Under Pressure [IAD Agency] (Siren Publishing Classic)

was, his efforts were not welcomed. He had continued sending her gifts and letters, which she continued to ignore until they had stopped. She never gave it a second thought, until he had started to call her. She had reported the calls to the front desk of the hotel, and they had blocked him from reaching her.
    Until that night.
    Over the past few months the dreams haunted her less frequently, for which she was grateful, but they still came. She looked down to her shaking hands, staring at the deep scar on her right hand where Victor had cut her. It had taken her months to regain the use of that hand after the damage he had caused, but she had survived. She had scars on her neck where he had cut her, though these were faint, mostly healed, and now barely visible. Other, deeper scars graced her lower abdomen where Victor had buried the knife, those would always be there. But that was nothing compared to the deepest scar she carried which could not be seen.
    The scar on her soul that was deep inside her.
    She had drifted in and out of consciousness that night, and finally he had left her for dead. Luckily, he had missed most of her vital organs when he had stabbed her, giving her the precious minutes she needed to live. The night manager of the hotel had gone up to Bella’s suite to visit that night. Seeing blood on the door handle, she had keyed in after Bella didn’t answer, sensing something was very wrong. If not for her friend, Bella would have died.
    Bella had woken up in the hospital surrounded by her family, alive but barely feeling it. The anguish on their faces was burned in her memory as they discovered what had happened. Victor had been stalking her for months. The police had discovered that his apartment had been filled with pictures of her everywhere, walking on the street, with her friends, and he had even stolen pieces of clothing from her suite in the hotel. She gave her statement to the police, reports were filled out, but it was no use.
    Victor Dane had disappeared.
    She had recovered in the hospital, a rehab facility, and then was moved into a house her family had rented, where she had been put on lockdown as they hoped for a sign of Victor. Her family’s unwavering support brought tears to her eyes, knowing that she should have been able to tell them everything, anything, and it was her fault that she had left them in the dark over the weird fans she had accumulated over the years. She had never mentioned a thing.
    Bella’s family and friends had taken turns staying with her, never leaving her alone during those months of recovery. Liz had come to live with and take care of her, quitting her job when they had refused to give her the time off. She didn’t need it anyways since her parents had died years ago, leaving her their fortune.
    Bella’s brother Tony, who was a computer genius, had relocated to be with her since he could write his software programs anywhere. He never left her alone as if afraid something would happen to her again if he so much as blinked.
    Bella had told Danny to go back home since he had the bar to take care of, but Mama and Papa said they would alternate with him so someone could stay at Moretti’s and the others could come be with her as often as they could. Her family had stayed with her in that house while she recovered, until she was strong enough to move back to Chicago. The only family member not around was Salvatore, her oldest brother. He had joined the Army Rangers years ago, and it had been almost two years since any of them had spoken to him. All they had been told was that he was “on assignment,” and they received the occasional letter from him, with no return address.
    Bella made the rest of her family swear that they would allow her to tell him once he was home and stopped them from trying to find him. Bella dreaded telling him since Sal had the worst temper out of the three brothers. All of her brothers were big, frightening men, but not to her. Their massive frames gave her comfort and made her feel protected like she needed, surrounding her with love and security.
    Silent tears streaked down her face as the memories assailed her.
    “I’m okay…I’m okay…” she whispered over and over again, repeating the words like a mantra, trying to calm herself.
    A furious pounding on her door broke her out of her frightened daze, forcing her back to reality.
    “Bella, open up,” Tony’s deep harsh voice demanded. “Bells, sweetheart, you know the