Claiming Her Heart (10 page)

“She needs me in her life,” she continued. “I was home with her every day since she was born. She must miss me. It must scare and upset her to—”

“I’m going to say this one more time—Abby is better off without you. Stay away from her, or you’re going to be very sorry. I can promise you that.”

Oh, God. This was it. This was
it
.

“Nothing could make me more sorry than being kept from Abby another day,” she said, the tears in her voice as real as the words she spoke. It had only been three weeks since she’d seen Abby, but it felt like a lifetime. “She needs me, and I need to be a part of my daughter’s life.”

“Your daughter won’t have a life if you keep this up, Erin.” He smiled, a cold sneer that made her heart ache. This was the bastard she’d chosen as the father of her child. Abby deserved so much better. “I wasn’t making idle threats when I said I’d kill her before I’d let her be raised by a slut like you.”

“Scott, listen to yourself,” she said, heart pounding in her chest. The words still scared her to death, even knowing there was a plan in place to get Abby out of Scott’s house and keep her safe. “That’s our baby you’re talking about, an innocent child. How can you even—”

“If you don’t sign the divorce decree in the next week, or if I find out you’ve hired a lawyer, Abby will have a horrible accident.” He paused, eyes drifting to a place above her head.

He sniffed and swiped the back of his hand across his nose. “I was thinking the pool out back. She’s crawling so fast now. If the nanny were to leave the door open and turn her back for a few minutes…well, it doesn’t take that long for a child to drown.”

Erin’s throat grew tight and tears stung at the back of her eyes, but she didn’t cry. What Scott said wasn’t going to happen, she wasn’t going to
let
it happen. “You’re a monster.”

“Maybe.” He shrugged, and his smile returned as his eyes met hers once more. “But I’d rather Abby be raised by a monster than a penniless whore. At least she’ll have a chance at a future, to grow up to be something more than a tramp who takes her clothes off for money.”

Erin swallowed the retort on the tip of her tongue. He didn’t care to make the distinction between a model and a stripper or he would have done so. Arguing with Scott was a waste of time. Besides, she had what she needed. Scott’s threats were captured on tape. If all was going according to plan, Rafe was already on his way to the house to get Abby.

She could walk away right now and never say a word to this creep again.

Instead, she stood her ground. Until this moment, she hadn’t realized how much unfinished business there was between the two of them. But now, all the questions she hadn’t dared to ask in the last two pain-filled years flooded to the surface.

“Why do you hate me so much?” she asked softly, genuinely curious.

His bloodshot eyes widened before narrowing once more. “I don’t hate you. I feel nothing for you except disgust.”

“Then why didn’t you ask for a divorce sooner?” she asked. “Obviously our marriage wasn’t what either of us—”

“Our marriage was fine,” Scott said, the emotion in his voice surprising her. “Everything was fine until you up and left with our daughter.”

“Scott, our marriage was not fine,” Erin said, baffled that even he could be that deluded. “Nothing I did seemed to please you. Not since I got pregnant with Abby.”

He shook his head. “That’s not true.”

“You didn’t even want to touch me,” she said. “We hadn’t had sex in almost two years by the time I left. How can you call that fine?”

“So you wanted to get fucked? Is that it?” he asked, taking an aggressive step forward. “I’ll fuck you right now if that’s what you want.”

“No, it isn’t.” This time, she took a step back. A slap or two she could handle, but if Scott tried to touch her intimately she’d take Blake up on the offer to make him bleed. “But when I was pregnant with Abby, and just after, I wanted to be close to you. And sex is a part of that. It’s part of a good marriage, surely you can’t disagree.”

Scott’s eyes dropped to the pavement between them, and he ran a frustrated hand through his hair. For the first time, Erin noticed that it was thinning on top. Scott was twelve years older than she was, but she’d never really thought about the age difference until now, when he suddenly looked far older than his thirty-six years.

“I just…” His voice trailed off, but Erin didn’t push. Pushing Scott only made him angry.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Several uncomfortable seconds passed before he finally spoke again. “By the time Abby was born, it seemed like we’d lost our place. You were so focused on the baby. I felt like you didn’t need me anymore. It hurt.”

Of all the things she’d thought she’d hear tonight, Scott opening up about his feelings was the very last. She was stunned.

“I needed you more than ever,” Erin said, then pushed on, refusing to let Scott play the victim. “But it seemed like you hated me. I mean, talk about hurt. Every time you told me how unattractive you found me, it felt like I was being cut open. It hurt. So much.”

He finally lifted his head, facing her with uncertain eyes. “What if I said I didn’t mean it? That I’d made a mistake?”

“What?” She could safely say she’d never been more confused. What the hell was he saying?

“What if I said I didn’t mean all those things I said, or the stuff about Abby?” He paused, licking his lips, the words obviously far from easy to speak. “Would you think about coming back?”

“You want me back.” Erin didn’t know whether to laugh or cry or both. “But you’re the one who filed for divorce.”

“That’s only because you left me. How could you just
leave
like that, Erin?” he asked, anguish clear in his voice. “I came home from work and you were just gone. I thought someone had kidnapped you. I was scared out of my mind.”

“I was scared, too,” she said. “I was afraid you’d do something to me or Abby if I told you I was leaving.”

“You should have known I’d never hurt you. Never,” he said, the passion in his eyes making it clear he believed every word. He reached for her, but she stepped away again, shaking her head in disbelief.

“Scott, you hurt me with your words for years,” Erin said. “You tore me down until there was nothing left of my self-esteem. And you just hit me—twice.”

He scowled. “I was angry. And I have every right to be. You don’t know what it did to me, seeing another man’s fingers inside
my
wife. It made me crazy.”

