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But you were too tenacious, damn it.”

And so the truth came out. Tyler had never once slept with his wife.

Alyssa hadn‟t been lying. Luc gritted his teeth. He‟d been so fucking stupid

to let his jealousy get out of hand.

“Nor am I letting her go now,” he vowed. “The trapdoor that leads out

of the crawl space is right in front of me. It lowers from the ceiling. Do I just

push down and the stairs lower?”

“Should. But you‟ll have to be very quiet. The wooden stairs will clatter

on the hardwood floor if you don‟t lower them slowly.”

Alyssa screamed again, this time a clear, plaintive wail. “No! Don‟t

touch me!”

“Do you hear that?” Luc growled in low tones. “I don‟t have time for

slowly.”

“You don‟t have a choice. I got a call three hours ago from my old vice

partner that Joshua left L.A a few weeks ago.”

“A few
weeks
?”

Tyler sighed. “I didn‟t think after all these months he‟d suddenly make

a move. I wasn‟t checking up as often . . . My fuckup, I know. Anyway,

Joshua told his wife he‟d be on business in London, but TSA says he never

left the country . . . If that‟s him in Alyssa‟s bedroom, he‟s going to want to

mess with her for a while. He‟s got over a decade worth of hard-on for

Alyssa. If he intends to kill her, it won‟t be quick. Take a deep breath and

find some fucking patience.”

Tyler‟s words ate at him. Anxiety scraped him raw. He swallowed it

because the PI was right.

“You got a way to fight him off? Any weapon?” Tyler asked.

“I‟m licensed for a concealed weapon in Texas, so I had it in my car.

It‟s tucked in my waistband.”

“Slightly illegal, Traverson.”

“Had more on my mind than technicalities.”

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“Roger that. We have to end this call now. You‟ll need both hands to

lower the ladder, and once you open the trapdoor, he‟ll be able to hear you

talk.”

“Yeah.” Luc gripped the phone, trying to calm his erratic breathing and

racing heart. This was it. He
must
save Alyssa or die trying.

Deke had done a lot to prepare Luc for this. Hand-to-hand sparring,

karate, a near overdose of target practice . . . But the fact was, Luc was a

chef and, other than helping Tyler dismantle Peter in Alyssa‟s office, Luc

had never had to mop up an attacker and rescue someone—especially not

someone he loved more than his next breath.

“You can do it,” Tyler assured. “Keep calm and quiet. Use the element

of surprise if you can. If not, just blow the motherfucker‟s head off. I‟m

calling Remy now. The cavalry will be there in less than five. Do whatever

you have to do to keep her alive that long, and we‟ll take care of the rest.”

“Thanks.” Luc may not be as well trained as Tyler, but he‟d be damned

before he let whoever this was kill his wife. And if it was Joshua . . . Luc

would be fucking thrilled to exorcise this ghost for her—for good.

ALYSSA blinked. Blinked again. Her worst nightmare had come to

life—and now stood in her bedroom.

“Hello, Lindsey. Though I guess now I should just call you „whore.‟ ”

Run!
Her brain couldn‟t make her body obey the commands as shock

overwhelmed her system. She stepped back, fear gripping her lungs as she

screamed.

“Quiet now. I‟ve looked a long time to find you. Over a decade, in fact.

Now that I‟ve succeeded, time to remind you who you belong to. And yes,

the ropes are for you. Old times‟ sake.”

Her body trembled. But when she saw the black-handled serrated

knife in his hand—the kind that had been stabbed into her belongings—her

world shook.

“
You’ve
been stalking me?” Not Primpton?

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His eyes sparkled with sick mischief. “I enjoyed scaring you with all

those notes. Trashing your bedroom was fun, too. But you weren‟t as

terrified as I wanted. I‟m put out that you‟re not the same meek virgin,

Lindsey.”

She wasn‟t. But in that moment, it was as if she were fifteen again and

stunned that her best friend was now her worst nightmare, causing her

immense pain as he stripped away her innocence, one forced thrust after

another.

“Don‟t do this, Joshua,” she pleaded, willing to do anything to live for

her baby‟s sake.

“Ah, so you do remember my name. How juicy that you haven‟t

forgotten your first. Let‟s see what else you remember.”

“You‟re going to kill me.” It wasn‟t a question. She knew the answer

deep in her bones.

He didn‟t hesitate. “Of course. I‟d keep you alive, but I don‟t like the

idea of sharing you with that chef you married. Besides, my wife hates my .

. . little toys.”

His wife?
She flinched. What he planned was bad enough, but to

desecrate his wedding vows, too? Then again, it didn‟t sound like the first

time he‟d strayed.

Joshua‟s eyes flared with the promise of pain as he stalked toward her

with a twisted smile. She backed away. “Leave me alone.”

“I can‟t do that. After you left, I was a laughingstock among my friends.

They ribbed me that you‟d hated fucking me so much that you left home.”

I did!
But she knew confirming that would be unwise.

“I began to wonder if my friends were right. It might have been a bit

painful at first, you being a virgin, but I was sure I fucked you good.”

He‟d thought terror and anal bleeding were good? “That‟s all in the

past. There‟s nothing between us now, Joshua.”

“
I’m
the one who decides that. When you left, you took that control

from me. Then you shared your body with other men. Got married!” He

pressed his lips together. “Very unwise, but thankfully, very temporary.”

With his implied threat, anger boiled to the surface, rolling over the

fear. “Don‟t you
dare
touch Luc!”

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“He‟s next on my agenda. Now, be the good stripper you are and drop

your clothes.”

