CHAPTER NINETEEN
David Logan hadn’t been a figment of her imagination. She had seen him. She couldn’t think how he’d found her, and as for why...well, it wouldn’t be anything good.
How had he even gotten through to this town? She’d tried her best to get out and it had been impossible. But that had been days ago, and a path might have been cleared and while she’d been having a good time, her past was catching up.
James had kept on asking her what was wrong. She’d pleaded she’d eaten food that hadn’t agreed with her and her stomach had turned all of a sudden, but she could tell he suspected it was something more than that. It was a flimsy lie, but it was all she could come up with at the time.
She led Madeline by the hand and through the front door, ignoring James’ confused gaze. She hadn’t lied to James, exactly. Her stomach had wanted to turn inside out when she’d seen David. She had been sick and only just managed not to vomit.
One thing for sure, David was bad news, spreading nothing good wherever he went. There was no way she would let David come anywhere near James or Madeline. Her fantasy was over. Destroyed by David Logan. She’d be stupid to think it might have turned out any other way. She had two days. Two days before she could take that bus out of town. Two days to try and stay safe. Then, when she was gone, James and Madeline could return to their nice little life.
She shut down enough so now she was only numb. The hurt would come later, when she was well gone from here. She managed to return James’ smile, even though her heart shattered into thousands of tiny pieces with each passing moment.
Things were that much more complicated now that she had given her heart to a little girl who needed her and a man who had the power to totally unravel her. She should have hardened her resolution and listened to her head instead of her heart.
“Elizabeth, you have a phone call.” Mrs. D’llessio caught them the moment they came through the door.
She jerked to a stop. “Me?”
“Si. An old friend, he said he was.”
Her heart pounded. Her body went numb, her mind spinning. David. It had to be. No one knew she was here. Oh God, oh God, oh God. David knew she was here in this house! That would mean he knew about James. Madeline.
How?
“Maria! You should have seen me on the horse! I rode as good as Liz’beth.” Madeline ran up to the housekeeper and wrapped her arms around Mrs. D’llessio’s waist.
Breathe. Just breathe. Her heart beat boomed in her ears.
“I bet you did, Bambina. Horse riding gives you an appetite. Would you like some lunch?” Mrs. D’llessio asked.
“Can I have a peanut butter sandwich?” Madeline asked.
She sucked in air through her nose, fighting lightheadedness.
Breathe. In. Out.
“You no want my bruschetta?”
“Can I have it after my peanut butter sandwich?”
Madeline’s voice become background noise. The world spiraled back, the grey edging away from her vision.
Another breath. Deep. In. Out.
Mrs. D’llessio fussing over Madeline gave Elizabeth a chance to collect herself. She turned to the phone in the hall to hide her face, tucking her shaking hands into the folds of her shirt. Mrs. D’llessio shuffled an excited Madeline into the kitchen, but James hadn’t moved.
“Who could be calling you, Elizabeth?”
Elizabeth took the phone from the hall table, hiding her trembling hand, and turned to James. She tried to smile, faking being confused. “Not sure. Might be the homestead. I gave them this number in case they needed to reach me for any reason.” She pointed to the empty office space. “May I?”
“Is everything all right, Elizabeth?” James settled serious eyes on her.
“Yes. All good. My stomach is still a little unsettled. That’s all.” She really wasn’t lying. She did feel sick. Sick to her soul.
His gaze roamed her face. He reached out towards her, cupped her elbow with a firm, warm palm. “If you need anything, you’ll let me know?”
“Of course. They’re probably just asking about the last time I filled the feed bags or something like that. I probably forgot to write it down,” she said.
Moments passed, interminably long. “I’ll make sure Maria makes some food for you.”
“That would be great, thanks,” she said, disappearing into the office and closing the door.
She let out the breath she’d been holding, then looked at the phone, her mouth dry. She thought about just hanging up, but he’d only get angry and probably turn up on the doorstep, which would be so much worse. She took a shaky breath, knowing David would only get angrier by the moment if she wasn’t on soon.
“How did you find me?” She worked hard to get the words out.
