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He grabs my hair and drags me into the hallway. “Where is she, fucking bitch?”
He shoves me to the ground and kicks me in the stomach. But I anticipate the move, having been a victim of it too many times, and roll out of the way. His boot glances off my stomach. The contact is enough to bruise, but not enough to do internal damage.
I’m not so lucky with the next strike. He aims for my thigh. It doesn’t break. Thank God. But I will be left limping for a few days.
If I survive.
Please wake up, Violet. Please hide before he searches the house.
The next blow is with his fist. He hits my cheek. I feel the skin split. Just one more scar to add to the others that mark my years of abuse. I can’t even bring myself to care about it anymore.
I attempt to fight off his next blow, kicking and flailing and squirming. It’s not because I believe I’m going to win. I’m not. I can see it in his eyes. He’s not going to let me escape. There’s only one thing he wants.
And I’m standing in the way of him getting it.
Good. No one was there to protect me from my asshole husband. I lost everything because of him.
That thought is enough to build the fire in my own furnace, and the surge of adrenaline finds a new purpose.
I fight. Fight as though it’s my husband I’m trying to defeat. My husband who was the monster who cost me everything.
Needing to grab something to use as a weapon, I roll to my side and attempt to push to my feet.
Another kick—this one lands just below my ribs, preventing me from standing. I collapse and gasp for air, trying to draw it into my lungs. Trying to summon my battle-weary inner strength to help me.
“You fucking bitch. I’m going to lock you away for aiding and abetting a kidnapper. I’m. Her. Fucking. Husband. She belongs to me.” He grabs my hair and pulls his other fist back, ready to land another punch.
“No. She. Doesn’t.” I sob out the shaky words. Tears sting the cut on my cheek. “She deserves to be free.” Free with her daughter.
“Stop!” Violet’s scream rips through the air, and for a heartbeat, it feels like the molecules of time are suspended. Nothing and no one is capable of moving. The shock of Violet’s voice, the realization she’s not hiding—it’s too real. “Leave her alone. I’ll go with you, Alex. But don’t hurt her anymore.” Her voice is small and broken and stripped of all hope.
He releases his grip on my hair and straightens. “Where’s Sophie?” The name comes out icy and gruff.
I scoot across the floor away from him, heaving lungfuls of air into my aching chest. My ribs hurt, my face hurts, my body hurts, but not enough for me to have suffered serious internal damage. I know…I know from experience I’ll live.
The adrenaline fueling my drive to fight peters out, and I’m left shaking and pulling myself into a corner, my butt still on the floor. Blood trickles down my face. I swipe at it with the back of my hand.
“Please, Alex.” Violet’s voice is a faint whisper, barely heard over the pulse rushing in my ears. “I’ll go with you, and I promise I’ll never leave you again. Sophie and I will stay with you forever.” Her voice cracks, and I close my eyes, unable to look at the pain and defeat on her face.
I’ve failed. I didn’t do enough. I should have moved them sooner. Should have…should have done a better job hiding the evidence they were staying with me.
I reach for Bailey, only to remember she’s locked in her crate. I’ve never felt more alone than I do now.
“Please, Alex.” The words are a feather on the breeze. So light and airy, I wonder if I imagined them.
Booted footsteps approach me. My body stiffens, reminding me how bruised I’m going to be tomorrow. I mentally flinch at the pain but keep it off my face. Or I think I do.
“If you tell anyone what happened, and that includes your boyfriend,” Chief Wilson says, his voice a quiet warning. “I will deny it, and I’ll deal with Violet and make you look responsible for her death.” The words are spoken with such malice, I don’t doubt a single one. “And I know people within the system who will make sure your stay in prison is brief.”
The implication behind his words isn’t missed, and a wave of dizziness assaults me.
I’ve been given a life sentence. He’s going to stalk me the way he stalks his wife. The way my husband stalked me. They are one and the same. The same monster who needs to be in control of everything.
“Do you understand?” His voice is low, the threat felt deep in my bones.
I nod and pry my eyes open, but I keep my gaze locked on the hardwood floor.
“Look at me!” Chief Wilson kicks my calf, but not as hard as he kicked my thigh.
