Most Eligible Baby Daddy (18 page)

Forrester threw his legs over the side of the bed. He tried to stand but he couldn’t. He sat on the bed and tried to look as confident and tough as he could. He wasn’t sure if Gris had seen that he couldn’t stand up.

Gris was sneering, towering over him in the tiny cell.

“I’m going to take Elle back where she belongs,” Gris said.

“You so much as lay a hand on her, and you’re going to regret the day to the end of your life,” Forrester said.

“And who’s going to make me? You?”

“That’s right, me,” Forrester said.

At that moment, Gris threw a punch. Forrester dodged, leaning back, his ribs burning with agony. Gris’s fist flew in front of his face, harmless in the air, and Forrester grabbed it and yanked the wrist backward. Gris grunted in pain and lunged toward Forrester. Forrester tried to rise up and get out of the way but his body refused to obey. The cracked ribs needed time to heal. He leaned back but Gris landed on him painfully. He punched Gris twice in the face but as soon as Gris’s knee landed on his broken ribs, he knew the fight was over. He almost blacked out from the pain.

Gris noticed and capitalized on his advantage, punishing Forrester’s already damaged rib cage with a flurry of powerful punches. Each punch further damaged the broken ribs, causing agony in every nerve of Forrester’s body.

Gris got back to his feet and looked down at Forrester. Forrester had to struggle just to remain conscious.

“I’m going to fuck you up so bad, you’re not even going to remember your name,” Gris said.

And then the heel of his boot struck Forrester’s ribs. Forrester tried to grab it but he was losing control of his muscles. He looked up and saw the lightbulb of the cell above him. Then Gris’s face. Then everything went black.

He couldn’t see, but he hadn’t fully lost consciousness. Gris kicked him repeatedly, in the ribs, in the chest, in the face. Forrester was powerless to protect himself.

Through the fog of pain he heard the sheriff’s voice.

“Enough, Gris. You’re going to kill him.”

“I want to kill him.”

“Not in my jail, you don’t.”

“Well then, at least let me make sure he doesn’t follow me.”

“Follow you?”

“I’m taking the bitch home, where she belongs, and I need to know no one’s coming after her.”

Forrester felt a merciless kick from Gris’s boot strike him in the face, and then he blacked out for real. It would be days before he regained consciousness.

Chapter 32

Elle

I
T WAS JUST GROWING DARK
when Elle saw the headlights pull into the lot of the diner. She recognized them instantly as Gris’s. She knew those headlights intimately. She’d watched them, in despair, every night for the past few years as they pulled into the driveway of her home with Gris. He’d wasted no time getting his car fixed.

“He’s here,” she said.

Kelly and Grace both stopped what they were doing and looked up at her. There were no customers in the place.

“Don’t worry,” Grace said. “He can’t do anything to you. Not while we’re here.”

“You’re not alone,” Kelly said. “We’ve got your back, Elle.”

Elle nodded nervously. She prayed her friends were right. They didn’t know Gris like she did. They didn’t know the violence he was capable of. Her biggest fear wasn’t even for herself. Gris was her problem and she knew she’d have to deal with him. Her biggest fear was that she’d drag Kelly and Grace into her world, and that they’d end up getting hurt too. She couldn’t allow that to happen. Grace was getting on in years, and Kelly was looking after her brother.

Gris was alone. He pushed the door open forcefully and came inside. The three women watched him from the kitchen as he made his way to the counter and took his seat.

Kelly made to go serve him but Elle stopped her.

“No,” she said. “Leave this to me. He’s my burden to bear.”

“The hell he is,” Kelly said. “You left him. He’s got nothing to do with you anymore.”

Elle smiled but couldn’t let Kelly take the heat in her place.

“I’ll go,” she insisted, “but I’m more grateful than you can know.”

Elle walked up to the counter as confidently as she could.

“What can I get you?” she said, as if she’d never met Gris before in her life.

Gris just smiled at her.

“It’s nice to see you too, honey.”

“Don’t call me that,” Elle said.

“That’s not what you were saying a few days ago. Come on, babe. Don’t treat me like that.”

“Either order something, or leave,” Elle said. “I’m not your honey.”

