Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Q uinley woke with a gasp and bolted upright in the bed, desperately sucking in air as she tried to sort out the remnants of the nightmare from her current reality.
She was alone in her bedroom in the cabin. In the mountains. She wasn’t hanging off the balcony in her ridiculous wedding dress, staring up at the faces of Rhys, his family and hers, and countless nameless people, begging them for help as her grip slipped. Begging as they cheered and chanted for her to die, die, die .
She buried her face in her hands and rubbed hard, trying and failing to scrub away the terror she’d felt in the dream. That lingered now as her conversation with Ana returned.
People wanted her dead.
How was she supposed to handle that? She couldn’t be casual about it. She’d certainly never threatened to kill anyone and meant it .
These people did.
They actually meant it. They wanted her to die . And while she’d accept responsibility and blame for hurting people, beg for their forgiveness, do whatever she could to make peace with Rhys, she didn’t deserve death threats.
She got up and entered the bathroom. After emptying her bladder, she stared at the shower and decided maybe it might help clear the last of the terror-filled cobwebs from her brain.
She stripped down, hating that she didn’t have fresh clothes to put on when she emerged, but that couldn’t be helped. At this point, she wondered if she would ever leave this cabin. Because honestly? She didn’t want to.
She wasn’t sure how long this feeling would last, but she felt safe here. So long as she stayed away from the television and off the phone, she could hide in her bubble and pretend.
The hot water did wonders for the anxiety bombarding her senses. She used the blessedly provided soap and shampoo and conditioner and scrubbed until her skin pinkened and her hair practically squeaked.
She’d been so exhausted last night that she’d just gone to bed, collapsed even though she hadn’t slept well at all and tossed and turned all night. But now freshly scrubbed and wedding-hair-product free, she stood beneath the spray and reveled in the heat, wishing she could just sit on the shower floor and let the water rain down.
That wouldn’t solve the many problems she faced though.
Sighing, she flipped the taps and cut the water, her gaze watching the last drips fall before the coolness of the room left her reaching for towels.
She wrinkled her nose at the thought of wearing her underwear another day so instead she went commando in the sweatpants and quickly donned the T-shirt before she washed her panties in the sink and left them to dry.
Adding the borrowed sweatshirt meant unwrapping her hair from the towel. She finger combed it as best she could. Too bad a comb wasn’t also included in the welcome basket.
Hair the best she could make it, she lifted her head and caught sight of herself in the mirror above the bathroom sink. Dark half-moons shadowed her eyes, and her face looked haggard and weary despite the nap.
She wondered how long she had actually slept, but a glance at the highly placed and narrow bathroom window revealed it was still daylight.
She opened the bathroom door and forced herself to cross the room to the bedroom door. The memory of Elias barging into her room and scooping her into his arms vaguely registered, but she had little memory after that.
Only of him holding her. Soothing her.
Lord have mercy, what a mess. Elias had to regret not leaving her behind in Carolina Cove. In Wilmington or Leland or any of the other towns they’d passed on the way here.
She took a breath and quietly twisted the knob before she could chicken out and hide away beneath the covers for the rest of eternity.
She wasn’t an ostrich. She couldn’t bury her head and pretend her actions didn’t have consequences or that she wasn’t facing them now.
She found Elias in the living room, looking grim and…concerned?
“You look a little better rested,” he said softly.
A small noise left her. She really must’ve looked rough before if that was the case. “I’m sorry about…earlier.”
“No need to apologize.”
“But there is. I’ve dragged you into something horrific, and then I practically had a nervous breakdown on you. It just…got to me, and I’m sorry you had to deal with the fallout.”
Elias lifted his hand and waved her forward. “Come sit down.”
Yeah, that didn’t sound good. “You’ve talked to Cole again, haven’t you?”
Elias nodded. “He says you need to call your ex, and…I agree. I know it was rough hearing about the death threats, but getting information second hand isn’t ideal. You need to talk to him and get an update from him and his security team.”
