Chapter Two
No human being should be allowed to drive on a cocktail of frayed nerves, fear, and adrenaline. Especially not a mother trying to get home to her kid before her narcissistic ex scared him to death banging on the door.
Barely slowing to check oncoming traffic, Natalie whipped a right-on-red and gunned her Lexus SUV the last block to her apartment complex. Thank God her new boss was a decent human being. She’d been panicked reading her mother’s texts all night, but had been equally terrified of losing her job. Once upon a time, her salary as even a starting RN would have made being the sole provider for her mom and Levi a doable proposition, but that was years and a bad decision ago, and processing health insurance claims didn’t rake in the big bucks. Her tips working one of Dallas’s trendiest bars definitely helped take the edge off.
Bypassing the main parking lot, she paralleled farther down the street and killed the engine. Trying to hide the gleaming white and chrome vehicle from Wyatt was probably a wasted effort. It stood out almost as strong as a neon sign on a clear night, but it was less than a year old, reliable, and paid for. Aside from the clothes she and Levi had managed to pack, it was the only asset she’d asked for in the divorce. Plus, it made for one heck of a reminder. A reflection of how much of herself she’d given up before Wyatt had literally knocked her back to her senses.
The car’s locks engaged with a subtle click, but the automatic headlights stayed illuminated, painting a bold path between her and the staircase across the parking lot. Not exactly the stealthiest approach, but definitely safer in this part of town. Besides, if Wyatt was waiting for her, there’d be no getting around a confrontation.
Halfway up the staircase, she scanned the cars below. No lights glowed other than the old street lamp and no movement registered, but her heart hammered as though the hounds of hell were queued to pop out of the shadows at any moment. Fucking Wyatt. Just once she’d like to feel safe again. To actually believe she could call the cops and expect some kind of help.
She worked the old but solid dead bolt until it clunked open and forced the door open with her shoulder. Soft, white light glowed from the galley kitchen’s stove, just enough to let her mom and Levi get around the two-bedroom apartment if they needed to, but not enough to clue Wyatt in to anyone being home. Her mom lay stretched out on the couch with Levi tucked up in the crook of her arm. His dirty-blond hair was tousled and had grown so long it nearly reached his eyes, but cutting it wasn’t a battle she was ready to fight yet. For Levi, a haircut meant looking more like his dad than he already did, which meant he’d fight tooth and nail to avoid it.
She placed her purse onto the end table, eased to her knees beside him, and whispered, “Hey, sweetheart.”
Her mom jolted awake, simultaneously squeezing Levi closer and shifting to protect him. Only when she realized it was Natalie crouched beside them, did she let out a shaky breath and relax into the cushions. Once upon a time her hair had been a lustrous dark brown, but now it was nearly all gray. While she never went out of the house without minimal makeup and her simple bob styled just so, tonight it was frazzled. She pressed the heel of her hand against her heart. “Warn an old woman next time, would you?”
“Sorry. I was in a hurry.” Natalie picked up Levi’s hand and squeezed it, loving the warmth and comfort the simple contact provided. One touch and her heart settled. At the first hint of his little boy scent, her lungs drew their first decent breath in hours.
Careful not to jar Levi, her mom pushed upright and squinted toward the cable box perched on top of the old box television set. In neon blue, 9:08 p.m. beamed back at them. “I thought you wouldn’t be home until after close?”
“Yeah, well it turns out my new boss isn’t just hot enough to seduce half of Texas’s female population, but has a heart of gold, too.” When she’d first walked into Trevor’s office for her interview, his looks had literally knocked her for a loop, leaving her as coordinated as a drunken sailor wearing clown shoes. Thick blond hair tied back in a ponytail, sigh-worthy blue eyes, and a square jaw that made her think of Vikings—he was 100 percent, Grade-A visual goodness.
Apparently, she wasn’t the only one who thought so. Every woman who walked in the bar rubbernecked the laid-back cowboy in blatant appreciation. For that reason alone, she’d vowed never to ogle him or his jean-clad ass again, even if it meant keeping her gaze locked on his chin through all their conversations.
