But as soon as the smile on his face turned into a frown, I was afraid. Afraid of what he might do to me because I told him no.
"Fine. I'm going, but it's not for forever, Willow. You are mine. You will always be mine. Do you understand? Nothing and no one else can take you away from me." He reached for my arm, but I sidestepped him. I was stronger than that.
I was stronger than him. And I had Zach.
"Go." I crossed my arms and watched him walk away and duck into his luxury model car into the back seat. The car sped off and I just sighed. He was gone.
I opened the door to my house, crossed the living room floor and sank down on the couch, letting the cushions surround me as I sank into them.
It was then that I cried, the tears flowing that would not stop.
Chapter Thirteen
Zach
"Get down!" I said as I leapt across the room and grabbed Leo, pulling him down to the floor.
The spray of bullets came a moment later after we were behind a big steel desk, the closest thing I could find in the lobby of the building he worked in. Fuck.
It was easy to keep my cool. This was the kind of thing I was trained for. The kind of thing I lived for. It felt like time stood still as I listened to everything. As I assessed the situation.
My men reacted almost instantly, popping off a few precise shots, the assailants going down with no problem. The opposition were made up of amateurs compared to the men I'd assembled on the security team. Ten men on the estate and two extra whenever he went out. It was with good reason too. Clearly someone wanted him dead, but it was no surprise.
He was digging around in shit that he barely understood. Always a prime target.
"The fuck?" Leo asked as he looked up at me. I kept him down on the ground, though, as I stuck my head out from behind the desk and looked it over. The battle had been quick, and that was a good thing. It meant it was less likely that an innocent got hurt.
It was all clear. I didn't know how many men were killed versus alive, but I needed to find out. Find out who sent them. It was a part of my job, and to be honest, it was something I enjoyed.
It was obvious they were aware of Leo's doings. That they didn't want him in the picture anymore.
Police sirens were already on their way, but I was up and over to the only conscious perp. "Who sent you?" I asked, jabbing him in the ribs. He hissed in pain. A part of me livened up at it. Wanted to cause him more. A part of me was looking forward to this.
"He needs to stop snooping." It was all he said before he continued, "we will kill everyone. Everyone here deserves to die. All of them. Nothing but a bunch of corporate pigs. Billionaires and the slaves who work for them."
"Who?" I asked, but he just kept ranting the same shit. I wasn't going to get anything else out of him, so I kicked him twice then walked away.
Fucking asshole.
Their cover must've been a part of a radical militia. No one would suspect them of targeting Leo Chance for any other reason than his money.
Whoever hired them was damn good.
Leo pulled himself up and straightened his suit.
"Holy shit. In public?" he asked as he looked at me. "You have to be fucking kidding me."
I looked around at the carnage. We'd been quick. No one else had been hurt but the assailants. I was pretty sure my team saved a lot of lives.
"How is this going to go down with the press?" I asked as soon as the police entered the area.
"Oh, I can take care of that. The only reason Hope's murder got any screen time was me. I'll be able to handle it." He didn't even seem shaken up. I'd seen more accomplished men take a hit like this harder.
He just walked across the room over broken glass and bodies on the floor to greet the lead officer on the scene.
"Officer," he said as he shook his hand.
"What happened here?" the officer asked. He clearly didn't recognize Leo.
"We were saved by heroes," Leo confirmed. "Some mad men burst into the building and started shooting. Ranting about the one percent. My security team took them out as soon as they aimed for innocent people. Self-defense. Saved a lot of lives."
He looked at the two of us skeptically, then at the faces of a small crowd of scared employees.
"Is this true?" he asked. They nodded, huddled together.
The look on his face changed from one of suspicion to awe as he nodded. "We'll have to question each and every one of you, and hold the men who discharged their weapons."
I had a feeling the spin was going to be a positive one and I sighed. At least no one was hurt.
It was nice to get a win every once in a while.
Willow
I avoided looking directly into Ruby's eyes and instead focused on the scattered sunlight that danced in beams through the blinds and across the dining room table. I had no reason to be ashamed. My life was my own, and I had no reason to feel this way about the baby I was carrying in my belly.
"What do you want to tell me?" Ruby said as she nudged my arm. "You look like it's a problem."
"It's a bit unplanned, but I don't know that it is a problem." I cleared my throat and took a sip of my tea. Peppermint. It was the only kind I could stomach these days. In fact, I actively craved it around the clock. The natural sweetness mixed with the peppermint tingle was perfect.
And I was sipping it to put off telling her.
I could tell by the look in her eyes that she was getting impatient. It was now or never.
"I'm pregnant." I said it as quickly as I could, hoping that if I spewed it out, she would just miss it.
She almost spat out her coffee.
"What?" she asked as she looked at me, her eyes wide. "You're pregnant?"
I nodded. "I was sloppy. I should've been taking my pills, I thought I was but … " I trailed off as I thought about him.
Zachary Murdock.
He was the first person I'd had a crush on. The first one that broke my heart. And now I was with him, and I was carrying his child.
It was almost too much to bear.
"Have you told Zach yet?" Ruby asked, a smirk on her face. "I assume you're keeping it."
"I am, but I haven't told him. I don't know if I should." It was a silly notion. One I'd been playing around with for a few days. I could just run away. Not tell him. Not tell anyone.
Not that I had any idea where I'd go. It wasn't a real idea, but an excuse to procrastinate. I'd meant to tell him. I was going to. But each time I tried, something came up and I just couldn't. Not yet. Not until I was sure.
Until I was sure he really wanted me. Sure that I-no, we-wouldn't be a burden.
"You have to. You can't just keep this from him. Do you know what he would do if he found out from someone else?" she asked, her eyes intent on me.
"I can. I can imagine." I could already see the rage, the way he would come after me. It would be unrelenting. I couldn't run from him.
I knew it was the truth. That man would never stop until he had his child. It was the only way he was linked to my ex.
Elijah would never stop until he had me. Elijah was different, though, because he would hurt me. Zach would never lay a hand on me. Elijah. He was still in town, still waiting to spring out at me, and I'd told no one.
I'd been keeping so many secrets. How could I even begin to tell Zach anything that was going on? He would be furious with me for so much, but I was afraid to tell him. Afraid that he would be angry with me either way.
I'd stood up to Elijah, but I knew it was only short term. He would be back. The man was obsessed, and he wasn't going to stop just because I'd told him to.
"Do you have another secret up your sleeve, Willow? You look like you are hiding something."
Dammit, she could read me so well. Ruby had been the first to suspect about Elijah, the first to understand exactly what I was going through, and now here she was reading my mind again.
"He was here, Ruby. He came to visit me."
"When?" she asked.
"Two nights ago. I didn't want to tell anyone. He was waiting for me, at my house, Ruby."
"Why didn't you call me?"
"At first, I was in shock, but then I was embarrassed. I just didn't want to think he could be here. I didn't want to think he could be real," I said as I took another sip of my tea.
"You didn't tell Zach either, did you?" she asked as she raised her eyebrow. "Do you really think keeping secrets is going to get you what you want? With Zach?"
I knew it wasn't, but I hadn't seen him in a couple of days, and I hadn't really gotten the chance. For any of it.
"I know, Ruby. You think I don't know?" Tears threatened as I reached out for her hand. I was in over my head. So overwhelmed.