Take a Breath (Take #1) - Jaimie Roberts Page 0,119
Did I just hear correctly?
Please, no. Please, don’t let it be Tony.
I feel as his fingers lightly touch my face, making me gasp. Tony reaches out, switches the water off, and inhales the scent of my hair. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt you. I could never hurt a rose like you. Ever.”
I start to tremble. He tries to soothe me by stroking my hair, but I’m terrified. “Why? Why did you do it?”
He stops stroking my hair and sighs. “Why do you always have to spoil the moments between us? Those other girls were just sluts. They flaunted themselves around like bitches in heat. They wanted to take me back to their houses and have me do all sorts of disgusting things to them. I’d never met any of them before in my life, but because I have a badge and a gun, they think I’m game. They disgusted me, Ana.” He touches my face, making me wince. “But you … you have always looked so innocent, so beautiful, and so delicate. I’ve been waiting for the day when I could take you away from all of this, giving us the chance to finally be together forever. Can’t you see it? Don’t you know that you and I were always meant to be together?”
I feel a sob catch in my throat. All those poor women. What they must have been through. We spent so much time trying to find the culprit, and he was right under our very noses the entire time. He must have been laughing at us all along … goading us.
I feel sick.
“The night of the barbecue was when I really thought I had to put my plan into action. You looked so lost. I wanted to whisk you up in my arms and take you away from it all. I have a place we can go. An old farm. We can stay there, make lots of babies, and grow old together.”
I feel bile rising into my throat. I fight hard to keep it down. His face, which used to be soft, now turns sinister. “But then, the night after I left, I saw you two through the window. I saw what he was doing to you on that table, and it was disgusting. I never thought you would do that to me. You were always so sweet and loyal. Naturally, I was angry … really angry.” He grabs my face in his hands, making me yelp. “That last girl … she was just like all the others—just like you. I fucking hated her, and I hated you for what you’d done. After I spent a few days trying to calm myself down, however, I realized that I might not be seeing things correctly. I thought that perhaps you were still my rose after all. I realized he must have forced you just like your other stepfather did.”
I gasp and let out a sob. How on earth did he know about that? Even Jake doesn’t know about that.
Tears start running down my face. I don’t know what to do. Should I scream? Should I try to run? Tony has a gun, and Matthew is upstairs, and I don’t want to put him in danger. I have to try to keep Tony talking. Maybe someone will come for me before it’s too late.
Where the hell is Joe?
Tony starts stroking my cheek, swiftly halting my thoughts. “Shhh, please don’t cry. You know you’re safe with me, don’t you? I won’t hurt you. There’s no need to be afraid anymore. You have me, and I won’t let anyone touch you.” I see the determination in his face. “I won’t let anyone hurt you anymore. I promise.”
He throws his arms around me and rocks me back and forth. I’m still trying to stop the bile from rising in my throat and prevent the trembling in my whole body from giving me away. What do I say to someone who is obviously a psychopath like Tony?
What do you do when you think you know someone, then you find out that couldn’t be further from the truth?
Just as I’m trying to get my head around all this, Tony suddenly pulls away and grabs my shoulders. “This is what we’ll do. I have my car out front. I can take you away, but it has to be right now. I have everything in place. We can escape.”
I look up at him in shock. “But what about the squad car outside?”