She smoothed Levi’s bangs off his forehead. “How long’s he been out?”
“Since Wyatt quit banging on the door about forty-five minutes ago.” Her mom frowned and double-checked to make sure Levi wasn’t feigning sleep. “He’s terrified of him, Nat. It took a full hour after Wyatt started knocking for him to believe me when I said I wouldn’t let Wyatt have him.”
And her mom wouldn’t either. Maureen Dubois might be petite and almost seventy, but she’d protect Levi with her last breath. The same way she’d tried to protect Natalie by begging her not to marry a highfalutin plastic surgeon. “You know Wyatt. He only wants what he can’t have. Sooner or later, he’s bound to get tired and find something shiny and new.”
At least that was what she hoped happened. It was a heck of a better plan than following through with her fantasies of running the bastard over with the high-priced SUV he’d bought her.
She squeezed Levi’s shoulder and kissed his cheek. “Come on, kiddo. Let’s get you in bed.”
Levi stirred, wrinkled his little nose, and rubbed the back of his hand across his eyes. God, he deserved so much more than the father who’d sired him. Hell, he’d deserved a justice system that wouldn’t turn a blind eye to an abusive man too, but in the end, Wyatt’s good-old-boy network had proven stronger leverage than human decency.
Finally waking up enough to realize his mom was home, Levi’s eyes sharpened and his whole body went tense. He lurched forward and wrapped his arms around her neck. “He tried to take me. It’s not his turn. He can’t make me go when it’s not his turn.”
“I know, baby.” Taking him with her as she stood, she hugged him close and paced toward the room he shared with her mom, smoothing her hand down his back. “He’s not going to take you yet. I promise.”
A heavy knock rapped against the door.
Natalie whipped around and froze, eyes locked on her mother.
Inside her arms, Levi’s once-languid body went rigid, and he whimpered.
She palmed the back of his head and whispered in his ear. “Shhh. Don’t say anything. He’ll go away and it’ll be okay.”
At least if they were lucky, he would. But then the one thing she’d learned in the most painful way possible the last eight years was that Wyatt didn’t let something go once he’d set his mind on it. Ever. Once the court granted her divorce decree, what he’d decided he wanted was his wife and son back—even if he hated them both.
The knocks came harder and faster, followed by Wyatt’s bellowing voice. “Open the goddamned door, Nat. I know you’re home. You really think that Lexus blends with this piece of shit neighborhood?”
She kissed Levi’s cheek and peeled one arm from around her neck. If she didn’t defuse Wyatt quick, he’d shout the whole damned complex down. “Baby, I’ve gotta deal with him, but I promise you, he’s not getting in, okay? Not so much as one step in the house. I’ll just tell him it’s not time for his visit and he’ll go away.” It wasn’t a complete lie. More like a fervent wish that had a snowball’s chance in hell of coming true, but she’d give it her best. At this point, she’d call the cops to make it happen if she had to.
Levi grappled to regain his hold, but didn’t make a noise. And how sad was that? Seven years old and already versed on how best to avoid his father’s wrath.
Crouching next to the couch, she sat Levi next to her mother. “It’s just for a minute or two, sweetheart. You’ll see.” She focused on her mother. “I’ll lock the door behind me. Take Levi to your room. No matter what, don’t open it. I’ll tell him I’m headed out and that you two are gone to a movie. If I have to, I’ll take him out for coffee until he’s mollified.”
“Call the police, Natalie. It’s safer.”
Wyatt banged on the door. “I want to see my son, Nat. Open the door. Not going to play this game all night.”
“Sorry, Wyatt!” she called out as chipper and innocent as she could. “I’m coming. Just give me a minute.” She frowned at her mom and squeezed her knee. “No police. We tried that once, remember?” All she’d got was a shrug from the police and extra lawyer bills when Wyatt accused her of breaking custody arrangements. Funny how the onus was on her to prove she’d abided by the decree instead of the other way around.
