“I can’t,” she whispered brokenly.
“You can. Look at me.” She stared up at him. “I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. You’re with me. Jed. Daddy.”
“Daddy,” she repeated.
“That’s right, baby girl.”
“My bubble bath will get cold.”
“I’ll draw you a new one then.”
“A new one. Okay. We’ll make a new one.”
“Tell me the rest, sugar,” he urged. He needed to hear it and she needed to get it out.
“The rest.” She drew in a deep breath. “I thought he was going to rape me. There was nothing I could do. And then I heard this cry. And then a thump. Bobby’s eyes rolled back in his head and he dropped on top of me. I was hysterical. I didn’t know what was happening. I looked up and saw Brad’s face.”
“Your brother?” His voice was hoarse.
“Yes. He knew I went to the pond on Saturdays and he’d come looking for me. He wanted money for-for something. He heard me scream. Saw what was happening and he picked up this big branch and hit Bobby over the head. He was pale, shaking and his terror helped me pull myself together. We got Bobby off me and then we just ran.” She shook her head. “We didn’t even stop to see if he was alive. We just took off.”
“Good,” he said fiercely. “He didn’t deserve any care. But how does this have anything to do with my grandfather?”
And why would she have left town with Bobby if he’d nearly raped her? Although he already knew the answer to that. She wouldn’t.
Yeah. Fuck him.
“We raced until we got back to our place. Mom wasn’t there. Sylvie wouldn’t be home until the next day. Brad wasn’t in a good way. . .I made him a hot chocolate. I told him he did the right thing over and over. He crashed in bed and then I. . .I lost it. I showered for a long time. Until the water went cold. And I cried. A lot. I was about to climb into bed even though I didn’t think I would sleep and I was wishing for once that Mom was home, there was this knock on the door.” She tensed. “It was your grandfather.”
He braced. “And?”
“I thought maybe someone found Bobby. Maybe he was dead. Maybe Brad killed him. I was shaking as I opened the door. He was so calm. So cold. He told me that he wanted me gone. Out of town. Out of your life. Bobby. . .Bobby wasn’t dead. But your grandfather had found him. He knew he was there. He sent him.”
“He sent him?” He couldn’t process what she was telling him.
She ran a shaking hand over her face. “He had these photos. I. . .I swear I fought him, Jed. I did. I didn’t want him. . .”
“Baby, hush, I know you didn’t.” His frozen state melted at the fear in her voice.
“But the photos. . .some of them looked like I was participating. I don’t know how he even had the photos.”
“They set it up,” he whispered.
“Yeah,” she whispered back. “Took me a long while to figure that out. Not until we were gone from that town. Not until I could think of that night without having a panic attack. I don’t know if he took the photos himself—”
“No way. He had lackeys for that shit. Somehow, he got Bobby to attack you, but to pin you in such a way it didn’t look like you were fighting. Must have had someone in the bushes, taking photos.”
“They. . .they weren’t the worst of the photos.”
“What?”
“They’d also taken photos of Brad hitting Bobby. Then of us fleeing the scene. You grandfather, he said it didn’t look good for me, but it really didn’t look good for Brad. That Bobby had a concussion, was in the hospital and that the sheriff was ready to take a statement. The sheriff who was really good friends with your grandfather.”
He’d arranged the whole thing. Jed couldn’t believe any of this. It felt like this was a dream. A story she was telling about something that had happened to someone else.
Not his girl.
“He said that both of us would be arrested. Brad for assault. Me for fleeing the scene. And for theft.”
“What fucking theft?”
“I asked him that, and he pulled out Bobby’s wallet. Said that Bobby could give a statement where I lured him out to the pond and came on to him then my brother hit him and we stole his wallet. That the photos of Brad hitting Bobby would be sent anonymously to the sheriff. But if I did what I was told, Bobby would tell everyone he had no idea who hit him.”
“That fucking asshole.”
“I said I would tell the truth. That Bobby attacked me. He asked me who I thought everyone would believe? The son from one of the most respected families in the county? Or the criminal daughter of the town whore.”
