Her words soaked into his head, turning his soul cold. His eyes traced the worried, tired lines across her beautiful face. Fuck, she had been through hell and was still going through it. Adam put his hand over hers and pulled it gently from his face. His rage building as he felt her tremble beneath his touch.

He had no doubt whatsoever that the man who had been stalking and terrorizing her all these years was never going to give up until she was returned to him...or was dead. Possibly, he only wanted her back so he could kill her. The thought made him physically ill and turned his blood into molten lava. Every instinct in his body screamed for him to tuck her away somewhere safe, hunt him down like the dog he was and put an end to this once and for all.

Adam never put much faith in subscribing to the notion of fate, but it was now damn clear to him she was meant to cross his path. She was the one meant for him. To show him what real strength was and to give his life purpose. A life which for many years now had felt impotent until she came crashing into it. There were so many things which had been beyond his control...the death of his father, being forced to step into shoes he didn't want to fill...his mother...none of those things he could fix. But this, this he could.

His blood boiled with the need to make some phone calls, but there would be time for that soon enough. Right now, her comfort and well-being had to be top priority.

"What do you mean...killing someone? Has he killed before?" Getting up from his knees, he settled onto the couch next to her and drew her tighter against him. She cuddled into his chest and he closed his eyes briefly. She felt better to him than he ever imagined a woman could feel. The fact he had finally found the right woman who completed him was incomprehensible and he damn sure wasn't going to let some insane, sadistic bastard take her away from him. Not now...not ever.

Her face grew tense, her lips pulling into a frown as a blush started to fill her pale features. "There was a man I was seeing in Chicago." Turning, she avoided his gaze. Her hands picking anxiously at imaginary lint on her yoga pants.

"We all have pasts, Abigail," he said softly. Reaching up, he cupped her chin and lightly twisted her head towards him. He was in awe of the strength burning behind the worry and it humbled him. He stroked her hair, continuing to caress her and running his hand up and down her back until her shaking subsided a bit. "I want you to tell me everything. No matter what it is." It would kill him to hear about another man, but if he was going to help her, then he needed to swallow back his jealousy and acquire as much information as he could from her while she was willing to give it.

She continued to stare at him, silently assessing his every nuance. He wasn't surprised by it and he tried valiantly to keep his frustration from showing. Adam knew it wouldn't be easy to chip away at the distrust she had erected around herself. Especially after his foolish reactions to the documents in that fucking folder. In his mind, he cursed Jillian for interfering, but mostly he cussed himself for having Jonathan pull the damn background check to begin with.

Not because he was to blame for Dean tracing it. He was positive there was no way in hell he could have hacked into Steele Industries firewalls or there was a chance his security team had failed. His systems were more protected than the computers at the White House. No...Dean finding her had nothing to do with what he had done, but he was solely to blame for her mistrust in him. He lost a lot of what little ground he had gained with her and it would take time and patience to retrieve it back.

Pulling away from him, she stood up and walked over to the fireplace. It took all his self-control not to follow her and bring her back to his embrace. But, he sensed she needed the space and he would give it to her. Whatever it took to get her to trust him again, he would do. After all, he was a stubborn man and she was more than worth it.

The silence in the room was deafening, only the muted sounds of the refrigerator under the bar clicking on could be heard.

"I need to know if you truly believe me," she said quietly, finally turning to face him.

Adam only had to look at the pain on her face to know his earlier reactions had hurt her, deeply. Scrubbing a hand through his hair, he desperately wanted to close that wound he had caused. He wanted to heal all her pain, but if he didn't tread carefully...she would never give him the opportunity.

"I believe you, Abigail," he said in a low voice. "And I am extremely remorseful I caused you to doubt me." He rose off the couch and walked the few steps to stand in front of her, but kept his hands to himself, though his desire to touch her was making him twitch. "I will do whatever is necessary to regain your faith in me."

She quirked an eyebrow at him. "It's more important that you have faith in me," she said, walking to the bar and filling a glass with water. She took a long drink and set the glass down on the counter with a clink, twisting it nervously in her fingers. "Your life depends on it."

"My life?" Surprise creeped into his voice. All these years she had been living a nightmare. Hell...it wasn't even living as much as it was only existing and she was worried about him? It was almost laughable, but judging by the seriousness in which she was looking at him, she didn't intend for it to be a joke.

Picking up the folder, she held it aloft. "By getting this," she shook it slightly, "you might as well have painted a bullseyes on your back." With a flick of her wrist, she tossed it back on the counter. "That's how he found me. He has tracers everywhere and has eyes in every corner of the planet." Her lips jerked into a sneer. "But he's not alone. He has help. Other cops mostly, who he has either blackmailed or are just as corrupt as he is. As soon as my name was entered into a search engine or typed onto a screen, he knew. He always knows. He tracked that search to its origin...and it brought him here. Whoever pulled that for you is in trouble, Adam and so are you. He will kill whoever you hired to find out where I am and then he will come after you. It's what he does and the reason Vivian is now clinging to life." Her grey eyes shimmered. "He takes away everything I care about."

