Chapter 40
My heart ached as I left Ana in bed this morning, the features on her face were soft and still, she looked peaceful and I didn’t have the heart to wake her.
I left her a note on the bedside unit to tell her that I’d gone to work, even when I didn’t want to and that I would see her later.
I even signed the bottom, telling her that I loved her.
I felt so much lighter after admitting my feelings to her and my once dark soul became a little lighter when she said those three simple words back to me.
Keeping the memory in my mind, I bring my gaze back to the Corvette in front of me, covering my nose and mouth again with a mask as I finish the final touches on the respray the customer requested.
He’d bought the car second hand from an older gent who hadn’t touched it in years, the paint was chipping and flaking away when he brought it in and now it’s a perfect, glossy black that beams under the fluorescent lights.
Finishing up around the headlights my phone vibrates in my back pocket and I switch off the machine and lift my mask to rest on my head before pulling my phone out.
The screen comes to life and two notifications, one from Eli and one from Ana cover Lyla’s face on my wallpaper.
I press Ana’s first and read the message.
I feel my cheeks flush at her words and I have to re-read them a couple of times to make sure I’m not dreaming. That she really said that she loved me, and there they are, right in front of me. I waste no time in replying.
My mind flashes back to last night and everything we did together and I can’t stop the blood that’s rushing to my cock. Now would not be the ideal time to bust one out at work. I wait for Ana’s reply and open Eli’s that he sent pretty early this morning.
My gloved fingers hover over the screen as I read Eli’s message and my brows furrow, an uneasy feeling washing over me.
Eli’s right, it could be nothing, maybe just a couple passing through to get to another destination but I’m not fully convinced.
I shoot Eli a quick reply when I notice Ana has texted me back.
Clicking off Eli’s message thread I open up Ana’s.
I smile at our easy banter as Ana’s reply comes instantly.
I feel a lead weight drop into my stomach at Ana’s request and it’s not that I don’t want her to go, or have a life, in fact I’m desperate for her to break free from her shell but with Eli’s message bouncing around my head, I’m on the fence, but I know I can’t keep her locked up with me forever.
Ana quickly replies, confirming that she’ll let me know when she’s leaving the house and I inform her that there’s a spare key in the top kitchen drawer for the front door that she’s more than welcome to keep for herself.
I pocket my phone and carry on finishing up the Corvette that’s due for collection tomorrow before quickly changing a couple of tires then locking myself in my office to finally face the mountain of paperwork that I’ve been putting off.
My back aches from the awkward posture of the desk chair that I’ve been slumped in for what feels like hours but I’ve finally managed to clear the chaos on the desk and now the room resembles a somewhat organised office but we’ll see how long that lasts.
Leaning over, I check the clock on the far wall and see that it’s nearly 2pm, and I pull my phone from my pocket.
Ana messaged me half an hour ago to let me know that she was leaving, then another one arrived to let me know that she’d made it to the coffee shop with a picture of her and Ellie sitting at a small table, the rail tracks in the background.
My pounding heart rate slows to a steady beat at her confirmation that she’s arrived safely.
Ana deserves to have this time with her friend, to be able to live her life without concern and the feeling of dread looming over her shoulder.
My jaw clenches at the thought of her husband and the many ways I can make him suffer for everything that he’s put my woman through.
I’ll end his life slowly until he’s begging me to put him out of his misery and even then I won’t relent on my torture.
I’ll make sure that he can never hurt Ana, or anyone else, ever again.
The work day quickly flies by and I’m missing Ana more and more with every passing hour but I know she’s having a good time, and that makes me happy.
I’ve had a couple of messages from her to let me know how she is and what they’re chatting about, and I sent her a quick text to let her know that I’m closing up the garage and that I’ll be home soon if she’s not home before me.
I exit the small office and flick off the light on my way out before closing the door behind me, then grab my bag from the leather couch and slip it onto my back.
