A small lie, but necessary under the circumstances.
“Maybe not, because you have that million dollar security system. And I’m grateful for it. So fucking grateful. Because it means my kids are safe from that monster. Can you imagine killing a fucking animal. God, he better not come anywhere near me, because I’ll make sure he’ll never be able to procreate again. And that would be a pity, since that fucker does make beautiful children.”
“Maggie.” Tiffany walked around the counter and placed both her hands on Maggie’s shoulders. “Those kids are all you. They have your smarts and kindness.”
“Exactly.” We turned around at the new female voice. Shiloh stood in the doorway to the kitchen. Tiffany must’ve called her while I was freaking out. “There is no part of that man, other than the obvious, in any of those kids.”
The thought eased an ache in my chest I hadn’t even realized was there. No matter how much good I tried to do, I still feared that there was more of my father in me than I wanted to admit.
Nick walked around Shiloh. “Where is the package?”
“On the counter.” Tiffany pointed in the direction of the package.
“The police are on the way, they’ll definitely want to dust it.” He then looked directly at me. “And you will let them do their job before you go all scorched earth on him.”
I snorted but didn’t answer. Every instinct told me to drive over to that motherfucker’s house and beat the shit out of him.
He waited until my woman was comfortable. This was worse than his brothers showing up at The Reverse Cowgirl to give her a hard time. At least then, if one of us were around, those fuckers would see the other side of our fists. We’d all get arrested but Maggie wouldn’t be terrified.
Usually, she picked the kids up at school, bought groceries, and even popped into The Reverse Cowgirl to check on things. During the day she placed orders and handled most of the admin. She had yet to do a night shift since she had capable staff and wanted to be home with the kids.
Still, we both knew it would come. She’d want to check on things and make sure her staff was competent enough to handle things when she wasn’t there. And the fucked up part was that I would have to let her go. My home was not a prison or a cage.
How was I going to let that happen knowing the douchebag was trying to terrorize her.
Two police officers showed up and confiscated the package and took both Maggie’s and Tiff’s statements.
One of them also dusted the door for prints. Once he was done he walked back inside. “Ma’am, it may be difficult to tie this to your ex-husband. We only found two sets of prints on that box, and neither of them are clear. But I do believe they belong to the two of you.”
He flicked his pen between Maggie and Tiffany.
“I believe that’s all you’ll find.” Maggie rolled her eyes at the cop. “He would’ve made sure there was no way I could prove anything. It would be a strong strategy if I was the woman he thought I was.”
The female cop smiled at her. “And what kind of woman does he think you are?”
“He thinks I’m a weak little woman.” She sat on one of the stools facing all of us. “He thinks that I would go back to him just to stopthatfrom happening again. But he’s learned nothing in all the time he’s known me.” She pointed at the box with an exaggerated wave.
She had a point. Maggie had never done anything other than what she believed was the best thing for her and her children. She married a man despite her family’s protests because she believed a child needed his father. We all knew she hadn’t spoken to the police about what she knew because it was the bargaining chip to keep her children away from that family.
The Marina De Ferrier police department was angry at that decision. They believed Maggie had enough to lean on that family.
And now she was living with me because she wanted to keep her children safe. Fred Ripper had no idea who he was dealing with.
The cops left, the click of the front door echoing in the silence surrounding us. I kept my gaze on the hallway they’d walked through for longer than was necessary. The cops had the evidence and the statements, and we all knew nothing would come of it. Fred Ripper knew what he was doing, and he wouldn’t stop until he had Maggie.
Or, someone stopped him.
Maggie’s shoulders sagged and she let out a long breath and sat on one of the stools at the large kitchen island. I moved to her side, wanting her within touching range. She leaned back, her back resting against the island and shook her head as her eyes found mine. The righteous rage drained from her features, and even her posture. The twist of her mouth indicated that she was far from okay, but she was calming down.
The front door opening had us all on alert as a pair of workboots stomped down the hallway.
Seeing Hunter’s annoyed face had us all relaxing. “Please for the sake of everyone’s safety, can we put some cameras up around this place?”
“No.”
“No.”
Both Maggie and Tiffany spoke at the same time.
