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Of course.
I wouldn’t stay if I were him. He doesn’t need me being an unhinged crazy person when he’s already done so much for me.
I allow my eyes to drift closed again and tug the covers higher around me. How long can I stay in here and not face whatever I have waiting for me when I step foot outside these four walls?
Even as I ask myself the question, I know it’s a stupid thought. Ace won’t let me bury my head in the sand, and neither will all the other people that have helped get me this far.
It’s strange going from having only those who deemed me their property to having a full support system that wants the best for me.
A mixture of guilt and fear crash into me, and I let out a pained breath. They’ve done so much for me, they’ve given me so much, and I’m going to leave them all without a word to go back to the life they saved me from?
But I don’t have a choice. Not if I want to keep them safe.
A faint buzzing sound pulls my thoughts from how I’m going to tackle this escape, and I let out a quiet moan. Doesn’t whoever’s on the other end know I’m having a pity party and I’m the only one invited?
I roll over and pluck my phone from where I left it this morning, answering without bothering to look at the caller ID.
“Hello.”
Silence meets me on the other end of the line, and after a few seconds, I pull the phone away from my ear to check if the call is still connected.
No Caller ID
Those three little words make my stomach plummet, and I sit up straight in the bed, suddenly aware I’m still wearing the towel I wrapped around myself after the shower. If I could think through the blinding panic that settles over me, perhaps I would be able to feel relieved that Ace didn’t see the scars that litter my body, but I have more pressing issues than him knowing the extent of my torture.
“Hello?” I force through gritted teeth. The last thing I want is for him to know how affected I am by him, but it would be weird if I wasn’t afraid of the man who groomed and sold me.
He may never have taken me himself, but he made me into the perfect little whore for his buyers, and in a lot of ways, that makes him worse.
I take a deep, calming breath and wait. If he wants to play a game of cat and mouse, I’m more than happy to wait him out. But his voice never comes. Just silence.
He’s trying to unnerve me. He knows that I’d know who’s calling. After all, there are only a few select people who should have this phone number. But I’m not going to let him get the best of me, not when he already has so many times in the past, and I’m sure he will in the future too.
The line disconnects, and I let out a stuttered breath.
I’m not sure how much more of this I can handle. But what choice do I have?
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
ACE
Iwish I could say things continued as normal after Mia woke up, but that would be a lie.
It’s been three days since I finally touched the woman I’ve been dreaming about since I hit fucking puberty, and each day she’s more withdrawn than the last.
Emerson came over tonight while Rayne had some work to do. Apparently, this apartment and the amount of security they’ve surrounded it with is safe enough to leave his wife for a few hours.
Mia made an excuse twenty minutes ago about needing to get something from her room, but she hasn’t come back, and every time I go to stand, Emerson shakes her head slowly, and I sit my ass back down.
“She’s regressing,” she finally says from her perch on the couch.
I look up from my screen and meet her green eyes. “Yeah. The last few days.”
“She’s back to not eating?”
I nod, rubbing my hand down my face. I’m also back to not sleeping, which is doing little for my concentration or patience.
“Was it the note?”
