Page 5 of Clara's Secure Hideaway

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Biting her thumbnail,Clara paced the short length of her living room. As much as her feet ached, she couldn’t sit still. Nervous energy zipped through her body, leaving her shaken and a little lightheaded.

Mitch was out of jail.

Cartoon dogs built a new library on the television screen, her children giggling at their shenanigans, but it did nothing to drown out the replay of what happened earlier in her mind. The moment she’d seen her ex-husband, she’d returned to the scared, tortured woman she’d always been around him.

And she hated it.

Her phone rang in her pocket, and she plucked it out, relieved to see her friend Laura’s number on the screen. She made sure Davey and Avery were occupied and happy then disappeared into the kitchen. She stayed close enough to keep an eye on them, but far enough that they couldn’t hear her conversation.

“Hello? Laura?”

“Hi, how are you doing? Do you need me to come over? I can leave Isla with Cade and be there in fifteen minutes.”

Knowing her friend was at the ready lifted a bit of the heavy burden Mitch’s presence had heaped on her shoulders. After leaving Mitch the first time, she’d met Laura at Safe Haven Women’s Shelter. Scared and overwhelmed, she’d had no idea what to expect from life at the shelter, but she’d found more support and family than she’d experienced since she’d lost her mother as a teenager. The bond she shared with Laura had been quick and fierce, getting her through some of her darkest days.

And here she was again, months later, leaning on her soul sister.

“No, I’m holding it together, and I don’t want the kids to suspect anything’s wrong. The more I can shield them from this, the better.” She peered around the corner and into the living room. “I just can’t believe he’s out of jail already. How could this happen?”

The sound of Laura’s frustrated breath rattled through the speaker. “The system’s shit. I live in fear every day Isaac will be released for some ridiculous reason. He had more charges, so that should keep him in a cell for a while, but there’s no guarantee. So many abusers find a way to slither through the cracks.”

“Well, my abuser shoved that crack open and jumped through. I don’t know what to do now.”

“Keep your doors locked and your eyes open. He may be a free man, but that doesn’t mean he has no restrictions on what he can and cannot do. If he steps out of line, I’m sure there’s a probation officer you can call.”

“That won’t help if he’s on a rampage. He was pissed today. If Heath hadn’t been there, I don’t know what would have happened.”

“Heath? Heath Sterling?” Interest lifted the inflection of Laura’s voice.

Clara winced. Laura may be as close as a sister, but she hadn’t confessed her confusing feelings for the handsome deputy. In her mind, that was don’t think, don’t touch, don’t go there territory. “Yes,” she said, breezing past the unspoken question. “He was at the diner when Mitch came in. Told him to leave.”

“That’s good you have a deputy as a witness to his intimidation.”

She hadn’t thought about that. As a sheriff’s deputy, he wouldn’t be oblivious to the unspoken threat hurled at her.

A light tapping on the front door stole her attention.

“Mama,” Davey called. “Someone’s here.”

“I’ll answer it,” she said, hurrying into the living room. “Give me a second, Laura. I need to see who this is.”

A quick glance out the picture window didn’t show the visitor, so she creaked the door open enough to speak through. “Hello?”

A hard push against the door shoved her backward, and Mitch loomed in the doorway.

Davey and Avery stilled, fear etched in every line of their little faces.

“Nice to see you still keep the place looking like a dump,” he said, a smirk lifting the corner of his mouth. “Some things don’t ever change.”

Bile rose to the back of her throat, but she wouldn’t surrender. Wouldn’t wilt away and let him walk all over her anymore. “You need to leave. Now.”

He laughed. “This is my house, sweetheart. Now, I was nice and gave you some time to get accustomed to me being around again. Don’t give me any trouble. You’ve already cost me enough.”

Her heart raced and mind spun. Snippets of Laura’s frantic voice sounded through the phone. She wasn’t alone. She wouldn’t be his victim anymore. Lifting her chin, she squared her shoulders and faced him. “No, this is my house. My name is on the mortgage, not yours. If you don’t leave, I’ll call the police. I’m sure they won’t take kindly to you causing trouble as soon as you get out of jail.”

His smirk morphed into a glower, and he snatched out a hand to grip the back of her neck.

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