“
Please
,”
she whispered as tears filled her big doe eyes and I scowled.
“
I have no idea what you are talking about, but I found you down here. Again. Looks like you passed out. Let
’
s take you to a hospital
…”
I started to suggest.
“
No!
”
She pleaded, her hand up. She tried to sit, tried to stand up, and I helped her this time. "He will find..."
“
You passed out. You clearly have a fever
…”
I started to say, interrupting her, trying not to care; trying to ignore the fear in her voice and eyes; trying unsuccessfully to ignore the bruising on her neck that peeked out of the collar of her sweater when she shook her head; fighting the urge that I knew would turn into a need to watch over them.
“
I
…
I can
’
t. He
’
ll find me. Please
…
look, I
’
ll get out of your way
…
.I just… can
’
t go to a
…
.
”
Her words started to soften quickly, I felt her body grow weak and moved just in time before her eyes rolled back and she fainted...in my arms.
“
Fuck!
”
I couldn
’
t help cursing. My shoulders aching, I picked her up and carried her to my car, then went back to hers to get the car seat out and gently fastened the baby into my car. I made a U-Turn, heading back up to my place, and picked up my phone.
“
Jerry, I need your help.”
John
“
John, she has a high fever and bruises all over her body. We should take her to a hospital,
”
Jerry told me and I couldn’t fight the feeling of helplessness that swept over me. What was it about this woman that had me feeling as if I was tied in knots?
I haven’t felt this way since
…
I shook away the thoughts of the past.
“
She begged me not to before she passed out, Jerry. She was terrified,
”
I told him as I walked over to the wet bar in my office.
Once I’d got them home, I’d carried Anne into a guest room and had taken the quiet, bright blue-eyed baby with me to my office. She sat staring at me with wonder. Baby Nikki was a good baby, but this one was better. Not once had she cried or fussed. I stared at her as she smiled at Jerry.
“
I get that, but what about the baby? She needs someone to take care of her
and
the kid,
”
Jerry said.
I knew he was right. Something had happened to Anne for her to be that bruised and my blood boiled at the thought of anyone hurting her or the sweet little girl who was now staring at me.
Someone started to pound at the front door and I frowned at Jerry.
“
Cara called Mike and Sabrina. She was scared when I told her you called me over here with my medical bag,
”
he admitted and I ran my fingers through my hair, hoping that I wouldn’t pull every strand out before the night was over. I closed my eyes in an effort to find some kind of patience, but I had never been a patient man.
“
Hey, you okay?
”
Mike asked as he walked into my study, his eyes looking me over.
“
I'm fine. They shouldn't have called you,
”
I growled.
“
John, if something's the matter you should tell us, we’re your family!
”
Sabrina said to me, her pretty face scowling. When she called me family it did something to me. I just wasn
’
t sure what. Taking a deep breath, I put my arm around her and she held on tight.
“
You should fix that road. It's creepy driving up,
”
she huffed against my chest and I nodded.
“
Thanks, honey. I
’
ll make sure I do that.
”
“
John,
”
Sabrina said, breaking my hug, and I looked at her. Her soft eyes opened wide in surprise, her pretty face was slightly tilted,
“
Why is there a baby in your office?
”
I looked over to where the pretty little baby girl was sitting in her car seat staring at us as if she was watching a sitcom. Jerry smirked and Mike looked surprised as hell. So I did the only thing I could do. I explained to them what had happened and Sabrina immediately picked up the baby girl who hadn’t fussed once through this whole ordeal. She held her close as she was walking towards me.
“
She needs food and a new diaper,
”
Sabrina told us like a true momma bear.
Jerry offered to head down to the car. Sabrina handed the little girl over to me so she could head to the room Anne was in to check on her.
The little girl appeared to be about six months old. She stared at me with big blue eyes filled with an innocence and fearlessness too big for her face. Her tiny chubby hand came up to my face as she grabbed my nose and gave me a toothless grin and something tugged at me again. I looked away and noticed Mike staring at me.
“
You could take her to a hospital,
”
he told me, his voice calm and quiet, and I knew exactly what he was doing.
“
She begged me. I couldn't turn her away,
”
I told him, not breaking my stare, then my eyes went back to the sweet little princess in front of me.
“
Someone might be looking for her. Or worse still, what if that isn
’
t her baby?
”
Mike brought up.
“
It
’
s hers. When you see her, you
’
ll know. This little princess looks just like her momma,
”
I cooed at her and she giggled.
“
John
…”
“
I know. I’m asking for trouble. That
’
s obvious.
”
I took a deep breath.
“
If you had seen her. If you had talked to her . . . Shit, Mike. Don
’
t get on me about this. I made up my mind. When she wakes up, I
’
ll talk to her and go from there.
”
I looked up at him. His eyes worried, he sighed as he extended his arms out to hold the baby. He held her like a natural, but she didn’t look away from me. Not once did her big eyes stop staring at me with wonder, almost tracking me, not wanting to lose sight of me. Her little smile was bright and pretty.
Somehow I looked away and glanced towards Mike. Mike was like a brother to me. And like any brother would do, even when worried, he smiled at me.
“
What do you need from me?
”
He asked, letting me know that no matter what, he had my back like he knew I had his.
