Chapter 19

Friday came all too fast and Isabella wasn’t ready for it. Tonight would be the night her nightmare ended. Assuming everything went according to plan, that is.

Isabella walked out the door of The Bean with Jack and stood on the sidewalk with him. The time had come to say goodbye and it felt far too real for Isabella’s liking.

Jack leaned down and kissed her, careful of the hot cup of coffee in his hand that Isabella had just made for him. She leaned against his chest, arms wrapped around his waist as they stood there, in the town square, making out like a couple of teenagers.

They had to make it believable, or David wouldn’t fall for the trap if he was watching. Isabella smiled against his lips as the hoots and hollers from inside The Bean cheered them on. Jack smirked at her, satisfied with that response and waved back at the people he could see through the windows that were clapping and cheering them on.

He leaned down one last time and kissed her slow and sweet. He could be so gentle sometimes that it almost made her cry with how tenderly he treated her.

“I have to go,” Jack said as he pulled back from her lips.

“Have a good trip,” she said with a smile.

“I’ll see you on Sunday,” he said as he looked down into her eyes and memorized how she looked at him just then. The love in her eyes made his chest swell. She wasn’t acting. This was real.

She walked him to his car that was parked in the town square and waited while he unlocked the door and opened it.

“Everything will be fine, Izzy. And later, when this is all over, we can talk about what we want, okay?” he asked as he cupped her face in his hands. He knew what he wanted. Her. In every way. He wanted her in his bed. He wanted her in his arms. He wanted to fall asleep next to her every night and wake up next to her every morning. He wanted to come home with her and cook with her and watch TV with her. He just wanted to be with her.

But she had never had this kind of freedom before, not with David lurking around. So he would give her time to decide if this was what she truly wanted. Because once he was in, he was all in and he wouldn’t go anywhere.               “Will you be there at the end?” she asked in a whisper, their faces only a few inches apart. To anyone else, it would look like they were exchanging sweet nothings before Jack left on his trip.

“Yes. Connor will call me once David shows up. And I’ll only be about fifteen minutes away, ten if I speed,” he whispered back, his thumbs brushing against her cheekbones. “I promise.”

She smiled. “Okay. Just drive safe.”

He smiled back at her. How she could be worried about his safety when she would be trapped with a deranged madman was unfathomable to him. “I will come home to you, Izzy. I swear.”

He pressed his lips against hers in a sweet kiss before he released her lips and pulled her into his arms for a hug. They stood there, arms wrapped around each other as the rest of the town went about their business. But Isabella knew she had to let him go so she pushed back from him and rose up on her tiptoes for one final kiss before she stepped back and went to stand on the sidewalk. She watched him get in his car and wave at her before he drove away. And she suddenly felt empty, hollow inside, as Jack left, even though she knew he would be back that night.

“Is your boyfriend leaving? How sad,” David said from behind her.

“He’ll be back, David. He’s only going away for the weekend,” she said as she turned to go inside The Bean and get back to work.

“He should leave forever,” David said, his voice low and threatening as he followed her inside.

“No, you should,” she retorted and went behind the counter.

“I’ve already told you, little Isabella, I’m not leaving without what belongs to me,” he hissed at her.

“And I told you, you’ll be waiting for all eternity,” she said without looking at him. If she did look at him, she would have lost her courage. And today more than ever she needed whatever courage she could scrounge up. “But speaking of what belongs to you, I found some things you gave me when we dated. Do you want them back or should I throw them out?”

“Izzy!” Lucy interrupted with a smile on her face that quickly disappeared at the sight of David. “Hello, David.”

“Lucy. I heard you got married. I was a bit disappointed I wasn’t invited to the wedding,” David said with a charming grin as he looked at the ice in Lucy’s eyes.

“We didn’t want to let the riff raff in,” Lucy said.

David’s answering smile was friendly but the hatred in his eyes gave him away.

“Izzy, do you mind terribly if we cancel dinner tonight? Mayor Matilda gave us tickets for the theater and the last showing is tonight,” Lucy said. But then she glanced at David again and added, “But we can save them for another time if you’d rather I come over.”

“No, of course not. Go have a date night with your husband. Enjoy it. I’ll be fine,” Isabella said.

“You’re sure? I don’t want you to feel alone now that Jack’s gone for the weekend,” Lucy said and made sure the implication that Jack was a permanent person in Isabella’s life was there.

“I’m sure. Go. Have fun. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Isabella said.

So, Isabella’s going to be alone tonight. Perfect. And she still has those gifts. Isabella and Lucy didn’t notice the smirk on David’s face as he listened to them talk. If Isabella had, her bravado would have vanished and she wouldn’t be able to go through with it. But David began to form his plan for taking back what belonged to him. She’s going to be mine again. I’ll make her forget that hotshot lawyer ever touched her. He would make her pay for her betrayal and disobedience. And then, he would make her beg for mercy. She would finally belong to him again.

“Ladies, if you’ll excuse me. I have plans of my own to make,” David said.

“Don’t rush on our account,” Lucy said.

He glared at her and smirked at Isabella. “I’ll be seeing you soon, Isabella.”

Isabella and Lucy watched David leave with a smile on his face and knew that trouble was coming, and not the kind that turned out to be a blessing in disguise like Jack had. No, this was real trouble.

“Izzy, are you sure you’re going to be okay tonight?” Lucy asked as she grabbed her sister’s hands and held them.

“I have to be, Lucy. I want this to end,” Isabella said.

Lucy nodded and studied her sister. “I tried so hard to protect you. I guess it’s just hard knowing that’s not my job anymore.”

“It will always be your job, Lucy, and I’ll always want you to look out for me. No one can replace you, not even Jack. But this was bigger than either of us could have ever known it would be and it was always too much for us. This time, it might actually end. I can feel it,” Isabella said with a smile. And it was true.

The trap was set. The bait was laid out. Now, all they needed was the prey to be caught. And then, Isabella would be free.