SEAL's Baby (Navy SEAL Secret Baby Romance) (24 page)

  
“What?” I gasped. “No!” At the same time, I pushed away from him
so that he was no longer touching me. He looked shocked and hurt as though I
had insulted him deeply. I saw a flash of anger flit through his eyes and it
reminded me of the old days when we had still lived under the same roof. I
started to back away from him.

“I should go,” I said as
I backed away from him.

“No,” he said quickly as he grabbed me and pulled me
to him. “I want you to stay; I’m not done talking to you.” He leaned in and
slammed his mouth against mine. I gasped and with both hands on his chest I
pushed him away.

“What the hell are you
doing?” I demanded staring at him in anger.

Paul’s eyes were cold as
he regarded me. “Is this because of him?”

“What?” I asked
pretending as though I didn’t know what he was talking about.

“Is this about that
jumped up asshole you were with the other night? Dylan?”

“This has nothing to do
with Dylan,” I said firmly. “This has everything to do with you.”

“You loved me once.”

“I thought I did,” I said
bitterly. “But to be honest, I don’t think I ever really loved you.”

“You blamed me for
everything,” Paul said. “But you were as much to blame as I was.”

“How do you figure that?”
I demanded.

  
“You were in love with Dylan,” Paul spat. “And you married me
anyway. You used me. You hurt and humiliated me long before I ever did anything
to you.”

  
I stared at him in shock for a moment. “Don’t do that,” I said at
last. “Don’t try and turn everything around on me. Don’t bring Dylan into this
and don’t pretend as though you were the victim.”

“It’s the truth,” Paul
said stubbornly. “I’ll admit I handled it all wrong, but it is the truth.”

“You don’t know
anything,” I spat at him as I tried to walk away.

Paul caught me by the arm
and swung me back around to face him. “Elizabeth, I’m trying to talk to you.”

“Well I’m done talking to
you,” I said trying to get him to release my hand.

His grip was vice like
and unbreakable. “Paul, please,” I said desperately. “You’re hurting me.”

  
“You make me crazy, you know?” Paul said in frustration. “I try to
talk to you, just talk, and you freak out and make me out to be the bad guy.
This was what you did when we were married too.”

“If you truly believe
that, then why do you want me back in the first place?” I demanded.

“Because I love you,”
Paul said leaning in again.

  
I wrenched my hand free from his and slapped him hard across the
face before he could kiss me again. I barely made the decision to do it when my
hand smashed across his face. There was a split second of stillness and then
his hand flew to my face and he slapped me right back.

  
I stumbled backwards and fell against the cold brick wall at my
back. I shook my head and stared up at Paul in shock and disbelief. He was staring
back at me with an expression that suggested he was just as shocked as I was.

“Elizabeth …” he said as
he took a step towards me.

“Don’t!” I gasped as I
backed away from him.

“I … I’m sorry. I didn’t
mean—”

  
“Stay away from me,” I said with a shaky voice trying to ignore
the searing pain on my cheek. “Stay away from me.”

  
He stood where he was and I turned around and bolted. For a moment,
I thought he might try and follow me, but then I glanced around and realized
that he wasn’t. I raced back onto the paved streets of Bastrop’s main shopping
district and looked around frantically for Maddie. People passed me by, giving
my odd glances but I ignored them all.

“Maddie!” I said
frantically. “Maddie!”

  
She appeared it seemed as if out of thin air. She came towards me
with a worried expression and as soon as she was close to me her eyes grew
wide. “What happened?” she demanded in a voice that suggested she knew exactly
what happened.

“I … he … he …”

“Did he hit you?” she
asked without hesitation.

“I … how did you know?” I
stammered.

“Shhh,” Maddie said as
she grabbed my hands and held them tight. “Your cheek is swelling up.”

“I slapped him,” I said.
“And then he slapped me back.”

  
“That bastard,” Maddie spat, and I was grateful for the fact that
she was calm. It made me feel calm too. She hugged me hard until I had stopped
shaking and then moment she let go I felt more in control of myself. “Are you
ok?” she asked staring into my face.

“I am now,” I nodded. “It
was just …”

“Come on,” Maddie said as
she pulled me along behind her.

“Where are we going?” I
asked.

“We’re going to the
police station,” Maddie replied. “Right now.”

“No,” I said pulling my
hand free and coming to a stop. “Maddie, I can’t.”

  
“Why not?” Maddie demanded looking furious. “That bastard hit you,
Lizzie. He
hit
you and if you keep
ignoring his behavior, he’s going to think he can get away with anything. You
need to stop this now.”

“I don’t want this to
become a big deal,” I said lamely.

“Look at your face,”
Maddie said. “It’s already a big deal.”

I sighed.

“Stop being afraid to
fight back,” Maddie said. “Don’t let him walk all over you. You know that dad
is police chief; he can help us.”

I nodded.

“Are you coming?”

“Yes,” I nodded and we
started walking back towards Maddie’s car.

  
We got in and Maddie drove us in the direction of the police
station. The station was lit up and filled with officers walking in and out of
the building. There was a line of police vehicles camped out in front. Maddie
and I passed them on our way in. As we entered the building, Maddie waved to a
man behind the reception desk.

“Hi, Officer
Fitzpatrick,” she greeted. “Is my father here?”

“He’s in his office,
Maddie,” he replied. “Go right on in.”

