I look over at Gwen and pretend like it doesn’t feel right to have her in my place.

“She’s an insurance, mom. Mr. Austin and I were trying to get her to talk,” Emma answers.

Gwen looks at me in confusion and I laugh. “It’s insurgent, pipsqueak. And yep, that Barbie went off the rails so we had to take extreme measures.”

Gwen shakes her head and I walk towards the kitchen, motioning for her to follow. “We’ll be right back, pipsqueak. You keep working on Barbie over there and let me know if she gives up the goods.”

When we get into the kitchen, out of earshot of Emma, I ask her about Ellie. “So, what’s going on?”

Gwen sighs and takes a seat at the table. “She still won’t let me come and get her right now. She promised me she’d move to another hotel and call me as soon as she got there. I told her to make sure she isn’t followed; take lots of side streets and make a few wrong turns so she can watch in her mirror and make sure he isn’t tailing her. She should be calling me back in a few minutes and then I’m going to get her whether she likes it or not.”

Folding my arms across my chest, I look down at her. “You aren’t going anywhere. When she calls back, I’ll go and get her.”

Gwen opens her mouth to argue and I hold one of my hands up. “Nope. Don’t even think about it, darlin’. There is no way in hell I’m letting you go anywhere by yourself when there’s a chance that asshole could be there. He doesn’t know where you are right now and we’re keeping it that way.”

Gwen huffs, but she doesn’t argue again, thank God.

A half hour later, after Emma has turned my living room into her own personal fucking Barbie Dream House, Gwen gets the call from Ellie. She made it to another hotel and she assures Gwen that she wasn’t followed. With my firm instructions to Gwen that she isn’t to open the door for anyone and a sarcastic reply from her that she isn’t stupid, Gwen locks the door behind me and I head out to pick up Ellie.

On the ride over there, I call my friend on the force in New York.

“Hey, Mark, it’s Austin Conrad.”

“Well shit, long time no talk! What are you doing calling me? Shouldn’t you be somewhere in the middle of nowhere being Billy Badass and saving the world?” Mark asks.

Mark and I went to high school together and we’ve kept in touch over the years, trading favors back and forth.

“Eh, I’m doing a job for a friend in Nashville right now. Say, I need you to check on someone for me, guy by the name of William Stratford. He’s a doctor in New York City,” I tell him.

“Yeah, I know the guy. Well, I’ve heard of him. We don’t actually mingle in the same social circles,” Mark says with a laugh. “Stratford’s a big wig surgeon at Mount Sinai, gives a ton of money to charities, even gives a big chunk to the policeman’s ball every year. Good guy, everyone loves him. I’m pretty sure he’s slated for sainthood or some shit.”

Great. Just fucking great. This abusive douche has fooled everyone.

“Do you have any contacts with the Nashville police department?” I ask.

“Yeah, I’ve talked to them a couple of times. Why, what’s up?”

I pause, not sure how much I want to tell Mark. I trust him, but I don’t want it getting out that I’m asking about William in case it gets back to him and spooks the guy. I won’t be able to beat his ass if he disappears.

“I need you to call them and tell them to be on the lookout for Stratford. Tell them he’s not in trouble, he’s just wanted for questioning or some shit. I don’t care what you have to tell them – just make sure they do it.”

Mark is silent for a few long seconds. “Austin, what the fuck is going on? And how do you know Stratford is in Nashville?”

“It’s a long story. I promise I’ll fill you in when I can, just tell me you’ll do this for me.”

Mark sighs as I pull into the hotel parking lot where Ellie moved. “Fine, no problem. But I’m going to catch some slack for this you know. I’m not kidding when I say everyone loves the guy. Money talks around here and he’s one of the biggest contributors to the police force.”

Of course he is. What better way to get people to look the other way when he beats the shit out of his wife?

