by Linzi Baxter
Ian’s phone chimed beside her.
“Hey, Bella, can you read me the text? I’m waiting on something from Cole.”
When she turned to look inside the hotel room, she caught sight of Ian drying his body off. The man was sexy as hell. She reached for the phone and keyed in his password. She stared at the message for a few seconds and clicked the attachment.
This can’t be right. Why would he do this? she thought. She paged through the attachment. It got hard to read because of the tears forming in her eyes.
He walked up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. But she didn’t want him to touch her. After what she’d seen, she never wanted to see the prick again.
Bella faced Ian, handed him his phone, and started packing.
“What did it say?” Ian’s brows furrowed in confusion. He glanced down at his phone.
Bella couldn’t stop the tears that streamed down her face. It had only been two weeks, but her heart was already in his hands, and he’d ripped it apart. When he looked up, his face was pale.
She didn’t give him time to speak. “How could you?” she screamed.
“This is not what it looks like.” Ian tried to touch her, and she flinched away. She saw the hurt in his eyes, but what he’d done was uncalled for and maybe unforgivable.
She stopped packing her bag and gave him her full attention. “You're saying you didn’t have someone dig into every part of my past?”
He ran a hand through his hair. “Bella, stop for a second and let me explain.”
“What is there to explain? I fell for you and trusted you with my heart. And what did you do? You betrayed that trust by having someone dig into my life. I’m an open book—you could have asked me anything. Instead, you hired someone. The only reason I can think of right now is that you think I helped Mr. Ainsworth.”
Ian clenched his hands at his sides. “Bella, I didn’t do this to find information out on you. I was trying to help you.”
Bella reached up and swiped the tears from her eyes. “I need time. If I stay in the same room with you a second longer, I will say something I’ll regret.”
“We can talk about it on our way back to San Antonio.”
There was no way she would get in his truck and sit next to him for an hour. She needed time to think, and she couldn’t think when he was near. She might forgive him, but at the moment, she was in no mood to forgive. He’d ruined something special. He’d turned one of the most magical nights of her life into something dirty. She felt not only betrayed but used as well.
“No, I’m taking a taxi back.”
“Bella, that’s stupid. I can drive you or take my truck. You aren’t safe in a taxi.”
She let out a bitter laugh. “Oh, but you're safe to be around.” She walked up and poked him in the chest. “You invaded my privacy.”
Bella turned on her heel and walked toward the door. Ian put his hand against the door.
“Bella, don’t go. You need to listen.”
“If you want to save any part of what we have, you will remove your hand.”
Ian removed his hand from the door as if it burned him. When she took one last look in his eyes, he looked almost as torn as she did.
When she pulled the door open, he asked, “Can we talk tomorrow?”
“I don’t know, Ian. Give me time.”
She walked out of the hotel room and grabbed the first taxi she could find to take her home. Bella curled up in the back of the taxi and cried the whole way back to San Antonio. She cried because she’d lost the man she had fallen for in a short time. She cried because she wished her mom was alive so she would have someone to talk to. She cried because she felt like she’d made the biggest mistake of her life.
Chapter 10
It’s not what you think. Ian’s words echoed in her mind.
Bella hadn’t moved from the blow-up mattress in the master bedroom. After she got home the previous day, she walked past the contractors and up to the room then curled up in a ball and cried. The last time she’d cried that hard was when she lost her mom to cancer. She’d heard the workers downstairs, but she couldn’t bring herself to face anyone.
Luckily, today she would be home alone because the contractors didn’t work on Sundays. Her head hurt from crying all night, and her eyes felt tender. Bella couldn’t understand how Ian could betray her. He’d made her laugh, and she felt protected with him, even though sometimes his overprotectiveness had pissed her off.
Bella turned on her phone. Message after message appeared on the screen. She couldn’t get herself to read them yet. She went to the bathroom and took a shower. She could hear another ding coming through. It was time to face the world.
Ian: Bella, I need to know you made it back.
Ian: Bella, please call.
Ian: I drove by, and I know you are back safe.
That made him sound like a stalker.
Ian: I’m not giving up, Bella.
Ian: I had Tex look into your past when you were getting attacked. I tried to figure out who was after you. It wasn’t for my reading enjoyment.
Could she believe him? Had he done it to help find whoever was after her? It made more sense than him looking into her background because he was suspicious about her.
Ava: Hey, girl, I want all the deets.
Ian: Good night, Bella.
Ava: You better call me.
Bella wasn’t quite ready to forgive Ian. She picked up the phone and dialed Ava’s number.
Her friend answered on the second ring. “I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for twenty-four hours. What did he do, lock you in a room?”
“Well, hello to you too.”
“I want deets, woman. Did you have fun?”
Bella picked at her leggings and wondered how much she should tell her friend. She needed someone to tell her problems to. “It started out amazing. The bat thing was really cool, and then we went to a jazz bar and spent the rest of the night in bed.”
“I hear sadness in your voice. Was he that bad in bed?”
The tears started to leak from Bella’s eyes. “No, he was amazing. But the next morning, he received a text.”