“Fine, I’ll have a coffee,” Gris said.

Elle put a mug in front of him and poured the coffee. For a second, her mind flashed back to the time, just a few days earlier, when she’d been pouring Forrester his coffee. He’d reached out and touched her. It had been a real moment, something true and from the heart. This was nothing like that.

“So,” Gris said, his voice grating against Elle’s nerves. “When are you going to bring this little charade to an end and come back home where you belong?”

Elle shook her head. “Don’t you get it, Gris? This isn’t the dark ages. I’m not coming home with you, and you can’t make me.”

Gris just smiled. “Dark ages?” he said. “That’s very rich coming from someone like you. I mean, you’re the only person I ever heard of who was actually
sold
to another person.”

Elle’s cheeks flushed. Gris knew that was her most sensitive, most painful memory.

“Don’t do anything you’ll regret,” Elle said. “If anything happens to me, Gracie and Kelly will go straight to the police.”

“The police? The police in this town are a joke. I’ve got them wrapped around my finger.”

“What do you mean?”

Gris threw his hand up, as if brushing away her comment. He looked annoyed at himself. He’d made a mistake. He shouldn’t have mentioned the police. Elle made a mental note to go check with them about Forrester. Maybe they knew something she didn’t.

“Look,” he said. “I don’t give a rat’s ass about your little friends, Elle. You’re coming home with me, whether you like it or not. One way or another, it’s happening. Now, you can make it easy on yourself and come willingly, or you can chose to make it more difficult than it has to be. Either way is the same to me.”

“Gris, I’m never coming home with you.”

Gris looked her up and down. The way his eyes crept over her made her skin crawl.

“Why not? It was good enough for you for the last three years.”

“It’s not good enough anymore, Gris.”

“What do you know? You’ve only been gone a few days.”

“A lot has happened in those few days, Gris. I’m not the same person I was when I was with you. I’m different now.”

“How much could have happened in such a short time?”

Elle sighed. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“Try me,” Gris said, forcefully.

“Well, I met someone, okay. I know there are better men then you out there. Men who don’t make me feel like shit. Men who don’t try to make me weaker all the time. I know I have options, Gris.”

“What options? You’re not talking about that little prick I saw hanging around the other day, are you?”

“Who?”

“You know who I mean? The pretty boy with the tattoos and that piece of shit pickup truck.”

“What do you know about him, Gris?”

“Nothing?”

“Don’t lie to me. You know something.”

Gris sipped his coffee. There was a leering smile on his face that gave Elle the creeps. “I know he’s never coming back for you, Elle. He had enough of you already.”

“How could you possibly know that?”

“Because I know you, you little whore. I know how worthless you are. I know how unloveable you are. You’re disgusting, Elle. No man in his right mind would want more than a quick fuck with you. You’ve never been loved, and you never will be loved. That guy you were with is proof. If he loved you so much, where is he? Why the hell did he skip town on you?”

Elle felt the blood rising to her cheeks. She tried to stay calm, she tried not to show emotion, but she knew she was letting Gris get to her, and she knew he could tell. She’d never been good at hiding her feelings. She wanted to cry, she wanted to burst into tears in despair, and Gris could read it on her face like a book.

“You know it’s true, Elle. Even your own mother gave you away. And she didn’t just put you into care like a normal person would, she didn’t give you over to child services. No. She sold you to some pimps who would make a sex slave out of you. If that’s not hate, then I don’t know what is, Elle.
Hate
. That’s what the world has in store for you. Not love. So get your head out of the clouds and stop trying to be something you’re not. You’re a sick little bitch. A worthless little whore. No one has ever loved you, and no one ever will. Even your new boyfriend has dumped you already.”

It was only then that Elle remembered Grace and Kelly were standing by her side.

“I think you’ve had enough coffee, mister,” Grace said.

“I agree,” Kelly said.

“Now get out of here before I kick you out.”

Gris laughed. He wasn’t afraid of them. Elle knew he’d spoken to the police already. That’s why he was so cocky. She’d seen him do things like that before. He was very adept at influencing, or blackmailing, people to do his bidding. Nevertheless, he got up from his seat. He’d said what he’d come to say.

