by Lyssa Layne
Under the table, my leg bounces. I feel Asher’s hand move to my thigh as he gives me a small smile. Leaning over, he whispers in my ear, “Relax, Amelia.”
I nod. I’ve come this far, I don’t need to ruin it now. Play it cool, Mia, play it cool. It only takes thirty minutes for all the I’s to be dotted and the T’s to be crossed and then the house is officially sold. Gathering the paperwork, I head back to my office, not realizing Asher is right behind me until I hear the door click. I spin around and see his cocky grin.
“The buyers don’t sign for another hour, let’s run by the house and do one final walk through,” he says as though it’s a suggestion, but I know good and well it’s a demand. One of the last he’ll ever give me, I think to myself.
I nod and pick up my purse. As I walk by him, he pinches my backside making me jump. He laughs and leads us out to his Ferrari. On the drive to the house, I find my phone in my purse and text Tate that the closing is over. Asher notices my phone and reaches over, taking it and tossing it in the backseat.
He pulls into the driveway and I rush ahead of him, trying to get this over with as quickly as possible. When I return to the kitchen, he’s leaning against the counter, his hands in his pocket, coat tucked behind them. I force a smile as I tell him all looks good.
In two quick steps, he’s across the room, hand in my hair. “I’m so glad you’re coming home, Amelia,” he says softly, looking at my lips before he brushes his along them.
“Asher, I’m not coming home,” I tell him and brace myself.
He yanks a handful of my hair, jerking my head up. “What do you mean?”
I take a deep breath. “I told you I was thinking about a condo or townhouse. Until I find something, I’ll stay at a hotel,” I lie and hope he buys it.
His free hand roams over my chest and he lets go of my hair. His lips find my neck, pushing me against the fridge. Suddenly, both his hands rip my shirt open and fondle my breasts. I let out a gasp of shock, which he takes as excitement and moves his lips to my bra. I struggle underneath him, trying to get away, and begin begging, knowing it’ll do no good.
“Asher, stop. Please. Don’t do this,” I plead.
His hand moves from my chest and he backhands me across the cheek. Hot pain sprints across my face and I taste blood trickling into my mouth, but I don’t react. I’ve been through this enough that I know less reaction means less pain.
“I’m not an idiot, Amelia. I know you’ve been fucking Tate James since the moment you two met.” He laughs his evil laugh, which sends chills over my body. “You’re the foolish one. Thinking you were hiding it, thinking I’d let you move on.”
I shake my head, ready to deny it when I feel cool metal on my neck. I try to glance down but feel the pressure of a butcher knife against my throat. Fear rushes over my body. Asher’s only ever used his body as a weapon against me, this is a whole new territory.
Asher grins as one hand squeezes my breast again. “You’ll never be with anyone other than me,” he declares. I can’t stop the tears from falling down my cheeks, because I believe him.
Tate
I hum along with The Happy Song as I cruise down the highway headed home. Mia texted and said the closing was over. Toby’s adjusting great to life in L.A. and I’m supposed to return to the active players’ list next week. Life is really good right now.
When the season ends next month, I plan on proposing to Mia so that we can hopefully be married before spring training starts. Plans are also in the works to have Mia adopt Toby so she can officially have parental rights with him, but she doesn’t know that yet. Her heart was broken because she couldn’t have kids and I love that I’m able to let her be a mother to my son. She deserves it, but more importantly, Toby deserves a loving mother like Mia.
Turning into my driveway, I see Colie and Grant’s cars. Hmm, Mia must’ve invited them over for dinner because she was supposed to be home an hour ago. The garage door opens and my stomach drops. Mia’s car isn’t there.
I don’t even pull into the garage, just stop her ‘Vette halfway in and throw the car in park. I run inside, looking around frantically for a sign that Mia’s home. Toby’s laughter hits my ears and I run into the living room, but it’s not Mia he’s laughing with.
