They stepped inside, and he shut the door, throwing the deadbolt across. “Where’s your bedroom?”
Her bedroom? Holy shit. Panic threatened to overcome her, her breath came in sharp pants.
Focus, Reagan.
She couldn’t afford to panic. She had to protect herself.
“Who are you?” she asked, trying to stall him. “Do I know you?”
He knew her name. He seemed to be under some sort of delusion that she was going to marry him. He had to be mentally ill.
“You know me, Reagan. I’m your fiancé.”
She pulled away, surprised he actually let her go. But she guessed he didn’t think she was much of a threat. Not when he had that big ass knife.
“You don’t remember me? I suppose we were both young the last time we saw one another. You left, Reagan. That was naughty. Very naughty. You’ll have to be punished for that.” Anger filled his face. “For running from me. For fornicating outside the holy sanctity of marriage. You were supposed to be my wife. You were promised to me.”
Oh, God. This was the man her parents had wanted her to marry?
“What’s your name?”
“Abraham.”
“Abraham? Abraham Hope?” She remembered him as a scruffy kid who’d always had a runny nose and complained a lot. This is the guy her parents arranged for her to marry?
“So, you do remember?”
“There’s been a mistake. You seem to be under the false impression we’re, ahh, betrothed. We’re not. Whatever promises my parents made, I didn’t agree with them.”
“You have been led astray, but I am here to lead you back onto the path of righteousness. ‘For Moses said, Honor thy father and thy mother; and, Who so curseth father or mother, let him die the death’.”
God, she wished he’d quit quoting sculpture. “I’m not part of the church anymore. I’m not marrying you. You need to leave and never come back.” Maybe she could reason with him.
Yeah, because so far his behavior had been totally reasonable. She eyed the sharp knife he still held.
He raised the knife. “You come home and submit to judgment from the church, or I will send you on to meet God’s judgment.”
Yep, he was going to be really reasonable.
“How did you know where I lived?” How was she going to get away from him? Tara thought she was on her way to Dallas. Tiny had no idea she was coming; she’d wanted to surprise him. No one would notice if she went missing.
“The letter you sent your parents. It was obviously a plea to come back. To be judged, punished, and redeemed.”
Fuck. She should have known that would come back to haunt her.
Why hadn’t her parents ever come looking for her if they’d wanted her to return?
“Your parents have been sorely hurt by your betrayal. They do not wish your return. But once I show them how you have been punished, how you have repented all your sins, they will allow your return.”
So, her parents didn’t know he was here. The hurt in her stomach eased. Maybe they didn’t want her. But they hadn’t sent this crazy fucker after her, either.
“I was there when they received your letter. God obviously saw fit to place me at your parents’ house at the right time. Your father threw the letter away when he saw it was from you, but God whispered in my ear, telling me to take the letter and read it.”
Oh, hell, he had voices in his head? He really was insane.
What was she going to do?
“Where is your bedroom?”
“Why?” she asked.
“I need to cleanse you. I will take you as a man takes a wife.”
“We’re not married.”
“In God’s eyes, we are.”
Nope. No way was she letting him take her into her bedroom.
“Get away from me motherfucker!” she yelled. Turning, she grabbed the lamp from beside her and threw it. It landed about a foot too far to the right. Shit, Tara was right, her aim was terrible.
His face grew a blotchy red, and he stepped toward her. She backed up until she hit the living room wall.
Uh-oh.
There was a knock on the door, and she opened her mouth to scream. He quickly covered her mouth with his hand and held the knife up to her neck threateningly. There was another knock. Then nothing for several long minutes. She almost cried. That was probably her last chance to get out of this alive.
“It is my judgment or God’s.” He removed his hand.
“I’ll take God’s.”
“So be it.” He raised the knife.
***
His taxi pulled up outside Reagan’s apartment building, parking behind another taxi. Tiny paid the driver and climbed out, grabbing his bag. He hadn’t packed much. His driver got out and walked over to talk to the other driver. Unease filled Tiny as he saw a blue bag sitting on the curb.
