CHAPTER FOURTEEN
TROY
T he Lambert household was a mess when I pulled up. Jericho’s Lexus blocked the whole driveway. The front door hung open, muffled sobs drifting out into the front yard.
I’m coming girls. It was the only thing on my mind as I surveyed the state of affairs and adjusted my plan. Inside the two-story house, I found Mr. and Mrs. Lambert crouched over Maddie. She was out cold, her silky brown hair matted to a bleeding gash on the side of her head.
My gut turned into a lead knot. They’d stay with her for now. I needed to secure Grace. I touched Mrs. Lambert’s shoulder gently. She looked up at me with red-rimmed eyes.
I still hadn’t met her parents face-to-face, but this wasn’t the ideal time for introductions. I pressed a finger to my lips and then pointed up the staircase. She nodded, and I started a slow, silent creep up the stairs. As I ascended, I could hear the forced gentleness of a male voice.
“Come on Grace. It’s me. It’s time to go.”
Jericho. At the landing, I peered around the corner. He stood at the end of the hallway, in front of an open bedroom door.
“It’s me. Daddy. We’re going now.” He sounded agitated. Grace’s whimpers leaked out of the bedroom.
“Why are you acting like this?” Jericho stomped into the room and I took my chance to slip down the hallway. I listened in for a second, calculating the best plan given his potential reaction. I didn’t want Grace to see anything scary, even though I knew Jericho’s entire presence was terrifying enough right now. I needed to subdue Jericho and drag his ass out of this house, without Grace seeing any of it.
A tall order, given the layout of this house. But I’d figure out a way.
“We need to go. Now. Where is your coat?” Jericho snapped.
“I want Mommy,” Grace whimpered.
“She’s not coming. You’re coming with Daddy. What is so fucking hard to understand about that?” Jericho let out a frustrated sigh. “Listen, do you want any of these toys or whatever? Pick out something, let’s go.”
“Where’s Mommy?” Grace was sobbing now. I couldn’t stand another second of it. I stepped into the doorway, pinning Jericho with my gaze. He blanched when he spotted me.
“Toy!” Grace’s bottom lip trembled and she moved toward me, but Jericho yanked at her arm.
“You’re not going with him. He’s bad. A bad man. You’re coming with Daddy.”
Grace’s shoulders shook as she cried.
“Gracie-bell,” I started, my voice calm. “You should listen to your daddy.” I only said it because if I didn’t, he’d become violent. Every inch of my skin prickled with awareness, with readiness. It was a type of trigger finger snap judgment that only came out under duress.
“See? Smart man. Bad, but smart.” Jericho sneered at me. When he bent down to scoop up Grace, she wriggled away from him, screeching.
“No!”
“Grace. We’re leaving.” He lunged for her again and she darted away, an ear-piercing wail slicing through the air.
“Shut the fuck up,” Jericho snarled.
“Let her pick where she wants to go,” I blurted, my eyes on Grace’s pained expression. My heart was splitting in two. I didn’t understand how Jericho could willingly inflict this on his own flesh and blood. “Look at her. She’s scared. If she wants to go with you, she will. But you need to let her choose.”
Jericho huffed as though this was the stupidest idea he’d ever heard. “I’m her father. It doesn’t matter what she wants. It matters what I want.”
“Okay. But you have to understand that she’s going to make your life hell if you take her out of here scared like this,” I told him. “Let her choose. It’ll be smoother.” I stepped into the room, placing myself at Jericho’s side. I had my palms lifted, to show him that I wasn’t a threat, and that I was all-in on Grace making this decision. “This will be easier for her.”
Jericho rolled his eyes. Then he cleared his throat, as though preparing to recite lines. “Grace. Who do you want to leave with? Me, or the bad man?”
Grace couldn’t even talk from how hard she cried.
But she pointed her little finger at me.
“You’re safe, Gracie-bell,” I said softly. “It’s okay.”
She edged closer to me.
“You’re not leaving with him,” Jericho snapped.
“Come here, sweetie,” I encouraged her.
Grace sank to the floor, an immobile mess. Beyond the utter heartbreak of seeing her faced with this scary situation, all I could see were the next moves to get her to safety. Away from ‘daddy’. So then I could deal with daddy myself.
“She didn’t choose you,” Jericho informed me. He took a step toward Grace, but I jutted my elbow into his side forcefully. A whoomp escaped him and he staggered to the side. I scooped up Grace, holding her shaking body to mine as I raced out of the room. I pulled open a different bedroom door and dropped her inside.