Anne
Waking up slowly was something I hadn't done in a long time, yet I couldn't seem to fully open my eyes. I was trying to remember where I was, what had happened, but my mind was groggy. Trying to swallow even though my mouth felt like it had been stuffed with cotton balls, I tried to sit up, but my body felt so heavy and suddenly pain started to come in. My back was killing me. Why did my back hurt?
That
’
s when everything came crashing down on me. His friend had come into the diner. I had thought he hadn
’
t recognized me. He had always made me get my hair done. It had always been blond, and now I made sure to keep it its natural color. His friend hadn
’
t acted like he knew who I was, so I hadn't worried. I'd stupidly let my guard down and hadn’t thought I had anything to worry about.
I
’
d been wrong. So damn wrong!
I should have packed my things and hightailed it out of there. Instead, I’d let myself think we were safe.
I'd been wrong.
He had told
him
.
After a year and half, I had made the mistake of getting comfortable. I somehow stopped paying attention. He had followed me home and beat the crap out of me at my apartment.
That was until Mr. Campbell stopped him. He threatened him with a gun I hadn’t known my sweet, elderly neighbor owned, and had yelled at him to get away from me. Thankfully, Zoey had been asleep. She’d never stirred. He never saw her.
He’d left telling me it wasn
’
t over. I didn’t know what I would have done if not for Mr. Campbell. Then
…
God, why can
’
t I open my eyes?
Warm hands were at my forehead, and my heart raced against my chest. I could hear two male voices murmuring.
Open your eyes, Anne!
I thought to myself, but my body was so tired that my eyes refused to obey.
***
The sun's warmth filtered through as I opened my eyes slowly. I saw a huge picturesque window with tons of natural light seeping through and I sat up realizing I didn’t recognize where I was. Pain shot through my sides immediately; my heart was racing. Where was I? Oh God, Zoey? Had
he
found us?
“
Hey
…
relax, you are okay,
”
a deep voice said, and I looked to the far side of the room. He looked familiar but my mind was fuzzy.
“
I
…
.I
…”
I tried to talk, but everything hurt and my mouth was dry.
“
I
’
m not going to hurt you. Do you remember me? I helped change your flat?
”
He asked, his voice like gravel and slightly sleepy. His dark eyes were filled with concern. It all came back to me.
With Mr. Campbell watching over Zoey for me, I had thrown the necessities into trash bags, then had thrown it all in my car. Mr. Campbell's eyes had been sad as he had handed me an envelope with cash in it and I had promised I would pay him back. He had told me I should call the police, but I thought he understood why I couldn
’
t. Mr. Campbell had recognized him. He knew how the world worked. I promised to get in touch and he’d promised he would go in to the diner and tell Mrs. Garcia what had happened.
When I’d started to drive aimlessly, a million things running through my mind, I’d decided to exit the freeway. It had started to rain hard and my threadbare tire had given out as I’d pulled onto a dirt road. It had been pouring rain, and I couldn't get the bolts out when an SUV had come down the hill and made a U-turn, parking behind me.
“
John,
”
I whispered, and he nodded.
“
It
’
s okay, Kitten, your little girl is fine too.
”
Kitten?
I shook my head, no time to think what that was about. All that mattered was that Zoey was safe.
“
Zoey,
”
I whispered, realizing my throat was on fire and I winced.
“
Here
…
this will help,
”
he said as he brought me a cup of tea. I sipped it slowly.
“
My friend Jerry is a doctor. You told me not to take you to a hospital, but you were in really bad shape so I called him. He said you're okay. Bruised ribs, but he doesn
’
t think they
’
re broken,
”
he told me, sounding a little surly. Almost a little ticked off.
“
Thank you,
”
I whispered as his dark eyes were assessing me,
“
We will get out of your hair
…”
I started to say but he sighed loudly.
“
Look, he was pretty pissed at me for not taking you to a hospital,
”
he told me, running his fingers through his hair and I couldn’t seem to look away, wondering if his hair would feel as soft as it looked. He was older, probably early forties, but he was extremely distinguished-looking and handsome in a way that told you he knew exactly how good looking he was.
“
It
’
s obvious you are in trouble. Your ribs are pretty bruised and you need to rest. I
’
m hardly ever here. Not only that, but there is a lot of space. You can rest here. I just need to know one thing.
”
I took in what he was saying, what he offered. A place to stay and hide. I wanted to jump at the chance, but there was always a catch.
“
What
’
s that?
”
I asked, hoping my voice didn’t tremble.
“
Zoey
…
you said her name was Zoey?
”
He asked and I stiffened.
“
Yes
”
, I whispered, then tried to clear my throat.
“
Is she yours?
”
He asked, his eyes taking in everything about me.
“
What?” I felt confused.
“
Is she yours?
”
He asked again, his face still in a scowl.
“
What do you mean?
”
I asked, not clear with what he was asking or implying.
“
She isn
’
t a kid who is going to appear on a milk carton?
”
He clarified in a surly way that told me he was running out patience.
“
No! God no! Yes. Zoey is my daughter,
”
I told him once I figured out what he was trying to ask.
“
I hate to ask, but is there proof?
”
He asked, raising an eyebrow, making him look even hotter.
Thinking quickly, my cheeks burned at how I could prove it at that particular moment. I lay back in bed slowly without looking over at him, lifting my shirt slightly while lowering the sleep shorts I was in and trying hard not to think about who had changed me out of my wet clothes and dressed me.