Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Isla woke on Mrs. V’s sofa with a deep feeling of dread and despair.
It took her a minute to recall the events of the day before that’d led to her hiding out in her neighbor’s apartment.
A soft sob from the back bedroom had her getting up and going to the kids so they wouldn’t wake Mrs. Ventura before dawn.
Mila was sitting up in bed, her hair in a mass of blonde ringlets around her chubby little face. Her lip quivered, and her eyes pooled with tears.
“Mama’s here,” Isla whispered as she snuggled up to her little girl, praying Theo would sleep for a while longer. She had none of their toys or anything to entertain them at this hour, which added to her already considerable anxiety.
She ran a soothing hand over Mila’s back, hoping she’d go back to sleep.
Denny was coming at nine to pick them up for the meeting with his attorney friend. Since she could no longer afford to pay a sitter, she’d have to take the kids with her, which certainly wasn’t ideal. But what else was she supposed to do?
Mrs. V played bridge on Tuesdays and looked forward to seeing her friends. Isla would never ask her to miss that, and she had no one else she could ask on short notice.
In the weeks that Gabriel had been gone this time, Isla had come out of the fog of survival mode to realize how increasingly isolated she’d become from the friends who’d sustained her after she and Denny lost their parents.
She’d been supported by a close group of girlfriends who’d been by her side as she finished middle school and entered high school while navigating profound grief and fear about the future.
Denny had left college in Colorado and moved home to serve as her guardian.
Their parents’ life insurance had allowed Isla and Denny to remain in their home.
They’d muddled through, somehow, despite frequent clashes over Denny’s “parenting,” which had largely consisted of him saying no.
That had turned Isla into a lying rebel. She’d defied him openly, shutting off her phone so Denny wouldn’t be able to track her down and ruin her fun. He’d been furious with her, but that hadn’t stopped her from continuing to evade him.
Gabriel had entered the picture during that vulnerable period and had been an incredible source of love and support. The more he’d encouraged her to depend on him, the less she’d seen her friends—and her brother, who’d hated Gabriel from the get-go and had pleaded with her not to marry him.
She could see now that the isolation had been Gabriel’s plan all along.
The critical remarks he’d made about her brother and each of the women she’d been close to had chipped away at her belief in them.
He’d been offended any time she made plans that didn’t include him.
Eventually, she’d said no to their invitations often enough that they’d stopped asking her to do things.
Her excuses always involved Gabe and work and, later, the kids, but her friends had partners, jobs and kids, too, and they still found time for one another.
She saw photos of their frequent outings on Instagram and always felt sad and left out, but what did she expect?
If you said no often enough, people stopped asking and moved on without you.
And now here she was, on her own with two little kids and no one other than a kindly neighbor she could call on for support, which was probably exactly what Gabe had hoped to achieve.
She’d started college as a commuter to UCLA but left after two years to play house with Gabriel for a few years before they got married.
Since she hadn’t finished college, she had fewer employment options now that she’d be seeking a divorce and full custody of her kids.
How in the world would she ever support them?
Before Theo arrived, she’d worked as a receptionist for an ophthalmology practice in Beverly Hills, but after Gabe landed his dream job with the design firm, he’d encouraged her to give up her job to stay home with Theo to save money on daycare.
Now she could see how quitting her job had further cemented his total control over her and their finances.
Tears slid down her cheeks as she picked through the ruins of a once-promising life that’d been derailed by loss and compounded by bad decisions.
She’d trusted the wrong person with her love, faith and security, and now she faced the daunting task of unraveling her life from his and starting over.
But how she’d do that with two little ones counting on her for everything was beyond her ability to comprehend on that first morning after near disaster.
Isla thought of it as a near disaster because most of the things Gabriel had destroyed could be replaced.
The few special items she’d taken from her parents’ home were still in boxes in the same closet that’d provided sanctuary to her and her children.
Those treasures were safe, as were her babies, which was all that truly mattered.
She’d figure out the rest one step at a time.
Somehow.
