IN MY WORLD, ROSSLYN NOT telling me she’d been attacked was the equivalent of lying.
I was livid.
How was I supposed to trust her if she couldn’t tell me something as important as her life being put in danger?
I knew she was behind me, but I just kept walking. I needed to get from beneath the knowing gazes of everyone in the ballroom and into the back of my car before I did something really stupid … like freak the fuck out.
“It’s really not a big deal, Sebastian. Nothing even really happened.”
At that, I swung around, my eyes devouring her in her long gown. “Not a big deal? You’re fucking joking, right?”
She crossed her arms in aggravation and matched my heated glare.
“Tell me what happened. Don’t leave anything out.”
“I refuse to tell you anything until you calm down.”
We were standing beside a busy street as we waited for Martin to pick us up, but I barely heard anything over the loud beating of my heart.
She opened her mouth to explain, but at that exact moment, Martin pulled up in the sleek, black Town Car.
Turning away from Rosslyn, I pulled the back door open before Martin could even get out of the driver’s seat.
“Get in,” I demanded.
Anger moved over her expression, and I knew she was about to start her shit about not being told what to do. Before she could complain, I moved away from the door and pulled her to me.
“Get. In.” I enunciated each word slowly to prove how serious I was.
She blinked up at me, her thick-mascaraed lashes sweeping across her flushed cheek. She pulled her arm free from my grasp and moved around me to climb into the backseat.
The drive home was a quiet one. I couldn’t bring myself to speak. I was too afraid of what I’d say. The last thing I wanted to do was say anything callous to the woman I loved, but every time I closed my eyes, all I could see were her dead eyes staring up at me from the asphalt of a dark alley.
She could have been killed.
She could have been taken away from me.
I’d die without her.
I had no doubt in my mind that something happening to Rosslyn would be the end of me.
I couldn’t take my eyes off her, and she matched my stare. Neither of us spoke a word. I wanted to, but every time I opened my mouth, the words would catch in the back of my throat and I’d close my eyes and see her dead all over again. It made me feel nauseated; sick so deep in my gut I was sure I’d never feel okay again.
“I know what you’re thinking, Sebastian, but I swear it wasn’t bad.”
I didn’t believe her.
Of course, she was going to downplay the situation because she knew how angry I was.
“Look at me,” she demanded, holding her hands out. “I’m fine. See?”
Exhaling out my nose, I closed my eyes once more, my heart breaking into a million pieces at just the thought of something happening to her.
“I don’t know what I’d do,” I said, my words sounded strangled and broken.
She slid closer to me, her thigh brushing mine. “What do you mean?”
“If something happened to you. I don’t know what I’d do.”
She reached out and cupped my cheeks and I turned my face into her touch. My lips brushed her soft palm, and she ran her thumb across my lips.
“Nothing’s going to happen, sweetie. No one will ever take me away from you.”
I folded my arms around her and pulled her to me.
I’d overacted; I knew I did, but I couldn’t help it. When it came to Rosslyn, everything was so dire. Every emotion I had was intensified.
She was untouchable.
She was mine.
I held her as she told me about being in the parking garage and getting into her car. About finding a man in the backseat of her car waiting for her. She didn’t know what he looked like since it was dark, but she explained how he held a knife to her while he spoke before he jumped from her car and left her alone.
It didn’t make sense.
What was the point of climbing into the back of her car and then doing nothing?
“Did he say anything else? Did he ask for money or anything?”
She went over everything he’d said to her, but only one sentence stood out from the rest.
“They call me the boogeyman, sweetheart, and I’m your worst nightmare.”
“He said what?” I hissed, making Rosslyn jump beside me.
She looked up at me with equal parts confusion and fear at the tone of my voice.
“He said, ‘they call me the boogeyman, and I’m your worst nightmare.’” She stumbled through the words, not exactly sure what I was thinking.
His parting words to Rosslyn left me reeling uncontrollably, and I told myself it wasn’t connected. I told myself it was merely a coincidence, a really fucking terrifying one. I just wasn’t remembering correctly, and when we got back to the condo, I’d read the letter again and prove that I was wrong. I prayed to whatever god I needed to, to all of them, that I wasn’t right.