Colie looks up, worry all over her face. Before either of us speak, Grant appears from the hallway and nods to the kitchen. Taking a deep breath, I follow him and grab the counter to steady my hands. Hearing Toby laugh again, I look at Grant. “Where is Mia?”
Grant shakes his head. “I don’t know, man. Colie called me at 5:30 after she couldn’t get a hold of her. I went by her office before coming over, but no one has seen her since she got out of a meeting at four.”
“Was Asher there?”
Grant shakes his head again. “I didn’t see him, but I didn’t ask about him either.”
Turning on my heel, I head back to the garage. Grant’s right behind me. “Where ‘ya going, James?”
“He has her; she’s in trouble. She should be home by now or she would have called.”
Opening the driver’s side door, Grant grabs my arm. “Give me the keys, man. Tell me where to go, I’ll drive.”
As much as I’d like to race down the streets at top speed to calm my nerves, Grant’s right, I’m in no condition to drive. My mind is racing, filled with images of Asher hurting Mia and the aftermath of the things that prick of a boyfriend did to my sister.
Think, Tate, think! She needs you. Both of us now inside the car, Grant looks at me with questioning eyes. It hits me. “Get me to Mia’s house.”
He nods and floors it. My leg bounces quickly as nerves take over. Mia has to be okay, if he hurts her…
“Call the cops,” Grant says without taking his eyes off the road.
“What? No, I want to deal with him myself.”
Grant shakes his head. “Get the cops there, make sure this is the last time.”
He has a point so I pull out my phone and with shaking hands, I dial 9-1-1. After informing them of the situation, they think I’m crazy as I have no proof. Finally, it takes a lot of convincing, but they agree to send an officer over.
After I hang up, we pull into Mia’s driveway. Sitting beside us is Asher’s Ferrari. “That son of a bitch…” I mutter and am out of the car before Grant even turns off the engine.
CHAPTER 29
Mia
“Asher, what are you doing?” I squeak around the knife blade, almost afraid to move any muscle in my throat.
He grins. “What’s it look like I’m doing, Amelia? I’m ensuring that you’ll be mine forever.”
I swallow slowly. “What do you want?”
The knife moves away from my neck and I can feel droplets of blood roll down my skin where the knife broke the surface. He trails the blade down my cheek with a devilish grin on his face.
“That’s more like it, Amelia. You know what I want.”
I close my eyes and take a deep breath now that I don’t have to worry about making a wrong move that’ll puncture an artery.
“Money?”
He laughs and pulls my hair hard, yanking it and hitting my head on the fridge behind me. “I always want money and I’ll always have it…both yours and mine. You know I hate to share.”
I nod, knowing where this is going. Tears spring to my eyes, but not because of the fear of the situation. No, they’re because I’m about to lose Tate.
My words are barely audible when I whisper, “I know…”
He grins and nods, the blade now between my chest as he drags it down my torso and back and forth across my stomach.
“So why did you think I would share with Tate James?” He laughs and shakes his head. “Of all men, Amelia, seriously? He might have money, but he’s a completely unsophisticated, redneck boy. The kind you were trying to escape when you found me.”
He puts pressure behind the knife and the tip digs into my stomach. I gasp as the searing pain shoots throughout my body and he presses it d
eeper. A smile full of pride takes over his face as he pulls the knife out and my fingers move to the puncture wound, blood pouring from it. My vision starts to blur as the pain blinds me.
“Wh…what are you doing, Asher? I’ll leave him, I’ll move home, just please, please don’t do this,” I beg. I have no other choice. If he kills me, I won’t be able to protect Tate and Toby.
He sets the knife on the counter; the smallest sense of relief goes through my body. His hands move to my stomach where he smears the sticky red mess over my chest and his hand moves around my neck. He grins as he forcefully kisses me then shoves my head into the refrigerator behind me.
“That’s exactly what you’ll do, but I need to make sure you understand you can’t get away from me, Amelia.”
