Chapter Six
CHAPTER SIX
T he last week had been a whirlwind of craziness. Salem still couldn’t believe she’d said yes to Jack’s insane proposal. It seemed like once she’d accepted, things had sped up until she could barely keep up. Before telling anybody, they’d met with Chance, with Ivy on speaker, and gone over the pros and cons of their plan. Finally, after tearing apart every idea, Chance and Ivy finally agreed the idea had merit. From there, they’d driven to the Big House and broken the news to Ms. Patti and Douglas.
She smiled, remembering the look on Ms. Patti’s face at the news. She’d practically glowed with a combination of approval and excitement, and immediately took over planning every detail. Within twenty-four hours, they had applied for the license, arranged for the justice of the peace to perform the ceremony at the courthouse, and invited all the Boudreaus for a small gathering afterward.
Jack had turned in his notice with the Rangers and called Samuel, arranging a start time for his new job with Carpenter Security Services. While he acted like he was excited about the new start, she suspected part of that was a front. And she felt like a giant boulder of guilt sat squarely on her shoulders. He was giving up everything for her and Chloe. His apartment, his job, even his community, all to move to Louisiana—for her.
It still seemed unreal, including the gold band on her ring finger. The ceremony had been beautiful—Ms. Patti saw to that. With the few guests crowded into the small chapel at the courthouse—and, yes, apparently Shiloh Springs’ courthouse had an onsite chapel—she and Jack exchanged vows. Douglas had given her away, and Ms. Patti had cried.
Tonight was the first night they’d spend together as husband and wife. Under the same roof. Sharing her bedroom. She glanced at the queen-sized bed taking up a huge portion of her tiny room, and her breath started coming out faster. Why hadn’t they talked about sharing a bed? Jack said he wouldn’t force her to do anything she didn’t want to, but for how long?
“Salem?”
She spun around, her breath catching in the back of her throat at the sound of his voice. Standing in the hallway, his serious gaze watched her, and she couldn’t help wondering if he could read her mind. A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips, and she had the feeling he knew her thoughts, especially considering the heat that rushed into her cheeks.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you. Where do you want these?” He nodded toward the suitcase and the diaper bag she’d carried all of Chloe’s things in. She huffed out a breath, running a hand through her hair, pushing it back from her face before letting it fall across her cheek. The longer bangs and style tended to fall into place, obscuring the scar on her face. It had faded from the vivid red from when it first happened, to now a dull pink, but every minute of every day she knew it was there, and cursed Tarik again. He’d stolen so much from her, including her sense of self-worth and independence, and she wondered if she’d ever get them back.
“Sorry. Just set them on the bed and I’ll take care of them.”
Jack walked into the room and did what she’d said, then looked around the space. Hoped he’d see that though the space wasn’t huge, and the walls had to be painted white because it was a rental, she’d done her best to inject some color and personality here. The bright red bedspread had been a splurge at the discount store that she’d picked up on clearance, and she’d added some red and white floral print accent pillows. A couple of pictures of Chloe stood on the matching nightstands along with the navy glass lamps. A few of her paintings decorated the walls, ones she’d done on her trip through Europe with Gabi. All of them were pre-Tarik. She hadn’t wanted to see any of her artwork from after she met him, because it reminded her of a time she’d sooner forget.
“Are you okay, Salem? You’re looking a little—spooked.”
She shook her head. “I’m fine. I mean, everything’s kind of sinking in, you know? A little over a week ago I was running to Texas to get away from Tarik’s family. Now I’m back again with a new lawyer and a new husband. I feel like I’ve been on a rollercoaster climbing up and up and it’s suddenly swooping down, and I can’t catch my breath.”
“I get it. I’m kind of in the same boat. I quit my job, took a new one here in Louisiana, packed up my apartment and got married. I have a wife, a daughter, and a brand-new life.” He patted the edge of the bed, and she sat, suddenly feeling like a marionette whose strings had been cut. When he sat beside her, she leaned her head against his shoulder.
“Do you think we made a mistake?”
“Absolutely not. We are protecting an innocent child. That’s worth any cost.” His instant response warmed Salem’s heart. He hadn’t hesitated to step up when he’d heard about the Amirs’ plans to take Chloe away. Made sacrifices most other men wouldn’t have dreamed of, personal sacrifices for a woman he barely knew.
“When do you meet with Samuel?”
