Chapter 53: ON THE MOVE

MIA

"How did you find this number?"

"I've always had this number, Mia." His voice was completely calm and somehow that was worse than if he was shouting. "Come home willingly and we'll talk about this."

"There's nothing to talk about."

"Of course there is. You're scared and you ran. That's understandable but i'm not angry."

I almost laughed out loud at that. "You're not angry."

"No. I understand why you did it." A pause. "Just tell me where you are.”

"You already know."

"I want you to tell me."

"No."

He took a deep breath and I hated how one small part of me wanted to tell him and get all this over with.

"You said you found the phone," he said. "What exactly did you find?"

"Everything. Every message you ever sent me, from the very beginning."

"Mia—"

"You were in my apartment before I even knew your name. You left flowers on my counter which made me have a literal fucking panic attack and you even took photos of me while I was sleeping." I tried my best to keep my voice from shaking. "You made me feel like I was losing my mind and then you showed up to save me from something that you were doing to me the whole time."

"I kept you safe."

"From yourself!"

"From a world that would have eaten you alive without me there." His voice hardened. "You didn't know what Ren was. You didn't know what his family was capable of. I did and I made sure you were never in any real danger because of it."

"You terrorized me."

"I was close to you." He said. "I needed you to need me so I could protect you. I know how that sounds but it's the truth."

"Do you have any idea how insane that is?"

"I know it wasn't conventional." A pause. "But I love you, Mia. Everything I did came from that. You can be angry about how I did it but you can't tell me it was wrong. You were happy, you felt safe and you were finally building a real life."

"A life you built around me without ever asking me what I wanted."

"Because you would have said no and walked away." His voice stayed even but something underneath it shifted just a little. "And I couldn't let that happen."

"You don't get to decide that."

"I already did." So calm. So certain. "I know you think what you're doing right now is brave. But you're with people who are using you the exact same way you think I used you, except they're just upfront about it. At least I loved you."

"That's not love."

"You don't get to define what I feel."

"I get to decide what happens to me."

He went quiet and when he came back the tone of the whole call was different as he dropped the warmth.

"You can run," he said. "I get it, I even respect it a little. But I will find you and I always will. There is no leaving me, Mia. That's not me threatening you but one day you will understand even if you don't understand right now.”

"Then I'll keep running."

"No." His tone was final. "You won't."

"Watch me."

"Mia." He whispered and I almost shivered. "I'm coming to get you. Not because I'm angry and not to punish you but because you belong with me and deep down you know that. Regardless of whatever the person who helped you has shown you and whatever they told you about me, you are still in love with me and you know it.”

I did know.

That was the part I couldn't shake no matter how hard I tried. I could know every terrible thing he had done and still know that some of what I felt had been his true self.

"What I feel doesn't change what you are," I said.

"It changes everything." His voice dropped lower. "I'm coming, Mia. Have Lin's men out there if you want. It doesn't matter. Nothing about tonight is going to go the way she thinks it will."

"Don't come here."

"I'll see you soon."

The call ended.

I stood there with the phone in my hand then lin walked over and took it. After composing myself, I slowly looked at her.

"He took that better than I expected," she said.

"That wasn't better. That was worse."

I could see the wheels turning in her head. "He's not going to try to negotiate when he gets here."

"No." I braced myself on the table. "

"His confidence is going to cost him a lot.”

"Or he's confident because he has a reason to be." I looked at the map still on the table. "You said he might bring some men. How many men do you have here?"

She started to answer and then her phone buzzed and I watched panic fill her features as she turned the screen towards me.

“He is not coming with just a few men. We have sighted about four vehicles.” The text said.

We looked at each other.

"I underestimated how much he wants you back," Lin said and she was already moving, already on a second phone, talking fast and low. "We need to move now."

I grabbed my camera bag because it was the only thing I had and I followed her toward the back of the house.

Right now I just needed to stay alive.

Everything else could wait.