The laugh at the other end of the phone sent a chill right up her spine. “You’re as easy to read as a book, sweetheart. Never shut up about never seeing the ocean. And that postcard you blue-tacked to your bathroom mirror. All I needed to do was speak to Jayne at the bus depot and act all brokenhearted and ask what bus you’d taken. Left without even sayin’ goodbye to me. Now, why would you go and do something like that?”
Elizabeth licked her lips, “David…I.”
“Looks like you fell right on your feet, though. Doesn’t it? Living in a big house like that. Getting cozy with the owner and the girl. Right on the money.”
Her knees gave out, and she sat in one of the office chairs. “Leave them out of this.”
“Well, that all depends on you now, doesn’t it, sweetheart?”
“What do you want, David?” Hell, she just wanted to be rid of him. The man left nothing but misery wherever he went. And following her here. That was just insane. She wasn’t just dealing with a horrible person; she was dealing with a madman.
“Café opposite Louttit Bay. Half an hour.”
The phone went dead. She wasn’t left with an option. She brought the phone down from her ear, the disconnect sound erupting through the earpiece like a siren.
There was no running from a man like David Logan. You went when he wanted you gone, and now she really did have everything to lose.
The next lie she told James sat like a stone in her gut. She needed to get into town. More stomach troubles, an old prescription she had, and a trip to the chemist that could only settle it.
She didn’t even notice the rugged winter beauty of the ocean as she stood looking inside the café. The huge blackboard on the back wall was scribbled with the menu. The delicious smells of lunch only served to turn her stomach even more.
There was a crowd around the counter, but she saw the man she was looking for immediately. Crouched in a corner over a cup of coffee right at the end of the long communal table.
He had a knack of blending in, becoming background noise. That was, unless he decided to pour on the charm. Today he was dressed in a black windcheater, the hoodie tugged over his head, just as he’d worn when she’d seen him on the beach. Elizabeth knew he didn’t cover his face because of the chilled wind. He didn’t want to be remembered.
The sweatshirt failed to hide his large, muscular form. His shoulders were huge and filled the top to capacity. Meaty. Biceps bulged, even as he picked up the mug. She saw the black lines of his tattoo on the back of his hand, partly hidden beneath the sleeve.
At the homestead, he’d only worn a tank top or no shirt at all. Because of the heat, he’d said, but looking back it was more to show off his build. Hard physical work and a fitness regime had him rugged, strong, built like a brick wall. He knew it, and he used it to his advantage.
Swallowing down the bile that stung her throat, she pushed past the lunch crowd. Her body screamed to turn and run the other way, and she had to will her feet to walk towards him.
As she reached his side, he turned to face her. His black eyes registered power and triumph. The hint of a smile touched his mouth; that too was conquest because he’d scared her enough to come here. She shuddered. She’d taken off in the middle of the night those handful of days ago not to see his face or that look again, and now here she was, up close and uncomfortable with him again.
No woman should be mistreated. You…should never be mistreated.
That was what James had told her, and she’d believed him. If only all men were like him. What a wonderful world that would be. Unfortunately, she knew better.
David tugged out a chair he’d coveted so no one else could sit next to him. “Sit.”
“I’d rather stand.”
His eyes hardened. A ripple of fear ran though her. “I said sit.”
She wilted into the seat, clutching her stomach, her mouth dry. She watched him take another casual sip of his coffee, too scared to say or do anything that might anger him.
He faced her, putting one arm on the back of his chair and the other on the bench. All she was aware of was a huge wall of solid chest. Power radiated towards her. She fought not to cringe.
“James Rhyder. That house he lives in is worth a few mill.”
“Keep him out of this!” Her voice trembled like mad.
David cocked an eyebrow at her, and she stilled. “Sweetheart. He’s the reason I’m here. You think I came for you? I know the contents of your bank account. You got nuthin’ left to give. But when I saw who you’ve shacked up with, now that’s somethin’ I can work with.”
“Please, they’ve done nothing wrong. We…we’ll go somewhere else. Start off fresh where no one will know us. You just tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.”
