Bitter Sweets

indignantly.

    “Do you have kids?” Lisa asked as she took a sip from her mug. Savannah noticed that, in spite of her forced nonchalance, her hands were still shaking. Savannah didn’t think it was from a caffeine overdose.

    “No, I’m sorry to say I don’t. But I practically raised my eight younger brothers and sisters back in Georgia. Do I get credit for that?”

    Lisa nodded, and a bit of her hostility seemed to slip away. “Eight of them? Yes, tons of credit. That must have been a lot of work and responsibility for a young person.”

    “It was. But I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. I really love kids.”

    Across the table, Lisa’s eyes met hers with an intensity born of fear and determination. “Then you can understand why I have to protect my daughter from a man who would destroy her life and mine.”

    “Yes, I can.”

    Lisa paused and took a long drink of her coffee, as though fortifying herself for the rest of the conversation. “Tell me, Ms. Reid, do you think some people are really evil? Not just misguided, but truly evil?”

    Having been a cop for fifteen years, Savannah didn’t have to think long to answer Lisa’s question. “Yes, I do. Thankfully, I think they are rare. I believe that most folks mean well, that the majority live by some sort of moral code, however warped their philosophy might be. But I have come across a few individuals who I would say are evil to the core.”

    “Well, my ex-husband is one of those people. He doesn’t care who he hurts as long as he can control everything and everyone around him. I left him. I divorced him. I removed myself and our daughter from his control. He’ll never forgive me for that. And he will never accept the situation.”

    Savannah liked to believe she knew people. After years of dealing with the best and worst of humanity, she could usually read a person and know what was going on behind the facade they presented to the world. This woman was telling the truth.

    Savannah’s heart went out to Lisa and her little fairy princess daughter.

    “Have you been running from him for long?” she asked.

    “It seems like forever. He always finds us, and then we have to move. A new house, another job for me, a change of schools for Christy. Thanks to that bastard, we’re a couple of nomads.” She sighed, and Savannah could see the depth of her fatigue. Lisa Mallock wasn’t just tired; she was deeply, dangerously exhausted.

    “It isn’t fair,” Savannah said, feeling the impotence she had always experienced when confronted with this situation. Even as a peace officer, she had been unable to do much in these circumstances. The law protected men like Earl Mallock far better than it did the women and children they terrorized. A restraining order was a flimsy bit of paper that did nothing to protect a victim from a bullet or the blade of a knife.

    In Savannah’s career, it had been one of her most profound frustrations.

    “No, it isn’t fair,” Lisa agreed, her voice as hollow as her eyes. “But it’s the way things are. And for right now, all I can do is be careful. That’s why I’m so reluctant to trust what you’re telling me about my brother.”

    “I understand. But this could be a wonderful opportunity for you and your daughter. With all that’s going on in your life, it might be nice to be reconnected with your brother, to have a sense of family. He lives in Orlando, Florida, with his wife and children and-”

    “Brian has kids of his own?” Lisa’s eyes misted.

    “Three boys. He said he wants them to meet your children, to play with them.”

    The moisture on Lisa’s lids puddled and spilled down her cheeks. “We used to have a tree house,” she said wistfully. “I remember playing in it... before my mom died... before my dad gave me away....”

    “Your dad...oh, yes, by the way ...” Savannah swal’ lowed, wondering how the already-stressed woman would take this news. “Part of the reason why Brian is looking for you now is because your father recently passed away. It seems he left you with an inheritance.”

    “My father included me in his will?” Lisa looked pleased and touched.

    “Well, I’m not certain of all the facts, but I do know that Brian wants to make sure that you get your share.”

    Savannah glanced around the sparsely furnished duplex. Nomads couldn’t afford luxuries. “I understand it’s around fifty thousand dollars. That much money might help you and your