Page 60 of Left in the Dark

He sighs. “I know.” His tone is low. He looks at his phone, and the silence stretches between us.

I jolt when he finally speaks. “Are you prepared for the unexpected, though?”

“What do you mean?”

He twists in the seat, his disapproving gaze searching mine. “What if she was beaten, came to you for help, but misunderstood what she saw? Broken-hearted, she fled to a place where she was safe.”

I stare at him, not saying a word.

“What if she’s never married because she’s still in love with you?”

I scoff. “Yeah, right. She probably never married because every guy she meets figures out she’s a conniving bitch that will betray them the first chance she gets.”

“That’s one perspective.”

I glower at him, mulling over his words. “It’s the only perspective, Jaxson. Delaney Warner is a backstabbing bitch who destroyed my life.”

He shrugs, not saying anything. Annoyance makes my jaw tick as he lounges in the seat while I stew in anger.

My turbulent thoughts mull over his words, putting doubts inside my head.Stop it. You’re right, and he’s wrong. You know Delaney better than anyone.

She’s as guilty as the rest of her family and their criminal friends and associates.

His deep baritone pulls me from my thoughts. “Her father is a shady motherfucker. I’ve seen his type before. They appear smooth and in control. The perfect family man and citizen of the community. But underneath it all is a fucking monster who runs his house with a heavy hand.”

My brows furrow. “What do you mean?”

“At home, they control everything. And if someone displeases them, they aren’t afraid to resort to violence. Especially those they deem inferior to them.”

Despite the seventy-five-degree temperature, a chill runs down my spine. I turn onto the road leading to Luca’s rental cabin. “You mean abuse?”

“Yup. Child abuse and domestic violence often run rampant in that environment. The abuser’s power silences it.” He looks at me with something I can’t identify shining in his eyes. Something I’d never seen before.

“How do you know so much about this?”

A haunted look flickers in his eyes before he masks it. His face hardens as he blows out a breath. “Because I lived it.”

I stare at him in stunned silence. I’ve known this man for fifteen goddamn years, and he’s never said a word. Of course, I noticed he never went home, but like me, I assumed he had a fucked up family life.

“If you go off halfcocked and torture this woman until she breaks, only to find out her father abused her, how will you feel?”

I swallow hard.If that were true, I’d feel like absolute shit and would never forgive myself.

Pushing the thought away as I pull up beside Luca’s truck, I cut the engine. “Luckily, I don’t need to worry about that. Delaney was in on it and betrayed me.”

He stares at me for a few beats before pushing the door open. “I hope you’re right, Zayne.”

CHAPTER 39

Delaney

As the first rays of dawn light up the horizon, my mom looks at me with deep sadness dulling her once vibrant green eyes. She’s no longer wearing the hat, and her shoulder-length bob hair is now a mixture of gray and brunette.

“I know it’s hard to understand. Richard hid so much from me in the early days of our relationship, and I was a naïve girl who fell in love with him in high school. We graduated, and I thought we were going to have the world. Until we didn’t.” Her face falls, and a pang goes through my heart.

“I conceived in November but didn’t know it until I took a test in early February. We were in college. I finished the semester, and your father and I married shortly afterward. You and Daniel were born July Fourth.” She reaches over and squeezes my hand. “The first time he hit me was when the two of you were a little over six months old. He told me he didn’t mean to lose his temper, but it was hard being a husband and a father when he was finishing his degree, and the two of you kept him up when you cried.”

I stare at her silently, waiting for her to continue.

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