“Uh… it’s called The Speakeasy. You know it?”
That’s where we’re going for lunch with my sisters.
I was only barely able to hide my surprise, and he watched me with expectant eyes as my heart thudded against the bars of its cage. There were a hundred other people within ten yards of us, so the fact that he asked me was one Hell of a coincidence.
“Uh, yeah… I know it. It’s down—” Pointing the opposite way of the Speakeasy, I thanked any deity that would listen that my voice didn’t tremble, “—that way about eight blocks.”
“Oh, thanks. I appreciate it.” Watching him walk in the direction I had told him to go, I narrowed my eyes as a myriad of scenarios raced through my mind’s eye. The fact that a man I didn’t recognize knew where I was, where I was going, and Anthony’s name was just too much for me. Rushing past the gate guard, I found my car at the back of the lot in record time, and my hands trembled as I unlocked the locks.
Someone was following me.
Someone knew where I worked—where I went to lunch with my sisters.
Someone knew Anthony and I were together.
And Anthony surely didn’t text that person, because he didn’t have any numbers in his phone but mine, Kelly’s, and his therapist’s.
Which means he was lying.
Chapter 19
Anthony
“Wait, wait, you were being followed, and you still came to the place you’re being followed to?” Anger prevented me from speaking, and I stared at Hailey through narrowed eyes as she frowned at Marissa’s question.
“This is worse than the Plan B box mistake, H… did you honestly think this through? That guy probably knew you were lying… he at least had to look this place up on the internet if he had a picture of it.”
“Plan B mistake?” Hailey’s gaze widened, snapping to mine as my turmoil rippled across the table, but I shook my head furiously. I had no right to be angry about that; I was pissed off at the current situation, though. “Why didn’t you call me as soon as this happened, Hailey?”
“I wanted to see if he’d follow me to be sure. This is a big city, and there’s more than one Anthony in it.” The excuse stiffened my spine, and her expression wavered as I borderline glared at her. “I… I kind of… maybe… freaked out and didn’t think about it…”
“Anthony, we’ve been coming here every Monday, same time, same table, since I was 9… over a dozen years. Hailey’s really bad about things when they first happen, but she gets her act together pretty quick.” Casting me a reassuring smile, Kelly adjusted Tommy against her shoulder, and I sucked in a sharp breath that did nothing to cool the fire in my chest.
Turning to Hailey, I clenched my jaw absently as a hundred million thoughts raced through my head. She had a point, after all; this was a large city, and there were over 2 million people living in it.
“So, what do you want to do? You going back to work after this?” Exhaling heavily, I trained my gaze on Hailey’s as she shuffled Antonya against her chest. I had to resist the urge to glance around at the other patrons seated around us, but no one was paying attention. For just a fraction of a second, my mind flung back to two weeks ago when someone had complained to the wait staff about Hailey breastfeeding in public.
The owner came out and told the woman that she shouldn’t have come to an eating establishment if it bothered her that the people around her would be doing just that.
“No, I’m going to call George after lunch and say I have an emergency. This is only my fourth day out all year, not including the three days I was in the hospital. It’s fine.” Drawing my attention, Hailey shrugged slightly—as if she wasn’t just freaking the fuck out, and I dragged my palm down my face to fall back against the booth.
“Don’t do that, Anthony. We need to figure out if your dad sent him or something before we go jumping to conclusions. Well, I mean… is your dad the kind of man to send a P.I. after you after… what, three weeks since you shut off your phone?”
“I honestly couldn’t tell you—I’ve never just disappeared on him before. It’s not out of the realm of possibility, though.”
“Why would he send a private investigator after you?” For the first time, I realized that Hailey’s sisters didn’t know who I was, and I cleared my throat roughly at Tracy’s probing. “… Is he super controlling? You know, our dad was—”
“I know…” Quipping up before I had to go through that whole debacle again, I found three pairs of shocked eyes on me. Craning my neck, I cupped my chin in my hand as the situation just seemed to spiral out of control. “I know about your father—and yeah, mine is the same… It’s just… I’m kind of… rich…”
Speaking slowly, carefully, my bland tone only earned me silence, and I grimaced from the tension that slithered up my back and over my shoulders.
