I would not cower. I knew Jaxson would notice I was gone and come looking for me. I would wing it and hope it gave Jaxson enough time to get to me. If not, then I would fight like hell before anything happened that I could not come back from.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Jaxson
“Looks good, bro,” Carter declared, straightening up from inspecting my car’s engine.
“Thanks, man.” I slapped him on the shoulder.
Although I was meticulous when it came to the upkeep of my car, I appreciated another set of eyes. Carter knew his shit about anything with an engine, and I respected his opinion. The kid I was racing had a badass car, but he didn’t have my skills.
With Daddy’s money in his pocket, he was ready to spend. He competed for the adrenaline rush and nothing more. He was extremely cocky, which could be dangerous out there on the track. He wasn’t the first rich prick I emptied the wallet of, and he would not be the last.
I would have to keep my concentration strong in order to come out of this race whole. I’d be damned if I let some little punk beat me or fuck up my car in any way. I had way more pride than that, not to mention I put a lot of work and money in my car. I was not about to wreck it because of some entitled prick.
I didn’t even know his name, but I heard his voice loud and clear as he talked shit nonstop since we had shown up. He didn’t come close to where we were but stayed within hearing distance to ensure we heard his taunts and digs.
Luckily, we were grown enough to ignore the dumbass and concentrate on what was important. There was a time when I would have felt the need to prove myself to some little asshole and laid him out, putting him in his place.
But maturity and all that happened, and I wasn’t that person anymore. I had carved my way through this world, and I knew who I was and what I was about. Getting into trouble I did not need was not on my radar.
“You got this race, bro,” Carter assured me before his attention wandered somewhere over my head.
Turning around, I spotted the same chick who kept popping up, who Carter could not seem to keep his eyes off of. Idly, I wondered when he was going to do something about that, but Carter completely shut down every time she was mentioned.
“You plan on doing something about that?” I asked, facing Carter.
Without looking away from her, he said, “Nothing to do.”
“Sure,” I mumbled but let it go.
I figured he was grown enough and could handle the situation on his own. If he needed me, he would let me know. Until then, I would mind my own business. Besides, I had a girl of my own I much rather concentrate on.
Speaking of…
Looking around, I could not lie about the panic I felt at not seeing Evyn, where she assured me she would stay while I went over my car with Carter. Scanning the area, I couldn’t see her at all. My heart started beating faster as sweat gathered along my temples.
“Where’s Evyn?” I demanded toward Rian.
He was standing right next to his truck, still in the same spot they all had been, but now all of the girls were gone. Rian stopped his conversation with Jesse, the guy next to him, who I hadn’t noticed before.
“She went to the bathroom with Violet and Monica,” he answered evenly, standing a little taller at my rough tone.
Proving to be the smart man he was, he stood tall at attention. Right then, I was close to losing my shit. Understanding that not everyone had the full truth when it came to Evyn, I had to force myself to take a breath.
I should not have listened to Evyn about keeping this quiet. She was embarrassed and did not want people to treat her differently, but she did not have friends before like we did now. She didn’t have someone she could confide in in the past.
The people around us were the good ones and would have her back with no judgment, no matter what. Saying that and having her truly believe it was two completely different things. She was self-conscious about her years moving around.
Trust did not come easy for her, but she trusted me. I cherished that and her, but right now, I had a decision to make. It wasn’t easy for her to decide she could tell me her story, and I would not do anything to make her question her decision.
The people around us needed to know what we were dealing with. One of their girlfriends was with my girl, so he would definitely want to know if his girl was possibly in danger. After a quick second of guilt, I made a decision.
“Evyn has a stalker,” I blurted.
All eyes swung to me, the tension was thick, and I had to tell the whole thing quickly. “A guy from her past keeps popping up and threatening her, making her aware he can always find her no matter where she goes.”
“What the fuck?” Rian growled, looking toward the area where the bathrooms were located.
“He hasn’t approached her or done anything physical, but he fucks with her head,” I admitted. “She ran away from home because he is her stepbrother and wouldn’t leave her the fuck alone.”
“The secrets in her eyes,” Carter muttered.
Nodding, I threw my keys to Carter and told him, “Race if I’m not back in time.”
“Seriously?” he asked incredulously.
I could understand his shock, considering a man never let another man drive his ride, but these were not normal circumstances. Dropping out of the race would take more time than I was willing to waste. Needing to find Evyn, I headed through the crowd. I had to have my eyes on her before I could relax.
“They are lining you up right now,” Carter called after me.
Glancing over my shoulder, I shouted, “Win it!”
Evyn was more important than anything else. I could find her laughing and giggling with the girls headed back our way. It was possible I was worried for nothing, but something did not feel right.
A sinking sensation filled my gut, and I could not ignore it. I relied on gut instincts more often than not, and it never failed. I had to find her. Feeling Rian and Jesse following me, I took comfort in the back-up because I had no idea what I would find.
