I recognized his voice, though.

Chapter 5

Amy

“Hey, Allie, right?” the man said with a smile, crowding me back into the house before I could get a word in edgewise.

He wasn’t huge, and he was good looking, but his voice made my skin crawl. I didn’t mean to let him into the house. I really didn’t want him anywhere near me, but he stepped so close that my immediate reaction was to take a step back, followed by another, and soon he’d crossed the threshold.

“What are you doing?” I asked, trying to hide the panic in my voice. I was practically an adult, and this was my house. I needed to just tell him to get lost and he’d leave.

“Yer mum gave me a ring, said ye’d be home tonight. Wanted me to check in, make sure ye were safe, eh?” he answered, raising his hands in front of him, palms up.

“Well, I’m fine. You can go.”

“No hurry.” He shrugged, then turned his face toward the kitchen, “Somet’in’ smells good.”

“I was actually just getting ready to leave, so…” My natural politeness kept me from yelling at him to get the fuck out, but my hands had begun to tremble in uncertainty as he looked me over.

His smile was charming, and I knew he was trying to seem as unthreatening as possible, but the fact that I remembered his voice had me choking back my revulsion. He needed to leave. He needed to get out of my house.

“Hey, hey, no need to be nervous, darlin’,” he cooed gently, stepping toward me. “Yer mum told me it was yer first time. We can go slow.”

He reached out to lay a hand on my shoulder, and I made a strangled sound in my throat at the implication, jerking away.

No. My parents were neglectful, sure, but she wouldn’t send a prostitute to our house when they weren’t home. They’d always made sure I was safe. I shook my head in denial. He was wrong. He was lying.

“I want you to leave. Right now.” I ordered quietly, my voice trembling.

“Let’s talk a bit first, eh?”

“I don’t want to talk. Leave.” As he stepped closer, I braced myself, refusing to step any farther back for fear he’d follow me and move even deeper into the house.

“I’ve been paid for de whole night, love,” he assured me, “So we’ll just do dis at yer pace.”

Oh, God, he’d been paid?

My eyes began to water as he came closer, his persistence making me feel like a cornered animal. I didn’t want him near me. Why wasn’t he leaving like I’d asked him?

I don’t know why I didn’t fight harder, why I didn’t scream at the top of my lungs and run for the front door. Maybe it was because I’d never before been in a position where I had to fight. I’d never imagined myself in that scenario, so I hadn’t had time to prepare. And in all honesty, I didn’t believe that he’d actually force me to do something I didn’t want. I was in complete denial, even though my gut was screaming for me to do something.

He’d just wrapped his fingers around my hip when I heard a noise from the front door.

“Amy, me love, is dinner ready?”

I’d never been so happy to see someone in my entire life.

Patrick swung the front door open as if he owned the place and stepped inside, his body seeming even larger than the last time I’d seen him just hours before. He’d changed too, wearing old slip-on sneakers, baggy jean shorts and a white tank top that highlighted the defined muscles of his chest, shoulders and arms. Holy hell.

“I’ll t’ank ye to take yer hands off me girl,” Patrick growled ominously as he took in the scene.

The man’s hand pulled away so quickly it was as if I could feel the air shift with his movement.

“It’s just business, mate,” the guy replied, taking a step back.

“Well, I know she doesn’t need any of yer business, so get de fuck out.” Patrick’s voice had become even darker, and I could see his hands clenching and unclenching as they hung at his side.

“Yeah, okay. No problem.”

The man scrambled for the door, practically tripping over his own feet, but before he left Patrick called out to him again.

“Ye take yer money and ye don’t say a fuckin’ word.”

“Alright.” He nodded.

He was gone within seconds, and I felt my whole body begin to shake as the door slammed behind him.

“De fuck was dat?” Patrick roared at me, his voice echoing against the walls.

“I don’t know!”

“Ye don’t know?”

“He just showed up!” I was trying to keep it together. I wanted to yell at him for being such an asshole…but I couldn’t. I was just so grateful he’d shown up when he did. And I didn’t care if it meant I was a wimp, or weak, or a complete idiot, I wanted him to fucking hold me so I could physically feel that everything was okay.

“Why de fuck did ye let him into yer goddamn house?”

“I didn’t! I just—he—and then—” I was trying to explain it. I could hear the words in my head very clearly, but I just couldn’t get them out. And then, finally, the damn broke and my teeth began to chatter as my eyes overflowed.

“Aw, sweetheart.” Patrick sighed and came toward me, wrapping his arms around me tightly with one hand at my back and the other at the nape of my neck. “Shhh, it’s okay now, love. Yer okay. Shhh.”

“He scared the crap out of me!” I screeched into his chest. “Fuck!”