“Okay—but you’re almost 35, you said—you never told him to shove it and put all your money in a different account he couldn’t get to and do what you’re doing right now? Why did you come here to disappear?” My gaze flew to Marissa, and my heart thudded hard against its cage as she swiped a napkin across her son’s mouth without taking her eyes off me. “You’re not like H—you didn’t have little sisters you had to take care of. If your dad would resort to sending a stalker after you, you should’ve left earlier. It’s dangerous to be around that, Anthony—at least we got lucky and learned that with Hailey.”
“I… I don’t know why I never left earlier.” My confession earned me empathetic gazes, and I propped my forearms on the table top with a slight shake of my head. “If Hailey’s not going back to work, we’ll go around and get some stuff done. You can point out the guy if you see him.”
“Okay.” Hailey agreed easily, and I nodded firmly before my gaze flickered to Antonya. Pursing my lips tightly together, I watched my daughter palm Hailey’s upper breast—the only part of her visible beyond the thin blanket that offered darkness—and conviction branded my heart.
My father would never meet Antonya; he would never even know about her if I could help it.
“… So, you never answered the question, Anthony, why would your father send a P.I. after you?” Thankful that Kelly didn’t try to redirect the conversation back onto something I just wasn’t ready to explain, I propped my elbows on the table’s edge to hold my chin on my fists. “I mean—he can just track your phone or credit card purchases, right?”
“Theoretically, yes, he could. My father’s always been like this, though; he won’t go into a situation without knowing it inside and out. I never told him I was coming here or why or who was involved in the decision, so if he showed up, he’d be blind.” Darkness coated my voice, and I kept my gaze on Hailey and Antonya as that hatred, that meanness, that I had spent the past ten months working on came bubbling up.
“I shut off my phone when I was heading to Kelly’s house that first time, too. It’s been collecting dust at the hotel room ever since, and I haven’t been there since Thursday.”
“You got that face that Hailey made when Dad smacked me the first time.” Marissa’s declaration came once she’d carefully covered her son’s ears, and she sent me a pointed look as every muscle—even my heart- froze. “You look like you want to kill him or something.”
That sobered me up right quick, and I sat in silence, staring at Antonya, for a long, heavy second. Pushing myself up from my seat, I shuffled the inch or two out of the booth to stalk towards the back door that led to a courtyard dining area. My mind was still, only working hard enough to avoid banging into other patrons’ tables, and I shoved open the door roughly with a grunt. The eyes boring holes into my back left me as I put a thick, vine-crawled wall between us, and I raked my hands through my hair to hold the strands taught.
Fishing my cell phone out of my pocket, I navigated the smart device to my contacts to call my therapist. The line ringing gyrated harshly against my eardrums, and I paced furiously down the wall and back up. People looked at me, the intensity of their curiosity c
ausing the hairs on my arms to rise, but I couldn’t have given a lesser shit in that moment.
“Hello, Doctor Owen Rodgers—” Sucking in a hard, sharp breath through flared nostrils, I didn’t even have to open my mouth for Owen to realize who I was. “Anthony, hey. I’ve been waiting for your call. It’s been three weeks… how are things going?”
“Forget about that, what can you tell me about how women react to their parents beating the shit out of them?” Mumbling as loudly as I dared, I sat down on a bench in the corner to exhale loudly. “I just, she and her sisters act like it’s run of the mill… like—”
“Like it’s just a part of their life that they can’t change and can’t get hung up on?” Nodding even though Owen couldn’t see me, I grunted in agreement before he continued. “You know, Anthony… abuse is different for everyone. I’m just assuming here, but this woman and her sisters probably got through it a long time ago. For them, it’s a part of their life that they couldn’t change then, but did, and are better for it now. The journey out was their way of acceptance. At least, that’s something that I see often with physical abuse.”
