Synopsis

On the surface, Delilah Reddick’s life looks perfect. Her husband is a pillar of the community, and with her as his quietly supportive wife, they appear to be the picture of success and happiness. But there are deep cracks in the foundation, dark secrets Delilah has never shared with anyone.

Delilah knows what her husband is capable of when the evil inside him finds its way to the surface, but running would only delay the inevitable. Chase would hunt her to the ends of the earth before allowing her to take his only son from him. Delilah would rather die than leave her fourteen-year-old behind, but when her son begins displaying his father’s violent tendencies, she knows she must act.

In her quest to save her son, Delilah sets off a chain of events that could rock the community and reveal the darkest secret of them all. After years of staying quiet, Delilah must find her voice before her husband silences her forever.

Amazon * B&N * Kobo * Google * Audible

Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

“How long you gonna let him do this?” Carmen’s voice is quiet, not betraying the rage just beneath her words. I let her touch the cloth to the swelling ridge along my jaw and then my nose. I draw in a sharp breath as she dips the cloth into the sink, tinging the water pink.

All I can do is lift my hand in answer. It is such an old conversation, but I have nobody else to go to. At least she will let me lick my wounds and hide until I have to go back home.

“He’s gonna kill you, Delilah.” Carmen’s voice breaks, lifting over the truth of it. She dabs again at my face then sets the cloth aside.

Carmen is right. I know he has it in him. I wouldn’t be his first victim. The thought is through my mind before I can catch it and shove it down. He doesn’t know I suspect him of that killing all those years ago, or I would already be dead. I went along with him as if I hadn’t seen him come into the bar looking wild, as if I hadn’t seen the wet spot on his shirt. I hadn’t wanted to see it. So when he insisted that he’d been in the bar all night, with me, I nodded. Even when the police asked me alone, I said he was with me. Does that make me an accomplice?

Carmen runs her thumbs down the bridge of my nose. I close my eyes, uncomfortable at her scrutinizing gaze. “I don’t think it’s broken. But you should go to the hospital.”

“And say what? I was hit by a car?”

“No. Turn the bastard in. Press charges. Put his ass in jail.”

I shake my head, and it swims. I reach out to steady myself. Getting rid of him sounds so easy, slipping from her mouth. I’ve walked through that scenario before, working out details for an escape that would never happen. I can’t just go into a courtroom and let them fillet my private life for the world to see. I don’t live like Carmen, bold and full of confidence. I need my doors and windows shuttered and don’t want some lawyer airing our dirty laundry. I keep my voice small and my eyes turned away from conflict. Going to the police might hurt Jackson, ruin his childhood. I shudder to think of the media’s headlines on our family—on the sordid life of Chase Reddick, prominent local business leader, and the accusations made by his quiet, nearly invisible wife.

Carmen wouldn’t understand what’s at stake. She isn’t a mother. She won’t keep a relationship past the first bump, let alone through a knockdown.

“It’s not that easy. To just walk away.” My words feel fat coming through my busted lip, past the swelling of my jaw. “We’ve got a son.”

“Yeah, great. What is he learning? To cower or beat people.”

“That’s not fair.”

Carmen shakes her head and moves on to work on my eye. The sting makes me swallow further protests behind my teeth. My mind reels. What am I teaching Jackson? He doesn’t know. He’s never seen. Every time a stray bruise creeps past the edge of my collar or down past the sleeve on my arm, I just tell him I walked into a door or tripped coming up the stairs or that I didn’t know how that one happened. Hadn’t even realized it was there. I had given him each lie with a self-deprecating smile. But he’s not stupid, and he’s not a baby anymore. He has eyes.

About the Author

Angie Gallion has been a stage actor, an anti-money laundering investigator, a photographer, and a paralegal. She has lived in Illinois, California, Missouri, and Georgia and has traveled to Greece, the Dominican Republic, Scotland, and Ireland. She dreams of traveling when her children are grown, and she and her husband can set out into the world. She is currently rooted outside of Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband, their children, and their two French Bulldogs.

Angie’s writings often deal with personal growth through tragedy or trauma. She explores complex relationships, often set against the backdrop of addiction or mental illness. Her first novel, Intoxic, was the 2016 bronze medalist in the Readers Favorite for General Fiction. That book was a twenty-five-year adventure in self-doubt and hesitation.

Website * Facebook * Twitter * BookBub