Stolen Memories: A Novella

by Alyson Reynolds

  “What do you mean me throwing a fit?” He sounded baffled.

  “I’m sick of the sighing, and the mumbling, and the muttering under your breath. Being treated as an afterthought isn’t all that great either while we’re on the topic. I’ve never seen you like this and I have to say, I’m not really a fan.”

  “I’m fucking worried about you, that’s why I’m throwing a fit.”

  “It not your job to worry about me.”

  “Did you forget I’m your husband? Of course it’s my job. Hell, even if I wasn’t your husband I would be worried about you, Megan.”

  I turned over on the bed so I didn’t have to face him. Everything was too confusing. He wasn’t acting like the man who was my best friend; he was acting like a caveman. And it scared me because I knew my feelings for him were deeper than I wanted to admit, even to myself. Maybe marrying Hunter had been a bad idea, even if it was only meant to keep me safe. My heart would be in pieces by the end of our marriage and I was going to lose my best friend because I sure as hell couldn’t divorce him and be okay with it. I never should have slept with him.

  “What do you want me to do, Megan? Do you want me to leave?”

  I winced. “I don’t know.”

  He slid down into the bed next to me. I tensed for a moment, but I let him wrap his arms around me. “I’m sorry, honey. I’ll try to calm down, but it’s killing me that you keep saying this is your problem and you don’t need my help. Quit pushing me away. The whole reason we got married was so that I could help you.”

  A tear escaped from the corner of my eye. Why did that feel like a slap in the face? “I hate this. Just being married is enough to keep them away from me, so don’t feel like you have to do any more than that. They will yell at me and it will be over. I’ll move out of my apartment since its family property, and as long as I keep my distance from them, everything will be fine.”

  His words echoed in my head, the whole reason we got married was so that I could help you.

  “You’ll move into my house when we get home. We’re married and people will talk if you don’t.”

  “If appearances are so important to you, I think you married the wrong woman, because I don’t give a fuck what anyone thinks about you, or me, or us.” He didn’t speak for a few minutes. The conversation had taken a wrong turn somewhere and I wasn’t sure what to say without making him even angrier. Hunter was a ticking time bomb, and anything I said could set him off.

  “Let’s just go to sleep and talk about everything in the morning,” he said finally.

  That was fine with me because I needed time to come up with a plan. A plan to get rid of my ex-fiancé, controlling father, and, most importantly, I needed a plan on how to keep from turning into a broken mess when Hunter decided our marriage was over.

  The car pulled up to my building and a sigh slipped from me as I unbuckled my seatbelt.

  “Are you coming up or do you just want me to go change and come back down?”

  “It’s up to you. Do you want me to come?”

  It had been like this since we had woken up. Hunt echoed every question back at me. It was unnerving because this wasn’t his typical behavior. Even if he wasn’t in charge, he at least had an opinion on everything. Not this morning though. I’d gone to sleep with a man I had known forever, only to wake up with a complete stranger. He was acting cool and detached towards me, and I didn’t like it.

  “Just wait here, give me five minutes to get changed and then we can go find Dad.”

  He nodded once and pulled his phone from his pocket.

  My apartment felt humid and stagnant when I walked inside. I pulled off my top as I walked through to my bedroom. As soon as I opened the door a chill ran up my spine. Michael sat on my bed. His eyes bore holes in me as I quickly pulled my shirt back down to cover my chest.

  “Why bother covering yourself up? It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”

  I pulled my shirt back over my head quickly. “You act like we’ve actually fucked before.”

  “No, but it’s mine. I paid for it.”

  “I didn’t marry you and my dad made that deal, not me. I don’t owe you a fucking thing besides a restraining order.”

  “Oh get real and quit being a child. When we’re married I won’t handle you with kid gloves like your dad has. We’ll be down at the courthouse by the end of the day, and I’ll take your precious virginity by tonight. You are going to marry me whether you like it or not. You’ll be my nice little fuck doll that I’ll show off to everyone.”