“That makes sense…”
“Does it bother you so much because it happened, or because you’re only just beginning on that journey, Anthony?” Propping my elbow on my knee, I cupped my chin at the question before a shadow cast over me. Hailey’s smell wafted into my nostrils as I stared at the cobbled, decorative stones that paved the ground, and she sat down silently with a sleeping Antonya in her arms.
“Both… With everything going on here… and now, my father sent a P.I. after me—at least, that’s what probably happened— and I don’t want to throw away months of work or the last three weeks for him. He’s not worth it.” My gruff response earned me a soft sigh from Hailey, and she leaned to rest her head on my shoulder. The line was quiet, and it was as if Owen could tell she was there as he waited for her to speak.
“If he’s not worth it, you shouldn’t put so much effort into him, Anthony. You spent all that time stewing on how you ‘hurt’ me when it only hurt you. You’re a good son—putting your foot down won’t change that.” Hailey’s warm, assured breath rolled down my neck and under my t-shirt, and I pursed my lips tightly. “Don’t try to fix everything right away. Ten months isn’t a long time. I spent almost 20 years in therapy to fix what my parents did to me. You don’t have to try to expedite this because of Antonya—it’ll just backfire, and you’re already a great dad. You’ll only get better.”
Chapter 20
Hailey
Caressing Antonya’s little, black curls as she lay sprawled on Anthony’s chest, my fingertips tingled with affection that flooded my veins. Holding her securely with a palm on her butt, he breathed calm breaths as he stared at the ceiling. I couldn’t find the willpower to break this moment, but it didn’t last long anyway when he opened his mouth.
“I have a surprise for you.” Palming my back more firmly, Anthony tilted his head to press his lips against my forehead. “To apologize for earlier. I got a little carried away at the Speakeasy.”
“You don’t have to apologize. I used to be the same way.” Instead of responding, Anthony carefully unhooked his arm from around me, and I sat up to run my hand through my hair absently. “You didn’t impulse buy a house or anything like that, did you?”
My semi-serious question only earned me a soft snort, and Anthony’s abdominal muscles flexed wildly as he also straightened. Holding Antonya to his chest with both hands, he shuffled off the side of the mattress to leave my bedroom without so much as a glance back. Watching him stride confidently, I nibbled my bottom lip while want tightened my abdomen and heated my blood.
He was so sexy; it was almost unbelievable, even after so long, that all of this started simply because I wanted to impress my would-be boss.
“The thought did cross my mind, but no—I didn’t impulse buy a house.” Answering me as he wandered back into the room, Anthony paused midway between the open door and my bed to scan me from top to bottom. Goosebumps broke out all over me, and I stiffened as his smirk shot straight to the juncture between my thighs.
“Come here.”
Slowly sliding off the bed, my legs trembled slightly as that signature intensity flared in Anthony’s eyes. Suddenly, it became hard to breathe, and my shallow pants only widened his smirk. Licking my lips heavily, I nearly moaned aloud when he took hold of my shoulders to turn me away from him.
“… You know, every time we’ve fucked, you told me minimal restraint was fine.” The hairs on the nape of my neck stood straight up at Anthony’s low tone, and he dragged his palms up to cup either side of my jaw firmly. My moan bubbled up in my throat, and he gently circled his thumbs under my ears to dislodge it as a shiver raked down my spine.
“I don’t think that was the truth… I think you just said it was fine, so I would brutalize that pretty cunt. I think it gets you off, but it doesn’t get you off. Am I wrong, Hailey?”
“No-o-o…” Rolling my head back into his hands, I sighed softly at the pleasure that rolled down my neck and torso, and a twinge of guilt twisted my heart. “I like it… but…”
“Don’t worry, babe. I’ll give you what you need.” Kissing the base of my neck, Anthony nibbled the spot hard, and I arched sharply with a gasp. Thrill shot through me, and he slid his hands down my front and sides and into my jeans. “After my paranoia, it’s the least I could do, huh?”
“I didn’t see him, though.” Spreading my legs without thought, I bit back a moan as Anthony caressed my core through my panties, and his free hand pressed against my abdomen to hold us flush together.