“From a girlfriend?” Ava shouted.
“No, from some guy with an attachment that held my whole life. He had me investigated, Ava, down to my high school GPA.”
When Ava didn't answer right away, Bella looked at the phone to make sure they were still connected.
“Did he tell you why?” Ava finally asked.
“At the time, I didn’t give him a chance. He invaded my privacy, and I thought he did it because he thought I knew what Mr. Ainsworth did.”
“I’ve met Ian a couple times. He doesn’t seem like the type of person to just invade your privacy.”
Bella let out a huff. “You’re supposed to be on my side.”
“I am, but I also want what's best for you, and Ian made you happy.”
“I turned my phone off yesterday for a few hours. I figured I would have caved if he kept calling. I just turned it back on. And… he said he had someone look into my past when people were after me.”
Ava hummed on the other end. “Now, that sounds like him. When are you going to go apologize?”
“In a few hours. I want to work around the house first. I need a little more time to think.”
“Don’t think too long. Go have great makeup sex, and call me tomorrow so we can talk about plans to list the house.”
Ava was right. Ian looking into her past to protect her sounded more like him than looking into it because she’d done something wrong. The look of disappointment in his eyes had haunted her the night before when she’d tried to fall asleep, and she’d reached for her phone numerous times but hadn’t called him. Now she wished she had.
After hanging up with Ava, Bella walked downstairs to see what work had been completed the day before. She stopped dead when she came to the kitchen. Happy tears formed in her eyes. She’d ordered white cabinets to offset the dark woo
d counters, but what caught her eye was the new window above the sink, which looked out into the backyard. The added window brought natural light into the room. Bella had wanted to capture the essence of the Victorian home and add touches a chef would die for, so she’d also had a six-burner gas stove installed.
She ran her hands over the countertops and couldn’t help squealing with excitement. The house was close to being done. In the bathroom, the contractor had laid the white-marble tile, and the claw-foot tub sat against the far wall. White flooring contrasted perfectly with the light blue walls. Bella couldn’t help herself—she climbed into the tub to see how it felt.
Bella had brought contractors in to get the house done more quickly. She’d dipped further than she wanted into her savings, but if she could sell the house fast, it would work out. Ava had sent her comps for the area a few days ago, and Bella planned to make a huge profit on the house.
None of the other houses in the neighborhood had as much square footage as her Victorian home. She’d renovated both bathrooms and the kitchen. The other rooms had fresh paint and re-sanded hardwood floors. If the schedule stayed intact, she could list the house at the end of next week.
When she passed by the fireplace, an image of Ian helping her clean up the mess brought back a good memory. She had so many good memories of their time together over the past few weeks. Bella already ached to go back. She planned to listen to his side of the story, but she would make him wait it out. He didn’t need to know she’d caved within twenty-four hours of being mad.
A loud knock at the front door startled her. When she swung the door open, she expected to see Ian on the other side. Instead, a man and woman stood there. The man wore a dark suit. He was on the skinnier side and not much taller than her five-two frame. The woman towered over both of them. Her tight red dress fit her model figure.
“Hello. Can I help you?” Bella asked. She kept the door partially closed.
The woman was the first to speak. She seemed irritated and tapped her toes against the porch floor. “We would like to look at the house.”
Bella knew Ava had planned to send feelers out to other real estate agents. But she’d expected them to call, not show up and demand a showing, especially since the house still needed more work.
“Please excuse my partner. It been a long day. My name is Ryan Smith, and this is Tina Jones. We’ve been eyeing this house for a while for one of our clients, and we saw that it’s going on the market soon. We hoped if our client liked it to make a high offer and keep it off the market.”
Looking over their shoulders, Bella saw a red Maserati next to her car. It would be a dream come true if she’d already found a buyer for the house. The first person she thought she would want to tell was Ian. He would be proud of her. But he still needed to grovel before she completely forgave him.
“Please come in.”
Tina breezed by her with her high heels clicking across the hardwood. The woman needed an attitude adjustment, but if Bella sold the house, dealing with the bitch would be worth it.
They gathered in the living room, and Bella explained what she had changed and what she had kept original. She detailed how she’d kept the original Victorian mantel and updated the fireplace with a whitewash. The tour continued throughout the house and ended in the kitchen.
“Jesus Christ, how long are you going to keep up the charade?” Tina asked.
Everyone was quiet for a second before Ryan pulled out a gun and pointed it at Bella.
Fuck, she thought. This house will be the death of me. Two attempts on my life within a month. “Do you always point guns at someone when making an offer on a house?”
Tina tapped her fingers on the wood countertops. The sound echoed through the house. “We aren’t here to buy the house. We are here for you.”
Cold washed over Bella as she stared down the gun pointed at her. She reached for her phone in her back pocket, and it wasn’t there. Earlier, after talking to Ava, she’d left it in her bedroom.
“I don’t understand what you want from me. The house isn’t overpriced.” It was hard for Bella to keep her voice from shaking. She started to slowly walk backward toward the stairs. If she could make it to her room, everything would be okay.