  “You’re so fucking sick and there’s a slight problem with your plan.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m already married.”

  “Quit lying, you stupid bitch.”

  I tried not to smirk. This was going according to plan so far. “I’m not lying. I was just about to go visit my dad and show him the proof.” I pulled up the picture of the marriage certificate I had taken with my phone and threw it over to him.

  “What the fuck did you do?” he said through gritted teeth. His figure seemed to grow as his anger filled him. A frisson of fear filled me as I stood there waiting for him to react.

  “I protected myself. I’m not marrying you or anyone else my Dad throws at me. Not now. Not ever.”

  My phone hit the wall right above my head and shattered into pieces. He flew across the room at me, his fist hitting my eye before I could even react. My head cracked against the door as I fell back. Stars filled my vision and I had to shake my head to keep from blacking out.

  Michael grabbed my wrist and pulled me against his body. His hands fumbled with the button of my pants, and I writhed against him trying to get away. Bile rose in my throat as he rubbed his erection against me. He wouldn’t get away with this. Hunter would realize I was taking forever and come save me.

  I fought and scratched as he continued to rip at my clothes. Finally, I was able to yank my wrist out of his grasp. The force knocked me off balance and I stumbled before I could escape. He smacked me hard across the face and swirls of white danced in front of my eyes. It was getting harder to stay conscious, and I was terrified of what he would do to me if I actually blacked out.

  I backed up against the wall and kicked out at him as he went to grab me again. My foot caught him in the knee and he stepped back long enough for me to stand up. As he started towards me again, I sidestepped him and shoved him into the dresser. It gave me enough of a head start to get out of the bedroom and run towards the front door. As I reached the living room, Hunter opened the front door and I ran into his arms sobbing.

  “Michael’s here.”

  “What in the—get behind me now, Megan.” Hunter’s voice was deadly calm. He glared at Michael as walked out of my bedroom slowly. Blood ran down his face from the places where I had scratched him. My body shivered each time he took a step closer.

  “Megan, go to the car and call the police.”

  I shook my head that I wasn’t leaving and a frown crossed his face. Very slowly, so Michael wouldn’t see, I reached into Hunter’s back pocket and grabbed his phone. He didn’t take his eyes off of Michael as I pulled it out. I backed away, but I wasn’t about to go down to the car and leave him alone in my apartment with this psycho. My back hit the wall as I stepped out of Michael’s line of vision. Tremors shook my body as I whispered instructions to the operator.

  “We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Michael said with narrowed eyes. “You’ve got something that’s mine and I’m not leaving here without it.”

  “She’s not property, you asshole,” Hunter growled. “And you can bet that Megan’s not leaving with you.”

  “I paid her father so I’m damn sure going to take her with me.”

  “Did you expect her just to go with it? Fall in line easily? Just let you beat her up and rape her? Her dad never told her that he was fucking selling her virginity to the highest bidder, so I’m willing to bet she’d have some major problems with that, ev
en if you don’t think so. I know—as her husband—I have some really fucking big issues with it. Thank God she knew she had people she could count on to help save her.”

  Michael lunged at Hunter, trying to wrap his hands around his neck. Hunter’s knee came up and caught Michael in the stomach, knocking him to the ground. I whimpered, and Hunter looked back at me long enough for Michael to knock him to the floor. He punched him hard several times before I could react. I threw myself at Michael, distracting him long enough for Hunter to get away.

  Michael had pushed me down, and pinned me to the floor. His hands groped at my body, making me gag each time he touched me. Hunter lunged at Michael, sending them tumbling through the living room, breaking the coffee table and knocking over a lamp. I was terrified that Michael would gain the upper hand. After a few more seconds of them wrestling around, Hunter pinned his knee against Michael’s neck, making it impossible for him to move.

  “Megan, get something for me to tie his hands up.”

