A strangled sob rips out of my throat and ripples off into the thick blanket of darkness all around me. How could this be happening? How could I have done something so stupid? And, oh God, how am I going to get out of here?
“H-hello?” I sniffle and simper my way to silence again, listening hard for the slight movement that just caught my attention.
A light goes on, and even though it’s not bright in any way, it’s blinding. I instinctively squeeze my eyes shut, wait a few seconds for them to adjust, and then open them again.
“Trevor, please.”
Please, what? I think to myself. What exactly am I going to say to him to make him release me? I have nothing. No plan.
He comes to crouch beside me and I flinch. This subtle reaction seems to please him, because that creepy grin spreads across his face again. I can’t believe how I could have ever thought he looked like an average college kid. Down here, in this moment, his true self revealed is something closer to pure evil.
“I tried, Emily,” he says. His cheery tone makes every hair on my body stand on end. “I tried to do this the right way.”
I’m shaking now, but it isn’t fear that’s doing it—the terror I felt when I was out there, not knowing who he was or what he wanted. What I feel now is blatant anger because how dare he! “What exactly was right about anything you did, Trevor?”
My question has taken him by surprise, I can see it. He must have been expecting me to be his frightened little pet.
“Breaking into my apartment? Hmm? Was that the part you were referring to?”
That smile drops instantly, and his eyes grow narrow with rage. But I don’t stop.
“Or was it the part where you scared the crap out of me? Or threatened my life?”
“Shut up,” he says through clenched teeth. The force of his words sends drops of spit flying out of his lips. “All I did was try to make you see. You don’t have to fight it anymore. You love me.”
I shake my head vigorously. “No.”
“Yes, Emily. You love me, and you know it.”
“No!”
I start to struggle against my restraints, but all that achieves is more pain. I’m out of breath and so damn tired.
“See? See how it hurts when you deny yourself?”
I am so screwed. All I can think about is Peter out there somewhere, worried sick about me. About us. Me and our baby. My heart feels like it’s literally breaking in my chest.
For a second, it occurs to me to use my pregnancy to get sympathy from Trevor. But very quickly after that thought comes another: what if finding out about the baby—Peter’s baby—sends him over the edge? I decide it’s not worth the risk. I’ll just have to find another way. Maybe playing on his sympathies isn’t a bad idea, but without using the baby.
I groan, scrunching up my face in the best grimace of pain I can manage. Luckily for me, I don’t have to act too hard because everything hurts anyway.
“What? What is it?” There’s a definite hint of concern in his voice.
“It hurts,” I mutter, wriggling my wrists again.
Trevor sighs heavily as he takes a moment to consider his options. Eventually he gets up and strides over to a rickety old work bench across the room. When he returns, it’s with a pair of garden shears.
“Try anything, and this is going to get a whole lot worse for you,” he says.
I nod my silent agreement to his terms. This seems to be enough for him because he proceeds to cut me loose without further fuss.
“You can’t run, anyway,” he says. “The only exit,” he points to the door at the top of the staircase that leads out of the basement, “is locked.”
My arms drop down, at the same time numb and aching. I go to rub my wrists, but instantly pull away with a hiss. The skin on both of them is broken and torn, screaming red with inflammation.
“Do I get a thank you?”
I look up at him, trying my utmost to fight the sudden urge to lunge at him.
“Thanks,” I say.
“There, that wasn’t so—”
The high-pitched sound of a Spider-Man ringtone reverberates through the basement, interrupting the rest of his sentence.
Trevor grabs his phone from the back pocket of his jeans and turns away from me to answer it. He goes to stand by the workbench, speaking in muffled tones.
If I can get my hands on that cell phone, I could contact Peter. But in order to do that, I’d have to try and get close to Trevor. My heart drops to my stomach. Because getting close to Trevor means I’d have to play nice.
“I said I’ll get there when I get there.” He kills the call and tosses his phone onto the workbench, clearly distressed. I can see his shoulders rise and fall as he works to get his breathing back under control. And then he turns to me, the plastic smile is back on his face, and his game continues.
I glance at the phone on the workbench and send up a silent thank-you to whoever upset him enough to make that mistake. Now all I need is for him to leave me alone long enough that I can get it to call Peter.
“What are you doing?” Trevor takes a defensive stance, holding up both his hands, ready to fight me.
“My leg’s fallen asleep,” I say, using the beam to pull myself up.
It takes some work, my body so heavy with exhaustion that I feel as though I’m using every ounce of my strength. I don’t know how he can think I have anything left to fight him with. I’m barely standing on my own, for Heaven’s sake.
I let out a long, shaky breath once I’m finally on my feet. My head spins from the change in altitude and Trevor seems to phase in and out of focus, like back at the bar.
“What did you give me?” I ask him. I need a name so that I’ll know what I can expect from my body, but I’m also afraid that the drug might have harmful effects on the baby.
“Just a sedative.”
Okay, that’s good, I suppose.
