them for a few moments as they settled side by side, then looked down at Hunter’s cell together, the whole time Willow lecturing Hunter on what animals were and were not real.
“You doing okay?” Nico asked me quietly. I couldn’t resist my need to sink back into his hard body a little as I breathed in his amazing scent, a mix of sandalwood cologne and leather from the leather jacket he always wore.
“Am I making a huge mistake going with him?” I asked, unable to stop the question from slipping out. I wanted to be strong, but I was so scared I was just messing up all over again.
“I think getting away from here is the best thing for you and Willow right now, Maddie, and I trust Hunter and the others. I know them well and they’re good guys. They’ll keep you both safe.”
“Frank will go crazy when he finds out we’re gone. His perfect family is going to blow up in his face,” I pointed out.
“Screw him and his asshole son. There’s a police report now. If they push this, that report will become public and Frank’s campaign for reelection will be over before it even begins. He’ll realize that pretty fast and I think it will be enough to keep him off of your back. It’s Edward I’m worried about.”
“He won’t come after us unless Frank tells him to. We were nothing but an inconvenience. He’ll be glad to see the back of us,” I assured him.
“So it’s all on Frank then,” Nico sighed. “I think it’s best to get away for now at least, until we know what his next move is. But if you’re not happy there, then you call me, sweetheart, and we’ll figure something else out, okay? I am only ever a phone call away. I will always be here for you.”
“I’m going to miss you,” I admitted. Nico had been nothing but good and kind to me since the day I met him. He was an amazing guy – one I would have loved to have called mine in a different life. He was everything I could ever want – handsome, muscular and all man, but also gentle and understanding when it mattered. I had seen how fiercely protective he was for those he cared about and I was starting to feel like maybe I was beginning to come into that category. He and his sister were the closest thing to friends I had ever had – except for the guys - and I was upset to be leaving them behind.
“No you won’t, because you’re going to see and speak to me often. I’m going to be checking in on you and making sure those guys are treating you right. They don’t and they’ll have me to deal with,” he assured me, making me smile as tears filled my eyes.
“You don’t need to do that,” I protested weakly.
“I know that, but I want to. You and Willow…you matter to me, Maddie. Don’t you forget that, okay?
“I won’t,” I squeaked through my tight throat. Nico squeezed his arms around me a little more, but I loved the way he was keeping his hold loose enough that it wouldn’t hurt my bruised side and back. He was being careful with me in a way I wasn’t sure anyone else in my life had ever been.
“Let’s make some food, okay? You haven’t eaten in hours,” he suggested as he released me from his arms and got to his feet in one graceful movement that belied his size. He offered a hand to me, to help me up too, which I took, but it didn’t stop the sense of mourning I felt for losing the feel of him wrapped around me.
I shook the thought away as he released my hand once I was up. I shouldn’t be thinking that way. I just escaped the nightmare of a relationship. I couldn’t even contemplate another – not when things were such a mess. And certainly not with a guy who was a million miles out of my league.
CHAPTER 4
MADDIE