His eyes narrowed. “Now why would I go anywhere else when you’ve already done the hard work? As far as I see it, he’s easy game.”
She wanted to scream at him that this was unfair, that she wasn’t his to do his bidding. Not to James. Not him.
“Haven’t I done enough for you, David? I gave you everything I had.”
“You’ll do what I tell you to do until I say it’s enough. That’s just the way it is, sweetheart.”
The term of endearment made her want to vomit. He’d filthied a beautiful word. “There’s no cash in the house.”
“You know how it works. I’m not after cash. I want his bank details. Once I have that, I can get all the cash I want,” David said.
“He doesn’t let me into his office, let alone his computer. He keeps everything under lock and key.” If she lied, made it sound too hard, maybe he’d leave to find an easier target. It was a chance. She had to try.
His eyes flickered from her toes to the top of her head. She’d need to scrub herself to feel clean again. “You’ve got assets. Use them.”
Her lungs constricted. He wanted her to prostitute herself, use the only thing of value she had left. When she spoke, her voice was no more than a hoarse whisper. “I can’t.”
“Why not, sweetheart? You were good at it.”
She sat in stunned silence for a moment, trying to find the words. She was nothing more than a prostitute in his eyes. So different than how James looked at her.
“I won’t tell anyone about what we did. I promise. I’ll leave, and you’ll never see me again.”
His hand snaked out, grabbing her wrist. He did it in a way that no one in the busy café would even notice. His grip crushed her bones, and pain shot through her arm though the faded bruises. She forced herself to take the cracking pain in silence. She knew better than to shout out.
“You know too many things about me and my set-up. Took me a long time to get my contacts, and I don’t want to go losing them just because some little bitch didn’t like our time together. Do you know long and arduous it is to set up overseas bank accounts? The technology involved so there’s no trace? You’re stuck with me until I say otherwise. Got it?” He peeled back his lips, baring his teeth.
She wished it had never happened to be her. She didn’t ask him to introduce her to his contacts or show off how smart he thought he was. She didn’t even know what he was doing until she’d discovered her empty bank account. All her hard earned money. All those years of work. Gone. Anger made her hands tremble, but she didn’t want to say any of that to him. Not here. David was too unpredictable. And she was too scared to push him.
“You will go back to that house, and you will get that man into your bed. Use your God-given talents. You will get into his computer, and you will get his bank details. Do you understand?”
She nodded, too afraid to speak.
“You will wait for me to contact you again. Rhyder has a child. If you run away, I will take the girl. If you don’t get those bank details, I will take the girl. If you fail to sleep with him, I will take the girl. If you go to the cops and tell them anything about me, I will take the girl and no one will see her again. I will be watching you every step of the way. Do I make myself clear?”
Black edged her vision as his words sunk right to her core. He twisted her wrist. Sharp pain jerked her back in the chair. Couldn’t get her mind, or her mouth, or anything to function. Despair swallowed her whole. She spun blindly, caught in a cold, dark vortex.
She knew he would take Madeline. Knew what he was capable of. There was nowhere to turn. No getting away. She couldn’t involve James or Madeline.
“Elizabeth!” His sharp, guttural tone brought her back to the moment. “If you don’t do what I tell you to, not only will I take Madeline, I will come after you next. And no one will care what I do to you. Do I make myself clear?”
She blanched at the darkness on his face. She nodded, needing to breathe, needing to get away from him right now. She would say and do anything he wanted. There was no choice. He threw her wrist away like it was rubbish. She clutched it to her chest.
“Go.”
At his command, she rose on shaky legs and blindly pushed through the crowd. She didn’t remember how she got outside, but she found herself on her backside, knees pulled into her chest, tears streaming down her cheeks under a bush. She didn’t know how long she’d been there before her consciousness returned. When it did, she noticed it was raining and she was drenched right through.
She slowly rose, her entire body numb. She trudged back up the muddy pathway back to the house, each step taking her back to the house where she once sought protection and now started to become a haven.
The same haven that had now become her hell.