Kenzi tried to stay calm, but it wasn’t easy. As a divorce attorney, she was accustomed to dealing with litigants who had strong feelings. But nothing like this. Never anything like this.
Both mother and daughter were swimming in tears. She wasn’t sure who looked more traumatized and she supposed it didn’t matter. This mother and daughter loved each other very much, had been separated against their will for a long time, and didn’t want it to continue.
Kenzi had been charged with ending this torturous situation. And she’d failed.
Brittany wrapped her arms around her mother’s neck, clinging as if dangling from a precipice. “Please don’t make me go back with him. I want to be with you.”
“I know, sweetie. I know.” Maya’s voice choked so much she could barely speak. She wiped her eyes and nose. “But the judge wants you to stay with your—your father.” Her breath cut out. Kenzi could see how hard she was struggling. “At least for now.”
“I don’t like it with him. I hate that place. It’s out in the woods and I don’t have any of my stuff.”
Where was that? She could hire a detective to find out, but then what would she do? It wasn’t as if she could barge in and grab the child. The judge had ruled.
“Maybe your father will let me bring over some of your things.”
“He won’t.” Michael stood in the corner, arms crossed. Was he entirely unmoved by this? How was that possible? It had to irk him, seeing how fond they were of each other, seeing that his daughter considered time with him akin to captivity. “Make a list of what you need, Brittany. I’ll go shopping.”
“I don’t want new stuff. I want my stuff! I want Maddie!”
“Maybe later. Not now.”
So the impoverished unemployed dad was offering a shopping spree?
Maya glared at her husband. Her anger was barely contained, raging behind the eyeballs. “She needs more mommy time, Michael. It wouldn’t hurt you. You could be there with me.”
“The judge gave you ten minutes. And seven have expired. Don’t waste the final three talking to me.”
How could anyone be so callous? Even by divorce-court standards, this was extreme nastiness.
“You got lucky,” Maya spat back. “If I hadn’t lost my job, this wouldn’t be happening.”
“Don’t kid yourself, Maya. Your problem isn’t me or your job. It’s that damn cult.”
A frown crossed Brittany’s face. “What’s a cult?”
Maya pulled Brittany’s head close to her chest. “Daddy doesn’t like Mommy’s friends.”
“I don’t like Daddy’s friends,” Brittany shot back. “They’re creepy.”
For the first time, Kenzi butted in. “What friends are you talking about?”
“This is none of your business,” Michael growled.
She ignored him. “Who are these friends?”
Brittany clung to her mother. “Daddy took me to this place that has weird people coming over all the time. I don’t like them. They keep asking me if I’ve been saved.”
“Saved from what?”
Brittany shrugged. “I dunno. I just want them to leave me alone.”
Maya whirled. “What’s going on, Michael?”
His face hardened. “You have two minutes left.”
Maya turned back to her daughter, hands on tiny shoulders. “Honey, I want you to listen to me. I need you to be my tough girl. I know you don’t like this. I don’t like it either. But it won’t last forever. I swear it.”
“I want to go home with you!”
“You will. But not today.”
“Please!”
“And I want you to keep a close eye on your father. If he does anything…weird, or anything that makes you uncomfortable, or his friends do, tell me about it. First chance you get.”
“I want to live with you!”
“That’s what I want, too. You remember the story I read you at bedtime when you were littler? About the Kissing Hand? Well, I’m kissing your hand right now.” She did. “That’s Mommy’s kiss, and it will stay with you wherever you go. And whatever happens.”
“Time’s up,” Michael barked. “Thank God.”
He reached for his daughter. She squirmed away.
He gritted his teeth. “You’re making this harder than it needs to be.”
“That would be you,” Maya muttered. “Watch your back, Michael.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means I will do anything—anything—to get my daughter out of your clutches.”
“Right.” He struggled with Brittany. She fought him every inch of the way. “There…is…no point in fighting!”
Brittany kicked him in the shins.
“You little—” He raised his hand—then froze.
Three pairs of eyes stared at him.
If only she’d been videoing this, Kenzi thought. But sadly, phone photography was forbidden in the courthouse.
“Just—come,” he said, giving Brittany another sharp tug. The girl tumbled toward him.
“I’ll see you again, honey,” Maya cried. “Soon.”
“Mommy!”
And then she was gone, vanished behind a closed door.
Maya’s face could not have been wetter if she’d just stepped out of the shower. Kenzi strode over to her and, without even thinking about it, wrapped her arms around her.
Maya could barely speak. “He took my baby. He took my baby.”
“I will get your daughter back,” Kenzi said. “I don’t know how. And I don’t know how long it will take. But I will not rest until you’re holding her in your arms.”