“Stop.” Ryan’s hands shook.
Tina walked up next to him and pulled the gun from his hands. She looked as if she had done this a few times. “Cuff the bitch. We have a plane to catch, and she is wasting my time.”
If Bella had learned anything from her two classes in self-defense, it was never get caught, and run whenever possible. She should have kept up with the classes. Damn. As with all fitness classes, she’d started well the first week and stopped by the second.
“Please put your hands out.”
The fucker had actually said “please.” Tina rolled her eyes at Ryan, and her movement distracted him for a second. Bella used the opportunity to run toward the living room. She didn’t get more than three feet before the gun fired. The bullet missed her by a millimeter. Bella stopped in her tracks. There was no way she would outrun the gun. Ryan tackled her from behind, and she hit the floor with enough force to knock the wind out of her. Before she had time to fight back, he wrapped a zip tie around her hands.
Ryan and Tina shoved her out the front door. If the intruder hadn't pressed a gun to her spine, she would have tried to call out to the neighbors. Ryan popped the trunk when they neared the car.
“I’ll be good. Please don’t put me in there,” Bella said, but her begging landed on deaf ears.
Tina shoved her in with such force that Bella lost her footing and smacked her head on the side of the trunk. Darkness crept into her vision, and her head pounded. When the trunk door closed, she became terrified. Who were these people, and what did they want?
Bella closed her eyes for a couple of seconds and tried to get her nerves under control. Her head pounded from when she’d hit the side of the trunk, but she needed to power through the pain. It was hard to see inside the trunk. Bella remembered that most trunks had a lever to pop them open. She worked from one side to the other and felt the inside of the trunk. The lever wasn’t there.
Bella couldn’t hold the sob in any longer. She felt defeated. She let the tears run down her face. Was this how she would die—at the hands of two idiots?
No. She would fight. She used her foot to kick where the taillight was. If she could break the back taillight, she might be able to flag down a car. She kicked at it for the next twenty minutes. Ryan and Tina hadn’t said where they were going, so she didn’t know how much time she had left. Right when she was about to give up, the taillight split. She pounded the rest of the light off the car and peered through the hole she’d created.
Her heart sank. They had pulled into a private airfield. Bella recognized it from times when she had flown with Mr. Ainsworth. She grabbed one of the glass shards from the taillight to use as a weapon for when they opened the trunk. She needed to fight.
How long would it be before someone noticed she was missing? The crew wouldn’t show up until Monday. Ian knew she was mad at him. Whoever had her would have more than a twenty-four-hour head start. And would the crew notice she wasn’t there Monday, or would they think she was with Ian? If she made it out of this, she planned to never storm away from Ian again, even if he was an asshole.
Car doors slammed, and Bella knew her time to fight was about to come up. She had the glass shard in front of her, ready to swing at the first person. When the trunk door opened, she surged forward and dug the shard into Ryan’s stomach.
She didn’t have time to pull back and attack Tina. The woman took the butt of the gun and brought it down on Bella’s head. Pain radiated across her head, and darkness followed.
Chapter 11
Ian couldn't believe he hadn't told Tex he didn't need the file any longer. Fuck. The file wasn't for his enjoyment—he wanted to catch the person who was after Bella. Ian no longer needed the file since Jake was behind bars. Why couldn’t Bel
la stop and listen for two seconds?
“Why don’t you go talk to her?” Cole asked.
Ian had broken down and called his friend that morning to ask him to come over. The house had seemed so empty, and he’d needed someone to talk to about his major fuckup.
The Eagles versus the Cowboys football game played in the background. Normally, when the Eagles scored, it brought a smile to his face, but he couldn’t concentrate on the game. He was too worried about Bella.
“She wants nothing to do with me.”
Cole rolled his eyes and took a swig of his beer. “Stop being a drama queen. Pick up some roses and chocolates, and go grovel.”
It was the tenth time they’d had that same discussion. Ian glanced at the clock. He hadn't talked to Bella in more than twenty-four hours. It felt like a lifetime. Ian knew it was his fault. He was the only one to blame that the woman he’d fallen for had walked out of his life.
Ian picked up his phone and dialed her again. It went straight to voicemail. She’d powered her phone off to ignore his calls. “What happens if she doesn’t open the door?”
“Grow a pair. If she doesn’t answer, knock until she does.”
Cole was right. He would grovel and pester her until she either told him to fuck off or listened to him. Ian sat through the rest of the game. The need to rush to be at her side intensified, but he wanted to give her time to think and not be so pissed off when he showed up.
Once the game ended, Ian practically ran to his truck. He figured she was at her flip. She spent any spare hours at that house. With her extra time and the contractor she’d brought in, he imagined she would have the house done on Friday. She could pull the flip off within a month. Ian was proud of her and enjoyed helping her when he had the time.
He grabbed a bouquet and a bag of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. When he pulled into her driveway, he took a couple of deep breaths. Ian walked past her car in the driveway. He noticed that the door was cracked open as he approached it. After the vandalism, Bella had always locked the door.
