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I blow out a breath and nod. “What did they say?”
She pulls away from me and goes to the sink, grabbing a glass from the counter next to it and filling it up. Glancing over at me, she chugs the whole thing before leaning back against the counter and closing her eyes. I go to her, stopping just in front of her and pressing my body against hers. She lays her forehead on my chest and takes another deep breath.
“What did the letters say, Baby?”
“The first one just said that he loved all my work and he thought I was really talented and that he couldn’t wait to read the column,” she says, not lifting her forehead off my chest. I want her to be comfortable but I need to see her eyes. I slide my hand into her hair and give it a little tug, urging her to look up at me. She does and it almost guts me. She’s so fucking scared right now, and I don’t have any way to make it better.
“How many more have there been?”
“Just one more.”
I nod, running my fingers across her scalp in an effort to calm her. “And what did it say?”
“He was talking like we were in a relationship, and he was sad that I had been working so much and not seeing him. He sent a teddy bear and a rose with that one.”
All of this feels so familiar, and I know that Ian is behind it but I won’t be making the same mistakes again. I’ll end this before he ever lays a finger on Ali.
“Are you sure he was watching me?” she asks, chewing on her bottom lip again, and I reach up, pulling it free from her teeth.
“Yeah, Baby, I’m pretty sure.” The less she knows right now, the better. I don’t want to scare her, and I can’t protect her if she runs from me.
She shakes her head and pushes me away as she straightens her body and walks over to the end of the island and paces back. “No, this has to be a mistake.”
“Ali…”
“No,” she says, cutting me off. “This is a mistake. He was just checking his phone or something, and you misinterpreted it.”
“What about the letters?” I ask, wondering if I really want to poke holes in her theory right now.
“The letters are just from a fan who’s gotten a little carried away in his crush for me. My article went viral so a couple of weird letters are to be expected.”
As she passes me in her pacing, I reach out and grab her, pulling her into my body again. Her head drops back as she looks up at me, and I press a quick kiss to her lips.
“Maybe you’re right, Kitten. But if you’re wrong, I’ll never let anything happen to you so you don’t need to worry either way.”
She searches my eyes for a moment before she buries her face in my chest, and I hold her, mentally promising her and myself that I’ll die before I let anyone hurt her. I may have fought this but she’s my life now, and I won’t lose her.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chris
Rage twists through my veins like heroine as I stare down at the photo in my hands. How? How could she do this to me? Even looking down at the snapshot of them together turns my stomach, and hatred simmers in my soul. I crumple the photo and turn away from it but it doesn’t matter. In my mind, I can still see him on top of her, his lips pressed to her neck as her naked body stretches out beneath him. I’ve been sitting here in my car, watching her house for what feels like hours and yet, I still can’t understand why she would betray me like this. I thought we had something real and special but the moment I go away, she’s with him. I’ll make him pay for this. He’ll regret ever touching my girl but what the hell am I supposed to do about her?
Even now, I still love her.
Looking down, I unfold the photo and stare at it again, letting the anger take hold as I look at the way he thrusts into her like he has every goddamn right to. But it’s the look of ecstasy on her face that drives the stake into my heart. The anger builds and builds until it feels like I’m going to explode, rising up from the pit of my stomach until I’m forced to scream out into the car, slamming my fist down on the steering wheel.
My perfect angel.
She’s been destroyed by this insignificant piece of shit. Who the fuck does he think he is? I glance over in the passenger seat where the rest of the photos of them together are. I threw them in a fit of rage, and now they’re scattered across the car, taunting me with the image of my beauty being fucked by the devil from every angle.
I can’t wrap my brain around the fact that she would do this to me. We were building something together. Why would she go and destroy it like this? Then again, I suppose she thought she could get away with it. Pain like I’ve never known stabs at my chest again and again, and I can’t believe I trusted her. Leaning back in the seat, I look up at the house again, my heart shattering in my chest.
There is so much that I imagined for us, for our future, but that’s all gone now, and someone needs to pay. And I’ll start with him.
Just as I’m turning away, I spot a different photo, and my eyes widen as I pick it up. It’s my sweet Ali crying on her bathroom floor, and it hits me out of nowhere. Of course! She’s not there voluntarily. I stare up at the house like it might tell me the answers. It makes sense, actually. He’s in a motorcycle gang, a lowlife. He’s keeping her there against her will.
Needing validation, I slip out of the car and creep across the street before sneaking into her backyard, careful not to alert anyone of my presence. The last thing I need is him going off on her if he realizes that I’m here. God, this must be why she hasn’t responded to any of my letters and why it’s been harder and harder to see her. She was probably trying to save me, and I responded by assuming she cheated on me. I’m filled with remorse as I carefully open the gate and creep along the house.
