“He knows I live here.”
“Yeah, baby, he does.” No point in lying.
“I have to go, to hide…”
I sit down and pull her into my lap. “No. There are people here who will keep you safe. If you run, then you’re on your own with no backup. If he finds you alone, then you have no shot at help. Here you do.”
“I almost died last time. He’ll kill me if he gets his hands on me.”
Her words are hollow, wooden.
I tip her head up so she’s looking at me. “I’m not going to let him.”
“You’re not going to be here.”
That hit like a punch to the gut. I know that, but it doesn’t mean I’m leaving her defenseless. The team will protect her. Everyone in this house will protect her.
“You’re right, I’ll be gone a lot, but that doesn’t mean you’re alone. Like I said, everyone here will protect you and I’m only a phone call away. If he shows up, you call me and I’ll make sure he goes away.”
She shakes her head and I’m at a loss for how to reassure her. Actions speak louder than words and in this, I can’t give her actions until asswipe shows up. I have no doubt he’ll try, but when he does, I’ll have things put into place.
“Do you trust me?” I whisper.
She nods.
“I need to hear you say the words, sweetheart. Do you trust me?”
“I shouldn’t, but I do.”
“Good girl.” I kiss the top of her head. “Then trust me when I say I have a plan if he ever shows up here and it’ll be put into place before I leave for my first away game which isn’t for two weeks.”
“So you signed the contract?”
“Sure did. Called Mom and then high tailed it over here.”
“You’re not leaving for two weeks?”
“Nope. I have practice starting Monday. There are three games scheduled this week.”
“Three? Are they going to let you play?”
“I don’t know. We’re new. We need to learn to gel with the team, so they may not let us on the ice unless there’s no other choice.”
“You’ll be fine. I’ve seen you and Collin play.”
“You’ll be fine, too.” I can still feel how tense she is and I know she’s talking about me to not focus on what’s rambling around in her head.
“I hope so.”
“You’re stronger than you think, Daisy, and this time, you have people behind you. We won’t let you stand alone.”
“Promise?”
“I swear on my mother’s life.”
“Don’t do that. Something bad might happen to her and then you’ll always wonder if it was tied back to those words.”
“Alright. I swear by my hockey career you’re not alone in this. I’m right there with you. I’ll call my lawyer in the morning and have a restraining order drawn up and Mom said she’d talk to her friend whose husband is a cop to see what else you can do.”
