Page 52 of Deadly Obsession

When I turn toward my living area, I scream and jump back, hitting my hip on the edge of a table and nearly falling to the ground.

“Caught in a lie, Sunshine,” Chase growls and stands.

“How the hell did you get into my apartment?”

“Why have you been ignoring my texts?”

He stalks toward me, his eyes wide and bloodshot. He looks strung the fuck out.

“I stayed at Noah’s father’s house. It wasn’t safe to talk there. We were up late so I barely got any sleep. I just wanted a few hours before we talked. I kept the wire’s power on through dinner. Didn’t you hear everything?”

He stops inches in front of me, his breath reeking, likely forgetting to brush his teeth while high on whatever drug he’s on. He clenches his teeth, his nostrils flaring.

“It stopped working shortly after you arrived.”

Oh, thank fuck. That means he didn’t hear me with Elias. He didn’t hearanything.I attempt to hide my relief with a wince.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

He also didn’t tell me the wire failed in any of the frantic texts to me.

“Did they have a jammer?” he asks.

“Wouldn’t a jammer cause my phone not to work too?”

His hand shoots out and grabs me by the throat. “Did you fuck with the wire?”

Typically, I’d be struggling for breath, but he’s too strung out and his grip is lax.

“No, of coursenot.”

“What. Happened?”

“I… I don’t know. Maybe your lackey put it on wrong.”

I wonder if it was because I sweated too much, and it shorted out. I won’t ask him if that’s a possibility because he might just kill me.

Chase drops his hand from my throat, mumbling something about dumbass Dante. His phone rings, and he turns away to answer it. My entire body relaxes. While he’s barking orders at whoever called, I take the wire out of my purse and set it on the table next to the door.

I cautiously watch Chase, noticing him getting angrier the longer he’s on the phone. When he hangs up, he shoves the phone in his jacket pocket and glares at me.

“We’re not done here. I’ll be back in a couple days to talk about what happened at that dinner.”

“I won’t be here. Christmas is next week, and I took time off to spend it with my parents. I leave tomorrow afternoon.”

He smiles, a smile that I once found handsome, but now sends chills down my spine.

“Then I guess we’re having a little family reunion.”

“What? No. I can just head up there after we talk.”

Chase stands there staring at me with narrowed eyes, considering my ultimatum. “Fuck no. I don’t trust you. I’ll just go with you. Don’t think about leaving early either. My men will be watching your every move.”

He doesn’t give me a chance to respond and storms out of my apartment.

Goddamn it.

My parents knew my marriage to Chase was bad, but they didn’t know it wasthisbad. They don’t know this new version of Chase. They knew he wasn’t a good guy, but now? They’ll want me to go to the cops. They won’t understand why I’m not.