Filed To Story: Kidnapped by My Mate Novel (Belle & Grayson)
I screamed internally. Why did I even try?
“It was fine,” I replied curtly.
He waited for me to say more, and when I didn’t, said, “Okay, fine. Don’t tell me about your day. What are you doing right now?”
I looked down at my laptop, which still had the paused horror movie open on it. I reached over and slammed the computer shut. “Nothing.”
“I can hear the lie in your voice, Doe.”
The audacity of this man. “Huh, funny, I guess you’re not the only one who can keep secrets then. I’ll see you when you get here later tonight. I have homework to do.”
I quickly hung up the phone before my courage abandoned me. I squeezed the cell to my chest, feeling it heave up and down with my frustrated breaths.
A moment later, it dinged with a text. It was from Ace’s number.
Unknown
We’ll finish talking about this when I come over later tonight.
I’m still sorry about today. I love you.
With a huff, I deleted the text and blocked Ace’s number from my brother’s contacts.
“Thomas!” I yelled, tossing the device onto the carpeted floor near my door. “Come get your phone!”
It was past midnight, and my house was completely silent. Everyone was asleep.
Everyone except me.
I was lying wide-eyed in my bed, covers pulled up to my chin, and terrified out of my mind, all because I had decided to watch some stupid horror movie. It wasn’t even that good, just insanely scary.
It didn’t help that it was taking Ace longer to arrive than he’d said it would. During my time waiting for him, I made the horrible decision to finish the final bit of my movie. Spoiler alert: they all died!
To try to take my mind off it, I completed my homework, frosted the cupcakes I made with my mom, and got ready for bed.
I turned on the lamp on my bedside table and grabbed my phone. It’s 12:38 a.m.?
Where the hell is Ace? His plane should have landed hours ago.
The vent in my room made a loud whirring noise when the air conditioning turned on, and I violently jumped under the covers of my bed.
I groaned. Okay, now I was teetering on the edge of pathetic. I was nearly eighteen years old, for god’s sake. I should have been able to watch a scary movie without worrying I’d wet the bed.
Looking back down at my phone, I quickly pulled up Ace’s contact.
He answered on the second ring. “Doe,” his deep voice soothed me immediately. “I thought you would be asleep by now. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing is wrong. I just… You’re still coming over tonight, right?”
“Of course I am. I know it’s a bit later than expected, but the plane took a while to land. I would have texted you but I didn’t want to wake you. I’m driving to your house now.”
That was what I needed to hear. “Okay. I’m just glad you’re still coming over. I was getting a little worried. You’re close?”
“I’m about five minutes away.”
“That…that’s good.” I picked at a loose thread on my blanket. “Drive fast, all right? I mean, don’t get into an accident or pulled over or anything…but try to get here quickly.”
There was a long moment of silence.
“Ace?”
“I’m here,” he replied. “It’s just, the last time I spoke to you, I was under the impression that you were upset with me. And now you’re begging me to drive faster.
“I know you miss me after we’ve been apart all day but I’m starting to sense something else is going on. You’re scared. Did something happen?”
I wasn’t sure how to answer that. He would know I was lying no matter what I said.
Instead, I just stayed silent.
He huffed. “I see you’re still determined to keep whatever you did this afternoon a secret from me. Have it your way. I’m sure you’ll tell me eventually, especially since it obviously freaked you out.
“I’m almost at your house. Can you wait two more minutes or do you want to stay on the phone with me until I get there?”
I shifted. I wanted to stay on the phone with him but also didn’t want to admit how pathetic I was.
“I…I can wait,” I said.
“All right. I’ll be there soon.”
I flung back the covers and moved to stand by my open bedroom window, anxiously waiting for Ace’s car to pull up in front of my house.
The already ominous night sky was starting to fill with storm clouds, and I could smell the precipitation forming in the air. It looked like it was about to thunder.
I shifted my feet and wrapped my arms around my middle. A thunderstorm wouldn’t help with my current all-consuming fear of a dead woman appearing in the shadows of my room and sucking on my toes.
Hurry up, Ace.
Just as I was about to grab my phone and call him again, a huge figure appeared in my window. I gasped and stumbled back in fear, tripping over and falling onto my back with a loud thud.
“Doe!” Ace quickly jumped through my window and crouched by my side, helping me into a sitting position. He wiped my hair out of my face. “Are you okay?”
I nodded although my lungs were still screaming for me to regain my breath.
“Christ, your heart is going a mile a minute.” Ace adjusted his body so that he was sitting behind me, his legs on either side of mine, and gently pulled me back so I was leaning against him.
He wrapped his arms around me and placed one hand over my chest. “Deep breaths, Doe. Calm your heart for me.”
He breathed with me, setting the pace by emphasizing the rising and lowering of his body. It only took a moment until I was calm again.
“What was all that about?” Ace asked with his lips against my hair. He was still holding me tightly.
I let my head fall back against his shoulder. “You scared me. I was watching for your car to pull up in front of my house, and then you just appeared in my window.
I wasn’t expecting it.
“Hope I didn’t wake anybody up.” I grimaced, thinking of my dad barging in here to find Ace and me like this on the floor.
Ace lifted his head to listen. “Your dad shifted a little bit, but everyone is still asleep.
Nothing to worry about.”
I tilted my head back and gawked at him. “There is no way you could hear that from here.”
Didn’t he say he could hear my heart beating too? The man is delusional if he thinks his hearing is that good.
He shrugged. “Agree to disagree.”
Ace skimmed over my hairline with his nose, breathing in deeply. “I’m sorry I scared you. I parked the car behind your house so your parents won’t see it when they wake up.”