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He didn’t want to leave her, didn’t want to think of her alone and defenseless. He shifted against the smooth leather, getting as comfortable as possible. He’d stay a little while longer. Until his gut told him it was okay to head home.
But until then, he’d stand guard.
Warm raysof sunshine filtered through the window in Laura’s room and fell across her face. She grimaced. For the love of God, her alarm hadn’t even gone off yet. She really needed to buy curtains for her house. It might not be the home she dreamed of, but a bit of sprucing might make it a little cozier.
She simply needed to find the money to spruce.
Which meant she should get out of bed—alarm off or not—and get ready for work.
The memories of her first day of work crashed down on her, forcing her to burrow back under her thin covers. The terror of the evening was almost forgotten due to the comfortable night she’d spent with Cade.
Almost.
No matter how nice it’d been to munch on microwave popcorn and watch a feel-good comedy with a handsome man on her couch, it couldn’t erase the attack. Or the fact she had no idea who’d gone after her or why.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Heavy pounding slammed against the front door.
She groaned and pulled her pillow over her head, still half asleep. This wasn’t how she wanted to start her day. Roused from bed by some aggressive stranger when she should have twenty more minutes to sleep. Since leaving Isaac, it was the little luxuries that meant the most to her. Lounging in bed on her phone before taking a long, hot shower then eating whatever she had on hand for breakfast.
For years she’d hurried from bed in the wee hours to have coffee brewed and a meal fit for a king on the table before her ex had even cracked an eyelid. She’d learned fast to do everythingshe could to put him in a good mood to increase her chance of making it through the day without another slap.
But even that hadn’t worked.
Bang! Bang!
Alarm finally set in, and she grabbed her phone. Had someone tried to call, and she hadn’t woken? Maybe they found her attacker.
No missed calls.
Irritated and exhausted, she jumped out of bed, yanked her robe from the hook on her door, and stomped down the hall. She opened the door.
Isaac took a step forward and glared down at her. A snarl turned his angel-like face into the devil himself. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Tremors took over her body. Fear paralyzed her and transported her right back to the meek woman she’d been in his presence.
He pounded his fist on the door inches from her head. “Answer me. Why did you send deputies to my house? Like I’m some kind of criminal. I work for your father in the mayor’s office for God’s sake. Do you know how that makes me look?”
Spit flew from his mouth and landed on her cheek, snapping her from her terror-induced stupor. She tried to scurry behind the door, but he clamped down on her wrist and pulled her forward. The belt around her robe loosened, the material revealing the subtle bump under her sleep tank.
Isaac’s brown eyes widened, and he tightened his grip. “So, the rumors around town are true for once. Were you ever going to tell me I’m going to be a daddy?”
She cradled her abdomen with her free arm. “You’ll never see this child.”
His snarl slid into a smirk that made bile shoot up her throat. “You think you can stop me? You’ve always been a silly girl, butI never knew you were so freaking stupid. No one will stop me from seeing my kid. If anything, you should be worried about people thinking you’re an unfit mother. Everyone knows what a screwup you are.”
A nearby slamming car door rang in her ears, mixed with the panicked buzzing in her brain. She fought to keep herself steady. To not cower under his threats.
But were they real? Could he declare her unfit and take her child?
He could try, but she’d fight with her dying breath to keep him away.
“Is there a problem?”
Isaac glanced over his shoulder, giving her a glimpse of a very pissed off Cade marching through the grass. Seeing his face sent a wave of relief so intense crashing over her, she almost fell over.
“What the hell do you want?” Isaac barked the question but released her wrist.
