I’m horrified at what she is saying. It hasn’t even entered my head to call the police. “He’s my Daddy, he’s…”
“You don’t have to decide now, and I’m not going to pressure you into anything. I will help you in whatever way I can, Franny, but this man could have killed you.” She pauses and takes hold of my shaking hands. “He could have killed my only son.”
Now we both have tears streaming down our faces and the reality of everything hits me. She’s right, Daddy wouldn’t have stopped. If Rick hadn’t gotten me out of there when he did, I don’t want to think what might have happened.
“O-okay.” I have no clue if I will ever be able to go through with talking to the cops but, I let her snap the pictures, anyway. She moves about me, gently lifting my hair, and taking pictures of my back and my thighs, my face and my arms.
“Do you want to see?”
I take the camera from her and stifle a cry. “I don’t recognize the battered woman on the screen with the bruising all down her face and her hair teased into knots. I can only look at three of them before I thrust the phone back to her. She attaches them to an email and sends them from the phone, then she shows me that she is deleting them.
Taking a deep breath, she gets up and hands me a soft jersey dress she pulled from her closet. “Take off your underwear so it doesn’t chafe your raw skin.” She goes to a drawer and pulls out a plastic bag. There are three pairs of brand new cotton undies in there and she hands them to me. “Here, we’ll get you more things as soon as we can.”
Rick pounds on the door with the flat of his hand reminding us he is still there. “You want to see him? I can send him away.”
Right now, my life has been turned upside down. My body is battered and my nerves shattered. I have no idea what the future holds for me, or even if there can ever be a future. One moment with her son was all it took to bring my world crashing around me, to destroy everything I have ever known. Even though I don’t know what tomorrow will bring and I have no idea what I am going to do about the situation with my father, I do know two things. I can’t go back, and I need Rick to hold me.
“C-can I see him?”
“Of course.” Neve opens the door and steps aside while Rick walks in.
He looks exhausted, and that dimple is nowhere to be seen. Rick steps around his mom and hesitates, his eyes falling to the bloodied, torn uniform on the floor. I tremble and more tears fall. There is no stopping them now, but Rick is there, doing his best to catch each wet drip with his thumb and gently kiss them away.
It’s been two weeks since that day and a lot of the bruises and welts have faded and lightened. The doctor says I shouldn’t have any scars, but that feels wrong when Rick has one running down the inside of his arm, a scar he got when he tried to protect me.
I haven’t been back to my parents, and I’m still unsure whether to prosecute Daddy.
Hidden in a book next to the bed is the witness statement I’ve been hiding. I’ve looked at it ten times a day but I still can’t make my mind up. Rick and I have talked about this, he wants me to go to the police and make sure Daddy goes to prison for what he has done to me. But I am unsure if that is the best solution. While I have that statement and the photos Neve took of my injuries, I may just have something I can hold over my father and perhaps we can negotiate some of my future back.
“Hey gorgeous, you awake?”
I open my eyes and look into Rick’s dazzling blue ones. He is naked beside me and the thought does all sorts of unmentionable things to me. Although I have slept in Rick’s bed every night since I arrived, we haven’t been intimate again. Rick wants me to get the all clear from my doctor before he will touch me. But it’s driving me crazy and I’ve decided to take things into my own hands.
Literally.
I reach for him and he gasps as my fingers wrap around him. “Franny,” he warns, but I’m in no mood for listening so I grip him tighter. “Jeez.” He hisses and I can see his resolve disappearing.
A few more strokes and I doubt he could even define the word restraint because his body is pressed against mine and his fingers are pushing between my thighs as he kisses me.
I laugh because I have finally got what I wanted and he stares down at me. “Oh, you think this is funny, do you?”
He pulls my hands from him and presses them into the pillow above my head. “Let’s see if you’re laughing in a minute.” His mouth works along my throat and his free hand travels under the covers sending shivers and delicious tingles through my almost healed body.
There is one knock on the door with a chirpy, “Rick, baby”, and then the door is flung open and Neve is beside the bed, her head bent, mouth puckered as if she is about to plant a big fat wet kiss on her son’s forehead.
“Ma!” he yells and I duck my head under the covers, my cheeks burning hot, hoping she hasn’t seen what we were doing.
“Work, baby. Come on, you’ll be late. You want me to pick you up at noon so we can go to Franny’s graduation?”
“Ma, I’m not going to work today. Remember? Will you get the fuck outta my room?”
“Rick, what have I told you about bad language around women?”
