“Please, Tiff… I just have to try. If I piss him off, you know he’ll come after both of us. He’ll go after your brothers. I can’t let my shit mess with you or your family.”
Tiffany knew Bri better than any other person on the planet. She recognized the stubborn glare staring back at her. Brianna had made up her mind, and she was doing it because she wanted to keep her and her brothers safe. “You’re making a mistake.”
“Yeah, and unfortunately, he has proof that it isn’t my first time.”
“Two wrongs don’t make a right, Bri. I know you’re trying to do the right thing, but this isn’t it. Please don’t do this.”
For a brief second, Tiff thought she had gotten through to Bri, but then she saw that stubborn look in her friend’s eye and knew she’d lost the battle.
“I can’t have my screw ups ruin your life too. I’ll be safe, Tiff. I promise,” Bri insisted before leaving.
Chapter Three
Brianna
Damn him. Just take the next exit and drive back to the shop, Bri.
But as the next exit passed, the skyscrapers of the Chicago skyline only got closer.
Shit, shit, shit.
Jake had told her he’d go somewhere close. Somewhere open, and public. Of course, he’d lied. It was what he did.
“Siri—call Asshole.”
Her SUV made the call to the car directly in front of her. It went to his voicemail.
“Jake, I’m done. I’m getting off at the next exit and going back to the shop. Don’t follow me. Don’t phone me.” Brianna paused, her brain scrambling to find the right words to make her ex understand they were over, once and for all. In the end, she tried a new tactic instead of anger. “Please.”
She ended the call just as she pulled into the far-right lane, preparing to exit the Eisenhower Expressway to turn around.
The ding of an incoming text message didn’t surprise her.
Don’t look. It doesn’t matter what photos he has. It doesn’t matter that he has dirt on you that will ruin your marriage. It doesn’t matter.
Except… it did matter. The thought of losing Markus terrified her. It felt like she was in the biggest gamble of her life. To go anywhere with her abusive ex was marriage suicide, but to ignore his threats would put more than just herself and Markus at risk. Tiffany… her brothers. She hated that they’d been dragged into this mess right alongside her.
“Fuck…” she cursed into her empty SUV as she drove past the Oak Park Avenue exit.
The ding of another text was almost immediate. Ding… ding… ding… They were coming fast and furious.
She needed to keep her eyes on the road. Traffic was heavy, but curiosity took hold and wouldn’t let go. The second she saw the X-rated photos he’d sent of her naked and tied down, her desperation spread. The worst was the angle showing the ecstasy on her face as Jake fucked her from behind.
But it was the final ding that sealed her fate. It was almost the same photo. The only difference was the addition of the Chicago Tribune newspaper Jake held above her head, a shit-eating grin on his too-handsome face.
Brianna’s heart sank. She’d been too gone to notice his little photo op, but she didn’t need to blow up the picture to know that she’d find the paper dated in October—six months earlier—but a full three years after she’d promised herself to her husband. It was the biggest regret of her life.
I’m gonna lose him. He’ll never forgive me. How can he, since I haven’t even forgiven myself?
Through her panic, she tried to think of her options. She could call 911, like Tiffany suggested. Jake had been violent with her many times in her past, but even she knew calling 911 today wouldn’t do anything to help her situation.
That left only two other options. She could drive to Markus’s office. It was downtown in the loop, not far from the river. He was going to court today, but maybe he’d be back by now. She could throw herself at his mercy. Come clean. Tell him everything about her sexual needs and how Jake had figured out a sick way to exploit those needs. She knew Markus loved her. He might forgive her.
But… he might not. He might think she was a sicko… a whore… a cheating, sicko, whore.
Or, she could get the compromising photos and videos from Jake, once and for all, and bring this insane mess to an end. She’d rather die than knowingly hurt Markus or her marriage.
That meant passing all of the remaining exits as she followed Jake’s sports car through the early afternoon downtown traffic. She wasn’t surprised when he finally ended the drive under the carport of the downtown Marriott hotel.
Brianna grabbed her purse, jumping out of her car to quickly speak to the uniformed valet attendant approaching her window. “Hi… I’m actually not staying. I just need to talk to that guy up there for a few minutes. Can you hold my car here in the car port for just five minutes?” She pointed at Jake who was handing over his keys to a different attendant.
The young employee glanced around at the busy space. “We’re pretty busy. I really should…”
Bri reached into her bag and came out with her wallet. It only took a ten-dollar bill to buy her the five minutes.
“Okay, I’ll move you over here out of the way for a few minutes.”
“Thanks.” She smiled, trying to keep her panic from showing. That only lasted until she spun to approach Jake and found him missing. In the space of a few seconds the asshole had ducked inside.
She was being played. She knew it. She was the mouse to his cat. The bait to his bite.
Time to bite back.
She stepped into the grand lobby, glancing around until she found Jake waiting for her near the bank of elevators. He’d kept his mirrored sunglasses on, his hands shoved into his tailored slacks, his tanned arms showing muscles and an expensive watch. She’d been down this path before.
Grabbing her phone, she shot off a quick text.
You got me here. We’ll talk in the bar. I’m not leaving the public space.
Bri didn’t wait to see if he’d follow. She turned to her right and weaved through the mostly empty tables to sit in a booth on the edge of the space.
It was an odd game of chicken. The texts started almost immediately. More threats to forward the photos to Markus.
She held her ground. She wasn’t going to get behind a closed door with Jake Davenport. Not again.
She almost broke her own resolve when, after five minutes, Jake texted his contact record for Markus, proving that he had her husband’s work and cell numbers. It proved he could ruin her life in the span of a few seconds.
But she stayed put, nervously glancing at the bank of windows out to the carport. As the minutes ticked by, her heart rate inched up until she saw the valet moving her SUV away, probably parking it in the hotel garage.
There goes my quick escape.
Bri suspected Jake had been waiting for her car to be removed because he started weaving his way through the lobby bar before she even lost sight of her vehicle.
“Playing hard to get, eh?” he gloated as he sat next to her on the same side of the booth.
What an idiot. I should have sat closer to the edge.
“Do not sit on this side,” she ground out, trying not to draw any attention from the few other occupants at nearby tables.