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  “You piece of shit. She’s a slut.”

  He shrugged a shoulder. “I beg to differ. She’s a beautiful woman who deserves to be treated right. You’re not man enough to do that in any form. You’re jealous that I’m all the man she needs, and she wants nothing to do with your sorry ass. I’m better than you in every way,” Ben said, his voice dangerously low as he stared directly into his enemy’s eyes.

  Tim stood up so fast his chair flew backwards. He lunged across the table in an attempt to grab Ben’s shirtfront. Ben slowly stood, meeting the man’s stare, ready to wipe the floor with him all over again with plenty of witnesses to prove who the real aggressor was.

  “I’ll kill you, you son of a bitch. I’m going to make you pay. She’s never getting away from me. She can run, but she can’t hide. Ask her, she’ll tell you I always find her,” Tim said.

  Ben watched as the man regained his control and took his seat. The vein was still throbbing at the side of his neck as his attorneys whispered in his ear. The two men stared each other down, daring the other to take the first swing. They were both powerful, strong men who wanted the same thing. Ben knew he was the only one worthy of her.

  “If we’re done with the prostrating and dick measuring, can we please get back to the discussion,” Meredith said, clearly not amused with the testosterone flooding the room.

  A slow, malevolent smile spread across Tim’s face. Ben fought hard to stay in control of his features. He wouldn’t give the man the satisfaction of getting to him.

  “You know, you talk a big talk, but really, how do you think you’re any better than I am?” Tim sneered.

  Ben guffawed. “Let me count the ways.”

  Tim was slowly shaking his head. “It isn’t like you were any better than I was at keeping her reined in. Where is she now, hot shot?”

  Ben glared at him, refusing to give any credence to his suggestion.

  Tim was smiling. “She ran out on you. You couldn’t keep a good hold on her. She runs like the coward she is. That’s all she’ll ever be. Hell, maybe the two of you were meant to be together. You’re nothing but a coward that scrapes up my sloppy seconds.”

  Meredith slapped her hand against the table. “If this is nothing more than a pissing contest, we’re done here. I suggest you tell your client his threats and insults will not be allowed to continue. I’m prepared to countersue.”

  The older attorney held up his hand. “You’re right, this meeting is done. This suit will go forward and because of the unwillingness of your client to handle this is a civilized manner, you can expect the amount to double. Your client will be on the hook for attorney’s fees. The longer this drags out, the more he will pay.”

  Meredith leaned forward, a huge smile on her face. “Ditto.”

  She stood up, looked down at Ben who quickly followed her lead and the two of them walked out of the conference room without saying a word. He was dying to look back to see the expression on the faces of the men who thought they could intimidate him and his bulldog attorney. They had no idea who they were messing with. They thought being from LA made them tougher, smarter and more ruthless. Meredith was ten times the lawyer they would ever be—all three combined.

  Ben couldn’t resist and turned to look back, smiling when he saw the three men in a heated conversation. Ben one, Tim zero.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Katherine

  KATHERINE FELT LIKE a stalker and in many ways, she supposed she was. She kept telling herself it was what she needed to do. It was her civic duty to try and warn the woman away from her husband and it had nothing to do with jealousy. It was about keeping a woman safe and possibly preventing a serious injury or death. Tim had escalated over the years, his beating becoming far worse every time. She knew it was only a matter of time before he killed her, which was why she had fled.

  Alexandra probably had no idea what her life would be like if she stuck with Tim. The bruises she saw in that picture were evidence the violence had already begun. Katherine watched the grocery store from the parking lot, trying to figure out exactly what she would say when she came face to face with the woman.

  After two days, she should have had something, but she was still coming up with nothing convincing. The best thing was the truth. She’d start with the truth. If Alexandra demanded she leave and never contact her again, Katherine would follow her wishes. Warning her was something she had to do in order to fully move on. She couldn’t live with the guilt if something were to happen to Alexandra that she could have prevented with a few words of advice.

