Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25067 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25067 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
“I love you so much,” I groaned as my stomach rumbled.
He and I both froze at the same time, and I swallowed thickly as we stared at each other. I wanted to take the words away, but how could I when I knew deep in my soul they weren’t a lie? I did love Jimmie. I was sure a part of me always had. I just never thought he could be mine.
“Say it again,” Jimmie rasped as he set his bottle of water down.
I licked my bottom lip, my fingers trembling at my sides. He slowly rounded the counter to come closer to me, and I didn’t dare rip my eyes from his. Drawing in a deep breath, I whispered, “I love you,” just as he reached me.
He clasped my face in his hands and lowered his head so his lips were just brushing mine. With our eyes still connected, he murmured, “Fuck, baby. I love you, too.” And then, he was kissing me softly, slowly, and deeply.
I swore, something inside of me healed at his confession.
MONDAY MORNING
“You sure you’ve got him for the day?” Jimmie asked Byron. I’d woken up a nervous wreck about three that morning with a nightmare, thinking Zac had gotten released on bond and had come straight for me. I’d spent the next hour sobbing in Jimmie’s arms. Neither of us had been able to fall back asleep afterward.
With Zac potentially getting released today, Jimmie had called Byron about six thirty this morning, asking if he could take Wyatt for the day. Because we both knew if Zac got released, I was going to be a disaster, and neither of us wanted Wyatt to witness that.
What happened to me would not touch our son more than it already had. I refused to let it.
“I’ve got him,” Byron assured Jimmie. We’d both already said our goodbyes to Wyatt. He would be staying the night with Byron and having a movie night with their two kids, Millie and Alan. He was so excited, he didn’t even notice something was wrong with me, which was exactly what Jimmie and I wanted.
He was just a child. Adult problems had no place in his life right now.
“Call me if you need anything,” I said. Jimmie wound his arm around my waist, tugging me close to his side.
Byron shook his head. “Trust me, we’ve got him. We’ll bring him back sometime tomorrow.” Surprising me, he reached forward and drew me into a hug. My throat closed with the threat of tears. “He won’t touch you even if he gets released, Trinity,” he promised. “Even if we all have to camp out here, you and Wyatt are un-fucking-touchable.”
I blew out a soft breath and nodded, stepping back from him. “Thank you.”
“Kids are in the car!” Winter called. “And Wyatt is antsy.”
Jimmie snorted. Byron clapped Jimmie’s shoulder. “One phone call, bro, and we’ll all be here.”
Jimmie nodded. “I know. Good luck with him.”
Byron snorted and disappeared out the front door, quietly shutting it behind him. And right then, my phone went off. I walked over to the coffee table and picked it up, my hand trembling when I saw Officer Wilcox’s name on the screen.
Jimmie wound his arms around me from behind as I swiped my thumb across the screen to answer it.
“Hello?” I asked, hating how fragile I sounded.
“Miss Lennon?” Officer Wilcox asked. When I made a small noise of confirmation, he sighed. And I knew. “He was released on bond until his next court date of January ninth.”
“January?” I croaked. “That’s so far away. Why is it so far away?” I demanded, already feeling myself spiraling.
“It’s the date that was given, Miss Lennon,” he said gently. “A restraining order was approved though, and you should be receiving it in the mail at the address you gave me when filing your police report.”
Would a restraining order really keep him away though? Somehow, I didn’t feel like it would. Because the Zac I’d always known would never have done this to me. So who was to say a restraining order would actually keep him away from me?
“Th-thank you,” I managed before I hung up the phone. And then, I fell apart, my knees giving out beneath me.
Jimmie sank to the floor with me, and he held me close as I sobbed into his chest. “He’s out,” I cried. “He got released and he’s out for over half a year. I can’t do this until January, Jimmie!”
He clutched me to him, his arms like steel bands around my shaking body. “He’ll never touch you or our son, baby,” Jimmie swore as he began to rock me. I sobbed, my hands balling into fists against his chest. “Never. I’ll fucking kill him first, you hear me? I will do time to keep you safe.”
I curled my fingers into his shirt and wailed, my shoulders shaking.