Sighing, he stands up and pulls his chair closer to mine so our knees are touching. “The night that I had to bail on Road House.”
“Oh,” I whisper, sucking in a breath. “And you never once thought to tell me?”
“Baby, I almost told you every fucking day. It was killing me but there was nothing I could do. I couldn’t betray Blaze and I couldn’t walk away from you either.”
I narrow my eyes. “You keep saying that but no one forced you to do any of this.”
“I’m not trying to put the blame on anyone else,” he says, grabbing my hand and wrapping it between both of his. “I wish I could explain the way I felt when I first saw you. It was like someone punched me in the gut and it didn’t take long before just watching you wasn’t enough. And once I met you face-to-face in that diner, there was no walking away for me. It didn’t matter that I had avoided relationships for years or that I have a shit ton of baggage I carry around with me because what I feel for you is bigger than all that.”
Tears sting my eyes as I watch him, searching for the right answer. “You made me fall in love with you and then you tore me apart in a single second. I don’t know how to let that go no matter how much I want to.”
“But you do want to?” he asks, hopeful for the first time since this all went down. I shrug.
“I don’t know.”
He nods, the hopeful expression still on his face. “That’s okay. I’ll keep working to make this up to you, Tate. I’m never going to stop. I’m never going to walk away. My love for you is stronger than my mistakes.”
I nod, turning away from him as I wipe away a tear and stare out at the night sky.
“I do have one more question,” I prompt, glancing back at him and he nods. “Why the phone calls? Was it part of some game? Did you need me to truly believe I was in danger so when all this was revealed, I’d take it seriously?”
His brow furrows. “Are you talking about the creepy breathing calls?”
“Yes, among others.”
“Baby, that was never me. I thought you said it was Reed.”
I blow out a breath and lean my head back on the chair. “I thought it was but when I found the video feed on your phone, I thought it had been you doing that, too. I mean, the whole “beware the man you know” thing seemed obvious.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
Sighing, I grab the gun and push out of the chair as he releases my hand. “Follow me.”
We step inside and he closes the door behind us, making sure it’s locked up tight before he turns to me. I walk through the kitchen, to my bedroom, and go to the closet, pushing the clothes to the side.
“Where are you taking me?”
I grin as I glance over my shoulder at him. “You’ll see.”
I press on the number panel and hear a quick intake of air behind me as it pops out and I enter the code. The door springs open.
“What the fuck?” he whispers as I step inside with him hot on my heels. “This is where you were hiding when I couldn’t find you on the cameras?”
I laugh, imagining him freaking out when I’d gone missing. “Yes. I started spending a lot of time in here after the first phone call.”
“Right,” he says as I sit down in front of the computer. “What were you saying about that?”
“Hang on, I’ll pull it up.” I click on the folder where I have all the important video saved and click on one where the answering machine picked up.
“Taaaaaatteeee,” the voice says and a shiver works its way down my spine just like the first time. “Are you there, Tate?” It waits a few seconds before continuing. “Walls have ears. Doors have eyes. Trees have voices. Beasts tell lies. Beware the rain. Beware the snow. Beware the man you think you know.”
There’s a few seconds of heavy breathing before the maniacal laughter that’s tormented my dreams since echoes through the safe room.
“Jesus Christ, baby. Why didn’t you ever tell me about this?”
I roll my eyes, leaning back in my chair. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Lincoln, but my mother raised me to be pretty self-sufficient. I don’t like asking for help.”
“Yeah,” he scoffs, crossing his arms over his chest. “I noticed. Is there anything else?”
Sighing, I show him the note that was taped to my door and he reads it before meeting my gaze. “Does this have any meaning to you?”
“Besides the obvious threat, it was a play I performed in high school.”
“King’s daughter,” he muses, staring back down at the note. “Dominic King.”
I nod. I’d reached the same conclusion after Blaze told us all the truth. My mind drifts to a man I’ve never even met before as I watch Lincoln study the note.
“Is he really that bad?”
He glances up. “Who? Your father?”
I nod and he scoffs.
“You haven’t googled him yet?”
I shake my head, glancing at the computer screen. “I’ve been too chicken.”
“Wait here,” he growls, tossing the note down as he storms out of the safe room and disappears into the living room. Glancing up at the camera feed, I watch him walk over to his bag and rip a folder out of the side pocket before turning back to the bedroom. He barges into the safe room again and slaps the folder down in front of me.
“That is your father.”
I grab it and flip it open, my mouth dropping at the first newspaper article’s headline: Family of Four Killed in House Fire.
“Are you saying he did this?” I ask, whipping my head in his direction and he nods with a grim expression on his face.
“No,” I whisper, turning back to the folder and flipping through more articles, each one worse than the last.
Man Skinned Alive
Woman Killed in Acid Attack
Missing Child Suspected Dead
“How could someone do all this?” I whisper, tears burning my eyes and Lincoln grabs the arms of the chair and spins it to face him.
“Dominic King will do anything to the people who betray him and even their families aren’t safe from his wrath.”
I shake my head as a tear streaks down my cheek. “Just like me.”
“No, baby,” he says, kneeling in front of me. “You are nothing like this man.”
“I… I shot you in the leg because you hurt me. I tased you over a misunderstanding and again just to cause you the same pain I was feeling. I’m a monster.”
“No,” he growls, fisting my hair. “I don’t ever want to hear you talk like that again. Before me, had you ever hurt anyone?”
I shake my head. “No.”
“Okay, then. I deserved this,” he says, pointing to his leg. “And I don’t care. Do it to me again. Hit me, tase me, shoot me; as long as you’re mine, I’ll take it all.”
“That’s sick. We’re sick,” I whisper and he smiles, leaning forward and pressing his forehead to mine.
“So be it, baby. If loving you makes me a little sick, I don’t give a shit because I also think loving you makes me a better man and I’ll take that trade any day of the week.”