She Can Kill (She Can Series) by Melinda Leigh Page A

recognize the number. She hesitated, but when she was away from the girls, she hated to ignore a call. She lifted the phone and pressed Answer.
    “You fucking slut. Who was that man at the house?”
    Her heart bumped her ribcage. “Troy?”
    “Answer me.”
    “Did you change your phone number?” she asked.
    “Maybe I borrowed a phone from a friend. Don’t change the subject. Who is he, Sarah? Is that why you divorced me? I’ll bet you’ve been fucking this guy for years,” Troy yelled.
    Recoiling, Sarah took the phone from her ear. She sent Lucia a quick text, on my way .
    She hadn’t met Cristan until after she’d left Troy, and the accusation that she’d been unfaithful stung. She took a deep breath. No more games. She couldn’t allow Troy to manipulate her. If she did, it would never end. He would never understand that she was beyond his reach. And since when did he borrow a phone? Two possibilities occurred to her immediately. Either he thought she might not answer, or he didn’t want a record of the call to exist.
    Troy yelled, “I want to know who he is, Sarah.”
    Her phone vibrated as Lucia responded with OK . Knowing the girls were safe, Sarah set the phone on the console and stared at it.
    “Sarah, God damn it. Answer me,” Troy’s bellow sounded small and tinny emanating from the speaker on her cell, but in her mind, she heard it at full volume.
    Sarah held her finger an inch over the screen. She shouldn’t have to tolerate this abuse. Because that’s what it was. Troy might not be in her car. He might not be able to reach her with a fist, but the cursing and threats and yelling were all blows to her ego—and all designed for intimidation, something he’d perfected in their years together.
    Be firm , her therapist had said, but do not engage.
    “Sarah, are you still there—”
    She sucked in some air and interrupted him. “Troy, if you continue to yell, I will hang up.”
    He exploded. “What the fuck—”
    She touched the red End button, cutting Troy off midrant, and pulled her finger away as if the phone screen had burned her skin. Her heart thudded over the sound of the van’s engine. To a normal woman, hanging up on her ex-husband might not seem like a big deal, but to Sarah, this was another first. Exhilaration and terror swept over her in waves.
    A knock on her window nearly sent her into the passenger seat. She pressed a hand against her sternum, where her heart knocked. Brooke stood next to her car, her hands shoved into the pockets of her coat. Sarah lowered her window.
    “Is everything all right?” Brooke’s perceptive glance swept over Sarah’s face.
    “Yes. Fine.” Sarah willed her face to relax, but smiling wasn’t possible.
    On the console, her phone buzzed.
    “Are you going to answer that?” Brooke asked.
    “No.” Sarah met her gaze.
    “Sarah, if you need help, please ask for it.” Brooke knew her story.
    Most of the town knew about her and Troy. His family owned one of the largest businesses in town, and her father-in-law had been on the town council before he’d gone to jail on corruption charges. The Mitchells hadn’t exactly kept a low profile in Westbury.
    The phone buzzed again. Sarah reached over and deliberately turned it off. “Thanks for asking, Brooke, but I’ll be fine.”
    “Good night then. You made some real progress tonight. You should be proud of yourself.”
    “I am. Good night.” Sarah raised the window and watched Brooke walk back to her SUV, then Sarah drove out of the lot.
    When she’d first left Troy, the humiliation had been hard to get past. Her face had been battered, her arm broken, and her spirit shattered. There were days when she wanted to run as far away from her hometown as possible and start fresh in another town, where everyone didn’t know about her failures. Gossip was part of living in a close-knit community, but so was support. As much as Sarah wanted to stand on her own, knowing that her friends and family were