Drowning to Breathe by A. L. Jackson Page A

guarantee your silence.”
    A rush of fear trembled through my spirit, and I shifted on the hard chair. Painfully¸ I twisted my fingers together as if it could bind me with courage. My stomach felt as though it was tied in a thousand knots as I listened to the false sincerity woven in his tone, and a part of me wanted to cower and cave.
    But when it came to Kallie, I never had, and that definitely wouldn’t change now.
    If anything, I was stronger.
    And I had Sebastian now. I wasn’t alone.
    The thought bolstered me, renewed with a charge of determination and fortitude.
    Martin sat making a plea as to why he should be granted longer-term full custody of my baby girl.
    Each word passing from his mouth only made me sicker.
    Ill with the idea this monster could once again take that control.
    But this time…
    This time I refused to give it to him.
    “And why is it now you’re just interested in obtaining custody of your daughter?” his attorney asked.
    Playing devil’s advocate.
    How ironic.
    Still, he was asking all the questions I wanted to demand answers to.
    Even knowing every single answer was a lie.
    The attorney, Mr. Carbellero, represented the state, though it quickly became clear he was under Martin Jennings’s dime, pressing an issue that wouldn’t have been an issue at all had Martin not spearheaded it in the first place.
    “I never sought any form of custody earlier because I respected Ms. Bentley’s wishes to step away from the limelight of the business to raise our daughter in her hometown. It’s a decision I’ve often regretted. When I saw the pictures of paramedics attending my daughter on the beach, I knew I had no other choice than to step in and intervene.”
    He settled his soulless eyes on me. “Especially when I found out Shea was allowing my child to be exposed to someone as dangerous as Sebastian Stone.”
    My daughter! I wanted to scream. How could he sit there and try to claim her? After what he’d done? What I’d told Sebastian had been true. I’d foolishly hoped Martin had changed. That some sort of conscience had grown within the warped confines of his evil heart.
    From where Sebastian sat directly behind me, I could feel the anger roll from him at Martin’s insinuation—the hardness of his breaths and the restraint radiating from his body.
    “And you know from experience how dangerous Sebastian Stone can be?” More propaganda from Martin’s attorney.
    “I’ve been involved in Sebastian Stone’s business dealings for some time now.” Martin went on to paint Sebastian in the most awful light, a strung-out addict prone to violence. Violence propagated against him.
    Just as I knew Martin to be. A liar. A manipulator. Saying whatever needed to be said to get his way. To build himself up while he tore everyone down around him.
    Using them as steppingstones.
    My heart lurched with the memories.
    A masochist.
    A destroyer.
    Martin acted out his role so perfectly, giving details of the assault, as if there had been no inciting factors. He implied Sebastian had assaulted him for no reason at all. Martin played himself out to be nothing more than an unsuspecting victim in Sebastian’s premeditated fit of rage.
    It was just as Sebastian had warned. Martin had the edge. The law on his side. They presented the assault charges against Sebastian as the ugliest kind of blemish—almost as bad as the time he had served in prison four years ago.
    My fingers twisted tighter, and I tried to decipher the judge’s expression as she listened to Martin’s testimony. I knew she could easily look at Sebastian in a negative light—view the rest of the guys in that same light—making judgments on appearances and assumptions.
    It made me sad few would blame her.
    But she didn’t know Sebastian like I did. She didn’t see beneath all the hard lines and scars to what burned bright below.
    I guessed her to be in her late fifties, and she wore her hair in a smart gray bob. Thin and tall. Yet