Of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (14 page)

She gasped and crouched into the corner. The sound brought his head around. He spotted her.

He stomped toward her, his heavy boots eating up the floor. Dahlia couldn’t breathe. Like a coward, she hid behind Esperanza, knowing he had never —
never
— hit his mother when he was like this. But Esperanza drew away from her.

He was right before her now, every muscle in her view taut with anger. He leaned over suddenly.

Dahlia’s arms flew over her face, instinctively protecting the area she knew he would go for first. Sobs exploded from her chest as tears poured down her cheeks.

But the blows never came.

Her sobs finally penetrated the haze of her brain. She was crying hysterically. She peeked out through the gap in her arms to see the shell-shocked face of Jericho before her. Instead of dark, curly hair, there were blond locks over a scrunched up forehead; instead of black eyes filled with anger, ice blue eyes filled with horror.

“Does she know who I am?” he asked Esperanza brokenly, but the woman couldn’t understand him, focusing instead on brushing the hair from the tear tracks on Dahlia’s face.

“J-Jericho?” Dahlia asked.

All of his air left him in a whoosh, and he reached for her, jerking back the moment before contact, worry all over his face.

Dahlia realized in a second what had happened: who she thought had been coming for her, who was here before her now. She launched herself at Jericho, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in his chest while she shuddered, shaking away the weight of the past’s nightmares.

Jericho moved them both until he was sitting with his back against the wall, Dahlia clutched firmly to his front and settled on his lap. “Shh, sweetheart,” he whispered to her over and over again. It was then that Dahlia realized she was hyperventilating.

“I c-can’t stop it,” she gasped, panic rising again, mostly at the fact that her body had run completely out of control on her.

Lightly, Jericho cupped his hand over her nose and gasping mouth, leaving much space between his palm and her face. It created the bag effect she had seen on television so many times. Immediately, her senses were flooded with Jericho’s scent mixed with the outdoor smells of grass and lumber. She calmed down in an instant.

As soon as Jericho noticed her breathing was regulating, he dropped his hand and used both of his arms to crush her to him. “I’m sorry,” he whispered into her hair. “So sorry that I scared you.”

She pulled back to look at his face and was shocked to see his blue eyes brimming with tears.

“You will tell me who taught you to be afraid like that,” he growled, “and I will kill him.”

Dahlia could tell from the grim look of him that Jericho meant every word. And with all her heart, she wanted nothing else than for him to slay this dragon for her.

“Gabriel’s father,” she whispered.

He nodded, obviously already arrived at that conclusion.

But she knew he hadn’t guessed this next part: “My husband,” she said so softly she wondered if he’d heard her, if she’d have to repeat the hated words again.

His face blanched. “Your …
husband?
”

She buried her face in his chest and nodded against the t-shirt fabric. She cinched her lips shut, afraid that it was all going to come tumbling out of her now that she’d opened the floodgates even just this much.

“You’re married,” he said, like a man facing the gallows.

Dahlia expected him to shove her away, expected his wholesome nature to end their relationship right this second, so when he pulled her even closer and shuddered out a sigh, she closed her eyes in relief. He wasn’t rejecting her. And the fact that that had been Dahlia’s greatest fear jolted her upright.

She cared for Jericho. Maybe even …
loved
him.

“Oh, no,” she mumbled.

“What?” Jericho asked anxiously.

“No, no, no.” This couldn’t be happening. Where was her much-needed distance? How was she going to survive when he left her? They always left. Sometimes they hit and left, but the leaving part was a constant.

“Dahlia,” Jericho said in a firm voice. “Just tell me what’s going on. We can fix it, whatever it is.”

“Damn it, stop saying stuff like that to me!” Even Dahlia could tell that her tone was bordering on unhinged. She took a huge breath and held it in her lungs for several seconds before letting it out along with some of her anxious tension. “Okay, okay,” she said to all three of them in the room. Esperanza had moved to Jericho’s side and was watching her through eyes that rivaled Jericho’s on the wariness level. “Yes, I’m married,” she began, “but I haven’t seen my … husband,” the word was hard to spit out, “in nine years. Not since I found out I was pregnant and ran like hell.”

The anger made a reappearance in Jericho’s stance and expression. “He hit you.” It wasn’t a question, but Dahlia nodded her head anyway.

