Page 5

CHAPTER 5

Birdie

My hands tremble as I collect my things. All I can think of is the pain that awaits me, and if I’m going to make it through the night without Blake’s rage marking me. I’ve hoped to hide my plans, at least, until I’m sure he doesn’t have any other choice but to let me go without consequences. But he found out. He always does.

“Where are you going?” Adriana asks as I try to leave the table.

“I don’t know.” Over the course of the eight years I’ve spent with Blake, I’ve come to know there’s nowhere to run from him. He’ll always find me. He’s worse than a stalker. I should have hired Morra. I need a bodyguard to protect me from my husband more than I’ll ever need one to protect me from anything else. “I can’t do this anymore. You don’t know Blake like I do. You have no idea what he’s capable of.”

“Birdie, you don’t know what that detective wants from you. Let’s hear him first before you make any decisions.”

“Blake sent him, Adriana.”

“You don’t know that. Listen, I have an idea. Tell the detective to come down here now. I’ll be sitting there,” she points at the table behind me, “and I’ll film the whole thing. If he is really sent to intimidate or coerce you in any way, we’ll have proof. It’ll strengthen our case immensely.”

I shake my head. “It’ll only make things worse.” All I can do is try to calm Blake down, lie to him and do whatever I can to mitigate his anger.

“I know you’re scared, but you don’t have to be. This is going to play in our favor, Birdie. If we get that new video, we can easily get a restraining order. You will be safe. He can’t hurt you anymore.”

Fear a vice around my heart, I choke on a tearless sob. Adriana doesn’t understand how unpredictable and dangerous Blake can be when provoked. A restraining order would only enrage him further.

She puts a hand on my shoulder. “I know what you’re thinking. A piece of paper won’t stop him. It’ll only make him more determined to retaliate. Maybe you’re right, but if we have tangible proof of his coercion tactics along with the other video that incriminates him in a serious felony, he will have no choice but to comply with your demands.”

I stare at my phone, and she says, “You’re stronger than you think, Birdie. We can do this. That’s why you hired me. We’re going to outsmart Blake for once. He will never come near you again.”

“If he already knows, it’s too late to back down anyway,” I mutter, logic and maybe despair rising above the dread.

“Exactly. Finish that call. I’m right here with you.”

I retrieve Detective Torrance’s call. “Are you still there?”

“Yes,” he says.

“I’m at a café nearby called Sweet Home.”

“I know the place. I can be there in fifteen.”

My chest flutters with anxiety, but I ignore it. I repeat Adriana’s words in my mind. We’re going to outsmart Blake for once . No more cowering in fear. “I’ll be waiting.”