I close my eyes. It happened so long ago, I’ve almost come to believe the lie that Mitch made me tell. That I’d fallen down the stairs. “He’d been drunk or high,” I finally say. “He didn’t even know he hurt me until he woke up in the morning. Then he took me to the hospital.”
When I open my eyes, Ash’s expression is hard, his jaw clenched. “Was that the only time he hurt you?”
I look away, hating how weak I’d been. “It didn’t happen often. And that was the only time he’d really hurt me enough that I’d needed to get checked out.”
“Motherfucker,” Ash growls out. “He needs to pay for the things he did.”
“It was so long ago. No one will believe me now.”
He cups my jaw. “I believe you.”
“Thank you.” Tears burn the back of my eyes. “But it wasn’t just me I was protecting… he is Cadence’s father. I don’t want her to think ...” I close my eyes, my fingertips gripping the counter. “I want her to believe that she was born out of love. That her parents are good people. I don’t want her—”
Ash pulls me to him, and I wrap my arms around him, breathing him in. He cups my face with both his hands and wipes my tears away with his thumbs. “Listen to me, Ember, Cadence came into this world with plenty of love. Anyone who sees you with her would know that. And that’s why Mitch won’t win. Eventually the truth will come out, we won’t stop until it does.”
“I want to believe you,” I say. “I’m just so scared.”
His lips press against my forehead, lingering there for a moment. “It’s going to be alright. I’m going to make sure of it.”
I shake my head. “You’re leaving.”
“You know I don’t want to go. Once we get this album done—”
My phone starts ringing, and I take a step back. I can get lost in his touch, and I’m not sure I want to hear any promises from his lips. Because I know that once he’s back in L.A., once he’s surrounded by his old life, he’ll quickly forget about me.
“I should get that.”
He nods, and I answer the phone.
“Ember?” It’s Principal Verona and she sounds panicked. “Is Cadence with you?”
My stomach drops. “No. Millie dropped her off at the bus stop this morning.”
“She got here safely. But after lunch recess, she didn’t come back inside. I was hoping you picked her up and forgot to inform the office—”
“You lost her.” I’m trembling, my hands ice cold.
“We think she may have run off.”
“She would never do that.”
“A few of the girls said she was upset, that she’d been crying and fighting with one of the other children—”
“Have you called her father?”
“The vice principal is on the phone with him now.” There’s a muffling sound, but I can hear her talking to someone in the background.
I glance at Ash, who’s beside me now, worry drawing his brows down. I’m trying not to panic, but my words come out as a sob when I tell him, “Cadence isn’t at school.”
“Ember?” the principal says, coming back on the line. “Your husband—”
“Ex,” I say. “Ex-husband.”
“He doesn’t have her either.”
The fear I’d been trying to rein in pours through my veins, paralyzing me.
“We’ll find her,” Verona says. “We’re calling the police now, and we have staff and teachers already searching the woods behind the school.”
I hang up, adrenaline finally kicking in. My vision is tunneled, and I barely hear Ash talking to me, or feel him following me, until he’s turning me around, and demanding, “I’ll drive.”
He takes the keys from my hand and helps me into the car. And I’m glad that he’s driving, because I’m trembling now.
“She wouldn’t run away...”
Ash reaches over and grabs my hand, squeezing it. “She probably wandered off.”
“She knows better.” I swipe away my tears with my palms. “What if someone took her?”
Ash doesn’t say anything, but his grip tightens around my hand.
There are already police cars in the school parking lot when we arrive. And my heart races, looking for a familiar face. Mitch is already here. I hand Ash my phone. “Text Millie, please.”
“Of course.”
I fly out of his car before it’s even in park, panic filling my heart. The principal moves toward me at the same time as Mitch does and I’m glad for the referee. Right now, I don’t trust myself not to say something I might regret.
“Any news?” I ask.
Principal Verona shakes her head. “We’ll find her, Ember.”
“Who was she talking to at recess? Who was she sitting with? Someone must know why she was upset.”
“Did you put her up to this?” Mitch asks, stalking toward me, his lips twisted in a scowl. “Tell her to cause a scene?”
I pull back in shock. “What are you talking about? Of course not.”
“You dropped her off at a stranger’s house last night and didn’t even bring her to school this morning. Pretty negligent if you ask me.”
“She was with Millie. My best friend. God, Mitch,” I shake my head in a scoff, looking at the principal who is backing away from our fight. I don’t blame her. I want to back away too. The anger in his eyes scares me, and my stomach rolls at him suggesting I’m somehow responsible. And I know he’ll use this against me.
“Millie isn’t a listed contact on the school sign-in sheet,” Mitch says. “And you just let our daughter stay with her? Without even running it past me. Can you imagine if I did that, let her sleepover at one of my friend’s houses?”
“You’re twisting the facts. You know Millie. Her daughter is Cadence’s best friend.”
“We can let the judge decide. It’s just another piece of evidence to add to the case.”
“Look,” Principal Verona jumps in. “I recognize you’re in the middle of what seems to be a custody battle, but right now, we need to focus on finding Cadence.”