Elle waited until the door slammed behind him before collapsing to the floor.

“Elle,” Kelly yelled. “Are you all right?”

Elle was on the tiled floor of the diner. She wasn’t sure how she’d gotten there.

“Come on, child,” Gracie said. “You had a little spin. You fainted. Let’s get you home to bed.”

Chapter 33

Forrester

F
ORRESTER OPENED HIS EYES.
He wasn’t on the bed in the cell, he was on the cold, concrete floor. It was night. He looked up at the small window across the corridor. Stars twinkled in the icy sky.

“I was wondering when you’d wake up, fucko.”

It was Gris’s voice. Forrester didn’t answer it. He tried to move but he couldn’t. His entire body burned with pain.

“Don’t get up,” Gris taunted. “You can’t. We beat the shit out of you while you were unconscious.”

Painfully, Forrester turned his head to look at Gris. Gris was pointing a camcorder at him.

“What are you doing?” Forrester said.

“Just getting some insurance. I have to persuade that little piece of ass you’ve been enjoying that she really should forget about you and come home with me.”

“You mean, she still hasn’t given up on me?” Forrester said, disbelief in his voice.

Gris laughed at him. “Aww, you poor baby. You think that means she loves you?”

“Fuck off,” Forrester said to him.

“Well, it will all be in vain,” Gris said. “She might have waited for you this long. To be honest, I’m surprised. I thought she’d have come running back to me by now.”

“She’s not the girl you think she is, Gris.”

“Maybe not,” Gris said, putting away the camera. “But she will be. I know her. I know how to work her. I’ll grind her down, break down her confidence and self-esteem, until she believes she’s the worthless piece of shit I know she is.”

“Why? Why would you do that?”

“What do you care, fucko? You’ll be rid of her. Her and me, we’ll be gone. You’ll never have to think about her again.”

“I won’t forget her.”

“Well, let me give you a little bit of incentive to move on with your life. I want to make sure you forget all about her.”

“I’ll never forget about her.”

“She was a whore, Forrester. Before you knew her, before even I knew her, she was a whore. She was the property of Los Lobos. They owned her, and they did whatever they wanted with her.”

Forrester said nothing. Gris was nodding. Forrester knew what he was thinking. He thought that this information would make him forget about Elle. He thought it would make him move on, that it would make him not want her anymore.

He was wrong.

That wasn’t the way Forrester’s heart worked. He’d have done anything for Elle, and knowing about her past only made him love her even more intensely. The hardships she’d been through, the struggles she’d had to overcome, that only made him love her even more. He’d die for her, and more importantly, he’d kill for her. She was his girl now. He’d told her that, and he’d meant it. They’d made love, and not even just that, but they’d done it without a condom. They were linked now. Tied together. Forever. There was literally nothing that Gris could say or do that would make Forrester love Elle less. He was locked onto her the way a wolf locks on its mate.

But he didn’t have to let Gris know that.

In fact, it would be better for him if he let Gris believe that his plan was working. If Gris thought Forrester wasn’t coming after him, it would make him more likely to slip up and make a mistake.

“What’s the problem, fucko? You got nothing to say? Cat got your tongue?”

“Fuck you, Gris.”

“Oh, you seem upset. Was it something I said?”

Forrester tried to get up but the pain in his body kept him firmly on the ground.

“Fuck it,” he said. “Fuck it all. Have a good life, Gris. I hope I never see you again.”

Forrester lay there on the ground and shut his eyes. He tried to look as if he’d given up. He had to make Gris believe he wasn’t going to follow him. He didn’t say another word. He knew what he had to do. He had to get up. He had to get out of that cell. He had to win Elle back, before Gris did something terrible to her.

Chapter 34

Elle

E
LLE SWORE SHE WAS ALL
right, but Kelly and Grace insisted on driving her home.

“I don’t know what I’d do if anything were to happen to you tonight,” Grace said.

“Me too,” Kelly said. “As far as we know, Gris doesn’t know about your apartment. Once you’re in there safely, I’ll feel better.”

“I really don’t want you two making a fuss about me,” Elle protested.

“It’s not a fuss. That jerk practically threatened to kidnap you. We should have called the police already,” Kelly said.