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Devin’s wrong. We won’t be going home. Things will never go back to the way they were. That’s a fantasy of his and a nightmare for me, but it’s so different this time. There isn’t any protecting Zeke from who his father is, there’s no more charade. It’s over. As soon as Devin realizes it, he’ll either kill me or sue me for full custody. I won’t wait around for him to decide which.
“Hi,” I say to a woman at a sink in the bathroom. She looks to be in her fifties, with short auburn hair, wearing a pair of blue jeans and a green blouse. She pauses applying lipstick to turn to me.
“Sorry to bother you, but could I use your phone? I seem to have misplaced mine, and I need to call my babysitter.” I let out a nervous chuckle. “First time jitters, you know? My little girl will be ten months old tomorrow.”
She smiles knowingly and opens her purse. “I remember that feeling all too well. My kids will be twenty-seven, twenty-six and twenty-one this year.” She finds the phone and hands it to me. “Cherish them while they’re young, dear. It’ll go quicker than you know it.”
I nod and smile. “Thank you so much.”
I’m surprised when my fingers don’t shake dialing Colter’s number.
I didn’t plan to call him until the woman handed me the phone. I planned to call Kirsten.
I would let her know what was going on and that if I didn’t contact her in a few days to call the police. I don’t have much hope that Devin wouldn’t get away with murder, but at least Zeke would have a chance. If Devin was under investigation, if he lost his parental rights, Kirsten could try to file for him.
Or he’d go into foster care.
I will never fucking let that happen.
The phone rings, and as it does, every worry I had before seeing Devin’s face again seems so ridiculous. I don’t want to ruin Colter’s career, and I certainly don’t want him to do it out of obligation.
But what if he’s not doing it out of obligation? What if he’s doing it because he wants to? What if he’s doing it for the same reasons as me?
What if it means my life? My son’s life?
Who the fuck am I kidding? I want his protection. His safety. His heart. I want all of him and everything he has to give. I’ll spend the rest of my life giving in return.
“Please pick up,” I whisper, the phone pressed hard to my ear.
The woman must sense my anxiety because she frowns. “Oh dear, don’t worry. I’m sure everything is fine at home.”
No, it most certainly is not.
The door opens, and when I glance over my shoulder, I’m frozen.
Devin takes the phone, firmly presses end and hands it to her.
Her eyes wide with fright, she takes it and leaves the room without a word. I wonder if I’d be such a coward if I were in her place.
Without opening his mouth, Devin takes my hand. He grips tightly enough I can feel bones crushing, and when I yelp, he twists, snapping one of my bones.
I screech and yank my hand to my chest when he lets it go. It’s swollen and disfigured, and my eyes are wide staring at it. Tears fill my eyes and spill onto my cheeks. It isn’t the first time he’s broken a bone, but it’s the first time in public.
“Shut up,” he orders, yanking me by my hair to stand straight and look at him. My hand throbs and feels impossibly hot. Every time it moves a new wave of pain crashes over me, so I try to hold still.
“Who were you calling?”
“A friend I didn’t get to say goodbye to.” Tears slide down my cheeks that I wish I could suck back into my eyes. “I was only calling to say goodbye, that’s it. Her name was Samantha. She lived in the same building as—”
“Enough.” Devin fastens my hair around his wrists and pulls. My scalp stings, and I lift onto my toes on instinct.
“Do you think I’m an idiot, Abigail? Have you fucking forgotten who I am? What I can do to you?”
I say nothing, and Devin gets inches from my face, his breath skating over my lips. “An even better question,” he says, his voice deadly. “Do you think you’re in better hands with Colter Gruco? The congressman with a taste for hookers?” Devin laughs. “Isthatwho you were calling? He can’t save you, you stupid bitch. Even if he could, he wouldn’t. The only reason he’s breathing right now is because, apparently, he’s tied to some powerful people, but it doesn’t matter.” Devin smiles and shakes his head like he’s in on some joke I have no clue about. “He never wanted you. You were nothing but a pawn to him. You’renothing,Abigail. Nothing. No one wants you.”
He smoothes a strand of hair that’s fallen in my face back behind my ear, and my stomach recoils.
“No one except me.”