by Lucy Score
“You tortured him in his own home.”
Victoria shrugged. “He said no to me. So I decided to make him regret it.”
“You said if he didn’t do what you wanted, you would tell your parents that he raped you.” Ashley could barely choke out the words.
“Oh, no dear. I said that if he didn’t do what I wanted I would tell everyone that he was raping me. Over and over again. Sexually assaulting his poor, little stepsister.”
“But he never laid a hand on you.”
“I didn’t need him to fuck me. I just made it look like he did. Maybe he should have. It would have been much more pleasant for him.”
“Why? So he could end up like his father? Paying you off because you got him drunk and banged him when he was practically passed out?”
“I was 17 years old. Legally a minor.”
“Oh, poor little victim Victoria. Your mommy wouldn’t let you do something so you decided to bang stepdaddy. That’ll teach her.”
Victoria laughed. “I wanted to go to Nice for spring break. She said no. And look who went to Nice for the entire summer, had her college education paid for, and landed a job at Baine Industries. I always get what I want. Don’t get in my way.”
Ashley stepped closer. “Or what?”
Victoria swung the crowbar carelessly into the glass counter. It shattered, sending shards in every direction. “Oops.”
“You broke in here and now you’re destroying private property. That’s very classy.”
“Classy is how I’m going to wreck this place and tell everyone it was you. You went crazy because I stole your fiancé. You couldn’t handle it.”
Victoria swiped her arm across the old farm table sending hand thrown pottery flying.
Ashley clenched her hands into fists. “No, classy is me ruining your deal with Rocco and sending you to jail.”
“And just how are you going to do that?”
Ashley pointed to the camera behind the cash register and then the one over the door. “Everything you’ve said has been recorded, dumb ass.”
She paused long enough to take in the cameras, nostrils flaring. Victoria launched herself at Ashley, swinging wildly with the crowbar. Ashley blocked it painfully with her left arm and swung with her right.
She felt the satisfying connection with Victoria’s perfect blade of a nose. The woman screamed and tackled Ashley to the ground.
Bits of broken glass bit into her back as she fought to get Victoria off of her. Victoria’s elbow glanced off of her cheek and Ashley used the opportunity to shove her full force in the face. They rolled as one, knocking into a shelving unit.
Victoria ended up on top again, her hands closing around Ashley’s neck in a vice-like grip. “I’m going to kill you,” she shrieked.
There was blood.
Then there were lights and voices. And hands.
Thank God, Ashley thought, as Victoria’s hands were pried off of her throat.
Strong arms lifted her off the ground. “You OK, Ashley? That was some show.” Deion steadied her.
“Please tell me you heard every word,” Ashley rasped, bending at the waist to catch her breath.
“Every single word. She’s done. She’s going away for a long time.”
Ashley glanced around. “I didn’t think she was going to do this much damage. Barbara is going to be so pissed.”
“She broke my fucking nose!” Victoria, restrained by two officers, shrieked. Blood trickled from her face onto her chest, giving her a demonic look.
“I’ve been wanting to do that since I met her,” Ashley said.
“She attacked me! I was defending myself!” Victoria howled.
Ashley turned her back on the scene and grabbed a box of tissues off the counter. She had what felt like a million little cuts everywhere. Her cheek ached and neck burned where Victoria’s hands had been.
“Ashley!” Her heart skipped a beat.
Jason pushed through the crowd, rushing her. His hands roamed her face, her arms, her torso. “Are you OK? Are you hurt?”
She saw it, the panic, the fear in his eyes and felt tears prick her own.
“Jason.” She framed his face in her hands. “I’m fine. I’m OK.”
“You’re bleeding.”
“It’s mostly Victoria’s.”
“You’re bleeding,” he said again. “Your face.”
“Jason, I’m fine. Everything is fine. It’s all over.”
Deion came up and slapped Jason on the back. “Congratulations, Mr. Baine. Your batshit crazy stepsister is going to jail.”
Jason rounded on Deion. “I said you were not to use Ashley as bait.”
Deion held up his hands and Ashley stepped between them. “Jason, stop. Listen.” She pushed him back a step. “I’m fine, and Victoria is going to jail.”
His gaze flew back and forth between Deion and Ashley. He pulled Ashley into him. “You scared me. I saw her break in, and I couldn’t get here fast enough.”
“I knew you were watching.”
“You didn’t say I couldn’t check up on you. That doesn’t count as contact.”
She laughed and buried her face in his chest. “No, no, it doesn’t.”
“Are you sure you’re OK?”
“I’m better than OK. I love you, Jason Baine.”
He clutched her to him. “Say it again.”
“I love you.”
“Again.”
“I love you, Jason, and you’re finally free.” She pulled back and looked into his eyes. “She confessed to everything. We recorded every word.”
“Everything?”
She saw the understanding begin to dawn in his eyes.
“Everything. She’ll never be able to hold those lies over your head again.”
He crushed her to him again. “You love me and you freed me,” he murmured against the top of her head. “I’m never letting go of you again.”
“So you’re not mad?”
“Oh, I’m furious. You deliberately put yourself in danger.”
“Well I didn’t really think she was going to bring a crowbar in here.”
