Page 149 of His Virgin Romance Series

Abby paused. “A few months.”

“How many exactly?”

“Three,” she replied.

“There would have been signs at the beginning,” I said with certainty. “Signs that tipped you off about who he was and what he was capable of.”

“I was in too deep at that point,” Abby defended herself. “He was getting more and more possessive.”

“Before that,” I said, shaking my head. “Before he started letting his guard down. There’s a vetting process with these kinds of guys. First, he needs to charm you, and then he needs to reel you in. That’s the first phase.”

“That’s my point… he was charming me. How was I supposed to know?”

“You’re supposed to open your fucking eyes,” I said harshly.

Abby stared me down for a moment. For a woman who didn’t know self-defense, she had a certain amount of confidence that baffled me.

“You don’t know me,” she said at last. “Don’t pretend like you do.”

“Oh… I do know you,” I corrected. “I knew you the moment I laid eyes on you.”

“Really?” Abby asked challengingly.

“Yes.”

“Tell me,” she demanded. “Tell me about myself.”

“You grew up as an only child,” I said. “You grew up alone… forced to look after people twice your age. You grew up poor… fighting for whatever scraps you could. You grew up wanting to amount to more than your parents did, but fearing that you’d never pull yourself out of the hole you were born in. You moved to try and run away from your past, but you realized that it’s not the place that’s the problem… You are the problem.”

Abby looked scared for a split second and then her expression turned again. “That was almost convincing,” she said in a tone that was clearly unimpressed. “But you could have figured that all out from one conversation with Devon.”

“You overestimate the relationship I have with your brother.”

“That analysis doesn’t impress me.”

I smiled. “No?”

“No.”

“Then how about this one,” I said dropping my smile. “You’re weak. You’re scared. And you’re most definitely defenseless. This guy… Walter whoever… he picked you because he recognized all that. He saw that you were alone… no family, no friends… Nothing real or stable or consistent to call your own. He saw someone he could pick apart. He saw someone he could control. He saw someone he could manipulate. He saw someone he could own.”

With every word I said, Abby’s expression slipped deeper and deeper into darkness. My words struck a chord with her, and I could see the doubt in her eyes because she was afraid that everything I had just said was true. I saw the internal conflict rage inside her as she tried to figure out how to best combat my words. Should she just deny them? Should she refute them? Should she simply ignore them?

She was angry, and she wanted to lash out… but she had no real defense. I had just proved her own weakness a short while ago when I had broken into her apartment and simulated a fake kidnapping.

She headed straight for me. “Get out of my way,” she hissed.

I almost smiled. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“Out of here,” she spat. “Away from you.”

“I’m not the enemy.”

“No?” she demanded. “You could have fooled me. Now get out of my way.”

“No,” I said calmly. “You’re not leaving here.”

Her blue eyes seemed to turn a little lighter as she stared at me. “You can’t stop me from leaving.”

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