“He’s giving me a couple of days to get situated and moved in. I’ll head to Carpenter Security on Monday.”
“Have I said thank you, Jack? I’ll never be able to repay your kindness, but I promise I’ll do everything I can to make sure you don’t regret helping me and Chloe.”
Before Jack could say anything, Chloe’s loud screech filled the air, with a running refrain of “Mama, Mama, Mama” coming from her nursery. Within seconds, Jack was on his feet, racing down the hall, Salem on his heels. She plowed into him when he stopped so abruptly, she couldn’t put on the brakes fast enough.
“Chloe, sweetie, what have you got there?” Jack’s soft singsong words sent a chill down Salem’s spine, as she tried to see around his broad shoulders. He moved into the room slowly, and she pushed around him, freezing when she saw her daughter in her crib, blood dripping from her tiny hand.
“Jack!”
He ignored her, instead moving closer to Chloe and squatting down beside the crib. Salem’s hand went to her stomach when she saw what lay across her baby’s lap.
A knife.
A huge knife, almost as big as she was, the edge coated with wet, sticky redness. Her baby’s blood painted the edge of the knife crimson.
“Mama!” Chloe’s screams interspersed with tears broke Salem’s heart. Her baby was hurt, bleeding, and it was all her fault. Jack reached forward and oh-so-carefully lifted the knife out of her baby’s bed, the handle wrapped in the edge of Chloe’s blanket. Yet all Salem saw was her child’s blood, bright red staining her tiny fingers.
Bumping Jack to the side with her hip, she lifted Chloe from her crib and cuddled her against her chest before taking her small hand in hers, looking for the source of the blood. A cut across her ring and little finger bled sluggishly and Salem finally let out the breath she hadn’t realized she held.
“Where’s your first aid kit?”
“What?”
Jack touched her lightly on the shoulder and nodded toward Chloe. “Where’s your first aid kit? Let’s get the little one cleaned up and bandaged, then I’ll call the police.”
Police. Right. They had to call the police because someone had been in her apartment. Had left a knife—a knife—in her child’s crib.
“Under the sink in the bathroom.” Jack left and she carried Chloe into her bedroom, and perched on the edge of the bed, waiting for Jack. Big gulping sobs wracked Chloe’s body, and Salem rubbed her back, cooing nonsense words to her.
How had this happened? Her two-bedroom apartment wasn’t in a bad section of town, which explained the higher rent she paid. There wasn’t full-time security for the building, but she’d never been afraid living here—until now.
Jack came back, the plastic red box in his hand. Gabi had given the first aid kit to her when she’d moved into the apartment, along with a bunch of household goods. Salem had still been a bit shellshocked at the time, having been through the whole ordeal of Tarik trying to kidnap her and her unborn daughter and take them back to the U.A.E., and then seeing him killed in front of her. If it hadn’t been for Gabi and her husband, she’d have been an utter wreck. Her mom and dad had tried, she’d give them that, but they didn’t understand that she’d changed. Grown up and apart from them, because they still wanted their little girl, and she wasn’t that person anymore. How could she be after everything she’d lived through, everything she’d endured at the hands of the man she thought she loved?
Going to his knees in front of her, Jack handed her a damp washcloth. Shifting Chloe in her arms, she gently wiped the blood from her fingers and hand, letting out a deep sigh as she realized the cuts weren’t too deep.
“Should we take her to the emergency room? It doesn’t look too bad, but what if she cut tendons or muscles or…”
Jack’s gaze met hers, steady and unrelenting, and she read his understanding and compassion and something else she couldn’t put a name to. Picking up Chloe’s hand, he played a tickle game with her, walking his fingertips across her palm and watching her curl her fingers around his, catching at them, like it was a game. Her precious giggle was the sweetest thing Salem had ever heard.
“It looks like the bleeding has pretty much stopped and she’s bending her fingers okay. Let’s get her bandaged up and see how she does. I don’t think it’s too serious. We got lucky. That blade is sharp.”
She’d almost forgotten about the knife. How had she not noticed that knife in Chloe’s crib when she’d laid her down when they’d gotten here from Shiloh Springs? She’d been distracted, who wouldn’t be when she’d just gotten married, but that wasn’t a good excuse. She was a bad mother.
“You’re not a bad mother, Salem. You are an amazing mother who loves her daughter. You couldn’t have anticipated something like this.”
