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“How dare you say that to me. You just waltz into her life unexpectedly and act like you know my daughter. Who the hell do you think you are?”
“Her husband,” I say firmly. “And you’re the one who arranged for me to ‘waltz’ into her life in the first place, so that’s on you.”
He’s speechless. Blustering. It should give me satisfaction that I stumped the old man, but it doesn’t. All I feel is angry. Defensive.
Sad for my wife, that this asshole is her dad.
“You’re coming to my office now,” he finally says, once he’s found his voice. “And you’re bringing my daughter with you.”
“Fuck off,” I say, before I drop the phone back into the receiver, turning to find Jasper standing there with a shocked expression on his face, his mouth formed into a little O.
“You heard that?”
Jasper nods. “Unfortunately, yes.”
“If he calls back, tell him we’re not interested in talking to him.” I start to walk away, pausing when I hear Jasper say my name. I glance over my shoulder to find him watching me. “Yes?”
His lips curve into a small smile. “Thank you for protecting Miss Charlotte, sir. And for bringing her home.”
“I didn’t protect her well enough, J,” I tell him, remorse socking me in the gut, as usual.
His smile fades. “I didn’t either, sir. But she’s still here with us.”
“That she is.” I head for her bedroom, murmuring to myself, “That she is.”
Chapter Eleven
Charlotte
The dream isrecurring, happening almost nightly now. I’m running along the sidewalk, the deli up ahead and I know Arthur and Martha are inside, waiting for me. Ready to rescue me yet again. My chest aches from breathing so hard and when I spot Arthur standing in the open doorway of his shop, I wave my hand at him, trying to call out his name.
But nothing comes out. I have no voice. And when I feel hands grab hold of my hair, yanking me backwards, I stumble to the ground, Seamus climbing on top of me. Straddling me, thrusting his face in mine.
“Little bitch,” he mutters, his dark eyes blazing with anger. “Think you can get away from me?”
Struggling, I part my lips, a silent scream leaving me and that’s when I always wake up.
Actually screaming.
It’s been two weeks since the incident, as I like to call it, and I’m having daily nightmares. It’s awful, but Perry is always right there with me. He pulls me into his arms every single time I wake up, holding me close and whispering words of reassurance.
You’re safe. You’re okay. You’re with me. I’ve got you.
I always cling to him, the tears falling, my entire body wracked with shivers. The fear I feel every time I wake up from this dream is…
Devastating.
Since it happened, Perry is overprotective to the point of being almost smothering, but I don’t mind. I want him by my side. Watching over me. Checking in on me. He’s currently working from home, something his brother reluctantly allowed him to do. Jasper hovers all the time as well, always trying to get me to eat but I’m never hungry.
I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Perry says I’m traumatized from being abducted and that it’s expected. While I know he’s right, I also think it’s more than that. Physically, I don’t feel well. I’m tired. Emotionally drained. I want to sleep all the time, and the thought of eating makes me want to vomit. And when I do run to the bathroom to throw up, nothing really comes out because I’m not eating.
It’s a horrible cycle.
I woke up this morning to an empty bed. Perry has converted his bedroom—we share mine now—into his temporary office and I can hear him talking on the phone from across the hall, even though my door is shut. I lie there and listen to him, appreciating the sound of his deep, sexy voice, how he’s putting on the charm for someone they’re trying to make a deal with. I don’t even fully understand what they do at Halcyon, but Winston calls Perry,the cleaner. Meaning he cleans up all the messes by making promises in that smooth voice of his, convincing them to agree that it wasn’t so bad and no, they’re definitely not backing out of the deal.
His skills are impressive. I should know. He convinces me to do all sorts of things on a nightly basis, trying to wear me out with lots of sex before I fall into blissful, dreamless sleep.
At first.