Grabbing my helmet and gloves that are stashed inside, I put them on and flick the visor up so that I’m able to see what I’m doing whilst I close up.
After closing the shutters I slip my leg over my bike and push the small key into the ignition, but before starting the bike I check my phone one last time before heading home.
A message from Ana illuminates the screen.
I feel my heart thrashing around in my chest cavity.
I know I’m not a good man, especially with my previous job and I know that I’ll never deserve Ana’s love, but fuck, I’ll kill a man if someone ever tries to take it from me.
Biting the tip of my glove I slide it off my hand and shoot off a quick reply to tell her that I love her before sliding my phone into the side pocket on my pants, and pushing my hand back into the glove before starting the bike.
The engine rumbles to life in the empty car park of my garage and I flick the pedal with my foot into first gear, exiting the car park, and speeding down the empty main street of Rockford to get home to my woman.
White flashes beam into my wing mirrors from behind me and I have to dip my head to stop myself from being blinded by the car’s high beam.
Guiding the bike, I move over to one side of the quiet street to see if the car will pass me but it stays in the exact same position which is right up my ass.
Frustration courses through me and I pick up speed to put some distance between us before the fucker ends up running me off the road but the car easily gains speed and closes the gap again, and I quickly make the decision to turn down a side street to my left to see if it follows.
Once in the street, I slow the bike down and notice the car is parked at the opening of the street and my eyes widen in shock.
The fucking SUV that Eli mentioned is right there, the windows are tinted black so there’s no way for me to see the driver.
Dread and anxiety pummels my chest and I quickly spin the bike around, the tires squealing on the smooth tarmac and race towards the parked car, but the moment I get close to it, it speeds away leaving a cloud of dust in its wake.
My adrenaline is on high alert as I pull my bike into the side of the pavement and immediately find my phone in my pocket to check on Ana, my gut telling me to be cautious.
After pulling my gloves off again I fire her a message to check if she’s home.
The thought of her driving back in the dark, even if it is only half an hour away has me grinding my teeth in worry and now with the SUV entering into the mix, I’m even more stressed.
I wait a couple of minutes but it feels like a lifetime to see if she replies but nothing comes through and I can only assume that she’s driving.
Pushing the dread to the side I pocket my phone and slip my gloves back on then hightail it home to wait for Ana.
Reaching the gravel driveway that leads to my house, my anxiety is through the roof at whether Ana’s car is parked at the side of the house or not and I pray to anyone that will listen that it is and the only reason she didn’t answer her phone is because she was driving home.
I follow the path, the high beam from the bike’s headlights illuminate my way in the dark as I see the shape of the house come into view.
My stomach bottoms out when I notice all the lights are off in the house and Ana’s car is nowhere to be seen.
Quickly pulling up at the side of the house, I cut off the bike’s ignition and fish my phone out of my pocket to check if she has texted me back or maybe a missed call but my notifications are empty.
Not even a voicemail. I’m sick with worry as I climb off the bike and sprint up the porch steps and scramble to unlock the door with my gloves on, dropping the key twice.
“Fuck!” I need to keep my shit together, I can’t afford to lose my head at this moment in time.
After a couple of attempts I finally manage to unlock the door to see the house in complete darkness and Lyla bounding out of the spare bedroom, not even the small lamp next to the couch is on.
Ana almost always leaves some sort of light on even if she’s gone to bed before me when I’ve arrived home late from work.
Chucking my gloves onto the kitchen unit, I rip the helmet off my head in frustration and place it next to the gloves, then drop my bag onto the floor and begin to scour the house, it’s not massive so I don’t have much space to cover and it only takes me a couple of minutes to search the entire space from my bedroom, to both of the spare rooms, the bathroom and then lastly the living room.
Lyla never leaves my side as I search the house and then she plants herself in front of the front door before lying down, laying her head onto her front paws before letting out a soft whine.
My heart shatters seeing her like this and I know exactly how she’s feeling.