Page 70 of Ruthless Protector

He muttered under his breath, then looked at Tilly. “Come here, kid. Come and give your old man a hug.”

Tilly shook her head.

Trent’s eyes narrowed. “I said come here.”

Tilly curled into Fay and I stepped in front of him. “She hasn’t seen you in nearly a year. You need to back off,” I gritted under my breath.

He grabbed my elbow and led me from the living room down to the kitchen. “What the hell have you said about me to her?”

I yanked my arm free. “Not a damn thing. That reaction was all your own doing.”

“Lying bitch,” he hissed. “I told you what I’d do if you didn’t give me all my money. I told you. You made me do this, remember that.” He stared me down. “Now I’m going back in there to watch some TV with my kid, and you think about that. You think about how much you want her, and what you’re willing to do to keep her.”

He walked back to the living room and I heard the TV come on. I went back down and sat on the other side of Tilly, and the four of sat there, Trent watching a movie and ignoring us until his time was up.

He didn’t try and talk to her again during that time, barely even looked her way. Finally, he stood, looked at me, and said, “I’ll be in touch.”

And left.

Tilly sat there shaking, shaken by that visit in a way that made me want to go after Trent and choke the last breath from him. Another visit like that, and I didn’t know what would happen, how it would affect her; if it would have her regressing back to when she pretended her mother was alive, or manifest into something worse.

I had to do something.

I stood quickly. “Be right back,” I said to Fay, and rushed out after Trent.

He hadn’t gotten far and he stopped when I called out to him. He didn’t meet me halfway, making me walk over to him, beady eyes calculating. He knew he had me where he wanted me.

We both did.

“What will it take?” I said, when I reached him. “To have you sign over all your parental rights to me. To stay away from her, from both of us, for good?”

“Twenty grand,” he said instantly.

He’d planned this, all of it. He hadn’t pulled that figure out of his ass. He knew exactly what it would take, and he knew I’d do anything to get it. To get him out of our lives.

So Tilly never had to go through that again.

I’d get his money. I’d sell my soul to get it if I had to, and I had a feeling that’s exactly what it would take.

“How long do I have?” I asked.

He smirked, eyes glittering. “Two weeks.”

“I’ll be in touch,” I said, then I turned and walked back to my brownstone, where I’d had some of the happiest times of my life. Where I felt safe.

Where Tilly and I finally had a home.

I’d thought I’d have to leave, but in that moment, I knew I wasn’t going to lose this, not because of Trent.

I couldn’t.

17

Willa

“What’s wrong, Tils?” Jude asked, eyes on my niece, gentle but concerned.

He’d been here all of five minutes and had already picked up on our moods—no matter how hard I’d tried to conceal it. I could lie, make something up, but there was no point in hiding what happened today. And I’d never ask Tilly to lie. Jude didn’t know who her father was, or what he looked like. Which meant I could share a little with him. Not something I was used to doing, and even now, knowing I could trust him, I had trouble getting the words out. Sharing even a little of myself.