Page 28 of Behind the Shadows

“Holland … I mean Samantha, there’s no need to be scared of little ol’ me.” He lowered his head, the tip of his nose grazing my ear. “How I’ve missed you.”

My palms pressed against his chest, but the shove barely moved him. His laugh echoed in the small room, mocking my effort, mocking me. My pulse hammered in my throat, each beat so loud I was sure he could hear it. A cold sweat broke across the back of my neck, goosebumps rioting over my skin. My stomach clenched, threatening to betray me with a tremor, but I forced it down, locking my knees to stay steady. He wouldn’t get the satisfaction of seeing me break. Not again.

I wanted to demand how he’d found me, after all the careful hiding, the new life I’d built brick by brick. But the words tangled in my throat, strangled by fear.

“You’re so beautiful, Samantha.” His knuckles trailed down the side of my neck, and then his thumb stroked over my throat.He pressed his hips against mine, his hard-on pushing into my stomach. At one time, I’d adored his touch, but now my stomach twisted in disgust.

“Leave. I’ll scream if you don’t, and my coworkers will hear and come to help. This is your final warning.”

He grabbed my throat, and my skin crawled with a familiar tingle. My eyes narrowed at him as I raised my knee as hard as I could straight to his hard cock.

He grunted and dropped his hand while he stepped away and grabbed his groin. I took advantage of the space between us and moved away from him.

“You little bitch. There’s no running this time.”

My nostrils flared as I delivered a swift kick to his ribs. He yelped and dropped to the floor.

“Were you in my house last night?” I said through clenched teeth.

His deep chuckle raised the hair on the back of my neck.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

I barely got the words out before his hand clamped around my ankle.

He yanked hard. My leg shot out from under me, and I hit the floor with a crack that rattled my bones. The breath whooshed from my lungs as he dragged me across the floor like I weighed nothing, and before I could scream, he was on top of me.

The weight of him was suffocating. Cold. Wrong.

I thrashed instinctively, kicking, shoving, anything to get him off, but he pinned me like it was effortless. My hands scrabbled against the floor, useless, igniting a rage in me that burned all fear to ash on my tongue.

His face hovered too close, and bile rose in the back of my throat. I couldn’t look at him without my skin crawling, the need to sink my teeth into his nose overwhelming. Every inch of me recoiled, my heart pounding so hard it hurt.

This wasn’t just a show of strength from Cooper. It was a threat. A reminder.

He could do whatever he wanted, and he knew it. “Listen here, Samantha.” He said my name with enough venom and hate to make my plants wither.

“Fuck you.” I spat in his face. Finally able to suck in some air, I screamed at the top of my lungs for help.

11

KIP

“Samantha,” I whispered. The name sliced through me like a blade for a second time.

My blood turned to ice. Muscles locked. I peered around the corner and saw her—Holland—frozen in place. Her spine went rigid, and not even a flicker of confusion in her features. She didn’t correct him. Didn’t flinch. Didn’t even blink. It was as if the name had struck a nerve buried so deep she forgot it existed.

“Fuck.” Between her conversation and the newspaper clippings, it was all the confirmation I needed. I clenched the cross around my neck as my vision narrowed to a tunnel.

Mother lied.

The lie crashed over me in waves of heat and nausea. Everything—the obsession, the ghost, the girl in my closet—it was her.

And she didn’t even remember.

I leaned against the wall and rolled up the sleeves of my navy shirt, listening as the man continued to talk. I wasn’t sure how long he’d been there, and I was ready to interrupt when he called her Samantha, confirming who she was once and for all. She denied it, but between the death certificate, newspaper articles,and now this stupid fuck barging in on her—I had my answer. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to process exactly what that meant because the son of a bitch had just pinned her on the floor.

Rage burned in my chest as I squared my shoulders and stormed into her office. Before he knew what happened, I grabbed the back of his shirt and jerked him off Holland and up to his feet.