starting to fall. Nearly tripping in the slick patina of grease and oil that covered the parking lot. “I raced to my car and drove home to get Danny. I was so afraid he’d beat me to the house, and I’d find both of them gone. But Danny was still there. I paid off the babysitter—”

Denise remembered the scared look in the teenager’s eyes when she saw the bruises, just starting to form. She honestly didn’t remember what she’d said, but it must have worked because the girl left without saying anything.

“… and then drove here. I didn’t know what else to do, so I called you. Then I waited in the car. I was afraid to move, afraid that if I moved, somehow he’d find me. I know that doesn’t make any sense, but I didn’t start...

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