The way his face flushed was terrifying, the red creeping up his neck to his cheeks. “The fuck you will. I don’t deserve this shit.”
“You can’t—” I gasped as he grabbed my wrist, his grip painfully tight. “Jace, you’re hurting me.”
“How long did you think I’d let you play this game?” he asked, his voice growing louder with every word. “I work my ass off, and for what? To come home and find my fucking girlfriend on the couch every night? That’s bullshit, Hannah, and you know it.”
“Jace, stop.”
“Everything I do for you isn’t enough?” He was yelling now. “What the fuck does it take to make you happy?”
I twisted my wrist, trying to get out of his grasp, but he only held tighter. How was he so strong? “Let go.”
“No, really. Answer my goddamn question. What the fuck does it take to make you happy?”
My wrist burned with pain and tears leaked from the corners of my eyes. “You’re hurting me.”
He shoved me backward, finally letting go. I fell onto the couch and tucked my arm against my chest.
“This is bullshit,” he shouted. “It’s not too much to ask for my fucking girlfriend to sleep with me.”
He was terrifying when he got like this. But I was sick of it. Sick of tiptoeing around my own home. Sick of fighting. Sick of being afraid of him.
“It’s too much to ask when you treat me like shit.”
He grabbed my still-full plate off the table and threw it against the wall. It broke with a loud crack.
“You’re spoiled rotten, you dumb bitch,” he yelled. “I’m out there, risking my life, working my ass off every day. And what the fuck are you doing? Sitting on that fucking couch with your fucking laptop.”
“I work. I have a job.”
“You sit around on your lazy ass all day. You can’t even do the fucking dishes.”
“Are you really standing there yelling at me and wondering why I sleep out here? This is why, Jace. What makes you think you can treat me like this?”
“Because you piss me off.” He shouted so loud, it hurt my ears. He grabbed both my wrists and hauled me to my feet. “This shit is your fault, Hannah. Why do you have to make me so fucking angry?”
He pulled me forward, yanking on my arms so hard it felt like he might dislocate my shoulders. I twisted my wrists, but his grip was like iron.
“Stop it,” I sobbed. “Let go.”
I stumbled as he dragged me toward the bedroom, his hands tightening painfully around my wrists.
“Get your ass in there.”
“Jace, stop.”
He was so much stronger than me. I dug my heels into the carpet and leaned my weight back, but he dragged me into the bedroom.
“This is your room.” He kept his grip on one wrist and grabbed my jaw with his other hand. “Do you hear me? This is where you belong.”
His fingers pressed the insides of my cheeks against my teeth and tears streamed from my eyes. His face contorted in an angry snarl and a vein stuck out on his forehead.
“Let go,” I said, the words coming out garbled from his grip on my face.
“I let you get away with this shit for too long,” he said, his face mere inches from mine. “Too fucking long. This ends now. You need to be reminded of who you belong to.”
Fear and sickness poured through me. I’d never felt so powerless. I knew exactly what he was about to do. What would he do to me if I fought back? He’d never hit me before, but seeing the rage in his eyes, I had no doubt he would.
Pulling my arm back, I tried to break free from his grasp. He squeezed my face harder and I tasted blood.
“On the bed.” He pushed me backward.
I stumbled, but kept my feet, the backs of my legs hitting the edge of the bed. Jace was on me in an instant. He spun me around and shoved me face-first onto the mattress.
“Jace, no.”
He rammed his hands beneath the waistband of my pants and tore them down.
A heavy knock sounded from the front door, three loud bangs in quick succession.
Jace paused with my pants down to my knees.
Another three knocks. Bang, bang, bang.
“Armstrong.” The male voice was muffled through the door. “Come on, man. Open up.”
“Fuck,” Jace muttered under his breath. He let go and went to answer the door.
I stood and pulled up my pants with shaky hands, then quickly fixed my bun.
“What’s going on, guys?” Jace asked.
Cops. Oh my god, there were cops at the door.
