Dancing With The Devil

Chapter 24

I thought that Alistair and I had settled into a blissful habit over the next few days. Yes, I was still trying to let the weight of his confession settle, but he had no idea about the secret that I was harboring for him. So, naturally, the lazy days that followed our trip to the Louvre allowed the frayed nerves in my body to settle down and each breath I sucked into my lungs came a little easier. I felt like I was actually starting to appreciate the world around me again. I had finally accepted that I was in France and it was gorgeous, very much worth embracing. And the man who ruined my life was still after me, yet so far behind me.

But those casual days slipped behind us. The more I sat the more I thought and my personal reality checks were not something that helped keep me calm and levelled. I didn't want to think about what it meant to me to be living with another man. I didn't want to think about the way he manipulated me in my naivety and could be doing it again. And I didn't want to think about the consequences that could come from trusting him too much or not trusting him enough. And quiet days like we continued to have were letting my mind race away madly.

We hadn't even eaten breakfast yet and I was already wearing a pair of jeans and a soft jacket that would keep me warm in the nippy weather that December brought. Alistair smiled when he saw my attire, but his expression shifted when we both heard the soft ringing of the landline.

"Who even has this number?" I asked quietly, my heart already starting to stammer.

Alistair didn't reply, he just picked up the phone and listened, a pensive expression on his face.

"Hey mom." He said softly and I watched his strong shoulders drop a little bit with relief.

I only tensed up further.

The conversation between Alistair and his mother was brief. Alistair didn't say much in response to his mother that would give me any insight as to what was going on. He usually gave her brief one word answers and his eyes were unreadable. So I could do nothing but stand there, watch him, and chew on my nails with anxiety.

His parents were our eyes and ears on the inside of his mess. They were the only people who knew how to contact us if things had started to turn sour in Canada. I felt like they couldn't possibly be calling us for no apparent reason.

After what felt like forever Alistair hung up. He stayed still for a moment, the phone still in his hand and a heavy frown on his face.

"What did she say? Do we need to pack up?" I blurted.

"No, nothing like that. They haven't figured out that Smith is missing yet. Josh can't announce that his man was supposed to report to him, and even if he could, he wouldn't be able to explain why his man wandering around the UK. We still have time before they start looking in Europe for us."

"Then what is it?"

"My parents just want more information."

"About me?"

"Yes."

"About what happened?"

"Yes."

I fell silent. No, it wasn't as bad as being found. I knew that. But in the same breath I had curled myself up in a world where I had tried to forgot about Josh and all the evil things he had done to me. And I had never told anyone what had happened to me. Sophie knew. She saw the scars and the bruises. She saw how I shied away from other men and refused to defy Josh in anyway. She knew that he was slowly ripping my freedom away from me. But we never spoke about it.