“Do not.” I lost my patience and the command flew out loud with authority. “You’ll upset Franny, and she’s already been through enough.”
Finally, she froze. And her eyes melted from fury to honey in an instant. She whispered, “Franny.” And turned to look over her shoulder at me, her brows dipping in concern. “Is she okay?”
“I think so.” My voice softened too. “She needs peace right now, though.”
She chewed on the inside of her cheek, and her plump lips pursed for a few seconds before I felt her body relax under my arm. “I won’t scream or run, but you need to uncuff me. I won’t be held anywhere against my will.”
She was talking to me like I was her freaking student, like she had a leg to stand on when I could have done anything to her at that moment.
I assessed the situation and almost laughed. Glancing at the cuffs, I leaned in close to Mia and murmured against her cheek, “You realize you’re in no position to make demands, right?”
She didn’t move away but breathed out slowly and matched my tone. “You realize I’m your daughter’s favorite teacher, and I’ve calmed her down more than once. I’m guessing you need me, or I’d already have been disposed of.”
Not that I was going to share, but my daughter had been happier this month, more willing to open up, more of a kid. Franny was quiet when her mother left but we’d always had a bond, one I was scared we were losing with how much work I had.
My daughter asked for Ms. Darling to stay. And I wasn’t going to tell her no. Especially not after I’d informed her that Ms. Darling was just sleeping on the way back to the estate.She’d narrowed her blue eyes at me, fierce in a way that mirrored my own, before saying, “She didn’t even want to come with us, Dad. What did you say in there to her? You scared her with those men, and if my teacher ends up not liking me, Iwon’tforgive you.”
Ruthless. And direct. If her words hadn’t landed like a punch to my gut, I’d have been impressed.
“What men?” I’d asked her, because I thought she’d been watching her tablet.
“I heardbulletsflying past us, Daddy.” She rolled her eyes like my treating her as a child was ridiculous. “It wasn’t a game. I want Ms. Darling here.Safe. And I don’t want her to leave like Momma did. Please make sure of it.” She patted my hand, and that was it.
That thought had me pulling away from the woman even if I didn’t want to. Even if I wanted to choke her into submission again. To breed some damn fear where she should have had it.
The sooner I got Ms. Darling to cooperate, the sooner I’d be able to soothe my daughter, to right this situation.
I stood and looked down at her as I pulled the key from my pocket. “I’m going to let you go, but like I said, this is the place you’re safe. I’m protecting you, not holding you against your will.”
“I’ll be the judge of that once I’m out of handcuffs.”
Nodding, I stuck the key in the lock and removed the cuff from her wrist. I left it hanging on the bedpost as she pulled her wrist away and rubbed a short, green-manicured nail over the bloodied gash there. “I’ll have a first aid kit brought to you for that.”
Her nose wrinkled at me as she stared in what looked like disgust. “Well how nice. After today, could you send a psychiatrist and a whole police crew also, Mr. Knight?”
“Yesterday,” I corrected her.
Her pretty lips plumped in confusion. “I’ve been out a full day?”
“Give or take a few hours, yes. No police will get involved, but if you’d like to talk to them, fine. As for a psychiatrist, they’ll explain that you have PTSD, that you should take care of yourself, and potentially have therapy. I’m happy to schedule you an appointment with mine, if you’d like, over the next few weeks.”
“I don’t want an appointment. I want a plane ticket home.”
“I told you you’d die if you left.”
She studied me, as if she were trying to figure out a math problem or an impossible equation. “I think I might just take my chances.”
“Afraid of me, Ms. Darling?” I asked the question because I wanted her to be. It held power, and I’d embrace wielding it over her or anybody if it got me what I wanted.
“No.” One word that challenged me, taunted me, and made me more intrigued with her than I normally would ever be with a woman. It was especially true now because I heard the tremor in her voice, caught how she’d wanted to say the word with conviction but faltered just at the end.
“So you’re choosing to be reckless and stupid with your own life,” I summarized, straight to the point.
Her eyes widened. “How dare you—”
“I’m not a teacher and you’re not a child. I’m not going to coddle you.”
“Is that what you think I do all day?”