  “Here goes nothing,” she muttered, strolling across the parking lot and walking through the automatic sliding doors.

  Her disguise wasn’t going to fool anyone who had known her before she had run off. The jeans and plaid button-up shirt she was wearing, paired with the sneakers and ball cap were a stark contrast to the way she used to dress when she was married to Tim and going out for groceries. Back then, it had been all high heels, designer dresses and perfectly applied makeup with a stylish hairdo. Those days were gone.

  It didn’t take Katherine long to spot the young blonde who had delicate features and healthy tanned skin. It looked like she spent a lot of time at the beach. Katherine smiled, thinking about how young and carefree she had been at that age as well. The young woman had probably been in the prime of her life when she met the rich, older man who could spoil her rotten and treat her like royalty. It was easy to see how any young, naïve woman could be so easily fooled.

  She got into the checkout line, grabbing a pack of gum and plopping it on the conveyor belt, wanting a reason to approach her.

  “Is this everything?” Alexandra asked.

  Katherine nodding, reading the nametag to verify it was who she thought. “It is. Do you have a second to talk? I know you don’t know me, but I’d like to talk to you.”

  Alexandra looked extremely nervous. “I have a break in fifteen minutes. I can meet you outside at the bench.”

  Katherine was surprised the woman agreed to meet her without asking what it was about. She was going to warn her about being so trusting. The girl was on a collision course with disaster if she didn’t start practicing some prudence.

  “I’ll be waiting,” Katherine replied, paying for the gum with cash before walking out towards the bench.

  She hoped it wasn’t a trap. Maybe she wasn’t giving Alexandra enough credit. Maybe she thought Katherine was a crazy loon and was inside at that very moment calling the police on her. Wouldn’t that be ironic she thought to herself.

  It was ten minutes later when Alexandra came outside. She paused, looked at Katherine sitting on the bench and cautiously approached.

  “Hi,” Katherine said, hoping to put the other woman at ease.

  “Hi.”

  “My name is Katherine Marshall. I’m Tim’s wife,” she stated firmly, not bothering to use the term ex or estranged. Not yet.

  “I know.”

  Katherine’s eyes widened. “You know?”

  Alexandra shrugged. “I’ve seen your pictures around the mansion. How did you know who I was and how to find me?”

  Katherine was a little embarrassed to admit to her stalking. “Facebook.”

  Alexandra rolled her eyes. “That’s why he always tells me I shouldn’t have a Facebook account.”

  Katherine didn’t respond. Tim’s reasons were something else entirely, but she’d save that for another conversation.

  “Well, I’m not here because I’m jealous, I’m here because I felt I needed to warn you,” Katherine said.

  “Warn me?” Alexandra replied.

  Katherine took a deep breath, not entirely sure where to start the conversation. It was an uncomfortable one at best. It was incredibly awkward and a little embarrassing for both of them.

  “I was married to Tim for a couple years before I realized I was in an unhealthy and unsafe relationship,” she started, keeping things vague.

  “Unsafe?”

  She slowly
nodded her head. “Tim is a violent man. Maybe you already know that. I’ve been on the run for two years. Unfortunately, he finds me every time and when he does, it doesn’t end well for me.”

  Alexandra winced, and Katherine had a feeling she knew exactly what she was talking about. “I’m sorry.”

  “It isn’t your fault. Tim showed up at my place of work about a month ago. He tried to drag me out of the bakery in front of several witnesses. They all tried to intervene, but Tim’s size gave him the advantage. That and his ruthlessness. He was stopped by a man I was seeing.”

  “Stopped?” Alexandra asked.

  “Yes, there was an altercation. I’m sure you had to wonder how Tim’s nose was broken,” Katherine said, a small smile on her lips.

  Katherine hoped her knowledge of Tim’s injuries would help prove her story. She wasn’t a jealous ex-wife making up stories to ruin her husband’s life. It couldn’t be farther from the truth.

