Love Survives (Love's Suicide #2)(68)
She began crying even harder than before. “Yes.”
“Then he’s going to be more pissed.” I peered down at my daughter, noticing she was paying close attention to my actions. “Tell Mama that she needs to listen to me.”
“Yisten, Mama.”
Kat couldn’t argue. She knew I wasn’t giving her another choice. We were leaving, and they weren’t coming back until he was out of the picture.
Chapter 33
The whole time she was packing bags I kept watching out the window, making sure Bobby hadn’t gotten a chance to call one of his friends to come intervene. It wouldn’t have mattered. They wouldn’t get past me, nor would they be able to talk Kat out of this decision. She was running on autopilot, because like it or not, she knew this was the end result. No man should ever lay a hand on a woman. Even if her mind wasn’t made up, she knew I’d never let her live under such conditions. Before I’d been content to accept that she was married and committed to another man. It was difficult, but I had values. Now things had changed. No longer did I care about that legal binding document. He lost that privilege the moment he put his hands on her. There was going to be no forgiveness, or take backs.
After helping her switch over the car seat, and tossing their bags in the back, we were off to find them a safe place to sleep for the night. I had duty in the morning, so it was important to be close to base, since I didn’t plan on leaving them alone for the rest of the night.
Kat was pretty quiet in the truck, and I didn’t want to overstep anymore than I already had. She obviously needed time to let it all sink in. I had to consider that she’d spent the past two years with this guy. She had feelings for him. They’d shared a bed together.
As much as the thought made me cringe, it was reality. I hadn’t been a saint myself. She did what she thought was right at the time. I could have let it eat me up inside or accept that it was in the past. After everything I’d been through, all I wanted was to be a part of my girl’s lives.
The closest hotel to the base was one of the big chain names. Kat seemed shocked that I was taking her to such a nice hotel. I needed them to be comfortable. There was no telling how long she’d have to stay there. The cost wasn’t even as bad as I expected since I got a military discount.
Once inside of the room, I watched her looking around outside. We turned on cartoons for little B. “Is this your favorite, baby?”
“I yike bunny.” She pointed to the screen as a man in a rabbit costume hopped around. I rolled me eyes but acted just as excited when I turned to face her.
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Kat. She was a nervous wreck. When she went into the bathroom I worried that she was getting sick.
“Brooks, can you come in here for a minute?”
I rushed in the bathroom, worried she felt dizzy or something worse.
I found her holding the back of her head. “What’s wrong?”
“Look at my head and tell me how bad it is.”
I looked down and moved her fingers to the side to get a better idea of the extent of the injury. Anger filled me when I imagined it all playing out. “Did he do this to you?”
She looked at me in the mirror reflection with tear-filled eyes. “Yes.”
I wet a rag and started cleaning the area to get a better idea of how deep the gash was. “You’re going to need at least one stitch. I can run on base and get a kit if you’d rather me do it here.”
She turned around to face me, and right away I could tell she was embarrassed. “I’m so sorry I got you into this.”
I winced and shook my head. “Just stop with the apologies. We’ve both got shit that we wish we could take back. I don’t care what you’ve done. All I care about is giving our daughter a good life. Whether we’re together or not, we’re still a team. We’re always going to be a team, from now on. Do you understand?”
She twisted to lean her weight on the vanity. “I hear you loud and clear.”
“Good. I’m going to run over to the base. I’ll be back in a half hour to get that head of yours cleaned up. Do you need me to pick up anything? How about milk for B? Will she need anything special?”
B was still sitting perfectly on the bed, completely absorbed in the children’s program. “Hey, sweetie. Do you want something to eat? Are you hungry?”
“Can you find her a can of fruit or something like that at your commissary?”
He smiled. “Does she like bananas and apples? We’ve got plenty of them.”
“Yeah. She loves them.”
“I’ll get some milk and fruit and bring it back with me. Sit tight. I’ll be back soon.”
I was only in a hurry because I wanted to get back to them. Leaving them alone was never the plan. They were my responsibility now whether the law stated it or not.
Kat caught me before I could leave. “Brooks, wait!”
“Thanks for this.” I wish she knew that she didn’t need to thank me. This was my purpose in life. Taking care of her was one thing I knew how to do right.
“I’ll be back. Take a nice bath and get that wound cleaned. I don’t want any bacteria in it when I stitch it up.”
When the elevator doors closed I saw her watching me. As soon as I got outside I lost it. I beat my hand on my steering wheel while driving the short distance to base. I wanted to kill him for hurting her. Seeing her wound, the blood, and the way she cringed when I touched it, only gave me more reason to seek him out and get retribution. He was the enemy now, and I’d been trained to take care of that type of person.