Forcing the negativity out of my head, I kept moving. I promised her I would not let her get hurt, and I could not go back on that. I knew Paul was here. I could not explain how I knew that, but I did.
If she were hurt in any way, there would be hell to pay. He might have come from money and have money, but I had the family I made for myself at my back. Not to mention, I had a friend of mine look into this asshole and found out a lot of interesting things that might be worth something.
It seemed he started a side job with some bad individuals who Daddy did not know about. The way I figured it, he needed the money and freedom to keep moving around, following Evyn the way he did. He made the wrong choices, and I was about ready to get him out of our lives forever.
Last week, my contact person told me all the dirt was just about uncovered, just a little longer. We wanted an ironclad case before moving on with the information we had so far. We were collecting the data to use as blackmail, basically.
I had no intention to bring this to the authorities, considering the people he was working for were people I wanted nothing to do with, nor did I want Evyn in their sights in any capacity. I hadn’t had a chance to tell Evyn everything I had found out yet.
Leaving her alone at her house was pure fucking torture. I did not want her to receive any more gifts from him. I intercepted several disturbing notes meant to scare her whenever I checked her car at work.
With as little contact with each note as possible, I bagged everything and put the date on it. The police may not be able to do anything since nothing had actually happened, but I wanted as much evidence against this asshole as possible.
Judging from the escalation of the hate and threats he wanted her to have, I knew he was close to the edge of going completely over and doing something seriously harmful to Evyn. I did not sha
re this information with her either.
I held back because I wanted to be able to give her normal, at least, our normal. She was still aware of the threat. She would never let her guard down entirely, but I took some of her load because I loved her.
I fucking loved her, and now I could not find her. Almost frantic with the need to see her, I plowed through people without apology. Vaguely, I heard grumblings, but I kept the focus on my goal to find Evyn.
If I didn’t make it to her in time, I would never forgive myself. Ever. Fear had my feet feeling like cement blocks, almost rooting me to the spot. I had never felt this soul-crushing fear in my life. The closer I got to my destination, the more my heart sped up.
Raised voices alerted me to the fact something was, in fact, going down, and I knew it had to do with my girl. Pushing myself forward, I had to prepare myself for what I would find. I saw some of the worst of humanity, and nothing surprised me anymore, but when it involved the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, it was enough to bring me to my damn knees.
“No!” Evyn screamed while struggling against a man I recognized as Paul from the social media search I did on him when Evyn gave me her story.
Anger filled me, and I wanted to shed blood. Seeing his hand wrapped around her waist like that, filled me with a murderous rage. Squashing it was incredibly difficult, but I had to in order to get her out of this.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Evyn
One moment of fear and surprise cost me precious seconds, allowing him to lock us in there. The snick of the lock clicking home sounded loud in the confined space, and I wanted to vomit.
Looking into his smug face had my anger surfacing. His dark blond hair was held back perfectly with the right amount of gel. Although he wore jeans, his neatly pressed button-down shirt tucked into said jeans made him stand out in a place like this.
Appearing as nothing except the arrogant, rich prick he was, I wanted to beat the fuck out of him. Although he outweighed me and had several inches on me, with my training, I had a chance. However, being face-to-face with him made me forget everything I learned.
“What the fuck do you want?” I demanded.
With the fear slithering down my spine, I was surprised my voice did not wobble or crack. I would take pride in that later, but I set my focus solely on escaping right now. The only way out of here was behind him.
While my voice did not shake, while my insides were a mess of nerves. The first thing they taught you in self-defense was to run and get away as soon as possible. Escape was the goal.
The strong preyed on the weak. Even though I wanted to hurt Paul physically, my thoughts were on escape. I had to get to a populated area where the people were. Help was on the other side of that door.
“You,” his slimy voice interrupted my thoughts. “It’s always been you. You have been mine since your mom married my dad. You looked at me so coyly in your beautiful dress, and I knew we were meant to be together. You played hard to get. I figured you were too young to understand your place. I gave you time, I gave you space, and I gave you room to grow up. You fucked up, though, and I am not happy with you. Becoming a whore to a fucking bartender is not going to go unpunished, Evyn.”
Was he for real? He was unhinged and delusional, which made him even more dangerous. Being a waitress, I had to be able to read people if I had any hope of getting a decent tip, which meant I could read him. There would be no talking Paul out of whatever he had planned. All I could do was keep him talking for as long as I could to give time for help to arrive or for a plan to come to me suddenly.
“I am not yours,” I said with conviction. “I did nothing to indicate anything different.”
I would not go out like this. I should not have to be made to feel as though I did something wrong. That was bullshit. I did nothing to attract this level of fucking crazy. I did nothing to have this psychopath after me.
This was his fault. This fell on his shoulders, and it was about damn time he was held accountable for it. I was sick and tired of having to carry this weight that did not belong to me and trudge through each day without living.
