Chapter 45 CHAPTER 045
"Amelia..." Is all I can say as I watch her lips quiver beside me, doing all she can to hold back the tears. I feel like such an asshole. A fucking dumb one. Fucking hell.
"He stopped me when I was going up to meet you yesterday. He showed me the recording. It was clear. It was us. On your desk. He is asking...he said...he wants..." Amelia's voice tapers off as she runs out of breath and a cry escapes her lips.
I hold her against my body. Feeling an equal mix of rage and shame. Whilst I was busy acting like a lovestruck jealous teenager, Amelia was getting abused by that kid. I can't imagine how scared she must have been. How much blame she must have heaped on herself. How terrible she must have felt. Oh God. My blood boils with the thought of it.
"He said I shouldn't tell you." Amelia's body shakes as she cries against my chest. My hands are in tight fists. Of course, the bastard asked her not to tell me.
"He asked for money..." She continues. I am no longer actively listening. I am focused on breathing through my blinding rage. Of course he asked for money. In my mind's eye, Tyler's youthful face is replaced by Arthur's weathered thin one and they merge into one. One man I can't wait to squash in the palm of my hand like the fucking bug they are.
"He did that to your wrist?" I say, voice steady, breathing manually.
"Yes." She whispers and I feel her face twist against my chest.
"I am sorry I didn't tell you. He asked me not to else he will share the video online. I couldn't risk it." Amelia rambles on and I hold her away from my chest so I can cup her face in my hand. I need to look at her sweet face to remind myself that the world does not consist only of ugly men who would stoop so low for money. I need her beauty to tame the ugliness I feel for those men.
"Listen to me, don't you dare apologise for anything. If anybody should be sorry here, it is me. I should have figured it out. I should have done better than barge in here being such a dumb asshole. I failed you, Amelia. I failed you when Tyler got his slimy hands on you because of something I am responsible for. I failed you because he managed to get inside your head and you were going to do his bidding without telling me. You were going to face it alone and I wouldn't have known. I failed you and for that, I am profoundly sorry." I look deeply into her glassy blue eyes and the pang of anger and shame twists even deeper.
Amelia only nods, she rests her head against my chest and I pull her closer. We stay like that for a while. I am still finding it difficult to calm down. I am sure she can feel my thundering heartbeat. All I can think about is how to get my hands on Tyler. All the ways I could ruin the kid. And how much I would enjoy it. I don't give a fuck how sick that sounds.
"What are we going to do?" Amelia's gentle voice pulls me from my dark thoughts. She looks up at me with warm eyes that tug at my heart. She is done crying but I can't look into those eyes without remembering the glassiness of them as she cried quietly on my chest a while ago. The sight will always haunt me. I do my best to make sure Amelia never has any cause to cry and some kid just takes all my effort and tosses it away because of greed. Foolish misplaced greed. I am almost certain he could have gotten a role at the company when he graduates. He seemed to have built a reputation amongst the employees. He is intelligent, I am sure he has a great grade at school.
"There is no 'we' in this situation, Amelia. I will take care of it. It is my fault. You are my responsibility. You just have to make sure to stay safe at all times. Come back to the mansion, I will be rest assured if I know you are where you will get the maximum protection at all times. I don't know how this Tyler kid wants to operate but I am not willing to risk anything." I need her where I can see her when I need to.
"Linc..." She pulls away from me. Her features harden slightly and I brace myself for the argument I know she won't win. If I have to bundle her back, I will.
"Amelia. Trust me." I say.
"I, I don't know what you are thinking but I don't think he will hurt me. I can't move back." She says and I can't even derive pleasure from the fact that she sounds weak. That she is giving in.
I walk up to her and grab her arm, bringing her wrist up, "he bruised you for fuck's sake. I am barely keeping myself in control by refusing to imagine how he did that to you. But you want me to believe he won't do worse once he knows you have told me?" I feel like hitting something, Tyler's face preferably.
Amelia swallows and the fear flits across her face again. I let go of her arm. Hating myself for even making her feel unsafe for a second.
"Okay." She whispers, looking so fragile, I feel like shit. All the warmth from our love making has slipped out of my body. I can't believe I even fucked her when she has this much shit hidden underneath. I can't believe she was truly going to try deal with that rat alone. She was going to stay away from me. How the hell did she think she was going to manage that?
"Let's go. I have to stop at the office to get my phone and then we will go home. I will call over some security experts and we will track him down and God help him when I get my hands on him."
"Wait, let me grab a couple of my things." Amelia turns to go into her bedroom. I stand there, waiting, my mind running at a thousand miles per hour.