Page 52 of Dangerous Obsession

“Let’s just say weremindedhim of how important it was that he make smart choices where you’re concerned,” The senator said. “And Dulce, too, since he seems to have an issue with my daughter as well.”

“He hated that I was so close to her and that she always stuck up for me.” She added, “And that wasbeforeshe testified against him.”

“We warned him off, but I don’t trust the guy.” Cole tapped his fingertips together again. “From what Jazzy has told me about him, he’s got a real bug up his ass about women, especially women who stand up to him. Women he labels as defiant.”

“I’m guessing that has something to do with his mother.” Marigold figured out early in their relationship that Cliff was a classic mama’s boy. “She set the standard for what he thinks a woman is supposed to be—submissive, compliant, weak, worshipping. She gave him whatever he wanted, never contradicted him or set boundaries for him.” A less than ideal parenting strategy. “Do we know where he went when he got out?”

“Deborah’s son picked him up and took him back to her house,” Cole said. “She wasn’t home, since she’s already out showing properties to Eddie.”

“Who’s tailing them?” Viking crossed his arms.

“Calliope,” Cole said. “She’ll stay on Barnum.”

“I know I probably shouldn’t be, but I’m worried about her crossing paths with Cliff.” Marigold met Calliope a few months ago.

She’d been part of the team that went after Dulce when she was kidnapped and taken to Colombia. The woman was a deadly accurate sniper, but she was tiny.

“Don’t let her looks fool you.” Viking propped his hands on his hips. “If she does have a confrontation with Barnum, he’s the one who should be worried.”

“Ain’t that the truth.” Cole chuckled in agreement. “I’d almost pay to see that.”

“That may be, but you can’t possibly expect her to watch him forever.” Dragging all of these people into the drama with her ex did not sit well with Marigold. “This is my mess, after all.”

She’d fought hard to become independent and to stand on her own, and it felt like this situation was threatening to chip away at the progress she’d made.

“That’s not how this works, honey,” Viking said. “Remember what Jonathan said?”

Of course, she remembered.

“He said I’m family.” Her heart warmed every time she thought about it.

“Exactly, andthisfamily takes care of each other.” Viking’s veiled comparison to her biological family did not go unnoticed.

“We’re confident Barnum is going to make a move of some sort.” Cole’s certainty was alarming. “If what you say about his disdain for strong women is true—and I believe it is—there’s no way in hell he’s just going to go happily on with his life and not seek some type of payback from the woman who was strong enough to put his ass in prison.”

“No matter how much he professes to have found the Lord,” the senator added.

“Excuse me.” Marigold’s chair creaked when she leaned forward and folded her forearms on her desk. “Did you say ‘found the Lord’?”

They shared what the warden told them—that Cliff had been proclaiming to anyone who would listen that he was a changed man who only wanted to put his past behind him and move forward doing the Lord’s work.

“You cannotbe serious.” She dropped her forehead onto her arms, rolled her head side to side, then lifted her face to look at them. “And people actually believed him?”

“Yep.” Cole nodded. “The prison chaplain even vouched for him.”

“And they thought letting an abuser out on the streets was the right thing to do?” Marigold knew her voice was rising but couldn’t seem to help herself. “Did they not see the pictures of what he did to me?” She pointed at the scar on her nose and the one on her cheek—the ones she saw every time she looked in the mirror. She refused to let her mind wander to what else he’d taken from her. “He’s going to do it again. I just know it. If not to me, then to some other poor woman who isn’t strong enough to stand up to him.”

Viking leaned down, slid one arm behind her back and the other beneath her thighs. Then the crazy man lifted her right up out of the damn chair.

“What are you—”

“You were getting upset.” He plopped back down in her chair with her firmly planted on his lap. “And I don’t like seeing you upset.”

“But—” She thought about complaining but accepted that it was actually a very sweet gesture, and rather than feeling like she was being controlled, it actually calmed her to be held by him. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He shifted her on his lap, and she threw her arm over his massive shoulders.

“The warden told us there’s a big push to resolve the prison’s overcrowding issue,” Sebastian said. “And apparently, the inmates know one of the easiest ways to obtain a Get Out of Jail Free card is by showing up for prison church every Sunday, express remorse, and repent for what they’ve done.” Skepticism coated his words. “Unfortunately, before making his recommendations, the prison chaplain doesn’t have the benefit of knowing details of the prisoner’s crimes unless they offer the information up voluntarily.”

---