“Of course,” Mitch says. “I came here right away, first parent on the scene, because I realize time matters.”
I’m so angry with him I could scream, but instead, I nod, tight-lipped and heart pounding. Refusing to let him push me over the edge. Tears are already burning my eyes, threatening to spill over.
“How can I help?” I ask as an officer comes toward me. I turn from Mitch and focus my attention on the one and only thing that matters right now. Finding my little girl.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Ash
The entire community of Stanton seems to have come out to join the search for Cadence, but an hour after we arrived at the school there’s still no sign of the kid. Even the band has shown up, scouring the forest, knocking on doors asking people if they’ve seen her.
No one has.
Fear wraps around my throat, choking me with every step I take, every bush I look around, every person I question. But I remain as calm as I can, knowing Ember needs my strength.
Synn, Dusky, and Saint are here too, and all three look as worried as I feel. We’ve all come to care about the girl. It’s impossible not to. Just like Ember, she radiates kindness and love and sunshine.
It’s amazing how quickly the mind turns dark when that light is removed. Thoughts swirl through my head, thinking the worst. That someone took her. That she wandered too far...to the creek or the railroad tracks. That someone knew my connection with her and is using her as leverage. Or worse.
I shiver, but when I do, Ember looks up at me, her own fear blazing from her eyes.
“Ash,” she whispers, but it’s a choking sound, a sob at the back of her throat. She reaches out for a tree when it looks like her legs are giving out on her. “It’s been too long. What if...”
I pull her into my arms and hold her. “We’re going to find her.”
Synn is walking toward us, his typical scowl intensified. The look he gives me tells me he’
s just as worried as I am. “There’s a police officer that wants to talk to you,” he says to Ember.
“I can’t...I need to keep looking.”
I cup her face. “You go with Synn. I’ll keep looking.”
She shakes her head, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Ember, listen to me. We won’t stop until she’s home safe.”
A small shaky breath escapes her lips and she nods.
I turn her toward Synn and he wraps an arm around her. I hold a silent conversation with him, and I know I can trust him to take care of her. He may not like the idea of me being with her, but I know in his own way he’s come to care about her too.
When they walk away, I continue my search. I can hear people yelling Cadence’s name in the distance, the sound of the school bell ringing. The other children will be out now, making the search even more difficult.
The forest isn’t that big, but the trees are dense, and there’s dark foliage everywhere.
“Cadence,” I call out.
There’s a rustling in one of the bushes, but when I lean down to push the leaves back, a rabbit hops out, skittering around me.
“Fuck,” I mutter.
I’m about to move on when I catch a flash of pink.
A shoe.
I pick it up, recognizing the sneaker as Cadence’s.
My heart races.
“Cadence?” I yell louder, voice more panicked than before. I scour the area, finding no other trace of her. “Come on, sweetheart, if you hear me, you need to come out. Everyone’s worried about you.”
“Ash,” I hear a small cry from a few feet away.
I look around, frantically, but at first, I don’t hear where it came from. And then I see her. Legs pulled to her chest, eyes red from crying, she’s hidden between a large rock and a fallen tree.
“Cadence.” Relief sweeps through me, and I rush to her, picking her up and hugging her to my chest, probably too tight.
Her arms go around my neck and she starts sobbing.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. I’ve got you.”
“I don’t...” she hiccups, words slurred with her tears, face buried against my neck. “I don’t want to live with Daddy...I want...” More hiccups. “I want my mommy.”
“I know, love. But you can’t run away like this.”
“Em-Emily said...she said that her mommy is going to be my new mommy and she’s going to be my new sister. She...she said...my mommy is bad...that she can’t take care of me.”
I try to keep my anger in check, because I know there’s only one place she would have gotten that information - from Mitch.
“Hey,” I say, pulling back and forcing Cadence to look at me. “You know how much your mom loves you, right?”
She sniffles and nods. “She’s the best mommy in the whole wide world.”
“Yeah, and she’s really scared right now. So how about we call her and let her know that you’re alright.”
“Okay.”
I take out my phone and try calling Ember, but it goes to voicemail, so I text Synn and let him know I found the kid. That I’m bringing her back.
Cadence takes my hand, holding it a man shouts, “Cadence.”
Mitch is walking toward us as we start to walk back.
But when he sees us, instead of relief that should be on his face, there’s just anger.
“Of fucking course,” he seethes, glaring daggers at me, then refocusing his rage on his daughter. “Come here, now.”
Her little hand tightens around mine, and she leans into my body like she did the day he’d dropped her off. She’s frightened of him, and for a second I see the man through a six-year-old’s eyes.
He’s big, his face red, eyes wild with anger. Unpredictable. His voice booms through the forest like a threat.
My own father looked the same way before he’d strike out at my mom or me. But unlike my own dad, Mitch isn’t a drunk, he’s just mean.
“I said. Come. Here. Now.” His teeth are clenched when he says it.
“I want Mommy,” Cadence whimpers, hiding behind me.
That sets Mitch off, and he storms toward us, reaching for her and tugging her arm. “Do you know the trouble you’ve caused?”