At nine o’clock, Denny pulled up in the silver Toyota Tundra he drove for his work as the owner of a small construction company.
He carried coffees for both of them as he met her at the driver’s side of her red Hyundai SUV, which was three months behind on payments and probably about to be repossessed.
He helped her load the kids into their car seats while they squealed with delight at the special attention always paid to them by Uncle Denny.
Over time, she and Denny had papered over the earlier cracks in their relationship, but there was still tension between them that usually disappeared when the kids were around. Denny was an amazing, caring, loving uncle to them, and they adored him.
Mrs. Ventura had given her a key and told her to come and go for as long as she needed to. Her kindness had reduced Isla to tears as she’d hugged and thanked the older woman.
“Now, now,” she’d said. “No need to get maudlin over it.”
There was every need in Isla’s mind, as Mrs. V had just given her and the kids a place to stay while she figured out their next move.
Although, if Gabriel was released from jail, he’d probably come right back to their building.
He was aware that she’d become close with the older woman next door, even if he’d tried to discourage it, calling Mrs. V a nosy old biddy who wanted to know their business.
“Did you sleep at all?” Denny asked as he drove Isla’s SUV to Beverly Hills, toward an attorney and a divorce she couldn’t afford. Her stomach was in knots. Mrs. V had made pancakes for the kids, but Isla had only sipped at coffee.
“Some.”
“After they finish processing the apartment, I’ll help you rescue whatever can be saved.”
“You don’t have time for this.”
“I took the day off.”
“Denny! You can’t afford to do that.”
“How do you expect me to think about anything but you and the kids after what he did? I’ll make up the day on the weekend. Don’t worry about me.”
She would worry about him and the mess she was making of both their lives. They’d already had far more mess than their share.
“Do you know anyone who’s hiring?”
“Not off the top of my head, but I’ll put out some feelers.”
“I texted Georgia about working at the bar.” She’d worked with Georgia at the ophthalmology practice. She’d left to manage the Whisky A Go Go, an iconic Sunset Boulevard bar and music venue. She’d told Isla to hit her up if she ever needed to make real money. Isla had filed that info away.
Stopped at a red light, Denny looked over at her. “How will you work nights with the kids?”
“Mrs. Ventura said she was fine with watching them. They’ll be asleep when I leave. Georgia says I’ll make great money there.”
“And put up with guys hassling you nonstop?”
“It’s fine. It’s easy money at a time of day when I have someone to watch the kids.”
“What does she do if they wake up wanting Mommy?”
“She’ll figure it out. They know her.”
“How well do they know her?”
“Well enough. Stop, will you? I have to do something.”
“I can’t bear to think of you working in that meat market with all those jackasses panting around after you like they did when you were younger.”
“I’m older and fatter after having two babies in three years. They won’t even notice me.”
“Sure they won’t.”
Thankfully, he let the matter drop. After finally escaping a controlling husband, no man, not even her beloved brother, was going to tell her how to live her life. She’d never let that happen again.
Isla scrolled through her phone, looking for a way to expend the nervous energy that made her feel like she’d had five glasses of champagne.
As if. She stopped on a post from TMZ that showed supermodel Cresley Dane laughing at an outdoor table with a handsome, dark-haired guy.
As a fan of all things Cresley, she read the caption and gasped when she saw his name was Julian Remington.
“Isn’t this your lawyer friend?” She held her phone so Denny could see the image.
“Yeah, that’s him.”
“Is he dating Cresley Dane?”
“Not that I know of.”
“Sure looks like it to me. That’s the guy you’re taking me to see? He looks like a supermodel himself.” Guys like him thought the world revolved around them. She was fresh out of patience for that kind of big-dick energy. She’d been married to it for six years and had had enough.
“He’s a good guy and a fucking brilliant lawyer. That’s what you need right now.”
“Fucking brilliant,” Theo said from the back seat.
Isla glared at Denny.
“Sorry. I’m out of practice. My kids swear like sailors.” They were twelve and fourteen and lived with their mother in Santa Monica. Isla hadn’t seen them in more than a year.
“Awesome.”