I shouldn’t be surprised. I was, and always would be, just another job for Ransom. Perhaps one with perks, but ultimately, I was a notch on his belt.
“I couldn’t chance you getting hurt.” He worked quickly to untie my hands from behind.
I turned to look at him. The anger made my eyes burn. I was shaking with rage.
“I’m officially relieving you of your duties, Mr. Lockwood.”
All around us, feds and SWAT team members were unplugging computers, confiscating documents, tearing down the room.
He searched my face, his own expression rigid and defiant.
“Look, you didn’t give me time to explain.” He helped me stand up, taking special care not to touch me where I’d been whipped. “This shit with Anna…yes, I did sleep with her. But it happened in college. She found me at a hole-in-the-wall a few weeks ago. Tracked me down and tried rekindling something in exchange for information about you. I cut her off. We had a few drinks. She spiked one of mine, I think. Then I stumbled out and caught a cab, cursing at her the entire time. I didn’t touch her. I swear.”
Raising a hand to stop him, I shook my head. “You think I care about you and her?”
He blinked, confused. “Yes?”
Throwing my head back, I let out a laugh.
“Oh, Ransom, you really do think you’re God’s gift to women. I couldn’t give two shits about what you did with Anna.”
That wasn’t exactly the truth, but I had more pressing matters to tend to.
“I care that you had me tracked without telling me. I care that you put my life in danger. That youknewpeople were after you, that I could get hurt, and still, you put yourself first. I wanted to run away from you in the four hours you gave me to ‘self-reflect’.” I said the last words with air quotes. “You’re not only a terrible human, you’re also a terrible bodyg—sorry, close protection officer.” I rolled my eyes, on a roll now, thinking about all the different ways he was cruel and callous to me. I couldn’t let myself stop now. Or cave in. Allow him to stay. He had to go. Hehadto. For the safety of my heart. “You’re just awful all around. It’s true, what Dorothy Parker once said. Beauty is skin deep, but ugly goes clean to the bone.”
It killed me to say all of this to him. Especially after he’d confided in me about what he’d done to Kozlov’s son. But I couldn’t allow for mercy to have a place in my heart. He was going to destroy me if he stayed. I had to make him leave.
I snatched my arm away from him, realizing that he’d tried to touch me during my little speech.
“You don’t know what you’re saying,” he said levelly. “You’ve just been through one heck of an ordeal. You need to give a brief statement, and then we’ll get you home.”
I stepped back from him, putting more room between us. “Let’s get it over with.”
I woke up with a start.
My head throbbed. The yolky slivers of the setting sun seeped through my bedroom window, warming my skin.
My body hurt. My head hurt. Everything hurt.
Blinking away sleep, I angled my face toward the clock on my nightstand. Seven o’clock in the evening. My guess was I’d slept through most of yesterday and was waking up to a new day.
Next to the clock was a pack of Tylenol—the extra strength ones—a bottle of water, and what looked like a doctor’s prescription. My phone was there, too.
Reaching for it, I felt my back muscles straining, my neck screaming in pain where I’d been beaten. The skin was going to peel off soon, I knew without even looking. I was going to feel the aftershocks of what happened to me for weeks to come.
Grabbing my phone, I sifted through the last calls. Mom. Dad. Hera—that was a new one. Keller called a few times, and so did NeNe and Tara. I couldn’t imagine myself relaying everything that had happened to me in the last forty-eight hours to anyone, if that’s what they were calling about.
Had news leaked yet?
About the kidnap? About Craig and sexual assault charges? About Ransom and me, via Anna?
Only one way to find out.
Unplastering myself from the bed, I dragged myself into the shower. At first, I turned the water too hot. Then, realizing my mistake, how wounded and raw my skin felt, I quickly twisted the shower diverter, opting for ice-cold water. It was a quick affair, followed by patting myself dry carefully. Putting a robe on was too painful. I walked over to my bathroom mirror and lifted my hair up, inspecting the back of my neck and shoulders. The welts looked angry, purple, and deep. Tears filled my eyes.
He could’ve prevented this.
He could’ve given the job to Max.