Trusting You (Second Chances #2)(59)
I gasped when he grabbed a hand full of my hair and jerked my head back. His dark brown eyes looked black as night as he pierced me with his gaze. His voice was low and menacing when he growled in my ear, “I’m not delusional, Melissa. I’m impatient. I don’t think you want to see what I’ll do if you disobey me. I’ve tried to get you back being the nice guy, but you’re too f*cking stubborn to see that I love you and that I can give you everything you want. When will it be enough?”
My scalp burned with his insistent tugging and it immediately drew tears to my eyes. What have I gotten myself in to? The tears fell and I couldn’t stop the whimper from releasing from my lips. The last thing I wanted was to appear weak; I was not weak. When Daniel’s eyes cleared he blinked rapidly and swiftly let go of my hair, pulling me to him in the process.
“Oh my God, baby, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what came over me. You have to know that I don’t want to hurt you, except you drive me so crazy when you push me away. You loved me before and I know you can do it again. Yeah, our situation isn’t conventional, but we can live happily for the rest of our lives. Just wait … you’ll see.”
Holy shit, he’s crazy. He has literally lost it and talking nonsense. Wide-eyed, I stared at the man before me who used to be my husband, but was now a complete psychopath. Mason told me stories of people and what they did when they were desperate, that they could turn into completely different people. Taking a deep breath, I swallowed hard and whispered, “Daniel, are you even listening to yourself? We will constantly be on the run. The police just aren’t going to forget about what you did. There will never be peace.”
He turned away and clenched his jaw, the muscle ticking in his cheek as if it was a time bomb about to explode. I needed to tread carefully.
“Please let me go,” I cried softly. “Deep down I know you don’t want to force me to do this.”
Abruptly, he let me go and pressed on the gas, squealing the tires as he swerved back on the road. “I’m sorry, Mel, but I need you with me. It has …” Before he could finish his sentence, his cell phone rang. When he pulled it out of his back pocket and looked down, he sighed. “It’s my sister.”
“You might as well answer it, Daniel. You’re not ever going to see her again,” I said, starting to feel nervous and scared for the first time. If by some chance I couldn’t be found, I wondered if I’d ever see the people I loved again. The thought of never feeling Brett’s arms around me made my chest tighten in fear. Maybe his sister could talk some sense into him.
The phone kept ringing in Daniel’s hand, and I’d almost given up hope he’d answer it until finally he did. I breathed a sigh of relief when I could hear Claire’s voice come through the line. Daniel put it on speakerphone so we could both listen while he drove.
“Why hello there little sister,” Daniel greeted.
“Where are you at?” she hissed. “If you don’t bring Melissa back they’re going to charge you for kidnapping, among other things.”
“How do you know I have Melissa? She could be anywhere right now.”
Claire snapped, “Don’t play stupid with me, Daniel. I know she’s with you because I was here at your house. I know everything you’ve done and what you were planning to do with my land. How could you do that to me? You sent me off so you could start this project and leave me in the dark. If you would’ve discussed it with me we might’ve been able to come up with a plan together, but you chose to be the arrogant shit you are and take advantage of me, thinking you can control everything.”
Daniel glared at me and gritted his teeth again. I didn’t like it when he did that. “Well, dear sister, you don’t have to worry about that anymore now do you? It’s all yours so congratulations,” he remarked sarcastically.
I could hear a commotion in the background, but Claire came back on the line. “If you bring Melissa back unharmed then I’ll give you all the land you want. I’ll get it put in writing.”
“No,” I shouted. “Don’t you dare do that.”
Immediately, Claire gasped and cried, “Oh my God, Melissa, are you okay? Everyone is so worried about you.”
“She’s fine,” Daniel growled. “And I can’t accept your offer because it doesn’t mean shit to me anymore. It’s too late. Melissa and I will be disappearing for good here shortly once we get out of the states.”
It was my turn to gasp, but then my breath seized up when I heard Brett yell over the phone. His voice didn’t even sound like his, all gravelly and deep, laced with violence. “Like hell you are you f*cking prick. When I find you you’re going to wish you were dead.”
Daniel burst out laughing. “Well, well, if it isn’t the ex-lover come to save the day. Sorry, Mr. Walker, but you’ll never find us and neither will Melissa’s sorry excuse for a cousin. You’re more than welcome to say your last good-bye’s to her, though.”
“Brett,” I whispered, trying hard to hold back the tears. Daniel tried to touch my cheek, but I slapped his hand away and glared at him.
“We’re going to find you, baby. In time we will find you. Just hold out as long as you can. I need you to trust me.” He paused. “I love you, firecracker.”
Before I could respond and tell Brett I loved him too, Daniel clamped his hand over my mouth. Angrily, I clawed at his hand and screamed, but it didn’t deter him one bit. “Don’t worry, Brett, I’ll make sure to take good care of her. Just know that each night she’s away from you I’m going to enjoy her in my bed. She’ll be screaming my name … not yours.” I shook my head violently to loosen his hand from my mouth, but his strong grip was unwavering.