The time for talk was over. Once Joshua decided that he wanted

something, nothing deterred him. He could be methodical and patient, if he

found the game and sport worth his while. The rest of the time he was a

greedy bastard, wanting what he wanted now.

Alyssa refused to play along.

She had to find a way to defend herself and get out the door. If she

turned and ran, he‟d only catch her. She was wearing stilettos, and he‟d

been a track star in high school. No contest. Finding a way to even the

odds was critical.

Backing away from him, toward the door, she risked a peek over her

shoulder. The first thing to catch her gaze was shiny and silver and, she

knew from lifting it, heavy.

Thank you, Luc, for the wedding gift.

She turned her back to Joshua and lunged for the frame. As expected,

he darted after her. And she was ready. When he approached, she

clutched the heavy, scarred photo frame and swung with all her might,

clocking Joshua in the face.

He stumbled back, staggering into the wall, clutching his right eye.

“Bitch! You‟re going to fucking pay for that. You don‟t know how much I‟ve

learned about the fine art of making a fucking hurt in the last fourteen

years, but I‟ll be damn happy to show you.”

Alyssa didn‟t stay to hear his disgusting tirade. She kicked off her

shoes and darted for her bedroom door. She stopped short when Joshua

managed to grab a few strands of her hair in his fist. Then he began to

yank back.

If she let him drag her back into that bedroom, she was as good as

dead. She might die anyway, but damn it, she wasn‟t going down without a

fight.

Turning her head one direction, she yanked with all her might in the

other. Pain seared across her scalp as the strands tore from their follicles,

but she was free.

Knowing she was a second or less ahead of him, she darted out the

door, into the darkened hall—and crashed into someone.

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She gasped. Dear God, had Joshua brought help?

“Shh,” he whispered.

Luc!

She wanted to ask a million questions, but there was no time. Joshua‟s

footsteps resounded on the hardwood floor. Luc shoved her behind him,

then backed them against the wall, out of Joshua‟s path. Alyssa prayed that

in the dark, he wouldn‟t see them right away.

Curled up against Luc‟s back, she was so relieved to see him—and

worried for him at the same time. Joshua wanted to kill him, and Alyssa had

no doubt her stepbrother meant it.

Luc pressed her deeper into shadow as Joshua approached, his pace

slowing. She could almost feel his methodical gaze sweeping the darkened

hallway and held her breath, praying she and Luc would come away from

this alive. Somehow.

Something gouged Alyssa in the stomach—hard, cold. She squeezed

a hand between them and felt around. Luc had a gun!

He tensed as she touched the weapon, then gave her an infinitesimal

shake of his head. Alyssa frowned and let go. Guns weren‟t her favorite,

but hopefully Luc had a plan. Wondering what the hell it might be as he

pressed her against the wall, Alyssa panted, her heart thumping in a

staccato rhythm so loud she feared people in the next county could hear it.

Joshua crept past them, then stopped at the top of the stairs when

sirens split the air.

The police are coming!
Thank God.

At the sound, Joshua lifted his head, then growled. “Fucking bitch!

Where are you? I‟d have heard you run down the stairs. And now the

fucking cops are on the way. Someone cut my fun short, damn it, but I‟m

going to end you before they get within ten feet of saving you.”

Without warning, he flipped on the hallway light. And he had a gun

pointed directly at Luc‟s chest.

Joshua looked taken aback to see her husband; then he smiled. “Well,

talk about an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.”

Alyssa couldn‟t breathe. Luc‟s gun was still behind his back. He‟d

never have time to pull it free and shoot Joshua in return. Her stepbrother

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was one trigger pull away from killing Luc. And she knew Josh—he‟d do it

without remorse. Hell, he‟d probably laugh.

That could not happen. If she no longer had Luc, she‟d crumble, crack

. . . die.

She leaned around Luc‟s left shoulder and glared at Joshua. “Leave

him alone. It‟s me you want. I‟ll get in a car with you. You can take me

wherever you want, do whatever you want, if you‟ll leave him alone.”

“No!” Luc railed. “Absolutely not.”

For a second, hope sparked.
Maybe
. . . Then she remembered. His

concern was likely not for her but because she was pregnant. “I know

you‟re worried about the baby. You‟ll find someone else and have another.

I know you will.”

“Baby?” Joshua shouted, taking a menacing step forward. “You let him

fucking knock you up?”

Luc eyed the gun, but otherwise ignored him. “I‟m not thinking about

the baby now. I‟m worried about
you
. If you go with him, I‟ll never see you alive again. For me, there‟ll never be anyone else I‟ll love half as much as

you.”

His words warmed her, pouring over her shivering skin like melted

chocolate. For that one moment—possibly one of their last together—

Alyssa hoped he meant that and, aside from their coming child, she

mattered to Luc.

Damn it, why did she have to realize that there was a chance his

feelings were every bit as real as hers just when their time together was

ending?

No. Joshua had taken everything from her once. Never again would

she be this asshole‟s victim. If anyone was going down this time, it was

him.

Luc had a gun, and she had gumption. Time to use both.

“I‟m going to be sick,” Joshua sneered as he stalked closer and

closer—until he pressed the gun to Luc‟s forehead. “Time to end this

lovefest.”

Alyssa‟s heart stopped.

The sirens were screaming, coming closer with every second. She

saw the panic on her stepbrother‟s face. He was about to do something

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rash, reckless, and given the fact he could shoot Luc point-blank at any

moment . . . irrevocable. There was no way her husband could reach his