Ravensdale's Defiant Captive

She stepped back into the room, pushing away the gauzy curtain that clung to her on the way past. ‘What’s wrong?’

He clicked off the phone but she noticed he didn’t put it back on the bedside table. He was gripping it in his hand so tightly, she was sure the screen would crack. Every knuckle on his hand was white with tension. ‘Nothing.’

Holly came over to him and sat on the edge of the bed beside him. ‘It can’t be nothing. You look like you just received horrible news. Is it your father? Your mother? One of your siblings?’

He pressed his mouth together so flatly his lips turned white. He swung his legs over the bed and stood, still gripping his phone. ‘There’s been a press leak.’ He let out a hissing breath. ‘About us.’

This time it was Holly’s turn to swallow. ‘What does it say?’

His expression was so rigid with anger, she could see every muscle outlined as if carved in stone. ‘It’s not so much what it says as what it shows.’

Her stomach dropped. ‘There are pictures? Of us?’

He scraped a hand through his hair. ‘Yes.’

‘Show me.’

‘No.’

Holly got off the bed and held out her hand for his phone. ‘Show me.’

He held the phone out of her reach, his face so tortured with anguish her heart squeezed. ‘No, Holly. Please. It’s best if you don’t. I’ll make it go away. I’ll get my lawyer onto it.’

Her eyes widened. ‘Your lawyer? Surely they can’t be that bad. How did anyone get photos of us? We haven’t been out together in public.’

Julius was looking so ashen Holly felt sick to her stomach. She took the phone from him. This time he didn’t fight her for it. It was like he was stunned. Shocked into inertia. She clicked on his most recent message. It was from his twin brother with a short message—WTF?—with a link to a press article with two pictures. They were erotic, almost pornographic shots of her and Julius making love in the pool.

Her mouth went dry. Dry as sandpaper. She couldn’t get her voice to work. All she could think was how horrible this was for Julius. How shaming. How mortifying. Someone had captured them in their most intimate moments and splashed it all over the world’s media. The media Julius did everything in his power to avoid. This was what she had brought to his life. She had done this to him. She knew exactly who was behind that long-range camera lens. This was how it was always going to be. She could never have a normal life. Not while her stepfather was alive. He would hunt her down. He would destroy her and anyone she dared to care about.

‘I can make it go away,’ Julius said into the canyon of silence.

Holly began collecting her things and stuffing them haphazardly into the backpack she had stored in his wardrobe.

‘What are you doing?’

‘I’m leaving.’

‘You can’t leave.’

She slung the straps of her backpack over one shoulder. ‘I have to leave, Julius. I reckon I’ve caused enough trouble for you. I admit I wanted to when I first arrived, but even by my standards this is going too far.’

He frowned so hard his brows met over his eyes. ‘You don’t think I’m blaming you for this?’

‘It’s my fault,’ Holly said. ‘I’ve done this to you because I do this kind of stuff to the people I care about. I wreck their lives. I stuff up everything for them just by breathing.’

‘You care about me?’

Holly mentally bit her tongue. ‘I’m not in love with you, if that’s what you’re asking.’

‘I don’t believe you,’ he said. ‘You do love me. That’s why you’re running away like a spooked rabbit. You’re too frightened to let me handle this. You want to trust me to keep you safe when no one’s ever been able to do it before. But I can keep you safe, Holly. You have to trust me. I will not allow anyone to hurt you.’

Holly wanted to believe him. She ached to believe he cared enough to sacrifice his privacy, his reputation and even his family for her. But she wasn’t worth it. She knew he would come to resent her for it. The press would never leave them alone. Her stepfather would see to it. Her stepfather would taint their relationship. He would sully it. Cheapen it.

And ultimately destroy it.

‘I don’t think you’re listening to me, Julius,’ Holly said. ‘I don’t want to stay. I wouldn’t stay if you paid me to. I’ve got plans. I’m not changing them. My future is in England; it’s not here with you.’