Chapter 184

Lisa slammed the door closed to her black Porsche. She threw her purse into the passenger seat and wiped the tears away from the corners of her eyes. She tried to breathe slowly in and out through her nostrils, just as her father had taught her, but it wasn’t helping to calm her at all.

How dare that…that…bitch ambush her like that, and in public? Now, Lisa couldn’t show her face in that bridal shop ever again. Who knew what the employees had heard from the back?

Who did she think she was, telling her what to do? Just because she was dating Andrew didn’t mean that she was Lisa’s mother—far from it. Crystal might have been sleeping with Andrew, but she didn’t know what was best for Lisa or even care about her.

Those accusations against Bob…they were just too fantastical to be true. Yes, Lisa knew that he had done some unsavory things to Crystal. She certainly hadn’t been innocent when it came to Crystal’s “stalker,” either, but it was Crystal’s fault. If that woman had just left Andrew alone when she was told to…

That didn’t mean that he had done those other things, though. He couldn’t have. Well, maybe he had arranged for Crystal’s kidnapping and had her thrown to vampires, but the car bombing, that was a different story entirely.

Lisa stared down at the bruises on her arm. Bob could get a little rough at times, but he would never seriously hurt her. He could yell and get angry as well, but that didn’t mean that he would do anything to put her in danger. It definitely did not mean that he would plant a bomb in her car.

No, that was out of the question. Bob loved her. Lisa had no idea where Crystal was getting these ideas from, but she knew that she was the one planting them in Andrew’s head, and Lisa would not stand for it.

She sighed and reached for her phone. She could not speak any sense into her father, not with that vixen around, and she could not be near either of them until they stopped spewing such visceral accusations about Bob. So, she needed to find a place to stay, at least for the night.

There was only one place that she could think of.

Lisa sent a quick text to Bob.

Get our overnight bags ready. We’re staying at your place tonight.

That night, Lisa entered Bob’s apartment with arms full of Mongolian barbecue. Bob came in behind her with their overnight bags. As Lisa set the takeout on the dining table, Bob put their bags in the bedroom.

Bob exited the bedroom and leaned against the doorframe.

“So, are you going to tell me what happened?” he asked.

“What do you mean?” Lisa said as she took the food out of the bags.

“I mean that we could be spending the night in a luxurious mansion devouring a feast, but instead we’re in a moderately nice apartment eating takeout.”

Lisa shrugged.

“So, I wanted a break in routine. Is there something wrong with that?”

Bob crossed his arms over his chest and jutted his chin out.

“Lisa, I know you better than that. It’s killing you to not sit in the lap of luxury. You didn’t even want to go to Lady Lilith’s big party tonight.”

He shoved off the doorframe and walked over to Lisa. He took her chin in his hand and forced her to look at him.

“What’s wrong?”

Lisa’s eyes fell to the floor.

“Do you promise not to get mad?”

“Sweetheart, you know that I can’t promise that.”

Lisa sighed.

“Fine. My father and Crystal tried to convince me to not marry you.”

Bob’s grip on Lisa’s chin tightened. Lisa squirmed as his hold on her began to hurt.

“What did they say?” he asked, his voice a low growl.

Lisa tried to pry Bob’s hand off her chin.

“Bob…you’re hurting me…”

Bob closed his eyes and released Lisa.

“I’m sorry, love. Please, tell me what they told you.”

Lisa rubbed her chin where Bob had been holding her. She wondered how much makeup it would take to cover up the bruises that would surely form there. Something that she would have to worry about later.

“They told me that you were dangerous. Crystal in particular said that marrying you would destroy me.”

Bob’s eyes flashed. Lisa trembled slightly, but she steadied herself against the dining table.

“Oh, did she?” he asked.

Lisa nodded.

“Yes. They both said that you had done things…terrible things.”

“Like what?”

She looked at the table, studying the swirling patterns of the grain in the wood. With his reaction so far, she was afraid to tell him the accusations that Andrew and Crystal had leveled against him. At the same time, he deserved to know what people were saying about him—and it wasn’t as though he was going to let her get away with not telling him now.

“They know that you were her stalker,” she said quietly, “and that I was involved, too.”

When she looked up, Bob’s eyes were bulging. His hands curled into fists.

“Anything else?” he said through clenched teeth.

“They said that you were behind Crystal being kidnapped and thrown to vampires. My father also thinks that you…put the bomb in my car.”

Lisa braced herself for Bob to explode. Instead, he glowered at her, the fire in his eyes churning her stomach.

“That’s ridiculous,” he said, his voice chillingly neutral. “I would never hurt you.”

“That’s what I told them, but they kept insisting that I was in danger.”

Bob growled and pounded his fist on the table. Lisa flinched.

“I will not let them get away with this,” he growled. “No one gets between me and the woman I love.”

Lisa hesitantly reached up and stroked Bob’s cheek.

“There’s nothing to worry about. I don’t believe what they said. You know I won’t leave you.”

“Of course, you won’t leave me. But they still must pay.”

Lisa recoiled.

“One of them is my father, Bob—”

“Your father who chose an ex-con over you, or did you forget that already?”

She flinched, feeling as though Bob had struck her in the chest with a whip. Tears sprung at the edges of her eyes, but she wiped them away before they could fall. She would not let herself appear weak, not right now.

“Do whatever will make you feel better, love.” She reached up and kissed him gently across the lips. “Just know that I love you no matter what.”

Bob smiled, but it did not reach his eyes. He wrapped his arms around Lisa and held her like a vise. Lisa resigned herself to his inescapable grip.

“I know.”

Lisa rested her head against Bob’s shoulder, trying to relax in her man’s arms and reassure him that she would not leave him. Yet she remained stiff and waited for the other shoe to drop. Deep down, she could not help wondering why he had gotten so upset if he had done nothing wrong.

They had no evidence, she told herself. Remember, innocent until proven guilty.