“Been waiting here for ten minutes,” the other driver complained. “If my fare doesn’t show up in the next minute, I’m going. Tried ringing her, no reply. Even tried knocking on the apartment door. Looks like she left her luggage here and disappeared.”
“What apartment number?” he said urgently. He dropped his bag and raced towards the door to the building.
“3B,” the driver yelled after him.
Oh, shit. No! Please, let her be all right.
***
I don’t want to die.
Why hadn’t she asked Tiny to teach her some self-defense moves? Why hadn’t she told him she loved him?
Well, she wasn’t about to give up on that life yet. This bastard wouldn’t hurt her without a fight. Reaching up, she grasped hold of Abraham’s wrist, holding the knife up. She grunted with effort. Damn, he was strong. And it was a losing battle…he was going to win.
Just as she felt herself weakening, he was gone, flung across the room like he weighed no more than a rag doll, and she was staring up into Tiny’s furious face.
There had never been a more beautiful sight in her life.
“Tiny!”
He held up his hand. “Stay there.” He turned and stalked toward Abraham who was crawling towards the knife. Tiny kicked the knife away with a savage snarl.
Reagan leaned back against the wall. She should probably do something. Help? No, Tiny didn’t need her help. Call the cops? Maybe. After she regained the use of her legs.
Tiny waited until Abraham stood then slammed his fist into the other man’s stomach, following up with an uppercut to his chin.
Abraham slumped to the floor in a dead faint, and Tiny grunted, almost sounding disappointed. When he turned back to her, she started to shake. She slid to the floor.
“Oh, God. Oh, God. He was going to kill me.”
Tiny came to her and scooped her up into his arms. He looked over over at Abraham’s unconscious body. “Shit. We need cops.”
“If—if I could find my p—phone, I’d call—”
“Easy, baby.” He placed her down on the chair furthest from Abraham. “I’ll call Jack.” He crouched in front of her. “Are you hurt anywhere?”
“N—no. He didn’t hurt me. He had a knife. He threatened me. But he never got a chance to—to hurt me.”
Tiny pulled out his phone, holding it up to his ear. “Get your ass to Reagan’s. Got a body.”
Reagan let out a small laugh. “He’s gonna think you killed somebody.”
“It’s a possibility.” Tiny scowled. “Who is he? What happened?”
“He thinks he’s my fiancé.” She laughed again. It surprised her that she could laugh. She was actually handling this very well.
He thought she was close to losing it. He winced as she laughed, sounding slightly hysterical. She was in shock, shivers shaking her body.
“Wait here,” he told her. He took another look at the asshole who’d attacked her, but he was still out for the count. Tiny hurried as he moved into the bedroom and grabbed a blanket and a silk scarf. As he moved across the living room, he spotted the wicked looking knife on the floor.
He left it there for Jack.
The rage pumping through his veins nearly reached boiling point. That bastard would stay unconscious if he knew what was good for him. Because Tiny was itching for a reason to hurt him.
He quickly tied up the bastard’s wrists with the scarf then turned to Reagan who sat, staring at her attacker.
Tiny wrapped the blanket around her. “Reagan, focus on me.” He waited patiently. “What happened?”
“I—I—I— would you like coffee?”
“Baby. Look at me.” He waited until her gaze was on his. “You’re safe. I’m here.”
“Yes, you’re here. Why are you here?”
“To see you. I resigned. I’m moving here.”
She let out a bark of laughter, and he watched her with concern.
“But you can’t resign. I resigned. I’m moving to Dallas to be with you.” She snorted with laughter. “We’re going to be awfully lonely in strange towns, apart from each other.”
She’d been coming to him?
A movement at the doorway caught his attention, and he stood, turning to protect her. Jack rushed in, looking harried.
