Page 35 of Stowaway Whirlwind
“Who did?” I boom into the phone, damn near flying down the highway at dangerous speeds, counting my lucky stars that I’m past the worst of rush hour traffic and only three hours out from the warehouse. I fire off questions with rising panic. “Goldie, baby, who tried to take her? Who? Have you talked to the police yet? Where are you?”
Goldie’s voice goes in and out as service turns spotty, and all I can make out is, “No cops!…We got away…I don’t know what…I’m—”
I want to roar when there’s nothing but static after that, and the call drops as soon as I take my exit down a tree-lined back road. I slam my hand against the steering wheel over and over again until I lose feeling in it after I try to call Goldie and then Wyatt back, but there’s no service.
All I know is someone tried to take my daughter, and I wasn’t there to stop them. I wasn’t there, I wasn’t there, I wasn’t there! And now my woman and child are crying, and I have no idea where they are. I’m not with them to console them, hold them, protect them, and love them.
But I will be soon.
And I’m not leaving.
Not ever again.
* * *
When I get to the warehouse and back the rig up to the loading dock, I jump out and slam the door closed. I’ve run halfwaythrough the parking lot to get in the Buick when Russell catches up to me.
He grabs my shoulder. “Davis, hold on a minute, son.”
I shrug his hand off. “I don’t have time for this!”
Russell sprints ahead of me, not even out of breath, forcing me to stop when he puts his hands up. “I told you we needed to talk when you got back.”
“I said, I don’t have time for this!” I try to sidestep him. “I need to get home.”
Russell must see something in my eyes, and he banks his irritation. “What the hell is going on?”
“I quit,” I bite out impulsively, feeling like my stomach is going to fall out my asshole at the rash decision. I’ve got too many responsibilities, but I’ll make it work. I swerve around him, unlock the Buick, and throw my travel bag inside.
Russell’s brows crash together, and he catches my car door when I try to close it after turning over the ignition. “Fuck that. I’m not letting you quit. Come to my office when you can.”
I nod with relief, and when he closes my door, I peel out of the parking lot and drive like a bat out of hell down the dark roads toward home.Home. I finally have someone—a family—to come home to since Dad passed. That thought has me rubbing my aching chest.
Chapter 15
Goldie
Lily cries softly from her crib. Without Davis, Dad, Aunt Lydia, or Colton to help, it’s been almost six weeks of sleeping in two to three-hour spurts, and after everything that happened with Dad and Mrs. Fitzroy, I feel like an emotionally and physically fried zombie. I don’t know how much longer I can hold onto my sanity.
I roll over to check the time on my phone, which is plugged in and charging on the nightstand.Thirty minutes. It’s only been thirty minutes since I finally fell asleep after agonizing over what I should do long after Lily drifted off. I decided not to call the cops and report what happened because I had the terrifying thought that if Mrs. Fitzroy somehow does have the legal right to take Lily as she claimed, I don’t want to rush the process by getting the police involved before I talk to a lawyer.
I sit up, swing my legs over the left side of the bed, and stumble over the balled-up bed sheets I’ve left in a pile on the floor that need to go in the wash after Lily’s blowout diaper in bed a few days ago. I’ll get to it at some point. When I have a little more energy.If that ever happens.
“I’ve got her.”
I scream bloody murder at the unexpected male voice coming from the huge silhouette standing in the open bedroom doorway. I lunge for the crib to snatch Lily up, blood pounding in my ears as my adrenaline spikes to an all-time high. I trip over the hamper of clean clothes when I turn back toward my nightstand and have to twist, slamming my back against the dresser to avoid crashing into it face-first with Lily in my arms.
“Shit, baby! Are you ok?”
I scream again when the male figure rushes me, and I dodge to the right just in time to pull the gun I stole from my attacker all those weeks ago out of the nightstand drawer and flick the safety off. I found the gun Davis had shoved in the Ford’s glove box, and I’ve had five weeks of practice shooting soda cans in the yard under my belt. Can’t be too careful as a woman living alone.
It’s even more imperative that I stay on my guard with the threat of Colton’s mom coming after me for custody of Lily. I wouldn’t put it past her tohiresomeone I wouldn’t be able to fight off as easily as I did the tiny bitch after her plan failed at the restaurant.
I have no idea how this asshole got past the house alarm without setting it off, but he’s not going to get past me. “I’ve got a gun and know how to use it!” I yell above Lily’s crying as I level it at the man’s chest, squeezing myself into the corner.
The man throws his arms in the air and backs away toward the bedroom door. “Goldie, it’s me, honey.”
My head and heart are pounding too hard to focus on anything other than protecting Lily. “I don’t care who you are! Get out of my house!”
