AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I had never seen this side of Terry before. He was struggling to understand my decisions, and it seemed like he was afraid for me, of what could happen to me. I scooted back from him and brought my knees up to my chest. I wrapped my arms around my legs and held myself together. I was instantly happy with my decision to wear pants. A skirt or dress would have made this more difficult. But it felt good to be holding myself together, because right now that’s what I needed. I wanted a bottle of glue so I could begin to put my life back in order. Place everything back into the neat little boxes where they had once lived. Chad had come back and disrupted everything. The glue wouldn’t come until he left me alone, so for now, all I could do was hold the pieces in place and hope they stayed.
Catherine watched me for a moment before she answered Terry. “We didn’t talk about the police, Terry. But I have an idea of how we can deal with this man.”
“What are you going to do?” a small voice asked. It took me a minute to realize that scared voice had come from me.
“I want to talk to Jackson about this. See what he would suggest we do.”
I nodded. “You can talk to him. But, Catherine, I don’t want to bring too many people into this. I don’t want anyone else getting hurt.”
“He’s a former Navy Seal,” Catherine explained for Terry. He was looking at her with such uncertainty. “He owns a security company. This isn’t the type of thing they usually deal with, but given the situation, I think these men would be the best people for the job.”
“She told you everything, huh?” Terry asked.
Catherine nodded. “She kind of had to. I’m in charge of managing certain aspects of her business, and in order to keep her out of the media right now, or to keep people from asking the wrong questions, I needed to know.”
I rested my head on top of my knees and exhaled. I hoped Catherine could help me. I wasn’t sure that anyone could. Chad had a high reach, and the only way out of this might be death. A thought that I had refused to say to myself, let alone out loud. But now with Terry, Catherine, and soon Jackson knowing my secret, I was afraid that he would hurt one of them too.
“Mia.” Catherine said my name in a warm and nurturing way. She began rubbing my back, but I didn’t meet her eyes. “I don’t think you’re in any position to be here at the office right now. I think that Terry should take you home. I’ll talk to Jackson and then we’ll meet again tomorrow, first thing. Once you’ve had some time to rest and relax a bit.”
I looked up at her and nodded.
“I can tell you’re tired. I can see that you haven’t slept. I think, maybe if you went home with Terry, that he could help you get some rest. Okay?”
I simply nodded. I didn’t have the energy to fight anyone right now, especially if I happened to run into Chad again. I would let Terry take me home, I would get some much-needed rest, and then tomorrow, I would be more myself. Tomorrow, maybe we could devise a plan to deal with Chad before anyone else got hurt.
“Yeah, let me take you home,” Terry said, standing to his feet. He held his hand out to me and I took it. I allowed him to help me up, gently. He wrapped his arms around me and gave me a tight squeeze. I returned his hug, and when he released me, I kissed him on the cheek.
“Thank you,” I told him.
“You don’t have to thank me. I’m here now and I’m not going to let anything happen to you. I promise you, I will take care of you and keep you safe.”
I smiled and nodded at his words. I wanted to believe them, but I knew Chad. I knew what kind of man he was and the threats that he was capable of. I just hoped that he never had the chance to carry them out. Catherine, Terry, and Ally were good people, and they didn’t deserve to be marked by Chad. They didn’t deserve to have to live with what I did. Because he would find a way. That much I was sure of.