“We were just around the corner, and we’ve had two calls from neighbors,” the first guy said, sounding apologetic. I’d met him before. Matt Perez. His partner stood just behind him, a guy named Colton Caulfield.
I stepped into the living room, resisting the urge to rub my sore wrists.
“Hannah.” Matt nodded to me. “What’s going on in here? Everything okay?”
Jace cleared his throat. “Yeah, man, everything’s fine. We got in a bit of an argument, but it’s over. The walls in his place are paper-thin, you know?”
“Right.” Matt’s eyes traveled around the room, pausing for a moment on the food splattered across the wall, the broken plate below.
“Sorry you guys had to come out here,” Jace said. I could tell he was trying to sound calm, but there was no mistaking the anger in his voice. “Neighbors are fucking nosy.”
“Yeah,” Matt said, his gaze still moving around the apartment. They came to rest on me.
If I spoke up now, they’d have to arrest him. It wouldn’t matter that he was a cop. But he’d be out in a day or two. A restraining order wouldn’t stop him. Not if I got him arrested.
I looked down at the floor.
“Listen, Armstrong, we had two separate calls,” Matt said.
“I told you, the neighbors are fucking nosy,” Jace said. “It’s none of their goddamn business.”
“Yeah, I know,” Matt said. “Why don’t you come with us, though. Cool down a little.”
“I don’t need to cool down,” Jace said.
Matt stepped closer and lowered his voice. “Work with me, here, man. Grab some stuff. You can crash at my place tonight. Give you two some space. Otherwise…”
Jace’s jaw hitched. He glanced at me, his eyes narrowing, then he swept past me into the bedroom.
I couldn’t look at Matt and Colton. Couldn’t meet their eyes and pretend I wasn’t about to fall apart. I was terrified Jace was going to lose his temper in front of them. Terrified they’d have to arrest him. He could lose his job. And he’d blame me.
Jace came out with a duffel bag. Without a word, he walked out. Colton followed, but Matt hung back.
“Hannah, are you sure you’re okay?” he asked.
I nodded, flicking my eyes up to his for a second. “Yeah. I’ll be okay. Some space will be good.”
He took a deep breath. “I’ll talk to him tonight. Maybe he’ll agree to counseling or something. Anger management.”
“Sure, yeah.”
I could see the conflict raging inside Matt. Loyalty among cops was strong. But he wasn’t an idiot. He knew this had been more than an argument, and he was a good guy. He wouldn’t look the other way on this if I said I needed help.
“Call if you need anything,” he said. “I mean it.”
“Thanks.”
With another nod, he left, closing the door behind him.
Nine
Hannah
I had to get out of here.
The walls of my apartment closed in, threatening to suffocate me. I could still taste the metallic tang of blood in my mouth, still feel the tightness of Jace’s grip on my wrists. The way he’d manhandled me. Pushed me onto the bed. He’d been about to…
I didn’t bother cleaning up the mess on the wall and floor where my lunch had splattered. Just tossed some things in a bag, grabbed my laptop, and left.
Not that I had anywhere to go. My parents were a tw
o-day drive away, maybe three. And I wasn’t exactly on good terms with them. The only people I knew in Seattle anymore were Jace’s family. It wasn’t like I could show up on his parents’ doorstep, asking for a place to spend the night. His cousin Meredith was always nice to me, but I barely knew her. I didn’t have her number, or know where she lived.
So I tossed some things in my silver Honda Civic, and just drove.
I headed north, then east, toward the mountains. I didn’t have a plan. And the destination I had in mind made no sense. Why go back to Echo Creek, the little town where Jace’s cousin had gotten married?
Mostly because I didn’t have anywhere else to go. And I didn’t want to stay in Seattle. I needed to get away from the city. Away from Jace. Echo Creek sounded like as good an option as any. It was two hours from home—enough distance that maybe I’d be able to sleep tonight.
