“No.” The cornsilk curls of Allison’s hair swished back and forth along her shoulders as she put his mind at ease. “He didn’t shoot me. Instead, he shifted his aim to the wall behind me and pulled the trigger…right as Maddie walked into the room.”
“Oh, shit.”
“The bullet missed her head by less than two inches.”
Motherfucker.
A wave of protective anger toward Tommy Gallo rushed to the surface. If Allison’s claims were true, the bastard had come damn close to killing his own daughter. He deserved to burn for that single, violent act alone, not to mention the tears Allison had just swiped clear from her cheeks.
“Tommy didn’t say a word,” she whispered sadly. “Not to Maddie or to me. He just casually turned and walked out of the room as if everything was fine. As if he hadn’t almost killed his five-year-old daughter. That was the moment I finally woke up.”
“That’s when you chose to leave.”
Allison nodded. “I was used to Tommy’s wrath. I could take it, you know? But Maddie—” Her sweet voice cracked with visible emotion. “I’d die before I ever let anyone hurt her.”
“So you risked yourself to make sure she was safe. That was the bravest thing you could do.”
“Funny.” She huffed out a sarcastic breath. “That’s almost word for word what Sloane told me when she and I first met.”
“Sloane?” He scribbled the name down for later.
“Sloane Richardson. She owns Liberty House in Seattle. It’s the shelter where Maddie and I stayed for a bit right after I left Tommy.” The tiniest of smiles lifted the corners of her lips, almost wide enough to deepen her dimples. “When I told her that Naomi had suggested I seek your team’s help, she agreed. Said she’d heard of you guys, too.”
“So you trust this Richardson woman?”
“Of course, I trust Sloane.” A tiny frown dipped the center of her brows. “After all, she’s the one who—” Allison cut herself off abruptly, as if she were trying to decide just how much to reveal.
“The one who what?” he prompted, hoping the mysterious woman wasn’t going to start holding out on him now.
Those blue eyes of hers locked nervously with his. A a tiny bite of her bottom lip later, and she finally relented.
“If I tell you…” She began softly. “You have to promise to keep it to yourself.”
He offered her a friendly smile before letting her know, “I don’t keep secrets from my team.”Not ones involving Delta Team clients, anyway.
“No, of course not. I didn’t mean to suggest you keep your team in the dark. It’s just that…”
There was again. That same hesitation. It was something they really needed to work on…starting now.
“Look, Allison.” Liam exhaled slowly. “I understand your hesitation to trust a stranger. Especially after being forced to go on the run from an abusive prick of a husband. But I can’t give you the kind of help you need unless you’re up front with me.”
He fully believed the story about Gallo being a piece of shit asshole, he couldn’t ignore the nagging pull that had begun to tug deep inside his gut. A feeling that she was holding something back. But he also sensed that if he pushed too hard too fast, she’d walk out, he’d never see her beautiful face again.
Allison stared back at him, her round eyes searching his so deeply it felt as though she were looking for some sort of tangible proof that he could be trusted. Just when he thought she’d bolt from his office never to return, her full, bow-shaped lips parted, and she began to speak again.
“Sloane doesn’t just run the shelter,” she revealed quietly. “I don’t know all the details or who else is involved, but she also sometimes helps women like me…start over.”
And there it is. The secret she’s been keeping.
Or perhaps it was one of many. Only time would tell. Until then…
“She helped you disappear.”
The short dip of her chin confirmed as much.
“New names, new social security numbers, an untraceable phone, some cash to get started…” Allison blew out a soft breath. “I know it’s illegal, and normally I would never willingly break the law, but I was desperate. Tommy said he’d kill me before he ever agreed to a divorce. And he kept showing up at the shelter demanding to see Maddie…ordering me to come back home, and I knew that if I did?—”
“You and your daughter would wind up dead.”
