I slap at my night stand searching for the phone that jarred me from sleep. I pull it to my face.
“Hello?”
““Hous, everything is gone.” Tears distort Liv's voice.
I sit up, fully awake. “What’s wrong? What’s gone?”
“Everything.” Her voice cracks.
“Calm down, Kitten." I ignore the knot in my throat and the tightness in my chest. “I’m here to help. What happened?”
“There was a fire at the condo.”
“Are you okay?”
“Y-yes. I got out in time. The fire alarm woke me. There was already smoke creeping under the doorway, so I grabbed my purse and ran for it. I- I watched the entire building go up before the Fire Department could put it out. I- I don’t know what to do.”
“Where are you?”
“In my car, down the street from the compound. What am I going to do? I don’t even have a change of clothes.” Her sobs shred my heart.
“Hey. I’m on my way. You stay there. I’m not letting you drive anywhere like this, okay?”
“What about the kids?”
“They’ll be coming with me. They can skip a day of school if necessary. You just hold tight for me okay?”
She hiccups. “Okay.” She whispers.
A sense of urgency slams into me as I stumble from bed, throw on a pair of sweatpants, and a white t-shirt. I slip my feet into the slippers I keep by my bed to ward off the chill that sets into the hardwood flooring. I rush to the door, grab the keys off the rack, and hit the automatic start. I busy myself with buckling sleepy children into their seats and covering them with their favorite blankets. It helps keep my mind from wandering to dark places. Tony threatens her and then her condo burns down. It’s too coincidental. I force myself to close the back door gently as I move to the driver’s side of the SUV and burn rubber out of the driveway. The clock on my dash reads Three-thirty. I blink to moisten my dry eyes as I steer the car through the silent streets.
Tendrils of smoke wind their way up into the dark sky as we near her complex. Flashing red and blue lights lit up the sky. The massive red beast can be seen from yards back. Police cars and caution tape block off the area immediately surrounding the fire.
I scan the open areas and spot Liv’s car in the drugstore parking lot. People are standing on their lawns in bathrobes talking to one another. I make a left and pull up beside her. She turns to me, a zombie with empty eyes, a tear streaked face. A multicolored silk bonnet on her head. It hits me that I’m lucky she escaped and didn’t succumb to smoke inhalation. I slam the gear into park, hop out, rush to her car, and open the door. I kneel down and cup her face turning it this way or that way.
“Are you okay, Kitten?”
She turns her vacant gaze to me and shakes her head. “I don’t know what I am.”
“Let’s get you in the car. We can come back for yours tomorrow, okay?” I reach across her seat, unbuckle her belt and guide her from the car. She leans heavily on me. Her body quakes and her steps are shuffles. My heart aches for her. She’s starting from the ground up.
“Work.” She croaks.
“I’ll call them. I don’t want you to worry about anything right now. Let me take care of you.” I help her into the passenger seat, strap her in and close the door. The sheer devastation done to the building makes me sick to my stomach. She could’ve been trapped in there. I ball my fists as I kill her car engine and gather the few personal she’d taken with her. I lock up the car and return to my own. As I pull away from the curb, my mind is on Anthony and Rain. Their arrival has heralded great misfortune. I won’t forget or forgive. No one comes in and harms what’s mine, and Liv Cole belongs to me.
I reach across the seat and twine our fingers, lending silent support. She’s shell-shocked and exhausted. I want to get her in the shower, put her in warm pajamas and tuck her into bed before I start making my calls. We’re in the middle of a war. We lost this battle, so I need to gain ground. They came in with the element of surprise because I foolishly dismissed the letter. I never make the same mistake twice.
Once everyone’s asleep I place an emergency call to my lawyer who I pay a pricey fee to be available twenty-four hours a day and wait. In the back of my mind, I’ve always feared this day. He returns my call thirty minutes later as the sun is rising.
“You have a nine one one situation, Houston?”
“Yes, Brian. My ex-fiancée is back, and she wants the kids.”
“Christ on a cracker,” he twangs.
“Yeah. What are the odds of that happening.”
“Court like mothers. But after three years with no communication, you have on her abandonment. What can you tell me about her new status.”