And with those words, he punches me in the stomach with a left hook as his right hand flies across my jaw. My eyes blink and I can only see white as I crumble and fall to the ground in a heap of agony, but the torture doesn’t stop.
His foot makes contact with my stomach as he pulls my head up by my hair and spews words of anger at me. My ears are ringing and I can’t hear a thing he says. His hand moves to my throat, grasping it tightly, forcing air from coming or going.
I blink, trying to keep my eyes focused as I fade in and out of consciousness, my breathing getting more and more shallow. The memory of him holding me down in our bed, slapping me back and forth with no end in sight reminds me that Asher never takes the news of me leaving him very well.
As I start to give in to the darkness, the weight of his body on top of me is lighter and I can breathe again. I gulp in air, unable to get enough as my chest heaves up and down. It’s over, Asher is done…for now. That’s all I recall before everything goes black.
Tate
Flinging the door open, I race into Mia’s house, crying out for her. I can faintly hear someone gasping and it sounds like it’s coming from the kitchen. Making a mad dash in that direction, I run in and see Asher choking my girlfriend who has no fight left in her. At full speed, I fling my body at him, tackling him to the ground. The pain in my shoulder flares up, but I don’t even notice.
“You asshole!” I scream as I punch him in the face.
With strength I didn’t know he possessed, he grabs my hand and flips me on my back, getting in a good punch himself.
“I’m the asshole? You’re the one sleeping with my wife!”
I see his arm raise and I grasp his hand, fighting with all my might and then decking him with a right hook when he doesn’t expect it. He falls to my side and we begin to move in circles, hitting each other in between insults and accusations. Finally, he loses his footing and I’m able to pin him to the floor. My fists begin unleashing the fury they’ve been holding in since Mia told me the truth.
Wailing on him, each fist taking their turn, I scream at him on repeat. “I will kill you, Asher Thompson. Don’t you ever come near her again!”
A hand grabs my fist from behind and I spin around to see who’s attacking me. Grant stands there, shaking his head. “Tate, it’s done.”
Glancing below me, I see Asher’s not moving, just letting out low groans, bruises already forming on his face. I take a deep breath and Grant helps me up.
“Get your girl, she’s in bad shape.”
Looking at Grant, I see blood on his shirt. My pulse pounds and I run over to Mia who is being helped by a paramedic. Behind her, I see the cops have arrived. The medics raise the gurney she’s on and begin to wheel her out of the house. I run beside her and take her ice cold hand.
“Mia. Mia! Oh God, is she okay?” I ask frantically to a paramedic wheeling her out of the house.
“Sir, one of the other ambulances will check you out and you can meet us at the hospital.”
“No. No! Is she fucking okay? That’s my…” I stop, tears filling my eyes. “That’s my life right there. Please tell me she’s okay.”
Lightly her hand squeezes mine and although I can’t make out her facial features, her steely grey eyes lock on mine. The tears fall down my cheeks as I kiss her hand and climb into the ambulance with her. The medic starts to object, but doesn’t say a word when Grant tells him to back off. The sirens scream above us as we head to the hospital and Mia’s eyes flicker open and close.
“Mia, baby, stay with us. I’m so sorry, God, I should have never let you go to that closing alone. Stay with me and I promise I’ll never leave your side.” I ramble nervously, just trying to talk to keep her eyes open, to keep her with me. My lips touch her hand softly. “Mia, marry me. I want you to be my wife, I want you to be Toby’s mother. I want us to be a family. You, me, and Toby. Mia, baby, what do you say?”
Her eyes flicker wide open and her lips turn into a smile. She’s going to be okay, I tell myself. Kissing her hand again, I grin. “Is that a yes?”
Before she answers, the machine beeps and the medic yells, “She’s flatlining!” He shoves me to the side. My heart races and it’s so fast I think it might beat of my chest and I’ll be flatlining too. The medical staff starts CPR and all I can do is watch as my life slips away from me.
EPILOGUE
Tate
1 Year Later
“Dad, do you think she would have been a good mom?” my son asks as we stand by the grill on the back porch. I cringe at the question. He’s been asking about her a lot lately and it’s never easy to answer.
