Page 14 of Peach

"Listen here, you?—"

His words were cut off, and she glanced over her shoulder, seeing Peach in his underwear and holding the man at an odd angle. It looked like the man was having trouble breathing. Peach held on until the guy slumped in his arms.

Peach didn’t waste any time and grabbed a lamp, ripping the cord off before tying the guy’s hands behind hisback. He stood and raced into the kitchen and opened the pantry door, coming back seconds later with duct tape.

“W-what are you doing?” Haisley asked.

“Making sure he doesn’t run,” Peach said. He wrapped some tape over the man’s jeans at his ankles.

Haisley watched in fascination as Peach turned the man over, lifted the mask that covered his face, and then snapped a photo. The outgoing message sound played on his phone before he looked up and met her gaze.

Peach only had on his underwear. Her gaze slid down his body. She shouldn't be looking, but she couldn't help herself. He had an amazing body and a few scars, but overall, he was perfect. Then her gaze dropped to his bulge, and she glanced away, embarrassed that she'd been looking at him that way.

“Do you know this man?” Peach asked.

Haisley looked closer. “I think he works for the sheriff’s office, but I don’t know him.”

Peach tapped his phone screen and played the sound over the speaker. The emergency operator answered, doing her spiel about how they could direct his call.

“Someone broke in and attacked us.”

“Please give your address.”

Peach listed his parents' address as he kept his eyes on her. A shiver slid through her, and she hugged her knees close. She listened as Peach explained that he’d come out of the bathroom and found the man attacking his friend. The person said that the police would be there shortly.

Fear slid through her. What if the cops arrested her? They had no reason to, but the police around here weren’t reasonable where she was concerned. Sheriff Eason had broken the law and didn’t want her telling anyone.

She wanted to tell Peach they should run, but he didn’tseem like the kind of man who ran from trouble. Peach ended the call, and a text message pinged on his phone.

“Who is that texting you?”

“I had friends run this guy’s photo. They sent me information about him. He was fired from the Virginia Beach police force and put on trial for assaulting a minor. He pled no contest. He shouldn’t be working for the police in any capacity, but he’s one of the deputies here.”

A shiver slid down her spine. “What are they going to do to us?”

Peach looked up and met her gaze. “Nothing. I’ve got people on base working on contacting people here in Georgia. Someone will show up soon. Don’t worry. The police aren’t going to do anything to you.”

The look in Peach’s eyes sent a shiver through her. “Why are you helping me? I’m just trouble.”

Peach snorted and then laughed. Her mouth fell open as she stared at him. How could he laugh at a time like this?

“You aren’t trouble, darling. This is nothing. Trust me, worse shit happens all the time. This is just life. Now then, I need to get some pants on, or the police might get some ideas that they don't need to get." Peach turned and headed down the hall. “Yell if he moves,” Peach threw over his shoulder before he stepped into the bedroom.

Haisley stared at the man on the ground, praying that he didn’t wake up. She didn’t want to deal with him again. Something deep in the recesses of her mind told her that this guy had been one of the people there that night. For all she knew, the baby in her could be his. A part of her never wanted to find out who it belonged to. If she didn't know, then she could pretend that the baby's father was a good man. Once she knew which one of these slimeballs supplied his sperm, then she would think about what hadhappened. She'd lost too many babies over the course of the years she'd been with Will. She wanted to be happy and enjoy her child, even if she'd conceived them in a terrible way.

After her last miscarriage, the doctor told her she would probably never have a baby. Maybe it was Will’s fault, or maybe there wasn’t any blame to go around. But this time was different. The doctor she'd gone to had checked, and the baby was healthy. Now, she just had to get through a few more months, and everything would be okay. She just hoped none of these jerks did anything to end her pregnancy because she knew she would never do this again.

Chapter 10

Peach had expectedsomeone to break in, but he hadn’t thought it would be this fast. He guessed Sheriff Eason liked to work fast. There was no proof Eason had sent this guy, but Peach knew from the few minutes he’d talked to the sheriff that the man wasn’t trustworthy.

With his pants and a shirt on, he headed out to the main room and undid the tape around the man’s ankles. He didn’t want to get a false imprisonment charge against him. If his buddies didn’t find someone fast to send out and intercept Eason, Peach was sure both he and Haisley would end up in jail.

The man who’d broken in and attacked them worked for the sheriff’s office. They would spin this to say that he’d come in as a law enforcement officer and he had attacked. He had little doubt that the whole sheriff’s office was corrupt.

The sirens sounded close, and Peach wondered if it was too late to run. But running wouldn't take care of the issue. If they weren't here when the police arrived, therewas no question the man in charge of the place would spin a story he would never be able to get out from under.

His phone rang, and he answered. “Peach here.”

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