She cupped Levi’s face and smiled as big as she could manage. “Soon as this is over we’ll read a book. You wanna sleep with me tonight?”
He nodded, barely appeased by the bribe.
“Deal.” She stood, struggling to keep her smile in place while Levi and her mother hustled to their room.
She could do this. For Levi, she’d relocate the damned Sierra mountain range with her bare hands. Snatching her purse off the floor, she sucked in a bracing breath and coiled her hand around the knob. It won’t last forever. In the last nine months those words had been her mantra. The one hope that kept her sane. But tonight was here and now, and whether she liked it or not, she had an asshole to face.
* * *
As bad ideas went, snooping around Natalie’s apartment with a bully ex-husband on the loose had to be damned close to the top of the list. Outside Trevor’s driver-side window, a run-down 7-Eleven had a mini congregation of thugs huddled off to one corner. They couldn’t be more than thirteen at most and were huddled into oversized hoodies to fight off the incoming cold front.
The quiet strains of Chris Stapleton’s latest release disappeared, replaced with the automated feminine voice from the GPS. “In a quarter mile, make a right turn on Mount Auburn Avenue.”
Shaking his head, Trevor gauged the distance on the onscreen map and fought the urge to cancel the program. He rarely stooped to using the feature that had come with his newest truck, but tonight speed seemed more important than feeding his pride.
He took the turn indicated and coasted another half a block, checking out both side windows for numbers on mailboxes.
“Your destination is ahead on the right.”
As soon as the guidance trailed off and the music kicked back into play, Trevor pulled up to a smallish parking lot. The building behind it wasn’t the worst apartment complex he’d ever seen, but it wasn’t the best either. No gates or signs of security, and probably older than the ranch he’d grown up on, but the grounds were well kept and a few antiquated streetlights cast a moderate glow.
He snatched the Post-it he’d jotted Natalie’s address on and compared it to what he’d punched in on the nav.
Yep. Definitely the right place. For some reason, seeing her Lexus in the employee lot and appreciating the simple but quality clothes she’d worn for work every night, he’d expected something completely different. Then again, all he’d really had time to learn about her was that she seemed undaunted when it came to tackling new tasks and looked damned fine doing it, which made him seriously reconsider only doing cursory background checks on entry-level employees.
This whole thing between her and her ex wasn’t his business. With his past and penchant for violence, he was twenty shades of stupid for being here, but he just couldn’t shake the instincts urging him to intervene. To step in and protect her no matter what the cost.
Wyatt’s an idiot, but not enough to break down the door.
How many times had he heard his mother with that same fear in her voice? That same dread? No one had helped her, and look how that had ended up.
He swung his Silverado Dually into a wide spot at the back of the parking lot and killed the engine. Being here might be stupid, but he would not abandon Natalie the way everyone had his mom.
He’d barely put one boot on the cracked asphalt when voices sounded in the distance, one woman and one man. They weren’t exactly shouting, but it wasn’t a private affair either. More like a heated debate with the potential for a full-blown toe-to-toe.
Ahead, a sidewalk ran between two long buildings that faced each other. He followed it. Natalie’s light Texas drawl grew clearer with each step, but with the way the voices ricocheted through the tight space he couldn’t judge which apartment was hers. He’d just about neared the staircase when she and her ex came into view on the top floor standing just outside the corner unit. He ducked under the landing right beneath them.
Despite the calm delivery behind Natalie’s words, her voice shook with impatience. “He was just with you four days ago, Wyatt. The court said we switch every week. This is my week.”
“I don’t give a fuck about the courts,” Wyatt said. “He’s my boy, and I’m gonna see him when I want.”
“Well, you can’t see him now. He’s not here.”
“After nine o’clock on a school night, and he’s not here? Don’t shit me, Nat. You keep that boy so locked to his schedule, he wipes his ass by the clock.”
