His eyes narrow to slits, and he blocks the doorway with his body.
“Go to the right,” he hisses. “There's an alleyway. It's where we throw the rubbish. He'll never see you there.”
With a loud bang, he shoves a huge stockpot to the ground. It clangs and crashes, metal on tile, hot stock sloshing over the sides.
“Get your hands off her!” somebody shouts from inside, because Marcus is trying to shove past the woman who blocked him.
I snatch a knife from a nearby counter and keep going. I can hear Marcus causing a commotion in the kitchen behind me.
“That's my fiancée! She’s unwell!” he shouts. “She cannot be left to her own devices!”
Fuckingliar.
I still have my clutch. I reach for my phone with trembling hands and dial his number.
“Lass?”
“Ashland?” I break into a sob. “Help me. Please.”
“Where are you?” he asks.
“It's a little alleyway behind Tessa's Bistro. He's coming. He's going to take me. And I know he's—Ashland, please?—”
“Tell me what you see,” he says, his voice low and clear. Why is it so soothing to me?
“I'll be there in five minutes, Bianca. Do you have any weapons on you?”
“I have a knife.”
“Use it if you have to, lass. Stay calm. I'm on my way.”
I press my back against the cold brick wall of the alley, the knife shaking in my hand. My breath comes in short, sharp gasps, visible clouds in the frigid night air. I can hear Marcus inside the restaurant, shouting, his voice getting closer.
“Ashland?” I whisper into the phone, my voice breaking.
“I'm here, lass. I'm listening.”
“Stay on the line with me. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I left. You were right. You were right about everything.”
“Bianca.” He cuts through my panic like a blade. “Listen to me. You've got nothing to apologize for. None of this is your fault.”
Of course he would say that. Ofcoursehe would because Ashland…
No. I won't think of that now.
Tears fall hot and fast down my face. “He's going to… I think… I think he's trying to kill me.”
There’s a long, dangerous pause.
When Ashland speaks again, his voice is pure ice. “He'll not get the chance, love. I’m right nearby. I wasn't going to let you face that bastard alone, Bianca. I wasn't going to take you again unless it was… unless it was your choice, love. Where are you? Same place? Tell me now.”
“Still in the alley behind Tessa's Bistro,” I whisper.
And it's not lost on me that I'm in the exact place where I first met Ashland six years ago. Right here in this alley.
“I'm two minutes out. Can you see the street from where you are?”
I peek around the corner of the alley. The main road is maybe sixteen yards away.
