He had never once laid a hand on his daughter, though he’d hit me in front of her enough that she feared him all the same.
Over the last six months, things had changed with Tessa. She’d turned two and become aware of the world around her. That world being one where her father was an extremely dangerous man.
The crying any time he picked her up had started shortly after her birthday, and it infuriated Walt to the point that I spent my nights wondering how much longer she’d be safe under the same roof with him. I’d die before I let him hurt her, and as the days passed, I feared that might just be what it would come to. Time was running out. There was only so long that I could blame her reaction to him on teething or whatever mystery illness I could come up with.
“Mama,” she cried, reaching out for me with both arms as he approached.
My pulse spiked as I stepped into his path.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” I tried to distract him by placing my hands on the lean muscles of his pecs and pressing myself against his front.
He arched a menacing eyebrow. “Can I say hello to my daughter first?”
I stood on my toes and ghosted my lips across his. “Well, you could, but she skipped her nap today, so she’s in a terrible mood. How about I put our girl to bed then properly apologize to you for this afternoon?”
His eyes heated as his fingers painfully gripped my hips. “What do you have in mind?”
With shaky hands, I reached behind me and took Tessa’s tiny outstretched arm. She calmed instantly, so I kept my attention on Walt and seductively purred, “I’d rather hear what you have in mind.”
He studied my face for a moment, his eyes inspecting the bruises I’d done my best to conceal with makeup. “You know, if you’d asked that question earlier, you wouldn’t look like this.”
“I know. Which is why I’m asking now.”
He held my gaze for a minute longer then murmured against my mouth, “Get her in bed. I have a few calls to make first.”
I nodded swiftly, jumping in surprise when he squeezed my ass.
He lifted his focus over my shoulder and cooed, “Night-night, princess.” Then he turned his eyes back on me. “I won’t be long. Go take a shower.”
I’d taken a shower less than two hours ago. But that was the one thing Walt and I agreed on—I couldn’t get clean enough. Not when his filth clung to me.
I kept the smile up as he left the room. Then, when he was out of sight, I sucked in a ragged breath and tamped down the overwhelming desire to vomit.
There was no time for that.
I had but one objective: keep Tessa safe.
I’d sacrifice my heart, my body, and my soul to accomplish it.
Tonight, it was my body.
I awoke the next morning to my phone screaming on my nightstand. Or maybe it was only ringing, but my head was splitting in half from the sound.
“Shit,” I groaned when the night before came flooding back to me. I slapped my hand around until I found the offending device.
I answered only to silence it.
“Mrs. Leblanc?” the man on the other end questioned.
I threw my arm over my face and sighed. “It’s Keller now, but yes, this is she.”
“Oh…sorry about that. Ms. Keller. My name is Detective Rorke, and I’m with the Atlanta PD. I was wondering if you would be able to come by the station today and answer some questions we have for you.”
“Me? You want to question me? I mean… I’m sorry. What kind of questions?”
He chuckled. “I’m sure it’s nothing. Could you be here in an hour?”
An hour sure as hell didn’t sound like it was nothing.
I slowly sat up, allowing my head time to adjust to being vertical again. “Uh…can you at least tell me what it’s in regard to?”
“I’d rather we discuss this in person.”
“In an hour? Right.”
“As soon as you can get here, Ms. Leblanc,” he added kindly.
“Keller,” I corrected then sighed. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Perfect. See you soon.”
As he hung up, I jumped out of bed and rushed to the shower.
I shouldn’t have rushed.
Three hours later, I was still sitting in an empty hallway at the police station, no closer to finding out why I’d been brought in than I had been on the phone.
When I’d arrived, Detective Rorke hadn’t been there, so a uniformed officer escorted me to a room that screamed Law & Order more than it did a friendly chat.
Staring at myself in what I was positive was a two-way mirror, I racked my brain for what they could possibly need to question me about. With not so much as a speeding ticket on my record, I was a rule-follower by nature. Trouble and I did not coexist.
After about an hour, a different officer came in and escorted me to a chair in the hallway. More than once over the last two hours, I’d stopped people walking by, trying to get to the bottom of why I was there. But, each time, I’d been shut down by a tight smile and some variation of, “I’m sure it’s nothing.”