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Eden

Don’t panic.

I took a couple of deep breaths. “Where are we going?”

“I booked a room in a motel so we can talk.”

“Talk?”

“I think it’s important to have open communication, don’t you?” His voice was calm.

My heart rate increased. I knew that tone. When he was calm, he was at his most dangerous. A single word could send him over the edge into violence.

“Eden, you didn’t answer my question.”

My mind blanked. What had he asked? I scrambled to think about the words he’d spoken instead of the tone he’d used.

Oh, that was it .

“Yes, communication is very important.”

“I’m glad we agree.”

A flashing motel sign came up on the left, and he turned the car into the attached parking lot.

“I’m going to open the door and let you out. Our room is directly ahead. Number seventeen. Walk straight to it. If you scream or try to bring attention to yourself, I won’t be happy with you.”

“I understand.”

He turned off the engine and threw open the driver’s side door. I took the opportunity to remove my wedding rings and slipped them into my jacket pocket. If he saw them, he’d kill me, I knew that as surely as I knew my name. My fingers touched something cold and solid.

When he opened the passenger door, I slid across the seat and climbed out. His hand gripped my forearm, and he pulled me across the parking lot. I went with him, without fighting.

I needed to stay calm, be patient, and find a way to escape. I’d done it before. I could do it again.

I waited quietly while he unlocked the door, and walked inside when he instructed me, taking a seat on a chair beside the small, stained table on the far side of the room. I avoided looking at the bed.

“Why are you sitting there?”

“I thought you wanted to talk.” I kept my eyes focused firmly on the floor.

“I do. But you don’t deserve to sit on a chair yet.” His tone hardened, and every part of my body tensed. “Get on the floor, like the bitch you are.”

I rose from the chair and lowered myself to the floor on my knees.

“Crawl to me.”

I glanced up to mark his position and leaned forward until I was on my hands and knees and crossed the floor to where he stood. His fingers tangled in my hair and yanked my head back.

“You climbed out of the window and ran away, Eden. You made me search for you. And what do I find? You’re with another man.”

“Not through choice.” I’m sorry, Bishop. “He killed the people you sent after me. I was scared he was going to kill me, too.”

“Why would he kill you?”

“I don’t know. He threatened to shoot me. He fired his gun at me when I ran.”

Chester’s eyes narrowed. “Are you lying to me?”

“No! He shot at my feet, and then forced me to get into his car. I was scared, Chester. But you worked it out. You found me, and you brought the local police to arrest him.” I hoped reminding him that the police knew I was with him would make him pause.

The hand in my hair flexed, and then he shoved me backward. “Take a shower. You stink of him. Scrub yourself clean.”

I scrambled across the floor and darted into the bathroom. Shooting the lock, I leaned against the door, my breathing shaky. Once I’d got my breathing under control, I scanned the room. He’d been careful this time. There were no windows, no way for me to escape from the bathroom.

A bang on the door made me jump.

“I don’t hear the water running. Do I need to come in there?”

“No. No, I’m just taking my clothes off.”

I crossed the small room, twisted the knob for the shower and pulled the shower curtain across. I had no intention of stripping or showering. But I could stall for at least thirty minutes while he thought I was showering.

Maybe if I kept reminding him that the police knew I was with him, it would keep him from doing anything else.