She raised an eyebrow, allowing herself to be filled with a ‘Joseph Quinlan’ type of confidence. “Right. Drop me a line when you do.”
Matthew shot to his feet and loomed over her. She stood strong, refusing to be intimidated by his brute strength.
He spat out his words. “If you think Joseph Quinlan’s interested in you for anything other than a quick screw, then you’re going to extremely disappointed. He’ll use you, just like you’ve used me. And when he does, I’ll laugh.”
“Thanks, Matthew. That really means a lot – after all we’ve been through.”
He clenched his fists with frustration. “Listen, you stupid bitch, I forbid you to walk out on me. I’ll fucking kill you!”
A crash of thunder reverberated inside her as his words struck hard. He was starting to get aggressive now, and fear prickled in her knees. She didn’t dare turn away, just in case he tried to attack. He was furiously digging his nails into his palms, restraining himself. She suddenly felt as if she was trapped in a room with an angry dog.
He pinned her with a fierce glare. “Eleanor, don’t you dare walk out on me.”
With shaking hands, she picked up her bag and threw him a grin full of cocky self-assurance. “Just watch me now.”
Without looking back, she marched out of the front door and strode down the steps to the waiting cab. Matthew didn’t follow – he’d been frozen into shock by her announcement. But it was over and they both knew it. A new life lay ahead, and while she hoped it would involve Joseph, she knew it would definitely involve her own strength, independence, and determination to do the right thing. She inhaled and steadied herself, then climbed into the cab, and prepared herself to tell Joseph the good news.
Chapter Fourteen
Joseph sat in the weak winter sunbeam as it streamed through his living room window. Thoughts of the burglary and of Gerald Springer’s phone tapping churned in his mind – he was sure there was a connection, but he couldn’t figure it out. Why had the police been so dismissive?
He sighed and shifted his weight on the couch. He should’ve gone with Eleanor – what if Matthew turned nasty? But she’d insisted it was something she wanted to do independently, promising to call if she needed backup.
He’d told the guard on the door to let Eleanor come up whenever she wanted, and he was trying to kid himself that he wasn’t sitting here waiting for her to return, but as the knock at the door came, he sprang to his feet and relished the blissful jab of adrenaline that always arose when he saw her. He strode over to open the front door, and threw his arms around her.
“Hi!” she said into his chest.
He tightened his embrace. “How did it go? Did he hurt you?”
“No, no… I think it was more an ego thing, you know? ‘You can’t walk out on me’, type thing.”
Joseph stepped back to inspect her. She looked so beautiful in this winter twilight, with her coat undone, revealing a button-through dress. She was holding a suitcase and she seemed tough yet vulnerable – looking more relaxed now that she’d ditched the suit. He realised he’d never seen her out of a suit before. Other than when he’d stripped her out of it himself, of course.
She gazed into his eyes. “Thank you for giving me the courage to do it. I have no idea where this is heading with you, but I needed to get Matthew out of my life and you helped me do that.”
“I’m proud of you, sweetheart.” He took the suitcase and led her inside. “So what did you tell him? I’d love to have seen his face! Did you tell him about us?”
“No, because I don’t know if there is an ‘us’.”
He kissed her and pulled her close. “I’ve never wanted anyone as much as I want you, Ellie. I want you to be mine. I can’t stand the thought of any other man touching you. That’s how I feel.”
“But I have to share you with all those adorning fans?”
“Of course not. It’s still early days, but one thing we Quinlans know is that cheating is never okay. I’ve had fun with groupies – I won’t lie – but it leaves me cold. When I’m with you… I’d never hurt you, okay.”
Eleanor rested her head on his shoulder. “Thank you for saying that. I like you a lot too – have done for a long time.”
“Well, you’re only human, babe.”
She laughed. “Can I stay here tonight?”
“Course. I was hoping you would.”
“I’ll find an apartment tomorrow. I was paying Matthew rent to live there, so I–”
“Wait, your fiancé was charging you rent?”
She winced. “Yeah. He’s pretty money-grabbing.”