“I’m going to kill him,” Jericho said for the second time, and he began pacing the room.

“I never told him about Gabriel,” Dahlia said loudly to be heard over Jericho’s muttering.

“Good,” he breathed in relief.

“No, not good,” Dahlia immediately countered. “Because he found out, and now he’s coming for Gabriel to take him … a-away from me.” She knew she was perilously close to losing it again, so she closed her eyes and tried to regulate her breathing. But with the new wave of calm came a terrifying thought. Her eyes flew open. “Gabriel’s at school,” she blurted, panic dripping from every syllable.

Jericho turned to her. In a second, she saw the implication flash through his eyes. Gabriel was at school — the only elementary school in a ten-mile radius. He was a tiny sitting duck, and those fuckers in the Lincoln were probably on orders to grab-and-go.

Gabriel might even now be gone from her forever.

Jericho felt all of the blood leave his head. “No,” he muttered, images of those men from the car kidnapping Gabriel and taking him away forever spurring him over to Dahlia and hauling her to her feet.

“Let’s go. Now,” he said shortly and started sprinting out of the house with Dahlia right behind him. They launched themselves into the truck, and Jericho threw it into gear and sped off in the direction of the school.

“No, no,
no
,” she chanted continuously as Jericho sped through the neighborhood. He could hear her frantic breaths and knew she was hyperventilating again. The panic Jericho was feeling was almost debilitating, and this was not even his son they were driving toward. He couldn’t imagine what she must be feeling.

As they approached the school, Jericho noticed that it was recess time; all of the children were out in the fenced-in yard. It was the perfect blend of chaos to hide a kidnapping. Those men could have been in and out with Gabriel without anyone noticing.

As soon as the truck stopped, they both shot themselves out of the truck and toward the yard. Dahlia didn’t slow once she reached the yard. She launched herself through the mass of tiny bodies, slowing down only enough to make sure she didn’t hurt any children.

“Gabriel,” Dahlia yelled at the top of her lungs. Jericho could tell immediately that the boy would never be able to hear her over the similar din from the kids.

“Gabriel!” he bellowed as he moved in front of Dahlia and pulled her through the path the kids made as they spied a speeding giant. He got them to the flagpole where he gave Dahlia a boost and helped her shimmy up. Now they were both at a good height for spotting Gabriel.

Jericho saw him first. “Over there,” he shouted over his shoulder as he set off to the corner of the school building where he’d spotted Gabriel playing over by a bike rack. Dahlia was clinging to the back of his t-shirt as Jericho — like a man possessed — sprinted toward the boy.

As soon as they broke free from the crush of bodies, Dahlia shot around Jericho and ran the remaining steps to her son, scooping him up into her arms with a sob and hugging him as hard as she could.

Jericho stepped behind her without thought and put his arms around them both, breathing a quick “Thank God.”

Dahlia lifted her head from where it had been buried in the boy’s grubby neck to look at Jericho. An odd emotion was reflected there — something Jericho couldn’t put his finger on, but knew he himself was feeling.

“Thank you,” she whispered to him. And then, she reached one arm around his neck and pulled him close for a brief, scorching kiss.

• • •

Gabriel was still crushed into a hug between their two bodies, and Dahlia could feel his curious little eyes on them as she quickly and fiercely kissed Jericho.

What would she have done without him?

She pulled back slightly. They were still close enough that their breaths fanned each other’s faces, close enough for her to see the abject relief in his eyes. Relief that they had found Gabriel; that Gabriel was alive and safe.

Why did he care?

And why didn’t she want to examine his motives more closely? She was just simply grateful for his help and for his presence. In this moment in time, with Gabriel in her arms and Jericho’s blue eyes focused on her, she couldn’t imagine anywhere else she wanted to be — anyone else she wanted to be with.

“Shh, everything’s okay now,” Jericho whispered to her, lifting a thumb to her face and wiping a tear she hadn’t realized was trailing down her cheek.

“Mommy?” Gabriel asked in a soft, scared voice.

Dahlia wished she had herself together enough to reassure her son, let him know everything was okay, but she was too overwhelmed. After a few seconds, Jericho saved her. “It’s okay, buddy,” he said gently, ruffling the boy’s hair. “She just really missed you and wanted to see you.”

