I close my eyes and let out a sigh.
“You can choose to leave … or you can give in to what your heart desires,” Easton suddenly says.
I swallow away the lump in my throat as though I’m trying to keep my heart down.
“Why?”
“Because I’m not just a bad guy, Charlotte,” he replies. “I care about you. And I’m sorry your father got in the way and ruined everything.”
“My father? This isn’t about him,” I reply with one foot still out the door.
“Yes, it is. He’s been driving a wedge between us since day one,” he says. “Even now, when I was trying to find you, he went behind my back and kidnapped that little girl.”
So it wasn’t Easton’s idea, after all? Wow. My father went to great lengths to get to me.
“He took her so he could get to me,” I mumble, staying put.
“If you hadn’t called me, I’m sure he’d have killed her,” he says.
I shake my head. “He wouldn’t. He’s not that vicious.”
“He is when his life is at stake,” Easton replies, glaring at me. “You know your father only cares about himself and his business.”
I lick my lips. “He wouldn’t hurt an innocent girl.”
“When I found her, she was surrounded by gun-wielding men who looked as though they’d done it before. You think he didn’t know who he was hiring? Wrong. He was counting on you to be obstinate, and he was planning to kill her as an example. I just know it.”
My heart beats in my clamped down throat, and it’s suddenly hard to breathe.
“He would’ve used her father to get you to come out of hiding and surrender,” Easton adds.
I try my best to keep the tears at bay, but I can’t stop seeing Ashanti in front of me … covered in bullet wounds with blood seeping out.
“No …”
“No,” Easton repeats. “I wouldn’t let that fucking happen. No one hurts goddamn kids under my watch,” he growls, taking his hands off the wheel to ball them into fists. “If he’d fucking told me his plan beforehand, I would’ve stopped him then and there.”
I bite my lip and look at him. “You’d do that even if it meant not finding me?”
“I’m not as evil as you think I am, Charlotte,” he growls. “I know what’s right and wrong.”
I look away and take a deep breath because it’s a lot to take in right now. Ashanti could’ve almost died if I hadn’t called Easton. He saved her. And not just to take me back, but I guess that was a nice bonus for him.
Maybe he isn’t as bad as I thought.
And for some reason, somehow, this simple thought is enough to make me pull my leg back in and close the door.
His eyes gleam with victory. “Now, let’s go home.”
Chapter 12
Easton
When we arrive home, Charlotte immediately goes up to her room and locks her door. I stay at the bottom of the stairs and stare up toward her room. I wonder if I should go to her or if I should give her some time. After all, she gave up her freedom to save another once again. That’s got to hurt. And I doubt she wants the guy who took her away to console her.
I sigh out loud.
Right then, Jill emerges from the kitchen. “Sir, you’re back.” She gazes at me and then up the stairs, a questioning look in her eyes. “Is Charlotte …?”
“Yes.”
The shimmer in her eyes disappears. “Oh … well, that’s good. Very good,” she says, adding a fake smile. “Should I bring her a cup of tea?”
I nod. “Whatever she wants, give it to her.”
She frowns. “Really?”
I give her a stern look, and she nods. “Of course, sir.” She immediately spins on her heels and bolts right back into the kitchen. Every time Charlotte’s mentioned, Jill completely freezes. It’s as though she almost wished it wasn’t true, and that Charlotte had escaped my grasp. But that wouldn’t make any sense. Jill wants me to be happy, and the only way I’ll ever be happy is with Charlotte near me. Even though we fight a lot, there’s something about that girl, and I can’t stop thinking about her. Like right now, I’m pacing in my study, wondering what she’s doing and if she’s okay. I worry about that girl … and I’ve never worried about any girl.
But fuck me, am I glad she’s back where she belongs.
What if she’d been gone forever? I’d have drained my entire savings trying to find her.
I grab some rum and pour myself a drink, then sit down in my comfy chair to stare at the fireplace. As my favorite spot in the house, this place always manages to calm me down … except right now.
Charlotte’s back where she belongs, but at what cost? She lived out on the streets for God knows how long, and then she was taken in by some random man for fuck knows what reason. Who even does that? He must’ve had ulterior motives; no way would a guy take in a woman without wanting something in return … right?