The more miles I put between myself and Jace, the more I relaxed. Even if he didn’t stay at Matt’s tonight, he wouldn’t be able to find me. Granted, he’d be livid to come home to an empty apartment. But that was future-Hannah’s problem. For now, I zoned out to music and watched the scenery change.
Seattle gave way to suburbs, which turned rural the farther I drove. I passed empty fields and evergreen forests. The land started to rise and the highway wound up and around the foothills. My ears popped as I gained altitude.
I crossed the pass—there wasn’t any snow this time of year. Pine trees replaced the thicker firs and the mountain peaks rose up around me. The highway ran alongside a wide river, the water sparkling in the sunlight. Some of the leaves were changing, adding a splash of fall color to the forests around me.
Echo Creek was just off the highway. It was a cute little town, surrounded on all sides by mountain peaks.
Before I’d given my final destination much thought—I still needed to get a hotel room for the night—I found myself turning into Salishan Cellars Winery.
I couldn’t explain why, but as soon as my tires crunched on the gravel drive, I felt safer. Like I’d passed an invisible force field that would protect me from Jace. I shook my head and rolled my eyes as I parked.
A force field? Nice fantasy, dork.
I got out and glanced around. It was just as beautiful as I remembered. The main building was warm and welcoming, with dark wood beams and wide double doors. A sign with the winery logo hung from curved iron brackets. The building was surrounded by well-tended gardens, the scent of lavender floating on the breeze.
The memory of the man I’d seen here came back to me. He’d gone through those doors. Heading where, I didn’t know. But I was almost positive it was his family that owned this place. Was he here, somewhere? Did he work here? Or was it a coincidence that he’d been here that day?
I tucked my keys and phone in the pocket of my hoodie and told myself I had not driven all the way out here—right after my boyfriend was almost arrested for assaulting me—on the off chance I’d get a glimpse of some guy I’d seen for thirty seconds at a wedding. That was crazy.
I’d come out here for some space. That was all.
The fresh air felt good after the long drive. I didn’t want to trespass, so I stopped inside and asked the woman at the desk if it was okay to walk through the gardens. She assured me it was fine. Guests were always welcome to wander through the open areas of the property.
I found a path that went around the back side of the main building and passed the garden where the wedding reception had been. I kept going, following it through a grove of what might have been pear or maybe apple trees.
The silence was soft and comforting. Just the rustle of the breeze through leaves. The distant sound of tires on gravel. I hugged my arms around myself as I wandered along the path. What was I going to do? Go home? What would Jace do to me if I did?
But what would he do to me if I didn’t?
“Hey, Gigz,” a male voice said behind me. “What are you doing over here?”
My back stiffened and I drew in a quick breath. No one called me Gigz in the real world. I glanced over my shoulder just as a white cat rubbed up against my leg.
A guy in a gray Salishan Cellars t-shirt, jeans, and work boots crouched down. “Come here, kitty.”
The cat sauntered over to him, her tail in the air.
“She’s friendly,” he said, looking up at me. He had tousled dark hair and bright blue eyes. The cat paused so he could pet her head.
“She’s pretty,” I said. “What did you say her name was?”
He stood and brushed his hands on his jeans. “Gigz. She’s my brother Leo’s cat.”
That was… weird.
“Go home, kitty,” he said. “Sorry if she was bugging you. Some people don’t like cats.”
“No, she’s fine.”
The cat darted off through the grass.
“Cool. Well, have a nice afternoon.” He smiled and walked in the direction of the main building.
His brother’s cat was named Gigz? Where had he gotten her name?
Badger had a cat. I thought back, trying to remember if I’d ever heard his cat’s name. Nothing came to mind. Once in a while he’d get distracted and shoo a cat away, but he always said things like dumb cat or little asshole. Never a name.
What were the chances that he was here? That this guy’s brother Leo was Badger? There was no way. But… what if?
Maybe I could find out.
I went back to my car and got out my laptop bag, then went inside the main building. The tasting room was mostly empty, just a pair of women at a table.