His hard-on ground insistently into my ass, and his steady, hard heartbeat drummed against my back to tease my own erotic erraticism. The whip of my failure tickled my back in phantom strokes, and he sucked in a sharp breath against the crook of my neck.
A harsh, guttural groan slithered just under my skin, and I flushed hot; we’d walked around the north side of the city for nearly two hours, and all that we’d noticed was that we sweat buckets.
There was no sign of the man that had approached me at work, but Anthony tore me from my thoughts with a hoarse whisper.
“You didn’t tell me I was being stupid or worrying too much, either. I want to thank you for that. I’m gonna pound the fuck out of you, and I’m gonna do it your way. Keep your eyes closed, babe.”
When did my eyelids shut in the first place?
The question had no answer, and Anthony cupped my sex to walk me slowly in a circle and out of my room. My bare feet inched carefully forward, but he didn’t rush me. Each step I took caused him to squeeze slightly, and I clenched my thighs only to increase the pressure.
“This is a part of me, Hailey. What good is choking you, fucking you, if you don’t enjoy it? I realized how degrading that must be—that I disregarded what you wanted just because you said two little words. Not to mention…”
Trailing off with a hot, heavy breath, Anthony slid his middle finger down my slit outside the crotch of my panties, and I whimpered pathetically.
“I recall very clearly that I promised to fuck you completely- to ruin you for every other man… that you’d obsess over my cock until it drove you insane just…like…last time.”
“Oh-h-h, you did… you ruined—” Gasping as the harsh silk of my panties gyrated against my inner folds, my core undulated wildly at just his gravelly words alone. “I- I’m gonna- c- cum…”
“Do it, Hailey… don’t hold back.” Fiddling with my jean fastenings as he rasped his command, Anthony circled my throbbing nub with the butt of his palm. My pants shortened inside quivering lungs, and my whimpers heightened as the pleasure mounted inside me.
“Cum hard, babe—wet that delicious cunt for me.”
“F- fu- fuck…! More… more… Anthony-y-y-y-!” Anthony growled like a feral animal in my ear, and my eyes rolled in their sockets as I did just as he demanded. Spasming against his chest, I clenched my hands into tight f
ists in his jeans, and my hot core rippled with need. Rubbing faster, harder, he teased my entrance beyond my panties, and my knees buckled beneath me.
My juices spilled out from the crotch of my underwear, and Anthony smirked against my skin as it dribbled down to drench my jeans.
“You’re addicted, aren’t you?” Haughtiness laced Anthony’s voice, and I crumpled slightly as the tension holding me up on his puppet strings gave way. “Say it—tell me how much you crave m—”
“I love you—” Cutting him off, I stiffened when he went rigid against my back, and I squeezed my eyelids shut tighter. Holding my breath in starving lungs, my heart beat a pounding staccato as the pleasure rolling through me turned into waves of panic.
“… Then I won’t fuck you…” A cold sweat broke out all over my body, but Anthony flicked his tongue just below my ear to suck my lobe between his teeth. My eyes ached, regret filling my chest and restricting my heart, and he licked up to the crest of my ear before rasping a brittle whisper. “I’ll make love to you.”
“But we d—” Anthony’s palm not buried in my folds clamped on my mouth at my protest, and he squeezed my jaw and core almost threateningly. Whimpering as the mix of uncertainty and arousal clashed in my abdomen, I screwed my eyelids even tighter, and colorful spots appeared behind them.
“I’ll do it anyway. Keep your fucking eyes shut.” A door shut behind us, and I let out a yelp when Anthony coupled his agitated snap with fisting my panties. The taut fabric gyrated against my entrance and between my folds, and he held tightly as released my face to shove down my jeans.
“God—it’s a good thing I can throat fuck you so you can’t tell me some dumb shit like ‘it’s too soon’ or ‘we barely know each other’…”
“Anthony—” Shuddering when Anthony’s nails raked up my outer thigh, I moaned loudly as he peeled my panties from my dripping wet core. My juices trailed down my shivering, welted skin, and he jerked the thin fabric down to my knees before forcing me to step out of them.
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