Tangled In Strings

Chapter Twenty-Four

"Two months," I say, when we're both in my office.

"What did he say? About the baby?"

My eyes catch sight of the red roses on my desk. I'm so distracted by them that I forget she's asked a question.

"Scar?"

"He was...um, shocked. We're both still processing it."

"So, there's no getting back together?"

I shake my head, grabbing the note attached. "Not right now."

When my eyes meet hers, she gets the gist. I only open pull the card from the envelope when she's out of the room.

Everything will be alright, I promise.
I love you.

I smile, pressing the card to my chest, as it thumps unsteadily. It's been two days away from him, and I can't take it. Resisting the urge to grab my purse and head for the airport, I grab my portfolio instead, and leave for the conference room.

...

"Have a good night, Jimmy," I say, stepping from the car, onto the sidewalk. "And have a good weekend with your girl. I'm sure she'll win the game."

Jimmy chuckles, from the front seat. "I don't doubt it for a second. Give Norman my best, okay?"

I nod, and shut the door, turning. I begin to climb the steps, looking for the mail keys, while my eyes also search the entrance to the building, scanning the few people around me, a constant habit now. My eyes land upon a cop car at the curb, and the man leaning on it.

The second Dixon knows I've seen him, he walks the few steps it takes to get to me.

I back up instinctively, glancing to the entranceway and then back to him.

"You've got a lot of balls showing up here," I snap. "I find it hard to believe you don't have better things to do than wait for me to get home."

He purses his lips, oddly quiet, which sends chills up my forearms, all over my legs.

"Well, if you have nothing to say..." I breathe, turning. He catches my arm and my head snaps to him, eyes ablaze.

"I'll scream."

He lets go immediately, but smirks. "I could slam you into the ground, and arrest you but I don't think it needs to resort to that."

"What the hell do you want?"

"You were gone, for almost two days."

I hope he doesn't notice my cheeks setting fire.

"I-I was gone for one day, and it was to visit Monica on her book tour," I tell him, lying through my teeth. I try to remember the exact dates of her schedule that she drilled into my brain before she left. "She had a reading in, um, Boston."

He inches closer, crossing his arms in an effort to intimidate me. He's close enough that I smell the alcohol on his breath. My eyes widen, slowly in realization, but I say nothing.

"Boston? Really? I thought maybe you'd left, flown to see Giovanni but I checked flights and you didn't book one."

"I told you that was over. That was our deal, the deal you made. So, why don't you leave me the fuck alone?"

"Because you know what I want...what I really want."

My eyes close, squeezing shut in anger before I look at him again. And here it is.

The inevitable more—the demands that never stop coming.

"That's not happening."

"I think it will."

"No."

His blonde hair tumbles onto his forehead as he hardens, tensing. "You want me to release what I know? You want me to strip him of everything he owns? Really?"

I want to throw up. I smell the alcohol. I see a flash of my father—of him and close my eyes again to try and shake the images.

"I will never be with you," I growl, piercing him with a steady gaze. "Ever. I fucking hate you."

I move around him, and I nearly make it to the first step but he pulls me back, clasping the back of my neck with a firm grip. Every bone, every muscle in my body tense, I stare at him, hearing only silence around me, knowing he wouldn't grab me like this if anyone were nearby to notice.

My eyes flicker up, searching for the camera. I find none. I do see the attendant at the door, a woman, but she turns and walks away and my hope is gone.

"Looking for a camera?"

I shove at his chest, but he pulls me back with enough force that I grunt, feeling the sharp pain radiate through my throat at his pressure.

"I think you're still seeing him," he whispers, inches away from my mouth. I twist my face from his breath, and squirm out of his grip, rolling my shoulders to get away. He lets me go. "I think you're lying to me."

"Why would I lie? Why?"

"I know you, Scarlett. Better than you think."

I keep trying to get around him, but he's fast, always slamming his foot down in front of me. I begin to feel panic, consuming panic. I didn't take the valium today, or any day since the argument with Giovanni and right now, I feel it all.

"You don't know jack shit about me, Dixon," I seethe, relieved when a car pulls up to the curb and an older couple get out. I move up into his face, showing him only hatred. "Not a damn thing. I never loved you. I went through the motions with you. You were my attempt at safety. You were safe and that is why I chose you."

He looks down at me, his pupils dilated in anger. "You see this uniform, Scarlett? It means I'm law. It means that you are a citizen and I am an officer. It means that you have no power here. None whatsoever. You've failed at every turn to win...what makes you think that your insults will do anything for you now?"

I stand my ground, chest heaving when I hear the door shut behind the couple, leaving us alone again. He's got my forearm in his grip, holding me close.

"I fucked a woman last night who looked like you," he whispers, and I can't breathe. "She didn't feel like you, or smell like you." He leans in, inhaling my hair. "You always smell so good."

My eyes are swarmed with tears, my teeth locked together but I still manage to say, "Let me go."

His voice is menacing. "If you don't say yes, Scarlett, I will not hesitate to ruin him."

I meet his gaze, stunned to silence.

The door slams shut, and Dixon tears his eyes from mine, looking to the doorway.

I watch his eyes extend in disbelief...in sheer rage. I watch his mouth curl, a gust of air leave his lips in a rush.

And that's when I turn my head enough to see what has captured his attention.

That's when I look.

Giovanni is standing at the top of the carpeted stairs to Norman's building, looking down upon us.