“He’s trying to take him from me.” It left me on a coarse, whimpered cry.
Anger ripped through her body, and she hugged me tighter, her mouth at the top of my head. “What’s he sayin’?”
“That I’m not a fit mother. That he wants full custody.” The last broke. “Oh, God—” I choked, burying my face in her neck.
“That’s not gonna happen, Harley Hope. I promise you, there is no way any court is going to give that man custody.”
“Why is he doing this?” I whimpered.
She squeezed me. “Because he’s scared. Because he knows you have the upper hand. He’s a pathetic rat bastard who’s scared he’s gonna look bad. That you’re gonna expose him for the kind of man he really is. That, for once in his life, he’s not gonna win. You know he can’t stand the thought of that.”
Unease spun through my spirit. I couldn’t escape the feeling that it was more than that. That his intentions were different from what I could see.
Crueler.
Uglier.
He wanted me back in that house, and I didn’t know why. Not when I knew he wanted us gone.
Swallowing hard, Jenna drew me closer. “I promise you that those courts are going to see him for what he is. You have given up your entire life for that little boy, and that piece of crap hasn’t given up a damned thing. And every single person who knows is gonna sit up on that stand and testify to it, including your son. And where do you think he’s gonna want to be?”
I knew it. I knew all of it.
“What if he finds out what we did?” The words were nothing more than the gasp of a breath.
Wisps of terror that spun through the atmosphere and clawed at my spirit. My spirit that burned to be set free. Gone to a place where I might land in the arms of a man who would hold me up rather than beat me down.
God.
It was stupid for me to even be thinking about another man when I was in the midst of mayhem. But every day that’d passed since Kale had last texted me made me wish for him a little more.
Someday.
Someday.
“He won’t,” she said vehemently, though there was no missing the spark of fear in her eyes. “He won’t. Okay?”
“I’ve always had to be the strong one, Jenna. The one who had faith.” I fisted both my hands over my heart. “I never stopped believing my son would live when everyone else had. And somehow . . . somehow this time, I’m petrified I’m going to lose him in a way I never imagined.”
“That’s because you’re being attacked. Your heart and your faith and your family, all your beliefs, everything you’ve worked for . . . it’s being attacked. But this is a battle you and Evan are going to win. And we’re gonna fight it however we have to.”
I pressed my fingertips into my eyes and gave a sharp shake of my head. “I can’t even stand the thought of Evan having to spend one night in that house.”
“He won’t have to. And seriously, this is Dane we’re talking about. He’d probably have Evan for one hour, and the pussy would send him home to you. Evan always did put a cramp in his style. Honestly, I don’t think he ever thought you’d let it get this far, and he’s just trying to put the pressure on you. I’d bet my life he’s too much of a coward to see this through.”
Anger blew out of me on a rigid huff. “Or Mommy Dearest will pay to have someone come in and care for him full-time.” Locked away like some modern-day flower in the attic. “Or send him away like she suggested we do when he was born, you know, because Evan is a ‘bad representation of the Gentry name.’”
I could feel the consequences of what we’d done barreling forward, the memory of the moment I’d felt so helpless I’d been left without a choice.
“That’s crazy,” I had said.
But it didn’t matter how crazy Jenna’s suggestion had seemed, my heart had screamed it was the only way. That I had to take action and do it then. I could no longer sit around and wait.
“How?” I’d begged through my tears while I’d peeked over at my precious son who’d been fast asleep on Jenna’s couch since we’d gone to her house to find escape.
She’d grimaced. “I might know a guy who can help.”
I’d started down a path I thought I’d had to take. My actions illicit as I tried to hide Evan away from the clutches of Dane.
Illegal things I never could have imagined myself doing a few years ago.
Getting myself in deeper and deeper each day that passed.
But protecting my son was worth any crime or sin on my part. But Dane was asking for the records.