Page 103 of Falling for Her

“I think I’ve made it clear that you have to agree to my terms.” He walks toward me, and I notice he’s wearing a black custom-made suit. “I gave you a chance to do that.”

“Davis,” I’m trying not to freak out, “I will not change my mind.”

“And I fucking said that you would,” he roars. It’s a voice I’ve never heard from him. Before I can register what happens, he’s there in front of me. His hand comes up, and he backhands me across the face. I can feel the skin break open, and I lift my hand to touch my cheek.

“Davis . . .” The fear seeps through me. I try to back up, but my back hits the kitchen counter. His pupils are dilated, his eyes almost black.

He reaches out to grab me, and I dodge sideways, just out of his reach. “You are pissing me off.” He chases me around the island. I slip in my heels, my ankle twisting painfully, but right myself and run for the elevator. He’s faster than me. He grips the back of my head, pulling me by my hair. I feel some hair being ripped out of my head as he twists his hand to keep a firmer grip. “Just couldn’t give me what I fucking wanted.”

“Please,” I beg him, “don’t do this.”

“Oh, now you want to talk to me, you fucking cunt.” He pulls my head back and smashes it into the elevator door. “All you had to do was give me what you owe me.” He slams my head again, and my vision blurs. “Greedy bitch.” The delayed pain hits me, and I feel like I’m going to throw up. Focus. I need to think. Need to get away. But he’s got me in a death grip. “Do you know the things I had to worry about because you decided to just take off? I had to hire someone to track you down, I had to take my vacation time to go fuck your shit up, and you still didn’t”—he slams my head again—“fucking”—again, harder—“come back.” That’s when I lose consciousness.

My eyes slowly start to peel open to darkness. I feel sick and like I’m floating, and I close them again. I’m sitting up, and there’s something across my chest. My head throbs like nothing I’ve ever felt before, like it’s going to explode. And my neck is sore.

“Yeah,” I hear Davis say beside me, “I have her with me.” He laughs. My eyelids part, and I register the road in front of me as we pass under a streetlight. I’m strapped into the passenger seat of a car he’s driving. “She’s a little banged up.” He turns his head toward me, and I quickly shut my eyes, pretending I’m still passed out. “Yeah, bitch changed the code on her place. Fucking doorman wanted two grand for it.” He laughs. “I would have paid him five, but the fucker was a lot dumber than that bitch, Cathy.” The name rings a bell, but I can’t place it. “She held out until I went up to fifty grand to tell me when the fucking cop wouldn’t be there.”

My ears ring when someone honks. Davis turns to look out the driver’s side window. “Fuck you.” He holds up his finger. “Yeah, you fucking asshole.” He holds his finger higher, sneering, and while he’s distracted, I lunge, grabbing the steering wheel and yanking it to the side. We swerve right, slamming into a parked car.

He drops the phone and grabs the wheel, overcorrecting and hitting the car in the left lane. “You fucking bitch!” He tries to steady the car as I reach back and punch him in the side of the head with everything I have. He holds the steering wheel with one hand and grabs for me with the other, slamming on the brakes. My hand is already on the handle, the door unlocked. I unbuckled my seat belt the moment he started braking. The second the car stops, I shove open the door and stumble onto the street. I look up into the headlights coming straight at me.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

LINCOLN

I run my hand through my hair as I jog down the steps and hear the television going. “Are you almost done?” I ask Asa, who is shoveling the pancakes I made into his mouth. He doesn’t bother answering me, just nods his head.

I grab my coffee, seeing the last couple of sips in it, and put the cup to my lips. I know it’s going to be ice-cold, but I drink it anyway. I look out the window like always but avoid looking at the garage in the back. Once, when I was sitting outside in the morning, I even had the thought of tearing that motherfucker down. Completely bulldozing it to the ground. Of course, I’m not actually going to do it, but the thought lingers in my head more often than not.

“I’m done.” Asa pushes away from the counter and grabs his plate, rushing over to me. The plate still has a layer of maple syrup. “I got to brush my teeth. Then I’m good to go.” He has syrup on his face, too. “Do me a favor, buddy, don’t touch anything until you get to the sink, yeah?”

He smirks at me. “Buzzkill,” he mumbles. My head hangs, knowing it’s something else he picked up from Finley. She may be gone, but she’s very much here in this house when Asa is home, which is a double-edged sword.

He runs up the steps as my phone rings on the counter. I expect it to be either Captain, Maggie, or Cathy. I’m not expecting it to be Theo.

“Hey,” I say, putting the phone to my ear.

“Where are you?” I can tell by his voice that something is wrong. My body goes tight, and I worry that Collins got hurt.

“I’m home. I’m about to leave to drive Asa to Charlie’s for his lesson.”

“I’ll be there in ten. Do not go anywhere,” he demands and disconnects.

Weird. I call the office.

“Are you calling to tell me you’re going to be late?” Cathy answers at the second ring, laughing.

“Yeah, I might be. Is everything okay there?”

“What?”

“No weird calls or anything?”

“Not that I know of. Everything is calm here and, from what I can tell, no one is running out like the building is on fire.”

“Okay. Good.” Asa comes down the steps, wiping his mouth with the back of his arm instead of using a towel. “I’ll be in soon.”

“Gotcha,” she replies and disconnects.