She turns and heads back to the door when she pauses and looks over her shoulder at me. “And Franny, stop encouraging him by playing with him.”
I can’t speak, I have my head buried in the pillow, but Rick is sitting up, the blanket pooled in his lap as he throws a packet of Nicorette at her. It falls short behind her and she continues out the door and down the stairs. Rick sprints across the room and jams the back of a chair under the handle, barricading us inside. “I’m fixing a lock this afternoon,” he mutters and then he is back in bed beside me, his hands roving all over my body again.
There is another shout from his mom and a moment later, a fist bangs on the door and Teddy’s booming voice yells, “Hurry it up, Rick, you have that interview in half an hour.”
He groans and we both know our fun will have to take a rain check. Rick has been searching all over town for a better job for two weeks and he can’t afford not to show up to this one. I hate that he even applied as it is at Gordon’s Limousines but Rick reckons he knows the guy and says it’s a shoe-in.
I watch him dress and as he buttons up his shirt, I feel guilty about what he is doing for me—for us. He already has two part-time jobs, but it is barely enough to keep us fed, let alone live in the lifestyle I was brought up in.
I look around his room and even though it’s a little rough around the edges, I don’t care. There is nothing I miss about home life—except perhaps, clean sheets for the bed. He kisses me goodbye and I call after him, “Love you, babe.”
He gives me a lopsided grin, his dimple making an appearance. “Love you more. Franny.”
As his feet reach the bottom of the stairs I hear him yell, “Fuck, Zane, put some damn clothes on. We have two women living here now.”
I shake my head, loving the constant banter and bickering in this crazy household, I now call home.
Acknowledgments
Rey Ryan and Angela Stevens owe many thanks to their Beta Readers:
Julianne MacNeil, Misty Schott, Susan Wright, Vicci Thomas, Sarah Tomlinson, and Lisa White who bravely test drove this novel and suggested ways to improve the reading experience.
Rey Ryan would also like to thank her super awesome DARC Team
They would also like to thank their readers, without whom there would be no books. Thanks for supporting Rey and Angela with your reading and reviews. Your continued support is what fuel us—that and coffee or in Angela’s case, tea. Copious amounts of tea.
About Angela Stevens
Angela Stevens is the author of steamy contemporary romance and contemporary fantasy. A sucker for emotional happy-ever-afters, she devours romance books like potato chips. Outside of reading, she is a rabid Ice hockey fan and can be found rocking the red and cheering on her beloved Washington Capitals team.
Whether you pick up one
of her romances or fantasies you will be treated to strong characters and emotional journeys. You can find out more about Angela Stevens books at her website or subscribe to her newsletter to get *FREE* books and chapters.
About Rey Ryan
Rey Ryan is the pen name for the author/creator of Babe Fuel Books. Everything you’d like to know about me can be found at BabeFuelBooks.com/about. If you want a quick rundown—I like to sip on coffee, chai, southern sweet tea, and pretty much anything that promotes sugar and caffeine in a sweet and rich candied combo while I’m reading. like to read.
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Also By Angela Stevens
New Romance Series
Thrill Of The Chase Series
(Scheduled Release Dates)
Catching Saul (Sept. 2018)
Catching Gabe (Oct. 9th 2018)
Catching Nate (Nov. 2018)
Catching Luke (Jan. 2018)
Catching Noah (Feb. 2018)
Catching Adam (Apr. 2018)
Adult Steamy Romance
The Cocktail Series
Lemon Drops And Love
Champagne Moments (A companion Novella and prequel)
Ice Cold Mint Juleps (Book 2)
Dark n Stormy (Book 3)
Learning To Love Southern Comfort (Book 4)
Finding Comfort In Champagne
Urban fantasy
The Vargr Clan Trilogy
The Wolf You Feed: The Vargr Clan Trilogy (Book 1)
Hold On: The Vargr Clan Trilogy (Book 2)
An Unbreakable Will: The Vargr Clan Trilogy (Book 3)
The Splits In My Skin (A bonus short novella telling Johan’s story)
***New Spin Off Series***
The Black Walker Warrior Novels
Blood Or Destiny: A Black Walker Warrior Novel (Book 1)
Blood Brothers: A Black Walker Warrior Novel (Book 2)
Also By BabeFuel
Bang Lords - Dani Stowe
Up Her
Down Her
Fix Her
Grind Her
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Lovers Peak
Fourth Knight - Dani Stowe (standalone)
Heart Broke (Broken Home Book 1) Page 16