Mark promises to call me back after he’s talked to the Nashville PD and I end the call, sliding out of my car and heading to Ellie’s room. I make sure to check the parking lot for anything suspicious. Luckily, the lot is pretty empty and I don’t see anyone lurking around.

I walk up to room one-fifteen and knock on the door. “Ellie? It’s Austin Conrad.”

Gwen told Ellie who I was on the phone earlier and let her know I’d be the one coming to get her so she’d be expecting me. A few seconds later, the door is slowly pulled open and a woman with long, blonde hair peeks her head out, glancing nervously behind me into the parking lot.

She opens the door a little wider and when the sun streams into the room, I get a better look at her face. She’s got a busted, bloody lip and a small cut on her left cheek that’s starting to bruise.

Mother fucker.

“Do you need a doctor?” I ask her softly.

She shakes her head, picking up her purse from the floor and closing and locking the door behind her. She doesn’t say a word to me as we walk out to my car and I have a feeling she’s embarrassed. I think about all of those photos of Gwen in that file and I have to rub at a pain in my chest. Gwen was this person not that long ago. She was bruised and broken, scared to death and not knowing where to turn or who to trust. Thinking about the attitude she has now and the determination and fire in her eyes, I know I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure she never has to go back to being like Ellie is right now.

The ride back to my place is quiet and I leave Ellie alone, waiting until she’s with Gwen to find out what the hell happened. It’s probably not easy for Ellie to be around some guy she doesn’t know when someone she thought she could trust did that to her face.

Unlocking the front door, I hold it open and let Ellie walk in first.

“Aunt Ellie!” Emma shouts excitedly, racing across the room and throwing herself against Ellie’s legs.

“Oh my goodness, look how big you’ve gotten!” Ellie tells her, speaking for the first time since I picked her up.

She lifts Emma into her arms and hugs her tightly. Emma pulls back and looks at her face in confusion. “Why do you have boo-boos on your face?”

Ellie places the palm of her hand over the cut on her cheek and smiles at Emma. “Oh, I just had a little accident. I’m fine.”

Gwen steps into the room from the hallway and the two women stare at each other over Emma’s head. I can see the anguish in Gwen’s eyes as she takes in the cut on Ellie’s lip and the quickly forming bruise on her cheek.

“Emma, baby, why don’t you grab your Barbies and go set them up in your room, okay? Aunt Ellie will come in and visit with you after she and mommy have a chance to talk.”

Ellie sets Emma down and she races over to the couch, filling her arms with as many dolls as she can carry before running past Gwen to one of the back bedrooms.

After Emma is gone, Gwen slowly walks up to Ellie. “He did this to you.”

It’s a statement, not a question. Ellie nods, her eyes filling up with tears. Gwen doesn’t hesitate before pulling her into her arms. “Shhh, it’s okay, everything’s going to be okay.”

Emma wraps her arms around Gwen’s shoulders. “I feel like such a fool. I saw what he did to you for all of those years. I really thought he had changed. I’m so stupid.”

Gwen pulls back and stares at Ellie. “You’re not stupid. You thought you could trust him and he took advantage of that. You can’t blame yourself; he’s the one who did something wrong, not you. It’s going to be okay, I promise.”

Ellie wipes her tears and heads to the back bedroom to play with Emma. When she’s gone, Gwen turns to look at me.

“I feel so bad for yelling at her the other night at dinner. When she told me she was dating William, I lost it. I should have done more to convince her to stay away from him,” Gwen says sadly.

I move towards her, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her against me. “I think it’s time for you to start taking your own advice. You can’t blame yourself for the actions of other people. Ellie knew what she was getting into by hanging around William. She made her own choices and there’s nothing you could have said or done that would have made a difference.”

As I hold onto Gwen and listen to Emma’s laughter coming from down the hall, I realize I’m good and truly fucked.

Walking away from them is going to be impossible.

