“It better not, or I’m going to have to start coming up with punishments to try to enforce you following through with our agreement.” Authority dominated my voice as I grabbed my bag with my client’s folders for the hospital. Today was a full day of appointments with new clients who had checked in over the past few days.
“Oh?” She didn’t sound the least bit intimidated, and I was beginning to wonder how strong-willed she would be by the time we solved this situation. Raelynn wasn’t weak or timid, not when she was thriving in her own environment without a leech sucking the life out of her.
“Why is it I’m getting the idea that you would probably enjoy it?”
“I don’t know, I guess I’ll just have to continue not listening to you and find out.”
“Don’t tempt me, Raelynn, or you’ll find yourself in need of coming up with a safe word.”
A giggle, she fucking giggled at the threat. This woman was going to be the death of me, one way or another, and I was going to love every second of it. I grabbed my keys off the hook hanging next to the door leading outside my apartment. There were twoentrances, one through my office and one through a set of stairs at the back of the building where the parking lot was located.
“I might test that theory later,” I stifled a groan at her words and willed myself not to think about punishing her before I had to go to work. The things I wanted to do to this woman wouldn’t make it easy to get through an entire workday.
“What are you planning to do today?” I asked, distracting myself from the thought of her ass at my disposal. Locking the door behind me, I took the wooden steps two at a time until I reached my Jeep. The sun was out again today, and the temperature was steadily dropping as the days passed.
“I’m going on a short run before I come back home. I want to enjoy my last few days before returning to work.”
“Your location is turned on with your phone?” Ever since her release we both shared locations. She had always shared with her sister before the threat was even known to them. To deal with her ex, though, she would need more than just her sister for backup.
“Yes, it always stays on, and I’ll text you once I’m back.” The echo of a door shutting sounded from her end of the line. “Besides, I won't be gone long; my thighs aren’t used to so much activity.” Her insinuation was clear; she wasn’t just talking about the running.
“Run fast then, your legs are going to get used to it, or they can relax while you’re on your knees for me.” A soft whimper escaped her as I started up my Jeep. We said goodbye, if we hadn’t, Iwould have canceled my appointments for today, spending my time in a more satisfying way, buried inside her.
The drive wasn’t bad. It was early enough that traffic hadn’t started to clutter the roads with congestion, and not late enough that I risked getting stuck behind school buses. I made a mental note as I drove through the mountain to make sure I gathered up all of Raelynn's journals from my office. My task of reading every single one of them was almost completed. Not all of them had managed to make their way back to my apartment yet. Entries in which she detailed what had happened between her and Craig made me sick to read.
How he not only mentally manipulated her, but how he physically abused her on occasion, and was able to convince her that it was her fault. He gaslit her to the point she started to think she was crazy, and then turned around to play a victim at her hands. Professionally, I couldn’t diagnose someone unless I had spent a sufficient amount of time with them in the clinical setting. However, I was confident enough in my abilities to bet money that Craig Grasso was an undiagnosed narcissist, a dangerous one at that.
Most with that disorder didn’t handle rejection well. They didn’t like what they perceived as reality being messed with. Their reality was the only true reality; everyone else was out to get them, or they only kept them around to serve their purpose. Throughout the journals, it was evident that Craig was incapable of showingempathy toward Raelynn. He was able to fake it at social gatherings, at work, or even around a few close friends. The mask would be heavy, though, like lead weighing on his personality. He wouldn’t be able to wear it long, and that’s where lashing out at Raelynn had come in. She was his proverbial punching bag when the real him needed to be seen.
As soon as I put my Jeep into park, my phone started ringing, Raelynn's name appearing on my screen. I answered on the second ring with a feeling that something wasn’t right.
“What’s wrong?”
Her breathing was ragged. I couldn’t tell if it was just from where she had been running or if there was something else wrong. I put the key back into the ignition and started my vehicle.
“Someone ran me off the road.” Her voice was shaky, all the bravado she had earlier nowhere to be found, even though we spoke less than twenty minutes prior.
“What?” Anger rose inside me on the wings of my inner demons. Without a second thought, I put my Jeep in drive and made my way out of the parking lot. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, Daxton, I’m sure.” She was crying hysterically, and I wasn’tthere to take control of the situation and give her the comfort she needed.
“Where are you?” I growled as I broke several laws on the road to get back into town as quickly as I could.
She rattled off an address, a road a few streets over from her house, where the homes were a bit farther apart next to the river. A man's voice was in the background, followed by another woman's.
“Are you with anyone?” I asked as I pushed my Jeep to its limits as I sped down the road, swerving around cars as I went, barely avoiding oncoming traffic.
“Yes, an older couple. They were sitting on their front porch and saw what happened.”
“Stay there, I’m on my way.” She didn’t talk much anymore, but she didn’t hang up the phone either. I could hear the older woman in the background trying to get her to drink some tea to help her calm down.
Did everyone in this god forsaken town have to drive like it was Sunday and they had all the time in the world? Five below the speed limit when there were clear skies was just fucking ridiculous. I resisted the urge to flip someone off as I finally got an opening to get around them, taking my Jeep dangerously fast around the switchback turns, going back down the mountain.
When I pulled into her neighborhood, it had to have been some sort of record. My tires skidded as I turned onto the street she said she was on, and slowing down wasn’t an option until I had my eyes on her. Just hearing her on the phone wasn’t good enough. I needed to see for myself thatshe was fine.
I didn’t bother pulling into the driveway, parking my Jeep on the side of the road right in front of the house number that matched the one she had told me. No sooner than I had placed the vehicle in park, the front door of the light blue Cape Cod house burst open, and she came flying out, an older couple right behind her, picking up the blanket she had dropped in her haste.
She slammed into me, her small body an unstoppable force as she hit me with everything she had, wrapping her arms around my neck.
