Page 10 of Dangerous Secret

“Let go of me. I’m not coming back.” The only reason he’d agreed to the divorce was because she’d threatened to tell anyone who would listen that he’d had a mistress the entire time they’d been married and that she’d caught him kissing their son’s nanny. The Pressleys cared greatly about their image. Her threats had worked at the time, mainly because he was sure that by taking Tyler away from her and isolating her that she’d come crawling back. Never going to happen.

“Your son misses you. You’re his mother, yet you don’t seem to care that he cries, wanting to know when you’re coming home.”

It was a low blow, and he knew it. Tears burned her eyes thinking of her little boy missing her, but she refused to let them fall. She would not give him the satisfaction of knowing how much she hurt.

“I want to see him. Please.” She hated begging, but shewould for Tyler. What she would not do was return to that house that was a prison.

“You can see him when you come home.” He leaned his face close to hers. “You belong to me, Harlow. That’s a fact you need to remember.”

The smell of his cologne—a scent she used to love—made her want to gag. She jerked her arm free. “Go to hell.” She walked away, leaving him seething with rage.

As soon as she stepped inside her apartment, the tears she’d managed to hold back streamed down her face. The thing she could never let Anthony know was that she’d almost gone back several times just so she could be with Tyler, where she could touch him and hug him. She could put up with all the abuse in the world for her baby.

What always stopped her was her fear that he’d learn to be cruel to women, to use them the way his father did. If he grew up watching his own mother being treated like dirt under his father’s shoe, he would never learn to respect women. She couldn’t bear to think of him growing up to be another Anthony, so she stood strong, refusing to let her longing to be with her son be the reason she went back.

Instead, she would do everything in her power to take Anthony down. If The Phoenix Three wouldn’t help her, she’d find another way. In the far reaches of her mind, she had a desperate plan. If all else failed, she would run away with her son. She prayed it wouldn’t come to that.

“Miaow,” Einstein grumbled—that particular sound meant feed me this second or I’ll starve and die—as he made circle eights around her legs.

The first week after she’d moved into her apartment, she’d been so lonely and sad from missing Tyler that she’d thought she’d lose her mind. It had been too quiet, no little-boy giggles and chatter. No questions wanting to know why the sky was blue or where bugs came from.

Impulsively, she’d gone to the local shelter intending to adopt a kitten, something she could talk to even if it didn’t talk back. And they’d had so many cute ones. But it was the nine-year-old gray-and-white longhair cat quietly observing her that caught her eye as she gushed over the babies. Her first impression as he watched with intelligent green eyes was that he had too much dignity to beg for attention like the little ones. Instead of a playful kitten, she’d ended up with a talkative, opinionated cat that woke her up at six in the morning by standing on her chest and loudly demanding his breakfast.

When she was home, he followed her around like a puppy, talking to her about the birds outside the window, his empty stomach and the best napping spots in the house. That he was a chatterbox had surprised her since he’d been so quiet at the shelter. She found herself talking back, telling him about her day, her worries and her hopes. He knew all about Tyler and how much her heart ached from missing him. Sometimes she was sure that Einstein understood her.

“One day you’re going to trip me, and I’m going to fall on you and smash you,” she said as he wound around her legs on the way to the kitchen.

After she gave him fresh water and a few treats to tide him over until his dinner, she went to her bedroom and changed into leggings and a T-shirt. Since walking away from her job, she had managed to build a little business designing and maintaining websites, writing advertising copy and handling social media for authors.

Just recently, she had contracted with three indie authors to run ads on Amazon and Meta for their books and tweak or write their book blurbs. She hoped that they would likeher work and refer her to other authors. She was in negotiations with a well-known baseball player to handle his social media. If she could make that happen and he was pleased, he’d hopefully talk her up to his friends. It would be another avenue to pursue.

She got her laptop and her phone, taking them to the sofa. Between the money she’d saved over the years—which Anthony didn’t know about—and her little business, she was doing fine. The rent got paid on time, there was food in her pantry and, as long as what The Phoenix Three would charge to help her was reasonable, she was okay financially.

That she was gave her a great sense of satisfaction considering that Anthony had told her when she’d left him that she couldn’t make it without him and would come crawling back before a month was out. Ha! She’d shown him.

“You ready to get some work done?” she asked Einstein when he jumped on the sofa and curled up next to her. Along with being a chatterer, his grumbling purrs were so loud that his body vibrated with them. She smiled as she scratched him behind his ears, which always revved up his motor.

When she removed her hand to log in to her laptop, he put his paw on her arm and tried to pull her hand back to him. “Gotta get some work done, sweet boy.” Having said that so many times since bringing him home, he understood his ear massages would have to wait for later. He gave a wide yawn, then pushed his nose against her leg and went to sleep.

She opened her email and the first thing she saw was one from The Phoenix Three. Her breath caught, and she hovered her finger over the key, almost afraid to open it. “Please,” she whispered. “Say you’re going to help me.”

As she clicked on the email, her heart pounded in herchest. It was from Grayson telling her to call him. She blew out the breath she’d been holding. Was that good or bad? Was the call to let her down personally?

Einstein stirred next to her. His eyes opened and, as if sensing her anxiety, he meowed softly. “What do you think, Einstein?” Apparently, Einstein for once didn’t have an opinion since he yawned again, closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

Well, she wouldn’t be able to get her work done until she knew what Grayson’s answer was. She appreciated that he’d included his phone number in the email, and she didn’t have to disturb Einstein to get her purse. After another little prayer that she was going to get the answer she wanted, she picked up her phone and called him.

“Grayson Montana speaking.”

“It’s Harlow.” She crossed her fingers.

“Thought you’d like to know we’re going to help you.”

Yes!She made a fist pump. “Thank you so much. You saidwe?”

“I did. You get the three of us. I’ll explain everything to you. When are you available to meet again?”

“As soon as possible.” The sooner they started, the sooner she’d have her son back. And yes, she was going to 100 percent believe that was going to happen.

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