“How long are you going to keep me down here? You know they’ll find me, right? You know that there are already people looking for me.”
He gets edgy again. “I’ll keep you here as long as it takes. And nobody’s coming for you, believe me.”
I start pacing a short line where I’m standing. I make a show of trying to get the blood flowing in my legs, but what I’m really doing is plotting my path to that phone. I just have to keep him talking, keep him distracted.
“As long as what takes, Trevor?”
He begins to mirror my movements, walking slowly up and then down along with me. Our eyes are locked, neither one of us submitting to the other.
“You know what I’m talking about,” he says.
I give an incredulous laugh. “You mean I’ll be here as long as it takes for me to confess my undying love for you?” I stop my pacing. “Or until I admit that we belong together?”
“You need to shut up.”
I can’t believe this guy. And another thing I can’t believe is the fight in me. It’s like a furnace in my chest that refuses to die down.
“Yeah?” I advance on him, coming up short just a few feet from where he’s standing. I’m ballsy, but I’m not stupid. “You want me to shut up, Trevor? Make me.”
“Bitch.” He spits the word at me.
Then he reaches behind him, and to my genuine surprise, pulls a gun on me.
Well, fuck.
All that attitude I felt coursing through me a minute ago is utterly deflated by the sight of the pistol aimed directly at my head. Now it’s fight or flight. But Trevor is blocking my path to the stairs that lead out of here, which means I’m going to have to do both—fight, then flight.
I act before my brain can talk me out of it and lurch forward, throwing an elbow to his face as I leap past him.
Trevor cries out in pain. “What the fuck, Emily!”
I skip the first two steps and jump directly onto the third, stretching to take the rest of the stairs the same way. But my legs are still like jelly and I stumble on my second leap. I quickly scramble
to get up and keep going, but I’m not fast enough. My fall gave Trevor enough time to come after me.
“You stupid bitch!”
He pulls my ankle hard, sending me careening over the side railing where I crash onto the cold, hard concrete. The wind is knocked clean out of me, and I’m left coughing and spluttering in a useless heap. My back is searing in pain. I can’t move. I blink away the hot tears stinging my eyes to find Trevor standing over me.
“You should’ve just listened to me,” he says, waving his gun around. “All you had to do was love me back, plain and simple. But no.” His gun arm steadies out, aimed at my chest.
This is it. I can tell by the look in his eyes. There are no chances left, no more mercy. He knows he’ll never have me, so now all that’s left for him to do is keep anyone else from having me, too.
Right then, a deafening crash splits my ears and I throw my hands over my head as broken pieces of wood fly through the air like missiles. Heavy footsteps come pounding down the stairs. Trevor turns toward the sound, and just as he raises his gun, a blurred shadow jumps the railing and smashes him to the ground.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Peter
I land my punches as hard as I can, all to the fucker’s face. Months of built up anger and frustration are loaded in every one of them. The sound of each blow drives the next one to follow. My skin hitting his, the dull crack of his bones under the weight of my rage.
Far off in the background I can hear footsteps, calls of Chief and That’s enough filtering through to me. But they do nothing to slow me down, let alone stop me. Because I’ve wanted this moment for too long. I’ve thought about it every day, even dreamed about it. I’ll stop when I’m done. When my fist rams straight through his crushed up skull.
“Peter, stop!”
Emily. Hers is the voice that reaches through the thick cloud of fury and makes the beating stop.
Out of breath, I use his smashed up face as a boost to push myself onto my feet. I stand over his limp, moaning body and the strongest disgust rises in me. I suck it back, ball it up, and spit it out. It lands smack dab in the middle of the bloody mess that used to be his face. A shining globule of my saliva. The perfect topping for the perfect payback.
“Get him out of here.”
Ross, who’s been hanging back this whole time, giving me my moment, is now the first to move. He bends down next to Trevor and begins reading him his rights as he slaps a pair of cuffs on him.
“Peter.”
I feel a light tugging on my arm, and when I turn around, I’m nearly struck down by the sight of Emily. Alive.
She rushes over to me, and throws herself into my arms with such force, I stagger back.
“Peter, oh, Peter!” she cries into my neck.
I hold onto her like I’ve never held onto anything in my life. Like I never want to let her go again. We stand there a moment longer, clinging to each other for dear life. And that’s exactly what it feels like for me. Like she’s my whole life.
I’m sitting with Emily in the back of the ambulance, my arm around her shoulders, and we watch as the squad car takes Trevor away. Only once the last of its lights fade away do we dare to shift our attention.
“How did you find me?” she asks.
“He was stupid enough to steal a stolen car. All we had to do was run the plates. The owner died a couple of years ago. It was his house Trevor was using.”
She sighs heavily, then rests her head on my shoulder. “Peter, I’m so sorry.”
“Shh, don’t.” I tighten my hold on her. God, it feels so fucking good to have her back.
“It was my fault,” she says. “I shouldn’t have met with him. And I definitely shouldn’t have kept it from you.”
