Page 60 of Declan's Dove

“Anyway, Judge Mackfey knew James liked young girls and claimed he had a video of him with one of them in the backroom of a nightclub owned by the man who was attempting to blackmail the judge. The judge threatened to not only show it to James’s superiors, but to use it to arrest the man in charge. They argued and shortly after, the judge left.”

“James came storming in to find me crying in the rocking chair holding our son. When I asked him how long he had been a pedophile and told him I was taking our son and filing for a divorce, he lost his shit.” I silently sob. “He beat me to within an inch of my life, then left.”

“Somehow, I crawled to the phone and called my father. I don’t know why I didn’t call 9-1-1. I guess subconsciously I knew they were attached to James, and I didn’t think they would help me.”

“What did your father do, Dove?”

“He picked me up and took me straight to the hospital. He had his housekeeper come and take Carter to his house for the night.”

“Why didn’t your father report James to someone?” Declan asks, his voice full of gravel. “He’s a fucking DA. He could’ve crucified his ass in court.”

“Oh, my father threatened James. He threatened a lot of people. But it didn’t do either of us any good.” I sigh. “My father owed James’s employer a shit ton of money in gambling debt. A debt he eventually paid for in blood.”

“Damn, baby.” Declan reaches out, rubbing my leg with his hand. I want to crawl in his lap and let him comfort me, but I’m afraid if I do, I won’t tell him everything. “Why didn’t the hospital report it? Jesus, did no one notice you were beaten to hell?”

“My father told the doctor I had been in a car accident, and he happened upon me on his way to visit me at my house. He said he didn’t call an ambulance to save time. I was in the hospital for three days. My father went back and forth between me and my son. He somehow kept James away from the hospital until it was time for me to go home.”

“James came to pick me up. Everyone at the hospital greeted him with smiles and words of empathy and encouragement for my recovery. They all believed his bullshit about needing to be with our son while my father tended to my care. Whenever there was an audience, James always played the perfect doting husband.”

Tears drip down my face as I remember how disappointed and guilty my father looked as he drove me to the hospital. “He knew what James was capable of. He knew what he was setting me up for when he agreed to let me marry James. He knew who James worked for and what kind of horrid things he was capable of doing, and yet he never once warned me.” Anger and rage are coursing through my veins. I’ve never been able to forgive my father for turning a blind eye to my living in a nightmare of a marriage.

“Once Carter was returned home, and I was well on my way to recovering, we got a phone call. My father allegedly took his own life. At least, that’s what the coroner said, but I know James was responsible. My father threatened him, and James took his life for it.” My hands are shaking, and Declan grabs them in his, pulling me closer so he can wrap his arm around me. “I may not have forgiven him, but he was still my father, and I loved him. He was all the family I had, and James took him from me.”

“You think James had the reports forged?” Declan asks, though he doesn’t seem to be questioning so much as stating the facts.

I nod. “James has dirt on everyone. Cops, lawyers, judges, mob bosses,” I whisper the last one, but I know Declan heard me. “If they can be blackmailed into doing something to his benefit, James will find a way to make it happen. It’s also why I told you if he finds out about you and me, he will take you away from me.”

“Not going to happen, baby. Let him come for me. He has no idea who he’s fucking with. I come with a club of brothers and a set of skills he’s not prepared to deal with.”

Something in Declan’s sinister smile tells me he has a crazy streak I don’t know about, and I’m not sure I want to know.

“He will find someone who owes him, and they’ll find a way.”

“What happened the night you left, Dove?”

Well, shit. Here it goes.

“James beat the shit out of me and hurt Carter’s wrist. James left the house to go do business right after. Carter and I left with Kayce’s men as we watched our house go up in flames in the rearview mirror.”

“Wait. Did that fucker try to kill you in a fire and then leave the scene?” Declan shoves me aside and is on his feet, pacing the floor in front of the fireplace, pulling his hands through his hair.

I sit up and spin, so my legs are over the edge of the couch, watching him. “Declan, honey, come sit down. I’ll explain.” I tap the seat next to mine, my eyes pleading with him to calm down. He stops pacing, but his body is visibly vibrating.

He takes his seat next to me, lifting me to straddle his lap. I scoot back, creating space between us. He narrows his eyes at me, but I need to finish telling him.

“Let me get through this, then I’ll let you hold me, I promise. But I need to get this out, and I need you to stay calm while I do it.”

“Okay, Dove. Tell me.”

“Not too long before we left, I met Mili—Emilia—my doctor friend. I was in the emergency room with Carter. James had gotten upset with me over something stupid,” I start to explain, but my chest tightens. Rubbing it with my fist, I take a few deep breaths and wait for it to loosen up again.

“It’s okay, Violet. If you don’t want to tell me …” I stop him with a raised hand.

“I’ve got this. I just need a minute.” After a few more calming breaths, I start again. “Two men came to visit for dinner that night. They terrified me. One was older, dark-haired, wearing a three-piece suit and had a thick Italian accent. He and the other man came in and sat at our table, ate our food, drank a full bottle of wine, and tried to make small talk with me and Carter.”

“The older one kept looking at me in a way that made my skin crawl. James seemed to want to impress the two men. It’s the only time he serves wine at dinner because he doesn’t buy the cheap kind.” I chance a glance at Declan. His facial expression hasn’t changed. He’s heavily concentrating on my every word. “James never discussed business in front of me, so, I excused myself and Carter from the table under the guise of needing to help him with his homework and getting him ready for bed, figuring it would be the fastest way to get the two men out of my house.”

“I took my time getting Carter situated and told him no matter what he heard, I needed him to stay in his room, in his bed, and if his father came in, to act as though he was asleep. Afterward, on my way to the kitchen, I heard them talking in James’s office. They were talking about a shipment of drugs that was coming into Baron’s Edge and what James’s payout would be if he could frame Vincenzo Parisi as the owner of the shipment.”

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