Seduced

She hesitates, but finally reaches for the coloring book, the tremble in her tiny hand sending a fresh wave of shame and grief roiling through me.

I should have tried harder to protect her.

I should have hired a bodyguard instead of a nanny.

I should have known that Phillip wouldn’t hesitate to violate the restraining order again, even if he had to fly across the country and break parole to do so.

This man is insane and every neuron in his sick brain is fixated on punishing me for rejecting him, having our baby alone, and sending him to jail. His ego won’t allow him to let me go and there’s no way in hell I can give him what he wants.

We’re at a stalemate and my gut says the only way this ends, is with one of us behind bars for life. Or dead.

And that’s what I’m thinking as the knock comes at the door and a deep voice booms from the other side, “New York City Police. Can we have a word with the current resident?”

I suck in a breath to call for help, but Phillip’s hand is already over my mouth, muffling my cry as he pins me to his chest.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Cameron

The police almost didn’t let me come up with them.

I had to promise to stay at the end of the hall, out of the way.

But as I stand watching them bang on the door a second time and then a third, with no answer from inside the apartment the manager downstairs says she rented to a redhaired man a few days ago, it takes every ounce of willpower I have left not to rush over and insist they break down the door.

Natalie and Crissy are in there.

And they’re in trouble. I just know it.

I can feel it in my bones and my guts and in the pulse pounding in my ears.

The junior officer glances my way, his brows lifting in a “doesn’t seem like anyone’s home” expression and my teeth grind together. I’m about to cry out for Natalie myself when the door suddenly swings open and a tiny form bolts out into the hall, tripping over the junior officer’s boots when he doesn’t move out of the way fast enough.

“Crissy!” I shout, launching into motion.

She scrambles to her feet, relief mingling with the fear in her eyes as she runs toward me. “Cam! Help! Mommy’s in trouble!”

I scoop her up in my arms, hugging her tight as Natalie’s voice comes from inside the apartment, “Get her out of here, Cam. Keep her safe! I love you!” Her words end in a strangled sound that makes me want to rip her ex limb from limb with my bare hands.

“Let her go!” I call out, holding tight to Crissy as the younger police officer shouts, “Get back downstairs, sir. Now!” and the older officer booms, “Let her go, Mr. Carver. You’ve already violated your parole and a restraining order. You don’t want to make this any worse for yourself.”

“Close the fucking door,” a rough male voice I assume belongs to Nat’s ex growls from inside. “You can’t come in here without a search warrant.”

“You’re holding a knife to a woman’s throat, sir,” the older officer says in a jarringly calm voice. “We have all the cause we need to enter the apartment and defuse the situation. Now, put the knife down, and let Ms. Barbu go. Come with us peacefully and respectfully and you’ll be treated with respect in return.”

“Send my daughter back in here. Right now,” Phillip shouts. “Send her in here and clear the path to the elevator or I’ll cut this bitch’s fucking throat. I’ll do it. In a heartbeat. And her blood will be on your hands.”

Crissy curls against my chest with a terrified whimper, and I feel my heart ripping into two pieces.

One part insists I get Crissy out of here—now—and spare her any further horror. The other part screams that I have to get into that apartment. I have to tackle Phillip and save Natalie or Crissy won’t truly be okay ever again.

And neither will I.

It’s deeply fucked up that the first time Natalie told me she loved me was while her ex was holding a knife to her throat. He stole that moment from us, but that doesn’t matter as long as I get to hear her say it again and tell her the same. I have to tell her, she has to know that she’s the brightest part of my day—of my life, thus far—and that loving her is all I want to do today, tomorrow, and for as long as she’ll have me.

She’s everything to me, and if Phillip takes her away…

I don’t know what I’ll do. Who I’ll become.

I only know I won’t ever be the same, and the fact that this sick fuck has the power to ruin so many lives with his hate shakes me to the core of my being. Natalie’s parents, her friends, everyone at the restaurant, me, Crissy—we all adore her and need her. She makes our lives so much better. Meanwhile, all Phillip brings to the world is fear, pain, and suffering.