“Criminal? You fucking stole once to feed your brother and sister.”
“It doesn’t matter,” she whispered. “He was right. No one would believe me. Especially not the sheriff. He hated us and was good friends with your grandfather. He asked me what he thought would happen to Sylvie if I wasn’t around? How long it would take before Child Protection Services took her away? I couldn’t let that happen to Sylvie. You know about the last time we were taken in by CPS.”
He tightened his hold on her. Yeah, he fucking knew. And he couldn’t believe his grandfather would pull that on her. He had to know she would do whatever was needed to keep Sylvie out of care. When she was fourteen, she’d stolen some food because they hadn’t eaten for days. Unfortunately, she’d been caught. The sheriff had called in Child Protection Services, they’d found her mom two towns over, stoned. And they’d taken all three kids into care.
“Sylvie didn’t speak for two months after we got her back,” she whispered. “Brad, he came back with bruises everywhere. I couldn’t let that happen to them again. I had to protect them.”
“I know you did, baby.” He hated that all of that had been on her slim shoulders. That she’d had to make that choice. Had been forced to make it.
“I asked him what he wanted. He told me it was simple. He wanted me gone. Out of your life. That I was going to leave and I was never to contact you again. That if I did that, he’d make sure that nothing came back on Brad and me.”
The anger was so huge his insides were burning.
“I told him you’d try to follow me. Find me. He just smiled. Then he said I was going to leave a note, telling you I’d fallen in love with Bobby and that I never wanted to see you. Then I was to pack up everything, including my family, and go. That if I stayed away forever, then my brother would be protected and those photos would never be leaked. If I tried to contact you, he’d have no choice but to have Bobby change his statement.”
“I cannot fucking believe it.”
She tried to pull away from him, but he held her tight. “It’s true!” There was a hint of hysteria in her voice as she pushed at his chest.
“Baby, I didn’t mean I didn’t believe you. Hush. Calm down before you hurt yourself. I believe you. Every word. I just cannot believe he would do this. To me. To you.”
She slumped. As though all her energy had drained out of her. “He hated me. He said that he’d waited for you to tire of me. That he would never accept some white trash, worthless, daughter of a whore into his family.”
He gathered her tight, rocked her. “Baby. Baby.”
“I knew he didn’t like me. . .but I never realized. . .I don’t even know why he suddenly decided I had to go then. . .I’ve never understood.”
“I asked for my grandmother’s ring.”
“What?”
He stared into the distance. “I called him and asked for her ring and he knew I was going to propose to you when I got back. He pretended to be happy. He must have got desperate. Concocted this fucking scheme to get you out of my life. And I fucking fell for it. He even offered to send a PI after you. To find you. I told him no. Wonder what he would have done if I’d said yes. No doubt he had a plan.”
“What happened to Bobby?”
“I don’t know,” she whispered. “I never saw him again after that night.”
&nb
sp; “Bobby’s old man owed my grandfather something. I never knew what, but my grandfather would talk about the debt sometimes. Bobby was used to pay for it.” Didn’t excuse what he’d done in any way.
They were silent for a long time while he processed this.
“I thought about contacting you. All the time. About calling you and telling you the truth. But I was scared. I had to protect Brad and Sylvie. I used the money you left me to get us out of there. We were gone less than a week when Mom found some man and left us.”
That bitch.
“I was all they had.”
“I know, baby.”
“When they were older, out of reach of CPS, I looked you up. Couldn’t help myself. That’s when I saw you were engaged and I knew that I’d do more damage than good with the truth.”
They were both silent, thinking.
“Part of me thought he was right.”
He stiffened. “What?”
“I wasn’t ever good enough for you, Jed. I was a criminal. A thief. I lived in a trailer—”
He turned her so she faced him, her legs straddling his. He had to fight the urge to shake her. “That’s bullshit! You were everything to me. You were beautiful, sweet and kind. You still are. And I won’t stand for you saying bad things about yourself. You weren’t good enough for me? You were everything that was light and sweet and good about my world. You best not talk badly about my girl.”
