Page 32 of Seal of Approval

“Bailey, what’s wrong?”

“It’s my dad.”

The knock sounded again. Bailey nearly jumped out of his skin. He stared at me the same way Steve did when our father was on a rampage. I steeled myself.

“One minute,” I called out.

I turned to Rose. She was staring at us.

“I’m going outside to speak to him.”

Bailey’s eyes widened and he sucked in a shaky breath. I placed my hands on his shoulders.

“I want you to call your mum. Tell her to come in the back way.” I stood up.

“Don’t go out there,” Bailey said, his voice trembling.

“I’ll be OK.”

“He’ll trick you. You’ll let him in.”

I crouched down to his level. “I won’t let him trick me. I know what bad men are like.”

My dad was one.

“Call your mum. Lock the doors. Close the windows. No matter what happens, don’t come out.”

He nodded. I stood up and opened the door, stepped through and closed it behind me.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Jasmine

My hands shook as I opened the back door. I searched the room for Rose and Bailey. They were at the kitchen counter and came running when they saw me. I caressed their heads.

“Are you OK?”

Rose nodded.

Bailey looked toward the front. “Ethan is out there.” He clutched at my arm. “I think Dad has tricked him. I heard Ethan laugh.”

Fuck. That man could wield charming as if it were a spell. Not even Ethan, who knew him for less than ten minutes, seemed immune to it.

“I’m going outside.”

Rose started to shake.

“It’s OK. Ethan is out there. He’s big and strong. He’s not scared of anything.”

Max may have convinced him I was crazy and the bad guy. But I wasn’t going to tell the kids that. What was I going to do if Ethan believed Max and sided with him? I would do what I was put on Earth to do. I would protect my children.

“If you hear fighting, I want you to go out the back door and run to Jack and Lily’s. You understand?”

Bailey nodded.

There was no point calling the police. They were too far away. And I didn’t know how this situation was going to turn out. I didn’t want to call them for no reason.

I caressed their heads again. “It will be OK.”

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