“You know about that? God, how mortifying. You all must think I’m so weak, so gullible, so…”
“We think none of those things,” I cut her off. I hate how she is talking about herself. “Not for one second. Do you know what I see? I see a beautiful, smart, capable, independent, caring woman who has been trapped and hurt. I see a woman who felt like she was left with no choice but to stay with a man she hated yet depended on in some way either out of love or threats. I see a woman who figured out a way to survive, so don’t for one damn minute call yourself weak or gullible or stupid because it takes a brilliant person to survive what you have survived.”
“But last night…”
I bend over the table to get closer to her. “Last night was a woman looking for a way out, looking for peace, looking for a path that didn’t require so much fighting. Damn it, Charlie. It’s okay to be tired after everything you’ve been through, that doesn’t mean you’re weak. You’re human.”
She brings my hand to her cheek and bawls, clutching onto me so tight. “What else?”
“You had a miscarriage—”
She smiles sadly at me, and I know she knows.
“But the doctor said you didn’t know.”
“I think a woman always knows when she loses something that was a part of her. I mourned, but I was relieved too, which is probably why I haven’t been too stuck on it. I bled so much and I just…I knew. I don’t know how else to explain it. I know the doctor and Kenneth fed me bullshit. I was so devastated but then I thought…what if I had to raise a baby with that man? His cruelty, his hate, he would never love a child.” She rubs her chest as if her heart aches at what she never had. It probably doesn’t ache, it’s probably broken. “I miss her or him, but I’m thankful they didn’t have to experience him. I never wanted a child to be brought around him. Ever. He would have…I can only imagine the things he would have done, so yes, I know. I know I was pregnant. It wasn’t meant to be, and I have to trust that was best because I would have died protecting my child, but then what? Leaving her or him with Kenneth? No. Fucking. Way,” she sneers, wiping her cheek on my shirt.
She stares at her rings and scoffs, tugging them off her finger and throwing them onto the table. She sags against the booth. “The chains are gone,” she says, staring as the rings circle and circle until one by one they fall flat.
“The chains are gone, Cupcake.” I take the rings and tuck them in my pocket. I’ll pawn these too with the gun and make sure she has a nice stack of cash.
She smiles and cries at the same time and it’s beautiful to witness. She’s cried so much lately, but these tears are different. These are tears of happiness and of a woman who has found her life again.
Then she slaps the table and shakes her head, scrambling to get out of the booth. “I need to find my dad. Kenneth said if I ever tried to leave, he would kill him. Oh god, what if he is dead? What if I killed him because I didn’t stay with Kenneth? That was why. That was the only reason why.”
One slides out of the seat, but I just jump out of the booth by hopping over the back seat. “Your dad is safe. This isn’t my first rodeo. One of the guys is watching your dad. If it makes you feel better, you can call him.”
She nods fast and feels for her phone. “I don’t have my cell. Oh god, I’m going to be sick.”
“I turned your phone off so he can’t track you. I have your dad’s number. Here.” I search for his name and press call, then put it on speaker and hand the phone to Charlie.
It only rings twice before he answers. “Hello? Whistler? Everything okay?”
“Dad?” she sobs when she hears his voice.
“Charlie? What’s wrong, sweetheart?”
“You’re okay,” the words rush out of her in a whoosh. “You’re okay.”
“I’m fine, but you don’t sound it.” A beat of silence passes. “Kenneth called.”
Her smile drops from her face, and she grips my shirt so hard I hear the seam tear. “What did he want?”
“He wanted to know where you were, but I told him I didn’t know.”
“Keep it that way, Dad. Please.”
“I wasn’t born yesterday, pumpkin. I know he isn’t a good man.”
“You do?”
“I thought if I let him steal from me that he would keep you safe. He threatened to hurt you if I didn’t allow it to happen, but I should have known better. I failed you as a father. You aren’t that clumsy, are you?” the older man sniffles.
Mercy gets up from his chair and leaves. This topic hits too close to home. I don’t blame him for leaving. It’s hard for me to bear too.
“No, Dad. There’s so much we need to talk about but I’m safe. I’m with Whistler. I love you.”
“I love you too. I’m coming over, okay?”
“No. No, don’t. It isn’t safe. Kenneth might follow you. He doesn’t know I’m here but if you come here on a weekend he might.”
“I won’t let him keep me from you. I need to know you’re safe.”
She turns and her copper lashes blink as she slides them from the phone to stare at me. “I am safe, Dad. I promise. I think…”
I have to hold my breath with what she’s said and what she is about to say. Her eyes dart between mine as she finds her words.
“I think I’m the safest I’ve ever been in some time.”
I nod, giving her a reassuring grin, but on the inside, I’m fucking doing somersaults. This is huge. She feels safe here.
“Whistler is here, and he is protecting me. I…trust him.”
I could have fallen over if it weren’t for One behind me.
“I like them bikers, pumpkin. You stay with them, okay? I’ll act like I haven’t heard from you. I’ll see you Monday? Can I call you later? I’ll lose my mind otherwise,” he gets choked up and must pull the phone away because when he clears his throat, it sounds distant.
“Okay, Dad. Love you. Talk later.” She hangs up the phone and hands it back to me. “I don’t know what to do.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I’m so used to doing what Kenneth says. Work, money, groceries, dressing a certain way. I don’t know what to do now. I’m not his anymore. Maybe I get a restraining order?”
“We can do that. I’m not sure it will do anything, but legally it will be good to have. And Charlie? You’re free. You can do whatever you want.”
“It can’t be that easy.”
“It is. That ring is gone. He held you back from the truth, but you know it now. You want to go to Italy? I can make that happen.” The last thing I want is for her to be halfway around the world where I can’t protect her or have a chance to have her fall in love with me.
She throws herself at me and knocks the wind out of my body. Her arms tighten around my neck and her face nestles against my chest.
I’m surprised, but my arms work quickly, and I circle them around her, holding her tight.
“Thank you for saving me from him.” Her words are muffled against my chest. “And thank you for saving me from myself.”