Dirty Obsession (Dirty 1)

“Fine, call her back. But I’m only giving you ten minutes before I’m coming after you and having my way with you so make it quick,” he says with a gleam in his eyes.

I laugh and take my phone back out on the patio as I listen to Eden’s voicemail.

I wait for Eden’s voice to speak, but she never does. Instead, I hear a much more terrifying voice.

I wrap my towel around me tighter as I listen. My eyes immediately scanning my surroundings, afraid that our lives are now in danger. My body shakes with a mix of fear and anger with every word that I listen to.

This can’t be happening.

I lower the phone from my ear just as Arlo comes to get me.

“I know I said I would give you ten minutes, but I came up with an idea for how I want to fuck you and I can’t wait.”

Arlo wraps his arms around my waist before he realizes that something is wrong.

“What did she say?”

I can’t speak. I can’t say anything. I must be in shock.

“Nina, what’s wrong?”

I don’t hear him. I can’t think about him. I’m too scared of what I just heard.

Arlo comes around to my front and forces me to look at him. “Nina! What’s wrong? You’re scaring me.”

I blink, finally able to see him, but I can’t say the words. If I tell him then it’s true. Instead, a tear falls down my cheek.

He wipes it, looking as scared as I look.

I hear some rustling in a bush behind him and I jump.

“It’s just a lizard Nina. Nothing is going to get you. I have you,” Arlo says holding onto me.

I look over his shoulder at the beautiful painting he started of us. Except it’s not just us. I didn’t notice before but now I can’t believe I missed it. It’s a painting of me pregnant, with another child riding Arlo’s back. We are a family. That was what his dream was. That is what he wants. Us to have kids. Us living our happily ever after.

Except we can’t. We might not ever get our happily ever after. Because our enemies are always going to be one step ahead of us.

I can’t hold back the tears any longer. I hate that I can’t give him that. I can’t give him his dream, not while we live our lives in danger.

Arlo squeezes me tighter. “Tell me, Nina. Let me take the pain away.”

“You can’t.”

“Sure I can. That’s what we do for each other. We save each other. We heal each other. We take the pain away.”

I cry until I can’t anymore. Until I’m hiccuping because I can’t cry anymore.

“What did Eden say?”

“She didn’t say anything. She wasn’t the one that called. Matteo did.”

“Matteo?”

I nod.

“He said he has Eden. He’s had her this whole time. The whole time we have been having the time of our lives, she has been living a nightmare locked up as Matteo’s slave.”

“Matteo wouldn’t do that. He’s a good man.”