  I looked around, at a loss for what to grab. I ran to my closet and grabbed a belt. Hunter’s eyes widened and he barked out a laugh as I worked. The belt was black leather, studded with silver spikes. It was a fashion nightmare from the ’90s come back to haunt me.

  The pounding on the door let us know that the police were here. Hunter held me tight against his chest as we watched them arrest Michael. I watched in horror as he yelled and demanded to be let go, saying this was all my fault. My pulse raced in my chest as he threatened me again. The officers gave me a concerned look, but didn’t say anything else before Michael was taken downstairs.

  We answered every question the officers had and we were assured that he would be locked up for a while, especially after everything he’d said to me. They informed us off the record that he was already being investigated for another assault, along with a few other various charges. A shiver ran up my spine when I thought about the fact that my father had basically sold me to him.

  Hunter pulled me in tighter against his chest. “Are you ready to go confront your dad or do you want to wait?”

  “Let’s go,” I said and started towards the door.

  “Aren’t you going to change first?”

  “Hell no. I want him to see what that fucking monster he tried to marry me off to is capable of.”

  “That’s my girl.” The grin on his face made it worth the black eye I’d be sporting for a few days. Now, if only I could get rid of my pounding headache.

  I stormed into my father’s office and his secretary’s mouth dropped open in shock when she took in my appearance.

  “Oh my God, Megan, are you okay?”

  “No. Absolutely not okay.”

  I started towards my father’s door, and she tried to stop me. “Meg, Mr. Douglas is in a shareholders meeting, you can’t go in there. Especially when you look like that.”

  “With all due respect, go fuck yourself. I’m going in there.” I turned back. “Oh, and I always hated it when you called me Meg.”

  She stepped back quickly like I’d physically slapped her, and I pushed past her easily, Hunter hot on my heels. My anger was palpable as I walked into the large office. The four men in front of me stared in disbelief at my disheveled condition. These men knew what my father had done, and they all approved of his methods.

  “Welcome back, Megan.”

  “Welcome back? Are you fucking kidding me? I’m covered in blood, have a black eye and you tell me, welcome back.”

  “What else do you expect? You embarrassed the entire family with your antics.”

  “My antics?” I asked in disbelief. “That stupid fucker you tried to marry me off to attacked me in my own apartment. You tried to fucking sell my virginity, and for what? A couple million dollars? What kind of monster are you?”

  I looked around at the men sitting in the room. They seemed uncomfortable, but not shocked at my words. “How many of you other assholes have done this to your own daughters? If you don’t want me to make trouble for any of you, get the fuck out now. I need to have a few words with my father.”

  The other men left the room quickly, leaving me alone with Hunter and the man that was supposed to be my father. Hunter said nothing, but I could feel his anger as palpable as mine filling the office. It gave me the strength I needed to keep going.

  My father’s cold eyes met mine. “You did run away from your husband on your wedding day, what did you expect him to do? I think you got off easy. Your actions have lost my company over two billion dollars, not just a couple million as you put it.”

  “Fuck you. I’m your daughter and you tried to use me to further your business. Did you know how he would treat me or was that just a bonus? How much did you sell Cassie for, you asshole?”

  “She’s a good daughter, and she served her family like she should have.”

  My mouth dropped open. “She’s an educated, beautiful woman. Her husband probably beats her into submission every night like Michael would have done to me. Did you know he was being investigated for embezzlement?” He raised an eyebrow, but didn’t respond. “Does mom know what you did to Cassie? What you tried to do to me?”

  “Don’t be stupid. Of course she doesn’t.”

  “Don’t call Megan stupid,” Hunter said with a sharp edge to his voice.

  “Why are you even here, Hunter? This is a family matter.”

  “Then I guess since I’m Megan’s husband, I have every right to be here.”

  His narrowed eyes shot between me and Hunter. “What did you do you?” he hissed.

