Phoebe wandered listlessly through to her bathroom and added a generous amount of her favorite bubble bath. She added lavender-scented salts as well, and then turned on the water, getting it nice and hot.
Just as she’d slipped out of her clothes her phone rang.
As much as she wanted to ignore it, her cousin’s name was on the screen and since Hope had done so much for her these last couple of months, finding her a place to stay and getting her a job, she didn’t want to not answer.
“Hey,” she said, attempting to inject some energy into her voice.
“Were you going to call and tell me?” Hope demanded, sounding angry.
“Call and tell you what?”
“About what happened today.”
Honestly, the thought hadn’t occurred to her. Maybe it would have eventually, but right now her nerves were stretched tight, she was exhausted, and her focus had just been getting back home so she could let go. “How did you find out?”
“Mouse called to apologize and ask us to pass on how sorry he was again for knocking you down.”
“He told me he was sorry already.”
“He feels so bad.”
“I believe that.” She did. She had accepted his apology and meant it. It was understandable that he’d been out of his mind with fear for his child, and then he’d seen her with his daughter. Of course he thought she was involved. As far as she was concerned it was over and done with, and she just wanted to forget it and move on.
“He said he hurt you, that you had a lump on your head and seemed like your shoulder was sore. He wants to make sure you’re okay.”
“If he wants to know he should call and ask himself instead of going through you,” she snapped. It wasn’t until the words were out of her mouth that she realized what she’d said. Asher having her number and calling her were the last things she wanted. No more big, strong men in her life. None. If she ever got up the nerve to date again, she was going with a sweet, kind of geeky guy, who couldn’t hurt her if he tried. Before, she’d always gone for hot guys with great bodies, it was the first thing that had caught her attention with her ex. Now all she wanted was a man who made her feel safe.
“Ah,” Hope said, and Phoebe immediately knew her cousin had gotten the wrong idea.
Rubbing wearily at her temples, wincing when she brushed against the bruises, she reached over, turned off the faucet, and sat on the edge of the bath. “I didn’t mean that. Don’t go giving him my number. I just meant there was no need for him to go to you just because we’re cousins. I get that he didn’t mean to hurt me, that he was just worried about his daughter, honestly, I just want to forget about today and move on.”
“I know you’re not over your ex yet,” Hope said slowly. All Phoebe had told her cousin when she’d arrived in Manhattan was that things hadn’t worked out with her ex and she wanted a fresh start. She knew Hope believed that her ex had cheated on her and that was the reason for the move, and Phoebe hadn’t bothered to correct her. “But Mouse is a great guy. He’s a devoted father, a great friend, he’s smart and funny, and a really nice guy.”
“No matchmaking. Please, Hope.” There was no way she was ready for any sort of relationship. Not when she was still terrified of her ex and unsure if he would follow through on his threats to kill her if she tried to leave him. Just because she’d been gone for two months didn’t mean he’d forgotten about her. When she was ready to move on there was no way it was going to be with another super-hot, chiseled muscled, panty-melting man.
No way.
Definitely not.
Hope sighed. “Okay. No matchmaking. But he really does feel bad.”
“I know he does. The important thing is that his little girl is all right, that she wasn’t taken.”
“Thanks to you. You’re a hero.” There was pride in her cousin’s voice, but Phoebe didn’t want praise, she didn’t want anyone to make a big deal out of it. She’d done what she could to save Lolly because she didn’t want the child to be hurt and because she needed to prove to herself that she wasn’t the weak woman her ex made her believe she was.
“It was nothing.”
“It wasn’t nothing. It was amazing. You’re amazing, and I love you so much. Are you okay? Do you want me to come over?”
Phoebe smiled despite everything, she was lucky to have her cousin. Hope loved her unconditionally, and she appreciated that so much. “I’m okay. I’m just going to take a bubble bath and go right to bed, I’m exhausted.”
“All right, but you’ll call if you need me?”
“Of course.”
“I love you.”
“Love you back.”
“Night.”
“Goodnight, Hope.”
Once she ended the call, Phoebe climbed into the bath and sank down, submerging most of her body under the bubbles.
This was usually her happy place, but today she didn’t get any enjoyment from the hot bath. How could she when she was running from a man she thought she’d been in love with, a man who had abused not just her body but her mind as well. Phoebe didn’t know if she could ever learn to trust anyone, including herself, ever again.
Chapter Three
February 14th
10:01 P.M.
“Can I have hot chocolate?”
Mouse couldn’t help but smile. His daughter was remarkably resilient. Despite everything that had happened today, Lolly was still her usual happy, bubbly self. She certainly hadn’t hesitated to try to take advantage of the situation. Unable to say no to her, they’d had ice cream for dinner, he’d bought her some video game she’d been asking for for weeks and let her stay up way past her bedtime.
As much as he’d love to say yes to hot chocolate, maybe whip up a batch of cookies and eat them fresh from the oven, one of Lolly’s favorite things to do on a cold winter evening, it was ten and she needed her sleep.
“Tomorrow night, bumblebee,” he assured her as he pulled back the covers so she could climb into bed.
“What if you have to leave?” Lolly looked up at him with serious blue eyes. Her mother’s eyes. His daughter never complained about his job, that she spent more time with her grandparents than with him, that sometimes he missed important events in her life, her mother hadn’t either. With his black hair, dark eyes, and tanned skin he didn’t look like his daughter, Lolly was absolutely her mother’s child. She had Emily’s dark blonde locks, gray-blue eyes, and pale skin, she even had her mother’s dimple in her left cheek. Mouse knew he was lucky to have had Emily and lucky that he hadn’t lost Lolly along with her mom.
“I won’t have to leave tomorrow,” he assured her. Eagle had grounded Alpha team for at least the next week so he could be there for Lolly.
“Do you promise?” Lolly asked as she climbed onto her bed. For the first time since he’d first found her, he saw a vulnerability in his daughter that said she wasn’t quite as okay as she was pretending to be. She was a tough little thing, and he knew that with time and some therapy she would be okay. He had already booked an appointment for her with a therapist for tomorrow afternoon. He was taking no chances when it came to his daughter’s mental health, so he’d rather deal with it now than allow potential issues to fester.