Thank you for the reviews.

Back to Rachel... You know all those moments during Count On Me when you wanted to wrap her up in bubble wrap... I am fairly certain you will want to do that again...

And this is set on the same day as the last chapter... If you get what I mean...

The Night In Question

If Rachel had to compare her experiences, she would have to say that she enjoyed her time with Danny more. Mainly because he took her to a house and there were books there and she could tidy up and make herself busy. Although, she probably should have been trying to find out where she was and how she could get home.

But the bedsit that Adam had her in had nothing like that. The kitchen was one worktop with a microwave taking up half of it. There was a bed and a sofa, but no tv. Adam had got her some clothes but there was literally nothing for her to do other than to try and think of a way to escape.

She could tell that Adam was losing his patience with her in the four days that she had been in his company properly and part of her thought about just saying that she would go willingly to try and get some contact with the outside world. Maybe one of her incredibly bright children would be able to stop them from being taken to Dover and then France or wherever.

If only she was sure that they would be able to stop it from happening to them.

So with nothing to do and no real way of getting out of the situation she was in, it left her with a lot of time to think.

It was why, over the last four days, she had thought about the night that could have potentially been Adam. It was very rare that Danny did blindfold her. She could only think of a handful of times that he did (once was with Danny).

She had managed to pinpoint one night where she thought that it might have been that night. The night where Danny blindfolded her and whispered in her ear that he was going to make him proud. She could remember the way her senses were heightened as Danny cupped her face before he moved his hands down her neck to her shoulders. She was sure that she shivered when he did that and it was the first time that she wondered whether Danny had set it up so he had her. A thought that still turned her stomach.

She could remember the feeling of relief when Danny said 'She's all yours.' before she heard the door close. The fact that a word wasn't spoken between her and the guy (now she presumed it was Adam) had weirded her out at the start. It was usual for the customers to demand things but Adam didn't. He had kissed her, which was weird for her as she had been told by Danny it was never going to happen (one of the three rules; no kissing, no falling in love and make sure they fucking get what they have fucking paid for).

That was when Rachel wished that it wasn't that night.

Because, as he kissed her, his hand went to her throat and he backed her up against a wall, his grip tightening as she hit the wall. She remembered reaching for the hand, trying to scratch at it to get him to loosen his grip. If Danny or one of the other guys did watch them (to make sure that they were doing what they were told to), she would have thought that was a time that they would have burst into the room to stop what was happening.

But no one did. And Rachel had to let what happened to her happen as she was used in a way that she never wanted to be used again (at the time).

She had to ask Adam. Maybe as a way to hope that it wasn't that night. As a way to stop her going crazy.

"The night Danny gave you." She said as Adam took her plate off her.

"What about it?"

"I want to make sure that it is the same night I remember. Making sure that… it was you. Because, it might seem strange, but Danny didn't blindfold me that many times. And if I was blindfolded, the… client liked to do it themselves. You know, to make it seem like they had the power."

"The blindfold was his idea."

"Maybe because he wanted to save me from it. Come on Adam, you were a friend. Danny knew that. For once, I actually think he had my best interests at heart. It is why he tried to scare you off as well."

"He tried to scare me off because that cousin of yours is a control freak," Adam said as he turned back to her.

"I am not going to disagree with that."

"It was like he wanted you for himself."

"Adam, he did. He still does."

"To control you as part of your weird little family."

She shook her head. "No Adam. He loves me, like Eddie loves me." She paused. "Maybe like you love me."

"That's messed up."

Rachel didn't know how to word the next part. Maybe because she knew that the night she had with Adam played on her mind for a while. Because, before the end, she wanted another night like that, to prove that she meant nothing. That the drink wasn't helping what she was feeling and the loneliness along with losing the baby made her feel awful about herself. That she still had to remind herself how far she had come. That her little dips in self-confidence were partly due to what he did to her that night.

It was why she loved Eddie so much. Because when she asked him to be like that with her one night, he refused. He told her that he could never hurt her like that. He said that no one should have been allowed to hurt her like that before he spent the rest of the night trying to show her how she should have been loved.