“Oh, is that all?” she quipped weakly, sinking into the chair near the couch. She ran her fingers through her wet hair and let them slide out.
“Despite everything that’s happened, it sounds as though your ex is worried about your safety and the threats. He has the resources and is willing to provide protection for you, Quinley.”
“I know, but no one knows I’m here.”
“What if they find out? Figure it out? I rented the cabin under my name. And from the looks of things, the media knows who I am now.”
She wrapped her arms around her front. “Is it bad? What they’re saying?”
“All they know so far is that I’m not at work, which given the circumstances, makes sense.”
Her shoulders sagged.
“My point is that it’s only a matter of time before the cabin’s owner realizes who his tenant is. And if they check the camera at the door…”
“Maybe they won’t care? Maybe they’ll stay quiet?” She knew the odds were against that happening when their whereabouts could mean a payoff, but she didn’t want to take the rose-colored glasses off. She didn’t want to deal with anything else.
“Quinley, I can’t risk people showing up here wanting to harm you.”
“You want me to leave.”
“I want to keep you safe ,” he countered, sounding angry. “Dealing with reporters who stay outside is one thing but someone who wants to hurt you? More than one person who wants to hurt you? They aren’t going to follow rules.”
She shoved to her feet and ignored the head rush that followed as she paced across the floor. “I understand. It’s okay. I don’t blame you for wanting no part of this…madness. The sooner I’m out of your hair, the better off you’ll be.”
He muttered something beneath his breath before he surged upright and moved to where she stood in front of the large gas fireplace, staring down at the low flickering flames.
His hands descended on her shoulders and gently squeezed.
“I would do whatever it takes to protect you, Quinley. To protect anyone in danger, but I’d be lying if I said I could protect you better than your ex’s team of bodyguards. They’re trained for this sort of thing.”
Money did buy some things, she supposed. “I’ll call Rhys,” she said, reluctant but knowing she didn’t have a choice.
She felt Elias’s fingers tighten slightly, and then she sucked in a breath when he gently began to massage the impossibly tight muscles locking her neck and upper back. The squeezing massage was heavenly, a pleasurably painful press that had her lowering her shoulders from her ears after a while.
“Just see what your ex says,” he said. “He might have an alternative you haven’t considered. And putting off the conversation will only make things more awkward.”
He was right. She knew he was right, but it didn’t make the doing any easier.
She owed Rhys—what was it with the name change now of all times? — everything. An explanation, an apology. She owed him.
“I’m going to start dinner,” Elias said. “Your phone is on the coffee table. I didn’t want Ana waking you, so I brought it out here. I don’t think you can put off calling him any longer though. Go make that call, and get it over with.”
She didn’t like being ordered about. Controlled. That was one of the many reasons she’d runaway.
But she’d put the call to Rhys off longer than she should’ve. And like everything, there was a limit to how far she could push things. Her time was up.
She nodded, and when she shifted to turn, Elias lowered his hands to his sides. She felt his gaze on her as she walked the few steps to the coffee table and grabbed her phone from the top.
Ana had called while she’d been asleep, undoubtedly to check on her after she’d broken down and Elias had been forced to come to her rescue yet again.
“Stay inside the cabin,” Elias said. “Don’t forget there are cameras outside. Maybe more than the one by the door.”
“I’ll call in my room.” She would’ve liked to take a walk while talking to Rhys. Get some fresh air, but not when leaving the cabin meant the door cam or a field camera might get her recognized and reveal her whereabouts…
She shut the bedroom door behind her and moved to the sitting area near the bathroom. It consisted of two chairs, a floor lamp and a small bookcase with well-worn paperbacks stacked on the two shelves.
She picked the larger chair and curled up as she tapped in Rhys’s private number and waited for him to answer.
“Hello?”
Rhys didn’t identify himself or say more, and she figured it was a precaution in case the press had somehow gotten hold of his carefully-guarded number.
