I was scared for him.
I knew Sebastian. And I also knew the things Martin was capable of. The wicked things he’d done. At least some of them. Surely my knowledge barely dipped a finger in a bottomless barrel of malevolence.
Even when no proof had been found, I carried no delusions. Martin had been responsible for what was done to me. Every self-preserving part of me was certain. And I knew if Sebastian knew what he’d done, it would shred the last of his paper-thin control. In his compulsive need to protect and defend, he’d destroy everything important to both of us. I couldn’t risk that. Not for him or for me.
I held too much hope that what we shared was bigger than all of it and together we’d fix this, just like Sebastian had said.
Softly, she tilted her head to the side. Telling. Comforting. “He’s shocked…scared. But the only thing clear in this horrible situation is that man loves you.”
“Yeah,” I quietly agreed, because I didn’t question that either. I just hoped I hadn’t hurt him so deeply he could no longer see it.
IN THE DISTANCE, LIGHTNING flashed as the storm headed north out of Savannah. The roads were wet, and streetlamps glowed in the foggy haze. My headlights glinted through the mist, creating the illusion of misshapen stars that shone too bright against my eyes.
I shivered, still fucking soaking wet, my insides just as cold as my skin.
I rubbed a hand over my face and tried to focus.
The river walk was almost deserted. Quiet at this time on a Sunday night.
It seemed ludicrous my first damned instinct was to go to Charlie’s to seek the reprieve offered within those old walls. But it, too, was closed for the night. The face darkened, as if the hope I’d found there had also been shut down.
Nowhere else to go, I headed back to Tybee Island. Twenty minutes later, I pulled into the drive in front of Anthony’s beachfront vacation home.
Sighing, I cut the engine and stepped out into the night. My boots crunched on the gravel and thudded up the seven steps leading to the sweeping entrance. I unlocked the door and entered, having no fucking clue where to go from here, because God knew this wasn’t where I wanted to be.
Inside, floor-to-ceiling windows took up the entire wall facing east, the waning storm eclipsing the stars in the sky. The main room was open to the lavish kitchen in the back where Ash, Lyrik, and Zee stood around the island, nothing else to do in this town that was locked down tight on a Sunday night. The smiles on their faces dropped when they saw the expression on mine.
Ash frowned. “Back already?”
Last thing they’d known, the pictures on the Internet had been taken down, and I was heading back to Shea’s with my heart on my sleeve. Wondering if she would kick me to the curb once she realized being with someone like me was too much to deal with, the paparazzi hounding us at every turn, making up lies to satiate their thirst for drama.
Little did we know what was actually waiting to bring us to our knees.
Agitated, I drove my hands through my hair.
“…and?” Ash prodded.
“And it turns out I don’t know two shits about Shea.”
Perplexed, Ash set his beer on the counter, and Zee and Lyrik straightened as they caught onto my agitation.
I exhaled heavily, finding it hard to speak. “Earlier tonight…Child Protective Services showed up to take Kallie away…apparently that bogus article and picture was enough to call into question Shea’s ability as a mother.”
“Bullshit,” Lyrik hissed. Ash and Zee both blanched.
Total, complete bullshit.
I bit my bottom lip, doing my best to contain some of the anger working to break free. “This social worker, she just walks right in, picks up Kallie, and carries her right out the door, saying they’re placing her with next of kin.”