Rosslyn was still staring at me, and I realized I hadn’t responded for what seemed like a full five minutes.
Finally, I blurted something, anything, out.
“Since when is there a parking garage outside the legal aid building?”
Her swallow was visible, the skin on her neck quivering with nerves. Her eyes widened, and she began to nibble on her bottom lip the way she always did when she was seconds away from telling me something that would anger me.
“I wasn’t completely honest with you about a few things.”
I pulled away from her and peeled her hands from my body. She set them on her lap and looked down like a child who knew they’d done something bad.
“I’m not exactly working at the legal aid office.”
Closing my eyes against her deception, I shook my head as if I could shake away her untruths.
“What does not exactly mean?”
“It means I’m not working at the legal aid building.”
“Where are you working?” I asked, knowing before she even answered that it was going to be someplace terrible.
If Rosslyn had to be dishonest about where she was working, then it was obviously someplace I would never approve of.
“You know that office building across from The Pit Stop?”
Running my palms over my face, I looked away and let my eyes linger on the ceiling of the car. I needed to breathe it out. The neighborhood around The Pit Stop was one of the worst ones in New York City, yet my fiancée was driving there alone and working God knows where.
“Please tell me you’re fucking kidding me right now.”
“I got a job as a probation officer. It’s actually been working out great. Nothing dangerous or bad, I promise.”
“Yeah, nothing but being held up with a fucking knife, Rosslyn!” I growled.
Martin’s shoulders stiffened in the front seat at my loud explosion.
If, and I say if because I wasn’t completely convinced this was the same guy yet, but if it were the same guy sending the threatening letters, it could be any one of the lowlifes she was working with threatening her.
“You don’t know that that has anything to do with where I work! I was leaving the gym when it happened, not work. He wasn’t trying to hurt me. He just wanted to scare me.”
“And it fucking worked!” I roared.
“I’m fine, Sebastian.” Her voice was hard.
“Well, I’m not. I’m not fine at all.”
Before she could respond, the car stopped in front of Clive’s—home—and I nearly fell out. I needed air. I felt like I’d been suffocating the entire car ride home.
Rosslyn got out of the car and moved around me, making her way inside. I followed until she reached the stairs to the condo. When I didn’t follow her up to our place, she stopped and turned around to look at me.
“Are you coming?”
“No,” I responded harshly.
“What do you mean no? Where are you going?”
“I’m going to my office. I need space. I need to digest.”
“And you can’t do that in our condo?”
“No, I can’t.”
“Fine,” she said stubbornly, taking a step back down the stairs.
“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” I demanded.
“To give you space. No need to sleep in your office when this is your condo. I’ll stay with Trish tonight.” She passed me and headed toward the exit.
“The hell you will! So help me, Rosslyn, if you take another step toward that door …”
“You’ll what?” she challenged.
“Get upstairs. Now.”
I hated telling her what to do.
I really did, but after everything she’d confessed to me on the car ride home, I couldn’t stomach having her out of my sight. I wouldn’t survive if something happened to Rosslyn. I had to keep her safe.
I could see the debate playing out on her beautiful face. The urge to take her over my knee was strong—the need to control was there, but I couldn’t. Rosslyn wasn’t just some woman from my black book.
She was my fiancée.
My world.
Her eyes watered, and I knew I’d struck a nerve. Even with tears threatening to escape and her hair a mess falling from its pins, she was still just as fucking beautiful as ever.
And then her expression shifted—hardened—and I saw the exact moment she’d made her decision.
My heart dropped.
Without another word, she turned and left. The heavy door to Clive’s slammed into place, leaving me feeling more alone than I had in years.
Minutes later, I was busting through the door to my office. A picture of a group of celebs in the VIP section and me fell to the floor, shattering into pieces. I left it as I flicked on the lights and made my way to my desk.
I felt like a madman as I pulled opened the drawer where the letters were hidden and snatched them. Throwing them down on my desk, I pulled out every letter until I found the one I was looking for.
