by Nana Malone
I screamed louder.
Finally, the man two doors down from Mrs. Combs came stomping out of his house. I didn't know his name, but he said good morning to me whenever I headed out for early morning photo shoots. He was some kind of construction worker. He had tools on his truck and always had a tool belt and a fluorescent vest he wore. "Oi. What's happening?"
Easton scowled in his direction. "Mind your own business."
The man crossed his arms and glared at Easton. But then he shifted his gaze to me. "Are you all right, love?"
I shook my head. "No. Not all right."
He pulled out his phone and dialed the police. "Mate, you're going to let her go."
Easton started shoving me faster and turned to pull the backseat door open.
I kicked him in the shins and ran for my savior, standing behind him. Easton tried to grasp me, and grabbed my bag, but I happily let it go.
"Abena, get back here."
"You're going to have to go through him if you want me."
For a moment I thought Easton was going to, and then poor, sweet Mrs. Combs ventured out onto the sidewalk. "Dear? Are you all right?"
"No, I'm not all right. This guy tried to shove me in his car."
Easton could see the lay of the land now. He tried to jump in the driver's seat, but the hulking man in front of me ran and stopped him. "Nah, mate. The police are already on their way."
In the distance, I could hear the sirens.
Easton was furious. His anger mask slid on. The one where his face didn't move, but the tick of his jaw was unmistakable. He wanted to hurt me. But he wasn't going to get the chance. I had neighbors and people who cared about me. I didn't have to go with him. I didn't have to be that girl anymore.
The police were quick to arrive, and my savior basically stood in front of Easton’s car door and wouldn't move. Once the police were there, I could feel the tightness unfurling in my chest. I was safe. I didn't have to be that scared girl anymore. He couldn't hurt me ever again.
Chapter Nine
Abbie
I was late. An hour and a half late. And since I’d been talking to the police, I hadn't been able to text or call.
Knowing Alexi, he was probably ready to call the police again himself.
I shivered thinking about how I’d spent the last hour and a half. Recounting all the ways Easton had hurt me.
When I rang the doorbell, I had to wait a moment before the door finally opened. Jasper met me with a wide grin. "My day just started looking up. Hello, beautiful.” He enveloped me in a hug.
I couldn't even return it. I just stood stiffly at the doorway, too shell-shocked for anything else. He didn't even notice that it was the police that dropped me off.
When he backed off, he frowned. "You okay?"
I nodded slowly. "Is Alexi here?" My voice was soft and slightly hoarse. I didn't even know how I hadn't been crying as I was speaking with the police. I just couldn't muster the energy.
Alexi practically growled from somewhere behind Jasper. "Jasper, let her go."
Jasper rolled his eyes. "Possessive, that one.” He backed up and stepped aside for me to come in. Alexi came into view, and I could feel my chest start to loosen and relax. He frowned when he noticed the police lights outside.
"Did something happen to one of the neighbors?"
I shook my head. "They're for me."
He scowled "What’s happened?"
My gaze flickered to Jasper, who was studying us. "Um, it's fine. Can we just… can everyone just watch the movie?"
Jasper didn't look like he wanted to leave, but Alexi turned to him and lifted a brow. Jasper rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'm gone."
When he retreated, I turned back and waved at the officers who’d dropped me off. Lex didn't immediately wrap me in his hold, but he took my hand. "Why don't you tell me what happened?"
"I—"
He closed the door behind me first, then shook his head. "Okay, sorry. Let's do this right. Come here into the kitchen.” He took my bag from me, settled it on one of the chairs, and then reached into my jacket to my shoulders and slid the coat off of me.
He placed it on the back of a chair and then turned on the kettle. He took my hand and led me to a chair. My knees were so tired and weak that I couldn't do anything but sit. He pulled out another chair and seated himself across from me and took my hands. "Okay, what's wrong?"
