Page 50 of Play Dirty

I hadn’t known she’d been pregnant until my mom told me, and I’d put it out of my mind.

I don’t want to react, though, or do anything to upset her because she’s still talking.

“…kind of when I knew I couldn’t stay with him. I could live in denial when it was just me, but with an innocent baby? To have a father like Damien? So I called Chey in a panic. I needed help and I wasn’t…I don’t know. I guess I wasn’t strong enough to do it on my own. I was terrified. I had to have an abortion—and believe me, I know how that sounds. I wanted kids. Lots of them. My plan was to get married, work as much as possible for another year or so, and then get pregnant. The last thing I ever wanted was to terminate. But he was scary and abusive, and by this time, he was hitting me. Not enough to break bones or draw blood, but slaps to the face, shoving me, stuff like that. And there was no way I would bring a child into the world if there was any chance of him having custody...”

“No judgment here,” I say quietly. “You were in survival mode.”

“Chey and I came up with a plan. She was in Buffalo with Ivan, his mom was sick, but she got on a plane to come to the city. Damien had an important meeting so he would be gone for a couple of hours in the morning. She got to New York the night before and would hop in a cab first thing. I’d already been packing, things he wouldn’t notice were missing, and the minute he left I just threw everything I could into two suitcases. Chey got there and then…” Her voice catches, and she burrows deeper into my chest.

“You’re okay, Stevie,” I whisper against her hair. “He can’t hurt you. I’m right here.”

“It’s like he knew something was up,” she says in a stony voice. “Chey and I were just about to go downstairs with my suitcases when he came home early. He recognized her driver outside and sent him away—told him he was taking us to the airport so we didn’t need him. Then he came in through the kitchen and lost his mind. He was calling me names, screaming that I couldn’t take his child from him… to this day, I don’t know how he found out.”

“Maybe he noticed your periods had stopped?”

“I don’t know.” She hiccups, her body covered in goosebumps.

“You cold, babe?” I pull the blanket over us as best I can since we’re lying on top of it. “That better?”

She nods.

“You don’t have to tell me the rest.”

“I do.” Her voice is sad, almost resigned. As if I’m going to think less of her or something.

“Hey.” I pull away just enough to lift her chin with my fingers. “No matter what you tell me, I won’t judge. And it stays between us.”

She blinks back tears. “O-okay.”

She nestles back into my chest, and I wiggle my arm out from under me so I can wrap both around her and hold her tightly.

“He was dragging me by the ponytail, trying to get me into the bedroom, but Chey was fighting him. Then Ivan showed up, and everything was just a blur. Damien was in a rage at that point, and when he saw Ivan, he picked me up and—” She stops abruptly. Then, “—threw me over the railing from the second floor.”

“Oh, baby.” I’m torn between wanting to comfort her and going to find this guy and show him what a real man can do to him.

“I had some internal injuries and some broken ribs but…I started to hemorrhage. I was having a miscarriage, they couldn’t stop the bleeding.” Her voice is almost monotone now. “They had to do an emergency hysterectomy to save my life.”

Ahysterectomy.

Oh Jesus.

She’s only twenty-seven.

And she doesn’t have kids.

“Stevie…” I whisper her name and press a soft kiss on her temple. “I’m so sorry, baby. So, so sorry.”

I feel her tears dripping onto my chest and my heart breaks for her.

And my rage for Damien continues to build.

I’d like five minutes alone with that asshole. That’s all I’d need to show him what it’s like to be powerless.

“Now you know.” Her voice is flat. Sad. Resigned—even more so than before.

“You know he can’t hurt you anymore, right?” I ask gently. “Because I’m right here, and I won’t even let him get to you in your dreams.”

She sniffs against my chest. “In the beginning I couldn’t sleep because I was so afraid of the nightmares. Eventually, I had to, but Chey had to be with me for weeks. For a few nights I slept with both her and Ivan, until I could function again. And even though I’ve come a long way in the last nine months, I still have the nightmares, still see his face sometimes in random places...”

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