“Hey—” I put my fingers to her chin and make her look at me. Her eyes are huge pools of love and exhaustion. My heart aches for her. “It’s over. You’re fine, our baby’s fine, and that’s all I care about.”
A soft smile tilts the corners of her mouth and she nods, her eyes brimming with tears. “It’s over,” she says, and laughs softly. “It’s finally over.”
She takes my face in both her hands and places the gentlest of kisses to my lips before resting her forehead against mine.
“You know what this is, right?” I ask, taking her hand and holding it to my heart.
“Tell me,” she says.
The hurried activity of the crime scene fades to black all around us as our bubble of bliss seals shut. I’ve missed it so much.
“It’s the beginning of forever, Emily. You and me.”
“And he or she,” she says with a laugh, and places my hand flat against her growing belly.
I’m so overcome with love for them both, I can barely contain it. There are no words left that could do it justice. So all I can do is show her, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life doing just that.
Epilogue
It feels like a dream. I’m looking at this woman in the mirror, and she’s absolutely radiant. The flowing white dress she’s wearing fits perfectly. Her smile doesn’t waver, and she’s filled with the purest excitement for what lies ahead. There’s no knot of anxiety in her stomach and her shoulders don’t slump under the weight of the world. This has to be a mistake. Surely she can’t be me.
“Mommy, it’s time for my kisses.”
I smile at the appearance of Heather’s reflection beside mine. I couldn’t imagine this day without her. But it’s the sight of the bundle in her arms that really makes my heart overflow.
I take Eleanor, and she immediately snuggles close to me. I press my nose to my daughter’s head and inhale deeply. God, I love the smell of her. It’s like a drug. I close my eyes and really sink into it, taking another hit of that new baby goodness.
“I bet you’re glad that whole asteroid thing never happened, huh?” Heather laughs.
I smile. “Geez, that feels like a whole other life.”
“I know, right? We’ve come a long way, my friend.”
There’s a light knock on the door to my dressing room, and before I can answer, it slowly creaks open and my mother’s head pops in.
Where some parts of our new life were easy to get used to, there are other parts that still feel a little strange. Like my mother being a sappy grandmother. It’s a whole new look for her, and sometimes it catches me off guard. I love her for it, though. Eleanor does, too.
“Is there room for one more?” she asks.
“Only if you’re up for a hold.”
She doesn’t need a second invitation, of course, and immediately pushes into the room and scoops up Eleanor.
I watch her do the obligatory head-sniff as she coos and cuddles my daughter. It’s insane that I’m standing here witnessing it, that I lived to see the day when three generations of McAfee women shared a room.
And I firmly believe that I wouldn’t be here at all if it weren’t for the man I’m about to marry. Peter, the love of my life, who’s saved me in more ways than one.
The door to my dressing room swings open again, and there’s Peter. He looks dashing in a black tux and his signature smile.
“Dude,” Heather says, “you’re not supposed to be in here.”
“Trust me, Heather,” Peter says as he walks in, “we’ve survived our fair share of bad luck. I’m pretty sure we’ve tapped out that resource.”
He goes to kiss Eleanor on the head, and then comes over to me.
“Hey, you.” He puts his arms around me and pulls me close.
“Uh, we’re going to give you two some privacy,” my mother says, and motions for Heather to follow her as she leaves.
“Alone at last,” I say. My face is beginning to ache with the constant smile I’ve been wearing. “So, what’s so important that you’re willing to risk our good luck over it?”
“I just needed to see you,” he says. “I was about to go out there and wait with my dad, when all of a sudden I needed to hold you. So, here I am.”
“Holding me.�
�
“I don’t ever want to let you go, Emily.”
I wrap my arms around his neck, and right before I kiss him, I say, “You don’t have to, Peter. Ever.”
Excerpt
He’s more than just a criminal.
He’s a merciless leader of two large gangs in LA.
And he has me in his possession.
What am I going to do?
I’ve been kidnapped by a billionaire.
And there’s no way out of this prison.
He owns not just my body but also my heart.
His mesmerizing touch makes me want to stay.
I’ve been told that he kidnapped me for a reason.
My father is out to kill him.
Am I too crazy to believe him?
Maybe.
The truth will eventually come out.
And then I’ll have a choice to make.
Stay loyal to my father…
Or fall deeper in love with this ruthless stranger.
Malcolm
Perhaps I had waited too long to bring the whole thing up. The truth was, I wanted to keep them out of it for as long as possible, my closest friends, my greatest allies. I knew they wouldn’t take it well that someone was trying to kill me.
Especially when that someone was Samuel Kline, the most notorious hitman in the business.
But I was sure now, and there was no more time to waste.
The five of us were having brunch at a little downtown cafe, the kind that you couldn’t find unless you knew it was there. The waiters here were like family, and so it felt like the safest place to begin to plan things—out on the patio under a large, sun-bleached umbrella.
“There’s something I need to tell you, the reason I brought you all here today,” I said, my serious tone a stark juxtaposition to the teasing conversation we’d just been having.
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