The woman behind the bar was pretty, with long brown hair and a friendly smile. I ordered a cheese plate along with a glass of Riesling, then sat at one of the smaller tables.
She brought my wine and cheese, setting it down on the table. “Can I get you anything else?”
“Do you have a wifi password?” I asked. “The public wifi isn’t working for me.”
“Oh, sure,” she said. “Do you mind if I type it in for you?”
I turned my laptop. “That would be great. Thank you so much.”
“No problem,” she said as she typed. “I’ll let Leo know there’s a problem. I’m sure he’ll be able to fix it. Anything else?”
“This looks great,” I said. “Thank you.”
A mention of Leo again. Was he their IT guy? A lot of IT guys were gamers. Maybe he was Badger.
The woman walked away, and I got to work. This was risky. I’d been in trouble for hacking before, back when I was in high school. But I wasn’t going to do anything bad—not really. Just trace the network traffic.
I ran a program against their firewall to hack into it. This gave me access to the network traffic—the data packets moving to and from the computers here.
It was tedious to skim through all the outgoing traffic. Most was typical—the sort of thing you’d expect to see. Google, news sites, Netflix, that sort of thing.
But then I found what I was looking for. Outgoing traffic connecting to the game servers we used.
Bingo.
This wasn’t exactly proof that it was Badger, but someone here was definitely a gamer. Between this and the cat, I wondered if I’d found him.
I leaned back and took a sip of wine. That had been remarkably easy. Badger was a smart guy, and he’d always been protective of his identity. He could have taken more steps to stay hidden—made it harder.
Did he want to be found? Or maybe he’d never thought someone on his wifi would hack into his firewall and trace the data packets on his network.
I nibbled on a piece of cheese, debating what to do. Badger wasn’t online. I’d checked twice since I’d been here. I was dying to know if it was him. How could I be this close and not find out for sure? But randomly showing up unannounced and telling him I’d hacked into his firewall to find him would be a jerk thing to do.
The temptation was strong, but I didn’t want to invade his privacy. I’d go to the hotel next door and get a room. Keep trying to reach him on
line. Hopefully he’d be on tonight. Then I could feel him out. Maybe see if I was right and take it from there.
I packed up my laptop and went back outside. I was just about to get in my car when the man I’d seen earlier—the one who’d told me about the cat—walked by. And like a cat, curiosity got the better of me.
“Hi there,” I called. “Excuse me.”
He turned. “Oh, hey. Can I help you with something?”
“Yeah.” I tucked my hair behind my ear. “So, this might be weird, but can I ask you a question?”
“Sure. What’s up?”
“That cat that I saw earlier. You said her name is Gigz?”
“Yeah.”
“And she belongs to your brother?”
“Leo, yeah.”
“Is Leo by any chance into playing online games?”
His eyebrows lifted and one corner of his mouth turned up in a slight smile. “Why yes. Yes, he is.”
“So… this could turn out to be very embarrassing if I’m wrong, but I think I might know him.”
His smile grew. “You might know Leo? Like from gaming with him?”
“Yes, exactly. I have this friend who goes by Iron Badger, or just Badger. And I think maybe he’s your brother. I’m Hannah, by the way.”
He smiled so big it looked like he was about to laugh at me. But he didn’t. Instead, he stepped forward and held out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Hannah. I’m Cooper Miles.”
I shook his hand. “Nice to meet you, too.”
“This way,” Cooper said, nodding toward a path that led past the gardens.
“That way to what?”
His brow furrowed, like I’d just asked a stupid question. “To Leo’s place.”
“Wait, I can’t just show up. He has no idea I’m here. And it might not even be him.”
“It’s him.”
“How do you know?”
He turned to face me, a cocky half-grin on his face. “Trust me. This is going to be awesome.”
Cooper kept walking. I jogged a few steps to catch up to him.
“I don’t know if this is a good idea. This is a pretty big invasion of privacy. I should message him first.”
Hidden Miles (The Miles Family Book 4) Page 6