Page 34 of Dangerous Obsession

“A little yeah, but we have history. They didn’t.” My phone vibrates but I ignore it and hope she doesn’t hear it. I know it’s got to be one of my brothers calling, which only reminds me of why we’re here bickering again. “I have to go see Dominic. Okay? I need you to promise me you won’t try to leave. That you’ll stay here. Those men are searching for you. They will kill you, after they torture you for information. I don’t want that. We’ll talk about the rest later on. Okay?”

Willow sighs and nods. She curls her legs back up and hugs them, lying against the back of the couch. She looks so small there, like a child needing comfort. I don’t know how to give that right now. I don’t know how to do anything except follow orders like a pre-programed robot.

“I’ll be back.” I turn and head for the door, jamming my feet into my boots. The only thing on my mind is finding out what Dominic wants and how he intends to help resolve the problem in a way that protects Willow. She doesn’t even see how hard I’m fighting my own family just for her, and to hear she doesn’t want this life is devastating.

When I lock the door behind me, I know there are multiple ways she could leave. She could break any window. Sneak out an upstairs window and jump. Use the basement to go out the cellar door which locks from the inside but not with a key. I’m not sure if she’ll think of any of those things, but it worries me she will. Only, I can’t leave someone here to watch her. There is no one. It’s only me. I have to trust that watching that newscast has put the fear of God in her.

I open the garage door and pull the sedan out then shut the door. With one last glance at the front of the house I climb in. She’s standing in the big picture window chewing her fingernail, hair still just as messy as when she woke from her nap.

“Stay put, Willow,” I whisper. Then I back down the drive and pull away. Dominic better not be wasting my time.

20

WILLOW

Leo

I watch Leo back down the driveway and drive away. The news report was definitely scary to me, seeing how his sort of people handle retribution and paybacks. It isn’t the type of life I want to live. His father was right to send me away the way he did. His motive was to protect himself, but in doing so, he also protected me. Leo would have married me. I would have willingly walked into this mess unknowingly and now that I know what it is, I know I can’t stay here.

It tears my heart out because in the past several weeks I’ve found the love I had for Leo never left. His strength, wit, and charm are the same, though maybe buried under thick layers of defense mechanisms and military-like training. But my awareness of his family culture and the environment within which he lives scares me. Walking away from someone you love isn’t impossible, but it hurts like hell.

I walk back over to the couch and think about how I’ll finally make my escape. As I sit down my stomach churns. It’s been doing that for days now, and my tits hurt. I’ve had unprotected sex with Leo so many times it would be a miracle if these symptoms weren’t what I think they are. I curl up on the couch and lay my head down on the armrest and I hear his phone vibrate on the end table.

He left his phone?

I sit up instantly, picking the phone up. It’s locked, which means I probably can’t use it unless I can guess his passcode. I stare at the notification banner that lights up the screen. It’s a message from his brother Dominic, though I can’t see the context. I wonder if he knows Leo is on the way? I wonder if Leo will come back and see me trying to break into his phone. The thought makes me panic and I drop it back on the table and race to the window and look out, but he’s not here.

Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I chew my fingernail and pace in front of the couch, alternating glances at the phone and the driveway outside the front window. If I get into his phone I could call the police, get someone to help me, but I don’t know where I am. Maybe they could get a trace on the call and help me, but what if someone has his phone bugged?

I’m too fucking paranoid. I have sunk into his world so far that I’m starting to think like him. This is ridiculous. I have to get to my father and he will get me away from the people who want to harm me. Leo can fend for himself. This is not my world and I don’t belong.

I march right over to that phone and start typing in number combinations. I try Leo’s birthday but second guess myself. Was he born in August or April? I can’t remember. I try both combinations, and I even try typing the day first then the year. The phone times out and I have to wait five minutes to try again, so I chew my lip as I focus and think of dates and times that might be important to him. He used to talk about the day his mother died, but I can’t remember the year that happened even if I tried.

When the phone is ready to try again, I just start randomly guessing numbers. I know if I do this too much it will lock me out for an hour or more. Some phones lock you out for a day, and others will force you to take it into a store to have it reset. I can’t afford to have that happen, so this willy-nilly number typing has to stop. I growl in frustration and almost throw the phone when I realize the most important date I haven’t tried yet.

My birthday.

I type it in and the phone unlocks and I go immediately to the calling app, but my thumb hovers over the screen ready to type when another notification comes in. This time from Matty.

Curious, I swipe to look at the messages. He has dozens of them unread, and by the time he gets back here and sees his phone I’ll be long gone, so I open the one with Dominic and scroll up to see he is very upset with Leo. By the looks of it, he’s been upset for a while. But before that I see that Leo has sent very heated messages to Dominic too. Messages about me.

My body feels heavy, my heart still and numb as I read message after message where Leo was defending me. His angry words directed at his father and brother are meant to defend my honor. He has never told me he loves me, but he openly told his brother those exact words. In fact, he said, “She’s mine and you know I’ve always loved her.” Reading that puts tears in my eyes.

Twelve years I spent hurting and feeling angry toward him. I thought he never wanted me, that he had never loved me. My heart and mind were destroyed when he sent me away. I loved him with everything I had. I was ready to give him everything I was. And he and his father made me leave. I saved myself for him, because I wanted to give my body to him as a gift on the day we were married, untarnished, untouched by any other man. And he just sent me away.

But he loved me.

And he never stopped loving me all these years.

My stomach lurches again, churning and bubbling. I race for the toilet. It has to be the emotion this time stirring me up. I hover over the toilet vomiting until my eyeballs hurt, the phone gripped in my hand tightly so I don’t drop it in the bowl. This is awful. My head hurts, and I feel weak. I need to know if it’s pregnancy or illness, because if it’s a virus or food poisoning I need a doctor now.

I flush the toilet, blow my nose, and sit down on the lid with the phone in hand. I unlock it again, this time in one try, and find the grocery delivery app. Leo will be gone a while, and I can have things delivered instantly if needed. I saw him do it the other day when he wanted batteries for the remote. I’ve never worked the app, but I find it fairly simple to navigate. I select a store, type in pregnancy test, and hit add to cart. The little shopping cart icon shows one item, so I click on it.

The pay button intimidates me a little. If his information is saved, I can complete the transaction, but all of my things were left at his father’s house. I can’t pay. Also, if transactions prompt notifications to him in any way, he’ll know I got this, and do I really want him knowing I’m pregnant when I have no intention of staying with him?

I hesitate just long enough for a nasty burp to remind me of the flavor of vomit in my mouth. I hit pay and the screen changes. The screen indicates the order has been placed successfully. I sit and stare at it for a few minutes, wondering what to do. I really pray he stays away long enough for me to get out of here.

I can’t just sit here though. I get up and pace the bathroom for a few minutes, letting my stomach settle. I hate throwing up; it’s so gross. So when the nausea subsides, I walk into the bedroom and look around. I have nothing here that’s mine, but I did see a few things that might be handy. There is a can of pepper spray on the dresser, so I put that in my pocket. And it’s cool out today; I can tell just from looking out the window. I grab a sweater out of the bedroom closet. It’s a little snug, but it will work.

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