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“My resignation?”
I’d never submitted my resignation.
“Yeah,” he said. “You emailed it to me. Said you needed some time and that you didn’t think you’d be back.”
“I never—” A voice on his end interrupted me.
“Look, kid,” Lucas rushed. “You were a great reporter, but this isn’t meant for everyone. Anyway—” Another interruption. “I’ve got to go. Stay safe.”
Then the line went dead.
What the hell had just happened? I tossed the phone on my bed and made my way into the bathroom. Pulling the communication device from its hiding place, I placed it in my ear.
“Hello?” I whispered, wondering if they were even listening. “Seamus? Kiernan?”
Nothing but dead air hung around me for several moments and then…
“Bailey?” It was Liam, the twins’ father.
“Liam?” I breathed a sigh of relief. Just hearing his voice set me at ease. Even if I wasn’t his favorite person.
“You’re safe?” he asked. “You’re okay?”
I nodded and then, remembering he couldn’t see me, I told him I was.
“I haven’t been able to get the information yet,” I admitted. Liam chuckled.
“You’ve only been there a few hours, Bailey. Even I don’t have that high of standards.”
I let out a breathy laugh, but it was tinged with unease.
“What’s wrong?” Concern bled into his voice.
“Everything,” I whispered, sliding onto the bathroom floor.
“Have you been hurt?” he demanded.
“No,” I assured him. “Not…my father…”
“Ah,” he let out a long, worn-out sigh. “I’m assuming you’re beginning to see things you might not have before.”
“He’s always been strict,” I admitted. “He’d have his men keep me in line when I stepped out of it, but today—”
“What do his men do, Bailey?” The sudden anger in his tone shocked me. Was he angry on my behalf? He shouldn’t be. My father was simply meting out the discipline I’d earned.
“They’d beat me,” I told him candidly. “Starve me. Sometimes he would lock me in the cellar for a few days until I repented. It was my fault for not following the rules, but today he said some things and—”
“Let me make one thing clear, Bailey Jameson,” Liam growled. “What your father did is never okay, whether you did something wrong or not. Do you understand me?”
“But—” I went to argue.
“No buts,” he argued fiercely. “It is never okay to beat an innocent child or woman. Do you understand me?”
I swallowed back the lump of emotion in my throat. “Yes,” I whispered.
“Good.”
“Where are the twins?” I asked before I dug further into what had already transpired today.