“I’m sorry.” She cries out when he jerks her to him.
“Let her go,” I warn.
“Or what?” he sneers. “She’s my kid.”
“And you’re hurting her.”
His fingers dig into Cadence’s skin, and I know his grip will leave a bruise. My first instinct is to strike out. But the kid is between us, and I’m terrified of her getting hurt.
“Let her go,” I say again.
“Daddy, you’re hurting my arm,” she says, tears pouring from her eyes.
“You’re lucky that’s all I’m hurting,” he seethes. “After the trouble you caused today. You made me miss a meeting with an important client. For what? A little temper tantrum. It’s a good thing you’re moving in with me. You need discipline.”
“I don’t want to. I want my mommy,” she yells.
He turns her around, his hand lifting to strike her backside. It may only be a spanking, but that one movement has every cell in me sparking into protective mode. I move forward, not thinking about the consequences, and grab his arm before he can hit her.
He releases Cadence on instinct, and at the same time, I hear Ember’s voice calling out to her close by.
I glance over my shoulder and see Cadence run to her. There are other people around now, people pulling out their cell phones and pointing them at me. But I don’t see them for long, because a fist hits me square in the temple and I stumble back.
But I’m not about to let the bastard get away with it, or anything he’s done.
I barrel forward, my shoulder catching his ribs and sending him flying back against the trunk of a tree. He huffs and gives me another shot to the ribs.
My own fist finds his face, and I hit him several times, taking more blows myself.
“You don’t...ever,” I growl out. “Put your hands on Cadence or Ember again.” An uppercut to his jaw has blood spraying, and I’m pretty sure several of his teeth come loose. “I know what you did. To Ember. Convincing her to take the blame for your crimes.”
He spits blood, circling me. “You have no evidence. Only the word of a lying cunt.”
I strike him again, this time sending him to his knees, hands in the dirt.
Synn pulls me back. “He’s had enough.”
I shrug Synn off me. “Not until he admits what he did.”
Mitch chuckles, kneeling and wiping away blood. “Yeah, she took the fall for me. But it’s not my fault she was delusional, thinking I actually loved her. The only reason I married her was because she was stupid enough to get knocked up.”
I grab the man by the scruff, my fist still not satisfied. I want the man to pay.
“Careful,” he says, chuckling. “Or she’ll try and trap you the same way. I mean that’s what this is about, right? You fucking my wife.” He grins at me like he’s won. “Hope it was worth it.”
It’s then that I see the cops coming toward us, and a few seconds later my arms are behind my back and I’m being cuffed.
Mitch is too, but he doesn’t seem fazed. Maybe he doesn’t realize that the whole show was caught on video.
I see Ember trying to get to me, but Saint and Dusky hold her back.
“Get the recordings,” I tell Synn as a cop reads me my rights.
Synn frowns, not understanding.
“The fucker confessed, and I’m pretty sure people were taping it.” The cop pushes me forward. “And make sure Cadence gives a statement. She’ll have bruises on her arm from where he grabbed her.”
“Do you have any idea how screwed you are?” Synn asks.
“He was going to hit her,” I tell him.
Synn drags a hand through his hair, the weight of what I just told him in his eyes, and he nods. “Fuck. Okay.”
I catch Ember’s gaze as
I’m being forced by her, and I can’t read her expression. She sucks in a breath, holding Cadence to her tightly.
There’s no chance for words, even unspoken ones. I’m dragged away like a criminal.
And I know I’m screwed.
Once the press gets a hold of this, Stanton will no longer be a quiet little town where nothing happens. Reporters will swarm in, and unless Maryll and Tina can redirect the attention, Ember’s life will be broadcasted all over the news.
“Keep her away,” I tell Synn before the cop guides me into the back of a cruiser. “Make sure none of this affects her.”
He nods.
“Oh, and call Tina.”
I’m going to need a good lawyer.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Ember
Dusky sits next to me on the porch swing. I’ve been out here the last hour, watching as their rental SUVs are loaded up with all the band’s gear, their instruments, their luggage, until there will be no trace that they were ever here.
Ash is still in jail, but Synn told me his lawyer is handling it. He also told me to stay away. That there’re reporters everywhere. And the media would eat me alive if they saw me.
I rub my arms and watch Saint let Cadence take his hands then climb up his body, before doing a backflip. She laughs and demands to do it again.
Normally it would make my heart swell, but right now there’s a heaviness pressing down on me.
“Mommy, Mommy, watch,” Cadence yells, before climbing up Saint again and doing another backflip.
She’s soaking up every last minute with the guys and I don’t blame her. It’s going to be so strange, feel so empty with them gone.
I force a smile when she looks back at me, but I can’t help the heavy, uneven sigh that escapes my lips.
“Ye doing alright?” Dusky asks.
“Not really,” I admit.
“After what that bastard did, I don’t think any judge will ever give him custody.”
“I know.” I blink away tears, grateful for what Ash did.
“But that’s not what’s bothering ye,” Dusky says.
“No.”
He nods, then pulls out his cell, scrolling through it before handing me the phone where a music app is pulled up. “Press play,” he says.
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