Safe and Sound (Twist of Fate 2)

I could just leave. I could say my goodbyes to him one morning like I always did, only I’d make the kiss just a little bit sweeter and I’d hold onto him just a little bit longer. I’d look over my shoulder at him just one more time. Then I’d take a cab to the nearest bus station and be long gone before he even walked into the coffee shop to get his morning fix.

“No,” I whispered as tears began to fill my eyes. I fisted my hand against the pain in my belly as I pictured Aiden’s face when Emily told him I hadn’t shown up.

He’d panic.

He’d search for me.

He’d go crazy with worry.

Even a text letting him know I wasn’t coming back wouldn’t stop him from trying to find me.

Because he loved me.

Even though he hadn’t said it, I knew it was true. I could feel it in every touch, I saw it in every smile, I heard it every time he said my name.

Frustration coursed through me, but before I could even consider what to do next, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw that Aiden had sent me a text. I unlocked the phone and smiled as a picture of Aiden’s coffee table popped up on the screen. The image was captioned Movie Night and showed a bottle of wine, several take-out containers from my favorite Thai restaurant, and three Star Trek DVDs fanned out to show their titles on top of the coffee table.

Along with Aiden’s big bare feet.

I laughed at that and dashed at my still-wet eyes. From the moment I’d admitted to the man that he had the sexiest feet I’d ever seen, he’d taken to sending me random pictures of his feet in various stages of undress throughout the week. He called it “foot porn.”

And hell if it didn’t work every damn time.

I quickly typed out, Be home in twenty and tucked my phone in my pocket. I still had the counters to clean, but figured since I was opening the shop tomorrow, I could arrive a few minutes early to take care of it.

I still had a goofy grin on my face as I reached for the mop that I’d leaned up against one of the tables. The chime for the front door sounded, making me realize Emily had forgotten to lock it on her way out. I turned to tell the customer we were closed, but in the few seconds it took for me to make the turn and open my mouth, I lost the ability to speak entirely. I was looking right into the icy gaze that had only just recently stopped haunting my dreams.

“I remember a time you used to smile like that for me,” Billy murmured as he let the door shut slowly behind him.

I wanted to do a lot in that moment.

I wanted to run.

I wanted to stand my ground.

I wanted to call Aiden.

I wanted to tell Billy to leave.

I wanted to tell myself to do something, anything, except stand there like a deer caught in headlights.

But that’s exactly what I was.

Terror crawled up the nerves along my spine, sending silent messages to my brain to scream, run, beg for mercy… but I couldn’t move.

Couldn’t breathe.

Couldn’t think.

I watched numbly as Billy flipped the lock on the door and then took his time lowering the blind on it. He turned the slats until the outside world was blocked off, taking with it the shadows of people hurrying past the shop. Emily had already closed the blinds on the two big windows, so there was nothing left for Billy to do but turn to face me and enjoy the hunt.

And I knew that’s what it would be.

He was the cat preparing to amuse itself with a mouse that had been too foolish to run when it had been given the chance.

I had no clue where I found the oxygen to manage it, but I said, “We’re closed, Billy.”

It wasn’t exactly what I wanted to say to him, but while my brain had been slow to respond to the earlier commands, now it was in full-on survival mode.

“My boss will be back any second and she doesn’t like—”

“Really, Ashton?” he murmured as he took a few steps toward me before stopping and scanning the shop. “Playing the ‘someone will be back any second now’ card?” He made a clicking sound with his tongue. “Now if you’d said the boyfriend was waiting for you, that I would believe.”

He took another step toward me and once again stopped.

Definitely playing with me.

“I remember how hot and horny you were for me in the early days,” he said easily. “Practically jumped me every time I walked through the door.”

I had no clue what possessed me to do it, but I said, “That isn’t exactly how I remember it.”