If I Say Yes (18 page)

Right after her death, I went crazy. Drinking and trying almost
anything that came my way. I hooked up with a ton of men, always
pleasing them. Nothing was ever in it for me. No one got to touch me.
I
felt that if could please every man I came across, whether it was a blow
job or a hand job, whatever it took to get them off, that it would somehow
make up for my mother’s death. I was stupid and vulnerable then. And
a lot of men used it to their advantage. If it wasn’t for almost being raped
and Jezzie coming to my rescue, I would certainly be worse off than I
am now.

The limo comes to a stop, and the driver is quick to climb out to
open my door before I can snap out of my head. I nod once at him and
head towards my apartment. I fumble through my purse, the one that
I had left in the limo when we got to the club, for my keys. I almost resort
to dumping out the entire contents on the ground when I finally brush
them with the tips of my fingers. I open the bag further and spot them
in the porch light outside my door. Eli must have had the door fixed,
because
the door
opens
on the first try. I walk in,
closing
the door
behind
me, and pause just inside the entrance. I take a few deep breaths, letting
the dark envelop me, and flick on the light switch.

A loud scream escapes my throat.

At first, I’m not sure I even made the noise. But make no mistake,
it definitely came from me. I’m stunned, unable to move, let alone
comprehend what is happening right now. My new couch, the soft
black
one that Eli bought, has been pushed aside. In its place is Jacob, who is gagged and bound to a wooden chair.

His head hangs low, and he isn’t moving, with the exception of his slight, shallow breathing. The buttons on his shirt have been ripped off,
exposing his solid chest that appears to be covered in cuts. I see that
one of his eyes is purple and swollen. He has been hit, probably more than once. His feet are tied together against the front legs of the chair,
and his hands are tied behind his back. I falter and take a step towards
him until I see someone else from my past life.

“Elizabeth?” His voice is like acid. “Or should I call you Liza now?”
The cold, deep voice belongs to Robert, my father’s best friend. He looks
exactly like I remember, only his hair has taken on a more salt and
peppery hue. His jawline is tight and chiseled, his high cheek bones
are still carved perfectly into his alabaster skin, and his hauntingly blue
eyes still have the dark, cold, menacing stare. I’m just as afraid of him
now as I was as a kid. “Do you like my present? I was going to add a
bow and a bit of ribbon to the top of his head, but I thought that it might
be a little bit of overkill.”

My mind is crazy, and my heart is beating a mile a minute.
What
is he doing here? Why is here?
So many questions race through my mind
that I want to ask, but I’m distracted by the large butcher knife in his hand. One that seems almost identical to the one used to mutilate my mother’s body. My knees are weak, and I hold onto the breakfast bar for support as my stomach does flips. Two things hit me at once. The first is that he is out for blood, and the second is he has to be the one that’s been harassing me. But why?

“You know,” he says as he takes a step towards me, “I haven’t seen
you since your father’s trial.” I stumble backwards and knock one of
the stools to the ground. “Have you been to see your father? Of course
you haven’t. Not once in six years. Quite a shame really. Maybe he
wouldn’t have sent me here if you had.”

My mouth gaps open. He is here because of my father. “What do
you want?” My words are barely a whisper. I know he heard me because
of the frightening grin that appears across his face.

“To finish what your father started six years ago.”

“No!” The words come out a little shaky but louder than before. “Don’t you dare touch him!”

Robert laughs loudly. “Tsk-tsk,” he says shaking his head, “don’t
tell me you still have feelings for this bastard.” Bile rises in my throat
as I watch him
drag
the blade of the
knife
across Jacob’s lower
abdomen
.
I’m convinced he is dead. He doesn’t move or scream out in pain as
the knife cuts into him. Either that, or he’s passed out and in shock from
everything he has already endured tonight. And from what it seems,
it has been a lot. “So, tell me… do you still love this man? The man who
destroyed your family, who ripped them apart at the very seams, who
took your mother away from you, and the one who took your father away from you?”

“He didn’t t
ake
anything from me,” I say the words clearly, confident
in the truth I feel about them. “My f-f-father is the one who—” I pause,
unable to breathe for a moment. “My father killed my mother, taking
her away from me. Which resulted in him going to jail. As for our
family being ripped at the
seams
, well that
happene
d long before J
acob
.”
I stand up on my feet, no longer needing the bar to support my weight.
The anger raging inside of me is making me braver than I ought to be.

“He is to blame!” Robert shouts. “He… this man—” He grabs a
handful of Jacob’s hair and yanks his head up, so I can see his face. “This pathetic piece of shit was sleeping with your mother! The man you were going to marry. It’s bad enough that he cheated on you for
years, but it’s even worse that it was with your own mother.” He stops
for a moment and takes a deep breath. “She… I-I-I-”

“Oh my God!” I gasp. “You were in love with her, too, weren’t
you?” Damn, what is it with men and my mother? Robert says nothing,
which confirms my suspicions. I take a step towards him with my fists
clenched at my side. “Did you ever stop to wonder why? Why she
didn’t marry you and married my father instead? Why she chose Jacob
over you when she was no longer happy with my father?” The alcohol
is definitely making me feel braver. “It’s because neither of us were
good enough for them. We didn’t give them what they wanted. What
they needed.” Robert crosses the distance in two long steps. He raises
his hand, and the back of it makes contact with my cheek. I stumble
back, clutching my stinging cheek in my hand. Tears form in my eyes,
not because I am afraid, because it actually hurt.

“I was more than good enough for her! She belonged to me first,
and then your father swooped in and stole her from me. And then you
couldn’t keep control of this boy of yours, and that ruined my chances
forever.” He raises his hand, ready to strike me again when the front door opens.

