CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Settled in the back of her Uber, Grace leaned on the headrest. Exhaustion weighted her entire body, and she hadn’t even worked her shift yet. How was she going to manage? Neither she nor Riley had slept well, and Grace had risen before dawn to help with breakfast and morning chores.
And now she was pregnant. But how? She had never had unprotected sex with Howard. She’d made him wear a condom every time. That had been the one thing she’d refused to compromise on—not even when Howard had punched her.
But she’d ended up pregnant again anyway.
The phone she was clutching in her hand rang. She read the unfamiliar phone number on her screen. Normally, she didn’t answer calls if she couldn’t identify the caller, but she was scheduled to start her job today. The possibility that her new manager or someone from HR was calling prompted her to press “Answer.” She needed this job. It wasn’t easy to find work when you didn’t have a high school diploma. She wanted to go back to school, but she didn’t think it was possible, not on her own.
“You need me.” Howard’s voice slid through her like used fryer grease.
Her insides curled up like a frightened armadillo.
She’d blocked his number, so he was either using a borrowed phone or spoofing his number. Either way, she felt his deception—and his resentment—in her bones. She should just hang up, but the thought made her feel weak. She was tired of being weak.
She braced herself before answering, struggling to keep her voice level. “You’re not supposed to contact me.”
“You can’t prove this is me. It’s your word against mine.” He sounded smug but sober, which might be a problem. Drunk Howard was volatile. Sober Howard was calculating. She wasn’t sure which was worse.
His voice went low and sleazy. “I know your secret. I know where you went this morning.”
Despite the heat blasting through the Uber, Grace went cold to her soul. Was he following her? She glanced through the Uber’s rear window but didn’t see his BMW. He’d borrowed a phone. Maybe he’d borrowed a vehicle. He could be anywhere. Goose bumps spread up her arms.
“What?” She hated the way her voice trembled.
“I know your secret,” Howard repeated, his tone shifting the statement into a threat.
Fear thudded in Grace’s chest. He’d heard the tremor in that one-syllable response, and as always, her weakness thrilled him. He fed on it, like a parasite. Scaring her made him happy. No, not happy. Howard was never happy. But he took sick pleasure from manipulating her.
“Want to know how I know?” He didn’t wait for a response, and her fear swelled into horror and disgust as he told her.
“You’re a monster,” she whispered.
He laughed, and his tone went low. “I’ll have your child taken away. You can’t even support yourself. You’re a horrible mother.”
Her throat went dry as flour. She wanted to throw him a snarky retort, but she couldn’t utter a single word. A wave of helplessness hit her. If she hadn’t been sitting, her knees would have buckled. She would never get away from him.
Echoing her terror, he whispered in an aggressive tone, “You are mine. I will never let you go.”