Blackmailed For Love

Chapter 24: Be Ready

"You are staying here?"

Kristian asked as he brought his car to a stop in front of the hotel I was staying in.

I had denied him dropping me but of course he had insisted.

I nodded.

"It seemed safe and close to the office."

He nodded thoughtfully and asked, "Safe? Did something happen in that shithole that you had to leave so suddenly?"

3 I bit down on the inside of my cheek and cursed myself for giving that titbit away.

I said, "Like you said, it was a shithole."

He lifted his hand and I closed my eyes on instinct and when I opened them back, he was glaring at me.

"Have I ever hit you in the past?"

I shook my head.

"Then fucking remember it."

I nodded, "I have a meeting that I need to attend.

Do I need to make sure that you are not lying and in fact live here?"

He gestured behind me at the hotel.

I replied, "I am not lying."

He nodded once.

"Good.

I'll meet you tonight.

Be ready."

"Okay…"

I said softly and as I turned around to open my side of the door, his fingers around my elbow.

stopped me.

I turned to look at him.

"Yes?"

"Come closer."

Even before he finished saying those words, I was leaning close to him.

His fingers slipped at the back of my nape and he pulled me closer as his lips pressed on mine.

I softened in his hold and let him take control of the kiss.

God, I had missed kissing him and I could do it all the time.

1 He ended the kiss with soft pulls at my lips and when he leaned back I saw the dark look in his eyes and I was embarrassed to admit I was panting and flushing for more of his kisses.

With a soft curve to his lips that told me that he knew it, he leaned back and said, "Go, before I decide to take you back to my place or to your new bedroom to christen it."

4 I flushed warm and fumbled with the door before I opened it and stepped out of it.

I could feel his dark gaze on me as I entered the hotel.

For some reason my lips wanted to smile wide, I chalked it up to the fact that I was almost giddy with the news I wanted to share with my Mom and daughter.

They both would be so happy.

They would have a home.

A place where they would be safe and I wouldn't have to worry about them being in danger of the unknown or that scary stalker.

1 When I reached my hotel room, I could hear the sound of TV coming from inside.

I smiled as I opened the door and stepped inside.

Walking on quiet footsteps I passed the foyer and walked into the sitting area with the TV on the wall that was now showing poor Tom being slapped down with a pan.

My little angel was so engrossed in her cartoon that she gave out a shriek of surprise when I grabbed her from behind and pulled her up in the air.

I laughed and she started giggling.

"No… That's cheating… We weren't playing!"

She said, laughing and kicking her legs.

I pulled her into me and nuzzled her neck before pressing a soft kiss on her cheek.

"I won.

Remember the last time you surprised me in a shower."

She wiggled to turn around in my arms and I let her so I could hold her.

Her little arms wrapped around my neck and her legs wrapped around my waist as she looked at me and pursed her lips.

"Be aware, Mama… I am gonna surprise you next time.

I will be very scary."

I chuckled.

"You could never be scary, my little angel."

I said, kissing her on the nose.

"What is going on?"

My mother asked as she came out of her bedroom.

"Nothing, this little munchkin screamed when I got her by surprise."

"Next time I will scare you."

Anna announced with a nod, her grey eyes narrowing on me and my heart ached with so much love that it could have poured out of me and drowned us all.

My mother came forward to sit on the sofa.

Her color was better than before, good sleep, comfort and her medicines that I had bought after getting money from Kaden had helped in just a short time, telling me how much my mother needed to be taken care of.

I sat down beside her, my little angel on my lap now looking at me and waiting for what I had to say, already so perceptive that she scares me sometimes.

"I found an apartment for us."

Small fingers tightened around my nape where she was still clutching me.

Anna looked at me with a disappointing frown and asked, "Do we have to leave this place?"

"Yes."

I answered and her face fell.

I hugged her close and cupped her face.

"But I swear you will love the new place even more."

Her grey eyes looked back at me curiously, not believing that anything wanted to cry because if she had been with her father she would've known nothing but luxury.

