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I decided to give the man some mercy. “If it makes you feel better, I’ll keep the red light off next weekend. I can’t promise you more than that,” I said with a playful smile. “But as payment for this nice dinner, I’ll cut you a break.”
Locke leaned forward and took my hands in his, his gaze intense. “Good. Because I was sitting here wondering how I could lock you in a tower and throw away the key. But I also didn’t want to make a scene in the restaurant.” He glanced around the room with a twinkle of playfulness in his eyes.
I couldn’t help but laugh at his comment, the tension between us finally lifting.
“But,” Locke continued, his voice low and serious, “I won’t stop worrying about you. I can’t help it. It’s who I am.”
“I know,” I said softly, my eyes meeting his. “But you have to trust me too. Trust that I can take care of myself. There are things about me that—” I took a calming breath. “I really can stand on my own two feet. I’m stronger than you think.”
Locke nodded slowly, and I could see the conflict in his eyes. He wanted to protect me, to keep me safe, but he also knew that I needed my own independence. It was a delicate balance, one that we would always be navigating.
“Let’s get out of here,” he said suddenly, standing up and pulling me up with him.
I didn’t protest as he paid the bill and led me outside. The stars above us twinkled in the sky, and I felt a sense of peace settle over me. For a moment, everything was right in the world.
Locke had managed to do one thing. He’d made me feel safe, protected, and watched over. And I’d never truly felt that way before him.
Chapter 20
Storee
I needed to keep my word at least once and remove the red light bulb. I didn’t want to risk the temptation of flipping the light switch on tonight, so if I removed the bulb and crushed it into a million pieces, then the temptation would no longer be there.
Taking a chair onto the porch to stand on, I reached up and unscrewed the red bulb from the overhead light fixture. Torn between my desire and my word, I stood there for what felt like hours. It was as if my body knew what was about to happen, and it was trying to stop me from making a grave mistake.
But then something caught my eye.
Don’t look to the furthest corner of the porch awning, my mind screamed.
I think I always knew it was there. Deep down. But I didn’t want to face that reality. Face what that meant, and face if I liked it or hated it.
The video camera.
There was a video camera hidden on my porch, tucked away just enough behind a beam that I had never seen it before.
Hewas watching. He had always been watching.
There wasn’t a question in my mind that Locke had installed it. That he was keeping tabs on me. I knew.
I knew.
My heart pounded in my chest as I turned to face the camera. The cool night air seemed to disappear as a wave of heat washed over me, and I felt sweat begin to bead on my forehead. The camera sat there, quietly watching me as it had always done. It was like a silent sentinel, something that had always been there but was never acknowledged. Something that was always present, yet never spoken of.
I couldn’t help but feel exposed, like all my secrets were suddenly laid bare for the world to see. I thought back to all the things I had done in the privacy of my porch, all the things I had said and the secrets I had shared. All of it had been caught on tape.
Violated.
My own private space, my own little world, andhehad been watching it all.
But why? Why had he been watching me all this time? What did he hope to gain from it?
The questions swirled around in my head as I stood there, staring at the camera. I knew I needed to destroy it, to destroy the evidence of my life being watched and recorded. But something held me back.
Was it a sick game? A twisted form of pleasure? Or was there something deeper, something that he was too afraid to admit?
I should be raging. Livid.
But why wasn’t I?