“Well, he’s not. Mom took him to a movie.”
Not a bad tactic, but not one that would work long-term. Not with a dick like her ex.
“Then maybe I need to file a case for sole custody seeing as how my boy’s mother doesn’t have enough common sense to have her kid home on a school night.” He scoffed. “Hell, looking at this place, I’m thinking I ought to file regardless.”
“It’s safe, and it’s clean.”
Movement sounded above Trevor, and Wyatt’s voice dropped low and menacing. “He’s in there, and I know it. Now, open the goddamned door, Natalie.”
Trevor was in motion and jogging up the stairs before his mind could reassess the action. Adrenaline surged fast and furious, but he reined it in tight. No matter how much he might want to blame his response on his past, his gut told him otherwise. That no matter how odd the idea felt inching beneath his skin, nothing else mattered except protecting Natalie and her kid. He rounded the top landing and forced his steps into an easy amble.
Nat’s eyes got bigger than a July full moon.
Wyatt, on the other hand, sneered like he’d just watched a vagrant take a shit in plain sight, and damned if that didn’t give Trevor exactly the plan he needed to knock that son of a bitch off his high horse. It may not be as satisfying as pounding the fucker into next week, but he’d be damned if he let some arrogant, polo-wearing bastard get the better of him. “Hey, darlin’,” he said to Natalie, still twenty feet away. “What’s goin’ on?”
“Um.” She glanced back and forth between him and Wyatt and wiped her palms on her thighs. “My ex stopped by for a chat.”
So far so good. Hopefully, she’d clue in to what he was up to as fast as she’d learned how to wait tables. He slid up next to her, wrapped one arm around her waist, and pulled her tight to his side.
One second.
A mere step and the touch of her body against him, and his world clicked into place. “Yeah?” he said, a little surprised at how casual his voice came out. “You sounded upset.” He kissed her temple and the scent of wildflowers surrounded him. Peaceful. Grounding him even as the fury fanned higher. He glared at Wyatt. “There a reason my woman’s upset?”
Wyatt’s gaze shot from Trevor’s possessive grip on Nat’s waist to Trevor’s face. “Your what?”
“My woman.” Fuck, but that sounded good. A little too good, actually. “Been seein’ Natalie for about a month now and don’t enjoy stopping by to make sure she got home from work all right to find her trading heated words with her ex.”
Wyatt scowled at Natalie. “You’re fucking someone else?”
She might have been stunned stupid up until that point, but the crass comment kicked that stubborn streak he’d glimpsed earlier into high gear. Mirroring Trevor’s action and wrapping her arm around his waist, she lifted her chin a fraction. “We’re divorced, Wyatt. The day the judge signed the paper was the day it stopped mattering who I see or what I do with them.”
“Not with my boy in there.”
She fisted Trevor’s shirt just above his jeans, and Trevor gave her hip a reassuring squeeze. “Trevor never stays when Levi’s here,” she said. “He only stops by to make sure I make it home. Those are the rules in the divorce decree, and I keep them.”
“Those are the rules today.” Wyatt scanned Trevor head to toe and cast an evil smile at Natalie. “We’ll see how quick you are to jump in bed with someone else when I take your boy.” He huffed and spun for the stairwell.
Muscles bunched tighter than a guy-wire in straight-line winds, Trevor fought the need to stride after the uppity jackass and throw a few threats of his own. Hell, he’d be content just to land a handful of punches. Though, God only knew what trouble that would cause Natalie after it was over.
Together, they waited, both of them eyeing Wyatt’s progress through the parking lot to his shiny black Mercedes without saying a word.
When the door slammed shut and the engine revved, Trevor spoke. “He really gonna follow through on that claim?”
Nat sighed, and her shoulders sagged. “With him, there’s no telling. He doesn’t want Levi around. Hasn’t since I got pregnant a year into our marriage, but he does want me. Or thinks he does.” Only after Wyatt sped out of the parking lot did she drop her arm from his waist and hang her head. “Levi makes good leverage.”
