48. Alyssa

It was a mess, but I took over and went into autopilot. As soon as we got home and the baby had settled down some, I made the nanny call Kevin and tell him everything. Not just about tonight but all of it. Then he and Garrett talked for a while while I tried to figure out what to do with the kid.

There was no crib for him, so we had to put all the pillows in the house around him to keep him safe in bed. The nanny was shaking in fear; she kept saying she was going to lose her job and get deported in between beating herself up for not being able to protect her charge.

I tried calming her down now that the kid had fallen asleep, but it wasn't easy. She had a lot of guilt as she told me of the things that had been going on in that house, things she'd been too afraid to mention to anyone because of Natalie's threats.

We both looked down at the baby, who was still sniffling in his sleep, and I felt that rage rise up in me again. He had a nasty scratch on his cheek, and each time I saw it, I wanted to go back and beat the shit out of that twit.

I made a hot toddy for the nanny and got her settled in the room with the baby because I was terrified that he'd fall off the bed, even with the mountain of pillows. I just can't get the images of her hitting the baby out of my head. It's gonna take a while I guess.

I stopped at the door to the study and listened in on Garrett's call. From his end, I got the feeling that he was sending his plane to bring the other man back. I'm not sure what they were planning to do, but I knew it wouldn't be enough.

I was tempted to go back to the house and tear her to pieces. I was so caught up in my anger that I didn't hear him end the call and walk out of the room. I looked up, and he was there. "Come ‘ere."

He pulled me into his arms and held me tight against his chest. "Let it out." How did he know I needed to cry? I never cry; I don't even cry for myself. I hit him instead and kept hitting him while crying my heart out.

It's so silly after Helen's hate to be this moved by what I just saw, but it somehow brought back all those horrible memories. My biggest fear, though, and the thing that keeps tugging at my heart, is the thought of what would have happened to the little guy if I hadn't been watching her? I don't mean just tonight, but always.

What kind of life would he have had with a mother like that? How many innocents are being traumatized right this minute? "What're you guys planning to do with her?"

"Kevin's on his way back, then we'll talk. He's sent someone to the house in the meantime since we don't think she should be alone right now."

I glared up at him, and he had the nerve to peck my lips with his. "Don't look at me like that. No one knows what kind of mental state she's in right now and what she might do."

"You care about what happens to her after what she did?"

"No, but we have no legal authority over little Andrew. If she does something or calls the cops, he'd be in the middle of it. They can take him and place him in the system, or who knows what? And there isn't a thing we can do about it."

He sounded so calm, so detached until I looked into his eyes. That's when I realized he was keeping it together for my sake. "They'd have to get through me to get to him. What's her husband saying?"

"He's a mess. Neither of us expected anything like this."

"You're gonna wanna stop talking like you know her so well."

"Come again!"

"You heard me. Stop talking about that bitch like she's your long-lost best friend."

"I don't get it, but it's okay." I don't get it either, but when have I ever claimed to be rational? "As I was saying, once Kevin got over his disbelief, he got pissed. Apparently, he noticed a shift in her behavior around the time we got married. Before that, he knew she was a bit volatile, but he never expected her to go after his son. This is a fucking mess."

"You still haven't told me what he plans to do. Is he going to rug sweep? Because I'm not good with that."

"No, I don't think so. He's leaning more towards getting her some help, but we both agree that she shouldn't be around the baby for a while."

"So, no consequences, she's not going to face charges for what she did, it's all about getting her some help."

"Alyssa, that's not how the system works. I can tell you right now her father will not allow her to even step foot in a police station, much less a courtroom."

I was getting more and more pissed with each word he said. I knew there was some truth to it, but that didn't make it any easier to hear. "So, what, she just gets away with it?"

"No!" That's all he said, and now I couldn't read his expression because he'd buried my face in his chest and held it there with his hand.

"Let's get you to bed; you've had enough for the night." I wanted to argue but knew that there was no point, so I let him lead me to our bedroom. He helped me out of my clothes that I didn't even realize I was still wearing, including the killer heals, then pulled his tee shirt over my head.

"Let me see!" He lifted my hands and kissed my knuckles. "You fight like a man."

"Huh?"

"When you were hitting her, you squared up like a boxer. It's probably very inappropriate, but I'm proud of you."

"Why? Because I beat your ex's ass?"

"No, because you protected the kid. Now get into bed, I have some things to take care of. I'll join you later." He tucked me in and left me alone with my thoughts. I was a little bit worried about what they were planning on doing with her.

I know these wealthy types like to hide up shit, and from what little he'd said, I get the idea that her Dad, at least, would try to protect her, but there's no way I'll be satisfied with that. My phone dinged, cutting off my line of thought, and I got up to answer it.

It was Jacks, which was perfect because I needed to vent. ‘How's the baby?'

‘He's okay, he fell asleep. Where are you?'

‘Outside, sorry I didn't get there in time. I followed her to your in-laws and back, but I stopped along the way to get dinner; I didn't think anything was going to happen. I'm sorry.'

‘No, you're fine. But I'm not! I want to hurt her so bad right now.'

‘You want me to do it?'

‘I do, but that won't help me. Garrett's taking care of it anyway.'

I was about to start biting my nails, something I hadn't done since I was about twelve. ‘I don't think I hit her enough.'

