Page 21

H arlow opened her eyes and smiled as she turned toward Grayson…who wasn’t there. Her smile dropped when she slid her hand over the sheets where he should be. Cold. When had he left? As soon as she fell asleep? Had he gotten what he wanted and then been anxious to leave?

That’s what happens when you spread your legs like a slut, Anthony’s voice said in her head. She slapped her hands over her face. “Shut up, Anthony!” Gah, now she was screaming at an imaginary voice.

Angry at herself for the doubts tumbling around in her head, she headed straight for the coffeepot to get some caffeine in her. She’d think better after a cup of coffee…or six. A piece of paper was propped up against the coffee maker. She picked it up and read it.

Good morning, kitten. I’m going to think about you all day. I’ll call you tonight.

XO

Gray

Wow! Just wow. She fanned her face as she read his note for the second time. She grinned. Then she laughed. He hadn’t bolted in the middle of the night with no inten tion of seeing her again after getting what he wanted as Anthony’s voice would have her believe.

Even though she hadn’t gotten much sleep thanks to Grayson—she wasn’t complaining, not at all—after reading his note, she made plans for her day with a light heart and a smile on her face.

She had her assignment from Grayson to do, which she would do this afternoon. First, she needed to prepare for Lena’s visit. A trip to the grocery store was necessary, so she wrote out a menu for the meals on the days her friend would be here.

Halfway to the store, she thought about what she’d wear when Lena visited. She hadn’t bought much on her recent shopping trip. Just a sundress, some shorts, a pair of jeans and a few T-shirts. She wanted some nice things to wear while Lena was here, and on a spur-of-the-moment impulse, she turned the car for the mall.

Two hours later, and with several shopping bags hanging from her arms, she walked by Victoria’s Secret. With new clothes, panties and bras, she returned to her car. That had been fun, and she had some pretty new clothes and underwear she wouldn’t be embarrassed for Grayson to see…and soon, she hoped. The next stop was the grocery store.

Back home, she put the groceries away, then took her new clothes to her bedroom. How long had it been since she’d bought something really pretty? It was such a good feeling to even want to shop again for pretty clothes.

“No, Einstein, no cat hairs on the panties.” She picked him up from the bed and set him on the floor.

“Merghp,” he said in his annoyed you’re-no-fun voice. He twitched his tail and strutted out of the bedroom.

“Be that way,” she said to his retreating back. If she got a chance to wear the panties for Grayson, she did not want him getting cat hair in his mouth. Should said mouth end up there. She shook her head, amused with herself.

Only one thing kept her from being truly happy, and that was not having her son. But that was finally going to happen. Grayson had promised he would get Tyler back for her. She didn’t know how he planned to achieve that, but he’d given her a task, so she put her new clothes away and got to it.

It took most of the afternoon to complete the list of things in her assignment. When she was done, she emailed everything to Grayson. She’d started on a new website for The Phoenix Three, and she wanted to get back to it, but her brain needed a break. Spending the afternoon recreating Anthony’s life was not fun. She poured a half glass of wine and took it out to her balcony. Apparently forgiven by Einstein, he followed her out.

“Look. There’s Homer and Marge.” The swans were lazily floating along. She sipped her wine and let the peacefulness of the swans and the lake and Einstein’s chatter clear her mind.

Refreshed and ready to get back to work, she herded Einstein back inside. She had just logged on to the new website she was building for the guys when her doorbell rang. Was Grayson here? Her heart bounced in anticipation as she set her laptop aside. Einstein loved doorbells because it meant someone was on the other side who might give him attention, and he beat her to the door.

She put her eye to the peephole, and when she saw who was on the other side, she stilled. If she stayed quiet, maybe Anthony would go away. She wanted to bang her head on the door. Why couldn’t he leave her alone?

“I know you’re there, Harlow. Look out again.”

No, she wasn’t going to let him order her around, and she wasn’t going to open the door to him.

“Mama.”

She squeezed her eyes closed. Tyler wasn’t out there. This was just another of Anthony’s cruel tricks. But, God, it hurt to hear her son’s voice, even if it was only a recording. Her arms ached to hold him and inhale his little-boy scent. She couldn’t remember what he smelled like, and that seemed like such a minor thing, but it wasn’t. A mother should know her child’s scent.

“Look,” Anthony said again. “You’ll want to see who’s here.”

She didn’t believe him, but what if he had brought Tyler to see her? She put her eye to the peephole again, and her breath caught in her throat. “Tyler,” she whispered. His nanny was holding him, the same one Anthony had kissed in front of her. Elation at seeing her son outweighed the rage that the woman was still in Tyler’s life every day when she wasn’t.

