“Only if you try to leave again… and only in ways you’ll beg for.”
I realize at that moment not only will he likely kill me, but violate me first for fun. I need to find a way to run, sooner rather than later. Every second that goes by is another opportunity lost. We haven’t been driving long. I can sense a pattern. At first, we were going out of town, now it seems like we’re heading back into the heart of downtown only from the opposite side. I can still feel the imprint of his hand on my face. My stomach is bobbing and weaving in all directions. I can’t allow him to see or feel my fear. Getting sick would only serve to get me into trouble faster.
I suck it all back down. I close my eyes at the red light and practice all the breathing techniques therapy has given me. I need to call on every single skill I’ve learned in the last two years to keep me sane and somehow telepathically bring Tristan to me.
“Sooooo,” he says in a singsong tone, like we are old friends about to gossip. “Tell me about the new man you’re letting in your pants.” He smiles in a sickening way that I’ve not forgotten, even after two years. “And don’t lie to me. What’s his name again? Tristan… Sloane?”
“Don’t say his name,” I growl through tears. “This has nothing to do with him. Leave him out of it.”
“Oh, Petal,” he seethes, saying the name that Tristan gave me and it makes my skin crawl. “It’s about all of us.”
“How do you know that name? Only he knows that name. Don’t. Ever. Say. It. Again.” Each time my voice escalates and I slap the steering wheel. I wait for the pop of his hand to my mouth. I wait for the gun to dig farther into my ribs. Neither happens. What does that mean?
“Pull over to the right curb. Now,” he says through gritted teeth.
I slowly take the car to park just past the valet stand. Maybe this is my chance. I can say something, alert them that I need help. Just after I place the car in park, Evan squeezes my right wrist so hard that I think it’s going to snap. “You will be polite and if you give any indication you’re anything but comfortable with me, I will make sure your Brit ends up in a pine box beside you. Do I make myself clear?”
Images of Tristan being hurt or dying flash before my eyes and I feel like I’m going to faint. I have to be strong, not just for myself, but now for him as well.
“Yes, I understand,” I whisper, wiping my cheeks.
“Good girl,” he says, tucking the gun back into the waistband of his slacks before taking off the black jacket he was wearing, revealing a suit underneath.
He’s been watching me. For how long? Days? Months?
“You can end this right now, Evan. You can let me go and I won’t say anything.” I make one final effort to make him see reason because if he gets me upstairs and into a room, I don’t know that I will make it out.
“End? No, my darling. We’ve only just begun.”
Both of our doors swing open at the same time. The hand of a would-be savior comes right into my view. Unable to say anything that might send Evan into a rage, I give them a smile and take their hand to step out of the car.
To anyone else, we look like a couple that would belong together. To anyone else, they wouldn’t be able to tell that he’s completely batshit crazy and that I could be taking my last walk anywhere.
I hold my purse tight in my hand. My cell phone is inside. I know he’s going to take it. Fuck.
Oh. Fuck. My tracker.
The credit card sized tracker I have in my wallet. He’d never know. Maybe I do have a small chance.
I walk around the front of the car and his imposing figure is waiting, darker than ever, to escort me inside.
He bends his elbow, offering it to me, giving the outward appearance of a gentleman, when I know he is anything but that.
“Don’t be rude,” he says, “take my arm and let me walk you in, baby.”
I want to run. I have an opening. I can see it. There’s a clear path between him and the car. I could run. I could scream. I could get away.
But he’d find me again.
He’d hurt me.
He’d kill me.
Then Tristan.
You can’t run from powerful men. He’s told me that many times. Now he’s proving it.
So I don’t run. I reluctantly slide my arm around his and let him walk me into the lux hotel lobby.
When we step inside, it feels like everyone is looking at me. I suppose maybe they are, considering I’m still wearing a short formal gown, but part of me wonders if they can sense that something is wrong.
“Can you feel it?” He leans in, whispering in my ear, “They are all looking at you, assuming that I’ve bought you for the night. They think you’re a whore. I’m going to make you feel like one. Trust that,” he leans in closer and growls my nickname once again, “Petal.”
In my mind, I think of all the things I want to do to him for saying my name, saying the name that the only love of my life has given me. I close my eyes again and think of all the things Tristan has taught me, things he’s given me. He’s taught me how to shine in the face of adversity. He’s shown me how powerful I can be. He knows how intelligent I am and is proud of it. He celebrates it in fact.
The only way I’m going to be able to get out of this alive is to do everything Tristan has taught me. Never get on my bad side, he said. The lady has claws. I need to find the right way to use them to keep everything I stand to lose.
Chapter 26
Tristan
“I know she’s in danger. That bastard has her,” I say, trying to push past Lucas, who is still standing in my doorway.
“Whoa, what? What are you talking about?” He grabs my arm and I jerk it out of his grip. “Who has her? Caldwell?”
“Yes, I heard his voice over the phone. He’s with her and now her phone is off.”
“Fuck. Fuck! I didn’t think he’d have the time. I thought I’d be fast enough. Fuck.”
I grab his chin and force him to look at me as if he were my child. “What. Do. You. Mean?”
Lucas slaps my hand away and takes a step back. “The PI called my father. He said they had footage of Caldwell on the tolls. He’s been everywhere around the city for the last couple of days. They’re sure he’s been here before.”
“What kind of inept asshole have you hired? How could he get within fifty miles, let alone be able to get next to her? I’m going to fucking kill them.”
“We have done everything we could to protect her for two years, Tristan. Don’t talk to me like you give more of a fuck than we do.” He shoves me back. “Now, let’s get my parents on the phone and work together to figure out where she is so we can go to her and get her out of there.”
I shove him in desperation, retaliation, and what I know to be absolute fear. “You don’t give a fuck,” I scream.
Lucas, who is two inches and about twenty pounds my junior, steps immediately in my face with his finger pointing directly against my chest. “Shut up, you arrogant fuck. Do you think you’re the only one who stands to lose her? You don't bring a knife to a gunfight. I want to go in with everything we have. You didn't see what she looked like. I did. Don't fucking tell me I don't care. If it wouldn't have killed my parents and Nora, he'd be dead already. So fuck off if you say that again.”