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“The mutt? He tried to bite me and then ran off before I could wring its skinny neck.”
Relief made her hand shake so violently that she wasn’t sure if holding the knife was still a good idea.
“And Blake?” she tried again.
“Didn’t you look at my photos? I already told you. He’s busy.” A pale hand reached up and slid his hood back, a smile ready and waiting on his face as he took in her shock. “So now there’s nothing stopping us from being together, Rose.”
She could only stare. When the cops had initially asked her if she had any enemies or anyone that would attempt to harm her,hehadn’t even made the list, but that was the drawback of the internet – hell, even the papers. You saw enough about someone that after a while you felt like you knew them. “Tim?”
His smile dropped and he picked up the gun. “My name isTom.”
“Right, right, of course,” she said, keeping one eye on the gun his hand had tightened on. “Silly me.” How long had she been down here? She glanced quickly at the fancy-ass clock Blake had installed above his sink and wanted to groan. How had it been only five minutes since she’d got out of bed? Noah would barely be on his way. She needed to stall Tom if she wanted to walk away from this.
A scowl darkened his face, and her stomach clenched so hard she thought she might throw up at any second. “This is the problem with girls like you, more air in your head than brains. So entitled. Soblindto what’s right in front of you!”
“And what’s right in front of me would be… you?” Tom’s eyes were flat and dark and she shivered as his stare seemed to spread a coldness within her that felt penetrating, like she’d never shake it. “Is Blake okay?”
Tom laughed harshly, and she flinched. “Blake this, Blake that,why do you care?Is his dick really that good?”
Her temper flared, and she snapped before thinking. “He’s my – friend.”
“Oh yeah, you looked so friendly on the sofa the other night.”
Nausea churned through her again at the thought of him watching them and she dropped any sort of pleasantness her face might have held up until that moment. They always teach you to stay calm if you’re ever held at gunpoint, to just keep quiet, keep your head down. It was easier said than done. This guy had wrecked her life, and for what? “That’s the problem with guys likeyou,Tim. You’re a fucking pervert who thinks they’re entitled to a woman’s attention just because she smiled at you one time. For the record, Ihatered wine and you were an inconceivable ass on thatonedate we had. Get over yourself.”
The safety clicked off as he pointed the gun at her, face white with rage. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“No? You think you know me, Tim?”
“Tom.”
“Right, that’s what I said.” She smiled at him even though her tongue felt heavy and dark spots danced at the edges of her vision. She just had to hold on a little longer. Noah would come. He had to. “You don’t know anything about me, Tim. Blake, though? He knowseverything– what expression I make when I come, what my pussy tastes like after he’s fucked me, does that make me a slut to you?” She laughed. “What, did you follow me on socials? Read about me in your magazines and jack off? Pathetic.” His finger twitched on the trigger and she knew she needed to de-escalate the situation, shouldn’t have let her temper run away with her as much as she had but, god, it felt good to finally let loose. “What about Samantha?” she said, trying to distract him and letting out a slow breath when it worked and Tom’s eyebrows furrowed.
“What about her?” His finger relaxed on the trigger, and she tried not to signal her relief.
“How did you get her to set me up on the date with you?”
He shrugged lightly. “She’s my cousin.” Of course she fucking was. God, she’d always known Samantha was a psychopath – clearly it ran in the family. “We’re meant to be together, Rose. You know it, too.”
“But what was the point in all this? The flowers, the photos, thethreats,did you think it would make me love you?”
“I wanted to make you see.” Tom waved a hand airily, and she kept her eyes trained on the gun. “I wanted to win you back.”
“By running me off the road?”
“I apologized for that,” he said, jaw tight. “I never meant to hurt you.”
“Just Blake, right?”
Tom shrugged. “All’s fair in love and war.”
God, how deluded could a person be? Rose looked at the clock out of the corner of her eye. Fifteen minutes. She just needed to stall a little longer. “How did you even get in here? The cops are outside, looking for you.”
He smirked and leaned forward against the counter casually. “If you weren’t so self-absorbed, maybe you’d remember me telling you I work in private security.”
Gee, for someone who claimed to love her, he sure had a lot of shitty things to say. “You have a badge.”
“It does help, yes, but more than anythingI blend in.”
