Page 16 of Papa's Bébé
She pressed her lips together. “I have to get home to my babies.”
“Your babies?” he repeated.
“My animals.” Worry filled her. “If Vince goes near my house . . . he might hurt them.”
And now she thought she was going to vomit.
“He won’t go near them,” Reeves told her. “I’ll put the fear of God in him if he goes close to your place.”
She wasn’t sure that would work. With someone who wasn’t a dumb asshole, yes. With Vince . . . yeah, she held little hope.
“Is there a reason Vince doesn’t like you?” Reeves asked.
“You mean, besides the fact that I’m not scared of him? Which is what Vince gets off on.”
His gaze narrowed. She’d said too much.
“Is there something you need to tell me about that?” he asked.
“No, there is not. Look, Vince took me out on one date. I regretted it, didn’t want anything to do with him, and he didn’t take that well.”
“I don’t like the sound of that.”
She shrugged. It didn’t matter much what he liked or didn’t like, it was the truth.
“I have to go,” she said. “Thanks for the help.”
“Wait a second.” He reached out and grabbed her wrist. The same one that Vince had grabbed, unfortunately.
She hissed and flinched away.
“Shit! I hurt you? How did I hurt you?”
Maya cradled her arm against her chest. “It’s nothing. I’m fine.”
“Maya,” he said with concern.
“Bye, Reeves. Thanks again.”
She climbed into her car and started it up, pulling out onto the road. As she drove along, she found herself peering around. It was then she realized that she was obsessively looking for Vince.
He’s not going to do anything to you.
Sure, he was an idiot and he had a temper issue. But he was still a cop and her father was still the police chief.
Hopefully that was enough to keep him away from her.
Her hands were shaking as she drove. God, she hated being scared. She hated that other people had the power to make her afraid.
Maybe it was time to leave town. Move somewhere else.
But living here was hell on her nerves.
She turned into her driveway. Her mom had left her an inheritance when she’d died and she’d used it to buy this place. It wasn’t much. A small three-bedroom house with terrible insulation and a leaking roof.
However, she owned it outright and the reason she’d chosen it was for the land. It was fully fenced, private, and had enough room to house a chicken coop as well as let the dogs roam.
Plus, the neighbors didn’t care about her comings and goings.
