Page 21 of Blast from the Past

“He’s not dangerous,” I reply when I finally have my pulse under control. “And there is no one else here.”

Zane looks around the park before smiling at me. “Seems we are alone. At last.” He removes a gun from behind his back, letting it rest at his side. “It didn’t have to be like this, you know?”

My blood is cold as it flows through my veins. I’m not sure what the hell is going on here, but I do know I am in serious shit. My phone is in my hand. I was busy texting Shane, trying to get him to blow off work and join us. Fumbling around I hope I hit the “call” button.

“What is going on, Zane?” I ask keeping my voice even.

“I saw you at the fight last week.” He smiles. “So beautiful, so radiant. I knew I had to have you. But then you chose that piece of shit Shane over me!”

His voice has gone up an octave and there is something else in his eyes. Something that makes my skin crawl.

“Zane,” I start but he waves the gun in my direction.

Zeus growls lowly and the gun is instantly aimed at him. Panic overwhelms me and I try to step between them. “Pleasedon’t,” I beg, dropping my phone to the ground and holding my hands in the air.

“Tie him up!” Zane yells at me, throwing the leash I had left on the bench at me, but I accidentally drop it.

Reaching down to pick it up I see that my call has indeed gone through and pray that Shane is listening to every word. Looping the leash around the frame of the jungle gym, I clip it onto Zeus’s collar. A whine escapes him as I move toward Zane. He is about as happy with this situation as I am.

“I don’t know what you want from me, Zane.” My voice is calm and controlled, but on the inside, I am nothing but pure panic. My knees feel weak beneath my weight, and I pray they don’t give out. “I’m just taking my dog for a walk in the park.”

I say this slowly, hoping Shane catches the clue.

“I wanted you!” he yells and Zeus barks, pulling at the leash. “But you gave yourself to him. I fucking saw you!” Zane is clearly not in his right mind. Each word is yelled louder, and he keeps swinging the damn gun around. But it all makes sense now.

The animal heart on my step. The brick through my window. He has been watching me. He must have seen Shane and I going at it like rabbits in the kitchen. I feel dirty and violated knowing he was spying on us in such a personal moment.

He glares at me with blown pupils as he speaks. “I would have been good to you, but now I just want to make both of you as miserable as I am.”

Chapter Twelve

Shane Blake

Today I need to catch up on all the appointments and paperwork I missed the past few days while I stayed in bed with Mercy. It was well worth it, though. Being able to get to know her body and her mind has only brought us closer together.

My phone has made shrill sounds from inside the drawer twice now, and although I want nothing more than to grab it, I remain focused. When it rings, I stop what I am doing and all but rip open the drawer to grab my phone. I smile when I see Mercy’s face lighting up my screen.

“Hey, Babe.”

I wait a moment, but she doesn’t reply. Did she accidentally dial me? Just as I am about to hang up and call back, I hear a man’s voice and my blood runs cold as ice.

“Tie him up!”the man yells. My chair clatters as it falls over when I jump to my feet.

A moment later I can hear Mercy. “I don’t know what you want from me, Zane.”Her voice is calm, but I can hear the fear she is trying to hide.“I’m just taking my dog for a walk in the park.”

Zane.

I will fucking kill him with my bare hands if he so much as touches her.

“I wanted you!”he yells, and I hear Zeus bark in the background.“But you gave yourself to him. I fucking saw you!”I feel sick to my stomach, knowing he watched us together. How did I miss this?“I would have been good to you, but now I just want to make both of you as miserable as I am.”

“Call the cops,” I shout out to anyone who might hear me. “And track my phone.”

I’m glad everyone who works for me keeps their locationtracker app on at all times. We once had an agent stranded for an hour before someone drove by and no one knew where to look for them.

Keeping the phone pressed close to my ear, I storm through the office and out the door. I hear Kalum call out to me, but I am not stopping for anything. I fling myself into the front seat of my truck and thank God it looked rainy this morning. My bike wouldn’t have been any help in this situation. My cell phone automatically connects to Bluetooth, and I hear a pained cry escape from Mercy.

“Where are you taking me?”Her voice is moving further away from her phone.“I can’t just leave Zeus tied up here in the park!”

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