“Thanks,” Maddie replied
and she led the way while I followed close behind.

  
Maddie’s father was a big, burly man with a thick moustache and a
charismatic air about him. He could be charming when he wanted to be, but I
knew from experience that he could be equally terrifying when he was crossed.
His face lit up into a smile the moment Maddie and I walked in.

“Well, well,” he said as
he stood up. “What brings you ladies here?”

  
As soon as he finished the sentence his eyes landed on my face and
the smile slid off his. “Elizabeth,” he said and then he looked towards Maddie.
“What happened?”

“It was Paul,” I replied.
“My ex-husband.”

“He hit you?”

“I hit him first.”

“Sit down,” Chief Stuart
said motioning to the two chairs opposite his desk.

  
We sat down and Maddie spoke up before I could. “He’s been dogging
her for months,” she said. “Practically from the time they were divorced. He
comes into the bar she works at and makes scenes—”

“How often has that
happened?” Chief Stuart asked.

“I … I have no idea,” I
answered. “Too many times for me to count.”

“Has he ever been violent
with you before?”

“He’s come close,” I
replied. “He’s pushed me around a little bit, but he’s never actually hit me.”

“What can we do, dad?”
Maddie asked.

“We can file a report
against Paul,” Chief Stuart replied. “And we can file a restraining order
against him.”

“What will that do?” I
asked.

  
“It will keep him away from you,” he answered. “And if he doesn’t
adhere to the restrictions and limits of the restraining order, then you can
report him and we can take him in.”

I nodded. “All right.”

“Good,” Chief Stuart
nodded. “You girls can sit here and I’ll go get the paperwork ready.”

  
He left us in his office and closed the door behind us. Maddie
reached for my hand. “Are you sure you’re all right?” she asked with concern.

“I think I just want to
get home.”

“Lizzie, we should go to
the hospital and see about the bruise,” Maddie suggested. “It seems to be
getting worse.”

“I’ll be fine,” I
replied. “It’s not even hurting that much anymore.”

“Still—”

“I’m fine, Maddie,” I
said abruptly. “And I need one more favor from you.”

“Of course,” Maddie
replied. “What is it?”

“Don’t tell Dylan what
happened.”

Maddie’s face immediately
clouded over. “Lizzie …”

  
“Please. I don’t want to bring him into this,” I said fervently.
“This is my mess. There’s no reason to involve him in it.”

Maddie sighed. “Ok,” she
said.

“Thank you,” I nodded.

All I craved now was
silence.

  
Once it was all done, Maddie drove me home. She offered to stay
with me for a few hours, but I just wanted to crawl into my bed and be alone
for a little while. Elvis rushed to my feet the moment I opened the door and I
lifted him up and walked into my bedroom. I didn’t bother to turn on the lights;
I just kicked off my shoes and crawled under the covers with Elvis.

  
It was cool, comfortable, and dark under the comforter, and once
the silence settled in and I could really absorb what had happened, I started
to cry. The memories of my short-lived marriage came rushing back to me and I
realized that I hadn’t moved on as much as I thought I had. I still lived with
demons in my head, with doubts rushing around inside me preventing me from
really living my life.

  
I thought about Dylan and instantly I felt awful. I had made him
responsible for my happiness. I had projected my hopes and dreams on him and
relieved myself of tat duty but now I understood how wrong I was. He wasn’t
responsible for my happiness. No one was but me. I was the one who had control
over my life; I should be the one to protect myself. Dylan was a hero and I
believed that, but he should never have been
my
hero.

  
If I ever needed saving, I would have to save myself.

Chapter
Twenty-Five

Dylan

  
I could hear the dial tone and the subsequent ringing, but she
didn’t pick up. It was the third time I’d called her in two days and she didn’t
seem very interested in answering her phone. I cut the line in frustration and
stared at the receiver. I missed her and I wanted to see her, but apparently
she didn’t share the feeling.

  
She had picked up two days ago only to tell me that she was busy
with work and that she couldn’t meet me just yet. I hadn’t thought anything of
it but now I was starting to doubt that everything was fine. I wondered
momentarily if she had heard about the girls I had danced with at the bar a
couple of nights ago. Lizzie had never been the jealous type and it’s not like
we were exclusive or anything. Still, it floated around in my mind and I
couldn’t let it go. The dancing and flirting had been innocent, and it’s not
like I’d even kissed one of those women. I had had no interest in kissing any
one of them.

  
I ground my teeth together and dialed in her number again and
again there was no answer. Finally I heard the beep go off and Lizzie’s
recorded message telling me to leave a message and she would get back to me.

  
“Lizzie,” I said. “I’ve tried calling a few times … are you all
right? Is everything ok? I know you said you were busy but … I don’t know …
just call me when you get this ok?”

  
I hung up, frustrated with my confused and blubbering message. I
thought of calling back and trying to re-do it, but that would only make me
look more desperate. I lay back in my bed not knowing what to do with all this
free time I had on my hands. I realized that I wouldn’t be able to concentrate
on anything anyway as long as Lizzie kept avoiding me.

  
I waited till dinner, ate with mom, and then I rode down to
Dillard’s on my motorbike. The night was cool and crisp; it was the perfect
night for a stroll or a hearty dinner but I wasn’t in the mood for any of those
things. I felt almost obsessive as I entered the bar but I couldn’t suppress
the feeling. I walked up to the skinny bartender behind the counter.