had approached the back road from the top end. The designated meeting place was a small road that ran to a disused barn about half a mile from where the accident had happened. The scene leapt into her memory, with all the pain and fear that accompanied it.
The minute she’d stopped the car, the passenger door had been wrenched open and Sean had jumped in. She’d started by taking an aggressive stance, but it hadn’t taken long for her to realise that it wasn’t going to work.
‘You shouldn’t have called me tonight. It’s not fair to keep putting me under this pressure. You frightened the life out of me when I was in the kitchen. What are you playing at? It’s got to stop.’
Sean had tried to put his arm round her.
‘Get off me. I don’t want you to touch me. Don’t you get it? I made a mistake. I let things go too far, but you’ve got to put an end to this stupidity. What is it you don’t understand?’
He had looked hurt. So hurt, in fact, that she thought he might cry. And that would have been terrible, because it was her fault.
‘I’m sorry,’ she’d said. ‘I do know that I’m to blame. I knew how you felt about me, but you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Can’t we just forget it ever happened?’
Sean had twisted his body round so that he was facing her, and she couldn’t bear to look at the expression in his eyes.
‘Are you trying to tell me it’s over, Ellie? Because I don’t think I can accept that.’ His voice was soft, but there was a level of menace that made her uncomfortable.
‘It’s not over. It never started. And you have to accept it. It’s not optional.’
He had continued to stare at her, and she wouldn’t meet his gaze. She didn’t know what she would see, but she could feel that the emphasis had shifted from pain to anger.
‘I’ll tell you what’s going to happen, shall I?’ he’d said. ‘I can’t live without you now, and I don’t want to. No. Correction. I won’t live without you. Max has his little interest, as you well know. So you can either wait for him to leave you, or you can leave him. Either way, I can bide my time until the decision is made. But it will be made. And it will be soon. Until then, Ellie, wherever you go, I’ll be there. Whatever you do, I’ll be watching. And if I don’t like what I am seeing, my patience will be gone.’
Ellie had turned to look at him, and seeing the sheer determination in his eyes she was scared. Really scared. She didn’t think he would hurt her, but she knew without him saying so that he was threatening her. Not physically, perhaps. But it was a threat that was infinitely more terrifying.
‘Please don’t do this. I don’t know what to say to you, but please, please can’t we forget it ever happened?’
‘Listen to me very carefully, Ellie. You are all I’ve ever wanted. I’m prepared to give up everything for you. Do you understand? Everything. Even if Max decides he wants you and not the lovely Alannah, he won’t when he knows what happened. How you seduced me. How you’ve been lusting after me for months. How often we’ve spent time together. You know he won’t.’
She’d stared at him in disbelief.
‘But that’s not true! I didn’t seduce you. I succumbed to you once - and even then, I was able to stop. It is nothing like as bad as you’re saying. It’s bad enough, but it wasn’t like that at all, and you know it.’
He smiled nastily.
‘Who is Max going to believe, do you think? Can you afford the risk? I want you to think about this, and think hard. And until you’ve decided, I’ll be around. You might not see me, but I’ll be there.’
Ellie burst into tears.
‘Please, can we stop this? What do I need to do to persuade you? Don’t hurt Max. I’ll beg, if you want me to.’ She choked back the sobs and looked at him.
He put his arms round her and pulled her to him. For a moment, just a second, it felt good to be comforted.
‘Kiss me, Ellie. For now, a kiss will do. Come here, darling. It’ll be okay, I promise.’
She could remember feeling appalled at herself, but she didn’t know what would happen if she didn’t give in to