“Never underestimate crazy.”
“I’m crazy about you.”
“Say it one more time.”
“I love you, Jason Baine.”
“I love you, Ashley Sapienza. I think we should get married.”
“Right now?” she teased. “Don’t you think we could find a better venue?” She glanced around at the police, the flashing lights, the sparkle of broken glass.
Jason reached into his pocket and withdrew a small velvet box.
Ashley’s heart stuttered.
“I’ve been carrying this with me every day since we spent that weekend together.” He sank down on one knee. “It belongs to you, now and forever, just like I do.”
He opened the box and took out a vintage solitaire wrapped in a halo of smaller diamonds.
Ashley’s hands floated to her mouth. “Oh, Jason.”
“It was my grandmother’s and nothing would make me happier than to see her ring on your finger. Will you spend the rest of your life with me? I promise to spend every minute of it loving you.”
She pressed a hand to her chest where a warmth was blooming.
“Don’t think about it. I know it’s crazy, but just because it’s crazy doesn’t mean it isn’t exactly right. Because this is.”
Ashley nodded, tears clouding her eyes. “This is crazy, but I’d be crazier not to say yes. So yes, I absolutely will marry you.”
Triumphant, Jason stood and pulled her in close. “You’ve made me a very happy man, Ashley.” He slid the ring on her finger and kissed on it. “Now when can I start calling you Mrs. Baine? Please don’t make me wait.”
“I’ll give you thirty days.”
THE END
EPILOGUE
Ashley spun her chair away from her desk to stare out the window. The summer night was just beginning with a spectacular sunset. She could hear the cacophony of c
rickets through the open balcony door. On a contented sigh she wiggled her bare toes into the plush carpet beneath her feet.
As a wedding present Jason had turned one of the upstairs guest rooms into a spacious home office.
She admired the sparkle of her rings under the light from the desk lamp. She was Mrs. Baine. She had given him thirty days but he only took twenty before he slid the wedding ring on her finger in front of a small crowd of friends and family in an intimate ceremony at the lake house.
And now? Now, she lived in a home with a racquetball court and woke up every morning next to Jason. They dined outside picnic-style most nights after long days at work and launched kayaks from the backyard on the weekends. Next week she would be joining him on a business trip to Rome. It would be her second Europe trip since the wedding.
She had watched Jason relax millimeter by millimeter into a new life, one free from Victoria and her threats.
Theirs was a good life.
“What’s going through your mind, Mrs. Baine?”
Ashley swiveled to face him. Jason leaned against the doorway. With his sleeves rolled up and feet bare he was the picture of relaxed.
She rose to greet him with a kiss. “You caught me. I was just thinking about how lucky I am.”
“Good, because there’s something I want to talk to you about.” Jason produced a stack of papers from behind his back and handed them to her.
Ashley crinkled her nose at the legal documents. “It’s kind of late for a prenup since we’re already married.”
He gave her a look of mock exasperation. “It’s not a prenup. Read, please.” He tapped the pages with a long finger.
Ashley skimmed the first page. “What is this?”
“It’s a purchase agreement for Dwell.”
“You’re buying the store?”
“No, you are.”
“What do you mean I’m buying it? The store is mine? What about Barbara?”
“Barbara was interested in retiring and I was interested in your future.”
“You two discussed this without even consulting me?”
“I wanted to surprise you. Consider it a wedding present.”
“And what is that brand new SUV in the garage then?”
“An engagement present.”
Ashley bit her lip to keep from smiling. “You’re doing it again. You’re swooping in and interfering with my life. Have you learned nothing?”
“I think you mean our life. And there was no swooping. I am incapable of swooping. Barbara approached me and you of all people know the store is a sound investment. Would you rather work for some stranger who buys Barbara out or do you want to work for yourself?”
“Wouldn’t I be working for you?”
“This is your store. This is your name on the agreement.”
“That’s a lot of zeros to have my name attached to it.”
“You forget what resources you have available to you. What’s mine is yours.” He tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and put the papers on her desk. “I want you to be happy, Ashley. I want you to have everything.”
“Damn, you’re good at this.”
“Wait, I have one more good point to make before you concede.”
“You’re pretty cocky, Romeo.”
“When we travel, you can use the trips to buy inventory for the store.”
He had her and he knew it. It was her dream. She had even scheduled an appointment with a wholesaler in Rome while Jason was in meetings.
“What if I don’t want to run Dwell?” she asked with a dainty shrug.
“Then you can do something else and hire someone to run it.”
He leaned down and kissed her neck.
“You’re trying to distract me.”
“Tell me you want it.” His lips brushed her jawline. “Tell me it’s exactly what you want.”
Ashley sighed as he moved to her mouth.
“I want it and I want you. I want it all. It’s exactly what I want.”
About the Author
Lucy Score was born in rural Pennsylvania, land of chicken and waffles. Obsessed with books since kindergarten, Lucy began penning her own fiction in the second grade when the teacher assigned "My Life on the Mayflower" essays. She enjoys cooking, yoga, napping, and telling her rescue dog how cute she is. A freelance writer by day, Lucy dedicates her evening hours to crafting steamy romance stories so hot her family can't look her in the eye anymore.
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