She wouldn't have seen the insides of peeled off walls and old age apartments.

I cupped her cheek and swallowed the knot in my throat as I asked, "Do you trust your Mama, angel?"

"Yes…"

She answered, touching my cheek in return.

"Then, just wait till you see it.

And do you know what…"

She waited for me, biting down on her lip.

"You will have your own room.

And we could decorate it however you want to."

1 "Cars!"

She squealed.

"Mama, please say I could have car stickers?"

"You can…"

My mother touched my arm, when I met her gaze I saw the questions in it.

I put Anna down and said, "Go… Get me the menus we saw on the console.

We will order pizza today."

"Yay!"

With that she ran off.

"Is this another benefit of your job? A new apartment?"

My mother asked as she looked at me.

"No.

It's not."

I gave her a smile as I said, "You don't have to worry, Mom.

Everything is fine."

"Are you doing something that you shouldn't?"

She asked.

For a moment I just looked at her, not understanding what she meant.

And then the realization dawned and I choked out a laugh- a little nervous and disbelieving.

Because I didn't know the answer to that.

If seen from her perspective then yes, yes I was selling my body for everything Kristian would give me, a home, my mother's health and a safe place for my daughter.

But despite that, I wanted him.

I wanted to give myself to him.

Somewhere I still hoped that after all his bitterness and hatred was over he would give me a chance to explain myself and we could be together in the end.

I could do nothing but hope, even when that hope scared me because I would have to reveal his daughter to him and there was a possibility that he would take it as another betrayal.

"Elsa?"

My mother questioned.

look an advance on my salary and rented the apartment, so we wouldn't have to go from one place another.

Anna needs a home"

blue eyes looked at me with sadness in them.

I never wanted this life for you.

You are a good there, if I had been like you then you wouldn't have been in this situation.

If I had listened to you d left your father—"

stood up not wanting to think about that.

"It is in the past, done with.

We can't just keep thinking out it and feel sorry for ourselves.

You did what you thought was right and I am not accusing you it.

Now we three are family and we don't need anyone else."

4 r eyes said that she believed my words as much as I believed in the angry voice that sometimes ed to convince me that we could hate Kristian and that one day God would listen to my prayers and everything would be okay.

[ama!"

Anna came running back, her hands fisted around several menus and she dumped them all , the glass table in front of the sofa.

"Here… How do we choose?"

She asked, looking up at me with ey eyes filled with excitement.

et's see…"

ter ordering the pizza, we played monopoly as we waited for our pizza.

Obviously, Anna was inning and she wasn't even humble about it.

So when the buzzer went off, I stood up to get the pizza it it wasn't our ordered pizza.

Instead a man in the uniform of hotel staff stood in front of me and ked, "Elsa Smith?"

"

I answered.

I was still using my fake last name because of the stalker.

There is a package for you."

He held out a black box with golden leaves on it and another which was lane white.

Who sent it?"

I asked, "Was there any message?".

Not a message, no.

But it was left by Kristian Aaron."

Oh.

Thank You."

I turned around to put it in the corner standing nearby and said, "Wait, I'll get the money,"

No, thank-you, ma'am, Mr Aaron already tipped me well."

With a nod he left.

ind just as I was about to close the door, I saw another man bringing two pizza boxes with him.

"Here."

called.

after getting the pizza I returned to the sitting area and sat down with my little angel who was bouncing with excitement for pizza.

My mother was collecting the fake money Anna had dropped when she saw me, now ignoring her winning game.

I shook my head and said, "What do we do first before eating?"

She wrinkled her nose and answered, "Wash our hands."

"Good, come on then."

I took her to the bathroom to wash our hands.

When we came back out my mom was in the process of sitting down on the floor, already having done the same, It was two hours later that I finished the story of Alice in Wonderland, and kissed my sweet angel good night before I slipped off the bed.

Tucking the blankets around her, I switched off the lamp and tiptoed out of the bedroom.

I could imagine my daughter's excitement because now I was filled with the same excitement as I walked to where I had put the two boxes.