I shook my head. "No. It won't help. They won't do anything but put a restraining order on him. And, believe me, that won't keep him away. If Jake finds out where I am, he'll come, no matter what."
"Then you have to get out of here."
I stood up and paced the living room. "I've been going over it in my head. There's a chance he won't even see the pictures. There's a chance nothing will happen. I like it here in New York. I’ve built a life here. I have you and Reed. I don’t want to leave."
"But there's also a chance that he will see it," she countered. "I don't want anything to happen to you. You have to do something."
"I'm not sure what to do. I'm still thinking about it."
"Come stay with me," she blurted out. "At least for a few days."
I stopped pacing and faced her. "I can't put you in danger, Lexi, and I'm not as weak as I was a few months ago. That's why I took those classes. I wanted to learn how to defend myself. I never want to be a victim again."
"We'll get Peters, Warren, and Robbins. We'll have Reed get a few more of his security team. Everything will be fine."
"No. I don't want to tell Reed yet."
She looked at me like I was crazy. "I don't like this, Emily. You need to tell someone."
"I am. I'm telling you."
She gave me a look. A look like she didn't want to be the only person to know my secret. I knew the burden I’d just given her, but I just wasn't ready to tell anyone else… especially Reed. To be honest, I didn't even want to tell Lexi. It just kind of came out.
"Promise me you won’t tell Reed," I said.
She shook her head and her eyes grew wide. "How am I supposed to do that? I'm not sure I can do that. This is serious. What if something happens to you? I'll never forgive myself. Reed will never forgive me."
"Promise me," I said again.
"You can tell him. He really cares about you. The night of the Black and White event was the first time I'd seen him so happy in years. You make him happy. He can help protect you."
I closed my eyes and pressed my lips together. This was going to be complicated. Way more than I ever expected. Way more than I ever wanted. My life and my problems were now bleeding into Lexi's life, and worst of all, I was asking her to keep this to herself.
"Please, just promise." I opened my eyes, pleading with her.
A torn expression covered her face. I knew it was wrong of me to ask her to keep something like this from him, but I wanted to tell him myself, when I was ready.
"I don't like it, but it's not my secret to tell. I'll keep it to myself as long as you stay with me for a few days and as long as you promise to tell him everything soon."
I nodded. "I will. I'll tell him. I just need some time to sort this out and figure out what I'm going to do."
"You can’t leave town without telling me."
"I don’t think I can keep running but if I do leave, I promise to tell you first."
She took in a deep breath. "So you'll stay with me for a few days. I won't take no for an answer."
Then I remembered her plans with Brandon. "But Lexi, your plans for this week. There's no way I'm going to let you cancel them."
She shook her head like she didn't want to hear any of my excuses. "It's not an option. Brandon will understand and it will give me a little while longer to prepare to meet his family. I'm way too nervous about it anyway."
"That's not fair."
"Well, it wouldn't be fair of me to just leave you here when you really need me."
She was almost too sweet for her own good. By the look on her face, I knew there was nothing I could say to change her mind.
I walked over to her and hugged her tight. I had to admit it felt so nice to finally tell someone the truth, and I was glad it was her.
14
JAKE
I SAT in my office chair, looking out across the city lights of Vegas, when there was a loud knock at my door. Glancing over, I saw Rico's head poke through.
"Hey, boss, you got a minute? I think there's something you should see."
"What is it?" I asked, annoyed. He knew I didn't like to be bothered, especially at night.
Rico came in and shut the door behind him. I guess he didn't pick up on my tone. I really wasn't in the mood for visitors. I hadn't been in the mood for anything really the past few months.
"This better be good." My voice came out sounding more like a growl.
"I gotta show you something. Something you’re not gonna like, but something I know you're gonna want to see."
I glared up at him as he placed a magazine down on my desk.
Picking it up, my eyes glanced at the cover. I was even more confused when I saw it was some stupid woman magazine. What the hell is this?
"Turn to page eighteen and tell me if that pretty brunette looks familiar to you," Rico said. I could hear the seriousness in his voice and from the look on his face, I knew he was trying to tell me something important.
Tearing through the pages, I finally came to a stop on page eighteen. My eyes went right to the photo Rico was talking about. It was as if the picture popped off the page and reached into my heart, squeezed it, and ripped it out of my chest. Those deep-brown eyes stared back at me, and it felt like my insides were being twisted in knots.
Emily.
She was alive, and from the look of this picture, she even looked happy. She looked happier than I'd see her in years. Am I seeing this right? My eyes moved over to the man standing beside her, the one who was holding her in a loving embrace. It seemed as though she had moved on from more than just her life here in Vegas. She'd moved on from me, too.
For a split second, I felt a sudden injection of happiness and relief knowing she was alive and safe. Now, those feelings were replaced with anger and hate. The blood was pumping fast through my veins, and I could feel my anger growing by the second. It was only Rico's voice that stopped the emotions from taking complete control over me.
"Gina saw it last night. She told me she saw a picture that looked like Emily. At first, I didn't believe her, but when she showed me the picture, there was no mistaking. I knew that was our Emily…" He cleared his throat. "I mean, your Emily. The picture’s a few weeks old. It was taken at a party in New York City."
My eyes moved from the picture to the caption below it.
REED ALEXANDER OFF THE MARKET! EMILY ANDERSON HAS HIS HEART!
She ran away from me, changed her name, and found a new guy all in the span of a few months. You've got to be kidding me. I'll kill her!
My fist came down hard on the table. "She thinks she can just pick up and start a new life? She thinks she can forget about me that easily?" I shouted, crumbling up the magazine and throwing it across the room. "New York! She's been in goddamn New York?!"
There was no stopping my anger now. Rising up out of the chair, I leaned against my desk, trying to calm myself down so I could wrap my head around this and figure out what to do next. I couldn’t let her get away with this. She’d made a fool out of me. I’d make her pay for this.
"How do you want to handle it, boss?" Rico asked, taking a few steps back toward the door, away from me.
I turned around to face the window and squeezed my hands into fists. My breathing was slow and deep. Instead of doing what I really wanted, like picking up the chair and hauling it through the window, I tried to remain calm and focused. I thought about what I wanted, besides the fact that I wanted to find Emily and show her the pain I'd been in the last few months. The sleepless nights I'd experienced without her. The anger, the worry, the sadness.
"Find out whatever you can about her new life," I said through gritted teeth. "Where she's working, who her friends are, where she's living." I clenched my fists even tighter. "And most importantly, find out as much as you can about Reed Alexander."