What was I going to say? I'm a complete fucking mess? That was the truth. I was a mess. With a psycho ex-boyfriend to boot. But I didn't want Easton to own my story. I didn’t want him to take any part of my life in London. In the end, I had no choice but to just say the truth. "I was leaving the flat, and then Easton showed up.” I couldn't even look at Alexi. Seeing the anger on his face would only terrify me, so I just hurried on. "He tried to pull me into his car. The neighbors helped me. The police came. He's been arrested."
When I glanced up, there was no anger on Alexi's face. His voice was soft. "Did he hurt you?"
"I— No, I’m not hurt. I'm just scared."
He pulled me close. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you."
"It's not your fault. I’ve just been going about my business for weeks, feeling like someone's following me. And I just— I should have paid attention. I was so stupid. I did this. God, I'm such a mess."
"You're not a mess. This has nothing to do with you. I think it all makes sense why we're here now."
I frowned up at him. "I don't understand."
"Sweetheart, I'm so sorry. I should have come to get you. Our date was ruined tonight because someone broke into the barge."
I blinked up at him. "What?”
He nodded slowly. "Seeing as Easton tried to grab you off the street, I have the distinct impression it might have been him."
I tried to pull out of his arms, but he didn't let me.
"Alexi, let me go. This is my fault. I'm ruining your life."
"Are you kidding me? You're the best thing that has happened in my life."
"My ex-boyfriend legitimately broke into your place."
"If he did, I'll have him on the security camera. The police have already been called, and my security people are taking care of it. It's okay. He'll get charges filed against him. And then he'll get deported, and you'll be safe."
"Don’t you get it, I'm not safe anywhere. I go to a wedding, and there's his family. And what happens someday when I need to go home and see my family? He’s the son of a diplomat. An arrest won’t mean much. He’ll be summoned home because of the embarrassment. But he’ll eventually be able to come back."
"We'll see about that when the time comes. But for right now, you are in my arms and you are safe. Nothing is going to hurt you."
I wanted to believe him. I wanted to burrow into the warmth of his embrace and stay there. Let him keep me safe. I wanted to believe everything that he said. But, how could I? I wasn't safe. Easton wasn't just letting me go. And he certainly wasn't going to let me get away with having a new boyfriend and having a new life. “Will the police let him go?"
Alexi smoothed his hand over my hair. "Hey, I know what you're thinking. I'm going to make a couple of calls, okay? I promise you. If there was ever a time to throw my family’s weight around, this is the moment."
"I don't want you to do that for me. Because of me, your life is tossed upside down."
"No, because of you, I've been able to feel something for the first time in a long time. That's worth the inconvenience of having to hire cleaners and get a new couch."
I frowned. "Why do you have to get a new couch?"
"Uh, let's just say my other one is damaged."
"Do I even want to know?"
He shook his head. "Nope. It's not important. I'm going to have you stay at the barge. The cleaners will take a couple of days, tops. And then you'll come stay with me for a night or two. I'm going to have new locks installed, a new security system, the whole thing. It will be really safe, I swear."
"I'm not worried about
the safety of your barge. I'm worried that someone broke in because of me."
He shook his head. "No. Let’s put the blame where it belongs."
I sighed and nodded.
"So, he could have just as easily decided that you were dating Xander. He could have easily ransacked your flat, right?"
"Yeah, but that doesn't—"
"The point is the blame lies with him, not you. You’ve moved on. You left him. And I'm so proud of you. This is on him. Put the blame on his shoulders."
The kettle started to whistle, and he set me back on my seat and turned around to grab mugs off the hooks that were hanging low over the stove. "Now, I'm going to make you the kind of tea that you like. You know, a splash of tea with your sugar."
I coughed a laugh. "Why are you being so nice to me?"
"Well, because someone needs to show you what it's like when someone actually cares about you. So, right now, I'm going to make my girlfriend some tea. And then I'm going to hold her if she’ll let me. And maybe when she's ready, we'll go downstairs and finish watching the movie. It's going to be simple. And that way, you don't have to talk to anyone or explain anything, right?"
