Page 20 of Vengeful Reign

“You won’t even believe how much worse it was. I ran into Jeremy while I was there.”

“Are you serious?” she gasps. We both know my relationship with Jeremy didn’t end on good terms. He tried calling and working things out, but with John, I hadn’t evengiven it a second thought. That ship sailed before I met the adorable little boy.

“Yes. He saw me as I was coming out with John. He walked with me to the car and actually helped with getting John in his seat. It’s as if he cared for a brief moment.”

“Oh, girl, please don’t take that as a sign to let him back into your life. I know it’s hard with John now, but you don’t need a cheating piece of crap like Jeremy in it.”

“Oh, heck, no. I have no interest in letting him in. Seriously, I’d slam the door in his face if he dared to bring any relationship up. He cheated on me, and we’re done, so there’s nothing left for us. I ended things. It just reminded me that I was alone. How long will that be?”

“Well, if you ever let someone else help with John, you might be able to date,” she huffs.

“Fine, girl. Maybe soon.” She was right. I needed something, some sort of companionship because I felt like I was losing my mind.

“Good. Because I want you to be happy. You’re one of the only friends I got.”

“Same here, girlie. I need you too.”

“Well, call me anytime.” We hang up, and I think about the outing.

I got an extremely uncomfortable feeling today when I took John to the mall. What possessed me to be brave enough to shop in public, I’ll never know. It had been dumb. Maybe it was the need for human interaction, or just pure insanity. Whatever it was, I felt someone’s eyes on me.

I think I’ve grown completely paranoid. Julia’s fears have seeped into my soul, and now I’m searching for monsters atevery entrance. It’s not like they’d come looking for John all the way in Philly. It’s the reason she brought him here instead of taking him to Chicago where we were from in the first place.

Her godson had lost his parents in New Jersey, and his family wanted the boy dead as well. It was crazy, but she let them believe the boy was already dead, so there was no reason for them to look for him in my neck of the woods. Besides, I haven’t heard from Julia since the day she left him with me after registering him with all the paperwork, leaving me as his legal guardian. How the hell she managed to pull that fast one surprised me, but she had secrets I didn’t know about. A lot of them.

“Momma,” John whines through the baby monitor I have next to my bed. It’s cute and draining as I sigh and slide out of bed because it’s well past midnight when I hear his cries. As much as I love teaching special needs children, I never expected that I’d suddenly become a full-time mom overnight at twenty-three.

It’s harder than anything in the world. No one prepares you for the reality of it. My kiddos at school go home to someone else. Someone with patience, who can share the burden and the joy. I don’t have a family or a husband. I no longer have friends or a boyfriend. His cheating ass is long gone and I’m glad for it because he thought I should have given John to the state, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t ache for someone to help.

“What’s up, buddy?” Seeing his face makes me forget that I’m worn out.

He cries, reaching out for me. I hug him and realize that he needs reassurance. It’s been ongoing, and I wonder if he’s always been like this or if it has to do with Julia and the loss of his parents. I close my eyes and hold him tight. I would take himback to my bed, but I refuse to make it a habit. Routines must be followed. “Time for bed, John. Do you want a story?” I use the sign for a book, and he nods.

After two stories, he falls back to sleep, and I quietly sneak out of his room and onto the sofa where I pass out until there’s a loud pounding on my front door. I fell off the sofa and onto the floor.

“Hold on,” I say in a shout and then remember that John’s in the other room. “Fuck,” I hiss, hoping whoever is knocking like they’re the police didn’t wake him. Shit, I hope Jeremy didn’t think yesterday was a way to worm his way back into my life.

“Do you have a problem?” I ask as I whip the door open. My eyes land on a large chest in a suit and as I lift them upward, I’m met with a furious expression of a handsome man, and then he storms into my home. He has his hand on my throat, pushing me into the house. Before I can fight back, I’m pinned to the backside of the sofa with one hand on my throat and the other on the cushion, giving me nowhere to go.

“Where the hell is he?” he snarls. Beautiful, stormy eyes stare dangerously into mine with an intensity that I can’t fight.

“Who?” I choke out, gripping his wrist and trying to pull it away, staring into the gorgeous blue eyes of a killer. The dark way he looks at me tells me all I need to know. He doesn’t play and he means business, and yet a part of me isn’t as scared as I should be until he utters the next syllable.

“John,” he grits out, eyes narrowing. My heart sinks. They’ve caught me, and he’s coming to hurt the poor, innocent little boy.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lie, trying to protect him like I promised.

His voice gets deeper, lower. “Don’t play dumb with me.” I shake my head. “The little boy you had yesterday.” Shit, I was being watched.

“I’m a teacher. I had a day trip with a student,” I lie again. He releases his grip and then he moves around me, sees the toys on the floor, and looks up at me with a deadly smirk. I dash around the room and block the hallway. My small body isn’t going to hold him back for long, but I’ll do whatever I have to do to protect John. Why is it so damn important? The kid isn’t going to say anything.

“Momma, ma....” John whines from his room, and I know he’s on his way.

He roars, “You lying little bitch.” He storms toward me until there’s no space between us.

“I’m not…”

He grips my shoulders, ready to pull me away, but he doesn’t use any force. “If you don’t want me to kill you, get the fuck out of the way.”

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