Judge (Breeding #5)(3)
My father never had women like that around. They all seemed to be people he worked with for the most part, but what do I know? Sometimes when I think back on losing him, I wonder if not being close was a blessing. It made losing him not so painful. It still hurt, but I know it could’ve been worse. I knew he loved me. I just don’t think he ever planned on children. I don’t know who my mother is, and for all I know she could be dead, too. I brought up the subject once to my uncle thinking it might be easier for him to tell me about her, but he shut me down as fast as my father.
Finally the moaning stops and a few minutes later Sasha comes out with a smirk that is directed at me. She walks past me with a smug look and I don’t understand why she’s threatened by my presence. I’m his niece, for god's sake.
“He’ll always be mine,” she says slowly.
I stare at her in confusion. Why would I care if they are together? In all honesty, I feel sorry for her. Why would she want to be with a man like him? He uses her and tosses her away until he needs her again. That’s something I’d never want, but maybe that’s how relationships work and I’m living in a fairy tale. l read too many romance novels, but I’ll take that over her reality any day of the week.
I stand up when I hear my uncle’s footsteps. I don’t want to test his easily wavering temperament.
When he took me out to dinner a few nights ago he chose what I was going to wear. I thought it was a little too showy for my taste, but he demanded I wear it and I wasn’t willing to have a fight with him about it. It wasn’t long into the dinner when he’d flipped and pulled me from my chair by my arm accusing me of being a whore and flirting with his client. The only thing I said to his client was that it was nice to meet him. My uncle was livid the whole way back home before he locked me in my bedroom.
I thought I dreamed it when I woke up the next morning, but the bruise was there on my arm as evidence. That hadn’t been the worst of it. I could have sworn I heard him with another woman that night having sex, but he was calling her by my name. I keep telling myself maybe she just had the same name as me, but my gut is telling me otherwise.
“Time to go,” Harry tells me as he comes around the corner. His eyes rake over me slowly and I feel a fear stirring in my gut.
He’s right. It is time to go.
Chapter One
Nora
A few weeks later…
I let the warm water run down my body as I try to get the chill that’s settled into my bones to go away. Even with the cold weather, this has been the best I’ve felt in days. It’s a moment of safety where I know I’m alone and can let my guard down. I know I need to get going or I’ll get caught and lose my favorite part of the day. Okay, my second-favorite part of the day.
The first is seeing the mystery man who comes in here not long after I leave. I’ve taken up residence across the street on the bench wondering the same thing for the last two weeks. What the hell am I going to do? Freedom isn’t as wonderful as I thought it was going to be.
I knew I lived a sheltered life and have had everything handed to me. At least the basic things like food, a place to rest my head at night, clothes to wear, and a place to shower. You never notice the small things around you that you rely on until they’re gone. But even now it’s worth the price I’ve paid.
A shiver runs down my spine when I think about the night I finally made a run for it. I can still feel his hands grabbing me, trying to press his mouth against mine as I’d fought him off. I’d gotten lucky because I was no match for his strength. He’s a small man, but I’m even smaller. The only reason I got away is because his phone went off. It was the one he used for his exclusive clients. He was at their beck and call night and day. He told me he’d be back and that I needed to get it together. That I had to accept what was to come and I should make it easier on myself.
I knew that I would never give in to what he wanted and I packed a bag and ran. I’m still running, though I’m not sure I can call it running if I’m not going anywhere. I’m still in the same city because I have no place to go. I reached out to the one person I thought was supposed to help and that didn’t work. I still can’t believe Harry told the man who oversees the stipulations of my father’s will that I’d been acting out. He said I’d been stealing and then throwing myself at him a few times to try and cause a scandal. He claimed I attacked him when he denied my advances and showed him the marks.
Those were the marks I’d left on him when I was trying to fight him off. My uncle even went as far as making a report of the attack to the police and listed items he claimed I’d taken from him. Not only is he looking for me, but the police are, too. I’ve been advised that if I go home Harry will drop the charges and he’ll get me the “help I need.” I hung up the phone.
He made sure it wouldn't be easy for me to get away from him. What I once thought was him being overprotective is clearly something else. I don’t have a dime to my name at this point, and I know I’ve got money. I’m a rich homeless person and the thought is almost laughable.
I’m scared to apply for a job because I’m afraid they’ll do some kind of background check. What if it alerts the police to where I am? I have no idea what to do or where to go. I’ll likely spend another day sitting on this bench watching people walk by. Waiting for him to pass by. Maybe today I will follow him when he leaves. The dark-haired man in the suit carries himself without a care in the world. He looks untouchable.