He let out a strangled moan and I held him tighter in my arms.
He tucked his face into my hair. “I saw red, Tash. I pulled him off her and began laying into him; I was well into bodybuilding by then and outweighed him by at least fifty pounds and could have easily beaten him to a pulp. It wasn't long before Henry came home and dragged me off him and in all the commotion, the bastard managed to get away. The police have been searching for him for over three years. God knows where he was hidden but could we hell find him. Bee took it badly and was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder; she struggled to go out of the house and would get night terrors and such high anxiety that she had to be sedated on more than one occasion. I couldn’t believe it was happening. We spent over a year trying to make her better. Half the problem was that he was still out there and she just couldn’t move on. The doctors advised a change of scenery. I wanted to help her, so we moved here, the last place anyone would expect and hopefully the last place he would think to come looking.
“From that moment on, I purposely fell off the radar. I kept working on my films but all social engagements and interviews were cancelled. I had the worst job in the world for coping with this type of situation, any social media post or gossip site could give away where we lived at any moment. There are thousands of pages out there solely about me and several of them only exist to track my every move. It’s beyond f**ked up to have fans acting as a personal GPS, especially when you have a father who is trying everything to seek you out and destroy your family. Anyway, the money from my films has helped us buy the best lawyers, private eyes and security, but my job has also made it easy for him to threaten us too.
“On movie sets, or when I’ve been on location – all public knowledge of course – he would send notes through the runners telling me that he would find us and finish what he started and that he blamed me for everything, for stopping him and his right to have his own daughter. My fault! All the police and specialists on the case warned me about involving other people and to not risk telling anyone but family about our situation, and I didn’t for years.
“He was spotted a few times around Canada, but he always managed to evade the police just in time. The notes became more threatening as time went on and he made it clear that if he got the chance he would ruin my life, in any and every way that he could. He described explicitly what he would do to my girlfriend if I ever I got one, if I loved anyone as much as he ‘loved’ Bee – he’s a sick bastard! I knew I could never get into a relationship until he was caught. I didn’t want to, I honestly thought that relationships just seemed to destroy people, rip them apart.”
He pulled back and made me look into his eyes before letting out a snort of light laughter. “And then you came along and blindsided me. When you barreled into the restaurant that night I couldn’t look away. I was hooked from the get-go. I fought our attraction for so long, put you through hell and never once told you why. In the end, I was weak and selfish and I couldn't not have you in my life. That coffee date with Gage pushed me over the edge.“I told my mother and brother about what was happening, what I was resisting and they told me that I shouldn't – no – couldn't live like that: miserable and on my own forever because of him, because then he would win. So I gave in, and you completely changed my life, I finally lowered my guard to someone.”
I smiled shyly at him, and he smiled softly in return, before kissing me once more. His face fell when he ended the kiss.
“About a week before you left for Christmas, my agent received an email with your picture attached. It was from him; you were coming home from school. I nearly had a heart attack when I realised he'd found us again, found out about you, and right after things had been going so well for us. I felt like we had barely been given a chance to make it work…” Tudor trailed off.
Fuck-a-duck, he was after me too? My God!
Tudor saw my face pale and hugged me tight. “The police were always ringing, telling me where he had been spotted, and I could see you were getting suspicious and I knew you were thinking the worst, but how could I explain my past without risking what we had? I needed you, but I just couldn’t tell you anything.
“His picture had been circulated to local businesses and private eyes. The sightings indicated that he had made his way to Calgary, that he was here somewhere, and I decided not to tell you even then as I didn't want to scare you – I needed to protect you, protect my family. I knew though, I knew deep down that I'd lose you. Who would willingly stay in this f**ked up situation?