Page 64 of Healed in the Alpha's Embrace
I scrubbed my hands over my face, the heat of humiliation searing across my cheeks. Elaine remained quiet. Once I started, stopping was a challenge. It was like trying to rein in a horse that had already bolted.
“It started small,” I continued. “He’d lock me out of the house for hours. I’d sit in the car, and eventually he’d come outlooking confused and ask me what I was doing, denying that the door had ever been locked. He’d ask his guards, who are all ass-kissing sycophants. They’d have agreed to just about anything he said or asked. I think they would’ve said yes if he told them it was snowing, even if we were in the desert and surrounded by fire. Yet, I never once just drove away. I’d sit there in my car, thinking maybe I was going mad.”
I wiped angry tears. “He isolated me. At first, I didn’t even notice it, the manipulation. He would warn me that my friends were a bad influence, even claiming that one of my closest girlfriends had made inappropriate advances towards him. God, I believed him. Once he had isolated me, that’s when he began to really hurt me. Physically.
“It got worse after Roland was born, when he was no longer my sole focus. He had me trailed everywhere. Trackers on my phone, my car,” I admitted. “Then he took my phone away. Wouldn’t let me drive because my car was unsafe. I was nothing but a pretty doll in a pretty cell for him to use and abuse.”
“Acknowledging what happened, recognizing you were a victim, is an essential step in healing,” Elaine said.
“Yeah, I know. But I don’t want to feel like a victim anymore.” I took a deep breath. “I’m not one of the ones who didn’t make it out. I did. And I’m ready to start living again, without that fear hanging over me.”
When I left her office, I felt a lightness in my step that hadn’t been present for years. I found myself humming a song I’d heard on the radio earlier.
That feeling shattered like glass under a boot when I sawhim.One of George’s most trusted enforcers. Malakai, broad-shouldered and stone-faced, leaning casually against my car.
“Zoey,” he said in a dangerous whisper as I approached. “George wants to see you. Now.”
My heart leaped into my throat, pounding so hard it hurt. A cold sweat broke across my skin, but I rooted myself to the spot. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“Come quietly, and there’ll be no trouble,” he said, taking a step forward.
The world narrowed down to the space between us.
George had once the right to do whatever the hell he damn pleased with me, but his men knew they’d suffer if they even put a finger on me.
But I’d never left him before, never even tried. I couldn’t be certain Malaki wouldn’t try to grab me. To him, the consequences of returning without me probably outweighed that of a little physical force to get me in the car.
Clinging to that shred of power, I remembered what I’d learned in the self-defense class. My voice was my best weapon. Taking a deep, trembling breath, I let loose a scream that echoed off the buildings, piercing the quiet street as I scrambled backwards.
“What the…” Malakai muttered.
“Help! Somebody help me!” I continued to scream, backing away from him, ready to run.
“Dammit, Zoey!” he cursed.
Footsteps approached, his mission now a spectacle. “Just get in the fucking car,” Malakai growled. “You know how pissed George’s gonna be?”
“Let him be pissed,” I snapped.
Malakai spat a curse and turned on his heel, stalking away with an urgency that told me he wanted to escape before becoming the center of attention. The shock on his face was undeniable. He hadn’t expected to encounter a Zoey who was anything but meek, mild, and obedient. But that Zoey was gone, and I stood there, heart racing, as he disappeared around the corner.
I felt paralyzed, unable to take a step, until someone led me to a nearby bench. I hadn’t been sure a scream would be effective, but a small crowd was forming around me, their murmurs of worry becoming louder.
“Are you okay?” someone asked.
I nodded, unable to form words, my gaze fixed on the car peeling out of the parking lot. Malakai was gone, vanished as quickly as he had appeared. My heart still hammered against my ribs, each beat a reminder of how close I had come to being dragged back to a life I had escaped.
“Can someone call Noah Alexander?” I asked, hating how frail and vulnerable I sounded.
The concerned buzz of the crowd around me faded into a blur as my shallow breaths intensified, the grip of an impending panic attack tightening.
Even before I caught sight of him, I knew Noah had arrived, his presence crashing over me like a powerful and unyielding tidal wave. It was so strange, like we were connected somehow. Not psychic woo-woo vibes; I wasn’t at the stage of willing him to phone, and he’d call. But somehow, I knew if he was in the room, or when he entered one.
I’d never felt anything like that with George.
He bulldozed through the throng of people. Anger radiated from him. Every muscle in his boxer’s frame was tensed, his body ready to unleash his fury.
“Zoey.” His concerned gaze fixed on me as he rushed to my side. He scanned me for any signs of injuries, the scar on his brow twitching. “What happened?”