The loss of contact threw him for a loop, and for three or four heartbeats he grappled for what to do next. Part of him wanted to give in, chase Wyatt down, and end Natalie’s problems for good, but most of him was fixated on how to get her next to him again. Without her body next to his he felt unbalanced. Awkward, like someone had forced his feet into new boots that fit all wrong.
Behind them, a metallic clink rattled from the window.
Trevor shifted in time to see the window blinds swing. “That your apartment, or a neighbor’s?”
Nat closed her eyes and frowned. “That’s mine.” She dug in her purse and pulled out her keys, but the door swung open before she could use the lock.
An older woman about Natalie’s height and build beamed at him from the threshold. Her hair was full gray, but there was no mistaking the resemblance between her and Natalie. Clinging to the woman’s thigh and staring up at him with big eyes was the most adorable kid he’d ever seen. Sandy blond hair that was long enough it hung close to his hazel eyes. Definitely his daddy’s genes, but on him they were pure goodness.
“Natalie, are you going to invite your friend in?” Her mother stepped forward as best she could with a kid glued to her leg. “I’m Maureen Dubois, Natalie’s mom. This is her son, Levi.” She patted the boy on the back. “Say hi to the man, sweetheart.”
Levi swallowed big enough his head bobbed, but he released his hold on his grandmother, straightened, and stuck out one hand. “Hi.”
Careful not to scare the kid, Trevor stepped forward and clasped his little palm. “Hey, bud. I’m Trevor. I work with your mom.”
Levi’s eyes got big like the sum of two plus two had just clicked in his head. “You’re my mom’s boss. I know ’cause she talked about you a lot for like three days.”
“Did she?” Interesting. Especially since she seldom met his gaze when they talked. He’d assumed it was because he intimidated her somehow or she just kept things cool at work, but maybe there was another reason for the evasive technique. Definitely another puzzle he’d have to piece together. Trevor grinned at Natalie beside him and offered his hand to Maureen. “Nice to meet you, ma’am. Sorry if I woke you up. I just wanted to make sure Natalie made it home.”
“Nonsense.” She stepped back and waved him through the door, not the least bit upset to be talking to a stranger in her pink and gray pajama set. Come to think of it, the outfit looked a lot like the sets his adopted mom, Bonnie, had worn around at night, only Bonnie always favored blue. “Why don’t you come in and visit a bit?”
Well, this was awkward. Coming home with a woman was one thing. Chitchatting with a woman, her mom and kid took things to a whole different level. “I appreciate the invitation, but—”
“He might come back,” Levi blurted. “He’s already been by four times tonight, and Mom says he’s persastant.”
Natalie moved in quick and cupped her son’s shoulder. “It’s persistent, Levi. And Mr. Raines has already done more than I can thank him for.”
Reevaluating, Trevor wasn’t too sure he’d done anything but stir up trouble. Yeah, he’d stalled the dickhead for tonight, but men like Wyatt seldom gave up without some kind of grenade tossed over their shoulder. Nothing pissed a man off more than another one marking their old territory.
He nodded to Maureen. “Levi probably needs to get his sleep.”
“Oh, Levi’s got another thirty minutes at least.” Maureen grinned huge, a happily scheming momma if he’d ever seen one. “And Levi’s right. Wouldn’t hurt to have you here for a little while at least.”
Trevor coughed and rubbed his chin, too chicken to make eye contact with any of them. Staying was a bad idea on so many levels he couldn’t even count them all.
Nat smiled at him, the expression soft and mixed with gratefulness and resignation. “It’s okay, Trevor. I appreciate what you did. We’ll be okay.”
Translation: You staved things off for one night, but this won’t be the last time we deal with it.
Well, fuck that. She might have to deal with it on another night, but for this one at least, he could make sure the monkey stayed the hell off her back. He winked at Levi and planted his hands on his hips. “I reckon I can stay a little while.”