“Stay here, I’ll be right back,” I promised her before pulling the door shut. It wasn’t ideal, but it would protect her from what came next. That was the priority right now: minimize damages. Minimize trauma. Obliterate Jericho.
After what he’d done today, I considered this my blank check. And I fully intended to write the amount of my dreams in the blank space.
Jericho barreled into the hallway just after I shut the door. He charged at me, swinging his fist. I ducked, catching him at the chest and hauling him against the opposite wall. Drywall cracked behind him and I slid my hands to his neck, pinning him there.
“You need to knock it the fuck off,” I hissed, pressing my thumbs into the hollow of his neck. I had no time to waste. He’d done enough damage, and I wasn’t interested in proving my strength or battling it out. I wanted him subdued and carried out of here on a stretcher.
But Jericho wasn’t so willing. He had more fight in him. Or maybe I underestimated him. He landed a punch into the side of my head that made me loosen my grip. He jerked away, headed for the room where Grace was hidden. He landed a hand on the doorknob. From inside, Grace’s wails drifted out.
He’s not getting in there. It was the only thought on my mind as I grabbed for his wrist, yanking him away.
“Stay away from her,” I growled.
“She’s my fucking daughter. Not yours. And I’ll make sure you don’t ever go near her again,” Jericho spat. But his words lacked bite. These were empty threats and I could tell.
“You’re the one who’s about to be kept from your family. From behind bars.” I hauled him up against the wall again, and then I landed a punch to his face that made him shut up. Blood trickled from his nose immediately.
“That was for what you did to Maddie down there.” I punched him again, feeling the crack of bone beneath my fist. “And that’s for scaring Grace.” He was fading out of consciousness already, but I wasn’t done. I punched him again. “And that’s for the baseball bat to the knee, you asshole.”
Jericho crumpled to the ground and I spat on him. My chest heaved as I struggled to catch my breath and assess whether or not he was really out. I half expected him to lunge at me, zombie style. But he remained slumped and unconscious. I dragged him by the arm pits to the top of the stairs. At the base, Maddie’s parents were still gathered around her. Maddie’s mother was openly crying.
“Jericho’s out,” I reported.
“We called the police,” Maddie’s dad said, touching his busted nose gently. “And the EMS. They’re both on their way.”
“Are you both okay?” I called down.
“We’re fine,” Maddie’s mother said, her voice choked with tears. “Maddie’s breathing but she’s passed out.”
“I’m going to secure Jericho before I bring Grace out,” I told them. “I don’t want her to see this.”
I pulled him down the hallway, then kicked him into the open door of the spare room where Grace’s toys were. Out of sight enough for now. But there was still one issue: what if he woke up? I looked around, trying to find a makeshift ziptie. The only thing that made sense to me was some sort of fabric. I tore the sleeve of his button-up clean off at the shoulder seam, then used his own shirt to bind his wrists behind his back. Done. I hurried back to the first bedroom, finding Grace huddled against the bed, her cheeks tear-stained.
“Gracie bell. It’s me.” I held out my hands, hoping I hadn’t scared her away. “It’s okay now. Everything’s okay.”
“Toy.” Her bottom lip trembled. “I want my mommy.”
“I know you do, sweetheart. Let’s go see her, okay?”
She nodded hesitantly and I scooped her up, holding her close. Out in the hallway, I spotted the blood smears across the wall, the dents. I owed the Lamberts an apology. Fucking a guy up was never a clean job.
When we got to the bottom of the stairs, Maddie was awake and mumbling. Grace reached for her grandma, so I passed her to Mrs. Lambert, who rocked her while she cried into Grace’s hair. Maddie’s father squeezed my shoulder.
“Thanks, son.” Emotion shone in his eyes, and I didn’t have the words to tell him how easily I’d do it all again if I had to.
“You’re welcome, sir. I hope he doesn’t give you guys any trouble anymore. I’m going to go check on him while we wait for the police.” Before I did that, I bent down to look at Maddie. She had a nasty gash on the side of her head, but she was as beautiful as ever. I took her chin gently between my thumb and forefinger.
“Maddie. Can you see me?” I wasn’t sure what type of damage that prick had done. I only knew he’d never be laying a finger on her again.
She mumbled something then nodded.
“You’re safe. We’re gonna get you to a hospital now, okay?”
She sighed, her eyes fluttering open. “Thank you, Troy.”
“No need to thank me.” I squeezed her chin gently, glad that I could get lost in the pretty depths of those hazel eyes once more. Men like Jericho could easily have taken it too far. “I did what needed to be done for my girls.”
The small smile that curled her lips was one I wanted to never forget.
It didn’t matter where I went next or how long I was gone.
She and Grace were mine.