It takes less than a second for the room to explode into chaos.

As soon as Reid registers the scene, he lunges for Robert. Though
Reid is tall, Robert has at least three inches on his six foot plus height, and
about sixty pounds more on him. But the size of Robert doesn’t
stop him. The two men are now rolling along the ground, exchanging
blow after blow. At some point, Robert drops the knife. I kick it away
from the scuffling men in order to prevent Robert from using it to inflict
any harm.

“Liza!” Reid calls my name out, drawing my focus to him instead
of the commotion going on. “Call the police!” Robert stops and tries to
make a move for me. Reid doesn’t let him get very far, and I am unable
to shift my focus to anything else other than the battle. “Liza! Now! Call the police now!

Robert has Reid pinned to the ground, repeatedly connecting his elbow with the side of his face. Reid can’t take much more. I can see it. He is going to black out soon, and I will be left defenseless against
Robert. I grab one of the wooden stools. Without thinking any further,
I raise it above my head and bring it down over Robert’s head. The
wood splinters on impact, flying off to various parts of the room, but it
does the job. Robert is out cold and sprawls on top of Reid. Reid shifts
his body, half sliding against the ground and half moving Robert’s body
off of him. Reid grabs a rope that I hadn’t seen lying on the ground and
begins to tie my father’s friend up before he regains consciousness. He
leaves Robert on the ground, takes three steps towards me, and presses
his lips hard against my own. I don’t fight back and return the kiss.

Reid breaks away first. “Next time,” he says softly, “call the police.”

I’m reliving the nightmare all over again.

There is blood everywhere, so much blood. Reid holds me close
in his arms. I clutch him as if I am hanging on for dear life. Jacob groans.
Instantly, I break out of Reid’s arms and rush over to him. He is still bound to the chair, so I begin to frantically untie him. I start with his
hands, freeing them from behind his back. By the time I reach the rope
around his ankles, Reid is there helping me and not saying a word. We ease Jacob onto the floor, all while he groans in pain. I shudder at
the sounds he is making but am grateful he is still alive. I sit down on
the floor, gently placing his head on my lap, and release the gag around
his mouth. “Jacob?” His name is barely a whisper on my lips. I lean
over, pulling his shirt aside to examine his wounds. I cry out, pushing
him out of my lap, and scramble backwards to get as far away as I can.

Reid is by my side again, pulling me into my arms, cradling me like a baby. His lips brush against the top of my forehead. “It’s okay,
Liza. I’m here.” The tears and sobs that follow come out uncontrollably.
My body is shaking, shuddering as the tears fall, but Reid doesn’t let
me go. It’s too much for me to handle. The sight of Jacob takes me back
to the very night I held my mother in my arms, covered in blood, and
screaming for someone to help her. “The police are on the way.”

I barely hear him. I’m already gone and back in my parent’s bedroom.
As the police and ambulance arrive, I remain silent, unmoving in Reid’s
arms in the middle of the living room floor. The sobs have quieted down,
but the tears still flow like a fountain. I glance out the corner of my eye
and watch as Jacob is loaded onto a gurney and wheeled out of my house.
A police officer asks if I can give a statement, and my only response is
a slight shake of my head. I can’t speak. I don’t want to speak. Eventually
I hear Reid promise the officer to have me down at the station in the next few days to give my official statement, and then we’re alone.

Seconds turn into minutes as the time passes by, and I lose track
of how long Reid and I sit there on the floor. Suddenly, my door slams
open. I scream, and Reid jumps up off the ground, taking a defensive stance in front of me.

“What the hell happened in here?” It’s Eli.

I glance up, the tears form again, and the sobs threaten to make a
return. Reid moves aside, and I see Eli, who looks just as I last saw him.
In a heartbeat, he takes Reid’s place on the ground, holding me in his arms and rocking me back and forth. I can see Reid out of the corner
of my eye, standing just a few steps away, watching us. I gaze up at Eli,
who brushes a strand of hair out of my face. “I-I-it was Robert,” I say softly. Eli stares at me, confused for a second. Then the realization of who Robert is crosses his face. I can tell he wants to ask more, but he holds back.

“I’m so sorry I wasn’t here,” he says gently. He stands up, helps
me off the floor and over to a barstool. Placing more distance between
Reid and I. I feel the heat of Reid’s eyes on me, but I can’t face him.
What am I supposed to say? That sadistic, murderous people have a
tendency to be a part of my life? No, I can’t tell him that, even though
I’m sure he has probably guessed something along those lines. But I can’t look at him, either. I’m too embarrassed. God only knows what he thinks of me now.

Eli starts shuffling around the house. He brings out one of my
duffle bags and starts making trips between my bedroom and the living
room, placing some of my belongings inside the bag.

“What are you doing?” Reid finally speaks. My heart flutters, my
body aches for his touch again, and I finally glance at him. He isn’t
staring at me though. His eyes are focused on Eli.

“What does it look like?” Eli’s voice is harsh. “I’m packing some of her things. She can’t stay here.”

Reid tenses and straightens his shoulders. “She can stay with me,”
he says matter-of-factly.

“Is that so?” Eli laughs and shakes his head before resuming what
he is doing. I watch him place my favorite pair of sweats in the bag.
“That’s kind of you, really, but I think that Liza would much rather
stay with me.”

Reid takes a step towards me, and Eli stops what he is doing. He
slams the bag down against the countertop of the breakfast bar and
moves between Reid and I. He’s in protective mode now. I glance
between the two men, unable to register what is going on, which is
clearly some sort of alpha male thing here. The tension is thick in the
air. Reid and Eli face one another, staring the other down and not
saying a word. Reid shifts so I can see him better now, and he stares right at me. “What do you want, Liza?”