Page 98 of Sacred Vow
For the first few days, the cops would come and go, asking the same questions over and over again, treating me like a criminal, but after receiving the surveillance footage, they backed off and accepted that Caesar was acting in my defense. Jordan is still ina coma, though, and I don’t doubt that the moment he wakes up, he’ll realize just how badly he fucked up.
As for Annie, she’s been a ghost.
There’s been no sight of the woman. The cops have had her home staked out, they’ve searched for her at Vixen, and even camped out at the hospital waiting room to see if she would show up at Jordan’s bedside, but so far, there’s been nothing. Sooner or later, she’ll screw up, and when she does, I’ll be waiting. I don’t exactly know what I intend to do, probably call the cops and run away like a little bitch, but as long as she ends up rotting behind bars, I don’t really care. Besides, Caesar told me that she would pay for her role in all of this, and he doesn’t strike me as the type of man to go back on his word. If he says she will pay, then I trust that with everything that I am.
After getting a frantic call from his secretary this morning, Caesar had no choice but to head into work, leaving me free to do my own thing. Don’t get me wrong, I have loved spending every day wrapped in his arms in the comfort of his bed, but I’m going stir crazy. Despite my slobbish week of living on my couch while I held the world’s best pity party, I usually can’t stand being holed up at home. I needed to get out of the house, even if my body isn’t ready for it.
Chloe has stayed with Zeph this whole time, and while they refuse to put any labels on their relationship, it’s clear to everyone except them that they’re exclusive. Zephyr has all but moved Chloe into Caesar’s place—otherwise now known as Caesar’s Palace—and she doesn’t even realize it.
“Come on,” Chloe mutters beside me, not looking excited for the job ahead of us as she hauls a stack of cleaning products and trash bags in her arms. “The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can get out of here.”
There’s no denying it, she has a good point.
“Fine,” I groan, striding deeper into our small apartment, only the further I get, the more unfamiliar it seems. It doesn’t feel like home anymore, just a place that once held some of my best memories during my college years.
We get into cleaning everything, and I do what I can not to overexert myself. If I were to push myself too hard, Chloe would end up doing the rest of this shit on her own, and I’m not about to do that to her.
Music blasts through the apartment as I scoop pieces of shattered glass into a dustpan, when Zephyr appears in the open doorway and casually strides in as though he owns the place. His arms are full of boxes and cleaning products.
I let out a sigh as a teasing smirk cuts across my face. “Ugh. Fucking perverts everywhere I look.”
Zephyr flips me off as Chloe bounds into the living room and throws herself into Zeph’s arms. “What are you doing here?” she asks. “I thought you had a lecture.”
“I do, but it’s nothing I can’t watch online,” he says, dropping the boxes onto the destroyed couch. “I thought I’d come help you idiots out. It’s not your fault your place got trashed. Besides, if it weren’t for me, Jordan wouldn’t have even known the two of you.”
A heaviness weighs over me. Zeph has been feeling a lot of guilt about everything that went down. He blames himself for bringing Jordan into our lives, but it’s not as though he knew that was going to happen. He’s not at fault and shouldn’t have to shoulder that burden, but no matter how many times I tell him that I don’t blame him, it doesn’t seem to help. It’s just one of those things he’s going to have to work through on his own.
“Don’t get me started on that shit,” Chloe tells him. “You know damn well that none of this is your fault.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he mutters, making me roll my eyes. It’s the same cycle every day. Only some days it’s me who rats him out, while other times it’s Caesar.
Zeph starts by taking out the trash bags we’ve already filled, and just having them gone from the apartment makes a huge difference. Between the three of us, things start moving pretty quickly.
We’ve been here for almost three hours when a text comes through on my phone, and as I see Caesar’s name on the screen, a stupid smile pulls across my lips.
Caesar: I hope you’re not doing too much.
Tilly: The only thing you need to be concerned about me doing is you tonight.
Caesar: I don’t know, hellcat. You’re still healing. I don’t want to hurt you.
Tilly: I’M DYING HERE! Quit depriving me. It’s either going to be you or the monster cock in my bedside drawer. Take your pick.
I laugh to myself as I hit send before striding into my bedroom and letting out a heavy sigh. It’s so much worse than I remember. My bed is destroyed, shredded to pieces, while most of my clothes are strewn across the room. But the dried blood staining the floor is what really gets me.
A chill sails down my spine as memories of finding Jordan in my room assault me. The fear of not knowing what was going to happen and the pain of that baseball bat smacking across myhead . . . shit. That moment has nothing on the terror I felt in that storm cellar, yet it’s what sticks with me most.
My phone chimes again, and I welcome the distraction.
Caesar: Fuck.
Caesar: Do you think you could handle Vixen tonight? Nothing too much. Just you and me. And nothing crazy. I’m not risking hurting you.
Tilly: Now we’re talking! Should I bring the whips and chains, or should you?
Caesar: Don’t push your luck!
The most moronic grin tears across my face, and I’m not too ashamed to admit that I might have also just fist-pumped the air. Caesar has been cautious with me for the past twelve days. Too cautious. To put it bluntly, he won’t fuck me. And damn it, this girl needs to be railed.
