Page 50 of His Obsession

And I did, it was why I chose to leave and go with him. I knew he would protect me, but last night was a perfect example of why he couldn’t make all the decisions for me.

"I have my men posted around the house, inside and out. Don’t be afraid when you see them around."

I lifted my head to observe the men he was talking about. I had seen no one when I went to the kitchen or came outside. Alek pointed to an area behind the pool house, where the trees shaded the grass beneath them, and a large man with a rifle and vest stepped out.

I gulped. “Are these the lengths you are going to, to keep me here, Alek?”

“They are here for your protection, not to keep you here. I had them in place before your little fit,” Alek said, raising his voice. Gone was the tender Alek that was here just moments ago, and here before me now was the controlling, anger-filled man I’ve come to know. “If you try to leave without one of us, my men will detain you," he said.

I walked away from him and headed back to my room, Alek close behind. "I want you to train with Jake every day,” he continued. “I was going to give you a gun, but you threw a tantrum and did that to yourself." He pointed to my wrists as if it was on purpose.

I spun on my heel and slapped my palms to his chest, pushing him away. "Ididn't do this to myself.Youtied me up and left me in a dark room, alone." How dare he try to blame this on me as if I'm some self-destructive child?

"You were on a rampage and not listening. What was I supposed to do?" The red crept up his neck.

“You could havelet me leave,” I yelled.

"And watch you die? Do you know what that would do to me?" My breath caught at his admission.

"I don't care," I said, purposefully being odious. I spun on my heels and slammed the door in his face.

The truth was, I cared. I didn’t want to, but I did. I learned in foster care that if you got close to people, you got hurt. We all knew they would never be around in the end. Getting close to Alek, having feelings for him, scared the shit out of me.

Looking around my room, I noticed it was all cleaned up as if nothing happened. As if I didn’t destroy the TV or mirror, as if everything was hunky-dory. I had lost my ever-loving mind last night, and he replaced it all to appear as if it was normal. I took a seat in the new chair by the window, and I watched as his men walked around.

Alek sat on the cushioned pool chair, scotch in one hand and his phone in the other. The stress in his stiff shoulders and tightened features shattered me as I sat back and took it all in. His hands shook as he yelled at someone over the phone. And reality hit me like a freight train—I knew what I needed to do.

I hugged my legs and let my chin rest on my knees. My tears fell like it was the new normal. The overwhelming emotions pained my chest as I watched him. Could I give him the benefit of the doubt? He was doing the best he could. I wasn’t making things easy for him.

My phone rang out, but I ignored it and let it go to voicemail. I wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone. I just wanted to watch like a silent spectator, taking it all in. Alek threw his phone and pinched the bridge of his nose, his shoulders trembling.

My phone buzzed again, and this time I picked it up.

CallerUnknown.Sliding the green answer button across my screen, I put it to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Are you ready to choose?" asked the gravelly voice.

Lucy: You laugh because you think I’m joking.

Me: You will not kill my boss.

I told Lucy my boss was working me tirelessly over the last three weeks, and that was why I couldn’t meet up with her anywhere. In truth, it was because I wasn't able to do anything on my own with all these guards, and I was regularly training on top of work.

Alek had me working with Jake, training hard with him every day. I took shooting lessons with Randall every-other-day, and I was getting good at it except for the bystanders that would be shot. It would be a gruesome sight. Seriously, I think half my clip went into the back wall without touching my target.

Lucy: Tell him to give you a break. This is cruel and unusual punishment.

Oh, if only she knew.

Me: Lucy, we have our double date coming up. I’ll see you then. I promise.

I was sweet and compliant with Alek and the guys, to where it disgusted me, just so I could see Lucy.

Finally, after two weeks of being couped up and denied, Alek let me see her, and I invited her to a dinner date. She changed it up and made it a double with some random man she met at the club. She said he was mysterious and charming, but I’d seen the men she claimed were those things, and they were anything but. Aside from Dale; he was nice. Poor guy.

When I told Alek of the upcoming date, he was hesitant initially, but he came around. It was weird how he had flip-flopped in a day. I was high-strung and in a constant state of sweat and nerves. Did he know?