He squeezed her hand. “Promise me you’ll be careful.”
“Always.”
The only way she knew she and Eliza would be safe was to fight Kyle for her daughter’s security and well-being and for the peaceful, happy life she wanted with Chase.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Eliza in his arms, Remmy by his side, Chase walked out onto the porch and closed the door behind him just as Shelby pulled into the driveway. He helped Eliza down the stairs and released her on the path so she could run to her mom.
Shelby climbed out of her SUV, her wavy hair softly blowing in the breeze, a bright smile on her face for Eliza. She put one hand on Eliza’s back and pressed her close to her legs as Eliza wrapped her arms around Shelby’s thighs. “Hey, baby. How was your day with Dad?”
Chase had kept Eliza with him for the past week.
Abby had called three times to let them know she’d seen Kyle either lurking at the park or parked on her street, watching the house.
They’d had good reason to keep Eliza home.
“I pet horse. Pop-pop made cookies.”
“Sounds like you had a good day.”
He and Shelby had one yesterday when they went to court with their attorney and the judge denied Kyle visitation with Eliza. The judge didn’t even give Kyle any chance to argue his side of the case and Kyle stormed out of the courtroom. In Wyoming, rapists forfeited their parental rights if a child was conceived during therape, so the judge simply said he had no rights to his grandchild either and denied his request.
The whole thing had been an act of futility for Kyle, and he had to know it.
Eliza walked back toward Chase with Shelby, but then ran after Remmy to play tug-of-war with Remmy’s favorite rope.
Shelby stopped in front of Chase, studying him. “You don’t look happy.”
“I’m fine. Just worried.” He pulled her into a deep kiss to say hello and show her he was happy to see her.
She brushed her fingers along his jaw. “That’s more like it.” Her head tilted, and her lips dipped into a frown. “Kyle?” She read him so well. “He didn’t get what he wants. God knows what he plans to do next.”
Chase knew all too well what evil could do. He’d been to war. He’d seen what people would do for a cause and something they believed in.
Kyle didn’t want a family.
He wanted to possess those he thought belonged to him, the ones he “loved.”
Chase knew it was a twisted kind of love. That only made Kyle all the more dangerous. And dedicated to getting what he wanted.
Chase pulled Shelby close. “If he comes for her, we’re ready.”
He’d installed the top-of-the-line security system Drake overnighted him. He also put a tracker on his and Shelby’s phones. And because he’d learned a good dose of paranoia and gut instinct saved his ass on more than one occasion, with Shelby’s permission he had Shelby wear a digital watch with a tracker in it, and Eliza wore a silver bracelet with a charm that was actually a tracker, too.
It kind of gave Chase the creeps to put tracking devices on his two girls, but he’d been left with no choice. If something happened to either one of them . . . he couldn’t go there or he’d drive himself crazy. Well, crazier.
The last few days had been hell on his anxiety and paranoia, but he’d talked it all through with Dr. Porter, who advised him not to get caught up in the what-ifs and focus on being in the moment.
He reminded himself a hundred times a day that Eliza and Shelby were safe. They were with him. He wouldn’t let anything happen to them.
Still, it weighed on his mind and heart.
He thought coming back meant they’d only have to deal with his issues. He’d have to work on being better for them.
He never expected there to be another threat to their happiness and future.
He hated it.