Page 112 of Love Me Fearless

His eyes darken with hurt. “Don’t talk like that.”

“You broke into my apartment,” I say in a rush.

“Your windows were always unlocked.”

Not the same as an invitation!I shake my head, but it just makes my head pound harder.

“The bunny,” I whisper. “Why?”

His sudden angry look sends an icy flush down my spine. “It’s a dangerous world out there, Ava. You’re so much safer with me.”

I try to make sense of this, but the threads lead nowhere. He’s crazy.

But how crazy? The kind that kills?

“Jeremy, I need you to let me go.”

He shakes his head, his lips a tight line. “How can I protect you unless you’re with me?”

Frowning makes my eye sockets throb so I force in another breath. “I don’t understand.”

Jeremy stands. “It’s going to take some getting used to. That’s okay. We have lots of time for that.”

He walks to the corner of the room near a bookcase crowded with books to a seam in the wall. “Are you hungry? I could go fix us a snack before we settle in for the night.”

Icy chills fire over my skin. I press to my feet, jangling the heavy metal chain affixed to the middle of the floor. “Let me go,Jeremy. My parents—” I start to cry again “—my friends…Hutch…”

Just saying his name makes me sob. This isn’t happening. Hutch was coming to my house. He’ll know something is wrong when I’m not there. But will he know where to find me?

Jeremy’s lips curl into a sneer. “He’s never been good enough for you. Don’t you see that? He only cares about himself.”

I picture Hutch at the cemetery, racing from his truck to grab me in his arms and hold me. “That’s not true.”

“Has he ever chosen you over the others? Over his precious career?” Jeremy’s eyes flash. “Soon he’ll leave, just like he always does. He’ll forget about you.”

I shut my eyes to block the pain surging up through me. “No.”

“He doesn’t love you. Not like I do.”

“Stop!” I grit my teeth but the pain tears through me. I try to get away from him but the chain jerks, making me hop on my foot to keep from falling.

“I gave up everything for you, Ava.”

The pictures of me with my family and friends pinned to the walls stare back at me. Summers in Finn River, me walking through the UCSF campus, at the café with my colleagues, shots of me and my parents at my medical school graduation ceremony, and many of me since I moved home: running at dusk, walking into my office, loading groceries into my car, filling my hummingbird feeders.

He’s been there all this time, watching. “That’s why you left the Air Force?”

Understanding softens his sickly eyes. “Now do you see? I built this for us. For you. So you can be safe. And we can be together.”

“But I don’t…want to be here, Jeremy,” I say, my voice shaky.

“You’ll change your mind.” He turns away, and the wall opens inward, revealing a narrow, dark corridor.

“I’ll see you soon.” He disappears into the space.

“No!” I scream. “Jeremy!”

The door shuts, sealing with a soft thump.

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