Within seconds of sending Liam’s message her phone rang.
“Morning, honey. This guy is taking the piss now. He can go fuck himself,” he said, making her laugh.
“I told Dan you would say that,” she explained.
“Then you obviously know me very well, Miss Winters. I will get this passed onto legal and they will get an injunction against him, too. Do not contact him, do not meet him and do not give him any money.”
“I won’t. I’ll wait to speak to the legal bods.”
“I have arranged a meeting for four o’clock with P.R. and legal at the law firm’s offices, but they will call you to confirm the address and discuss the details they need. I spoke to Angie last night. I like her, she plays hard ball,” he revealed taking her aback with the information of his contact with Angie.
“You have been a busy boy.” She smiled as she imagined him going into protective, control freak overdrive.
“I had to do something to stop me from booking a flight. I’m still not sure I shouldn’t be on my way to sort it myself, but I have some commitments and I know you don’t want me to come charging in. So, for now we’ll see what happens then talk again.”
“Thank you.”
“No need to thank me, it’s what I do and if I don’t look out for my lucky seven, who will?” he asked with a smile she could sense.
“Thank you,” she repeated.
“Wonders will never cease. You didn’t argue about not being my lucky seven, baby. Start packing for Vegas,” he laughed.
“But I didn’t say I was,” she protested.
“But we both know you are.” He laughed again. “Look, baby, you must be busy so text me this afternoon before I go to work and we can video call so I can see just what that fucking animal has done to you.”
“I will text you first. See you later.”
“Take care baby, I love you.”
His three-word declaration washed over her and it felt as though the words were caressing and comforting her.
“I love you too.”
“Dan said Liam has text you,” said a bemused Lucy as Tasha hung up.
“Yeah, but while we’ve all been sleeping Jim has arranged meetings and is now contacting legal to get an injunction against Liam too.”
“He is very impressive, Tash. I can’t wait to meet him,” said Lucy seriously.
“It is killing him not to be on the next flight over so you may meet him sooner than you think.” She laughed, half-heartedly. There was nothing she wanted more than to see Jim, to touch him and be held by him, kept safe by him, but it could wait, it needed to wait.
Pippa appeared, stretching and yawning as she padded across the room. “Your bed is so comfy, Tash. What’s for breakfast?”
Tasha smiled at her ability to bounce back from the horror of the previous night and think of the mundane, such as breakfast.
Tasha dropped Dan at college and Pippa at school where she’d been invited into Mr Mason’s office to discuss their situation. She sat opposite her former head teacher and smiled as she thought about the similarities between his office and Jim’s at home. She felt certain she blushed as she looked down at the desk and remembered her experience on Jim’s desk top.
“Natasha, I don’t want to pry, but I need to have some background on the situation with Philippa. Your parents have legal rights to remove her from school and I can’t legally stop them, but if the situation is extenuating, I can be obstructive,” he explained.
She looked across at the kind fifty-year-old man in front of her; a tall and gangly man who managed to make even the best cut clothes hang awkwardly but also sweet and caring.
He studied her over the top of his gold, metal framed glasses and smiled. “Natasha, I want to help. I know your parents have never made life easy for you.” His words coaxed her to trust him, which she did, but they were also intended to encourage her to continue.
“There was a big fight at home, my father beat my mother and when I intervened, well,” she said, gesturing to the cuts and abrasions on her face barely covered by make-up.
“I see,” said Mr Mason.
