Page 23 of Cruel Savior

He laughed. “Don’t be naive. Those men don’t love. They kill. They rape. And they deal drugs. The only thing that motivates them is money. I won’t allow my daughter to go down that path.”

“Axel isn’t like that.” Tears streamed down my face as I stared at the stubborn expression on his face. He’d already made up his mind, and there would be no changing it, and he’d made sure I couldn’t escape whatever fate he had in store for me.

My father knew me too well. If he’d given me any warning I would have immediately run to Axel.

I still had my phone, though. I could get a message to him.

As if he’d read my mind, my father held out his hand. “Phone,” he demanded.

“Why? If I’m leaving, I will need to let people know. You don’t want anyone to come looking for me, right?”

He laughed. “That won’t be an issue. Where you’re going, there won’t be a chance in hell anyone could find you. Phone!” he ordered again, raising his voice.

Something snapped inside me as I slapped my phone into his outstretched hand. “My baby needs a father. I will hate you for this.”

“Your baby is a mistake. I’d rather you hate me than lose you to a gang of low life criminals. That is not your destiny. It is not what I have worked my entire life for you to accept. It is not the life my grandchild deserves either.”

“You can’t control me forever. One day soon, I will leave.”

“Someday that will be true. And I hope by then you’ll have learned to do the right thing. Forget about that boy, because I promise you, he will forget about you.”

As I exited the car and turned toward the waiting helicopter, I held my head high. Whatever he did, wherever he made me go, it wouldn’t matter. I would have Axel’s baby inside me and that he could never take away.

Present day

I sat on the floor with the feel of Axel's fingers still digging into my cheeks. He'd delivered a verbal blow far deadlier than anything he could have done physically, and hours later, I still couldn't move. He'd stormed from the cabin and had yet to return. I wasn't sure he ever would. If I was smart, I'd get the hell out of there and be gone before he came back.

I didn't doubt his threats. If I brought it up again, he would do something drastic. But I was so damned confused and I needed answers. He'd made it sound like—

I needed to make a call. Where was my phone? I dragged myself to my hands and knees and crawled to the couch where I'd spent the night. I shoved my hands between the cushions and felt my way around. I pulled a few quarters and remote control out, but no sign of my stupid phone.

It had to be here. I yanked the cushions to the ground. Nothing. I shoved my hand under the couch and felt around, even going so far as to bend and twist so I could see under there. Still nothing. Where the hell was it? I didn't have it with me at the island so it couldn't be there. Maybe I'd taken it into the bathroom and forgot I had it?

I was about to haul myself to my feet when I spied it on the end table, next to a glass of water and my smart watch. For a second I hesitated, thinking about how thoughtful he'd been, first by covering me with a blanket and then going so far as to laying out my things so they would be available to me when I woke. My eyes burned, and for a moment, I thought I might finally crack. When the tears failed to materialize, I grabbed my phone and punched in the number I knew by heart.

“Amanda? Are you all right? I heard about what happened last night. Please tell me you are somewhere safe?” The concern in his voice washed over me, and as usual, it added to my confused feelings where my father was concerned. I knew he loved me, but his actions were often so contradictory. Love one minute, indifference the next. I thought I'd gotten used to it, but now I wasn't so sure.

"What did you say to Axel?" I asked, my voice thick with anger and pain.

"What do you mean? I haven't spoken to him. All of my communication comes through his boss."

"Not about this. Fuck! I'm not talking about that right now."

"You need to calm down and watch your language with me, Amanda. I understand that you're scared about this nightmare, but that's no reason to behave this way, especially when you’re the one that brought this to my door."

His admonishment sent me over the edge I thought I'd already gone over. "Just shut the fuck up,Dad, and answer the question!"

He sputtered on the other end of the line. "I haven't talked to him directly in ten years, so whatever you think I did, it's absurd." I could hear the lie in his voice from the moment it left his lips. While I needed answers from him, I wasn't sure he would give them to me so I took a different approach and went for the jugular.

"Did you tell Axel I had an abortion?"

The commotion at his end went completely silent. So quiet, I pulled the phone away from my ear to see if he'd hung up, but according to the screen we were still connected.

"Amanda," he started. "You were sixteen. You had no business getting hitched to that man for a lifetime—"

A surge of anger whipped through me in a violent rage. I couldn't listen. I knew the truth. "You bastard!" I yelled, throwing the phone as hard as I could at the cabin wall. It crashed to the floor, a few pieces breaking off. Oh my God. I couldn't breathe. I was back on my hands and knees trying to pull in a breath and my lungs wouldn't allow it.

"What was that? Amanda?"

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