The Wrong Wife by Maya Alden

Chapter 27

Esme

Iheld Nancy's hand as she told me what she'd gone through. The right side of her face was swollen. Her left hand was in a sling. There was a massive bruise around her left eye. Her boyfriend had beaten her mercilessly. A nurse at the Good Samaritan Emergency Room led her to us. This wasn't the first time her boyfriend used her as a punching bag.

"Will he be able to find me here?" she was frightened, and I didn't blame her.

"No." The location of Safe Harbor was known to a select few in law enforcement and first responders. Most women's shelters had to hide in plain sight, and we always instructed the women never to let anyone know where they were. Sometimes people slipped, and we'd have an incident with a husband or boyfriend trying to break in. The security wasn't perfect—but it did hold up most of the time.

"What am I going to do? I'm pregnant. How am I going to care for myself and this baby?" Nancy was crying, and my heart went out to her. No matter how many women I met with similar stories, I felt their pain, which broke me. But I couldn’t afford to crumble and fall, I had to hold myself up so I could do the same for them.

"We're going to take care of you, Nancy. I promise. You'll be safe here, and I’ll help you find a place to live and a job to pay the bills. For now, I want you to heal and get strong. How far along are you?"

"Five months." She protectively ran a hand over her belly. "He wanted to have sex, but I wasn’t feeling well. So, I said no, not tonight. He got angry—kicked me in the stomach. The doctors told me the baby was fine. But if he finds me again…."

"That isn't going to happen," I told her firmly. "I won't let it happen." I was making promises I knew I might be unable to keep, but I'd die trying.

"Thank you, Esme."

I took her to the room she'd share with two other women. Safe Harbor was an old warehouse that had been converted into a group home. It had six floors; the bottom two were shared spaces, while the top floors housed women. At any given time, we'd have thirty women in the shelter. But we turned away several others due to a lack of space.

When I get the money Declan offered at the end of the marriage contract period, I could buy the building next door and expand the premises of Safe Harbor.

I came to my office on the first floor and looked at my watch. It was already past seven in the evening. The day had flown by. And there was still so much to do. When Declan wasn't home, I sometimes stayed at work until past midnight; but tonight, he was home, and after what happened last night, I couldn't wait to see him again, to hold him again. And he'd made dinner reservations for eight.

I was packing up when Maria knocked on my open door.

"Hey." I lit up seeing her.

"How's it going?" She gave me a hug. "Going home?"

"Yes," I smiled shyly. "Declan is taking me to dinner at the Girl & The Goat. He said they have a nice wine list."

"He's picking you up?"

"No. I told him I'd meet him there. I thought I'd walk. It isn't too far."

Maria nodded. "I hear there's a gala this Saturday."

I felt weak at the thought. Declan had texted me to keep Saturday evening free, that he couldn't say no to Forest, the judge who married us, and that he wanted me with him. I was excited to go but afraid I had nothing appropriate to wear, and I wanted to look nice for him. I didn't want to embarrass him. I also wanted to look sexy enough to seduce him instead of vice versa. My bank account couldn't handle the kind of dresses that Viv wore. The Marchesa dress that I'd worn to dinner with Senator Rivers had cost eight thousand dollars. I had looked it up.

"I know. Maria, I need help."

"Of course."

"I have nothing to wear and don't know where to start. I also don't have a ton of money. I don't know what to do."

Maria scoffed. "You're married to Declan Knight; you have all the money in the world. He’s given you credit cards, hasn’t he?"

He had and I’d left them in my dresser at home.

"I couldn't do that," I protested. "Maybe I can do Rent the Runway or something. Then I can get one of those designer outfits."

"Instead of borrowing something from an online store, why don't you come by tomorrow after work? We'll make a Friday night out of it. And you can find something in my closet."

I looked at her, horrified. Maria was a tall, slender woman. "Nothing of yours will fit me."

"Wanna bet? And we are the same shoe size. And, you knowI have more bags than I know what to do with. You can get dressed at my place on Saturday. I have someone coming over to do hair and makeup—so we'll play dress up." She winked at me.

I felt relief. The last time, I'd been entirely out of my depth—this time, I’d do better and be better for Declan.

"That would be wonderful, Maria."

"Excellent." She kissed me on the cheek. "Come by any time after six tomorrow."

Maria lived in Silver Lake in a townhouse. She loved the area with its cozy boutiques and wine bars. I could maybe live in that area after the year with Declan was up. I could afford it better than downtown, and I'd be able to walk everywhere as I could now.

I was the last to leave the offices, so I turned off all the lights and locked up.

"Going home late again, Miss Esme?" Jim, a retired patrolman from LAPD who worked for us as a security guard, told me.

"You know how it is, Jim. How are the grandkids?"

"Real good. And my daughter says thank you for the books you sent for them. They love Captain Underpants."

Jim's daughter lived in Denver with her husband and six-year-old twins. I'd met them a month ago and fallen in love with her gorgeous boys.

"I'll send some more books," I promised. I usually bought books whenever my budget allowed for Safe Harbor's library. It was good for the children to have books in the playroom—and since I always loved to read and found it healing, I hoped it helped the children as well.

I had walked several blocks when someone cried out, "Bitch."

This was, after all, Skid Row; someone was always yelling something. I hurried my steps instinctively, my hand going inside my bag to find my pepper spray. Downtown LA was safe—and I'd never needed to use the spray before, but I liked having it with me as a security blanket, just in case.

I heard footsteps behind me, but a hand grabbed my arm before I could turn. "Bitch, where's my Nancy?"

I tried to pull away, but the man was strong. He was nearly six foot tall and built like a linebacker. Nancy was about my height and thirty pounds lighter than me.

"Who are you?" I demanded, anger surging through me even though I knew. This huge man was pummeling his girlfriend who was half his size. What chance did she have?

"I’m Billy. Nancy’s is my girl. They told me at the ER that you took her. Where is she." He shook me, and I could smell the alcohol on his breath. From my experience, big men who were drunk were not capable of dialog and listening.

He was following me…did he see me come out of the building? Would he be able to backtrack to Safe Harbor?

I held onto the pepper spray.

"Where is my wife and baby?" He brought his face close to me, his eyes bloodshot. I should've been afraid, but I wasn’t anger was taking me over, thinking about Nancy at the mercy of this large man.

My self-defense classes kicked in. I stomped on his sneakered foot as hard as I could. It didn't bother him at all. He slapped me hard, and I felt my vision fray.

My hand pulled out the pepper spray. I closed my eyes and sprayed him. As I did, I screamed. "Help."

He didn't loosen his grip as he cried in agony. Tears started to flow down my eyes as well because pepper spray didn't just hurt the assailant but also the victim as it got in the air and splattered. Sure, the spray would debilitate him, but it also slowed me down.

I lifted my knee and rammed into his groin as hard as I could. And at the same time, he slammed his forehead into my nose. I heard something crunch painfully in my face. We both went down. I scrambled up before he did. I was going to run, but an arm came around me before I could.

"Mrs. Knight, are you okay?" I turned to see a man in a suit. A man as big as Billy.

Another man in a suit had turned Billy onto his stomach on the asphalt, his knee digging into his back. He put handcuffs on Billy.

This wasn't LAPD. This was…Declan.

"We're so sorry. We just realized you had left. We're usually always behind you."

I wanted to ask many questions, but I could taste blood. My nose was broken, for sure. My vision swayed, and then everything went black.