Read Online The Wedding Rescue, Book Four (An Alpha Billionaire Club BBW Romance) by Alexa Wilder - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Alexa Wilder
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accepted electronic payments was waiting for a passenger. I slid into the back and gave him my address, checking the time. Seven minutes.
I’m on my way , I typed. A few seconds later my phone pinged with a reply.
I said not to be late . My head was twisted with fear and my heart heavy at the decision I’d made. But now that I was committed to leaving, anger was taking the front seat. I’d moved as quickly as I could. Why did Steven have to be such an asshole about it? Hadn’t he taken enough from me? Now he was getting ready to take more and he couldn’t give me an extra five minutes.
I reminded myself that losing my temper would not help. Steven had that video of Dylan and me. He was probably looking for an excuse to use it. Pissing him off wouldn’t help me. The whole point of leaving Dylan was to protect him from Steven. If I couldn’t control myself, not only would I be losing Dylan, Dylan might lose his company.
Taking a deep breath to calm my racing heart, I tapped out another text.
Sorry. I had to sneak out. Couldn’t rush. Just a few more minutes.
No response. Watching the city flash by outside the window of the cab, I tried to take Steven’s silence as a good sign. My eyes blurred as tears filled them. I didn’t want to feel sorry for myself, but I was having a hard time not adding self-pity to all the other emotions roiling inside me. I’d sworn to stay away from men. Then I’d met Dylan, and for once it seemed like I’d found a good man, one worth loving. Now I had to leave him to protect him from my previous terrible choice.
My future stretched before me, clouded by Steven. If he was back for more this time, what was to say he wouldn’t return over and over? Especially now that he had that video. I had no real way to get it from him. I could demand the phone he’d used to film it, but surely he’d already uploaded it to a cloud storage site or put in on a computer. I could never be sure all copies of it were truly gone. Never. It would always exist.
A tiny voice in my head whispered that Dylan could take care of this. He could make one call to Axel and the two of them would be all over it. Except if I didn’t face Steven in about two minutes, the video would be out there for the world to see and all the data recovery in the world couldn’t stop it. Steven was an asshole, but he was smart. Maybe if he’d given me a little more time to think this over, I could have come up with a better solution than giving in to blackmail. Twenty minutes had left me barely enough time to dress and flee the Delecta. Not even. Twenty minutes had just passed, and I was still a mile from my house.
Two minutes , I typed.
I’m on your back deck.
Great. The last place I wanted to be with Steven was alone in the dark. But we’d do this outside. I wasn’t letting that bastard in my house. The cab pulled onto my quiet residential street, lined with small bungalows like my own, all dark for the night. I lived in a community of families and older residents. No one would be up at this hour. I couldn’t decide if that was good or bad.
Exiting the taxi, I closed the door as quietly as I could and headed around the side of my house. My back deck came into view, enveloped in shadows. I couldn’t see Steven, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t there, watching me. I kept the spare key to the house in a hidden compartment under my deck, secured by a combination lock. I’d never had to use it before. I hoped the lock still worked. I waited a few seconds for Steven to show himself. When he didn’t, I decided to get the key. I’d have to move it later if Steven saw where I kept it. But I’d worry about that tomorrow. I had enough to stress over without adding about my spare key.
The combination lock was stiff, and I had to lay on my back in the gravel beneath the low deck, but I got the key. I was coming to my feet, shoving the key in my pocket, when Steven stepped out from behind a nearby tree.
I jumped in
I’m on my way , I typed. A few seconds later my phone pinged with a reply.
I said not to be late . My head was twisted with fear and my heart heavy at the decision I’d made. But now that I was committed to leaving, anger was taking the front seat. I’d moved as quickly as I could. Why did Steven have to be such an asshole about it? Hadn’t he taken enough from me? Now he was getting ready to take more and he couldn’t give me an extra five minutes.
I reminded myself that losing my temper would not help. Steven had that video of Dylan and me. He was probably looking for an excuse to use it. Pissing him off wouldn’t help me. The whole point of leaving Dylan was to protect him from Steven. If I couldn’t control myself, not only would I be losing Dylan, Dylan might lose his company.
Taking a deep breath to calm my racing heart, I tapped out another text.
Sorry. I had to sneak out. Couldn’t rush. Just a few more minutes.
No response. Watching the city flash by outside the window of the cab, I tried to take Steven’s silence as a good sign. My eyes blurred as tears filled them. I didn’t want to feel sorry for myself, but I was having a hard time not adding self-pity to all the other emotions roiling inside me. I’d sworn to stay away from men. Then I’d met Dylan, and for once it seemed like I’d found a good man, one worth loving. Now I had to leave him to protect him from my previous terrible choice.
My future stretched before me, clouded by Steven. If he was back for more this time, what was to say he wouldn’t return over and over? Especially now that he had that video. I had no real way to get it from him. I could demand the phone he’d used to film it, but surely he’d already uploaded it to a cloud storage site or put in on a computer. I could never be sure all copies of it were truly gone. Never. It would always exist.
A tiny voice in my head whispered that Dylan could take care of this. He could make one call to Axel and the two of them would be all over it. Except if I didn’t face Steven in about two minutes, the video would be out there for the world to see and all the data recovery in the world couldn’t stop it. Steven was an asshole, but he was smart. Maybe if he’d given me a little more time to think this over, I could have come up with a better solution than giving in to blackmail. Twenty minutes had left me barely enough time to dress and flee the Delecta. Not even. Twenty minutes had just passed, and I was still a mile from my house.
Two minutes , I typed.
I’m on your back deck.
Great. The last place I wanted to be with Steven was alone in the dark. But we’d do this outside. I wasn’t letting that bastard in my house. The cab pulled onto my quiet residential street, lined with small bungalows like my own, all dark for the night. I lived in a community of families and older residents. No one would be up at this hour. I couldn’t decide if that was good or bad.
Exiting the taxi, I closed the door as quietly as I could and headed around the side of my house. My back deck came into view, enveloped in shadows. I couldn’t see Steven, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t there, watching me. I kept the spare key to the house in a hidden compartment under my deck, secured by a combination lock. I’d never had to use it before. I hoped the lock still worked. I waited a few seconds for Steven to show himself. When he didn’t, I decided to get the key. I’d have to move it later if Steven saw where I kept it. But I’d worry about that tomorrow. I had enough to stress over without adding about my spare key.
The combination lock was stiff, and I had to lay on my back in the gravel beneath the low deck, but I got the key. I was coming to my feet, shoving the key in my pocket, when Steven stepped out from behind a nearby tree.
I jumped in
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