Only a slab of wood separated her from her boy, and she fumbled with the locks. Once the door was finally open, she stepped into the hallway to get to her son. But he wasn’t there. “Where is he?”

Before she could run to the elevator, Anthony grabbed her arm and pulled her into her apartment, slamming the door behind them. She stumbled as he dragged her into the living room. “Let go of me,” she screamed. He was scaring her. She tried to pull away, but his fingers were wrapped around her arm like a vise.

“When you calm down, I’ll tell you how it’s going to be.”

“You’re hurting me. The police will arrest you for domestic abuse when they see the bruises on my arm.”

He laughed. “You should know by now that will never happen.”

“Because you pay off the police.” Not a good idea to bait him, but the words had slipped out before she could think better of it.

His eyes turned cold. “You don’t want to be spreading that rumor around, doll. It won’t be good for your health.”

“Where is my son?” she demanded, her voice shaking with fear and anger. He’d just threatened her life, and once again, she wasn’t recording him.

“ Our son. If you want to see him, come home where you belong.”

He let go of her, and she backed up until she hit the entry wall. “Why, Anthony? Why do you have to be so cruel? You don’t love me, so why are you so insistent that I come back?”

“Honestly?”

“Yes, for once in your life, tell me the truth.”

“I don’t love you. Never have. Father chose you for me because you were beautiful and compliant. He wants me to run for political office and you were good for my image.”

“This is all about your image?” His father chose her? What a gullible fool she’d been. It shouldn’t hurt by now that he’d never loved her because she hated him. But she had loved him for a brief time, and hearing that he had never returned the feeling—not even in the beginning when he’d made her believe that she was the love of his life—hurt.

“More than ever. I’m going to run for mayor, and I need you by my side.” He grinned. “Think of the power we’ll have. You will come home, Harlow, and you will stand by my side and smile as I announce I’m running. You will attend dinners and lunches and tell everyone you talk to what a wonderful mayor you know I’ll be. People like you and will listen to you.”

“You’ve got to be kidding. Step into the current century, Anthony. Men can no longer press their will on a woman.” And Anthony with that kind of power was frightening.

“No can do. Father wants you home. I want you back where you belong, so that’s what’s going to happen.”

“You both can go to hell.” Anger was taking over her good sense. She knew better than to talk to him like that.

He pushed his body hard against hers, pinning her to the wall. “You have one week, Harlow. In seven days, if you aren’t back, I’ll drag you there myself.” He slammed his mouth over hers.

Bile rose in her throat when he forced his tongue into her mouth. When she gagged, he laughed, enjoying her reaction. He bit her bottom lip hard, and she tasted blood. “Stop it.” She put her hands on his chest and tried to push him away.

“We’re just getting started, doll. I was going to wait until you came home to take what’s mine, but what the hell. Why wait?” He glanced around, his gaze stopping on the hallway. “Let’s take this to the bedroom.”

She dug her feet into the floor and screamed, praying that a neighbor would hear and call the police. Einstein raced out from under the sofa where he’d been hiding, howling in a way she’d never heard from him before. He jumped on Anthony’s leg and dug his claws in.

Anthony yelped and let go of her, and she raced toward the door. She glanced over her shoulder to see Anthony pull Einstein off him and throw him against the wall. She almost went back to get him, but he got his feet under him and took off for the bedroom.

Okay. Okay. Einstein was safe and she needed to get the hell out of here because Anthony was stalking toward her with murder in his eyes. Her hand was on the doorknob when she was jerked back by her ponytail.

“Bitch,” he snarled. “You’re lucky I don’t kill you right now.”

She clawed at his hand as she screamed again. Please, God, let someone hear me. As if her prayer was answered, someone banged on the door.

Anthony slapped his hand over her mouth. “One word, and I’ll break your neck.”

The knocking came again. “Harlow? Hey, it’s your neighbor. I heard you scream. Are you okay?”

Her relief that someone had heard her was so great that her legs buckled. Anthony let go of her hair, and with her body shaking, she folded up on herself right there on the floor.

“One word, Harlow. Just one word from you and you’ll never see Tyler again. I’ll make sure of it.” He walked past her, opened the door. “Everything is fine here.”

Liar! She lifted her gaze to her neighbor, intending to tell him the truth, but the man staring back at her, giving a slight shake of his head, wasn’t her neighbor or the police. He was Grayson’s friend Cooper.