“Cora, I couldn’t—”
“Just take it. I don’t want it.” I’m already skedaddling to the door. “It’s parked out front at a meter.”
I bolt with Pence hot on my heels. She’s got no cause to worry now. I need a ride from her. My eyes burn with unshed tears as I stab the elevator button.
I’m fucked. Like a rat in a trap. I can’t leave Adrian, and I have to pray that he doesn’t dump me. I have no money. My security are spies.
My breath grows more and more shallow as I hurry toward Pence’s nondescript sedan. “Give me the keys,” I demand.
“Mrs. Maddox, I can’t let you drive in this con—”
Fuck this. She’s close enough to trigger the keyless entry. I elbow her aside and jump in the driver’s seat. She has to hustle to get herself in the passenger’s side before I pull out. She’s lucky I have to wait for cars to pass.
My brain threatens to snap its cord and fly off, but I glue my eyes on the road and squeeze the steering wheel until my knuckles ache. I need to get to my babies. Adrian knows I was here. Is he going to take them away from me now?
I have been sostupid. I can spot a Romeo at a hundred yards. They can sniff out a foster kid like a bloodhound. Wewere easy pickings. A grocery store bouquet, a meal at a sit-down restaurant, it never took much, but I was smarter than falling for that. I knew that love is how they trapped you. But I wasn’t smarter, not at all. I just had a higher price tag.
I don’t let myself go faster than twelve miles above the speed limit all the way back to the city. I’m not getting pulled over. I’m getting my babies.
If Adrian tries to take them, I’ll kill him. I’ll blow his brains out. I’ll dig them out of his skull with my bare hands.
I park the car in front of Kendra’s building, race through the lobby, and count the seconds as the elevator ascends to the penthouse. When their housekeeper answers their door, I bowl past her, jogging for the room that Kendra transformed into a playroom for the girls.
When I bust through the door, all three startle where they’re sitting on the floor in the middle of what looks like the entire contents of every bin, trunk, and drawer in the room.
“Mommy!” Pearl calls, raising her arms. I rush to her, my ankle folding as I misstep and land on a toy. Ignoring the pain, I scoop her up, clutching her to my chest.
Kendra rises to her feet, frowning with concern. “Cora, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I say, inhaling the scent of Pearl’s berry shampoo as she wraps her legs around me like a baby chimp. Not letting go, I sink to my knees in front of where Winnie sits in her bouncer. “How’s my little Pooh?”
Winnie squeals, giving me a toothless grin.
The thin feeling recedes, and I come back into my body. My ankle aches, and what feels like a Barbie hairbrush is digging into my knee. Pearl’s Cheerio breath is damp on my cheek. I’m okay. They’re okay. No one is ever going to take them away from me.
I blink up at Kendra. She’s gazing down at us with a knitted brow.
“Can your driver take us home?” I ask. I’m never getting into another car with Pence, and she sure as hell isn’t getting anywhere near my kids.
“How about I make us a cup of tea? We can talk about whatever’s going on.”
I unbuckle Winnie. “I just need a ride home.”
“Did something happen to your car?”
I stand straight and level my gaze at my sister-in-law. She’s nice, but she’s not strong, and there’s nothing she can do to help me. “Please, Kendra. Just lend me your driver.”
Her eyes flicker and her mouth turns down as she decides. What does her prenup say? What is Gideon holding over her?
“Yes. Of course. I’ll call down.” She does and then picks her way around the room, gathering Winnie’s bag and Pearl’s things. I hold my girls tight, one on each hip. When the driver rings up that he’s out front, she takes the elevator down with us to the underground parking garage. Luckily, she watches the girls often enough that she invested in car seats, and the driver already took the time to install them.
I buckle the girls in, and the driver stows our stuff in the trunk.
“You know I’m here for you,” she says after she gives the girls goodbye hugs and kisses.
I nod. “Thank you for watching the girls.”
“My pleasure,” she says. As we pull away in her shiny town car, I watch her slowly turn and push the button for the elevator back to her immaculately decorated, multi-million-dollar penthouse at one of the most highly coveted addresses in the world.
