REDEMPTION | MAFIA ROMANCE | SMUT

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

The police have yet to visit to gather relevant information. I called hours ago to report the chase, the brandished knife and lurking in the communal garden. No one came. I am not a priority. I am an uncredible trauma victim paying for the lies of her past. If only I had divulged more when interrogated all those years ago. Perhaps detectives would have taken matters more seriously had that been the case.

I felt unsafe behind the four walls of beleaguered concrete.

I raised questions regarding the unknown person hellbent on harassment.

Is it someone I know?

Was this morning our first encounter?

How long has he been watching me?

Did he plan to use the knife?

Who put Kathy's photo on the bedside table?

Did he break into the flat while I worked?

Iciness nipped my bare arms.

Flamur Bajramovic.

Is he the man behind the mask?

Is he the man who chased me this morning?

Is he the man who put Kathy's frame on the bedside table?

Is he taunting me? If so, why? It's not as though I told people about his whispers at the charity dinner. I never exposed him to his wife, Zamira, or his enemy, Liam.

Tears pricked at the back of my eyes. "I listened."

I behaved.

I always behaved.

I studied the cracked phone screen and fired the browser. For the third time today, I typed his name into Google. In the words of Wikipedia, Flamur has raised an estimated twenty million for charities. He is extensively praised for his personal qualities and often regarded as an eccentric adornment. He is a ubiquitous face to the British public.

Flamur was born and raised in Albania.

My captor had a strong, Albanian accent.

I remember now.

The monster from my past leads a double life. He is an appraised public figure by day and a sick, twisted paedophile by night.

I made an overdue phone call. It went straight to voicemail. "Hey, Liam. it's me." My eyes squeezed shut. "It's Alexa. I am not feeling too good today. So, I won't be at work tonight." Rain bespattered the living room window in soft dews. "Hopefully, I will be better tomorrow. I will see you then."

I ended the call.

Chloe's shoulder leaned onto the kitchen door frame. "Are you okay?"

I am stronger than I used to be. "Yes."