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Hannah
Hannah's hands shook as she latched the two deadbolt locks on her front door. Her run-in with Jake had been a close call tonight. Not for the first time, she despaired about how she was going to convince him to leave her alone. The lunatic actually believed she was still planning on working for him, even after he'd drugged, beaten, and forced himself on her the night before.
She kicked off her high heels, crossing through the small space into the galley kitchen. She turned on the cold water and cupped her trembling hands to gather up enough water to swish around in her mouth. The taste of her own blood mixed with the cool water before she spit the now pink liquid into the small sink.
She'd bitten the inside of her cheek when she had been jostling with Jake at the hotel. She'd been terrified he was going to get her into his car again. She got lucky tonight with the group of porters leaving together, but she was under no delusion. Jake had made it clear he was going to pursue her until he succeeded.
She took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself. She'd made so many mistakes in the last twenty-four hours. She didn't want to make more.
Hannah should have called the police the night before, after Jake had dropped her off at her place. The asshole had had the audacity to open the car door for her and walk her to her door as if he were some damn knight in shining armor. The entire drive from his house, she'd planned to call the police to report him, but when she'd been alone, fear had won out. Jake had made it clear he had friends everywhere. That he would be extremely disappointed in her if she were to discuss theirrelationshipwith anyone. The threat was crystal clear.
Hannah walked to her freezer and reached behind the frozen box of lasagna to pull out the Ziploc bag containing the leather journal she'd stolen from Jake the night before. That was the biggest mistake she had made. Of course he'd missed it and, worse, knew she had it. He'd been furious tonight at her refusal to leave with him, and had confronted her about missing something important to him. Why had she taken it on impulse? If she was too afraid to go to the police with it, all it did was tie her to Jake.
Hannah tucked the book back into the freezer, unsure what else to do with it.
She was exhausted. She hadn't slept a wink the night before. When she had arrived at Bloomers for work that day, her best friend, Mia, had known right away something was wrong. Hannah had shared some of the details of her 'date' with Jake, but had been too ashamed to confess the truth about everything she'd gone through. She felt foolish for being lulled into trusting the handsome businessman who'd approached her with a bogus job offer.
Hannah wasn't afraid of working hard. She had two jobs as it was, but she'd studied hard and sacrificed to get her associates degree in accounting, hoping to get the kind of job that could turn into a career. Being a successful businessman, Jake had bowled her over not with his handsome looks, but with an offer to be his new accountant for his many businesses. At the time, she'd looked at the opportunity as divine intervention.
Now she knew meeting him had been a curse.
She shuffled her way to her small bathroom, knowing a hot shower would help her relax and maybe give her a shot at getting some real rest. She was just about to step into the hot water when her cell phone rang. A smile came to her face as she saw who was calling.
"Yes. I made it home safely," she answered the question she knew was about to be asked.
"Thank God for that. You were supposed to call me when you left the hotel so I could be on the phone with you in case you needed me."
Hannah could hear the concern in Mia's voice. "Sorry, I got distracted by Jake showing up."
"What? Is he there now? Are you safe?" Mia's shouts filled the room through the small phone.
"Yes, Mia. I love you for worrying, but I'm safe. I got an escort out to my car."
"Well, shit. He's getting more aggressive. What are you gonna do?"
Hannah heard Mia's concern, but she didn't want tell her best friend the truth. She had picked up and moved across the country once before when she was in trouble. She dreaded having to do it again. "I wish I knew. I may need to... " Her voice drifted off, afraid to say the words.
"Oh no, you don't. You can't desert me. We'll think of something. I need you," Mia said.
She should have known Mia could read her.
Mia ran a small florist in downtown Palo Alto. She'd inherited it the year before, when her parents were killed in a car accident. The Yoshitos had given Hannah a full-time job when she had been desperate for money. They'd treated her like family, and Mia was as close as a sister. Guilt washed over Hannah at the thought of leaving her best friend, especially knowing how much she depended on Hannah's help every day.
She felt defeated. "I don't know what to do. You'd think I'd have learned my lesson about men by now."
"Hey, I met him, and I thought he was on the up and up, too. This isn't your fault. I still think you should go to the police," Mia said.
"And say what? That this man I was stupid enough to go home with and have sex with is following me around, trying to give me a job?"
Mia scoffed. "It's more than that, and you know it. First, he hurt you, Hannah. I saw you wincing today when you sat down. I'm so pissed you didn't call the police. Second, you found out he wanted you to keep the books for shady businesses you want no part of. The guy needs to back off."
The scariest part was that Hannah hadn't even told Mia the worst of what Jake had done to her the night before. The rough sex had been bad enough. Her best friend would freak if she knew he had tied her up, had hit her with his hand, belt and paddle. Still, it was the look in his eyes as he got off on her crying in humiliation and begging him to stop hurting her that haunted Hannah. She'd seen a manic quality in his eyes last night that scared the shit out of her.
She didn't want to talk about it with Mia. "Let's not worry about it tonight, okay? I was about to grab a shower. I'll talk to you tomorrow at the shop, okay?"
"Okay. But think about calling the police, will you?" When Hannah didn't answer, Mia ended the call with a simple, "Night."
