Chapter Twenty-Three
Asa stared at Jamie taking in her appearance, getting high from being in her presence. She was in a pair of jeans and a plain black tee. Her hair was pulled back into severe bun and her face was free of makeup, yet he’d never seen a more beautiful sight. He wanted to reach out and pull her into his arms but he noticed the wariness in her eyes. The last several days without her had been torture. He shouldn’t have left her so soon after revealing his extracurricular activities but he’d gotten an emergency call from the hospital regarding one of his patients.
One of the keys to not getting caught, was flying under the radar and acting as if everything was all right. He’d been doing that since he was a child, so he was used to pretending. He’d ended up performing emergency surgery on a patient with a perforated liver that was caused by another surgeon at the hospital. Once he was certain the patient would recover and he’d had a follow up consultation with the director of surgery, Asa had headed directly home only to find Jamie wasn’t there.
Her car wasn’t in the driveway and what was worse some of the dresser drawers were open. He looked inside to see they’d been emptied. At first, he was distraught that she’d upped and left him without a word. Then, he was pissed. Asa intended to keep her tied to the bed until she promised to never leave him again. And then, he was resolved to the fact that he would find her at all costs, no matter what.
As the days passed, his frustration grew and the control he had over his emotions was razor thin. He wore a mask in his day to day life but without Jamie, it had begun to slip. He found himself being curt with anyone who approached him. Everything irritated him…well, most people irritated him save a few but he was always careful not to show it.
He could feel the beast within him getting restless and without a new target or Jamie’s calming presence, he feared that he would do something regrettable.
After a week passed, he broke down and visited Derek’s office. He didn’t get the reception he’d hoped.
“I told you, the last time you were here that I was done. I’m not helping you anymore.”
Asa took a seat in front of his friend’s desk. “She’s gone.”
Derek squinted his eyes and pursed his lips. “Lucky her.”
“Did you hear what I said? She’s gone.”
Derek folded his arms across his chest. “Yes, I heard you the first time. And in case you think I’m moved by your plight, the only thing I suggest is you pull out your cell phone and call someone who cares. She’s better off without you. You’re going to keep doing this. You just can’t stop. It’s in your blood. I tried to justify the part I played in all this but I just can’t anymore. You take some kind of pleasure out of what you do. And how long will it be before it no longer matters what your victims have done?”
“That’s not how it works.”
“That’s what you say now, but I have no way of knowing that. Jamie is better off not being around when you turn on her.”
“I would never hurt her.”
“Then, let her go. That’s the best thing you can do for her.”
“Is that your final answer?”
Derek sighed. “That’s what it has to be.”
“You’re willing to let the monsters go free? You’re willing to let the innocent die?”
Derek flared his nostrils. “The only monster I see is you. You’re not going to guilt me into this anymore. Get out of my office. Don’t come back. And, look for another squash partner. Consider this friendship terminated.”
Asa smirked as he stood up. “It’s okay, Derek. You can ease your conscience by pretending that you were the hero in all of this but the truth is, if I’m a monster then so are you. Pleasant dreams.”
Oddly enough, the severing of Asa’s friendship with Derek didn’t bother him as much as it should have. Maybe he was fucked up on the inside. He would miss having someone to regularly play squash with. All he really cared about, however, was getting Jamie back.
It would only be a matter of time before he found her. Derek wasn’t the only PI in town who could track people down. Jamie made the error of taking her car. A license plate number helped which he handed over to an agency he knew to be reputable and discreet. Asa’s next step had been to go to her friends. Kat hadn’t seen her but she obviously knew something. That was one thing Asa was good at, reading body language. He learned it from reading his father’s moods, he knew when a huge beating was in store. Asa followed up with Thea who also claimed not to have seen Jamie but he could tell she was lying from the way she wouldn’t make eye contact with him when she spoke to him. Her slight hostility toward him made him realize that she knew exactly where Jamie was. Thea must have said something to Kat as well.
Once he figured out Thea was the key, he’d given the information to the PI agency. They located Jamie by the end of the day. The detective had gotten a picture of her talking a walk.
He didn’t go to her right away. He waited a few days, wanting to give her a false sense of security. That way when he snatched it away from her, it would be that much sweeter.
Seeing the surprise on her face, made all of the searching worth it.
“Aren’t you happy to see me, Jamie?” He widened his smile as he revealed the bouquet of roses knowing exactly which buttons to push.
“My dear, how could you leave such a handsome young man?” Mrs. Sheridan gushed. “And, he’s a doctor as well. Do you know how many young ladies would kill to have a man like this?”
Asa noticed how Jamie flinched at the word kill. It was obvious she was uncomfortable about what he did on the side but he fully intended to make her understand.
Jamie opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. There was a panicked expression on her face. Asa closed the distance between them, leaned over and dropped a kiss on the side of her mouth. “I missed you, Jamie,” he said loud enough for Mrs. Sheridan to hear. “These days without you made me realize that the argument we had was silly. It doesn’t matter who’s wrong or right. All that matters, is that we’re together.”
Out of the corner of his eye he could see Mrs. Sheridan dab a tear from her eyes. “Why don’t the two of you go and get your stuff, Jamie? And you don’t have to worry about the rent for the rest of the week. Consider yourself paid in full.”
Asa smiled at Mrs. Sheridan. “Thank you for taking such good care of my, baby girl.”
“Jamie has been absolutely delightful. I hope the two of you come back and visit me, hopefully I’ll see rings on your fingers the next time we meet.”