He glanced over at Tiny then down at the male on the ground. “Fuck, there really is a body.”
Chapter Fourteen
Reagan held the cup of hot chocolate between her frozen hands. Tiny wouldn’t let her have coffee. He also wouldn’t let her move from the chair. A couple of police officers had escorted Abraham to the hospital.
“Reagan? Reagan?” She glanced up into Jack’s face. He studied her carefully. “Are you up to telling me what happened?”
Yes, of course, she was. She wasn’t hurt or anything. Why wouldn’t she be up to it?
Suddenly, Jack was pushed away, and Tiny filled her vision. He crouched before her. Reaching for the cup of hot chocolate, he pulled it from her hands and put it on the coffee table. On a coaster. That little detail actually managed to help her focus.
Tiny. Tiny was here. He’d resigned from his job. He was going to move here for her. He’d fought off her attacker. Not that it had been much of a fight, Abraham was totally outclassed.
“You love me,” she told him.
“I do,” he replied seriously. He didn’t say anything else, but he didn’t have to. She threw herself into his arms. “I love you.”
“I know. I’m not letting you go again, Reagan.”
“Me neither.”
He leaned back then cupped her cheeks. “Can you tell us what happened?”
She took a deep breath in then let it out slowly. “His name is Abraham Hope. He thinks he’s my fiancé because our parents made an arrangement when we were children. It’s what finally prompted me to leave. I’d overheard them talk about it,” she said for Jack’s benefit.
“I didn’t the name of the boy they arranged for me to marry. But Abraham knew about me. Apparently, he saw my father throw out the letter I sent a while ago and took it. It had my address on it. He came after me because he thought I belonged to him. He’s off his rocker.”
“How did he get into your apartment?” Jack asked
“He approached me outside while I was waiting for the taxi. I didn’t think he was that much of a threat until he pulled out the knife and threatened to hurt me. He—he was going to rape me, I think. Then take me back with him.”
“Your parents knew?” Tiny growled.
“No. He said they want nothing to do with me. He thought once I was punished and repented they would forgive me.” She clenched her hands together once she saw how they shook. “He was the one who sent the flowers. Who was following me all this time. It wasn’t Maddy. I guess she did the break-ins, he didn’t know where my bedroom was so I don’t think he’d actually been in here. But I think he was everything else.”
“Motherfucking bastard,” Tiny muttered. He stood, pulling her up, then sat and drew her into his lap.
Jack sighed. “I’ll go to the hospital, try and be there when he awakens.” He stared down at Reagan. “You need a keeper, kid.”
“She has one,” Tiny told him with a growl.
Jack just smiled. “You’ll need to come give a formal statement.”
“We’ll do that. Right now, Reagan needs some calm.”
Once everyone left, Tiny drew Reagan up then sat on the chair with her on his lap. He hugged her tight and gradually, Reagan felt herself relaxing. With Tiny here, she was safe.
“Should have been here. He should never have touched you.”
She leaned back and stared up at him. “It’s over. I’m safe. You saved me.”
“I made a mistake. Shouldn’t have left. I won’t do that again.”
“Thank God,” she said fervently. “I’m coming home with you. I was coming for the weekend to talk to you, but I’m going to ask Lionel if I can work out my notice from Dallas. I can’t be apart from you any longer.”
“I’ll move here.”
“No.” She shook her head as she looked around her apartment with a shudder. “I can’t stay here.”
“We can move apartments.”
“If I’m going to move apartments, I might as well move cities. It won’t be easy, but I can do it.”
He hugged her tight.
“I thought he was going to kill me. I thought I’d never see you again.”
“Can’t believe there were two. I left you alone, and you were still in danger.”
“You didn’t know. Maddy won’t talk. No of us knew that she didn’t leave the flowers and notes. I mean, what are the odds of there being two of them? It wasn’t like they were even working together. It wasn’t your fault, Tiny.”
“Jack is right. You need a keeper. You attract trouble.”