“It’s me,” she said in a small voice. “Rhys, I’m so sorry.”
“Where are you, Quinley?”
His deep voice sounded tired, frustrated, and her heart squeezed. “I’m safe. I just… I couldn’t. But I should’ve talked to you. I should’ve done things differently, but I-I panicked. I never meant to hurt you, though.”
“You never meant to hurt me? How did you think I’d feel, Quinley? The hotel was full of our family and friends and guests from all over the world. Did you really think that wouldn’t hurt?”
Tears filled her eyes and burned hotly, but she was either dehydrated or cried-out because they didn’t overflow. “I panicked .”
“Who’s the guy? The limo driver? I know he’s Cole’s brother, but who is he to you?”
“Rhys, no, it’s not like that.” She gripped the phone so tight; her fingers cramped and ached, the plastic phone hot in her sweaty hand. “Rhys…”
He cursed, and the single four-letter word revealed every ounce of his frustration and anger.
“Who is he to you?”
“No one,” she said, her voice raw. “He’s…a friend now, I suppose, but it’s not like that, Rhys. I’m not cheating on you. I’ve never cheated on you. I just… I just couldn’t go through with it. I couldn’t marry you.”
“And you were so desperate to not marry me you risked your life by hanging off a penthouse balcony? Do you know how that looks? There are articles circulating that I’ve abused you. That you ran to escape my brutality .”
People were idiots. She was an idiot. “I’m sorry . I’ll make a statement and set the record straight. I swear I will. I’ll make sure everyone knows that’s not true.”
“You think a statement is going to undo the damage?”
“Yes! It will. I’ll fix this somehow. I’ll tell them it was me and cold feet and— Rhys .” She wiped at her eyes with her fist, her throat clogged with emotion. “Obviously I wasn’t thinking clearly, but the guards were at my door, and I knew they wouldn’t let me leave. I had no other way out. I had to do it.”
“You didn’t.”
“I did! Rhys, they chased me when I left the hotel. If I’d walked out the door and said I was leaving, they would’ve stopped me. You know they would have.”
“Fine, maybe they would have but only long enough so that we could have talked, not kept you prisoner. Quinley, we could have postponed the wedding. It didn’t have to be a circus.”
“Do you really think the pressure from my parents and yours and the guests and you wouldn’t have forced me to go through with it even when I knew it wasn’t right? I’m not that strong. And your men chasing me— That wasn’t about security doing their jobs; it was about me having my choice taken from me. Just like you placing those guards on me months ago after I specifically said I didn’t want them.”
“People like us need security. How were your guards to know whether you left on your own or not? That you weren’t being coerced?”
At that she had no comeback. She supposed realistically coercion or blackmail would have been a possibility but— “I left a note with Ana. I made it clear it was my choice to leave.”
“Quinley, the guards didn’t know that at the time. That note wasn’t found until Ana’s return. No one knew why you left, if you were in danger. If jumping over that balcony meant someone was in your room chasing you out and you feared for your life. How were they supposed to know?”
He was right. He was right . She’d really, royally screwed up. From start to finish, she’d done everything wrong in her panic. “I guess… I guess that’s proof that I’m not ‘people like you,’” she said softly. “Or I would have thought of that. I’m sorry. I know it doesn’t fix any of this but I am . I never meant to hurt you. I was trying to protect you from…from me . From what would happen if I went through with it when it wasn’t going to work.”
“You thought being left looking like a fool protected me? You really think that was the better option?”
“I’m the fool, Rhys. I love you. I do,” she said when she heard him scoff, “but I’m not the person you need. I’m not the wife you want. And even though I should’ve figured that out a long time ago, I didn’t. That’s on me, and I hate myself for it, but I can’t change it. Not now.”
She pinched the bridge of her nose and pressed hard against her throbbing head. “I know you’ll never forgive me for what I did, but please know I loved you enough to end it before it was too late. Before we took it too far. I screwed up, okay? I know I did, but please, please try to think of it that way.”