I searched his gaze. He understood. I didn’t want to have to explain anything. I didn’t want to have to talk. I needed time to process, and I just wanted to be held in his arms.
I nodded. "I don't know what I did to deserve you."
"I promise you, I'm the one who got the better end of this deal."
Chapter Ten
Lex
Dance music thrummed through my ears as I surveyed the crowd at Lace Nightclub. Judging by the waitresses’ outfits, leather and chains and not much else were an integral part of the uniform. So was lace, like the name suggested.
Leaning into Gemma and Nick, I shouted, “One of you want to remind me what I’m doing here again? Gemma this was hardly what I meant when I said I wanted to talk to you.”
Nick rolled his eyes. “Don't be arsy that I crashed your party. Gem said you were meeting for a drink, so I invited myself along. Just like Uni.”
It was just like Uni. Nick usually tagging along. “Maybe I wanted something quiet.”
He raised a brow at me as if calling me out on my hypocrisy. He knew something was up with Abbie. We hadn’t been fooling anyone with the ‘Hey I’m worried about her because she’s late to teach me photography,’ thing. And he’d known for a bit something was very off with Gemma. He just was mate enough not to press.
He knew I’d talk when I wanted to. “Man, you can’t be a recluse all your life. You have to go out. Or has something been keeping you busy? Besides, we have reason to celebrate. Or haven’t you heard? We’re rich.”
I shook my head. “We were rich before. Just now, it’s with our own money. And you know there is work that comes with that right?” And lots of it. Between the sale of our company and the additional boost from my trust fund, I would be richer than my father.
“Richer. Whatever. Still a reason to celebrate.”
“I’ll celebrate when I find a new CEO. Until then, I prefer to keep a low profile.”
“Whatever, mate. You can sit here with your girl and mope all you want. I’m going to go and find someone nice and dangerous and see if I can coax her into spanking me.”
I assessed the raven-haired beauty clad in head-to-toe black leather that Nick stared at. “Something tells me it won’t take much to convince her.”
Nick grinned as he followed the wannabe dominatrix, and I could only laugh. “Remind me again why I’m friends with him?” I asked Gemma.
“Because, despite his many failings, he’s a good friend. And he worries about you. About us. He never asks too many questions, but he knows.” She took a sip of her drink. “So, what’s the big emergency? I’ve been busy this week. But the real question is what in the world have you been up to? I haven’t seen you in weeks. I’m starting to worry you’re depressed or something. You can’t just hide away from the world.”
I hadn’t exactly been hiding away. I’d just been spending every spare minute I could with Abbie, playing undercover couple. So far, no one had taken any notice of us. Riding public transport with her and doing normal people things like schlepping groceries, and hanging out in the public gardens, and seeing museums were a great way to go unnoticed. I’d never given it much thought before, but there was a way to avoid the limelight, and that was to not court it. Whether I liked it or not, club hopping with my friends made me an easy target. So far, we’d been lucky. But things could spiral out of control easily.
I’d been out with Abbie on her shooting expeditions, and so far, not one person had recognized me. Even the gossip-hungry teenagers we’d encountered once at the Basingstoke Mall, where she’d wanted to hit up a boutique to get Faith a present for her upcoming birthday, hadn’t seemed to recognize me. And it wasn’t like my disguise had been that good.
It made me wonder if the company I kept was the main reason for all the fanfare over the last several years. After all, we’d usually turn up, the whole crew. Max and the lads. Chock full of actors and models and my brother, and well, yes. We were a magnet. But individually we weren’t that interesting.
“I’m not depressed, Gem. I’ve just been busy.”
She studied me closely, her pale blue eyes assessing me. “Okay, what gives? There’s something different about you. You’re relaxed. For as long as I’ve known you, there’s always been this edginess to you. It’s still there, but you’re not as hard, I guess. Does that even make sense?”
