Free Playing With Fire (Sweet Redemption) by Rose Francis Page B

for you Liz. Eric told me this story about how an old friend of his and his cousin were in relationships like yours. They both got murdered by their boyfriends. I don’t want anything like that to happen to you!”
    “You sure he didn’t just make that shit up to make sure he got rid of the competition?” Liz said, leaning back.
    “You can’t be serious Liz—you know as well as I do for a fact that tons of domestic abuse situations turn into...”
    “I’m not being abused Janet. Jason doesn’t hit me.”
    That’s not the only kind of abuse , Janet wanted so say but she sighed instead.
    This wasn’t going well. As long as Liz was defensive, there was no getting through to her. She’d have to come up with another plan, try again another day.
    “I love you Liz—I don’t want to lose you to some paranoid, obsessive guy who’s nowhere even near your league.”
    Liz seemed to soften again.
    “Listen honey, I’ll be fine. You just look out for that smooth one slithering into your life. It’s all looking good so far, but that’s how it always starts. Make sure you figure out what he’s up to before you come trying to watch my house. Keep your eyes open. If your instincts are telling you he’s up to something, pay attention.”
    Janet looked away.
    They both quietly went back to their food.
    ***
    When Janet got back to her office, she found her mind eager to get back to work and focus on her assignments.
    The last thing she expected as four o’clock came around was for Eric to show up at her door having successfully expunged him from her brain for the past few hours.
    He knocked lightly, then closed the door behind him as she looked up, startled.
    “I heard through the grapevine you’re going on vacation pretty soon,” he said matter-of-factly.
    “What’s it to you?” she wanted to say. Instead, she nodded, wondering who he could have heard it from.
    “For how long?” he asked, and Janet pondered over the tones and undertones of his voice.
    “A week,” she responded slowly.
    Eric nodded.
    “Mighty long time to take off without telling your partner what’s up.”
    “I was going to tell you Eric, I just hadn’t gotten around to it.”
    He said nothing—only nodded his head as if understanding, but it was clear he was anything but.
    “Are you going anywhere in particular?”
    Janet hesitated. Again, he was making her want to be honest and forthright. She had to bite down on answering truthfully—it was none of his business damn it!
    “None of your business,” she managed to squeeze through her teeth.
    Then his face transformed, and he suddenly looked unfamiliar.
    His face tightened in a way she hadn’t seen, his complexion as if more blood was flowing nearer the surface of his skin. His eyes stormed.
    “When are you leaving?”
    Janet hadn’t yet picked the date, but now knew what to tell the secretary. Her birthday was on Monday after all.
    “Sunday,” she said, confirming it to herself. That would give her enough time to travel, settle in and relax before her day of celebration.
    Eric looked like he was barely restraining himself, but this time, there was no sexual energy to it.
    He seemed furious.
    “Fine,” he said, turning and storming out of her office, shutting her door behind him.
    Janet stared at the back of her door in wonder.

CHAPTER SEVEN: NO ESCAPE
     
    When she first started packing, Janet felt depressed—thinking about all the time she was supposed to spend alone in a beautiful location, a thing made for sharing with someone. But by the end of her packing, she was elated.
    It was the perfect opportunity to let go of her past, and embrace her present. To clear her head and spend time with herself figuring out what she really wanted.
    She was now feeling grateful for the opportunity to do some soul-searching, and think about the future.
    Besides her reading material—some fluffy romances, a few autobiographies and more serious, literary fiction—she was bringing along her