Chapter 1
Naomi
I adjusted my body on the leather seat, trying to relieve some of the pressure on my shoulders. Despite all of the men that had been present when Jon finally found me, it was now just me and him in the SUV. I remained silent as he drove, afraid of what would happen if I said something.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t terrified at the prospect of being in his hands again. I knew exactly the kinds of horrific things he wanted to do to me. But I wasn’t the same person he remembered. For the longest time I had been scared of him, of what he could do to me. I hated the way that he made me feel helpless, but I wasn’t helpless anymore.
I wasn’t the helpless girl he had tormented for years.
But he still held most of the cards, and I had to be smart about being around him if I wanted to find a way to return to Gavril.
This couldn’t be the end of my life. I had so much more I wanted to do. I wanted to see this child grow. I wanted to repair my relationship with Gavril, for us to find some common ground so that we could move past the hurt and betrayal.
I wanted to live. For so long I had thought I was living the life I wanted. But now that I was pregnant, my thoughts had changed and I wanted a chance to change it all for the better.
Just a chance.
And I’d be goddamned if I let Jon steal that from me.
“You should never have run,” Jon finally said, breaking the silence. “Running was the wrong thing to do.”
I swallowed my snort. Running was exactly what I needed to do at that time.
But now? Now, I wanted to fight him for my life. I wanted to never look over my shoulder or worry about who was lurking in the shadows.
“I’ve changed, Naomi,” he continued, his hands gripping the steering wheel. From my seat I could see the clench of his jaw. “I’m no longer the man you remember. That man, well, he was evil and didn’t love you as you should have been loved.”
Love. Jon knew nothing about true love, even when I had so stupidly offered mine to him without thinking. And nothing he could ever say or do now could come close to the love I felt for Gavril.
Gavril and I might have had our ups and downs, but it didn’t change what I felt in my heart.
I felt love for him, deep, consuming love that burned hotter each moment I spent with him.
“You don’t love me,” I finally said. “You say you are a changed man, Jon, but you aren’t. A changed man who truly loved me wouldn’t follow me around like you do, ruining my life at every turn. A changed man wouldn’t have told those thugs that they didn’t get to hurt me.”
“Ruin your life?” he asked, feigning innocence. “I’m not ruining your life, Naomi. I’m trying to protect you!”
I didn’t respond even though I wanted to. Arguing with Jon never got me anywhere, and I knew I was wasting my time.
“You will see,” he promised as he pulled up to a nondescript building. “And you will appreciate everything I have tried to do for us, Naomi.”
I watched as Jon climbed out of the car and set my jaw tightly until my head hurt from the intense pressure. There was more at stake this time around, and if I wanted my child to survive I had to play this entire scenario smartly. I needed to make Jon think that he was in control of everything.
Or else he would try to impose control.
The door opened and he reached in, gripping my upper arm as he pulled me out of the SUV and directed me up the flight of stairs to a small studio. I was surprised to see that he hadn’t upgraded his living situation in spite of his pay as an FBI agent. But then again, this was Jon. Everything he did was odd.
He opened the door and led me through. Cool air rushed to greet me as I stepped over the threshold. The place was even tinier than I had originally thought, but that wasn’t what shocked me.
What shocked me was the wall.
Heedless of Jon, I stepped forward, sucking in a breath when I realized what I was looking at.
It was a map of my movements all over LA, including the pictures to prove it. Some of them I recognized from my social media pages, tacked along the map like a footprint of my life. Other pictures were clearly ones that he had taken. A shiver snaked down my spine as I thought about all the times that I had felt like someone was watching me but never saw anyone.
I was right…
Jon had been watching me all along.