“Is there a reason you’re so pissed?” I asked, shutting the door behind him.
Huffing, he turned to face me, his green eyes full of anger and concern. He unzipped his black leather jacket and set his helmet down. There were many times I rode on the back of his sport bike, but Mitchell didn’t like that. In fact, he didn’t like Cole at all. He believed Cole was trying to steal me away, but I knew the truth. Cole was like my brother.
“Yep,” he growled, pulling out his phone. “I want you to see what kind of dirtbag you’re dating. I don’t care if the guy’s worth millions. You deserve more than to be hidden away while he does whatever the fuck he wants.”
He shoved his phone in my face and my eyes went wide. It was a picture of Mitchell…and what I thought was his soon-to-be ex-wife. He was dressed in a gray suit with his dark hair perfectly coiffed while she was in a plain navy gown, her makeup and blond hair flawless. She was older than him, but you couldn’t tell it. There was no smile on her face, which made me believe she was just as miserable as I was. Before, I would have been jealous, but in a way, I was relieved. I could only hope and pray he forgot about me. That was wishful thinking because he’d just called that afternoon, but I told him I wasn’t feeling well and had to get off the phone.
Cole tossed his phone onto my couch, his brows furrowed at my silence. “Don’t you have anything to say?”
Sighing, I ran a hand through my auburn hair. I’d wanted to talk to him about Mitchell, but I was too afraid to. I knew he would tell me to break it off, but how could I? Even though I worked for a high-end firm, I was still a nobody compared to Mitchell Blackwell. If I tried to get a restraining order against him, the police would just laugh in my face. There was no way someone like Mitchell would get involved with someone like me. They’d see it as a ploy to con money.
I sat down on the couch and Cole sat beside me, draping his arm protectively over my shoulder. “I know you’re trying to help, but you might’ve just made this worse for me,” I murmured regretfully.
“Worse? How is that? He’s going out to dinner with his wife, and I found out from the paparazzi that he was never getting a divorce from her in the first place. He was using you, Kris. Just a side lay for when he got tired of his wife. You need to get rid of him.”
The blood boiled in my veins. Trusting the paparazzi wasn’t exactly the smart thing to do, but if they were right, Mitchell was even more of a dog than I’d imagined. If I pissed him off, he wasn’t going to let me get away with it. I’d seen the way people feared him. He’d ruin me for sure.
“I don’t know if I can,” I said, tears streaming down my cheeks.
Grabbing my shoulders, he turned me to face him. “Yes, you can. I’ve seen you break up with many guys before. All you have to do is tell him you’re not interested anymore.”
I shook my head, the lump in my throat getting larger. I was embarrassed and ashamed at how far I’d let things go. I’d never given in to a man like I had Mitchell. It was as if he possessed my mind, and now I was desperate to break free.
“You don’t understand. There are things you don’t know. Mitchell’s been having me followed. He’ll come here tonight, especially when he finds out you’re here. He’s all the time saying you’re trying to take me away from him.”
The tension in the room thickened. Cole’s gaze narrowed, and I could see the fire in his eyes. “You’ve gotta be shitting me. So there’s someone outside right now watching your place?” Swallowing hard, I nodded. “How long has this been going on?”
I closed my eyes, feeling sicker by the minute. I didn’t want to see the disgust on his face. I’d always been a strong woman, but Mitchell had a way of making me feel weak, inferior. “Months,” I murmured.
“Holy fuck,” he growled. He clenched my face in his strong grasp and placed his forehead to mine. “Open your eyes, Kris.” When I did, his gaze never wavered. “You have to end this. There’s something wrong with this guy if he’s having you followed around. It’s like he’s obsessed. What does he do when he shows up? He doesn’t hit you, does he?”
I shook my head and lowered my gaze. “No.” When I didn’t elaborate, he growled low in his chest, knowing exactly what Mitchell wanted when he came to see me.
“Is that why you haven’t gone out with any of us over the last few weeks, afraid he’d get angry and show up?” he asked.
I looked up at him, lips trembling. “He can ruin me, Cole. I was blind for so long, thinking he really loved me, but I was wrong. I kept hoping he’d get tired of me and leave me alone. I have no doubt he’ll show up any minute; it never fails.”
Cole pulled me into his arms. “And when he does, he’ll deal with me. This ends tonight. I don’t care who he is—he doesn’t scare me.”
“He should,” I murmured. “He could kill your career with a single phone call.”
He scoffed. “Then let him. If that’s how he deals with things, then he’s even more of a pussy than I thought.”
A car door slammed outside and I gasped. His footsteps could be heard, storming against the walkway. Fear racked through my body and I trembled. Mitchell wasn’t going to let me go without a fight. My only concern was the price that had to be paid for my freedom. What would I have to sacrifice?