Page 1 of Daddy's Little Bunny (Ivory Mountain Daddies #2)
NINE MONTHS EARLIER
C assidy knew her husband would be home any moment and dinner wasn’t ready. It was a stupid mistake that she had no control over, but he wouldn’t care.
It wasn’t her fault that the lines at the grocery store were extra long today when she went. Then she had gotten distracted by reading the latest release that her favorite author put out.
She knew better than to start something so close to him being home, but it had tempted her all day.
That part was her fault, but these days the only light she had in her life was the books that she read without David knowing. It would only give him more ammunition to use against her.
However as the days progressed, Cassidy didn’t think he needed a reason to hit her anymore. She could breathe incorrectly and he would take that as a sign that she needed to learn another lesson.
Standing at the stove stirring the pasta, she heard the key slip into the lock. Tensing she took a breath waiting for him to make his presence known.
“Darling? Where are you?”
Cassidy cleared her throat before responding. He would prey upon any sign of fear that she showed.
She learned that lesson the hard way once before. Now she made it a priority to not show any sort of emotion that he could use against her.
“I’m just finishing up dinner. It should be done in less than five minutes.
I’m sorry that I didn’t have it done before you got home.
There were long lines at the store and it put me behind getting home and starting it.
” She responded hearing the safe open as he dropped his utility belt and stored the gun he carried for work.
David was the captain of their local police department. The irony wasn’t lost on her that the person who took an oath to serve and protect the community made it his mission to keep his wife on a short leash and control her every move.
She was still healing from the last bruises that he left. Luckily, it was starting to cool down and so she had an excuse to wear long sleeves. It was always harder to hide things during the summer.
Cassidy stilled as he walked up behind her and pressed a small kiss upon her cheek.
“It’s fine, darling. The chief held us a little longer today to go over a case, so it will be fine. Smells delicious.”
The compliments started early, which could only mean that he had a rough day at work. Those days meant that she wouldn’t fare well and needed to be extra cautious because his mood would flip in a second, and she would be on the receiving end of his wrath.
The sound of ice hitting a tumbler clued her in that he was pouring his drink early. David’s drink of choice is always scotch, and he never hits the bottle lightly.
Carrying over the plate of chicken alfredo and breadsticks to the table he had settled at, she tried to steady her hands. It was as if everything happened in slow motion.
Cassidy had never been the greatest at walking and tonight seemed to be the night that the air decided not to play nice.
Tripping, she tried her hardest to keep the plate upright and in her hands, but the unimaginable happened instead.
Cassidy hit the floor watching as the plate of hot food landed on David’s lap. She knew what the roar that followed meant.
“I’m so sorry! Please, I didn't mean to drop the plate.”
Cassidy tried to scramble to her feet, but pain exploded across her abdomen dropping her back to the floor. Gasping for breath, she tried to move again.
Sharp pain gripped her as she was pulled to her feet by the strong hand tangled in her hair.
“You worthless piece of shit!” David roared above her.
Blood dripped out of the split lip that followed the open-hand slap she received. Cassidy hasn’t seen him this angry in a long time. It was her fault for being stupid. She should have been watching better where she was walking.
Cassidy saw stars as he slammed her against the wall. She did not doubt that she would have another concussion after this. David’s hands wrapped around her neck and began to squeeze. Panicking, she scratched at his hands hoping to dislodge his hold on her.
“David,” she gasped out the moment he released her just the slightest .
She looked into his eyes seeing nothing but hatred. Cassidy would never understand what she had done to deserve the abuse that he gave her.
Was she such a horrible person that it brought the worst out of her husband? It hadn’t always been like this.
David used to be so sweet and spoiled her every chance he got. Once they were married though, a switch flipped, and the kind David only appeared after nights like tonight.
“You’re finally going to learn your place tonight. I don’t know how many times I have to teach it to you before you get it through your fucking skull.”
Cassidy could no longer hold back the tears threatening to run down her face.
