At the sound of my voice, he grunts and his hands slide over the steering wheel.
“If he touches you again,” he says finally, “And I mean ever again... they’ll never find his fucking body. I know these mountains very well. Plenty of space to make a fucking problem like him disappear.”
“He’s my daughter’s father,” I say.
“He’s a fucking asshole who leaves bruises all over your body,” he spits, seething.
I sit back in my seat, shocked and embarrassed. He glances at me. “Yeah,” he snaps. “I saw the bruises,” he yells. “Every last one.”
“Do not fucking yell at me,” I snap. He frowns, then licks his lips.
“You’re never leaving Trinity Falls without me,” he says.
I cross my arms over my chest.
“Why? Because we fucked once? You sound crazy right now.”
“Because you’re mine,” he yells. “Mine to have. To love. Mine to protect. It’s really that simple,” he says, his tone mocking.
“Whoa—not even. I just divorced one controlling asshole and moved a hundred miles away from my home of the last ten years to get away from that type of shit. I don’t need another like him.”
“Don’t compare me to him. I’m not him.”
“Oh—so, you’re different?”
He looks at me, shocked that I’d even have to ask the question. “Then fucking act like it.”
Chapter Seven
Asa
I’VE SPENT THE LAST two days driving out of my way and around Porsha’s land, scared that I’ve royally fucked up. Babysitting Nia for Porsha the other night felt like a turning point for us. She was adorable. Nia and Mom fell in love with each other instantly.
Nia was so sweet, so perfect it’s hard to imagine her with a father that would ever hurt her mother. I was enraged when Porsha called me to pick her up the other night. I watched from the hallway as Mom gave Nia a bubble bath and she talked extensively about her favorite new Disney movie. She had not a care in the world. The ugliness of her parents’ marriage hadn’t touched her, and I made a silent promise to Nia and Porsha that it never will.
I’m back at work today, on call with the rest of the team, while Dylan and I burn time in the gym.
“I can’t believe Porsha’s going through this shit,” Dylan says as he sits down a pair of twenty-pound dumbbells.
“I know. I lost it, dude. I mean...” I shrug, waiting for my brother’s response.
“As would I,” Dylan agrees. “In fact, I say we find his ass and go to work.”
I follow him to a weight bench and wait for him to get into position while I prepare to spot him. He does fifteen reps of chest presses before he’s done with his set. “So, what are you gonna do?” he asks, sitting up as I secure the bar.
“Beg for forgiveness. Say I was joking... I don’t fucking know.”
“Porsha’s not the type to hold grudges. If you talk to her, she’ll come around,” Dylan says.
“I don’t know, man. We’re not kids and she’s not the babysitter anymore. She’s a grown ass woman, a mother with a little human she has to be responsible for,” I sigh. “And I’m the dude that’s crazy in love with them both.”
“So, tell her that, dumbass.”
Chapter Eight
Porsha
I MISS FEELING SAFE. I miss Asa. I miss us. I don’t know when or how it happened, but the fantasy of being with my “protective book boyfriend” got blurred when the reality of my shitty past caught up to me. I don’t know if I’ll ever be free of my ex-husband, but God, I know I never want to be free of Asa.