ADDICTED

49

"You're sure?" she asked.

"I'm sure."

And I was. Tiffany was a lying, backstabbing bitch.

I hated her before she married my brother and now, after she'd attacked the woman I loved, I wanted her removed from the picture entirely.

The problem was that her cousin wasn't giving up any information.

There was a possibility she would get away with all of this.

My team had been working nonstop since we discovered what was going on, but they were sneaky. Cash-only transactions and no plans discussed over the phone or Internet.

We only knew because my team followed Timothy, followed him to a family dinner on Sunday, saw Tiffany there, and connected the dots.

"So where is Tiffany now?" Leah asked.

"Hiding, probably," I said, setting my emptied mug aside. I placed a hand on her leg. "We're waiting for her to visit him but she's the only family member who hasn't."

"He's in jail now?"

"Yes." I swallowed and shifted in my seat on the bed.

I would have liked to put this conversation off longer, but she was cognizant and knowledgeable enough now.

"When you're ready, the police need a statement from you," I said. "I told them about the stalking and that we believe it was him. My team has video evidence of it and the report you made for your apartment break-in has been loosely associated with him. But you have to confirm the details." I raked a hand through my hair and sighed. "We need to make sure he's in jail for a long time."

Her calm shell fragmented. The smoothness of her face split with a cry of anguish.

I took her mug quickly and placed it aside before pulling her into me. She shuddered.

Kissing her head, I rubbed her bare arms and tried to soothe the fears pricking at her skin.

My own body hurt for her. I hated to watch her suffer without knowing how to comfort her properly.

"This feels like Jarrod all over again," she sobbed into my chest. Her tears smeared along my flesh and matted my chest hair. "The stalking . . . the abduction . . . the jail. I can't do this again. What if—what if he gets out?"

"Oh, my love," I whispered, squeezing her tightly, "that isn't going to happen. No one is going to hurt you."

"You can't promise that!" she sobbed.

I sealed my eyes closed while pain landed in my heart.

After a moment, her eyes blinked back the wetness and her sobs quieted.

I didn't like the gleam in her irises.

"You said your team has video evidence of Timothy," she said. "You never told me that. How long have you known, James?"

My lips straightened guiltily. "I didn't tell you because I had to protect you. If you knew, we wouldn't have been able to catch him in the act."

"In the act?" Her voice rose two octaves. "He could have killed me!"

"I wouldn't have let that happen, Leah," I told her, my voice rumbling into dom mode. "He caught me off guard, yes, but I had a team stationed at the gala. They were watching him and you. If he had tried to hurt you on-site, he would have been dead. We didn't expect him to kidnap you."

"You should have told me."

I didn't like the finality in her clipped words. "Leah—"

"You should have," she insisted. "I had a right to know. You took that away from me."

"Fine. Yes! I should have told you. I believed I was doing what was best for you. Would you have gone to the gala knowing he was there, hunting you? No. And if you had, you would have been pensive. Everyone would know something was wrong."

"Maybe I would have, maybe I wouldn't. We'll never know, will we?"

The anger radiating off of her seemed to burn me. I want to extinguish these flames immediately. She was slipping away into the smoke and I felt utterly fucking helpless.

"Leah, baby. All I care about is you. Stop pushing me away. I'm sorry I made the call without you. It will never happen again. I am here for you and I'm not going anywhere."

"Yeah, well, maybe I should go somewhere. Somewhere there aren't people trying to kill me or make decisions about my safety and future without my input."

Tears rolled down her cheeks, tearing my heart in half.

My breath caught. This wasn't happening. She couldn't leave. I couldn't let her go.

If she left, I would fall apart.

"Why do you say that?" I forced myself to ask.

"Because you are just controlling me. Just like Jarrod did. You think I'd fuck it up if I knew the plan. Clearly I am incompetent or incapable and you think I can't make decisions for myself." She sniffled and angrily rubbed the tears from her cheeks.

"Leah, that's not true. I think you are very capable and competent. I just didn't want to risk this bastard getting away. Please, believe me."

"I honestly do believe that, James," she said, but the disappointment in her voice only confused me. "You'd never hurt me intentionally. But it will happen. As long as you think you can do shit like this, you will hurt me. That's how this goes."

"That's not how this goes!" I insisted in a panic, dragging my hands through my hair. "Timothy hurt you. Tiffany hurt you. I have been protecting you all along. Do not project your confusion and fear onto me." 

"I know who hurt me and I know you love me, James." She took a deep breath. "I know because you are trying to protect what is yours and that is how you express love. But I'm not just some love object. I can make decisions for myself. I have to."

Leah withdrew when I reached for her, making my heart lurch out of my body.

"You don't trust me. Just like your brother," she whispered, her voice cracking. "And that . . . that is where you went wrong. Both of you."

She stumbled off the bed and attempted to storm out. I jumped up after her and grabbed her wrist. Instead of jerking away, she calmly turned and looked me directly in the eye. I hated everything about the overflowing tears on her face, the devastation in her eyes, and the tremble of her sweet pink lips.

"You're going to let me go, James," she said firmly. Her eyes turned to the wall as she sucked her bottom lip into her mouth. "I need time and if you love me, you'll give me that."

"Leah, I do love you. I love you so fucking much. I don't want to go a day without you. Please don't go." 

"I love you too, James. That's always my problem."

She tugged her hand out my grasp and walked out.

Despite every instinct to chase her, to tie her to the fucking bed and keep her from leaving, I forced my feet to remain where they were. Her words continued to ring in my mind.

In that moment, my entire world spun off its axis and was flung deep into the dark recesses of hopeless heartbreak.