But I couldn't scream, I couldn't yell, I couldn't struggle. I don't know why, but my body wouldn't let me. My brain screamed out over and over again, but it was like no matter what I did, no matter what I tried, I couldn't stop it. I was forced forward, his claws on me as I tried to work out a scream or a demand. I had to be in control. I needed to be.
Somewhere deep within me, I mustered up enough courage to push him off of me.
"No, I'm not going with you," I said. It was a definitive no. Not one that he could manipulate or change. I was in charge of myself. Not him.
Never again.
"Willow, this is not the time or the place to behave this way," he said. I'd heard that voice a several times and it still shook me to the core. It let me know he was angry with me. That he wanted me to do what he said right that moment or there would be consequences. Serious ones.
Ones that I wasn't ready to face. It almost transported me right back into the same life, the same headspace I was in before I got out of it, but I'd already made the decision and I was in charge of my own wellbeing.
"Look-" he started but was quickly interrupted.
"The lady has made her choice clear, Elijah. You've been asked to keep walking." I turned to see Zach moving towards us, his face filled with anger as he stepped between us, acting as a buffer.
Zach was going to punch him, I was sure of it, but he kept his restraint, just staring directly at Elijah.
Elijah hesitated, then he turned. He'd made his decision.
"I see your henchman has come to save you. It's unfortunate, my darling. I thought we could keep this between us." Elijah sneered at him then walked away, but not before saying, "I'll see you soon."
I watched him walk off into the distance and let out a sigh of relief. "How much of that did you see?" I asked.
"Pretty much all of it. You handled yourself well." He touched me softly and I leaned into him, so he grabbed me and pulled me to his side. "I had you the whole time, but you needed to take care of it yourself."
Knowing he would've been there if things got out of hand somehow made me feel so much safer. I realized, as he held me against his unwavering form, that I was shaking. I stared at my hands as I realized what had just transpired.
"Zach?" I asked, but he was already there, pulling me into him, holding me tight against his body. Grounding me. I needed that. I needed to feel his hard muscles against me as I curled into him.
I couldn't believe someone who was no longer in my life could rock me so fully and completely, leaving me so vulnerable.
But Zach was there for me, even when I didn't expect him to be. I thought he wasn't going to show at the gallery. I thought I was going to have to do it all on my own when I saw Elijah. And I did.
I had it handled. I could do this. I could live my life.
And I was absolutely certain I wanted Zach in mine.
Zach
I folded her into my arms and just let her stand there, her body shaking like a leaf under me. I could feel every inch of her, and I knew now just how much of a hold he had over her. And I knew just how strong she was.
It took every part of me not to follow that sleaze ball and fuck him up. He deserved to bleed after what he did to her.
But he was going to get his. It was just a matter of time before I gave him exactly what he deserved. I clenched my fist at the thought and grinned. I was really fucking looking forward to it.
"Zach?" Willow asked after a long moment. "He acted like he knew you. Why?"
Shit. Fuck. Shit. I paused for a long minute, stuck between deciding if I wanted to tell the truth, or if bending it would be a better option.
Looking into her eyes, the answer became clear. If I lied to her, she would only find out, and it would go over harder later.
I opted for the truth. "I met up with him and told him to stay the fuck away from you. He was sending you shit. I saw the look on your face. I knew it was what I had to do." I didn't apologize for it because I wasn't sorry. Not one bit. I needed him to know exactly what he was dealing with. He needed to know that she was protected.
The man was a fucking piece of shit who deserved a lot more than he ever got all because of his privileged upbringing, and I was about to remedy that.
I just needed to wait for the right moment.
She just stood there, shocked. I didn't know if she was pissed or if she was glad, so I didn't move. My arms never left her.
"You shouldn't have done that. But I'm glad you did. He needs to know that I am safe. I'm safe with you. That he can't hurt me." I let out a heavy breath as her body curled into mine, then realized we were in front of the damn museum in the middle of the sidewalk. Anyone could see us.
Hell, I didn't give a shit. This woman was mine, and no one was going to take that from me. Especially not some rich politician with an entitlement complex.
"Let's get out of here," I said as I ushered her towards my car.
"Where do you want to go?" she asked.
"I know a little place."
***
"Is this it?" she asked as she stared out at the empty field. It wasn't much, just a field of wildflowers with a big pecan tree in the middle of it, the only shade in the whole meadow.
"It is," I said as I opened the door and walked around to the trunk of my car, pulling out a blanket. I always kept one in there for times like this.
"What is it?" she asked as she got out.
"It's a little scrap of land that I own. Just three acres of the farm, the rest belongs to my grandparents. But this is mine to do what I please with. It was my mother's." I grabbed her hand and walked her across the field towards that pecan tree.
"She never built a house on it, but she always wanted an orchard. So when I was a little kid, she planted a single pecan tree. Never could really afford to plant more, but it grew. And here it is." I shrugged.
It was just a small thing. A story that I didn't expect to ever tell anyone. But was a piece of me and a piece of who I was. This was still a part of my home, my life. The part of me that no one knew.
And now she did.
"When she died, my grandparents took care of the tree, and I went into the army, but I thought about this spot often. It was her favorite place in the entire world."
I pulled Willow down onto the blanket, and we propped our backs up against the tree.
"When I was a kid, we used to come out here and picnic in our field. Talk about what we would do with it. Build a house on the corner of the property and just fill it with pecan and peach trees."
"It sounds like a beautiful dream." She looked wistful as she stared out across the landscape. She was intelligent and creative. She loved art and beauty in nature. This was the kind of thing that I hoped spoke to her. It was why I brought her here.
And to share a little piece of myself. One that no one else saw.
I'd seen her at her most vulnerable. It was time for a trade.
"It was. But sometimes dreams die. I still like to come out here, though. I like to think about her." I hadn't meant to get so emotional, but when I looked down, I noticed she had taken my hand and was brushing it lightly.
She was taking care of me. Comforting me.
And she'd forgotten about how scared she was. She'd forgotten about him.
"Zach, I have a question," she said. "Where do you go when you say you have to work?"
"It depends on where my client wants me. His place, out with him. I spend a lot of my time coordinating schedules for his private security too."
"But is it dangerous?" she asked.
"Every part of my job is dangerous. This contract, the last one, they are all difficult. They are all part of a world that doesn't come without consequence."
I could tell that it wasn't the answer she was looking for, but it was the best I could give her. I didn't want her to know that I'd killed a man just last week, or that I would kill another for the job without a second thought.
She didn't need to see that part of who I was. The monster that controlled me.
I'd done such a good job controlling it up until now that exposing her to that piece of me might just send her running.
And I didn't want to jeopardize what was mine. Her, that baby.
I couldn't lose them, but I couldn't lie to her either. So I just held on tight to her and breathed her in. I wasn't sure how I was going to hold it all together, but I had this moment, right now. It was my little bit of calm before the shit storm that I knew was about to go down, and I wanted it, and her, all to myself.
And it was the best I could do.
Willow
Every time I stepped into Zach's large estate, I felt wave after wave of comfort wash over me. Antebellum and gothic mixed architecture transported me into a dream world. Nothing was quite finished, but it always was so welcoming.