Madison was riding in the passenger seat of a black SUV. She held a hot coffee in her trembling hands and gazed out the window at the streets she once walked every day.
She was safe. For the first time in months, she felt safe.
“Drink,” said the man beside her in a calm voice.
She obeyed.
He watched her with careful, protective attention.
“Does anything hurt?” she asked, looking at her belly.
—No… I’m just overwhelmed.
—You did the right thing.
—It doesn’t feel that way.
—You left a man who was hurting you. You and your son.
Madison looked down.
“I don’t want any trouble. I just needed to disappear.”
He exhaled with a touch of irony.
“Then you went to the wrong person.”
He wasn’t just an influential man. He had connections, resources, power. And he had decided to protect her.
—Come —he said gently—. Here you can rest.
“Why are you helping me?” she asked.
He offered her his hand.
“Because someone should have done it a long time ago.
Because you deserve better.
And because what’s coming… is just beginning.”