“Oh, I plan on making Jamie an honest woman soon enough. As a matter of fact…I wanted to wait for the perfect moment, but there isn’t a more perfect moment than this.” He reached into the breast pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small velvet box. It had always been his plan to make Jamie his wife and he’d been carrying the ring around for weeks, waiting for the right opportunity. But then the hunt happened, which got in the way of his plans. When Jamie ran away, Asa realized that he needed to make her legally his. Marriage had never been on his high list of priorities but Jamie was the type of woman that a man needed to wife and he wanted to show his commitment to her.
“My word!” Mrs. Sheridan squealed. “Let me go get my camera.”
When the older woman left the room, Asa extracted the ring from the box and took Jamie’s left hand. She tried to pull it away, shaking her head. “No. No. No.”
Asa narrowed his gaze. “Yes, Jamie. Behave.” He slid the ring on her finger.
Mrs. Sheridan returned with camera in hand. “Jamie, show me your ring.”
Jamie remained motionless.
Asa nudged her and Jamie held her hand out.
“My lord, look at that rock. I haven’t seen one so big since Dynasty. And Jamie is just stunned into silence. Congratulations, sweetheart.” Mrs. Sheridan gave a stiff Jamie a hug and kiss. “Now, you two get close together so I can take this picture.”
Asa wrapped his arm around Jamie’s shoulder, leaned down and whispered only loud enough for her to hear. “Smile.”
Jamie’s lips twitched and the corners of her mouth turned up but it wasn’t a real smile. Her eyes were shiny with unshed tears. She might be upset now, but Asa vowed to turn those tears into ones of pleasure. They stood in that position long enough for Mrs. Sheridan to snap her picture.
“I don’t mean to be rude Mrs. Sheridan but I think Jamie and I should head to her room and collect her things. Thanks again.”
“Oh, of course. You two take your time.”
Asa grasped Jamie’s elbow and led her upstairs. “Which room is yours?”
Jamie attempted to pull away from him but he held on. “Keep it up, Jamie,” he warned. “Where’s your room?”
“Third on the left.” Her voice was wobbly and he could barely hear her.
They stepped into Jamie’s room and Asa closed the door behind them. Jamie scurried to the other side of the room and started to tremble. She shook her head from side to side, her eyes were wide like a deer’s when caught in a headlight.
She moistened her lips in a nervous gesture. “How…how did you find me?”
Asa didn’t answer right away because he was too busy drinking in her beauty. God, he missed this woman. The rage he’d felt within him had settled now that he was in her presence. He’d found his baby girl and all he wanted to do was hold her, kiss her, and fuck her into submission. “It’s kind of cute how you thought that you could run away from me and I wouldn’t find you.”
He didn’t think it was possible for her eyes to get any bigger but they did. He smiled and advanced on her. He wanted to touch her. Needed to. It had been a trial not to throw her on the floor and have his way with her when he’d seen her again. But that busybody landlady of hers had been present.
A whimper escaped her lips and she started to shake as he closed the distance between them but there was nowhere to go for her. He had her backed against the wall just the way he liked it.
When Asa was only inches away from her, Jamie attempted to push him away but he captured her wrists in one hand and pinned them above her head.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
Asa caught her chin between his thumb and forefinger. “I know. But you’re going to be much sorrier later.” And, she would be. He already had something in mind that she wouldn’t soon forget. She’d put them both through agony. He’d suffered without her and he knew she had suffered, too. He could tell from the bags from under her eyes.
A tear slid down her cheek which he gently wiped away with the pad of his thumb. “There’s no need for tears. You’re safe, now.”
“W-with you? Those people you…you killed all of them.”
Asa narrowed his eyes. Poor sweet brainwashed Jamie. She was so naïve to believe that what he did wasn’t a necessity. He stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. “They weren’t people. They were monsters. Remember, when you told me that you’d be mine forever? I told you that I’d slay all monsters and you’d never have to be afraid again. Well, that’s exactly what I did. I did it for you…for us and for the rest of the broken.”
Jamie licked her lips again, something she did when she was nervous but seeing that pink tongue slip out and run along her luscious lips made him rock hard. “But, you’re the monster. You enjoyed it, way too much. You hurt people. And, you’ll hurt me, too.”
Asa released her wrists and planted his hands against the wall on either side of her head. He lowered his head until his lips were only an inch away from hers. “Care to repeat that?”
Her lips quivered. “You’re…you’re the monster.”
“Is that your final say?” He made a mental note of how many swats to the ass and pussy she would get later for each time she denied their love.
She raised her proud little chin and stared him directly in the eyes. “Yes.” Jamie’s body shook more than before.
“Since I’m a monster, I should wrap my hands around your pretty little throat, shouldn’t I?” He moved one hand off the wall and circled her neck with it.
Jamie gasped but she didn’t speak nor did she fight back.
He didn’t want her to be frightened of him but she needed to learn and he was here to teach her. “And then, I suppose, I should squeeze. Like this.” Asa tightened his grip on her throat.
Jamie closed her eyes and he stared at her. He was slightly perturbed that she believed he could cause her any real harm when all he’d done was love her. It didn’t matter how many monsters he’d killed. She was his to protect and now more than ever he needed her to understand that. “I’m disappointed in you, Jamie, that you’d think I would hurt you. I could never—would never cause you pain without giving you a whole lot of pleasure afterwards. So, this is what’s going to happen: you’re coming back home with me where you’ll receive your punishment and thank me for it when I’m done. Then, I’m going to fuck you, little girl. And, you’re going to love every second of it.”
This time she did push him away which took him by surprise. Since he was caught off guard, Asa went stumbling backward and would have fallen to the ground if he wasn’t quick on his feet.
“No. I’d rather you kill me. I can’t live in fear for the rest of my life. I did it when I was child but I had no choice then. I do now and I choose not to be with you.”