Tears flooded her eyes. “I try to fight his voice. To tell myself that none of what he said about me was true. Mostly, I’m successful. Sometimes I’m not.” She gestured at her thigh.
His jaw tightened at that reminder of the pain his grandfather still put her through.
Daisy slumped against him. Enough. It was time to take care of his girl. “Baby girl, you need sleep.”
“Don’t think I can manage a bath.”
“Then let’s get you into bed.” He picked her up and carried her into the bedroom, setting her down briefly on the side of the bed so he could pull back the covers. Then she shocked him by asking a question he didn’t expect.
“You really believe me?”
He helped her into bed, then got in her after her, pulling her onto his chest. “Of course, I believe you.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Daisy-girl, you have nothing to be sorry about.”
“I do. He said you wouldn’t believe me. That with all the evidence, if I tried to explain you would side with him. I believed him. I shouldn’t have.”
No. She shouldn’t have. But she was seventeen and she’d learned the hard way that people could be assholes. She’d learned to rely on herself. That she had to be the strong one, who made the decisions, who took care of her family. Too much fucking responsibility was laid on those thin shoulders.
“If anyone should be saying sorry, it’s me. I left you there. Knowing your world wasn’t a great place. My fucking grandfather arranged to have you assaulted then blackmailed you, he kept us apart for ten years. After you left, he told me he thought you were only with me for his money. He warned me that people might come out of my past once I inherited his fortune. That’s why I accused you of searching me out for money. Even in death, it’s like he was trying to keep us apart.”
She reached around and placed her hand over his mouth. “Not your fault, dragon. You didn’t know what happened.”
But that didn’t mean he still didn’t feel guilty.
* * *
He glanced down at the woman lying in bed, wearing his t-shirt. Damn, if he didn’t like that even more than seeing her in those cutesy nighties. She was sucking on the binky he’d bought for her and she looked so young.
Sweet and innocent.
She’d been through hell. He ground his teeth together then grabbing his phone he walked out into the hallway. The whole place needed cameras. A security system. Why hadn’t he seen to that already?
Yet another way he’d fallen short.
He brought up Kent’s phone number
“Hey, man, everything okay?” Kent’s hushed voice sounded through the phone. Then he heard a woman’s voice. Abby. “It’s all right, sweet girl, go back to sleep.”
He winced. There was rustling noises.
“All right, speak,” Kent ordered.
“Sorry to wake her, chief.”
“It’s fine. What’s going on? Daisy all right?”
“No,” he told him honestly. Then without another word, he laid it all out for his boss. The man who’d taken him in, given him a job, a purpose, a home even though he hadn’t really thought of it that way until now. After leaving the Navy, he’d had no idea what he was going to do. He only knew he needed to get out.
Kent had given him all that.
“What do you need?”
And that was the reason he’d given the man his loyalty. Kent always had his back.
“Bobby-John Jones,” he bit out. “Can’t go after him myself. Can’t leave Daisy.”
“She comes first,” Kent agreed. “I’ll send Zander.”
That’s who he would send. Zander was a damn good tracker, not as good as he was but then he was the best. Zander could be a terse bastard but he had a soft streak for women. There was just one issue.
“I want him alive and in one piece.” With Zander, it was a crap-shoot whether that would happen.
Kent sighed. “Want me to send Bain?”
Bain was probably the guy he was closest to. But he wasn’t the tracker Zander was.
“No. Just make sure Zander knows he’s mine.”
“Got it.” There were a few beats of silence. “Jed, you have to know it wasn’t your fault, what happened to Daisy.”
Wasn’t it? Then how come there was a boulder of guilt on his shoulders? “I didn’t go after her back then. I was nursing my hurt. I should have. Knew it didn’t add up but I didn’t go find her.”
“He was your grandfather. You loved him.”
He had. The bastard hadn’t deserved it.
“I didn’t treat her well when she turned up here. Thought she was after his money.”
“It’s been ten years. Had to be a surprise.”
