Emma

 

“And what about you?” Abbey’s eyes turned to Emma, and she made herself smile. “How did Dean get you involved in this whole mess?”

 

“I was at the school when Mia was taken. I’ve been trying to help him any way I can.” It was easier to skip over the part where he compelled her to come along with him.

 

“I know that — you told me back at the warehouse. But why are you here? What are you doing to help him?” Abbey raised her eyebrows and waited. There was a looseness to her that seemed familiar. Based on the prescriptions she’d seen in the woman’s medicine cabinet the previous day, that seemed much better than the alternative. Emma could own that part of the reason she’d turned up on Dean’s doorstep the previous night was that if she didn’t have some kind of release, she would have gone down a very unhealthy road as the stress and fear of the day caught up with her system. Sex with a man she barely knew had been the least bad of some very bad options. She was glad Abbey was choosing a healthier way to manage this experience.

 

That said, her question was awkward as hell. Dean had explained Abbey as Mia’s aunt, but in every way that mattered, she was clearly a mother to the child. Hell, Emma hadn’t even known that Mia wasn’t Abbey’s daughter until Dean explained it. She wasn’t sure how to say that she found the man incredibly intriguing and that she wasn’t ready to back away. That she wanted to know that Mia was safe, and it wasn’t just about feeling like she had a responsibility as a teacher. That she was invested now, in a way she wouldn’t have been otherwise.

 

“I can’t give up now,” she finally said. She didn’t know what else to say.

 

Abbey nodded as if the words said more than she’d expected or more than Emma had noticed. “My sister was a good girl who got involved with a bad boy,” she said, shooting a glance over at Dean. Dean didn’t rise to the bait, and Emma hardly had enough evidence to contradict her. “She died in a car accident that no one thinks was an accident except for the police. And now, someone comes for me, for Mia? It’s too much of a coincidence.”

 

“What do you mean, about the car accident?”

 

Dean stood up too fast. The chair rocked on its legs just a bit. “I can’t do this again, Abbey. I’ll be back in fifteen minutes. Be done with the story.” He stalked out of the apartment, his face stony and cold in a way Emma had never seen before. She glanced back at Abbey who was watching him go, a similar coldness in his eyes.

 

“Am I missing something important here?” Emma asked.

 

Abbey shrugged. “Probably, but it’s about time he faced it,” she said. “Sam didn’t die randomly. I don’t know why he won’t face it. She’d just gotten a new job, was ready to help him get his life straightened out, and had a beautiful new baby to take care of. And then something went wrong. She got scared. She wouldn’t tell me what was going on. She told Dean to leave the club and to take her and the baby out of the state. He wouldn’t. And then she was dead. I came up here to take care of the baby while Dean got straight, but he never got straight. He never got out of the life. I don’t think he ever will. Even though it killed the woman he loved, he won’t get off that fucking bike.”

 

Emma’s stomach was a tight knot as she stared at the other woman. What was all of this about? She forced herself to sidestep the comments about Dean and listen to what Abbey had said about Sam. “What do you mean, that something went wrong? At her new job?”

 

“Yeah. She was like a girl in the first act of an action flick, you know? She was sure someone was coming for her. She wore big sunglasses out in public and was convinced everyone was talking about her. Complete ridiculousness. Until it wasn’t.”

 

“But you said — Dean said she died in a car accident.”

 

“Yeah. She stepped out of the apartment to go get a gallon of milk, and a driver hopped the curve, drove straight into her. The paramedics said she was dead before they even got there.” Abbey shook her head. “If she had taken the baby, they both would be dead. And maybe Dean would have lost enough to listen to someone or something other than his dick.”

 

There wasn’t anything to say to that, and after a moment, Emma decided not to try. She just sat quietly, her hands in her lap, waiting for Dean to get back.