His Property(23)

“That’s right.” He pushed up against me, pushing me against the door, and I went to scream, but he placed his forearm against my throat, almost arm barring me. I took in a shuddering breath, and gasped for air. “So what do you say?” he said. “You want me to do the things he did to you? Tie you down and make you beg?”

My eyes widened in fear. He knew about the things I’d done with Liam. But how? Was he one of the men who was blackmailing my father?

I reached up and grasped his arm, clawing at it, trying to pull him off my throat. “Please,” I gasped.

“Yes, that’s good,” he said, grinning. “Please please fuck me, isn’t that what you say to him?” He laughed, and I could smell the beer and the chocolate on his breath, the smell sickeningly sweet.

He put his face right up to mine. “Listen,” he said. “And listen good. You tell him to back the fuck off, do you understand?”

He loosened his arm a tiny bit so that I could speak. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said honestly. “I thought he’d paid the ransom, he told me –“

“You know what the fuck I’m talking about,” he said, his eyes crazy, his pupils dilating wildly. “Tell Liam to back the fuck off. And let him know we’re not fucking around.” He let me go then, and as he did, the collar of his polo shirt moved just a tiny bit.

Right above his collarbone was a tattoo.

Black letters in a sparse font.

When I saw what it spelled, I gasped.

STARLIGHT.

The same word that had been airbrushed on my apartment wall when it had been broken into.





6





EMERY



Liam.

He was all I could think about as Robbie turned and walked quickly back toward the elevator. I rushed into my room and closed the door behind me, locking both the deadbolt and the chain lock.

My legs were spaghetti and my hand shook as I rooted through the things Liam had left me. My other phone was there, the one that Liam had gotten for me, the one that could only call his number.

I called it, closing my eyes, praying that he would answer, but not knowing if there would be cell service if he were on a flight to California, not sure if he was completely done with me, not sure why I was even calling him and not the police.

“Emery,” he said when he answered, and as soon as I heard his voice, I lost it.

“Someone was here. Someone tried to… it was man, he…” My voice cracked and I couldn’t catch my breath.

“Where are you?” he demanded.

“At the hotel. In my room.”

“Stay right there. Keep the door locked and do not move, do you understand? I will send Tony up to stand in front of your room, but do not leave, do you understand me, Emery?”

“Yes, I understand.”

“I’ll be there in five minutes.” The line went dead and I stared at the phone.

Five minutes.

He was going to be here in five minutes.

He wasn’t on a plane to California.

He was here. He hadn’t left after all.



* * *

True to his word, Liam showed up five minutes later, five minutes which had seemed like forever. Also true to his word, about thirty seconds after I’d called him Tony had shown up outside my room. His presence comforted me somewhat, but it was nothing compared to how I felt when Liam burst through the door.

He was still in his leather jacket and jeans, and at the sight of him, I lost it, bursting into tears.

He pulled me into his arms immediately, pressing my cheek against his chest. His body was warm, and I hadn’t realized how cold I was until he pulled me close. I wasn’t sure if it was because of the shower I’d taken earlier still affecting my body temp, or the shock of what had just happened to me, but I felt cold.

I inhaled his scent, leather and cologne and power, and instantly, my heart rate began to slow.

“Liam,” I tried. “Liam, he was…”

“Shhh,” he said, stroking my hair. “Shh, baby, it’s okay. You’re okay now, just relax.”

I closed my eyes and sobbed into his jacket and he held me close, letting me cry. “I’m ruining your jacket,” I said, my voice muffled.

“Like I give a fuck.”

“It seems expensive.” I pulled back and looked at it, and he rubbed the pad of his thumb over my cheek, wiping away the tear that was there.

“Emery,” his voice caught with emotion, and I raised my gaze to his. “Who was it?”

“He said his name was Robbie.”

Liam’s jaw clenched, as if the idea of that guy even having a name was enough to send him over the edge. “What did he do to you?”

“He was hitting on me at the bar, and then… I’m pretty sure he followed me around the casino until we were up at my room.”