I close my eyes, trembling.
“I know he’s mine, June. I know he is, and I’m going to have him, and you. So, are you going to talk or am I going to make you talk?”
I have to run.
It’s the only way.
But as soon as I do, he’s going to hear my footsteps and know where I am.
I have to be confident I can outrun him.
I stare at the house –it’s not that far. If I run and yell out, maybe that’ll be enough to put him off.
It’s that or I stand here, waiting for him to attack.
“Come on now, June. I don’t want to have to hurt you, you know I don’t want to, you’re always making me so fucking angry. Can you just do what I’m asking? It’s just one request.”
Never.
“I’ll never let you near my son,” I whisper into the dark, still night.
“But you won’t get a choice. He’s mine, too. When I take him, and I will take him, you’ll come with me because you’ll never leave him alone. We’ll be a family, the way we would have been if you didn’t so selfishly run away and have me locked up.”
“You had yourself locked up.”
He chuckles low. “It doesn’t matter, does it. All I know is that I have a son out there who needs his father. Don’t you think he needs his father, June?”
My skin prickles. “He’ll never need a single thing from you. He has a father.”
“That piece of shit is not his father,” he barks, “I’ll kill him. I’ll remove him if it’s the last thing I do.
I take a shaky step, and my foot lands right into something that makes a rustling sound.
Joel laughs, bitterly. “I’m far more advanced at this outdoor stuff than you, June. If you run, I will catch you.”
“Never,” I hiss.
And I run.
I run with all my might, screaming out Enzo’s name as I do.
I hear Joel behind me. For a few minutes, he sounds like he’s right on my tail. Like at any second, he’ll catch me, but as I get closer to the house, the sounds of him behind me fades and I know he has turned away. He’s not going to risk getting caught, not when he’s so close.
He wants me more than he wants to risk getting busted.
I reach the house just in time to see Dante and Madden running out, shirtless. They quickly jump down the stairs and approach me. Panting and breathless, I point in the direction I just came from, but it takes me a moment to be able to speak. My lungs burn and my legs wobble.
“He’s out there, I saw his light in the woods and he approached me. He only just turned to disappear. Go.”
They run, without thought, their flashlights on.
I hope they get him.
God do I hope they get him.
Lake and Enzo come out next, both of them shirtless too. If I wasn’t so scared, this would be an exact scene out of my deepest spank bank fantasies.
“What the fuck are you doin’ out here alone?” Enzo barks, rushing down the stairs, his face hard.
“I just ... I just ...”
“Answer me,” he roars.
Oh boy. He’s angry. His face is so tight, his mouth drawn in a sharp line. His eyes are narrowed, and his fists are clenched. I made a big mistake coming out here alone, I know that, but I didn’t realize it would be so dangerous for me.
“I was in pain, and I was just going to duck over really quickly to ask for something, my phone is dead and ...”
“Are you crazy?” he bellows. “You could have been killed, Juniper. Do you understand?”
Oh shit.
I stare at him, eyes wide, shocked by his sudden outburst.
“Brother, calm it down,” Lake says, placing a hand on Enzo’s shoulder. “Was a mistake.”
Enzo takes a deep breath, and his eyes remain fixed on me. “What were you thinkin’ June?”
“I wasn’t,” I say softly. “I didn’t actually think he’d be camping out waiting, I truly didn’t.”
“He was campin’ out?” Lake asks, his eyes going in the direction of the flashlights.
I nod. “It would seem so. I saw a lantern in the woods when I heard him approach, like he was just sitting there waiting.”
“Fuckin’ crazy –” Enzo starts but is cut off when Rhett appears at the top of the stairs.
“What the ever-lovin’ fuck is goin’ on here?”
“That dickwad is back, and she nearly got caught by him,” Enzo mutters.
Rhett’s eyes move to me. I give him a sheepish smile.
“Get inside,” Enzo orders. “You’re stayin’ here.”
“I just ...”
“Inside, June.”
Inside.
Right.
I go into the house and Lake waits with Rhett for the other two guys to get back. I sit down on the sofa and Enzo stands in front of me. “Did he hurt you?”
“No, he didn’t get to me.”
“He could have, and all of this would be for nothing. He’s dangerous, June. You’re playin’ with fire not thinkin’ before you do things.”