Page 42 of Seductive Desires

“I immediately called Ben and he came to pick me up. I already told him everything so he knew about Stephen. He started the paperwork immediately for a restraining order. Everything by the book. He moved me in with him so I wouldn’t be alone and for a few days, everything went back to normal. That is, until Ben said he was going to swing by my place and pick up some of my stuff. Neither of us thought that Stephen was still around, or that he’d follow Ben home.

“Stephen wasted no time. He broke into Ben’s house that same night, while I was asleep. I woke up when Ben shouted.” A lump was forming in my throat and I swallowed hard, trying to clear it. “They had him on his knees, his arms tied behind his back, his mouth taped shut. He looked so scared…” When I almost couldn’t continue, Liam walked around the desk to sit next to me, taking my hand. “Stephen said it was my fault, that Ben was going to die because he touched me. So I lied. I told Stephen we were just friends, that Ben wasn’t even into women, anything I could think of to try and protect him. And it worked. He seemed happy that we weren’t in a relationship, especially when I promised I’d go with him as long as he let Ben go, unharmed.”

The memories slammed into me like a sledgehammer as I went over that night with Liam.

“I’ll go! I’ll go with you! I won’t even struggle. Just let him go! Please, Stephen, he’s my friend!”

Stephen was tossing and catching an apple in the air. He must’ve been going through our kitchen when Ben woke up and went to check what was wrong. He regarded me, savagely biting into the fruit.

“You know what, sure. I’ll let your friend live if you come home and marry me. You and me are meant to be, Anna.” He stepped up to me, running his fingers down my bare arm. I was still in pajamas. I shuddered at his touch.

“Go get your stuff, we’ll wait right here. But if you try and run, I’m going to put a bullet between your friend’s eyes. Understood?”

I nodded quickly before taking off. I hadn’t unpacked the bag that Ben had picked up for me so I just shoved the rest of my things into it and threw a sweater and shoes on. I would worry about changing later. I pulled my hair out of my face into a ponytail. Once we got far enough away from Ben, I’d make a run for it. Hopefully by then, he’d have called for backup and would be well protected.

I hustled back into the living room where Stephen was waiting. He tossed the apple onto the couch, coming to stand in front of me with a smile. “My Anna, I’ve missed you. This game has been fun, playing cat and mouse, but now it’s time for me to enjoy my winnings.” He cupped my face with his hands, running them down my neck to the collar of my sweater. I thought he might try and kiss me, which would’ve been awful, but he froze, his eyes glued to my neck.

“What’s this?”

I had no idea what he was talking about. His fingers brushed against whatever he was looking at.

“A bruise?” His eyes narrowed. “No… not a bruise. It looks more like…”

I’ve never seen someone make that expression before. His eyes widened, his jaw clenching tight enough that I could see a muscle twitching in it. His hands fisted in my sweater, dragging me until my face was an inch from his.

“What kind of ‘friend’ gives another friend a hickey? Hmm, Anna?”

My stomach dropped. I forgot about that. It was a few days old. Ben had been trying to comfort me and we ended up fooling around to distract me. He hadn’t seen it before because my hair was down. I wrapped my fingers around his wrists, trying to keep his attention on me instead of Ben.

“That’s not it! I burned myself with my curling iron! It’s not what you think!”

He roared in my face like a while animal, throwing me onto the floor. “Liar!”

It was the first time he ever hit me, holding me by my sweater as he slammed his fist into my face over and over. I could hear Ben struggling, his shouts muffled by the tape. One of Stephen’s guys had to ram the butt of his gun into Ben’s stomach to get him to stop.

Stephen stopped, his attention back on Ben. “You touched her? You touched my Anna? What else did you do? Did you fuck her?!” He screamed, storming over to him and pressing his gun against Ben’s temple. I screamed, begging him to leave Ben alone, shouting promises and lies like if I just said the right thing, it might stop him. When I tried to get up to throw myself in front of Ben, Stephen backhanded me. He grabbed my hair, forcing me on my knees in front of Ben.

“Say goodbye. Say goodbye to your boyfriend, Anna!” He jerked me forward by my hair until I was inches from him.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Please!”

I could still hear the gunshot to this day. He pulled the trigger right as I reached out to touch Ben. I had wanted to cup his face, tell him how much he meant to me. Stephen didn’t give me the chance. I choked on a sob.

“He made me watch. And when he was done, he reminded me that it was my fault. That if I had just come home like I was supposed to, no one would have had to die. He said everyone who has ever helped me was dead and everyone who would ever help me in the future would die.”

Liam’s grip on my hand was steady through it all. He didn’t interrupt or ask questions. He just held my hand and listened.

“He ended up throwing me and my bag into his trunk and leaving. I escaped while they were in a gas station outside Seattle and hid in the woods. I found my way out after four days and stole a car, drove to the next major city and got on a train, then a plane, trying to keep it random so Stephen couldn’t find me. I eventually ended up in Chicago. Obviously moving around small towns didn’t work so I wanted to disappear into a major one without being too obvious by picking Los Angeles or New York. I lived on the street for a while before Carlos found me. And you know the rest…”

ChapterTwenty

I sucked in a breath,trying my best to relax. Retelling that story always felt like I was reliving it. I felt tense and exhausted. Liam patted my hand lightly.

“I know it was difficult, but I appreciate you telling me. Now we know his pattern, so I have a better idea on what the best plan is.”

I frowned. “What kind of pattern?”

“You may not have noticed because you’re so deep in it, but he always seems to come after you the same way. He finds out where you’re staying and comes for you at night when you’re sleeping.”

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