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His voice stills my feet, and I glance over my shoulder to find him staring down with more emotion in his eyes than I have ever seen.
“I was terrified today that something was going to happen to you.” His hand comes up, his thumb stroking my cheek, fingers threading into the wet hair at the nap of my neck. “The thought of losing you sends me to my knees, baby girl. Please don’t make me leave you.” His voice pleads with me, and I’m sure he’s about to drop to his knees and start begging.
“Too much damage has been done.” My mind begins to spiral with the thought of him leaving.
“We can fix it. I’ll do whatever it takes to put right how I have wronged you. I’ll do—”
“What we had and what we felt was nothing but a lie. You played me, and so what I felt for you, who I thought you were, doesn’t exist.” Anger and sadness bubbles up inside me like an ugly, toxic cocktail. “Whatever happened is done. You’ll leave…and it will be finished with.”
I look up from where my eyes had drifted to a button on his shirt to find his expression crushed and vulnerable.
“Do you want me to leave?” He utters the question with so much anguish it cuts me inside, but I remind myself of the pain he has caused me with his deceit.
“Yes.”
CHAPTER10
JOSEPH
I findmyself sending Eric back with the shipment. The men will appreciate getting home, and I can’t make them wait for me to be ready to leave because I don’t know if I ever will be. Eric can be in charge of transporting it back up to Walter, and if Walter has a problem with me not returning with it, he can summon me back himself.
I heard the words from her mouth, but it still wasn’t enough to release me from the chains that have me tied to her. I wander through the deserted streets in the quiet night, feeling lost and hopeless.
There has to be something I can do to convince her to give me a chance. I refuse to believe her love for me could no longer be there.
CHAPTER11
ALICE
“Are you sure you’re okay?”Chantelle sits beside me, on the bar stool Joseph sat on the first night he came into the pub.
“Yeah, it was just a stupid scare. I’m okay. A headache from whatever it is he used to knock me out.” I put the empty glass closer to the jug she made up, and she takes charge of refilling it for me. “Joseph hurts more, though.” I heave a sigh and slide down onto the bar, laying my head down on my elbows.
She peers down at me with pursed lips, looking torn. “Well…I hate him for using you and lying to you, but Tony wound’t have found you so fast if it wasn’t for your bracelet…” Her eyes jump down to my wrist.
“What br—”
On my wrist, amongst the others I never take off, sits a delicate silver bracelet with a round pendent attached that’s intricately engraved. When did he put that on me?
“You didn’t know it had a tracker in it?” She examines it with me.
“I didn’t know it was even there. He must have put it on when I was sleeping.” He must have hoped I wouldn’t notice. “Maybe he was scared I would take it off?” I twiddle the bracelet round my wrist. “Wait…” I keep turning it, examining every link and rotating the pendent round in my fingertips. “It doesn’t have a clasp!”
“It’s a permanent bracelet.” She sounds almost impressed. “You’d have to cut it off.”
“Does he think I wouldn’t?” I scoff. How does he think he has the right to track me after what he did?
“Would you, though?” She sits back on the bar stool, taking a long sip of her cocktail. “I’m pretty sure you’d talk yourself out of cutting it off if you ever attempted it.”
“Why?”
“You loved him, and as much as you hate what he did, you still love him, and I think he really loves you too.”
“What are you saying?” She can’t be telling me I should be forgiving him and giving him another chance.
“I think you should hear him out and give him a shot.” Tony’s voice makes us both jump. He stands in the doorway that leads to the back of the pub behind the bar. How long has he been standing there?
“Are you out of your mind?” How can my best friend even think that?