  “He said he was mugged while on a business trip in Chicago,” Alexandra muttered, then I saw the paper.

  “Did you ask him about it?” Katherine asked in a soft voice.

  “He’s been away on business.”

  Katherine nodded. “I’m sure he’s in San Francisco looking for me and making Ben’s life hell.”

  “Ben—that’s the man you were seeing? The man who attacked Tim?”

  She scoffed. “Ben saved me from getting seriously injured. I have no idea what Tim was capable of on that day, but I know he was furious. The last year of our marriage he broke my arm, cracked my ribs, left me so battered and bruised I couldn’t get out of bed for days, and somehow, he always made it my fault.”

  Katherine watched Alexandra’s expression and could see the disbelief. She didn’t believe her story.

  “He’s not done that with me,” she said, slightly haughty.

  “Good, I hope he never does, but I had to warn you. I wish someone would have warned me. I lost too many years of my life and every single friend I had as well as many family members. Tim came into my life as one man, but behind closed doors, he was very different. Over the course of our marriage, he slowly isolated me. I had no one to turn to for help. When the violence started, I didn’t know what to do. I stayed in the marriage, hoping it would get better. I realized it would only get worse so I finally packed a bag and ran,” she said, shrugging a shoulder.

  “He told me you ran off with some pool salesman,” Alexandra said.

  Katherine giggled. “Not quite. I ran away, completely alone. It only took him a couple months, but he always managed to find me. I had really found a home in San Francisco and was finally rebuilding my life when Tim showed up again. He beat me. It was Ben who helped me. It was Ben who was there, wiping away the blood and taking care of the injuries,” she said, her voice full of emotion as she thought back to that morning when she’d shown up unannounced and uninvited.

  “I need to get back inside,” Alexandra said, looking around nervously.

  Katherine knew that look. She was worried she was being watched. She could relate. If Tim happened to show up and find her here, talking to his new girlfriend, it could end very badly for both of them.

  “I understand.”

  She reached into her purse and pulled out the new burner phone she had bought at the Wal-Mart nearby and handed it to Alexandra.

  “What’s this?” she asked, taking the box.

  “If you ever need anything, you can call me. I already programmed my number in there. I’m using a burner as well. I found out the hard way he could track my cell.”

  She held the phone, shaking her head. “I don’t think I need this.”

  “Please, take it. Alexandra, please don’t tell Tim I was here. It will only make him mad at both of us,” she asked.

  “I shouldn’t. I mean, I’m not sure I want to be involved in any of this. This is between you and him and I think I should mind my own business,” Alexandra said, her eyes darting around the parking lot again.

  Katherine sighed. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, but you are involved. I know the signs. I know you are in a relationship that is toxic. A man doesn’t change overnight. A man like Tim might never change. He uses fear and intimidation to manipulate people. What he’s doing to Ben right now, that’s his attempt to control me. We both know Tim doesn’t need the money and we both know Tim could have fought back. He didn’t because he wanted to try and hurt Ben to get back at me.”

  “I really need to get back inside,” she mumbled, holding on to the phone, which Katherine took as a good sign.

  “Okay, I understand. Please be careful and like I said, call me if you have any questions or you need help. I’ll believe you.”

  Alexandra stood up and started walking towards the front doors. She turned to look back at Katherine. It looked as if she would say something, but changed her mind and headed back inside, leaving her alone on the bench.

  She tried. She wasn’t sure if she got through to the woman, but she had tried and that was all she could really do. The rest was up to her. She knew the struggle. If Alexandra was living in the mansion, leaving would be much harder. It was like being in jail and only getting out on work release. Even with Tim out of town, he kept a firm control over his women. It made Katherine hate him more. He was a despicable man who deserved to pay for his long list of crimes.

