Page 65 of Lethal Seduction

I shake my head. "I think I’ll leave that for another day." How I wish the beeping would stop. Rubbing my temples, I close my eyes.

"Is the noise bothering you?" He wheels to the other side of my bed and presses a green button. "I’m surprised they even had the audible on, usually they silence them unless they think you’re critical."

"Thank you," I say. My headache immediately begins to subside. Taking a few ice chips into my mouth, I suck on them until they melt into water and swallow. The cold liquid feels so good on my scratchy throat.

He looks into my eyes and smiles. The butterflies in my belly take flight and all I can imagine are the intimate moments we will still be able to share. Not just the sex, but the long walks holding hands, late night movies side-by-side on the sofa, soft kisses before falling asleep, and even the little annoying things I know he will do, like squeezing the toothpaste from the middle.

"Would you like to talk at all about what happened?" he asks. "The last thing I remember is seeing you holding a bow and arrow. What happened?"

"Oh, that?" I say, looking down at my hands. There is so much I want to tell him, unburden my heart and mind, but should I? How would he feel knowing what happened to me? Then again, he is the detective on the case. Surely, he will be in the know sooner or later. "Where should I start?"

"Wherever you feel most comfortable."

"After our dinner, I was so upset. I went to Jake’s house to hang out." Don’t lie. This is your chance to be completely honest. "Sorry, that’s not entirely true."

"Go on," he says. "It’s okay." The kindness in his eyes reassures me more than I was expecting.

"I went there to hook up with him." I swallow hard. "You can ask Tina about this, but for good or bad, when I get upset I tend to run into the arms of a man. The comfort they provide me in that moment is like a drug, but then it passes quickly. Honestly, it’s embarrassing, and I hope I never act like that again."

"We all have our own terrible coping mechanisms… it’s probably why we are still single."

I nod. "Anyway, I spent the night talking with him. I knew he wanted more from me, but it wasn’t something I was willing to do. See… I still have feelings for you and I soon realized I shouldn’t have even set foot in that house to begin with. By the time I realized that and wanted to leave, it was too late.” I take a deep breath, willing myself to keep going while I had the strength and courage. “I wanted to leave… not because he was a killer… I didn’t know that about him yet. Recognizing the pattern, I always fall back on, I wanted to self-correct and get the hell out of there. Jake, on the other hand, had other ideas."

"Is this when he hit you over the head?" Michael asks, pointing to the lump at the back of my head.

I nod. "Fucker really got me good. Waking up hours later on the floor, I was already tied up and gagged. Every few hours, he would give me some food or water and then tie me right back up."

"Did he leave you alone in the house at all? Or was he there the whole time?"

"No," I say. "He never left me alone for long. Jake spent a great deal of time pacing the room, talking to himself. It was like he was carrying on a full conversation with another personality or something. The things he had planned for me were…" My voice breaks and tears well up in my eyes.

"It’s okay," Michael says, leaning forward and wrapping me up in his strong arms. His body heat soothes my fears and terrifying memories. "He’s gone now." He rests back in his chair and waits for me to continue.

I nod. "There were hours upon hours of time for me to plan what I would do if I ever untied myself. Once you freed my hands, I lunged for Jake’s quiver of arrows and compound bow. He’d often go to the target shooting range when Tina and I were there, and I knew he had the weapon in the house somewhere. Lucky for me, it was in the coat closet next to where I was tied up."

"Then what happened?" His eyes grow wide. "He struck me in the head at this point and I blacked out."

"At first I thought he killed you. He hit you with a goddamned baseball bat… twice."

He nods. "First time right between the shoulder blades. He must have missed his target and tried again."

"Seemed that way," I say. "It gave me just enough time to load up an arrow and pull back." My voice catches in my throat once again. I swallow hard and fight back the tears that fill my eyes. "He was about to swing the bat for the third time… I knewit would kill you if he hadn’t already. There wasn’t time to tell him to stop, so I shot him."

Michael looks away and sighs. "I’m sorry."

Our eyes meet. "For what?"

"I’d never wish upon anyone… especially someone as kind and good-hearted as you to have to take another person’s life."

Tears flow down my cheeks and I wipe them away.

"Thank you," he says, once again taking my hand in his and kissing me.

I let the moment breathe for a while without saying a word. We both sit in silence, holding hands. What must he think of me? I save his life and I’m the one still crying. Am I weak?

He locks his chair and stands. Thank goodness, he isn’t so badly injured he actually needs it. A sigh of relief escapes my chest. Michael leans over me and takes me into his arms, holding on tight. I melt into him and cry. His comforting form feels like protection and safety. As long as we are together, trusting each other, and in love, I will have nothing else to fear.

"Where does this leave us?" Michael asks, still holding me tightly against him. I can hear his heart beating fast and he is holding his breath, waiting for me to answer.

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