"How do you know this?" he asked calmly, but his heart started pounding in his chest. Not out of fear, but in fury. Part of him wanted to hunt the bastard down himself and issue a personal dare. A come and get her if you can motherfucker and force the asshole to go through him. As far as he was concerned, the man needed to die or at the very least spend the rest of his days locked in a room like the one he had once threatened his stepdaughter with. He would see it happen, whatever the cost.

Her bitter laugh brought his attention out of his vengeful thoughts.

"Because I have been living this shit for years," she scoffed. Leaning both hands against the edge of the bar, she shot him an incredulous look. "Why do you think I don't have a driver's license? Why I own nothing and nothing is in my name? Why I don't pull a paycheck at the Kit Cat? And why, until recently, I lived out of a backpack that contained my whole world?" She smacked her hand against the granite. "It's because I have learned to stay out of his radar. Past mistakes have made me goddamn brilliant at being a ghost." She snorted, ducking her head as she shook it sadly. Her mahogany hair fell in a soft curtain, blocking her face. "One of my mistakes is the reason a man is dead."

No longer able to keep the space between them, Adam rounded the corner of the bar and reached for her. Spinning her towards him, he wrapped her in his arms and pulled her head against his chest just as a sob broke, shaking her small frame.

"The man you were seeing in Chicago, is he the mistake you are referring to?" he asked as steadily as possible. His heart feeling as if it was being ripped out of his chest as the tears for another man dampened his shirt.

Abigail clung to him for a few more moments, before pushing away and nodding her head. With an irritated swipe of the back of her hand, she brushed off the few tears she had allowed to fall. He knew it was her pure determination keeping the rest from tumbling down her cheeks. Giving him a tight smile that had nothing to do with humor, she took his hand and led him back to the sofa.

"You had better sit down for the rest of this."

He doubted it, but dutifully sat while she paced in front of him. Watching as she wrung her hands before tucking them under her arms as if she was cold. The only thing he wanted was for this fucking conversation to be over so he could tell her that everything was going to be alright. To assure her that asshole would never lay another finger on her. Not while he still pulled breath into his lungs.

"Rodger. Rodger Clark was the man I met in Chicago. He is...was...a private detective. Of course, I didn't know it at the time," she said solemnly. "I just thought he was a nice guy who like really shitty coffee." A small, dry laugh passed her lips. "Anyway, to make a long story short, we started dating for a brief time. He eventually learned the truth from me and swore he would be able to prove what Dean had been doing to me all these years. That he could get Dean arrested and put an end to his torment."

"What happened?"

She turned to face him, so much sorrow on her face it made his chest hurt. "I don't know. He disappeared soon after. I never saw him again."

"How do you know for sure he's dead?" he asked, his brow dropping down into a frown as he tried to puzzle it out.

"Because Dean left a clear message on my doorstep. That's what he does. It's all a game to him. He finds me and does something horrible to show me that he's won again." Pulling her shoulders back, she tilted her trembling chin up a fraction. "Rodger had a dog. A Golden Retriever named Max. I found him the next morning with duct tape around his muzzle and legs. His throat had been slit." Walking away from him, she paced over to the windows and stared out. "He's the cat and I'm the mouse."

"Fuck." Adam ran a hand down his face, almost not believing his own ears. Her stepfather's maliciousness went further than he could have possibly imagined. He couldn't envision the terror she must have felt and by the look of it...was still feeling. "Do you know for sure this Rodger is dead?" He hated to ask, but he needed to know.

"Max never left his side. There would have been only one way Dean could have gotten him and that was through Rodger." Her lips trembled as she turned her head to look at him over her shoulder. "I didn't need any more proof. It was because of me that both of them are dead. And it's because of me, he's now going to come after you." Slowly, she turned her head back to the window, though Adam doubted she saw any of the dusky scene below her feet. "You needed to be warned, so you can do whatever you have to do to protect yourself."

The finality in her tone had him jerking his head towards her and narrowing his eyes. Something about the way she had said that had every alarm bell in his head clanging away.

"And what about you?"

"I'll leave." Her shoulders dropped. "I didn't mean for things to go this far. I never meant to bring my problems to your door, Adam. I hope you believe that. If I could take it all back, I would." She never seemed more fragile and alone than she did at this moment.

"I wouldn't. I wouldn't change not one goddamn thing," he said. Rising to his feet, he strode over to where she stood and their eyes met in the reflection of the window. Hers wide and lost, his narrow and resolute. He would do anything...abso-fucking-lutely anything...to protect her and keep her safe, once and for all. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he gently turned her around to face him.

"Let him come," he said firmly. "Let him find us. Together."

"Don't be ridiculous..."

"I've never been more serious about anything in my life."

"I can't stay here, Adam. For awhile, I thought I could..." Her voice trailed off and she shook her head. "But I can't risk it. I won't risk you or anyone else...not again." Reaching up, she rubbed her worry wrinkled forehead. "I have to go...before he hurts you. I'll leave tonight and I will give him a clear trail to follow. Maybe he will leave you alone if he thinks he's close to catching me." She sighed heavily, dropping her arm. "You would have been better off if you'd never met..."

