CHAPTER 1

Tilly

May 2005

Humming along to the radio as I dished up the simple dinner of spaghetti bolognese for me and the girls, I put the plates on the table.

“Girls,” I called out towards the lounge. Two identical dark heads turned my way, their attention drawn away from whatever they’d been watching on the telly.

“Supper’s ready.”

“Yes!” Jeanie called out. “I’m starving.”

I laughed at her exuberant shout; the girl was always starving. But then again, she never stopped moving, so it was no surprise.

The two of them pushed and shoved their way to the table, laughing and chatting. Watching them messing around, I smiled. I was always a little in awe that I’d made these near-perfect creatures. We were close, the three of us, more so than most. They’d always understood more than I’d given them credit for. Ally had been old enough to understand that her dad was not a good man, and Jeanie followed her sister’s lead in most things. The girls were not just sisters; they were best friends. I’d never had the jealousy and petty fighting issue that so many of their school friends’ mothers moaned about. I considered myself blessed.

Once we were settled at the table, I asked, “Where would you girls like to go during the summer holidays this year?”

The girls shared a look before replying, “We don’t mind, Mum. Anywhere you want to go is fine with us.”

“Girls.” I waited for them to look at me. Taking their hands, “Listen, I know we’ve struggled a bit for money and not been able to go on holiday like your friends. But this year we can. Think about it, and we can discuss it on the weekend, or we can go into town and speak to a travel agent.”

“Really?” Ally asked, a wide smile on her face.

“Really,” I grinned, flicking her nose and making her laugh.

We spent the rest of supper throwing out holiday suggestions.

Some of them were downright ridiculous. If I’d known that in just a few short hours our lives, as we knew them, would be upended, I’d have packed us up and taken us away for the night—anything to save my baby girl the pain she endured for me.

I’d just finished up packing away our supper dishes when there was a pounding on the door.

Frowning, I wondered who on earth it could be. I didn’t know anybody who would knock like that.

Wiping my hands on a dish towel, I walked towards the front door just as it swung open.

Staring at the man framed in the doorway in both disbelief and horror, I saw he was holding up my spare key that we kept hidden in a frog at the base of the stairs.

“Some things never change, do they, wife?” he taunted, stalking towards me.

From the corner of my eye, I caught sight of Ally and Jeanie coming out of their rooms. Frantically, I waved them back with one arm.

“You’re meant to be dead,” I whispered.

“Surprise,” he taunted me. “I’m not.”

Slamming his hand to my chest, he shoved me up against the wall. The breath left my body, and I gasped as I tried to inhale another.

Wrapping his hand around my throat, he squeezed tightly, demanding, “Where is she?”

Holding onto his wrist, I tried to pull it away from my throat.

“Who?” I wheezed.

“My whore, the one who gave me a son. Where is she?”

“I don’t know,” I ground out hoarsely because I don’t have a clue. Maya had disappeared after the meeting where she’d found out she wasn’t married to Troy like she thought.

“I don’t believe you,” Troy screamed at me, spit flying everywhere. I’m trying my best to breathe but he’s cutting off my air. Then all I felt was an explosion of pain as he hits me square in the face. Hearing my nose crack, it took everything in me to hold back the nausea.

Finally, he lets go of my throat only to fling me across the room. As I skidded across the floor towards the front door, I wondered if I could make it to a neighbour, but I know that I can’t leave my girls alone with him. I can hear them screaming and sobbing my name.

Blearily, I watched as Troy stalked towards me. Scrambling back, I tried to get up, but I knew I wasn’t going to make it in time as his foot came towards me, and he kicked me in the ribs hard enough that I lifted off the floor. Curling my hands around my head to protect myself as much as possible, I waited for the next boot—it’s his signature move. Always the same. Punch to the face and then kicks to the ribs and abdomen. I don’t know how long it goes on for, but the next thing I know, he’s gone, and I open my eyes to see Ally clinging to Troy’s back as she hits him with her fists, screaming at him, “Leave my mum alone!”

My heart stops as he takes her and flings her over his shoulder to the floor, where she lands with a thud, her head bouncing off the floor with the force. I start to crawl towards Ally but know I’m not going to make it in time as he rears back and punches her once in the ribs and then in the face.

Then my Jeanie, my baby, shouts at him, holding up my mobile phone, “I’ve called the police! They’re on their way!”

