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“I’m here, yes.” She glared at James, glad that Harriet stood between them. “Harriet is going to make a brew while I get something from the spare bedroom. I won’t be long. Maybe you could give her a hand?”

“Uh, yeah.” James scratched at his beard, confused by the situation this morning. “Sure, yeah. I can do that.”

Paige made her way towards the spare bedroom, but James gripped her wrist. Tight. “Good to have you back.” Harriet wouldn’t have caught it, but Paige did. The look in James’ eyes. “Really good.”

Paige regarded James with a smile, her throat impossibly dry. She didn’t dare speak. The last thing she wanted was for James to hear the fear in her voice. He thrived on fear and pain. “Yeah. It is. I’ll have a coffee with two sugars.”

She made herself busy in the spare room, quietly taking a hold-all from the bottom of the wardrobe and shoving whatever clothes she could into it. She didn’t need much, not really. She was making plenty in tips that would see her over if Paige needed a few new outfits. And while she wasn’t paying rent, that could only work in her favour too. The cash Juliet had given her last night was safely in a hidden pocket in her jacket, but Paige didn’t plan to dip into it. It wasn’t Juliet’s job to fund her, and so long as everything went to plan, Paige wouldn’t need it.

Glancing around the room as she checked the drawers, she blew out a breath, satisfied that she had everything she needed. Anything that had belonged to her mum—jewellery and whatnot—had been pawned a while ago. They hadn’t needed the money. It was just another way for James to hurt Paige. Insisting that it was meaningless and of no sentimental value. But truthfully, those things had meant so much to Paige. It was all she had left.

You don’t have time to sit around reminiscing.

Paige lifted the hold-all and quietly left the spare room. She crept down the stairs and placed the bag close to the door, then moved towards the kitchen. If she just took a couple of deep breaths, she wouldn’t feel so anxious. James would never lash out while Harriet was here. But when Paige finally plucked up the courage to go into the kitchen, Harriet wasn’t there. Just James, resting against the counter with his legs crossed at the ankles.

“Where’s Harriet?”

James smirked. “She’s gone. Told her we needed some time together to sort out all this shit you’ve caused.”

I’ve caused? Paige wanted to add but didn’t. “Right, well, can you just give me a minute to use the loo, and then we’ll have that talk?”

“You could have had a piss while you were upstairs!”

“I…didn’t realise you wanted to sit down and talk right this second. I’ll be a minute, that’s all.”

James pushed off the counter and slowly walked towards her. “Well, go on. Fucking move yourself.”

Paige inhaled a deep breath and turned back out of the kitchen. Thank God she’d thought ahead and left her bag at the door. She eyed it, moving closer, and grabbed the door handle as soon as she was within reach.

But her heart sank when the handle didn’t turn. James had double-locked it.

“Going somewhere?” he asked from behind her.

“N-no.” Paige felt the tears already forming in her eyes. She tried to focus on the positive steps she’d taken. She tried to remember Juliet’s calming smile. But it all blurred into one. In this moment, she couldn’t even recall what Juliet smelt like.

She felt James behind her, his breath on her neck, and then his hand came up and gripped the back of it, tightening further and further. “I don’t know what the fuck you think you’re doing, but you won’t make a fool out of me again!”

“James, please.” Paige wanted to scream, to call out to anyone who may hear her, but as she lifted her hands to hopefully brace on impact, she was too late. She felt her face hit the door…

And then everything turned black.

* * *

Juliet checked her watch for the fifth time in three minutes. She continued to pace in front of her bedroom window, her apartment cold and lonely since Paige left six hours ago. She knew she shouldn’t worry, Paige was certain James was out of the country, but Juliet had a bad feeling. So bad that she almost got into her car two hours ago and drove down south. It would take her the best part of six hours on a Saturday, but then she remembered that the last thing Paige would want was Juliet showing up at her door if James was there.

But…Paige wasn’t answering her calls. Or her texts. She was showing as online via her social media messenger service, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything.

Juliet lifted the piece of paper Paige had left her earlier containing the address she was going to. Juliet knew what she should do, that she should already be on her way to the small village in Kent, but her heart told her not to. Her heart…told her it wouldn’t be a good idea.

Only her law head was saying otherwise. The lawyer in her was telling Juliet that she should have already made a call to the police. No, the lawyer in her was saying that she never should have let Paige go alone. How fucking stupid could she be to allow that? If anything happened to Paige, this would be solely on Juliet. Because she hadn’t stood her ground, she hadn’t begged Paige up until the very last second, she…hadn’t gone too.

But her respect for Paige and the fact that she’d asked Juliet not to go with her sat at the forefront of her mind. She couldn’t do something Paige had asked her not to. Then she had to consider if Paige had left her old address behind in case Juliet needed it. God, why was it so fucking difficult to know what to do for the best? Juliet hated feeling this way.

Her phone flashed in her hand, Juliet’s stomach rolling as she looked down at the screen.

Please don’t call me again. I’m okay.

Juliet frowned. Surely Paige hadn’t sent that message to her. It seemed so…lifeless.