Her entire body shaking from the aftermath, she used a chair to pull herself onto her feet. Her hand was throbbing, her throat ached. But he was gone. She tugged the ends of her shirt together. Great. Seemed her best outfit was now ruined.
After quickly checking on the boys, who’d followed her instructions exactly and hidden themselves under the bed with their tablets and headphones, which she’d had to work an extra job for months to afford. She managed to get them out, telling them it was bedtime. Without a word, they got into their pj’s and got into bed.
Then she popped some painkillers before hopping in the shower. By the time she got out, her trembling had ceased and the throbbing in her hand was down to a dull roar.
After getting into her pajamas, she put some more cream on her hand. She’d leave the bandage off to let it breathe for a bit. Another blister had popped. She’d need to be careful not to let it get infected.
She examined her neck in the mirror. Fuck, was it going to bruise? She’d have to find something high-necked in her closet. This wasn’t her first rodeo so she had a couple of possible tops she could use.
After checking on the boys, who were fast asleep, she slid into bed and grabbed her phone, surprised to find two voice messages. One from an unknown number. The other from her boss.
She played the one from the unknown number first.
“Hi, Thea. This is Carrick. From earlier. I’m the guy with your car.” He cleared his throat and she had to grin at the note of nervousness in his voice. “Anyway, wanted to let you know I started working on it tonight. It’s got a blown head gasket and worn disc brakes. Hopefully, it will be fixed by this weekend and we can go on that date. Anyway, uh, I’ll call tomorrow night with an update. Sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite . . . Jesus, can’t believe I just said that.”
The call ended, and, despite the day she’d had, she found herself grinning.
Then she played the next message, tensing up, unsure why her boss would be calling.
“Thea. It’s Jardin. Malone.”
Her eyebrows rose. Her normally unflappable boss sounded almost unsure of himself.
“I called to tell you that I won’t be in until ten as I’m meeting with Eric Henderson.”
She frowned. Had he forgotten she did his schedule? She already knew this.
“Make sure you’re in on time.”
Thea rolled her eyes with a sigh. Be late one time . . . what about all the times she’d been early? Did they count for nothing?
“And, uh, make sure you put cream on that hand and get some air on it. Then bandage it again. Good night.”
Well, that was weird.
6
Shit. Shit. Shit.
She placed her forehead down on the desk after ending the call with the school. After taking a bus to get the boys to school she’d gotten into an argument with one of the bitch moms. She’d had the fucking audacity to complain that Keir had been picking on her son during lunchtime. More like she was just bitter because Keir beat her little Arthur out for the top math prize last term. But all that had meant that Thea barely managed to get to work on time.
And now . . . shit. A fight? Her boys wouldn’t have started a fight, right?
With all the violence they’d witnessed at home, most people would say it was inevitable. But she knew her brothers. They were good kids, despite all the shit thrown at them.
First things first. Taking a deep breath, she walked over to Jardin’s office and knocked.
“Yes?” he called out.
She opened the door and peeked in. He was sitting at his desk, looking at some papers. “Um, Jardin you busy?”
Stupid question, Thea.
When he glanced up at her, the look on his face echoed her thought. Yep, she got it. He was always busy. The man was a workaholic. He never seemed to stop. She wondered what he was like at home. Whether he ever changed out of his ubiquitous suit. Not that he didn’t look really good in a suit.
Really good.
But sometimes she wondered what he’d look like in, well, nothing at all.
Not the time, Thea.
“Are you well? You look flushed.”
She could grab onto it as an excuse. Or tell him her hand was hurting. She was certain he’d let her have time off for either of those things. But she couldn’t do that. She cleared her throat.
“Actually, I need to leave. See, my brothers have run into some trouble at their school. And I—”
“Are you their legal guardian?”
She wished she were. But she’d warned them against saying anything about their father until she was sure she was in a position where child services would leave them in her care. She needed a steady job and a better place for them to live. But once they were hers, then she wouldn’t have to stay and suffer the asshole’s abuse. She’d worn a high-necked, black shirt today, which also had long sleeves, to hide the bruises on her wrist and neck. It was going to be hot as hell on the bus going home since it wasn’t air-conditioned like this building, but she didn’t have much choice.
“Well, no, but—”
“Then let your parents take care of it.”
“My mom has been dead for five years and my dad is, uh, busy.” That wasn’t a lie. She was sure he was busy drinking or sleeping.
“So are you.”
“I have to go.”
“Leave and you’ll be fired.” No anger. No irritation. His voice was tinged with ice.
“Fine. I’ll quickly pack up my stuff. Thank you for everything.” She turned away, cursing herself for that last part. Why had she thanked him? He’d just fired her. No doubt he’d blackball her like he said he would do with Jenny.
Idiot.
She’d reached her desk when he came thundering out of the office. “Excuse me?”
“Um, which part didn’t you hear?” she asked, hoping it was the last part.
“The part where you said, ‘Yes, sir,’ and got back to work.”
Her temper stirred. “You fired me.”
“I’m always firing you!” he shot back. “You never leave!”
She wouldn’t say he was always firing her. It’d only happened twice.
“Well, this time I’m going.”
She picked up her photo of the boys. She didn’t have a lot of personal stuff. Jardin reached out and snatched the frame back out of her hand, putting it on the desk.
Her hands went to her hips. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“The photo stays.”
“You hate that photo. You hate me having anything personal at work.”
“And yet I’ve allowed the photo to stay these past two months. Just like you.”
“You’ve allowed me to stay? Seriously?” Now she was getting angry.
“Seriously.”
She knew this wasn’t a good idea. Her control was shot. Worry over the boys. Over her father’s cryptic words last night, it was all getting to her.
“I have to go. The photo is mine, and I’m taking it with me.”
He kept hold of the photo and stared intently at her. “Why do you have to leave?”
“I told you! My brothers need me at their school.”
“Why?”
She took a calming breath. You cannot kill him. “The principal just called. There was a fight—”