Page 51 of Save You

Before he lets me go, he kisses me long and lazily on the lips, still thrusting his semi against my hip.

“Anything for my bride!”

Chapter 20

Beth

I didn’t argue with Oliver because the thought of getting the hell out of that house and taking a break with Leo, was the only thing that stopped me from reaching for the nearest bottle of pills and ending it all. I felt the cold rush of air when we stepped outside the door and breathed clearly for the first time in I don’t know how long. Leo could see the relief on my face and let me revel in it. I took it for all it was worth, even if he is armed, and the thought of that terrifies me. From what I’ve heard, I’m a walking, talking target to get at Oliver. However, maybe it’s a better fate than the one I’m heading into when we are finally married.

We’ve been out for a good few hours, with the task at hand only having taken all of five minutes. However, we had then taken a stroll around Central Park and stopped at a nearby café. I made poor Leo talk about his life with his family, for I wanted to feel normal; to pretend he’s a friend who I met up with for a catch-up on a Saturday afternoon.

“Do you think…never mind,” I sigh as we walk slowly back through the park. It’s October and the leaves are turning beautiful shades of reds, oranges, and yellows, providing the perfect autumn backdrop. It’s cool enough to wear a chunky cardigan, which I fold around myself and cuddle close to where my baby once lay when she was safely growing inside of me.

The air smells different here, the sounds are loud and interfering, and the busy streets make me homesick for the quiet North Beach back in California. I crave the ocean like oxygen, but at least the park gives me a moment of peace and some semblance of calm.

“What?” Leo asks and gives me a side glance as we continue walking along.

We’ve already been given a few strange looks, seeing as I am a tiny woman in the shadow of a hulking great bodyguard next to her. I can see people trying to work out if I’m anyone they recognize, being that this is New York and I have protection with me.

“Do you think after a few years he might get bored with me? That I will have served my purpose?” I ask, hoping against hope this might be the case one day.

“I don’t know, Beth,” he sighs, “you might get lucky. You could sure use a break, but I don’t know with that grandfather of yours around. I know they don’t tend to let people back out once you’re in.”

His words are honest but bring heavy disappointment with them.

“Maybe I should just throw myself off the Brooklyn Bridge? Everyone I love already thinks I’m dead anyway,” I half-joke. The scary part is this might be the better option for me.

Leo stops dead in his tracks, grabs me by my shoulders with a look so intense, I feel like falling against him and letting it all out.

“Don’t talk like that, sweetheart, don’t ever let me hear you talking about taking your own life. Things will change for you, I promise. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but one day!”

It’s too much for me to hear, the promise of hope when it all seems to be lost in the here and now. He leans in to hug me, but I immediately push him back again.

“Don’t,” I whisper-shout, “don’t touch me! If it gets back to Oliver, or my grandfather, that you hugged me, they will hurt you, and I can’t have that on my conscience. Please, don’t ever touch me; I care too much about you.”

“One day, Beth, you’ll be free and I’m gonna hug the shit out of you!” He smiles softly, forcing me to let myself break into a grin. “I promise, one day.”

I nod and wipe my eyes before falling into step alongside him again.

The moment I set foot back inside of the house, something feels off. There’s a strange sense of foreboding in the atmosphere and it has me trembling in anticipation. When I step inside of the lounge, where Oliver had forced me to take him earlier, I see a face I haven’t laid eyes on since the engagement party. It’s the creepy guy with the jealous sister, making himself all at home in one of the red, velvet armchairs. Pru is serving him tea while he smokes on a cigar, looking like he’s the master of the house.

“Pru?” I murmur, breaking up a little tete-a-tete they seem to be having about how best to serve scones.

“Ah, Miss Taylor!” Chad beams but makes no attempt to get up. I feel strange, like I’m a guest in his house, not the other way around. “Being British, I’m sure you can solve this little debate between Pru and I?” He winks at her with a flirtatious smirk, causing her to blush and look away with embarrassment. “What say you, cream, or jam first?”

“I don’t like cream. Where’s Oliver?” I reply and turn away from him to question Pru, not caring one iota if I’m coming across as rude.

“Did you hear that, Pru?! She doesn’t like cream! Scandalous!”

He laughs loudly while she emits a nervous giggle, clearly uncomfortable and wanting to shuffle back into the kitchen to hide. Their refusal to answer my question makes me suspicious and I wonder why the hell this guy is here in the first place. Oliver didn’t seem to hold him in very high esteem the last time I met him, so I can only assume he’s here with his sister, Felicity.

“Pru? Oliver? Where is he?” I step forward with a deep-set frown, growing more and more impatient by her lack of answer.

“He’s upstairs, darling, in your bedroom.” Chad smirks smugly, winking like a slimy toad that deserves to be thrown out. I merely snarl at him, then turn to head in the direction of the staircase, ready to find out what the hell is going on. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, darling,” I hear him mutter around his foul-smelling cigar, “I’m afraid you won’t like what you see!”

I spin around on the spot, finding him with a grin so conceited, so vile in its intent, I instantly what to smack it with the heel of my boot.

“What will I see?” I snap, now seething with rage.

---