****ANNIE'S POV****
Like a pet, Pattie follows Jack everywhere in the house. Even when Jack invites me to watch a movie with him, she comes and slips between us, making sure I'm far away from Jack whenever. I feel torn. Why is she so possessive over our stepdad? We can both share his love, can't we?
It's been a week since I woke up without my memories. It feels like I'm living in a shell, being protected by Jack from certain things. Even though he doesn't say it directly, something must have happened in my past life. I can see the strain in his eyes. I can feel the tension under his hand whenever he touches me.
Every time I try to focus and remember even if it's a fraction of my past, an intense headache pounds mercilessly in my brain.
I still have so many questions to ask about who I was. About what I used to do. Where I would go for fun and all that. But Jack doesn't spill anything and Pattie gives me a cold shoulder and a sour glare.
Did we not get along in the past?
"Annie?" Pattie calls from the lounge as I clean up the cup I've just used. Leaving it dirty in the sink felt so wrong. "Annie come here."
I exhale with a roll of my eyes. She's been ordering me around when Jack is out like I'm her maid. I only tolerate it because of her delicate state. Something about what happened over a week ago that left the baby vulnerable.
"I can do this," I whisper to myself while drying my hands.
On one of the couches, a relaxed Blondie lays there so cozily. Not a thing in the world can budge her from the comfort the moment has to offer. Her eyes are still glued on the large TV, hardly noticing my presence.
"Pattie?" I call frowning.
"Shush! This is the best part." Her right hand darts up to long-press a button on the remote, turning the volume so loud till my ears start bleeding... literally.
It starts as a little needle-sharp pain in the head before quickly spreading down to my ears like arrows stabbing me cruelly till blood trickles out.
"Turn it down!" I scream covering my ears.
She can't hear me. It's too loud. Too torturous.
I crumbled down on the floor, my head throbbing in pain and my eardrums stinging from the flames being deposited there.
Why does it hurt so much?
Why does the high volume cause me such agony?
I continue writhing on the floor, unconsciously calling out Jack's name as tears flow uncontrollably from my eyes. The watch on my wrist begins to let out small beeps, but my brain is in such a mess to control my body to get help as Jack had instructed.
"Ple-e-ease, turn it oooooff!" I continue wailing, my heartbeats picking up a pace not meant for a human. Has death come for me? Is 'he' reaching out to take me away from the world?
****3rd POV****
His screen suddenly lights up to a notification.
His face twists upon reading where the signal is coming from... Annie.
"Is something wro-" Stan begins to ask after noticing the distress forming on Jack's face.
Jack's jaw clenches and his eyes zero on the desk, his mind calculating. "Send Paul over to the mansion," he says calmly, contradicting the disarray in his head. He knows too well that introducing Paul might not work out according to the script. But he looking at the bigger picture, he decides to set aside his insecurities and jealousy. Paul will protect Annie from that she-devil leaving in his house whom he cannot toss out.
The child in her womb might be the next target his enemies go for. And he'd be damned to let his first child get hurt because of the dangers in his life.
"Paul?"
"Yes. Fill him in on his role. He must stick to it if he wants Annie to get better."
Standing in front of Jack's desk, Stan gives a professional nod and rushes out of the office to arrange everything. The burden of taking care of Jack was passed on to him by his father, a man who served and died under Jack. He had asked him to look after Jack's mental health more than guarding him physically.
And Stan could now understand what his father meant. Jackson Raynatt, the man who carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. A man who kills ruthlessly when deserving. A man who protects deeply what he loves.
Jack slides his glasses off and sets them on the desk. He lets out a deep defeated sigh that carries with it his worries. "What could be triggering her monitor? Is she mad at Pattie?"
If it was up to him, he would have opted to flash to her this instant, but being realistic, he was miles away. The person he could trust with Annie's safety was Paul despite their differences.
"But don't dare play any games with me," Jack warns Paul in his head.
-----------------------
The icy air hanging outside doesn't stop the perspiration materializing on Paul's forehead as he speeds up the road leading to the mansion. He makes an advance call under Jack's order, for the guards to open the gate before his arrival.
Like an aspiring race driver, Paul flashes past the giant gates and straight for the mansion hidden by the tall trees ahead.
As the car halts in front of the mansion, Paul pushes the door open without caring whether it's parked right.
His feet almost fly off the ground to how fast he's running towards the double doors.
Since receiving the call from Jack's PA, his heart had turned into a drum in a wild man's hands. The feeling of Annie in trouble gnaws his soul bit by bit. He'd rather be wrong and look stupid bursting through those doors than act normal and arrive too late.
His shoes leave behind a thin trail of the snow he has picked up from outside the mansion as he runs into the lounge at the first checkpoint.
The second his eyes collided with Pattie's, dread floods his chest. She kneels on the floor next to an unconscious Annie. Blood stains the floor, its origin being traced up from Annie's...ears?
"What the hell happened?" he roars dashing at them. He hauls Pattie away from Annie like a doll, her pregnancy slipping from his mind momentarily. "What did you do to her dammit?"
Paul quickly picks the unconscious female off the floor and straight for the couches.
"I didn't do anything!" Pattie squeals defensively, guilt long dead. She was determined to have Jack all to herself. Even if it meant, Annie going insane.
She knew what she was doing when she turned the volume so high.
An anonymous number had texted her about the weaknesses of the chip in Annie's head. She didn't care if whoever had texted was a murderer or a saint. Heck! This wasn't the first time the mysterious person had texted her. It all began months ago. They had asked her to drug and sleep with Jack and make sure she got pregnant.
The deal favored her, so she grabbed it greedily without thinking it through.
They had asked her to create a distraction so they could act on Annie.
She had thought it would be the last time she would see the little bug constantly getting between her and Jack. But the chip wasn't a bad outcome anyway.
***Early update.
Hurry and go binge the rest of book 2 and all of book three (His To Snare). Both are complete on Patreon. 🎉🎉🎉🤗🤗***
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His To Save
Romance(((Book 2 of His Series))) Five years since Annie embarked on a self discovery and vengeance journey. She has grown, a lot, and is ready to take on the world. And the world is hers to take, as long she does not lose herself in the process. B...