She hadn’t realized she’d spoken her thoughts aloud until Jack answered.
“I’m sorry, I’m just frazzled.”
“Mama?” Chloe held her hand up in front of Salem’s face. “Boo-boo.”
“Yes, you have a boo-boo.” Salem placed a kiss against Chloe’s fingers. Chloe giggled again before turning to Jack.
“Boo-boo.”
Jack smiled as Chloe held her hand out toward him, and Salem’s heart nearly exploded at the sight of her baby waiting for Jack to kiss her boo-boo, the way she had.
“I see you have a boo-boo. Do you want me to kiss it and make it better?”
Chloe nodded. “Boo-boo. Kiss.”
Jack took Chloe’s hand and brought it gently to his lips, placing a soft kiss against her palm.
“Better?”
She nodded solemnly. Salem watched Jack take two of the smallest Band-Aids in the kit and wrap one around Chloe’s ring and little fingers. Wiggling them in the air, she pushed them right into Salem’s face.
“Mama.”
“I see, you’ve got Band-Aids. And look, they have pictures on them.” Gabi had mentioned when she’d presented her with the first aid kit that she’d gotten one that was kid friendly. Apparently that included cartoon characters.
“Why don’t you and Chloe head into the living room? I’m going to pack up this kit and call the police, have them come check out the knife.”
“I have a better idea. Call my boss, Remy Lamoreaux. He works part time out of the P.I. office, but he’s a full-time detective with the New Orleans Police Department. He can come over and check things out.”
“Sounds good. His number in your phone?”
Salem nodded. “I’ll get it for you.”
Rushing toward the living room, she grabbed her shoulder bag and pulled out her phone, and turned to take it to Jack, only to find him standing behind her. With a quick smile, she handed it to him.
“His number is programmed under his first name.”
She watched Jack dial her phone, studying him while comforting Chloe, who’d calmed down in her arms, her thumb stuck in her mouth. Salem cringed at that, because her baby had almost gotten out of the habit of sucking her thumb. She’d let it go this time, because of everything that happened.
Jack disconnected the call, placing the phone on the coffee table in front of Salem. “He said he’s close by, and he can be here in about five minutes.”
“That’s good.” She rubbed her knuckles against Chloe’s soft cheek, still in shock that somebody would do something so heinous. If their intention was to scare her, it worked.
She hadn’t noticed Jack had moved until he was in front of her, holding a glass of water in front of her face. With a still shaky hand, she lifted it to her lips, taking a sip, before handing it back.
“Thank you.”
He looked down at Chloe, a melancholy smile on his lips. “She’s had a rough day.”
“So has her mama. I can’t believe someone left that—thing—in her bed. What kind of sadistic monster does something like that?”
“My first guess would be the Amirs, but until we’ve got proof, that’s strictly speculation.” He moved around the coffee table to sit beside her on the couch. “I’m sure Remy will have fingerprints taken off the knife. I don’t want to handle it too much, so if there are any prints, but I do want you to take a look at the knife. See if it’s something you recognize.”
“Why would I recognize it?”
Jack looked down at his hands before finally meeting her gaze. “It’s a pretty unique knife. Not something you’d buy at your local sporting goods or hunting store.”
A chill raced down Salem’s spine at his words. A feeling of dread seeped into her, like a wind through a cemetery, cold and clammy.
No, she thought, even while her mind told her it was possible. The Amirs could be cruel enough. Vicious and spiteful and vindictive. Her hand went to her cheek, tracing the line of the scar. As much as she tried to forget it was there, she was constantly reminded of Tarik’s violence. His betrayal of his vows of love and devotion.
Without a word he walked back into her bedroom and came back with the blanket he’d wrapped the knife in. When he placed the bundle on the coffee table, her insides clenched, and she felt like she was going to throw up. Please, let me be wrong .
With exquisite care, Jack peeled back the edges of Chloe’s blanket, revealing first the blade, stick blotchy with streaked blood. After what felt like an interminably long pause, the ornate handle of the knife was revealed, and she couldn’t hold back her gasp.
“You recognize it.” It wasn’t a question, but still she answered.
“Yes.”
Before she could say anything else, a hard knock sounded on the front door. Had to be Remy. She started to stand, but Jack motioned her to stay, and he headed for the door. When he pulled it open, she knew she was in trouble. Because it wasn’t Remy.
It was Gabi.