She threw her arms around his neck. “Just as well I’ve got my very own bodyguard Dom, then, huh?”
Epilogue
“Set things up however you want,” Tiny told her. “You don’t like it here then we’ll move.”
Reagan studied Tiny’s living room. It was sparse. A corner sofa, large television, and a scarred coffee table. In the dining room, in place of table was a billiards table. It was bare, but she liked it. The large windows let in plenty of light, and the wooden floors were gorgeous. It had some real charm.
“It’s number ten,” she told him.
“That bad?”
“No, I like the number ten. I wasn’t expecting a house. Do you own it?”
“Yes.”
Yet, he’d offered to move if she didn’t like it. Her insides turned to mush.
“My father thought I’d never amount to much.”
She stepped up to him, placing her arms around his waist. “He was wrong, wasn’t he? You know nothing he said is true. You’re smart, you’re successful, you’re a hero. And you’re the sexiest man on the planet. I’ll be fighting other women off left, right, and center.”
He grinned. “Don’t think you have to worry.”
She cupped his scarred cheek. “I think I do.”
They’d spent a week in Austin, tying up loose ends and packing up Reagan’s stuff. Abraham had admitted to following her, to leaving the notes and flowers, but he hadn’t seen anything wrong with what he’d done. Jack figured his lawyer would be using an insanity plea.
Maddy finally admitted to breaking in to Reagan’s apartment. It was a huge relief, even if Reagan didn’t know why the other woman had suddenly confessed. Maddy told Jack she wanted Reagan to suffer like she’d made Paul suffer.
Reagan didn’t believe she had made Paul suffer at all, and she knew Tiny wasn’t convinced that he hadn’t been involved, but there was no way of proving it.
Tiny had helped her pack up her things. Surprisingly, her boss had not just agreed to let her work out her notice from Dallas, but he said she could work remotely permanently. So, she still had a job, and Tiny said he’d turn one of the spare bedrooms into an office for her. She’d need to return to Austin for the odd meeting, but Tara could handle most things from the office.
She knew it wouldn’t
be easy. She didn’t like change. Didn’t find it easy to make friends. But being with Tiny made those problems seem less inconsequential.
“I love it,” she told him. “You sure you can deal with me doing what I want?”
“Want you to be happy.”
She cupped his cheeks, pulling his face down to kiss him.
“I love you so much. I’m so glad I found you, even if it was under some trying circumstances.”
He grunted.
“So, do you think life will be a little less crazy now?” she asked.
“A man can live in hope. Might need to start praying.”
She shuddered. “Just don’t start reciting scripture. I’ve had enough of that to last a lifetime.”
He drew her close and hugged her tight. She sighed in contentment. She had a man who accepted her, who loved her. A man she could trust, who she could fully submit to.
She was home.
***
“Do you think there’s enough food?” she asked anxiously, staring down at the table laden with salads, bread, and quiche.
“For who? An army?”
“Alice Bowers says it’s better to have too much food that not enough.”
“Who?” Tiny asked. “She someone from work?”
“No, she’s an expert on etiquette. I found her website when I was researching how to hold a dinner party. She has a lot of useful and handy tips.”
“She does, huh?” Tiny strode toward her, but she scarcely noticed him.
“Maybe I need more bread. People like bread.”
Tiny placed his hands on her shoulders. “It’s going to be all right.”
“I’ve never held a dinner party before. I’ve seen them on T.V., read about them, but it’s not the same.”
“Not really a dinner party. Just some friends coming to eat.”
She took a deep breath, trying to calm the knot in her stomach.
“This isn’t about food. What’s wrong?” he asked her.
It still surprised her how easily he could read her. “These are your friends. People you work with. What if they don’t like me? I’ll try, I really will. But what if I say the wrong thing? I—”
He kissed her. “They’ll like you.”
Make Me, Sir (Doms of Decadence Book 5) Page 14