Hendrix

by Kelsey Clayton

My body goes cold at the thought of him laying a hand on her. A man hitting any woman would piss me off, but with the mother of my child? Absolute fury. “The bruise is from the monster.” We all stare in surprise at my daughter, who pulls the blanket up higher and closes her eyes again. “What monster?” She yawns. “Mommy protects me from the monsters. She had to fight one, and it gave her a bruise.” Everything in me tenses, and my eyes immediately lock with Asher's. I can't move. If I move, I'm going to get up, and I'm going to kill the fucker. I glance over at Tessa, who genuinely looks alarmed, and I know I can't just do nothing. It's not an option. “Can you watch her?” I ask, and she nods immediately. “Of course. Go.” Slipping out from under Brenna, I get up and grab my keys from the counter. As I go to shut the front door, I see Asher behind me. “What are you doing?” He slips past me and out the door. “Coming with you.” I shake my head. “So that you can hold me back? Not a fucking chance.” His hands raise in innocence. “I'm just going to make sure you don't do anything drastic and go to jail. I can’t go to the Super Bowl without you.”