I turned back around and opened the door. I walked quietly back to the lounge when his hushed voice halted me.

“No, we’re not doing it there. I want you at my warehouse in two hours’ time. You meet me there and hand me the key and tell me where the drop off is. We’ll sort the details when I get there. Understood? Good.”

I heard the sound of a phone beep and knew he’d gotten off. I waited a few more moments before I strolled back in. Ben was still seated on the couch, looking down at his watch with a look of melancholy I’d never seen before.

“Hey,” I said, sitting back down next to him.

He didn’t look up at me. “Hey, beauty.”

I took his hand into my own, surprised to see he was a little stiff. “You alright?”

He looked up at me and nodded. “Yeah. Unfortunately I got a call. I have to go and run some errands. Will you be here when I get back?”

I nodded. “Sure.”

He got up and changed into a business suit, taking his time wandering the house as he got ready to go. I recapped the words he said on the phone, knowing this was what Hardman and his partner had been waiting for. Which meant I needed to start that watch.

He’d taken his watch off as he changed into his clothes and left it on the dresser in his bedroom. I nervously took it and pressed the button twice as instructed and placed it back. He joined me moments later, straightening his suit jacket before grabbing the watch.

“You don’t have to wear it,” I told him, figuring reverse psychology might work.

He eyed me as he buckled it up around his wrist. “Why?”

“Well, you took it off. If you don’t like it –”

“I like it just fine, Claire. I took it off to wash my hands. Wouldn’t want this to get wet and all.”

I simply nodded in return. “Okay.”

His pace was slow on his way to the foyer, like he was weighed down my something. When he made it there, he turned to me and landed a soft kiss against my mouth.

“I’ll be back soon,” he told me.

I nodded. “I’ll be waiting.”

He stood still for a few moments, watching me intensely. Then he turned and opened the door. His name was on the tip of my tongue just begging to be let out so I could stop him from leaving, but I kept my mouth shut.

He shot me one last look before closing the door behind him.            

Chapter Twenty-Five

Kill you with my bare hands

As soon as he left the apartment, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and stared down at Hardman’s number. This was it. This was the exchange he’d been waiting for.

My body was screaming to put the phone down. For a short while I contemplated this, tried to rationalize it in my head. He scarred me in the most abominable way, sure, but maybe he truly fell in love with me. Maybe he never felt this way for anyone else, and maybe he hated himself for hurting me.

I set the phone down on the bed and nodded at my desperation. Yeah, when he got back, I’d tell him I knew about everything, and then he’d beg for my forgiveness and have the perfect explanation for all of this. Then I would stop hating him and everything would be alright again.

My stomach knotted as I paced the room.

Body was conquering mind, and I was allowing it. But mind fought back until it was screaming at me internally.

Stop and think, Claire! Think of everything you’ve been through. He was there that night. He sent that man to ruin you.

I stopped and stared at my reflection. I was going to love myself again. I was going to look at the face staring back at me and see someone normal and strong. But the only way that was going to happen was by stepping out of this cage and doing it on my own. Because when you started depending on someone else to make you happy, they had the power to hurt you too.

I turned around and grabbed the phone. I dialled the number and put it to my ear.

“Miss Landon,” Hardman said tentatively. “Any news?”

“Yeah,” I whispered, fighting away the pain. “He made the call.”

******

There was nowhere in my being I could escape the tension tightening with every passing second. I felt helpless, and the silence didn’t make matters any better.

I shook as I gathered my belongings, making sure I left nothing behind. I needed to get out of here. I stepped out of the bedroom and walked down the hallway. It was done and I was numb.

But just as I reached the stairs, the front door of the apartment opened. I froze and held my breath. What was he doing back? It’d only been twenty minutes. Did he forget something? Or did he know what I did?

Fuck! What if he figured it out? I turned around, fear gripping me, and stared into the hallway. There was nowhere I could go to escape him.

I pulled my phone back out of my pocket and dialled the police. My finger lingered on the call button when voices broke through the air.

“Are you sure it’ll be just us?” asked a woman. “I don’t want to be around if Ben’s here.”

“Yes, he told me he’ll be out for a couple hours and had the place to myself,” answered Jamie. “So we can get down to business straight away if you’d like.”

“As long as we’re out of here right after.”

“Sounds good to me.”

I felt confused. Why would Ben tell him he had the place to himself if he knew I was already here? Was Jamie lying?

The sound of kissing and moans followed. Ugh. Not wanting to intrude, I looked back at the bedroom. I couldn’t go back in there though. I had to get out of here as soon as possible.

With a sigh, I went down the stairs just in time to see them collapse on the leather couch, the woman on top of Jamie. My footsteps were heard, and her blonde head shot up to look at me.

“Oh, fuck, Jamie,” she cursed, moving right off of him.

Jamie followed her line of sight and then exhaled exasperatedly. “It’s fine. She’s Ben’s girlfriend.”

“Then he’s here!”

“No, he’s not.”

“And I’m about to go,” I said, plastering a fake smile on my face. “So don’t mind me.” I moved quickly in the direction of the door.

“Wait!” came the woman’s voice.

I stopped and turned around, watching her stand up and straighten her dress. She then came to me. She was tall and remarkably beautiful with long blonde hair and pale green eyes. And she was looking at me like I was the most exciting thing to ever grace the earth.