Silence followed her words, and she sniffled and leaned her head back against the chair. The sun was setting outside, the sky growing dark behind the blinds that hadn’t been raised the entire day.
Finally he exhaled. “Quinley, there have been death threats made against you.”
She swallowed audibly. “Ana told me.”
“There are several that are credible. My team is investigating them, but they are the reason I sent your parents out of town with guards and have men outside of Ana’s home. This isn’t the time to be stubborn. Where are you? I need to know so I can protect you.”
She thought of his offer, the kindness of it considering the reason behind it, and hated herself even more. But before she agreed— if she agreed—she needed answers. “Do you hate me? Can we ever get beyond this? Be…friends?”
A very, very long silence followed her question, and she found herself holding her breath and getting teary-eyed again at his lack of response.
“Things would be a lot easier right now if I hated you.”
She squeezed her eyes tightly shut. “I wish I could undo things—do them differently —and…fix this.”
He cursed softly. “If you’re in the mountains, why aren’t you with your parents?”
She groaned inwardly and wrapped an arm around her knees, drawing them to her chest. “So you are tracking me.”
“Even prepaid phones are traceable, and we know Blackwell was heading that direction. You stayed with him? Spent the night with him?”
She sank her teeth into her bottom lip and sniffled once more. “I told you we’re not together like that, Rhys.”
“It doesn’t appear that way.”
“I promise you; we’re not.”
“Then why are you still with him?”
“Where was I supposed to go?” She explained how she’d begged Elias to drive her to her parents’ house in the mountains thinking it was empty. “I didn’t know who was in the house and after everything that had happened, I didn’t care to find out. So Elias kept driving and brought me to his rental.”
“How nice of him.”
“Rhys, stop. It’s a two-bedroom cabin, and he’s been the perfect gentleman. What would you have had him do?”
“Not drive away? Drive you to Ana’s? Insist you speak with me?”
“He tried all of those things,” she said softly. “So blame me, not him. I begged Elias to take me away a-and to bring me here.”
“This doesn’t look good. I thought… I thought you were at Ana’s but in hiding. I thought she and Cole were lying when they said you weren’t there.”
She heard the pain in his voice, the resignation, and felt awful. “They didn’t lie.”
“They didn’t tell me you were still with him.”
“Maybe because they don’t want to be caught in the middle,” she argued. “Rhys, please don’t punish Ana because of what I’ve done.”
Silence filled the line before he said, “You think I’d do that? Take my anger out on her and her business?”
“People do things they wouldn’t normally do when they’re upset,” she said, referencing herself 100 percent. “As to me being here, it’s fine. No one knows. It was really late, and I couldn’t get a hotel room or rental with my face plastered all over the news. And I didn’t think to grab my purse. I didn’t have any money to book anything else.”
“Your ‘perfect gentleman’ wouldn’t get something suitable for you?”
“Two bedrooms, Rhys. Why bother?”
“I’ll contact the guards in Asheville. Have some of them come collect you and take you there. It’ll be easier to watch over everyone in one place.”
Collect her? Take her? Like she was an object? “ No , I don’t want that.”
“Any particular reason why? Surely at a time like this you’d rather be with your parents instead of a stranger. Unless Elias isn’t the stranger you say he is.”
Rhys still didn’t believe her. Believe that Elias was just a friend, someone who’d come to her rescue when she’d needed it most.
But with all that had happened, she reminded herself that Rhys had a right to be suspicious of everything she told him. “How many times do I have to tell you that it’s not like that?” she asked for what had to be the millionth time. “Please don’t make it into something it’s not. There’s no ulterior motive to me not wanting to go to Asheville other than the fact I don’t want to listen to my father yell at me nonstop when I know I made the right decision. I can’t be trapped in a house with him or my mother right now. I refuse.”
