Page 117 of Coercion

Someone puts the mobile in his palm and he wraps his arm tighter around my body. “You remember your orders?” He says.

I nod. I remember every word. Everything my mother told me barely an hour ago, even though none of this makes any sense.

“And any hint, any attempt to tell them what’s really going on and I’ll put a bullet in your pretty skull, this whole deal be damned.”

I nod again. I’m not so stupid as to be blatant about it. Jace must be helping me. It’s the only thing that makes sense. I’m not going to ruin my only chance of escape.

He dials the number, holding the phone to my ear and I shut my eyes, hating the way everyone is watching me right now.

When I hear my husband’s voice, my heart actually leaps. I let out a whimper before I can stop myself and someone in the room snarls. The hands around me dig in tighter and it takes everything I have not to react.

Afterall, Jace is helping me.

He might be pretending right now, but he’s Preston’s man. He’s on my side.

“Ruby?” Preston says in shock.

“It’s, it’s me.” I say back, focusing on him.

“Where are you? Are you hurt, are you…” He falls silent, no doubt remembering exactly how hurt I was the last time he saw me.

“I’m okay.” I state, forcing myself to get some sort of control. I have to do this right or Preston will be dead and it will be entirely my fault. “I just, I needed to get out.”

“Of course.”

“I, I’m sorry.” I say. “I just saw red. I saw red, Preston. That’s why I left. I needed a little thinking time.”

Please let him hear it, please let him hear what I’m not saying, the hidden message in my words.

Jace’s hands squeeze around me in warning. I’m going off script. I know and so does he. The feel of a gun pressed against my neck sets my heart racing even faster.

“Where are you, Ruby?” He asks after a moments’ pause.

“I, I can’t tell you that.” I reply, reverting to back to the plan, their plan. “But I want to see you, to talk.”

“When?”

God, he sounds so desperate, he sounds like he believes everything I don’t want him to and he doesn’t hear anything else.

“There’s a park near to where I am. I’ll message the address. Be there tomorrow at ten am. We can talk.”

“I’ll be there, Ruby.” He says. “I’ll be there.”

“I love you.” I say before I can stop myself. I need him to hear it. I need him to know, even if this goes wrong, even if everything crashes around us, I need him to realise that I forgive him.

That we are so far from all the shit that he put me through, all that torture.

“I love you too, Ruby, I love you so much…”

Before he can finish, Jace hangs up the phone.

“How sentimental.” He says, before running that gun down my cheek. “I wonder how long it will take for you to make such declarations about me?”

“Go to hell.” I snarl before I can stop myself.

He tuts, grabbing my face, planting a disgusting kiss on my lips as I try to get away.

It’s an act. It has to be.

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