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Liam was ruggedly handsome regardless of his clear disdain. His focus wasn’t on me. It was on Phil. And I could sense the tension growing in the way his jaw muscles flexed and his throat muscles shifted. His nostrils flared, giving his aquiline nose a more distinguished appearance than usual as his pupils got wide enough to swallow his irises.
God, I didn’t think pupils could get that dilated. Could they? It must have been a trick of the light, because that had to be impossible. Some logical part of my brain agreed, and the adrenaline from Phil being nearby was probably contributing to what I was seeing.
Already, my body was preparing for what would come next. The accusations, the judgments, the awful insults. Everything he said would leave a lasting impression on my figure, on the way I carried myself. Two years of escaping his jeers had given me great posture. Now I was slouching in my seat, trying to cower toward Liam for safety.
Liam clutched my hand suddenly. “You know that guy?”
“Yeah, that’s my ex-boyfriend. I don’t know how he—”
“Stay in the car.”
I rigidly sat upright while yanking on Liam’s hand. “No, don’t confront him. It’ll just make things worse.”
“Worse? How?” His brilliant hazel eyes lit aflame, pupils drilling to near points as he looked at me. “That’s what it is.”
The way he said that, the way he stated it like heknew…there wasn’t another explanation. What passed between us was a silent exchange, an acknowledgement of the things I had encountered that I didn’t dare speak aloud. Liam seemed to understand. He seemed to get it.
I didn’t know how, but I was grateful for the opportunity to keep quiet.
I took a shaky breath. “Please, just let me handle it. He’ll leave if I tell him to leave.”
“You’re not facing him alone, Anita.”
Another squeeze from him assured me he was telling the truth. I could trust him. Though I didn’t know a thing about him other than what was in his file at Patricia’s office, I felt like he wouldn’t let me down, unlike everybody else.
Breathing felt harder than usual as I released his hand. I stiffly unlocked the passenger door, popped it open, and stepped onto the curb. I shut it behind me, all too aware of thesmackthat echoed behind me. An additionalsmackcut through the air. That sounded like the driver’s side door had closed.
Liam was with me. I didn’t have to worry about anything.
Phil paced the porch. His slim figure was a trick, of course, because the guy was a lightweight boxer. He could lift me and throw me without so much as breaking a sweat. Once upon a time, that had been appealing—until he’d tossed me across a room because he thought I was cheating on him.
I gulped as I drifted fearfully toward the porch. Any second now, he would turn. There would undoubtedly be a fight. He would probably coax Liam into the fight too. I just neededhim to leave. It had been two years. It was over. It had been over for a long time.
My ex-boyfriend stood tall, with ochre-brown skin and curly brown hair trimmed close to his head. His dark brown eyes widened when he noticed me, and he stopped pacing, smiling like he’d found a pet he had lost. He touched his hand to his chest where his gray parka caved slightly under his firm touch.
“Anita, baby. I was worried you had—” His expression went flat when he saw Liam. “Oh, so youdiddo it, huh?”
I held up both my hands. “Phil, I’ve told you to leave me alone—”
“Did you let this guy knock you up?”
I gaped at him. “What are you talking about?”
“I followed you. I saw you walk into that clinic. Is this part of it? Are you not pregnant yet? Is that why he’s here?”
Liam stepped up beside me. Phil took that as a challenge and puffed up as he approached us. Within four feet of us, he was already shedding his coat to reveal the sleek button-up shirt beneath. Tan slacks and oxford shoes made him look like any Ivy League kind of guy while hiding the rough, ugly interior of a man with a bad temper.
That was the thing about Phil. He was good at fooling people with his looks. If anyone else had been with me and seen his stellar performance of worry, they would have considered it a Hallmark moment. The guy knew how to play a crowd. That was why the cops had never believed me when I said he was beating me up.
Too sensible. Too structured and reasonable. That was why my abuser was never hauled off to jail for the things he’d done to me.
But when Liam stepped up to the plate and cracked his knuckles, I felt a surge of victory run through me.
“Big tough guy,” Phil jabbed. “You think it’s okay to knock up my girl and take her from me?”
Liam cocked his right ear toward me without losing sight of Phil. “How long has he been yourex-boyfriend?”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “Two years.”