Another stretch of silence followed her words until she heard Rhys inhale and sigh. “Let me talk to your…companion.”
Her fingers tightened on the phone, and one popped loudly. “Why?”
“Because I need to know that you’re going to be safe until I can get security there to guard you.”
“Of course I’ll be safe. He’s Cole’s brother and Ana’s friend. I’m safe .”
“And I am your fiancé—former fiancé apparently,” he amended in a low tone, “and I won’t compromise when it comes to your life . No matter what’s going on between us.”
“You can’t simply believe me?” The moment the words left her mouth, she winced but his silence spoke volumes. “Obviously not.”
“Let me talk to him. If he’s just a friend as you say, it shouldn’t be a big deal.”
She rubbed her forehead and slowly unlocked her legs to stand. “Fine. I’m in my bedroom, so I need to find him. Hold on.”
Quinley moved through her room and welcomed the loud squeak of the door as she opened it and ventured into the living room area beyond.
Elias was in the kitchen chopping vegetables and lifted one thick black eyebrow high when she appeared with the phone still pressed to her ear. “Rhys wants to talk to you.”
She watched as Elias’s gaze narrowed before he set the knife aside and quickly wiped his hands before he accepted the phone.
“Elias Blackwell.”
She couldn’t hear what Rhys said since she hadn’t thought to put the phone on speaker before handing it over, but she watched the steady play of thoughts cross Elias’s face as he listened to whatever it was Rhys said to him.
A muscle ticked in Elias’s jawline, delineated by his sharp features and short haircut.
“She’s telling the truth. We met yesterday when she hopped into the limo in her desperation to get away from the guards chasing her down like a wanted criminal.”
Quinley winced but made no effort to dispute the description.
“That’s not necessary,” Elias said next. “The cabin has plenty of room, and the bedroom would’ve gone unused.”
So Rhys wanted to what? Pay for her to stay there? Was he offering Elias money to cover her stay? Why hadn’t she put the phone on speaker?
She’d offered to reimburse Elias because she’d barged in on his vacation and ruined his plans. But that was different.
Yet wasn’t throwing money at a problem the norm for Rhys and his father?
To men like them, any issue could be fixed by tossing cash at it, and even though Rhys wasn’t typically one to overtly flash his wealth, he’d certainly spent enough time with his father to have learned some of the same methods of crisis control.
She wrapped her arms around her front, glad she’d put on the sweatshirt. Despite her rising temper, there was a definite chill in the air now that the sun had set, and as if in tune with her thoughts, the fireplace clicked to light behind her. The room erupted in a spit of fire and burst of heat.
“If that’s what she wants, I’m happy to drive her to her parents’ home. I’m not going to force her, though.”
Oh, for the love of— She started tapping her foot, unable to stop the fidgeting as Elias listened to another stretch of conversation she strained to hear but couldn’t. “I’m not going to my parents,” she said, lifting her voice to be heard.
Elias shifted on his feet as he listened to whatever Rhys said. “I do. Nine millimeter. And, yeah, I’ve been keeping an eye out.”
Whoa, wait. He had a gun on him? Here?
She supposed she shouldn’t be surprised since he’d not only been traveling at night alone but also coming to the mountains where bears and other critters were regularly roaming about. One couldn’t be too careful these days. But was there a reason he hadn’t told her he had a gun? Maybe because of her hysterical crying?
She winced at the thought.
“I understand. But like I said, I’m not going to force her. As Ana’s friend, Quinley is welcome to stay as long as she wants.”
Elias’s voice was controlled and even, and she envied him that ability when she wanted to scream at Rhys in her frustration.
Hadn’t he listened to any thing she’d said?
Her ankle started to cramp from her rapid tap-tap-tapping, and she frowned before seating herself at the bar in front of Elias. This time, it was her heel that jiggled her impatience on the rail at her feet.
She held Elias’s gaze while the men continued to discuss her life, and if her father was there, she was sure he’d be right there in the mix as well.
