Page 38 of SEAL's Harmony
“What the fuck?”
Harmony’s laugh wasn’t pleasant. “Pretty much. And of course, it was my fault. I’d obviously driven him away. Father was so livid, he punched me in the face. I had a heck of a shiner and stayed home from work for a few days.”
“And no one ever said anything? Not your teachers? No one? They let him get away with it?” Ry’s fists clenched just thinking about the beating he’d give her father. It was bad enough to hit a woman, but his own child? He’d teach the fucker a lesson. No woman should ever be touched in anger, only in love.
“Everyone is afraid of him. It’s pretty much his town. He’s been mayor for as long as I can remember. He controls everything. If I was five minutes late, he’d send the sheriff out looking for me.”
“If he’s got that much control, I’d bet he’s breaking the law.”
“Maybe? I don’t know. I’m just glad I got away. It was sheer luck I saw this job on the bank’s website and put in for the transfer. I don’t know how I got away with it. But it’s only a matter of time until he tracks me down and tries to take me back.”
“There’s no way I’ll let that happen, sweetheart. He doesn’t have any control here.”
Harmony sniffed back tears and shook her head. The hopelessness in her eyes broke his heart. Then she wedged herself in the opposite corner of the couch like she was trying to disappear and every one of Ry’s protector instincts went on high alert.
Reaching over, he lifted her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her. He half expected her to be annoyed, but it was a risk he was willing to take to erase the haunted look in her eyes.
“Ry, is this part of the interrogation technique? Because I have to say, this might actually work,” Harmony said.
“Oh yeah? I’ll have to remember that.” Ry grinned.
Her change in demeanor surprised him. It had to be a built-in defense mechanism kicking in. He wished it was real. This was the Harmony he’d fallen for, and yes, he’d fallen hard. It was kind of crazy. He knew it, but he wouldn’t change it for anything. When he held her in his arms and inhaled her sweet, flowery scent, he felt complete. Cat had never made him feel this way, and he’d thought he loved her. But it hadn’t come close.
“You should. I bet it would work on anyone.”
“Maybe, but I only need it to work on you.” Ry rested his cheek on the top of her head. “Is there anything else I should know?”
“Isn’t that enough?”
“Oh hell, it’s way more than enough. But if he is dirty, then I think we need to find out and put him away where he can’t hurt you ever again.”
“Trust me, you don’t want to poke that bear. He’ll find a way to make you suffer,” Harmony said, and she stiffened against him, strung tighter than a violin.
“Sweetheart, I have connections too, and mine are legal. He won’t be able to hurt me.”
“Don’t underestimate him. You don’t know what he’s capable of. The man not only wouldn’t let me go away to school with a complete scholarship, but he planned each step of my life, even to the job I have. I didn’t want to work in a bank.”
“Maybe you can find something you’d rather do, now that you’re away from him.”
“I don’t know. It’s possible. I liked my job here until I found out what they did to Harry and Barb.”
“Unfortunately, bad things happen to good people, and Harry made his choice. If he torched your car, he’ll go to jail. I feel for him, I really do. But he went off the rails.”
“We don’t know that he did it. I still think it’s probably my father,” Harmony insisted.
“If he did it, we’ll catch him, too. But from everything you’ve told me, it doesn’t seem to be his style. He’s more devious in his actions,” Ry said.
“That’s true. Except when he punched me in the face, he always did his best to make sure none of my bruises were visible. But I think he was just so furious when he found out about Jim that he just lost it,” Harmony said.
“He should never have laid a hand on you, sweetheart. Never. And if I have anything to say about it, it won’t happen again,” Ry vowed. Rage surged through him as acid churned in his gut. The man would pay if it was the last thing Ry ever did.
At his words, Harmony seemed to melt against him. Whether it was exhaustion or relief Ry wasn’t sure. She’d kept it all to herself for so long, he hoped it was relief that she could finally share some of it.
Ry tipped Harmony’s chin up with his finger so he could see her face. Unshed tears filled her beautiful eyes. He wanted to kiss away her pain, erase the memories of her childhood and give her shiny new ones. “Are you okay?”
“Getting there. I kept all of that to myself for so long, convinced it was all my fault. That he hurt me because I was bad, that he controlled me because I didn’t know any better. But forcing me to marry Jim was the last straw. I hated them both. But I suppose I should thank Jim, or I’d never have gotten away.” Harmony met his gaze and shrugged her shoulders. “Don’t they say that God doesn’t give you more than you can handle?”
Ry nodded, he’d heard that often from his mother. “Yup, I might have heard that a time or two.”