Nodding, I tell him, “I do. You’re an easy kid to fall in love with.”
“Did you love her?”
I tousle his hair and lift him up to my hip. “I love you and that’s all that matters.”
He rests his head on my shoulder, contemplating his next question. I pat his back and lean my head against his. We’ve had a lot of change in our life the past two years and there’s only more to come.
The sliding door opens and a barrage of people parade onto the deck, greeted by Shadow, our black lab puppy and the newest member of our family. Toby pokes his head up as a smile creeps over his face. I set him down and he runs over to greet our guests. Quick hugs to my parents and Colie and Grant and then he finds who he’s looking for.
“Mom!”
My wife smiles down at our son and puts her arm around his shoulders, pulling him in for a hug. Toby squeezes her hard and then both his hands go to her stomach, which is what started all of his questions about his birth mom.
“Do you think the baby is a boy or a girl?”
“I don’t know, but we’ll find out next week,” she says with a kiss to his forehead and she begins to set the table. She is the most amazing, beautiful, loving woman I know. Our family was broken until she entered our lives and she is what has made us complete, despite all the past heartache we’ve endured.
Beside her, Colie rubs one hand on her extremely pregnant belly, the other supporting her back. “At least you didn’t have to plan your pregnancy around baseball season and be as big as a house during the hottest time of year.”
Grant comes to her side and takes her arm, leading her to a seat. “Sure, Cole, blame it on baseball season and not our wedding night,” he says with a laugh. There’s a month left in the season and her due date is the day after our last game. They really did time it perfectly so neither of them will have to miss any of the season.
The woman who once intimidated me, and still does to a degree, nods at my son. “Get over there and help your momma. She doesn’t need to be standing that long,” Arlene orders.
Toby grumbles, but jumps at the chance to please his mother.
From the grill, I smile as I watch my son and my gorgeous wife, who is glowing from carrying our child. She takes a seat at the table and gives Toby instructions on how to set the silverware. My father slaps my back.
“Nice looking family you’ve got there, son,” he compliments me.
I nod with that smile still on my face. “They are, aren’t they?”
I set the tongs down and help my son finish his chore then I move to my wife and squat between her knees. M
y hands rub over her belly and I kiss her slightly off-center on her swollen abdomen, right where the scar is. My eyes cast upward as she runs her fingers through my hair, both of us smiling.
Taking her hand, I brush my lips over the back of her knuckles. “Babe, you saved our family and keep me wanting more…more of you, more of us, to be more of a man for you.” I rub her belly and smile. “More of this.”
She laughs. “I’m not sure how much more of this will be happening.”
I smile and kiss our miracle baby inside her stomach. We both are in awe that it even happened, but after everything we’ve been through, nothing surprises us anymore. With my hand on her cheek, I say, “Baby, love conquers all things.”
She smiles and leans her face into my hand. “Let us surrender…”
I nod and stand up, pulling her with me and kissing her softly, increasing with intensity. “Let us surrender, baby,” I repeat. My hands move to her hips, her arms slide around my neck as we sway to the music over the speakers.
“Mia James, you are amazing. I love you more than life itself,” I whisper as I kiss her below her ear.
She nuzzles her nose on my neck and her warm breath on my ear sends shots of electricity throughout my body. “I love when you call me that.”
“Mia James, my wife,” I say softly and kiss her neck. Mia gave me the best birthday present this past July. The day Asher Tomko was put behind bars was the day we became husband and wife.
“Mia James, my lover.” Mia barely survived Asher’s last attack. All I remember from that night was so much blood and praying that Mia would survive. Our love conquered the prognosis and Mia pulled through with a quick recovery despite what doctors had told us. I still beat myself up for not having found her sooner, but she constantly assures me that it wasn’t my fault. Every day, I make it my responsibility to let Mia know how much I love her and that nothing bad will ever happen to her again.