Cal’s lips press into a firm line.
“When we slept together, I saw them. She was embarrassed. Thought I wouldn’t want her because of them.” Fuck, my chest aches. “Do you think Zella is ashamed? Is that why she’s denying it was him?”
Cal shrugs and walks up to me, a frown on his face. “That or she’s scared. Maybe he threatened her.”
My blood boils and I fist my hands. “I’m going to kill him.”
“And leave your kid parentless?” He shakes his head. “No, you get Samantha’s ass on this. Beating that motherfucker to death will only feel good for a second. Then, you’ll be cuffed and dragged to jail. Zella needs you.”
I know he’s right. Cal could have killed Michael and Ryan for what they did to Charlotte, but he didn’t. They lived and after the trial, their asses will be locked up for a very long time. Too much evidence stacked against them. It’s sweeter justice in the end. I need to get Samantha to move the ball on this custody shit so she can be with me full-time and I don’t have to worry about Jack’s sadistic ass.
“I need to apologize to Zella,” I say with a sad sigh. “I don’t want her to think I’m like Jack.”
He nods and clutches my shoulder. “Get in there.”
We head back inside. Penny is packing up the little backpack of dolls Zella brought. Zella is no longer crying, but she’s withdrawn and staring at the floor. Charlotte and Kate both shoot me a sympathetic smile.
“I’ll take her home,” Penny says, not meeting my gaze.
“Absolutely not.” I try to keep the venom out of my tone so I don’t freak Zella out anymore. “I’ll take her home.”
Penny stands up, lifting her chin, fire blazing in her eyes. “I think it’s best if I do.”
“Penny,” I grit out. “I don’t want you anywhere near that man. It’s bad enough I have to send my daughter back there. Just stay here.”
“We’ll go with him,” David says, giving Penny a nod. “Just stay here with your sister. We’ll make sure Zella gets in safely and that Terrence doesn’t do anything to get himself in trouble.”
Penny’s shoulders relax and she nods. She gives Zella a fierce hug, bends to whisper something to her, and then kisses her forehead. I’m still in awe at the relationship they’ve already formed having only met twice.
I squat down in front of Zella and hold my palm up to her. “Mello Zello?”
Her gaze lifts to mine, teary and sad. My heart stutters when she places her palm in mine. I squeeze it affectionately.
“I’m sorry I yelled. Daddy was worried about you. I don’t want anyone to hurt you. It makes me sad.” I give her a gentle smile. “You understand? It’s because you’re my little girl and I love you. I want to protect you.”
She nods, more tears forming.
“It’s okay to tell the truth, even if it scares you.”
Her frown deepens and her shoulders sulk. I’m clearly not reaching her, which means I need to stop pressing. It hurts, but I have no other choice if I want to salvage our new, delicate relationship.
“Let’s get you back home,” I say in a light voice, trying desperately to keep the fire out of my tone.
We all load into my Trailblazer. David sits up front with me while Cal sits in the back with Zella. I’m thankful for Cal’s idiot ways because halfway back to Jack’s, he has her giggling. I owe my best friend for those sweet laughs.
“Let me do the talking,” David says when we pull into the driveway at Jack’s. “Keep your cool, James.”
I let out a ragged sigh. “I’ll try.”
Quickly, I climb out and go to get Zella. I kiss her forehead and then pull back to look at her.
“We cool, Mello Zello?”
She smiles and nods. “Can I come back?”
“Of course. I’m going to make it happen.”
I pull her out of her seat and then set her to her feet. She holds my hand, squeezing it like it’s a lifeline.
“We should have taken pictures,” I hiss out to Cal as David walks ahead of us.
“Penny took some while we were outside,” Cal murmurs, keeping his voice low enough Zella doesn’t hear. “She texted me on the way here. Samantha is going to have a social worker come out here tomorrow. Everything is going to be okay.”
Nothing feels okay about sending your child to doom.
We climb up the steps and David knocks on the door. A moment later, Jack answers the door. His eyes widen to see the three of us.
I want to punch this motherfucker in the face. If I weren’t holding on to Zella’s hand with Cal at my side, I might do just that. David beats me to the proverbial punch.
“Good evening, Jack,” David says in a sugary sweet tone. “Thought we’d have a little chat.”
Jack’s face pales. “W-Why are you here? Zella, come inside, sweetheart.”
She starts for him, but I give her hand a little squeeze. I bend over and whisper, “Love you, Zella.”
Her head nods and then she lets go of me to walk inside. Jack steps aside, barely sparing her a glance, before glaring at us.
“You can leave now,” Jack growls.
David shakes his head. “Not before I say something.” He steps close to Jack and leans in, keeping his voice low. “Everyone knows what a piece of shit you are, Henderson. Everyone. Your violence may have gone unpunished for a long time, but that stops now. Know that every man with a fucking fist in this town is watching you. Just waiting for you to get out of line. And when you do, if the law doesn’t do what it’s supposed to, we’ll do it instead. It’ll be painful, Henderson. I can assure you that. You will feel every goddamn thing you ever did to the females in your life you’ve hurt. I’ll make sure of it.”
David steps back and gives Henderson a seemingly friendly smack to his cheek.
“Everyone,” David reminds him. “Watch your back.”
Jack, a mixture of worry and fear emanating from him, scrambles back into the house and closes the door behind him. Good. Maybe he’ll leave Zella the fuck alone until I can get full custody of her.
He better or we’ll absolutely destroy him.
Penny
One month later…
“Where does Ken go?” I ask, pointing at the Barbie Jeep full of females.
Zella giggles. “They’re gonna run him over.”
“Zella!” I gasp, feigning shock.
She sends the Jeep careening forward, running over Ken. We both laugh when several of the Barbies fall out of the Jeep.
While she collects the dolls to put them back into the vehicle, I try not to look at the scars on her bare arm. There aren’t any new ones. I’m thankful as hell for that, but no less worried over the situation.
Jack is smooth. I’ll give him that. He says the right things and has clearly brainwashed Zella into answering correctly for fear of retaliation. Each time he asks me to sit for him, I show up even though I hate his guts. He gets drunk more and more, but has been keeping his hands to himself. The judge awarded Terrence custody three days a week, but that still leaves four of them where she’s left in Jack’s hands. Jack pled a pretty good case that he’s only wanting to provide Zella with normalcy since her mother abandoned her. He told the judge he was afraid she won’t adjust well to move in full-time with a stranger. The judge agreed.