Rising (Blue Phoenix, #4)(40)

I fight the urge to charge out of the house. “Make him go. Please.”

“Ruby, that’s not very nice,” says a familiar voice. I snap my head up and Dan stands in the doorway, holding a mug of coffee. The friendly, smiling man is a world away from the bastard who threatened to rape me last month. Physically, he’s imposing and he frightens me, but Dan also knows how to charm and use his looks into sweet-talking girls into doing what he wants. Evidently, this worked with Alison and Kate.

I swallow against the memory of the last time I saw Dan. His hands on me, hurting, violating. The words, threatening what he’d do when he found me again, echo in my ringing ears. I can’t talk over the lump in my throat.

“You never told me you were back,” he continues. “I’ve been wanting to chat to you about our misunderstanding.”

“Misunderstanding?” I choke back the words. He can’t see my fear; he feeds off that. “I don’t want to see you, Dan.”

“Just a chat?” he offers.

“No.”

Dan is dressed for a night-out in a crisp black shirt and jeans covering his long legs. His blue eyes are one of the things that captivated me years ago; the friendliness in them is a charade though. Good-looking guy with a rotten core.

Kate appears behind Dan, cradling her mug. “Everything okay?”

“No, it’s not. Why did you let him in?” I keep my gaze trained on Dan, refusing to break eye contact. I’m stronger than the girl he attacked. I’m not her.

“I couldn’t leave him on the doorstep!” protests Kate. Dan gives her a grateful smile and she returns it.

“Yes. You could.”

“Maybe we should leave you to talk?” suggests Alison.

“No!” I clear my throat. “Dan’s leaving.”

No. Three times, I’ve said ‘no’. Dan’s mouth twists further into anger each time. No. The word I should’ve learned years ago.

“Ruby,” he says, tone cajoling.

“Get the f-uck out!” I shout, pushing away the weak Tuesday threatening to invade. “I don’t want to see you!”

If I climb the stairs to my room, will he follow? My housemates look at each other awkwardly.

“Maybe you should leave, Dan,” says Kate. “Sorry, Ruby, I never realised you didn’t want to see him. I did think it was a bit strange; I thought Jax was your other half.”

I widen my eyes. What the f-uck did she say that for? I glance between her and Dan whose expression scares me.

“Me and Ruby had a bad fight because I thought that about her and Jax too. You haven’t replaced me, have you, angel?” he asks.

At the word ‘angel’, I want to vomit. I cross my arms and step to one side as he moves closer, pissed off with myself that his bulk and presence intimidate me. If I keep replying, we stay engaged, and then the further he worms his way into my new headspace.

“Okay, I see this is a bad time. I’ll catch up with you later. I could drop by the café after work and take you for a drink? Or I’ve seen you at The Lions Head with the guys; maybe I could come and see you there?”

His hardened look accompanies the veiled threat: ‘I can find you’.

“Don’t bother! I don’t want anything to do with you!”

“I’ll come and see you when you’re on your own, then we can talk properly.” Dan smiles in a way that chills my soul and I’m frozen in the moment as he says his polite goodbyes to my housemates and strolls out of the house.

Just like that.

Aware the fear coursing through my body will lead to outbursts at the two girls that could get me kicked out of the house, I run upstairs before any words escape.

I close my bedroom door and lean against it. What if Dan changes his mind and comes back to the house? Comes for me? This man has been part of my life for five years in one way or another; how did I think I’d get rid of him so easily?





Chapter Nineteen



Ruby

A week of looking over my shoulder, but Dan hasn’t reappeared. Every day I expect to see him at work or at the house but he never comes. Instead, Dan sends texts, taunting me with clever hints that he’s watching me, telling me where he’s seen me each day. Dan’s threats and my fear are enough to maintain some kind of control. Has he decided that’s enough for now?

Shuffling shifts around to fit in with recording this week means I finish later and leave work at dusk. Jax knows the situation and insists he’ll meet me after work and take me home. I want to tell him not to but a small doubt niggles. No, if Dan has backed off again, I’m sure I’ll be okay. Psychological fear was Dan’s favourite weapon and he knows how effective it is on me.

I don’t want to think about Dan. He’s the past and today I’m one step closer to my future. Another piece of my dreams just became reality: Ruby Riot is in a recording studio. My impression of recording studios comes from movies and this one is nothing like I imagined. It’s bigger and the technology is beyond my understanding. Nothing like the little place we hired to get a couple of tracks to upload to Bandcamp, the online place Ruby Riot has music for download.

The large mixing desk dominates the room and the sound engineer runs through something on a laptop screen. Will and Nate have settled themselves onto a nearby sofa taking selfies and uploading to Instagram and Facebook. Our pages have a big following since the tour and their constant updates recently make us masters of spam.