‘Lol! I told you I can go take care of her.'

‘No, I want to make her suffer myself.'

‘Well, I'm out here; just let me know.'

See, that's what I want to hear in a situation like this. Not how the monster is going to be protected by others. I know what Garrett was hinting at and can very well read between the lines. But I'm not about to let her get away with this.

GARRETT

This shit does not even feel real. I was with this woman for a very long time and never saw this coming. I guess I was a bit na?ve to think that her mean-girl attitude didn't stretch this far, but it's the truth. I knew she was awful sometimes, especially when dealing with other women, but those were adults.

Now I feel bad that I didn't see it because I should've. There was never any danger of me having kids with her, but still, the thought of what if has been riding me since leaving that house. This is one of those rare situations where I don't know what the hell I'm supposed to feel because right now, I can't see past the anger.

I know what Alyssa wants to hear, but I'm not about to lie to her. The truth is, some people use their money to cover up much darker shit, and some people still retain their humanity even while becoming uber-rich.

One of the reasons I knew I would never marry Natalie was her family's stance when it came to that. They seemed to think that their wealth made them above the law, which is weird because my family has always been wealthier, and both Mom and Dad always drilled it into us that they would be the first to turn us in if we crossed the line.

A speeding ticket, sure, Dad would take care of it. But if we hit someone with our car or caused any kind of harm to someone, we'd have to face the consequences. That was something that I found very unattractive in Natalie and her family, and one of the reasons I was glad to be done with the relationship.

As I got older, I realized that our values were vastly different. Now as I booted up Alyssa's tablet and found the folder where she was keeping the shit she'd recorded from Natalie's home over the past few weeks, I wondered how the fuck I never saw this side of her or never realized that she had this in her.

I needed to wait for Kevin to see what he wanted to do before doing anything else. I owed him at least that and from what he'd said so far, he had no plans to protect Natalie in this. He's mad as hell and worried about his son, which is the right reaction. If he'd reacted in any other way, I'd have taken matters into my own hands.

I watched the footage, and it was like watching a life unravel. Most of her rants were about Alyssa and her hate for her. That didn't interest me in the least; it's what she did when she got mad, the way she'd go after the nanny and the kid who was hard to watch.

Even after what happened tonight, I didn't realize it was this bad. "She's fucking deranged." Yeah, there's no way I'm going to let anyone hush this up. In one of her episodes, she shook the baby so hard and almost got up to go to the room he was in now to make sure he was okay.

That looked like the shit abusers do that lead to shaken child syndrome. I felt so bad for the little guy, fuck, he's just a baby. I wasn't even seeing Natalie, the person I knew; she'd become little more than any other common criminal in my eyes, and the longer I sat there, the more I hoped Kevin would do the right thing because if I stepped in, it would be much worse for her.

I shut down the iPad after taking a look at the live feed and took a deep breath. She hadn't called her Dad, which I find weird. Usually, she'd have been on the phone with him by now, so this means she knows what she's doing.

Some part of her, even though she was still walking around her house, breaking shit while guzzling whiskey straight from the bottle, knew what she had done and that it was so fucked up ever her father would be against her. That makes it even worse, somehow.

It shouldn't be too long before Kevin gets here, but it won't be soon enough. I don't know much about him, other than what I've seen the times we met over the years. He's always been very personable and kinda straight-laced. But I know for a fact that he's no match for Natalie's family.

I know once news of this starts getting around, they'll close ranks to protect her. But all that's going to do is leave her free to harm little Andrew again. So, I have a choice. Either I take the kid out of there, or I get rid of Natalie. Because I know for a fact that my wife is not gonna let this go, and she shouldn't.

I was so proud of her tonight and the way she handled things at the dinner party. I knew she was all about putting Natalie in her place and showing the guests who were there that she was none of the things Natalie had painted her as.

She'd done that and more. I'd fielded compliments throughout the night from everyone there who seemed to think I had traded up. Everyone was singing her praises, and Mom and Dad were obviously smitten. She'd won them over by being herself; she didn't have to pretend anything.

I was riding that high even when we were in the back of the car, and I had to take a last-minute call. I had no idea what was going on from one moment to the next. One second, she was smiling and snickering at something on her phone, and the next, we were pulling into Natalie's driveway.

I still didn't realize what was happening because I was ending my call when she jumped out of the car and ran to the door. I only snapped out of it when she started hitting Natalie, and even then, I thought it was over something Natalie had said to or about her. I never in a million years would've expected anything like this.

I guess I should have after the slap situation, but this was bad. She's fucking deranged. My phone rang, and I looked at the readout. Why the hell is Marcus calling me? We'd already taken care of the situation back home with the men Jackie and the others had beaten up the night they went after Mitzie. Maybe he has some information about that.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Where is she?"

"What? Where is who?" Fuck me!

"Don't play games with me. Where is she?"

"How did you know?"

"I smelled her in that fucking room."

"Okay, calm down. I was watching over her for you. She wasn't ready…."

"Where is she?" I could hear traffic in the background as if he was driving.

"Where are you?"

"Right outside your fucking house, and I see her."

"Marcus!"

"Later. I'll deal with you after I deal with her." He hung up the phone, and I ran for the door. The door to Jack's car was open, and she was gone. I looked around and saw nothing. Fuck, can this night get any worse?