And wasn’t that just typical? Though, to be fair, she had dangled off a balcony railing yesterday, so maybe they were a wee bit justified in questioning her processing skills.
“I agree that she needs guards until the threats have been handled. I won’t argue that. If she’s honest, don’t think she’ll argue the need either. But it has to be on her terms.” Silence followed. Then, “That means they come to her and stay wherever she chooses to stay.”
Quinley stilled. Blinked. He’d defended her. Elias had given in on the guards which, she reluctantly agreed, were a good idea given the threats, but he hadn’t given in on Rhys wanting to move her about like a chess piece.
Elias had negotiated for her. If Rhys wanted her to have guards, fine. But she wasn’t staying with her parents or going somewhere she didn’t want to. She could even stay here. And didn’t that make her want to hug Elias so tight that he was the one panicking over the inability to breathe.
She held out her hand and waggled her fingers to indicate Elias return the phone. “Enough. Enough , Rhys,” she said, raising her voice so she knew he’d hear her over the phone.
Elias’s gaze held hers as he handed the phone back to her with a bold stare that encouraged her to stand her ground, God love him.
She pressed the phone to her ear. “Rhys, I called to apologize for handling things so badly, and I have. I mean it too, but I also mean it when I say I’m not staying with my parents. Please have the guards bring my purse and—and a bag of clothes to the cabin. And have your press department draft a statement for me about…last minute cold feet. I’ll record it with permission to post if I agree with it. Once that’s done, I’m sure things will calm down and everything will go back to normal.”
“The guards are nonnegotiable,” Rhys argued, all pretense of patience gone from his voice. “I’ll send your things and have a security detail enroute to you immediately. They will remain with you until the threat is gone.”
“Fine,” she said with a wary glance toward her host.
“I’ll also arrange for another place for you to stay.”
She supposed it was a reasonable offer, a kind one given the circumstances and how it probably did look to outsiders, but the highhandedness in his tone? Wasn’t that part of the reason she’d fled in the first place? Because of Rhys taking over her life in ways she didn’t like? Didn’t agree with? “I’m fine here until the guards bring my things. And I’ll make my own arrangements. The bodyguards are enough.”
“Quinley.” Rhys cursed. “The moment you use your cards or show your face in public, it’ll be chaos. I can book something through a laundry list of companies no one has heard of. Think about what you’re doing. If anyone finds out you’re staying with the limo driver, I won’t be able to protect you.”
She heard him. And maybe he was truly trying to watch out for her or maybe he was trying to save face himself, but it angered her to no end that people—strangers—would judge her and her friendship with a man who’d literally rescued her in her time of need, and deem their relationship something it wasn’t. When it was none of their business.
She stubbornly refused to back down. “I will decide where I go. I need to do this on my own, Rhys. And I need time to figure some things out.”
“You can’t take time somewhere alone? Does it have to be with him?”
Her ex-fiancé’s voice rose in volume, and she responded accordingly. “Of course not. Elias is a friend. We aren’t involved. We aren’t together . I’m telling you it’s not like that, and I need you to hear me.”
Phone pressed to her ear with one hand, she leaned her head in the other, elbow on the island as her head pounded with every pulse of her heart. “Rhys, I-I greatly appreciate you offering me protection from the death threats, but I’m not— I’m not yours to worry about. Not anymore.”
Silence. A silence so thick that even the phone didn’t crackle or hint at being connected.
When it stretched and she heard nothing but the sound of her own heart pounding in her ears, she raised her gaze and glanced at Elias. He still watched her, unblinking, making no effort to continue with dinner prep and blatantly eavesdropping.
“I’ll have my press team put together a statement for you to release,” Rhys said in a flat voice. “I’ll also send your purse and a suitcase with the second guard detail.”
“Thank you. Rhys, please, will you try to??—”
“We have the address.”
The phone clicked in her ear.