“I feel good. Listen, things have been changing for me. And—”
“Oh my God. Are you actually getting shagged regularly? Even Jacinda has been noticing that I’ve been distracted, worrying about you.”
“I don’t think regularly is the word I’d used, but I met someone and—”
She smacked my arm. “I’m so happy for you.”
A warm flush swept through me. She was one of my best mates, so of course she’d be happy. “Thanks, but that means that we need to rethink everything. I want to make a go of it with this girl. Our thing is so messy. But I don't want to hang you out to dry. I just need to start living. For real.”
Her pale blue gaze searched mine. “All good things must come to an end, right? Jacinda will be happy.”
“What exactly is going on there, anyway?” Things seemed solid with Gemma and Jacinda. I didn’t want to keep hiding things from Abbie. She’d practically bared her soul to me, and I was still keeping secrets. The need to come clean made me twitchy. But I wanted to take care of my friend before I spilled all her secrets too.
Gemma shrugged, and her brightness suddenly turned somber. “Not sure. She’s fully out of the closet. Her parents, her friends, her colleagues. I’m so fully in the closet that I’ve got a Blahnik shoved up my ass. It’s taking a toll, and I’m not sure how long I can keep it casual.” She smoothed a hand over her hair. “How serious are you two?”
The question had my gut twisting. “It’s complicated, Gem. But I want it. I think maybe it’s time to call this thing.”
She practically gulped the rest of her drink. “She makes you happy, so I’m happy for you, but it’s already complicated, and it pays to be careful. I need to deal with my parents and stuff. Find another situation before we go public. I’ll need somewhere to hide so Dad doesn’t shove young solicitors and bankers at me.”
I knew what Gemma was trying to tell me. “Or you could just tell him the truth and not hide.”
She shook her head. “You know what he’s like. My life will literally be over.”
I scrubbed a hand down my face. “You are still always welcome at my place. That doesn’t change. I have a spare bedroom. You will never be out on the street.”
“And how well do you think that’s going to go over with your girlfriend?”
“She’ll understand. Once we explain—”
She shook her head. “No. No one knows. I need to keep it that way. Just give me a little more time. That’s all
I’m asking. And I’m asking you not to tell your girl. You trust her, but it’s my life so I don’t want her to know.”
“I get it, Gem. But I hate lying. And you and I have been living half-lives. Don’t you want a full life, Gem?”
“It’s different for you.” Tucking her hair behind her ear, she asked. “Give me two more weeks, then we can do a break-up statement or something.”
I lifted a brow. “A statement?”
“Yeah. To get ahead of the PR.”
I sighed not wanting to push too much. “Fine. But we need to do it. I don't want to wait anymore. I’ve told enough lies as it is.”
She blinked rapidly, holding back what looked like impending tears. I’d hold her, but I knew she didn't want that. She’d take it as pity.
“I’m okay, Lex. I was going to have to become a big girl sooner or later.”
“I know. I just didn’t want to abandon you.”
“You're not. I promise. I’ve stopped us both from living long enough.”
I didn’t want to agree with her, no matter how true it was. Our arrangement had been convenient once. But it was stale and serving neither of us well anymore.
I scanned the crowd. Apparently, kink didn’t scare off the young, elite, and rich. The usual crowd I’d see at China White were all here trying too hard not to look desperately bored. Through the crowd, I spotted a flashbulb go off, and I stiffened.
Calm down, mate. Of course, the club had hired photographers for the event. But I eyed the shutterbug again. Slight build. Dirty blond hair gelled up into spikes. I could have sworn I’d seen him before. The hairs on the back of my neck stood at attention, but I couldn’t place the guy. I needed to calm down. The hiring staff would only hire reputable photographers. They knew that we required the utmost privacy, and they wouldn’t hire anyone who had ever worked with the tabloids. But still, I couldn’t shake the feeling I’d seen the guy before. Maybe he was one of Xander’s students?