  Katherine got up and walked away. She was going to stay in town for a couple days. Tim was probably in San Francisco, which meant it was relatively safe for her. She’d need to be careful though. She had used a different name to check in to the hotel. She’d withdrawn enough cash to avoid using her credit card while she was in LA. If Tim was tracking her movements, he would come home in a minute. Something told her Alexandra was on the fence about Tim. She seemed like a smart woman and realized what Katherine was saying was true. Katherine understood that inner war within. Alexandra was trying to figure out if Tim was lying or if the woman he had likely painted as a villain was the bad guy in the situation.

  She didn’t envy her at all, but she wouldn’t push her. She had to make this decision on her own or she would keep going back to her abuser. That was something else Katherine had learned the hard way. Tim was an extremely manipulative man and could persuade anyone to do just about anything he wanted. When they didn’t do it his way, he used his size and that mean temper of his to do the convincing.

  “You can do it, Alexandra, you can do it,” she whispered as she walked down the busy city sidewalk, fading into the crowd, the baseball cap she’d been wearing pulled low over her eyes to further conceal her identity in case anyone happened to recognize her.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Ben

  HE HOPED SHE WAS CHECKING her email. It was the only way he knew to talk to her, even if she never replied. He felt a little sappy, leaving her emails every day, letting her know he wasn’t mad and to please just check in. Every email sounded a little more desperate. He was getting desperate. He was terrified Tim had done something to her. The man was borderline psychopath and Ben wouldn’t put anything past him. He could kill a woman and go out for dinner as if nothing had happened.

  Ben’s ego was healthy enough to allow him to beg a little. Katherine needed to know she was missed and people were worried. He knew it had been years since she’d felt safe and allowed herself to have a group of friends that knew her secret. He had seen the change in her and knew she had begun to feel normal for the first time in years. He wanted that for her, even if she wasn’t necessarily with him. He cared about her happiness and her wellbeing above all.

  He took a deep breath and focused on the words he would once again type and send out into cyberspace with the hope she would read them.

  Hey, sweetheart, it’s Thursday and I just got to work. I was hoping to hear from you. I’m worried sick about you. Please tell me you’re okay. I understand if you’re worried and afraid to come back. You don’t have to be worried. I’ll protect you. I miss you. I miss hanging out with
you and watching that cooking show you love so much. I’m craving one of those homecooked meals with all the gravy and grease. I saw an advertisement the other day and I thought of you. It was for a new restaurant opening. They are touting themselves as old-fashion Southern style. When you come back, we’ll have to go there. I’m anxious to know if they can cook as well as you can. My money is on you.

  Listen, I know you ran because Tim threatened you in some way. I had my first meeting with him the other day and I could tell he had said or done something to you. He knew you were on the run, which worries me a little. If he hurt you, you have to tell me. I will make him pay. If it’s me you’re worried about, don’t be. I can handle Tim. Please, don’t feel like you need to stay away to protect me. I’ll be okay. I want you back. I want you to come home. This is your home. We can get through this together.

  We can’t let Tim win. That is what he wants. He wants you scared and on the run. It gives him a great deal of pleasure and satisfaction to know he is still controlling you. You are a fierce, strong woman, Katherine. Show him that. Prove to him he can’t scare you anymore. I’ll be there. I’ll be by your side. Together, we are stronger.

  I’ll protect you. Please, let me protect you. I can hire a security team if you don’t want me hanging around. I don’t care what it takes, I’ll do whatever you want or need me to do. Don’t worry about me, please. None of this is your fault. This is all on him. Tim can’t hurt me. I know you think staying away from me is protecting me from that man, but all it’s doing is giving him the upper hand. I want to take away his control. I want to stand in front of him with you by my side and tell him to get lost. He can’t ruin your life. He can’t dictate your happiness. You are in charge of your destiny.

  If you don’t want to be here, with me, I understand. I won’t pressure you. We can be friends or never speak again, but I will always be here for you whenever you need me. You are an amazing woman and I am a better man from the brief time I had you in my life.