I held the thin sheet of paper between my fingers, my hands shaking, as my eyes scanned the words. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, but none-the-fucking-less, it was there, written in jagged handwriting.
It was too much of a coincidence. These things didn’t just happen, and I knew that. I’d lived through too many things—seen too many things—and I knew the man in the back of Rosslyn’s car was the same man sending me the letters.
He’d been near her.
Touched her.
Threatened her.
I dropped into my chair, the oxygen rushing from my body leaving me feeling dizzy with fear. For the first time in a really long time, I felt completely and utterly helpless. I fucking hated feeling like I couldn’t control the situation—like I couldn’t keep Rosslyn safe.
I had no idea who was behind the threats, but if he were from the old neighborhood, which was where Rosslyn had apparently been working, it could be anyone. I had ties, both good and bad, in that neighborhood—my old stomping grounds. I had many enemies roaming those streets. Someone had obviously found out who Rosslyn was and that she belonged to me, and now, he was fucking with my happiness—fucking with my girl.
When I found out who it was, he’d realize what a big fucking mistake that was. He’d know not to fuck with Sebastian Black.
THE NEXT DAY I WAS still reeling with Rosslyn’s confessions from the night before. I wasn’t sure I could ever trust her again. She’d lied to me. She’d put herself in danger, and she’d bullshitted her way through our compromise. I was angry.
How were we supposed to spend the rest of our lives together if we couldn’t be honest with each other?
The most fucked-up part was she was the one who’d pushed the whole compromising subject. And even though I hated the idea, I went along with it because I wanted to make her happy.
She deceived me after pushing for honesty. After we talked about all the building blocks of what made a great relationship. She’d taken one of the major building blocks, honesty, and pulled it out from under us.
“Good morning,” Rosslyn said quietly from behind me.
I’d been standing in front of the windows of our condo, sipping my coffee when she came into the room. I knew she was waiting for my response so she could judge how angry I was or wasn’t, but I couldn’t give her what she wanted. Not because I was still angry, which I was, but because I knew by the end of this conversation, we were never going to be the same.
“Good morning,” I finally said. My tone gave nothing away, and I heard her sigh behind me.
“Are you hungry?”
The sounds of drawers opening and cabinets closing filled the space behind me as she made her way into the kitchen.
“No,” I said simply.
Turning to face her, my breath hitched and my stomach twisted with need. Her hair was up in a messy bun and she was dressed in one of my t-shirts. She looked so fucking sexy; I almost dropped to my knees and begged for her forgiveness, but I couldn’t do that. Technically, I hadn’t done anything wrong.
She had.
I knew she wasn’t trying to play games with me; she wasn’t trying to get me to bend to her will by looking like a complete sex kitten. Rosslyn wasn’t a conniving person; she was wearing what was comfortable for her. She always wore my shirts in the morning. But then again, how well did I really know her? I hadn’t expected her to lie to me so easily, yet she had.
Her face was pinched in confusion, and I realized she was searching for her coffee mug.
“Your cup is next to the coffeemaker,” I told her, taking a sip of my own hot morning brew.
I swallowed hard when she twisted her body to look. The shirt she was wearing stretched and the buttons pulled apart to accommodate her new position. The pale flesh of her perky cleavage peeked through, and again, I wanted to drop to my knees for her, but I held strong.
“Thank you.”
She poured herself a cup and made it to her liking. Leaning against the counter, she brought the cup up to her mouth with two hands before blowing on it softly.
“Are you going somewhere?” She nodded toward me, and I knew she was talking about my suit.
It was Sunday, and we usually spent Sundays together working on wedding stuff or just spending the day in bed together. I’d rather be doing that than having this conversation with her, but after learning everything I did last night, that wasn’t a possibility.
“To my office. I have some things I need to do.”
“Like avoid me?”
“I’m not avoiding you, Rosslyn, but once I say what I need to say, you probably won’t want to see me right now anyway.”
She stiffened and her eyes narrowed. “And what is it you have to say that I don’t want to hear?”
“I understand why you didn’t tell me about the attack.”
She sighed. “It was hardly an attack, Sebastian. And I didn’t tell you anything because there was nothing to tell.”
