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(Winnie)
The next day I walked into Reed's kitchen and found him sitting at the table. He had a folded newspaper in one hand and was reading it while eating breakfast. As I moved toward him, he glanced up and wished me a good morning. Returning the greeting, I bent down and kissed him.
"Have you had breakfast?" he asked.
"Yes." I pulled out a chair and sat down. "Where's Lorna?"
"She had to leave." Reed set down the paper and reached for his coffee cup, taking a drink. "She had a doctor's appointment to get to." He put down the cup and his fork. "We need to talk, Winnie. There's something I have to tell you. It's about Mark."
"What about-" My phone started ringing, cutting into what I was about to say. I retrieved the phone from the pocket of my blazer and pressed the talk button. "Hello."
"Good morning, Winifred."
I quickly switched to speaker so Reed could listen in on our conversation. "What do you want, Mark?"
Reed swore under his breath.
"I wanted to hear your lovely voice," he answered. "I've missed it and you. Do you miss me, Winifred?"
"No," I said without hesitating.
"Honest little thing, aren't you?" Mark commented.
"Just tell me what you want," I told him. "I don't have the time or the patience for this."
"Very well," he uttered coldly. "I'm sure Reed hasn't told you so I will. He came to the prison last night for a visit. It was at my request that he came. I wanted to speak with him face to face about you. You see, I learned from mother that you no longer wish to visit me. You should know that the news upset me. I want to see you, Winifred."
"Well, I don't want to see you," I informed him.
"Reed told me as much," Mark said. "I know deep down he's the reason you don't want anything to do with me anymore. He filled your head full of lies about me. I am innocent, Winifred."
"I don't believe you." I glanced in Reed's direction and noticed he had a muscle twitching in his jaw. Anger flared in his eyes. I reached out and placed my hand over his. "Reed would never mislead me and-"
"Enough!" he thundered. "I'm growing tired of this conversation so I'm going to get to the point. You won't come and see me willingly therefore I'm going to make you come and see me. You care for my brother, don't you?"
I locked eyes with Reed and said softly, "Yes."
"Good, because that means you'll do anything for his well-being," Mark muttered. "So this is how we're going to do it, Winifred. You're going to come and see me whenever I want you to. If you don't show up for our little visits I won't punish you. I'll punish big brother. To show you what I'm capable of and that I mean business I left a little surprise waiting outside."
I swallowed hard. "What kind of surprise?"
He chuckled. "Now if I told you it wouldn't be a surprise. I will be expecting you tomorrow morning at nine o'clock. Don't be late." The line went dead, signaling that he had hung up.
"Reed, I-"
"Don't," he growled. He got to his feet and marched from the room. I jumped up and hurried after him. "Stay in the house, Winnie."
"But I-"
"I said stay in the house," he snarled. "I don't want you going outside until I know what we're dealing with."
My heart pounding loudly in my ears, I paused in the entrance hall and waited while Reed went outside to investigate. He came back in five minutes later with a furious expression on his face. "What did you find?" He didn't answer me. "Reed, what did you find?"
"All four tires on my car have been slashed."
I sighed heavily. "I'll call the police."
"What for?" he inquired. "What can they do to Mark? He's already serving a life sentence."
He was right. Mark could hire a hit man to take Reed out and there was nothing the police could do. You can't do much to a man who's spending the rest of his life behind bars. "I'll call for someone to come and put new tires on the car. We can take my car to work or you can call for one."
"We're not going anywhere until we talk about Mark," Reed stated.
"There's nothing to talk about." I crossed my arms. "Tomorrow I'm going to the prison and I'll keep going back for however long he wants me to."
"If he wanted you to jump off a bridge, would you do it?" he wanted to know, his eyes cold as ice.
"Of course not," I responded. "Don't be ridiculous."
"The whole damn situation is ridiculous." He ran a hand through his hair. "This is just one big game to him. He's playing with us and you're letting him."
"I don't have a choice," I shouted at him. "You heard what he said. If I don't cooperate with him, he'll hurt you. Do you think-" I lowered my voice, the fight going out of me. "Do you think I like this? I don't like this anymore than you do, but as I just said. I don't have a choice."
"Yes, you do." Reed moved closer. "You can pretend he never called you."
I wanted to grab him and shake some sense into him. Instead I locked my hands behind my back and gazed up into his face. "And when he punishes you for me not showing up tomorrow, what then? Do you want me to look the other way and pretend he didn't do anything to you? He had your tires slashed, Reed. Next time it could be something more serious. Next time it could be your brakes. I don't want a call saying you're dead."
"He wouldn't do anything that would put my life in jeopardy," he pointed out. "He needs me alive so he can get to you. If I'm dead he has nothing to use against you."
"There's no point in talking about this anymore." Feeling a sudden twinge of pain between my eyes, I pinched the bridge of my nose. "We're never going to agree on anything."
"I guess not." Reed glared at me. "Do whatever the hell you want. I don't care anymore."
He walked away, leaving me standing there feeling as though my world had fallen apart.
"Your meeting with a Mr. Ryan Thomas at eleven-twenty has been canceled," I informed Reed coolly. "You're meeting with him tomorrow instead." I placed a folder in front of him. "The documents you asked for. If there's nothing else then I have work to do."
"If you don't mind I'd like some more coffee," he said, holding out his empty cup.
I snatched the cup and went out to the reception area where the coffee maker was located. Picking up the pot, I filled the cup with the hot steaming liquid and then stirred in creamer. I retraced my steps and held the cup out to Reed. As he took it from me his hand brushed against mine. A tingling sensation shot up my arm. I jerked my hand away, pivoted on my heels, and moved toward the door.
"Winnie," he called out.
I stopped, but didn't turn to look at him. "What?"
"Please, look at me when I'm talking to you."
Gritting my teeth, I turned around. "What?" I repeated.
Reed passed a hand across his face and sighed. "I didn't mean it when I said I don't care anymore. I was angry." He paused for several seconds. "I'm sorry. Please, forgive me."
I wanted to stay angry with him, but I couldn't. Anger required energy and at that moment I had none. I was emotionally and physically drained. Taking a deep breath, I slowly walked toward the desk, halting in front of it and staring down at him. "Alright, apology accepted."
"I won't ask you again to stay away from Mark," he muttered. "I know nothing I say will change your mind."
"I'm doing it for you, Reed," I mumbled. "I'm doing it so he won't hurt you."
"Damn it, I don't want you to get hurt." Reed pushed back his chair and stood. He came around the desk and grabbed me by the arms. "You've got it in your head that everything will be fine just as long as you visit him when he wants you to. You don't know him the way that I do. After a while he's going to start demanding more than you can give. What are you going to do then?"
"I don't know," I whispered around the lump in my throat. "I'll - I'll cross that bridge if I come to it."
He grasped my chin gently in his hand and tilted my head back. "Don't let him get inside your head. More than that don't let him come between us."
"I won't," I promised him.
Reed gathered me close and kissed my jaw. "Remember one thing, Winnie," he breathed in my ear. "You're mine."
His words combined with his breath in my ear caused me to shiver. I turned my head and pressed my cheek against his chest. The sound of his heart beating calmed me in a way nothing else could. I closed my eyes and breathed in his scent. In his arms, everything else faded away.