  “Call it self-preservation, but I didn’t trust you not to attempt to blackmail me into marrying someone else. Oh, and by the way, I’m not a virgin anymore either so don’t bother selling me to the highest bidder again.”

  “You dumb bitch! You’ve ruined everything!”

  Hunter lunged, grabbing his neck and cutting off his airway as he pinned him against the wall. I gasped and stared at them in disbelief.

  “I told you not to talk to her that way, Jack.” He was livid, but damn if I wasn’t turned on by his insane behavior. Anger Hunter was hot as hell. “I’m going to ruin you for what you’ve done to Megan. You know I can do it without blinking and eye. You’re going to watch everything you’ve ever worked for slip away. Don’t ever try to contact Megan, or her mother and sister, ever again. I’ll kill you if you do, you nasty son of a bitch.”

  When Hunter released him, my father fell, catching himself on his desk and coughing as he sucked in air. I stared at him for a moment before walking out the door after my protector, sad that this was what my father had become. The one man that was supposed to protect me was the one trying to hurt me most.

  I needed to call my mother and sister, but I was in shock and I couldn’t focus enough to actually do it. This was so much worse than I expected. Michael would have raped me, maybe even killed me if given the chance, and my father had tried to fucking sell me to him. That alone was going to take some major therapy to get through. Hunter sat next to me on his couch and wrapped a blanket around my shoulders. He pressed a kiss to my temple, and I sucked in a ragged breath.

  “Are you okay, baby? What do you need me to do?”

  I couldn’t answer him. It was like I was there, but I wasn’t. I willed my body to answer, but nothing came out of my mouth. Everything felt empty. My body still shook every few minutes.

  “Megan, I need you to look at me.” He took my face in his hands and turned me so I was staring into his beautiful green eyes. “Talk to me or I’m going to take you to the hospital. You’re scaring me. I think you’re in shock”

  “Can you call my mother?”

  “Oh thank goodness. I called her as soon as we got here, honey. She’s on her way. I’ve also got people working to locate your sister.”

  I nodded. She might not appreciate it, but I needed to know that Cassie was safe. Thinking back on everything that had happened since she had gotten married was startling. She had changed how she dressed, became reclusiv
e and wasn’t willing to go out or let me come to her. We’d always been close and she had pulled away. Mom blamed it on her being a newlywed. Now I was positive that wasn’t the case. If she wasn’t being physically abused, she was at least being mentally abused, and I couldn’t let her go through that anymore.

  Who knows how long I sat there quietly. Hunter finally came to take me to bed and instead of asking me to get up and walk, he scooped me up like a small child and carried me through the house. His touch was gentle as he undressed me and laid me down beneath the covers. My eyes closed and I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

  I jerked awake, disoriented and confused. When I looked around I was surprised to find myself in Hunter’s bedroom. My fingers touched my eyes to rub away the sleep, and I cried out at the excruciating pain. Hunter came running into the room at my sharp cry.

  “What’s wrong, baby? Are you okay?”

  I looked at him in confusion. Baby?

  “What the hell happened? Why do I feel like I’ve been hit by a bus?”

  “Megan?” he asked looking as shaken as I felt. He turned ashen and I wanted to make him tell me what was going on.

  “Hunter, what happened?” I asked urgently. “Why is your face scratched? Holy shit, why am I in your bed?” I finished on a panicked whisper.

  “You don’t remember anything that happened yesterday?” Confusion etched his features and I felt the panic rising up inside me.

  “No. Nothing.” My voice trembled and I choked back a sob.

  “What about last week?”

  I shook my head.

  “What’s the last thing you can remember, honey?” He took my hand in his. “Try to remember.”

  “I don’t know.” It was getting harder to take a breath.

  I looked down at the ring on my hand and started to hyperventilate. Oh, God. I had gotten married. Surely I didn’t marry Michael after what I found out. Grabbing at Hunter’s hand, my mouth dropped open as I saw the wedding band on the same finger as mine. My finger ran over the filigree band.