The last few months with Jaxson showed me what a free and happy life could look like, and I refused to let that go. I was in love with Jaxson, and I wanted the chance to tell him, to tell him I couldn’t live without him, to tell him he was fucking everything to me.
There were so many moments with Jaxson that I would always hold close. There were times where I knew deep in my soul would never leave me. He gave me my life back, and I cherished him for it.
After weeks of being on cloud nine, in a constant state of happiness, I should have known it would crash down on me. I ignored all the warning signs of impending doom, pretended nothing else existed other than Jaxson.
With a certainty that my past would come back and fuck everything up, I tried valiantly to hold onto the good moments spent with Jaxson and my new friends. Slowly, one by one, I developed relationships with the people around me.
I was even invited to a girls’ night out that I was looking forward to. Never having close girlfriends, I was excited to see how it would work out. Now, I had to deal with this shit and had no idea what would happen beyond this moment.
“Yes, you did,” he replied in a calm, even tone as though we were having a normal conversation. “You were constantly taunting me, wearing tight, low-cut shirts, shorts short enough that I could practically see your pussy. You want me as much as I want you. I’m fucking pissed you fucked the low-life bartender, but I will fuck his memory out of you. You belong to me now, Evyn, and I plan on marking every inch of you and in every hole.”
He discussed raping me in the same way he would talk about the weather. He was seriously mentally unstable, which made him unpredictable. There was no telling what he would do if I did not get out of there as soon as fucking possible, and the thought had my veins running ice cold with dread.
There was no fucking way I was going to go out like this. I had been through too much in life to have it end because of some deranged lunatic. I had to keep him talking while I formulated a plan.
“How did you find me?” I genuinely needed the answer to this.
It did not matter where I moved, what city I stayed a night or two in, which place I stayed for longer. He always knew where I was. The feeling of being watched, the random postcards showing up at whatever job I had at the time, a message was sent to let me know he could get to me at any point.
When I first ran away, I wanted to get away from Paul’s creepy attention, but I also wanted to find who I was without my mom’s baggage weighing me down. I wasn’t scared of Paul until he started stalking me. If he had left me alone after I moved, everything would have been fine, but he didn’t do that.
“Your mom,” the words dropped like a bomb between us.
Of course, I should have prepared for that answer. My mother never believed me when I expressed my concerns about Paul. So desperate to keep her pretty little life intact, she blew me off every time I tried to talk to her.
“She knows we should be together. She approves of our relationship,” he continued.
I checked in with her throughout the years, letting it slip where I was in some conversations we had. Not once did I ever question being open with her. I missed her. I wanted the connection with her. During the uncertainty of my life, I just wanted my mom.
Lesson learned there. It was beyond time to move on. Keeping my expression blank, I did not give Paul the satisfaction of seeing the pain of the betrayal I felt. He did not get that. Later, when I was alone, I would get rid of all the nasty, slimy emotions filling me.
“What’s your plan now?” I asked with a tilt of my head. “If you take me out of this bathroom, there are a lot of people out there, and I will not go with you willingly.”
If I moved fast enough, I could rush him, knee him in the balls, and
unlock the door since he was not blocking the doorknob. If I managed to accomplish that, I might be able to use all my weight on him to get him to fall flat on his back, giving me an opening to run.
It sounded like a good, solid plan, but I had to wait to see what the reality would bring. He studied me without saying anything, almost like he could see what I was thinking. But that was a lie. He did not know anything about me, especially what was in my mind.
“I plan on taking you to our home,” he said with a soft smile that looked all kinds of wrong with the psycho glint in his eyes.
I could not believe I never saw the absolute manic look in his eyes. He was certifiably crazy. His hand moved out of his pocket, and a flash of silver had my undivided attention. The knife looked like any other pocket knife I had seen, but this one was dangerous.
It would not be used to open a package, remove a splinter, or whittle wood. No, this knife was to be used on me in order to get me to go with him. It sucked he had a weapon while I didn’t, but at least it was not a gun.
Silver lining and all that. With my plan becoming more dangerous, I knew I still had to follow through. He could slice me and hurt me, but I was not leaving here with him. There was no way in hell I would be docile and follow wherever he wanted me.
“I won’t go anywhere with you,” I stated firmly, disgust and loathing coloring my tone.
Face darkening in anger, he shifted on his feet, and I knew it was action time. Plan firmly in mind and drawing on my years of self-defense training, I lunged forward and kicked into action. If Paul really wanted me, he was going to have to work for it. In the end, I would either beat his ass and escape, or I would die. Either way, he wouldn’t have me. I wouldn’t allow it.
Knocking him back into the door, I fumbled with the lock as his arms wrapped around me out of reflex. Catching him off guard was a saving grace for me since it took longer to unlock the damn door than I had planned.
In the movies, all these moves looked flawless, but the reality was far from that. My adrenaline was at an all-time high, and my movements were jerky at best. Noticing him regaining his footing, I realized I was running out of time.
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