Landing a punch to her ribs, “You are worthless.” Another punch to her stomach, “No one will ever love you.” Spots flashed behind her eyes as he slammed her head again. “You will never amount to anything but the dirty whore that you are.”
Cassidy didn’t know how much more she could take. “I own you and you will never escape.” That was the last thing she heard from David before the strike across her temple turned her world black.
The steady beeping and the smell of antiseptic greeted her when she came to. Cassidy couldn’t remember anything after the last hit to her skull happened.
There was no doubt that David brought her here. He needed to save face if anyone saw what he had done to her. Her face felt half missing and the throbbing that accompanied it hurt .
“Mrs. Taylor, it’s good to see you awake. You had us worried for a little bit.”
She turned towards the sound of the sweet voice she heard and her world spun. Leaning her head back and closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and tried to battle the nausea she felt.
Yep, she one hundred percent had a concussion again. This would make her fourth one this year. How many concussions can one receive before permanent damage occurs?
“No sudden movement, Mrs. Taylor. You have a concussion. We had to remove your spleen because it had ruptured and the fractured ribs you have will take some time to heal.”
She slowly nodded her head and glanced at her name tag, Hope RN it read. For once Cassidy was taking it as a sign. She had hope that this was the end.
“How long have I been here?”
“You were admitted on Tuesday evening. Today is Friday, so about three days. It has been a long uphill battle these past three days. The doctor has hope that everything will heal perfectly and you will be good to go home soon.”
“And where’s my husband?” she croaked out past a dry throat.
“Your husband stepped out and went to the cafeteria. He’s been at your bedside since you were admitted. I can page him if you would like.”
Rapid beeping followed Hope’s question, giving away the fear that gripped her soul.
“Okay, okay. It’s alright, Mrs. Taylor. We don’t have to get him.”
There was a pause before Hope spoke again.
“He did this to you, didn’t he?”
Cassidy nodded her head, refusing to speak the words. She had been asked that question every time that he put her in the hospital, but never before now did she feel like she could answer it honestly.
“We can help you. There are resources out there that help women in your position.”
“I can’t. He’s the captain of our police department. I’ll never be free from him. I need to get out of here before he comes back.” Cassidy started to pull at the IV in her arm.
“Wait, Cassidy, just take a breath. It’s going to be okay.”
“No! I need to go now. If he comes back, I’ll never escape. Next time, it won’t end with me in a hospital bed. It will end with me in a grave.” Taking a deep breath she turned and pleaded with Hope. “Please, just help me.”
She watched Hope pause before saying, “Okay, I’ll help you.”
Cassidy watched as Hope pulled the IV from her arm and started to help her put the clothes on that she was admitted with.
She felt gross putting them back on and would have loved to shower first, but right now she couldn’t focus on that.
She needed to focus on getting out of the hell she had lived in the past few years. That was the only thing that mattered right now.
“I’m not supposed to help you do this, but I’ve been you. I was you many years ago and wish that someone would have helped me.”
Tears flowed down her face as she looked at Hope. How could someone as sweet as this woman ever be treated the way that she had?
“Here’s what you’re going to do. Go down the back stairwell and it will lead you to the back parking lot. From there, you need to find your way to the pizza place on 5th Avenue. When you get there, ask to speak to Dustin and tell him that Hope sent you. He can help you from there. ”
Cassidy nodded her head praying that she would remember all of this. Concussions sucked and this was probably the worst one yet.
As she finished getting dressed, she wondered how many times Hope had helped someone in her position. It had to have been many with the directions that she just provided.
One doesn’t give information that precise and that quickly without having done so many times previously.
“Be careful, Cassidy. Make sure to take care of yourself and if you start to have any signs of complications, you need to find your way to the nearest emergency room. Remember that you just had major surgery.”
Finally dressed, Cassidy gave Hope a big hug and whispered a thank you before slipping out the hallway. This was going to be the start of her new beginning, as long as she survived her escape.