Hers

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

I walked into the diner just four minutes late to see Harold standing behind the counter, pointing at the clock that was ticking over his head.

Well, this is going to be fun.  I thought sarcastically.

"Now, I like to think of myself as a reasonable man," Harold began.  I had to fight the urge not to point out that he wasn't much of a man.  "but, Lilly, when you constantly come in late for work, you force me to wonder if you're worth keeping around."

My eyes scanned the diner.  There were no customers and Jeff was nowhere to be seen.  A sinking feeling started in my stomach as Harold smirked, acknowledging that I had just discovered what had been apparent to him all along. 

"Are you worth keeping around, Miss Owens?"  He asked, his smirk growing into a full out grin.

Shit.

"Now, I know how much this place means to you."  Harold said, sliding from around the counter and stepping a few feet closer to me.  "Your mommy and daddy used to bring you here, but they're both dead now.  This place is a way for you to remember them."  He mocked me.  I wanted to punch him right in the middle of his smirking face.  The bastard reached out and brushed a strand of hair from my face.  "I should fire you, ban you from coming here, sever the thread that connects your family to this diner."  My heart dropped at his words.  How could I forget the control he has over me?  I couldn't quit, he was right, this place was the last tie “I had to my parents, plus, where would I go?  "So, what are you willing to do to keep your job?"  He asked.

He was too close now.  His face was just inches from mine, and his breath was fanning across my face.  I couldn't run, he would grab me.   Regardless I charged and just as I suspected, he gripped onto my arm.  His lips came down on my neck.  I used the hand he wasn't restraining to push him.  His other hand grabbed my wrist.  He backed up until my back was pushed against the wall.  My head was screaming to fight him.  I tried lifting my knee but he had it trapped against his legs.  My heart was racing inside my chest.  My blood was boiling with rage.  I needed this man off of me now.

Suddenly he was on the other side of the diner lying on the floor.  Ace stood just a few feet in front of me.  His eyes were completely black and he radiated heat.

"Get in the car," he commanded lowly.  My insides quaked at the sound of his voice.  His scent enveloped me and held me like I was in a trance.  "Lilly, car, now,” he roared at me.

I pushed the door open and ran to his black Mustang.  I sat down in the leather seats and breathed deeply.  My hands were shaking as I wrapped them around my knees.  I didn't care that I was probably getting dirt and grass on his seats.  Had Harold really just done that?  Ace's scent still lingered and helped to calm me down.

I heard a thump behind the car.  A moment later there was a man in my window.  He had a frantic expression on his face and was speaking quickly.  His words were muted and muffled through the glass window.  I tried reading his lips but they were moving too quickly.  His green eyes were wide and darting between me and the diner.  His blonde hair looked as though it had been whipped around by the wind.

Something inside me sparked alive when I saw him.  It was like what I imagined being shocked back to life was like.  I sucked in a breath and stared as he pulled on the car door's handle so hard the car started to jerk side to side.  Aces scent intensified and the stranger suddenly didn't seem so fascinating.

"Ace!"  I screamed hoping he could hear me from inside the diner.

"No, no.  Lilith, it's me."  The stranger's voice barely made it through the glass.  "You have to come with me.  Don't go with Ace, he's dangerous."   His green eyes pleaded for me to understand.