Shielded In The Shadows

Sorry, can’t make it. Something came up at work. Rain check?

Jayden read the text for the fourth time since it had come in more than an hour before. He still hadn’t answered.

Of course, if Emma wanted to come over, he’d welcome her. But what were they doing here? If it was just sex, as they’d agreed, he wouldn’t be feeling disappointed when she put work first, would he?

And if he was starting to want more from her than just sex, he had to stop.

So, was he pretending sex was all it was? And professional admiration and respect, of course.

Or was he just let down because he’d been looking forward to another night of passion?

For the brief time he’d been protecting her, after their first night of sex, he hadn’t had to ask himself any tough questions. He’d had a purpose for spending so much time with her. Now that she had the police watching her house, he didn’t have that out.

There’d been no further threats. Luke was back in custody. Chances were she was out of danger anyway.

The evening stretching before him shouldn’t present any kind of challenge. He dealt with them at the end of every single day.

He typed out a response to her text: Sure. But didn’t hit Send. If he ignored her completely, it could look like he was upset that she’d canceled. Or seem rude, like she didn’t matter enough to deserve a response.

Was he seriously sitting there spending time on such a ridiculous issue?

Hitting Send, he clicked on his contacts, zipping through to find Harold Wallace’s number. If his client was free, maybe they could go together to see his son. The boy was waiting a court appearance and Jayden wanted him to know he had people pulling for him. He wanted the boy to know that while what he’d done was grotesquely wrong, Jayden would help him right that wrong as much as he could, as long as the boy knew that he still had to pay for what he did. And that his future actions would have to reflect that.

They wouldn’t know, until they all appeared before the juvenile court judge, exactly what kind of future the boy could expect to have. Or how little or much effect Jayden could have on that.

He was on his way to pick up Harold when his phone rang. Clicking the hands-free button on his steering wheel, he glanced at the dash display.

Emma.

“Hey, did you get it worked out?” he asked, referring to whatever business had come up that evening, preventing her from meeting his cat.

He’d not only gone searching for the thing, he’d coaxed it out from under his bed with his last can of tuna.

“I had a call from Sara at The Lemonade Stand. She said Suzie was there and willing to talk to me.”

His gut sank. Could be Suzie was finally ready to admit that it wasn’t Bill who was hurting her. To admit who was. But he didn’t think so. Not by the tone in Emma’s voice.

“I thought she’d skipped her last counseling session,” Jayden said. “That she was done going. Has she been abused again?”

That question was most important. Above all, they wanted Suzie safe.

“No. She’s fine. Physically. But she’s not okay, Jayden. The woman is so afraid of her ex-husband, she can hardly hold up her head.”

Bill wasn’t going to catch his break. He could feel it coming.

“Is she naming him as her abuser?” he asked.

“No.”

“But she told you who’s been hurting her?”

“No. She’s sticking to her story that she fell.”

“Maybe it’s time that I talk to Bill,” he said. “Tell him the truth about Suzie’s current situation.”

“I don’t know...” Emma hesitated. “If he admits what he’s done, he can get help. The court will go easier on him... But he still continues to deny—”

“If it’s not him, he might have some idea who’s doing it.” Jayden hadn’t wanted Bill to know about the abuse, believing it was in Bill’s best interests that he not know. “I just can’t guarantee that he won’t try to find the guy himself,” he said. “I’ll continue to keep a strong eye on him, of course, but once he knows she’s being abused, chances are—”