What he also didn’t like was the way he knelt down beside Rose and started playing with a strand of her long hair. Her blonde hair was long enough to cover her full ass. She kept it in a ponytail, so the strands lifted up a little and rested above the curve of her ass.
“Peter Miller, right?” Brad asked, offering his hand.
“The very one, and you are?” Peter didn’t take the offered hand and continued eating his lunch.
“I’m a friend of Rose’s.”
Rose was shaking. Peter wanted to make her shaking disappear.
“I’ve got to get back to work,” Rose said.
When she made to pass him, Peter grabbed her hand. “Lunch was lovely, Rose. Thank you.”
She glanced at the other men, nodded and turned away.
Peter returned his attention back to the men. They were all stood watching her leave. He got to his feet and pocketed his empty lunch box.
“You shouldn’t be around her. What’s the matter? Not enough sluts visiting your club that you’ve got to pry women out of town,” Brad said.
Staring at the man, Peter knew Rose would be in trouble if Brad got near her. His gut was telling him to protect her.
He stepped up close to Brad and found he had to look down at the man. “Don’t talk about the club like that.”
Walking past them, he felt all four men follow him. Cutting through the path he saw it was secluded, and he sensed they’d make a move. None of them was a match for him no matter what they thought.
Peter spun around to face them, taking them by surprise.
“You shouldn’t come near Rose again,” Brad said.
“And you’re going to stop me?” Peter folded his arms.
Brad’s three friends held back.
“Yeah, I am.” Brad lunged at him, and Peter grabbed the man, pushing him up against the hard brick wall.
“I don’t know, and I don’t really give a shit, who you are. Don’t threaten me, and don’t go telling Rose’s parents. I may be a lot of things, Brad, but I know how to f**k you up and your friends.” He leaned in close to the guy’s ear. “And guess what? I’ve got friends, too.”
He shoved the little prick back to his friends. “Back off.”
Leaving the scene, Peter didn’t feel better. He was worried about Rose. The town of Cape Falls may be having changes, but the people were still stuck in the past.
****
Rose saw Brad and his friends enter the library. They were not good men, but Brad came from a good, wealthy family and everyone put up with him. He scared her, as did the others in his group. Licking her lips, she grabbed the cart of books and made her way around the library putting more books on shelves. Her job was not exciting, and she knew Laura, Dean’s wife, had once been in her position.
They were two women who were going to end up very differently. She made her way into one of the rooms and started putting books back into the medical section. After a few minutes she started to relax. She loved her lunch with Peter, even if he had broken her heart. He’d pretty much made it clear there was no chance for him and her to ever be together. It was incredibly stupid of her to think anything could change.
Peter was totally out of her league, and she’d never have a shot with him. She jumped at the sound of the door to the room closed and locked. Turning to face the door she saw Brad with his three friends. The blinds in the room were closed. No one could enter or see what was going on.
“What’s the matter?” she asked. Her pulse jumped like crazy inside her chest. She’d heard many rumours about these four men. A lot of gossip surrounded them with no proof to back it up.
The three men stood separate from one another as Brad moved in closer. She watched him, terrified. Rose had noticed his gaze on her whenever she was in town. He made her skin crawl, and it took every ounce of willpower not to flinch away from him.
“Your parents don’t know Peter visits here, do they?”
She glanced at him and then at the three men. Their arms were folded, and smirks were on their face. Her heart raced. Cape Falls was a shitty town, but the rumours about these men were the worst. She heard they preyed on women, raped them, but they always had an alibi. The women left Cape Falls or ended up in some accident. She hated it and hated them.
“No, he sits in a room and reads. There’s nothing else to it. He has a right to visit the library as well.”
Brad laughed. “He’s f**king scum, Rose. You shouldn’t allow him near you or to touch you.”
He reached out to stroke her face, and she flinched away. Brad paused with his hand mid-air.
His friends laughed. She stayed still as Brad stroked her cheek. “I don’t want you eating with him again. I’ll be here from now on. You stay away from him.”
“Why?” she asked.
Rose bit her lip as he grabbed both her arms and hauled her up close to his body.
“Because I’ll tell your parents and then there will be nowhere for you to turn.” Brad lowered his head, and Rose turned her face in time. His lips brushed against her cheek.
“Remember, I’ll be around, Rose.”
She didn’t like the sound of his voice. He scared her so much.
Brad held her in his arms, and she kept her gaze on his chest not wanting to look into his eyes.
Please leave. Please leave. Please leave.
She repeated the words to stop herself from screaming them out. Soon they left the room. Rose watched them leave and took a deep breath. They were scary men, and she didn’t want to have to be alone with them ever again.
After her shift at the library she made her way home. Her parents were not home yet, but it would only be a matter of time. She entered their home and went straight to the kitchen. Rose was starving, and she really needed to eat.
Glancing at the cupboards she saw them all locked and bolted. Turning to the fridge she looked inside. Her mother had marked where the milk was when she left, and everything was put in place. If she ate anything her parents would know. They were controlling everything. She left the kitchen and made her way toward the laundry closet. There was where she found the scales and the measuring tape, along with the notebook her mother kept at her father’s insistence.
Every morning without fail she was forced to stand on the scales, and then she was measured around the waist, hips, arms and br**sts. Her father would check the numbers and decide what to do.
Growing up she’d never suffered with this. Her parents fed her without concern at all. They’d given her chocolate, sweets, and healthy meals. It was only recently her food ban had come into force, along with the regular checks on her weight and measurements.