“You’re worrying about nothing.” He dropped his chin. “Anna lives in Bristol. That’s almost eighty-five miles away. She can’t just pop by.”
Leah stood, needing some distance. The man was so damn stubborn. “Yet that’s exactly what she did.”
“Yes, but I can’t see it happening again anytime soon. She wanted money from either me or her current lover in order to make a new start. Sooner or later, she’ll find a way to get that money, but she knows it won’t be from me, so why come back here?”
Leah frowned. “So she’s in some sort of financial trouble?”
“Yes. Well, no. Not really.”
“What does that mean?”
“Leah, please. Just leave it.”
“She’s Daisy’s mum, Ethan. If she’s in some sort of physical danger, what will you do if something happens to her? Could you live with that? Could Daisy?” Looking at his good hand where it lay on the table, she hesitated before reaching forward and covering it with her own. “You have to do something. You know you do.”
His jaw tightened before he gently slipped his hand from hers and looked away.
“Do you know why I became a nurse?”
His chest rose as he inhaled and turned. He blew out a breath. “Why?”
She barely knew the man. But what choice did she have but to share something about herself if she wanted him to see sense? “When I was about fifteen my grandmother disappeared. I was closer to her than any other member of my family, including my parents.”
His gaze was steady and intense on hers.
“Unbeknownst to me, she was diagnosed with cancer and my parents put her in a hospice as soon as they possibly could. Any place they didn’t have to look after her themselves. That’s the sort of people my parents are. I had no idea where she’d gone.” Tears burned behind her eyes. “They took it upon themselves to decide I was too young to watch my grandmother becoming more and more sick. She died without me having the chance to spend her last days with her, or even to say goodbye. I swore there and then that I would do all I could to help others who are sick. Help their families to care for them, be with them until the end.” She shook her head, fighting the urge to take his hand again. “Life is precious, Ethan. It can change in a heartbeat through no fault of your own. If Daisy’s your priority—”
“She’s my only priority.”
She pulled back her shoulders, praying he heard her. “Then prove it. Go to the police. Talk to Cat Garrett. She’ll help you ensure Daisy is safe. This has to be about your daughter. Not your anger toward your ex-wife.”
“I sent Anna away because of Daisy. If this was about me, I could handle Anna whether she was here or a million miles away. I don’t want her near Daisy because my ex-wife would have no more qualms about using a seven-year-old to her own ends than she would an adult.”
The sincerity in his eyes was undeniable. “So what are you going to do? I still think not involving the police is a bad decision. You can’t guarantee Anna won’t reappear any more than I can.” Leah frowned. “Do you have some sort of problem with the police? Don’t trust them?” Frustration merged with suspicion and chipped away at her thinning patience. She crossed her arms. “Or are you just too bullheaded to accept the fact that nobody can be there all the time for somebody they love?”
He slowly pushed himself to his feet, his voice dangerously low. “There are more people in this than Anna. She witnessed some sort of drug deal, and when she said she was going to tell the police, her thug of a boyfriend threatened her. She says she wants the money to get away from him, but it could be she just wants money from me and has no intention of leaving the guy at all.”
Leah felt sick to her stomach. “Drugs? Her boyfriend is dealing drugs. Then that’s more reason than ever to go to the police. Do you have any idea how many overdoses I’ve had to deal with? Kids cutting themselves on syringes while playing God knows where?”
He closed his eyes. “I can imagine.”
She took his hand, tightening her grip on his fingers until he looked at her. “Then we need to do something about it.”
He stared at her before turning to the kitchen door. “You should go.”
Trembling with suppressed anger, Leah glared. “I just shared something personal with you to try to make you understand that things can change without warning. People’s lives are turned upside down every day. Did you think for one minute your ex would turn up here brandishing a knife?”
He stared at her, a muscle ticking in his jaw. She raised her hands in surrender. “Do you know something? Do what you want. I’m leaving. But I’ll tell you this—if your little girl ends up in the ER on my shift... God help you.”
She snatched up her purse and first aid kit before marching from the kitchen. Of all the stubborn assholes...
She gritted her teeth and opened the front door before slamming it shut behind her. Two nights she’d been to Ethan James’s home and twice she’d left thoroughly irritated.
He could deal with his own problems from now on, but if anything happened to Daisy... Leah got into her car and slammed the door. She looked in the rearview mirror toward the house. Goddamn it.
How could she leave him alone to stave off whatever danger lurked around the corner? What if knives, guns or drugs suddenly became a part of Daisy’s world?
Leah started the engine. I’m in this, mister, whether you like it or not.
* * *
SUNLIGHT CAME THROUGH the blinds in Ethan’s bedroom as his eyes flickered open. He stared at the ceiling as his conversation with Leah last night replayed in his mind. The woman seemed hell-bent on helping others, her professional obligations overriding anything he had tried to explain to her. He clenched his jaw. And along with her protests, she’d made sure he realized that there was a chance he could let Daisy down, as he had when she’d been born.
He and Leah were opposites. Their life choices and sense of purpose were so far apart he couldn’t see how they’d ever agree on anything, let alone what to do about Anna.
Taking a deep breath, he reached for his phone to scan his overnight email. That done, he checked his Twitter and Facebook, searching again for Leah as though she might have suddenly decided to join the chaos of social media overnight.
As he shut off his phone, Leah and her parting words zoomed into his mind once more. Memories of her had disturbed his sleep throughout the last two nights. He lifted his injured hand. He’d been sufficiently careful to avoid any further bleeding, so at least Leah’s fiery temper wouldn’t be aimed at him for neglecting to look after her handiwork.
Shoving back the covers, he got out of bed and padded into his en suite bathroom.
Once showered and dressed, he grabbed his phone from his bed and went to check on Daisy. He quietly pushed open her bedroom door.
“Hey, sweetheart. How long have you been awake?” He approached her bed, to find the quilt covered in shredded toilet paper and three of her Barbies wrapped in three-ply bondage. He smiled. “Are they Egyptian mummies or sick?”
She scowled, a line darting between her perfect eyebrows. “They’re sick. I’m making them better, like Leah did you.”
“Right.” He stared at her dark curls as she bent over one of the dolls, her tongue poking from between her lips as she wound some toilet paper around one of the Barbies’ legs. “What happened there?”
“She fell over the edge of Clover Point and broke her leg.”
“Ah, nasty.”
“Yep, but Leah operated and sewed her