The Substitute Wife's Secret Baby Escape

violence that destroyed everything in its path. That was the thought that circled Halle's min

space beside her in the bed was empty and cold. Her body ached wit

a frantic, insistent buzz. She winced and reached for

d ran co

r, her voice a hoar

he nurse's voice was high-pitched with panic. "I

ute. Gone? Leo couldn't be gone. He was

voice cracked. Her heart felt li

've searched the grounds. A back gate w

ked, her mind racing, trying to c

s,

," she said

er body. She grabbed the first clothes she could find-a pair of jeans and a sweater-a

He was dressed in a pristine suit, looking as if the previous night's savagery had ne

e demanded, blo

, the words tearing from h

laced by a sharp, focused intensity. "I'll go with you," he said. It wasn't an offe

brother overshadowed everything else-the hate, the

e scenarios. Leo, with his developmental disability, was so vulnerable. He

eaching for the driver's

er. "You're in n

t back, her voice sharp with desperati

r utter shock, he nodded and walked around to the passenger side. He

as w

ne roared to life. The car shot out of the driveway and onto the street, Halle weaving through traffic with a fierce, focused pre

of the car before it had fully stopped, already barking orders

pale. "He got out through the back garden gate. He

rother-a thin, lonely figure in a thin jacket-slipping out into the pre-dawn

eady in her ear. He was on the phone again, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Captain Shaw, th

shing lights and wailing sirens of police cars. The sheer power h

ng Damien's arm. "There's a park by the river he loves. He

r hours, they combed the park, calling his name until her throat was raw. The

air. She sank onto a park bench, her body finally giving up. The tears ca

er trembling shoulders. It smelled of him, a scent that was both reviled and, right no

ir. He answered it, listening intently. Halle watch