“Crazy enough to threaten to kill our daughter? Was that something you didn’t mean, too?” Erin held her breath, wondering if the men in the van were still recording, and how all the strange, unexpected turns in this conversation would impact their case against Scott.

If he confessed to lying about intending to kill Abby, would that make a difference to the judge who reviewed their case?

Had she endangered her future with her daughter because she didn’t know when to keep her big mouth shut?

“Come back to me,” Scott said softly. “Come home with me right now, and you’ll never have to find out.”

Erin shook her head. “I can’t.”

“Yes, you can. Ditch that caveman and come home. We’ll send the housekeeper over to your apartment to get your things tomorrow.” He paused and a smile stretched across his face, reminding her of the man he’d been when they were first married. The man she’d thought she loved, until she’d reunited with Blake and remembered what real love felt like. “You could be holding Abby in half an hour. You can even bring her into the bed to sleep with us if you want, the way you wanted to do when she was teething.”

“No,” Erin said, hoping he heard the finality in the word. “I’m never coming back to you. I don’t love you anymore. I’m not sure I ever did.”

His smile faded, and the terrifying Scott returned. “Is it that man you’re with? Are you
in love
with him now?”

“Yes, I am. I love him with all my heart,” she said, the words out of her mouth before she could think better of them.

It only took a few seconds for her to realize the error of her decision, but by then it was too late.

Scott’s hands were already latched around her throat.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Blake

Blake was through the door the second Steve texted, saying Erin needed backup, cursing himself for letting her stay outside so long.

He’d gotten the first call from the van five minutes ago. Everything had gone according to plan and Rafe was already on his way to get Abby. There was no reason to leave Erin alone with that waste of human flesh a second longer.

But he’d wanted to let her handle the situation, to show her he believed she was strong enough to manage Scott alone. After all, he was going to Miami in a few days. He wouldn’t be here to help her anymore. She’d have to stand on her own two feet.

But she’ll have a restraining order by then, jackass.

He
was
a jackass, and now Erin was going to have the bruises to prove it.

Blake charged around the corner and into the alley beside the club, where Scott had Erin backed against the brick wall with his hands at her throat.

Immediately, his blood ran hot and his vision filled with red.

He’d warned the bastard he’d make him bleed if he hurt Erin. Now he was going to prove he was a man of his word.

“Blake, wait!” Erin shouted as she shoved her ex-husband’s hands from her throat. Scott slumped forward, collapsing against her.

“I think he’s passed out or—” Erin’s words ended in a surprised yip as Scott suddenly began to shake, his body jerking like he’d stuck his hand in a light socket.

A moment later the other man fell to the ground, convulsing as his eyes rolled back in his head.

“What’s happening?” Erin flattened herself against the wall, staring with wide eyes at the man writhing at her feet.

Blake reached over the twitching body and grabbed Erin under the arms, lifting her over her ex before setting her gently down on the concrete on the other side. “Go, tell the woman at the desk to call 911.”

She nodded and raced toward the door, but not before Blake saw the red swelling on her left cheek. The bastard had hit her. She’d have a bruise tomorrow at the very least, if not a full-on black eye. The knowledge would have been enough to make him knock Scott out—if the cowardly fuck hadn’t been out cold already.

“Piece of shit,” Blake muttered as he knelt by the other man, who was finally lying still.

A check of his pulse revealed he was still alive—unfortunately—though his heart was racing like he’d run a marathon, not spent a few minutes slapping around his wife. The speeding pulse didn’t seem natural for a young man who looked to be in good shape. Neither did the cold, clammy skin.

Blake’s suspicions were confirmed when he pried open Scott’s eyes and found them bloodshot and his pupils widely dilated. He’d been on something, probably cocaine if Blake had to guess. That would explain the racing heart and his out-of-control temper.

“What happened? Is he dead?” A man in a suit whom Blake had seen roaming the club earlier rushed out the door with Erin close behind. “I’m Jace the owner.”

“I told him we were having an argument and he started shaking and collapsed,” Erin said, staying back a few paces as Jace came to stand just behind Blake.

“I think he had a seizure, or maybe a stroke,” Blake said. “Probably drug-induced. I’m a tattoo artist. By law, we’re not supposed to work on anyone who’s been using, so I’ve learned to read the signs.” Blake stood. “He’s still breathing and his pulse is accelerated, but steady. I don’t think there’s much we can do for him until the paramedics arrive.”

“Drugs?” Erin asked. “Scott’s been using drugs?”

“Son of a bitch.” Jace sighed and shook his head. “I thought he looked bad tonight, but I didn’t want to say anything. He usually keeps it respectable, and he’s never brought anything into the club.”

Blake nodded. “So you think he’s been using for a while?”

“I’ve only known him a few months,” Jace said with a shrug. “But yeah, he seems to have a pretty decent coke habit.”

“A habit.” Erin cursed, glaring at the man at her feet as if she’d like to kick his prone body. “While he was supposed to be taking care of an eleven-month-old. I’m going to kill him.”

“You may not have to,” the club owner said as sirens sounded in the distance. “I had a friend of mine, old college football buddy, died of combination stroke and heart attack from a coke overdose a few years back.”

“Oh, my God,” Erin said, her voice soft as her hand flew to her mouth.

Blake wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close as an ambulance pulled into the parking lot. “He’ll be fine. He’s going to live to regret ever laying a hand on you in anger.”

“You saw?” Erin asked, the face she tilted up to his washed red from the flashing lights.

“I saw this.” He brushed his knuckles softly over her cheek, feeling his guts twist when she winced. “It made me want to kill him myself.”