Chapter 16

Gwen

Standing in the doorway of Austin’s spare bedroom, I watch silently as Austin lies in bed next to Emma and tells her a bedtime story. It’s an elaborate tale about princesses storming a castle and taking people hostage and I have to smother my laughs so they don’t notice me. Something tugs at my heart watching the two of them together and I’m thankful for the vibration of my cell phone in my pocket that pulls me away from the scene in front of me.

It’s stupid to get so choked up watching Austin with Emma. The most William ever did with her was pat her on the head or nod distractedly when she told him something.

Walking out into the living room, I pull my phone from my pocket and answer it.

“Gwendolyn, it’s your father.”

I haven’t spoken to my father since two weeks before I left William. My mother has made it clear when we’ve talked that he’s very disappointed in my decisions. Hearing his voice right now is strange. I should be happy that he’s finally reaching out to me, but I have a feeling this isn’t going to be a pleasant conversation. For a moment though, I wonder if something happened to my mother. That would probably be the only reason he would ever call me on his own.

“Dad, is everything okay?” I ask nervously.

Granted, my parents and I don’t have the best relationship, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t be upset if something were to happen to one of them.

“Your mother is fine. That’s not why I’m calling. I received a very troubling call from the chief of police today,” he tells me.

Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath, knowing exactly what this is about. Austin has been calling some of his contacts all day trying to find out where William is. Looks like news travels fast. I should have warned Austin that my father plays golf with the chief of police.

“I’ve been told there’s some sort of manhunt going on for William,” my father continues.

“Dad, it’s not a manhunt. We’re just trying to find out where he is, that’s all.”

My explanation falls on deaf ears.

“Do you have any idea how embarrassing this is for me, and for William? Chief Jackson called me out of courtesy, figuring I already knew what this is about considering it’s my own daughter who has involved the police in her childish nonsense.”

I shouldn’t be surprised that my father is still taking William’s side. No matter how many times I tried to go to my parents for help, they didn’t want to listen. They didn’t want to believe that the golden boy they loved more than their own son would be such a monster. It still hurts to hear my father so blatantly dismissive of my problems.

“I’m sorry you think that being abused by your husband for ten years is childish nonsense. But hey, don’t worry about your granddaughter or me; you just keep on worrying about yourself and your fucking reputation. I’ll take care of myself and my daughter on my own, just like I always have,” I fire at him angrily.

“I don’t even know you anymore, Gwendolyn. I don’t understand why you would do this; why you would turn into such an angry, foul person. You need to stop this foolishness once and for all. William is a good, hardworking man and he was a wonderful husband and father. He has been absolutely destroyed since you left him, and now this. If this gets out, he’s going to be ruined. His career will be over. Do you really want to do that to him?”

Gone is the anger I felt coursing through my veins just a moment ago. My father’s words roll right off of me and I suddenly feel nothing. I’m so tired of trying to plead my case with the people who should be supportive of me no matter what. I always thought my parents would stand by me and protect me. And then, one day when I needed them the most, they turned their backs on me. It’s time for me to do the same.

“Good-bye, dad,” I tell him softly.

“So, you’ll call this whole thing off? I knew if I spoke to you myself you’d see reason,” he informs me haughtily.

“No, I mean, good-bye. Don’t ever call me again. If you can’t stand up for your own daughter, then you can go to hell.”

I pull the phone away from my ear and end the call before he can say anything in reply. Tossing my phone on the couch, I head back down the hall to see Austin tiptoeing out of the spare bedroom, pulling the door closed softly behind him.

“She’s out like a light. Who knew little girls would be so excited listening to a story about princesses with AK-47’s and stuffed animals being blown up by RPG’s?” Austin says with a quiet laugh. “I washed the sheets on the bed. You can sleep in there and I’ll take the couch.”

I shake my head back and forth adamantly. “Oh, hell no. You are not sleeping on the couch in your own home. I’m perfectly fine sleeping on the couch or with Emma.”

“This isn’t even my house, it’s a rental,” Austin argues.