Troy snarls at her as she backs away before he looks back at me. “Useless, the lot of you. Fucking females are no use to me. I’ll be back, and you better tell me where she’s taken my son. I want him back.”

He stomps out of the house, swearing and cursing, slamming the door behind him, leaving us a broken and bloody mess on the floor.

Picking myself up off the floor, I stumble towards Ally, hauling her up against me so I can check her over. She’s sobbing, hurt, but conscious. Pressing kisses to her head, I keep whispering, “I’m so sorry, baby, so sorry.”

I wrap my arm around a shaking Jeanie as she falls to the floor on her knees next to us.

“You did good, baby,” I tell her.

“I didn’t call the police,” she whispers. “I should have, but I didn’t. I don’t know why.”

“It’s okay, baby.” Kissing her temple, I hug her tight. “I need you to listen, okay? We need to get out of here. Go pack us each a backpack with a change of clothes and our toothbrushes. I’m going to take Ally to the hospital, and then I need to see if I can find the lady that your dad was looking for.”

Jeanie’s eyes grew wide, “Are you going to tell him where she is?”

Shaking my head, “No, baby, we’re going to warn her. Now go.”

Looking down into Ally’s pain-filled blue eyes, my heart cracks wide open. I never wanted my girls to ever feel this type of pain, “I’m sorry, baby,” I whisper again.

“It’s not your fault, Mum. It’s his,” she replied, and right then I knew I’d lost my carefree little girl. Tonight had taken away that innocence, and if I had the strength, I’d have killed Troy where he stood. He took my baby’s right to be happy and carefree away.

Jeanie came back with our bags and my purse. Painfully standing up, I helped Ally up off the floor. Switching all the lights off, I get us in the car and drive to the hospital.

As soon as they saw the state of us, we were seen quickly. I knew the police had been called, and I had to get us out of here before they took up too much of my escape time. Troy would know I’d bring Ally to the hospital, and I wouldn’t put it past him to try and take us when we left. From previous visits, I knew there was a staircase leading to the medical building next door, and we’d be able to get a taxi there. We made it, and I didn’t see Troy lurking around anywhere, but I still made sure that the girls kept their heads down.

“Where’s my phone, Jeanie?” I asked quietly. She slips her hand into a backpack and pulls it out. Finding the number I needed, I called the NCO officer that had handled our case. It took some talking and explaining, and only when I sent her a picture of my and Ally’s faces did she relent and say she’d send me the address.

By the time we got to the train station, she’d sent it. Knowing my phone could be traced, I memorised the address and dumped the phone. I bought us train tickets to London, then in London, I paid cash for bus tickets on a national line to the nearest town that Maya lived in, and finally from the bus station, we took a taxi to the address I’d been given. Both the girls and I were exhausted, and I was getting tired of the looks we’d been getting from the nosy parkers while we’d travelled.

When we finally made it to the flat where Maya was supposed to be, I could have cried when I found she’d moved, and nobody seemed to know where to.

Finally, someone took pity on us and said if we’d just wait a minute, they’d see if they could find someone to help. The next thing I knew, we were surrounded by a bunch of bikers. I have to say that they were an intimidating bunch. Pulling my girls closer, I anchored them under my arms.

“Why do you want to know where Maya is?” one of them demanded. Going by the name on the front of the leather vest thing he was wearing, I assumed his name was Reaper.

Exhausted from everything, I wearily explained why I needed to speak to her, assuring them that we would be on our way once I’d done so.

My sincerity must have come through because the next thing I knew, we were in a big black four-by-four, taken back to the town we’d just come from and deposited in the office of a grumpy but gorgeous man.

It had taken a while for Maya and her new husband to reach us, and then, when an obviously pregnant Maya had passed out and her husband had gone all growly on me and shown her so much care, I have to say I was a little envious of her.

I was fully prepared to leave once I’d warned her, but it seemed that she had a bigger heart than expected because she insisted we stay, and the others had backed her up.

It had been the tiredness in Ally’s voice and the kindness that Adam had shown her that had tipped us staying in their favour. All I could hope was that I wasn’t making a mistake in trusting them.

I’m not sure what it said about me that I’d so readily agreed to us moving to a complete stranger’s place, but the anxiety that had been twirling in my gut ever since Troy had barged his way into our house had eased as soon as Adam’s calm gaze had lit on me.

After years of depending on myself when it came to our lives, it wasn’t easy to give up control to someone else.

It was the first time in a long time that I didn’t feel alone.