He shook her softly. "Don't even finish that sentence, Abigail," he said fiercely. "These past few weeks have been the best of my life and I wouldn't trade them for anything." He tipped her chin up so she could see the truth in his eyes. "Not one goddamn thing. I came alive the day I met you. You can't keep running from that son of a bitch forever," he said softer, his face searching hers. "The damage has already been done and he's here. Let's take this opportunity and end it now. Together. Let me help you."

"End it how?" Her tone was bitter and unbelieving. Not that he could condemn her for it. After everything she had been through, she had learned to not rely on hope. He knew that feeling all too well.

"What can you do, Adam? Kill him?" She snorted in disdain. "That would make you a murderer. As far as the law is concerned, Dean hasn't done anything wrong but try and locate his runaway stepdaughter." Blowing out a frustrated breath, she shook her head. "Now, his missing wife," she hissed, sarcasm dripping off her tongue. "They will put you behind bars for the rest of your life. He is the law. He knows every loophole...every way to cover his tracks. I guarantee they won't find not one trace of evidence in your car or security tape that will tie him to the crime. Same with the fire and now those fake documents." Wrapping her hands in his shirt, she gave him a little shake as if she could rattle some sense into him. "Legally, there's nothing you can do. Trust me, I have tried it all until there was nothing left...and I gave up."

Slipping his arms around her waist, he hauled her roughly against him.

"How can you have so much faith in his abilities and so little in mine?" He tapped her gently on the nose when she opened her mouth to protest. "Listen to me. I didn't become who I am today by not knowing how to play the game." He grinned down at her. "I'm the Big Bad Wolf, baby...remember? I'll huff and puff and blow that bastard off the map. It should be him afraid of me. I can and will destroy him, do not doubt me. I have the power and more resources. I won't let him hurt you, I swear it."

She narrowed her smoky eyes up at him. "I don't want you doing something stupid. He's not worth it, Adam."

"But you sure the fuck are. You're worth it and so much more."

He held her sweet face in his hands for a long moment, allowing his words to sink in until the last of the shadows disappeared and were replaced with only a reflection of him. Then he lowered his mouth to capture hers. He kissed her, not because he could, but because he needed it...because she needed it. For a second or two, she was stiff and unrelenting under his caress, but then her lips melted over his in a sweet sigh and he stood on the edge of something magnificent. The moment he felt her give him her trust. Though cautious...it tasted wonderfully exquisite on his lips.

Adam released her face and ran one of his hands down her cheek, over the curve of her slender neck and down to the arch of her back. She shivered under his touch and he drew her in, deepening the kiss until he couldn't discern his heartbeat from hers.

Lifting his lips a fraction, he brushed her hair back from her forehead. His eyes never leaving hers. "Tell me you'll stay, Abigail. Promise me you won't leave me."

Her teeth sank into the soft flesh of her bottom lip. Her eyes searched his and he could almost see her mind chewing it over. It was the longest minute of his life.

"Only if you promise you won't do anything stupid."

"There's that word again," he laughed, relieved her answer wasn't no. It wasn't exactly a yes, but he could work with that. "I'm beginning to develop a complex over your lack of confidence in my intelligence." He cocked his head to one side and looked down at her. "I tell you what, you stay here with me and I will promise I won't do anything that will take me away from you."

"You're negotiating?" Her eyes popped wide.

Adam shrugged a shoulder. "I'm a business man, Abigail. It's what I do and I'm very good at it."

Tilting her head, she scrutinized him. "You really think we can stop him?"

"Undoubtedly."

Letting out an unsteady breath, she nodded her head. "I've been wanting to stop him for so long..." she paused and scowled up at him. Determination making her eyes bright. "Since I can't undo what you have already done," the corner of her lips twitched up, "I won't leave you here to face him alone," she said softly. The fingers of her hand ghosting over his face before her lids dropped to his lips. "Besides, I can keep an eye on you to make sure you don't do anything..." She paused and a small smile appeared. "Stupid," she finished.

He heard in her tone the verity of her statement and knew how much courage it had taken her to say the words. Adam felt his own lips pull into the first true smile since he had walked into the penthouse.

"Good girl." He chuckled as the corners of her mouth turned into a frown. Hovering his lips over hers for a second, he breathed in her sweet scent and smiled as her lips parted, silently asking for his. His pulse quickened when his mouth finally found hers in a hungry kiss. Thrusting his tongue into her mouth, he reclaimed every inch of it until she could have no doubt she belonged to him. Body and soul.

Author's Note:

Hello darlings!

I hope you enjoyed this latest installment of Bending Steele and if you liked it, you will consider giving it a vote. I also love hearing from you and comments are always appreciated. If you don't see any updates here, check out my other stories When Roses Collide, Steal You Away and FANGED.

The next scheduled update for this book is May 26th.

As always, thank you for reading!

Sincerely,

K

PS...Oh! Don't forget to join me on my Facebook page K. M. Halandras. I am doing the "Getting to Know You" through the month of May. So, if you have any questions you would like to ask about my books, writing, life in general...whatever...don't be shy, I'll be more than happy to answer them. But don't expect spoilers...because you'll be disappointed. LOL!