“Some of the things we’ve done. . .if I’d known. . .I would have gone gentler.”
“I’m thinking if you did anything to scare her, you would have noticed that. I’m guessing she enjoyed whatever you did. Jed, man, you know whether she’s talked to anyone? A therapist? ‘Cause I’m thinking all this stuff with Lyle stalking her, it might stir things up.”
“I don’t know.”
“If you need someone, I got a friend who lives in Texas. He knows this therapist there who’s in the lifestyle. Her husband is the sheriff and her Dom. Apparently, she’s good.”
“Give me her name.” Because he wanted his girl to have whatever she needed.
“I’ll call my friend. See if I can pull some strings,” Kent told him. “Jed, whatever you need. We’re here for you.”
“Thanks, chief.”
He walked back into the bedroom, strode to the side of the bed and stared down at her. The binky had fallen out, and she was sucking on her thumb. Normally, he’d switch them over but right now he didn’t want to deny her anything.
He took a deep breath, let it out slowly as he remembered her telling him about Bobby attacking her. The look of horror on her face when he’d seen her bruised thigh.
Fuck. Fuck.
Breathe through it.
Images raced through his head, one after the other until he knew there was no way he could sleep right now. Instead, he walked to the wall and sat with his back against it. He’d stay here, watch over her, but he wouldn’t sleep.
* * *
She woke suddenly, her heart racing.
Something was wrong. Where was she? She breathed deep for a minute then took a look around. Her heart slowed as she recognized the room. Memories rushed back to her. Moany Mike the stalker. Telling Jed everything. Jed putting her to bed.
But there was no Jed next to her.
She sat up slowly then spotted him over by the door. He was sitting, leaning against the wall, his legs pulled up to his chest, his bent arms resting on his knees, the palms of his hands pressed to his eyes.
He looked sad. Almost defeated.
Her stomach tightened into a knot. She’d done this.
“I should never have told you.”
He didn’t look up. Didn’t say anything for a while and her guilt grew.
“I blamed you,” he finally said.
“What?”
“I blamed you. For leaving me. Hated you, even. And it was all him.”
She climbed out of bed. “Jed.”
“I just need a minute, sugar. Stay in bed.”
She glanced at the clock beside her. Five in the morning. How long had he been sitting there for?
He still didn’t look at her. And she wasn’t staying in bed. But still she felt hesitant as she walked over, knelt on the floor in front of him. Her hand shook as she reached out, hoping like hell he didn’t reject her. When she touched his arm, he looked at her. Maybe it was a trick of the light, but she swore tears glinted in his eyes.
Oh God. She’d brought tears to her man’s eyes.
“Ten years. Ten years he took from us.” One of those tears dripped down his face. Tears burned in her eyes and she forced them back. He’d always been strong for her. This time, it was her turn. Her man was hurting and she needed to do whatever she could to help him.
“I know, honey,” she said soothingly. “But we’re together now.”
“And I nearly ruined that. Thought you were here for the money. Didn’t take long for me to realize it wasn’t that. Then I couldn’t get you out of mind. Hard to sleep, to concentrate. Thought I’d buried it all deep. Built impenetrable shields and you blasted right through them. You’re so deep in me, don’t know where I end and you begin.”
“Jed—”
“And I don’t wanna know. ‘Cause I don’t ever intend to pull us apart.”
That hurt disappeared.
“I’m here, my dragon. I’m not going anywhere. For the last ten years, I’ve felt like I’ve just been going through the motions. When we fled Lawrence, I needed to find a place for us to go. I had to find a job. Had to take care of Sylvie and Brad. Had to deal with Mom leaving us. I used to have panic attacks. Nightmares. I lived half a life. There was always something. Always a decision to be made, a bill to pay, a crisis to overcome. Brad left to go travelling and even though I was happy for him, it left me with Sylvie to take care of. And she. . .I know I shouldn’t talk badly of my sister but she drains me. I knew I had to get away. To do something for myself. I was lost, Jed. Always lost.”
Daddy’s Lost Love Page 17