Dahlia watched as, like magic, the fear disappeared from Gabriel’s eyes and he turned a sunny smile upon her. If Jericho said things were okay, Gabriel believed him.

“Let’s get you both home, hmmm?” he asked gently.

Dahlia felt herself nodding numbly, and she turned to walk back toward the truck. She made it two steps before her knees buckled beneath her. Before she could fall and hurt both herself and her son, Jericho caught her with an arm around her waist. Once she was steady again, he scooped Gabriel from her arms. The boy latched to him like a monkey — arms tight around Jericho’s neck, legs no doubt squeezing his ribs painfully — and she watched as Jericho murmured something to him that she couldn’t hear.

Jericho turned toward her and offered her the hand that wasn’t supporting Gabriel. She watched in slow motion as her hand moved toward his. He closed the remaining distance and threaded their fingers together, giving them a warm squeeze. “Let’s go,” he said, and began a slow trek back to the parking lot. They paused briefly as Jericho had a whispered conversation with the playground attendant, and then they were in the truck.

On the return trip, Dahlia simply held her son and breathed in his little-boy scent of grass and dirt. When Jericho parked the truck in front of the house, he walked around the truck and opened the passenger door, helping Gabriel to the ground and then reaching for her and helping her to the ground as well. He whispered something to Gabriel again, and he scampered off into the house.

Once he was out of sight, the remaining strength she had been clutching to her soul like a suit of armor finally chipped. She covered her face with both hands and let the tears flow.

She was a failure. She was here because Gabriel was in danger, and she hadn’t been able to keep him safe to start with. And now? Now they were worse off than they’d ever been.

Strong arms came around her and pulled her close to a warm, wide chest. “Let it go, sweetheart.” The words rumbled from Jericho’s chest and through to the center of her grief. “Let it go. There’s no one here to see you, and you deserve a good cry.”

She knew that wasn’t true. Dahlia didn’t deserve anything, but damned if she could refuse such a tempting offer. Her hands moved from their crushed space between his chest and her face to his back. She clutched at him, unable to relax her fingers from their desperate hold, pinching the muscles covering his upper back. He just held her, breathing steadily into the hair above her ear, rubbing her back in circles.

When she was finally able to get ahold of her own body, she forced herself to stop crying. She couldn’t afford any signs of weakness, and she knew if she didn’t stop up this dam of tears, she would cry for quite possibly the rest of her life. She pulled back and attempted to step out of the circle of his arms, but he held her fast. Those long fingers of his came under her chin and tipped her face up. She refused to look at him, lowering her eyes until — damn it — all she could see was that delectable mouth. At least it distracted her from the turmoil of emotions she was battling.

“Look at me,” he whispered.

Reluctantly, she raised her eyes to his, and once they arrived at their destination, she sucked in a breath. She’d never seen this expression on a man’s face before. Reflected in his eyes was a heart-stopping blend of caring, reassurance, promise, even lust.

“I will fix this for you,” he promised solemnly.

Dahlia felt her eyes widen.
What?

“We’ll stay,” he continued. “As long as I can hold them off, we’ll stay.” The firm hold he had on her chin turned into a caress, and she couldn’t stop herself from leaning her cheek into his hand. “We’ll make sure Gabriel is safe, and then we’ll decide what to do next.” He nodded as though he hadn’t an idea that he was going to say what he’d just said, but he fully supported his own decision, and Dahlia felt an unwelcome sense of dread in the pit of her stomach.

Oh, God, he should have never said that. She could never un-hear that, could never forget the gratefulness that had flared immediately at his words. Gratefulness and something else. Something she was going to just shove to the back of the clusterfuck that was her current emotional state. Men who abused her, used her, left her — that she could handle. This?

How in God’s name was she going to keep her distance from him now?

Jericho and Dahlia had formed a quick plan. It involved getting the house ready to put on the market tomorrow so they could get Gabriel into a new house as soon as possible. While Jericho worked on making the roof inspection-ready, the women were inside scrubbing the house from top to bottom. It was taking all of Jericho’s willpower to not just buy them a house outright and get Gabriel moved to a safer location tonight. But, he knew instinctively that Dahlia would resent it. Even with that hanging over his head, Jericho still wasn’t sure he was going to be able to hold himself back. Only the knowledge that he could and would protect Dahlia and Gabriel from any threat kept him sane.