Pursued(165)
“Well you can’t have me.” Elise glared at him though her heart was pounding against her ribs. She was almost to her bedroom door now and she was forming a plan. If she could just get in and lock the door, she could call for help on her phone. Charles might have bought his way out of her rape back in her hometown, but Tampa was her city and she was a respected attorney. She knew a lot of officers on the force and if she called and said her stepfather was trying to rape her, dispatch would send a black and white with no questions asked.
“If not me, then who?” Charles demanded. “That pansy fiancé of yours?” He laughed. “Yes, princess, James told me all about how you were ‘saving yourself’ for marriage and I played along. But I knew you were really saving yourself for me. Weren’t you?” He pressed close to her suddenly, crowding her against the door of her bedroom with the roses crushed between them. Their overpowering scent, mixed with the alcohol on his breath, made Elise dizzy and nauseous.
“I’d rather die than let you touch me again,” she yelled. Lifting the roses, she pushed them into his face, hoping the thorns would do their job. She wasn’t disappointed.
“Ow, you little bitch! My eye!” Charles staggered back for a moment, just long enough for her to open the bedroom door. She fell backward into the room, landing on her back. Scrambling quickly to her feet, she slapped her palms against the white wooden door and pushed with all her might, expecting to hear the door bang closed.
But she never heard the bang. Instead there was a dull thump and the door stopped, just shy of closing. Elise’s heart sank as she looked down and saw the toe of her stepfather’s expensive Italian driving loafer wedged in the doorway. Grimly, she pushed with all her might, trying to keep him out. But Charles outweighed her by a hundred pounds, and he was determined to have her.
“Come on, princess,” he purred. “You know you want it—let me in.”
Tears sprang to Elise’s eyes as she pushed harder, but to no avail.
Like a scene straight out of her worst nightmare, the door slowly began to open…
* * * * *
“Where is she? Where the fuck is she?” Merrick shook Elise’s pretty boy fiancé like a rag doll, ignoring the shocked look on his face.
“What…who…?” he stuttered, looking stunned. Merrick supposed that was to be expected. After all, an alien space ship had suddenly materialized in the middle of his huge-ass house, effectively squashing most of the furniture and blowing out one of the walls. Of course, Merrick had done a quick scan to be certain there were no life-forms in the way before he made his jump—he hadn’t wanted to hurt Elise, though he didn’t give a damn about the rest of them. And he didn’t give a damn about property damage, either.
“Where’s Elise?” he demanded again, shaking the other male. “Tell me and I might let you live, you sonofabitch.”
“I…she…she’s…” James shook his head, apparently having a hard time getting the words out.
“What’s all this? My God, James, what’s going on?” A middle-aged woman with dark hair and brown eyes like Elise appeared, picked her way carefully through the rubble.
“Oh, Evelyn, I’m so glad you weren’t hurt.” James tried to smile at her. “This…this person is a friend of Elise’s. He wants to know where she went.”
“Well, where did she go?” the woman demanded. “I can’t find Charles, either. And what happened here?” She gestured at the crushed furniture and the demolished wall with the prototype ship sitting right in the middle of it all. “It’s a mess!”
“I happened here,” Merrick growled. “And I’m going to happen to both of you idiots too, if I don’t get an answer soon—is Elise here or not?”
“N-no.” James shook his head. “She went back to her apartment.” He looked at the dark haired woman, who was almost certainly Elise’s mother. “That’s where Charles went, too.”
“Oh, James, are you serious?” Elise’s mother looked upset and uncomfortable at the same time. “You know how those two are—they just don’t get along.”
Fierce anger surged inside Merrick. “And I bet you know why they don’t get along, don’t you?” he asked, glaring at Elise’s mother.
She shifted, looking even more uncomfortable. “What are you implying? I don’t even know you.”
“Yeah, but we both know Elise. And we both know what your mate did to her—only you chose to ignore it.” Merrick bared his fangs at her. “I should rip you to shreds for the pain you let him cause her.”