She closed her eyes and swallowed her tears. It just made her want to be with Eddie even more.

"Adam." She started. "If you wanted me, then why were you like that, that night?"

She didn't really know the answer that she was expecting but she did expect him to respond quicker. Either to tell her that it wasn't the night she was thinking of or defend his actions or to tell her that it was how she should have been treated because she was a whore/slut. The silence was worse.

"I was young and desperate to have you." He said.

"Didn't mean that you… could use me like you did. It… it was the only time I wanted someone to save me from it. You." She stopped. "You took what you wanted without a second thought for me."

"You sounded like you enjoyed it."

"Just because I was moaning and groaning, didn't mean that I enjoyed it. I… never enjoyed it. I never wanted to do it."

She stood up as he took a step towards her.

"I would treat you right now. Just… give me another night and I'll prove that I am better than that night."

"Do you not understand what you did? The rough sex to that fact that you paid for that night. How much did that cost you?"

"Danny wanted 500."

"And you paid it?!"

"It wasn't like you were answering my calls."

"Because my parents, who were constantly high, didn't tell me that you called. Melissa did but usually, I would have just got off a 12-hour shift. I wasn't in the mood for talking. I wanted to go to bed, with some hope that I could keep Danny away. That I could keep up his payments so we didn't have to use the other route. You never knew what it was like at home. You with your takeaways and your overindulgences. I was sometimes lucky to eat at all. And everyone did take the mick out of you for being fat by calling you fat Adam. But I never cared about that. You were kind and sweet and you didn't deserve to be pulled into the mess that is my family. That is why I ignored you. To hide you from the truth."

At best, she felt better for her little outburst. At the worst, she wondered what Adam's next move was going to be.

"Did you say it behind my back as well?" He said.

"Yes. If you took the time, you would have found out everyone had a nickname."

"Yours?"

"Meddlesome Mandy. Either that or you must have heard them say 'alright Miss' with a roll of their eyes. Problem is Adam, I know I can be controlling. Eddie hasn't told me it to my face, but he made a comment once that was far off from telling me that I was a control freak. Because I have always had to be in control of my out of control circumstances." She paused. "The problem is… Eddie does understand that and he… he knows when I need to be in control of something and it always comes back to… how I don't have a funny relationship with sex is beyond me."

"Amanda."

"Adam, it's not Amanda."

"Just… give me another chance."

She took a step back as Adam took a step towards her.

"I can't. I… just want to go back to my children. Please, Adam, this is killing me. Nearly as much as it did when I had to leave Kiera at the hospital after she was born."

"And I've said that we can pick them up on the way if you willingly come with me."

"Have you thought this through? Like how is this all going to work? If we get to Dover? We don't have passports or clothes…"

"You leave that to me. Just tell me that you will come."

Rachel returned to her thought earlier that day, about Kiera or Jacob being able to find a way out of this that she couldn't think of. But she battled with herself. If they didn't, did she want to subject her children to the nightmare that she was currently going through?

"What if they don't want to come? I… I can't make them leave Eddie if they don't want to."

"Then that is their decision."

She wished that Adam never said the comment about giving him another night as she ran out of room to keep going backwards and Adam kept advancing on her. She held up an arm, keeping only a small amount of distance between them.

"Does that mean that you will come?" He whispered.

She nodded at him, not trusting her own voice.

"Then I will get everything sorted. Kiera and."

"Jacob."

"Give me a couple of days and then we will be out of here."

She struggled to swallow the sob that escaped her lips. "Adam." She whispered. "I can't betray Eddie. Not yet. When we are away."

"Maybe, you still need to decide what is important to you."

Rachel had hoped that might put him off but it didn't as one of his hands lifted her chin up so she was looking up at him and taking the last step to keep her against the wall. He kissed her in a way that she knew meant that even if she could get him off her, he wouldn't take it very well. Which made everything more awful. Because she felt like she allowed it to happen.

How was she going to tell Eddie that?