More like I was vibrating with anxiety and I had to do something to relieve the pressure.
After Reagan showed up at my house last night, I had hidden out in my bedroom, terrified, unable to close my eyes, no matter how exhausted I was. The nightmares were getting worse and I was afraid to close my eyes. I had no one to turn to. No one.
Except Rhys and Wolfe.
Although I dreaded telling them what had happened, I knew I had to tell someone. It was getting worse. The terror-filled dreams, the looking over my shoulder, the walking around expecting him to show up at any moment.
The only thing stopping me was not wanting to see the pity in their eyes when they realized how incredibly weak I was.
I still heard Rhys’s words ringing in my ears.
She puts up with a lot of shit, but she would never tolerate him laying a hand on her.
He’d sounded so confident, complete faith in his sister that she wouldn’t do what I had done. Wouldn’t be a victim.
What would Rhys think of me once he knew the truth? That I had spent nearly five years living in fear, suffering daily, beaten into submission almost from the second I'd moved in with him. That I'd allowed it.
Not that I'd had much of a choice. Even on my worst days, I knew I never had a choice.
But even now, more than a year later, the tears wouldn’t stop, and the fear wouldn’t subside, and I was tired of both. I was tired period.
So, last night, when I'd been clutching the blankets to my chin, staring up at the ceiling, waiting for a sound, something to signal that he’d found me, that he had come back to finish the job, I came to a decision.
It wasn’t if he would find me. It was when. And when that day came, when he did succeed in doing what he’d attempted already, I wanted someone to know. If for no other reason than hopefully they’d be able to put him behind bars when he did succeed in killing me.
It was the least he deserved.
Wolfe pulled his phone out of his pocket and glanced at the screen. “Rhys is on the way.”
I nodded, trying to pull myself together. I would get through the next hour if it killed me. Maybe then I'd be able to sleep. Something had to give because I was feeling the repercussions of the constant terror. I'd thought that having Reagan in the house would make it easier, lessen the anxiety, but it hadn’t.
In fact, the only time I felt relatively safe was when I was with Wolfe or Rhys. They made me believe that they could keep the devil from finding me. And that was what he was. The devil. Pure evil.
The door was open, allowing the sound of gravel crunching beneath tires to filter in through the door. I didn’t jump, I didn’t cower, I merely looked up, staring at the empty space. Wolfe was a few feet away. He wouldn’t let anything happen to me.
It felt like an eternity as I stared blankly at the doorway before a figure finally appeared. I was surprised and slightly disappointed when Lynx walked in, Copenhagen at his side.
Both dog and man instantly took in the scene, their entire focus on me.
No doubt I looked like hell. I felt like hell.
“What’s wrong?” Lynx asked, sounding just as concerned as Wolfe had. He glanced from Wolfe to me, then back to Wolfe, waiting for a response.
“I’ll be right back.” Wolfe stood and headed for Lynx, nodding for him to go outside.
“Go give her some lovin’,” Lynx instructed the dog before stepping outside.
“It’s okay, boy,” I said softly as the dog sized me up. “I’m okay, I promise.”
Copenhagen sauntered over, putting his big head in my lap, his eyes imploring me, as though seeking confirmation that I would be all right.
“Or I will be. One day,” I added. “Maybe.”
I stroked his head, scratching behind his ears, gently sliding my thumb over his nose. We sat there like that for a few minutes before Wolfe returned. He wasn’t alone. Rhys and Lynx were behind him.
I could tell by the look on Lynx’s face that he wasn’t going to leave. I wasn’t sure I could tell him my story. It would be hard enough to share with Rhys and Wolfe.
Lynx clicked his tongue twice and Copenhagen was promptly at his side, sitting obediently. I held Lynx’s stare. “Amy, if you want me to go, I’ll go. But I want you to consider somethin’ first. If you’re with my cousin, that makes you family. And when it comes to family, I don’t sit idly by. I’ll get the details, one way or the other. And I’ll be there for you and for Wolfe. So, it’s up to you how this plays out.”