“If you believe that, then you don’t know me at all, Rosslyn.”
“I knew you would overreact.”
“You knew I’d be angry because you were somewhere you weren’t supposed to be. You knew I’d be pissed because you lied to me about everything.”
“You forced me to lie! I had to practically beg you to work in the first place. If you knew what happened, you would try to make me quit.”
“I’m not going to have to try because you’re going to quit on your own.”
“Excuse me?”
“You’re not going to keep working there, Rosslyn. Not if you have any respect for me or our relationship.”
“You’re joking, right? What about having respect for me and what I want?”
“I did!” The words exploded from my lips even though I was trying to control myself. “I tried to compromise with you, and you lied to me.”
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I lied to you. I know that was wrong, but I didn’t want to fight with you about my job.”
“There was a good reason why I didn’t want you working a job like the one you got, Rosslyn. I told you I would support anything you wanted to do, but I could not and would not support something that puts you in danger. Maybe you’re right and this incident had nothing to do with your job, but maybe you’re wrong and it has everything to do with it. We don’t know for sure, Rosslyn, and frankly, I’m not about to find out.”
“So I can either quit or-”
I made my way toward the front door. “There is no or, Rosslyn. You will quit.”
We stared at each other for a full minute before I pulled the door open and walked out. My heart was beating so fast I thought it was going to explode. I knew I could lose her by giving her an ultimatum, but if I didn’t, I could lose her another way, and I wasn’t going to let that happen.
My foot barely touched the first step when I heard the loud crash on the other side of the front door. Coffee seeped from the bottom of the door and onto the expensive travertine flooring. She’d thrown her cup full of coffee at the door.
MY AFTERNOON AND NIGHT AT the club were doomed to be shitty because they started out that way. I hadn’t spoken to Rosslyn since the following morning, and I was starting to feel the void in the center of my chest.
All I wanted to do was go upstairs, pull her to me, and demand that she never lie to me again—never put herself in harm’s way again— and I would let her work anywhere she wanted, but I had too much pride. I couldn’t fold. Not when she was the one in the wrong.
I didn’t think my afternoon could get any worse, but I was dead wrong.
So fucking wrong.
The door to my office opened and Mac’s large frame filled the doorway. In his hands, he held the day’s mail.
“I’ve got bad news, Black,” he said, tossing the mail onto my desk.
My eyes went straight to the crisp white envelope on the top. My name was written across the center in jagged cursive.
“Fuck.”
Falling into the chair in front of my desk, Mac rested his elbows on his knees. “Exactly.”
I ripped the envelope open and unfolded the letter. The minute my eyes landed on the message, my heart jerked to a stop before quickly starting again.
I crumpled the letter in my fist as my anger spiked.
No one.
And I meant no one, threatened my girl that way.
This was it. I was fucking done with this bullshit. There would be no more fucking around. I would find whoever was responsible and I’d rip them apart.
Then the words of the letter came back and I found myself opening the crumpled letter to read it once more.
Several things stuck out at me.
The letter said I killed her parents. No one else knew about our situation. Only a handful of people knew I was even there. One of them was me. One of them was Rosslyn, and the other three, her parents and Vick, were all dead.
Second, the words West and Range jumped out at me. West and Range was the corner across from The Pit Stop. The same corner just outside the building I’d recently learned Rosslyn worked at. That alone set my nerves reeling.
And lastly, my eyes skimmed over the signature of the author.
The words of her attacker came back to me making me feel nauseated with worry.
“They call me the boogeyman, sweetheart, and I’m your worst nightmare.”
She was in extreme danger. The person who was writing these letters knew too much. Obviously, they knew where I worked, which meant they also knew where we lived. But more importantly, they knew where Rosslyn worked—where she parked—and they knew about our dark pasts and how they’d become intertwined the night I helped take her parents away from her.
I had no choice. Until I found the person responsible for the threats—until I knew I could keep Rosslyn safe—I had to pay whatever he asked. Twenty thousand dollars wasn’t anything. Honestly, I’d give up all of my money to keep her safe. So that was what I was going to do. I was going to pay him off and keep him happy until I could end him.