Alex: Beauty and The Greek (BWWM) (The Wallflower's Series Book 5)

by T. C. Clark

  “I’m glad you’re both okay,” Maks said with a smile. He winked at Tara and she blushed.

  “Calm it down, Maks, she’s mine,” he said reaching back to pull her under his arm. They followed him upstairs.

  “You must be Leslie,” Tara said, walking over to her desk. The small woman jumped so engrossed in her work she hadn’t looked up. Her hair was a mass of natural spiral curls. Her brown skin was flawless, Tara was sure she didn’t have on a speck of makeup.

  “I am. You have to be Tara. Oh my god, you are so beautiful. Now I get why Alex lost his shit after one night with you,” Leslie blurted out. Her almond-colored skin darkened as she realized she’d said that last thought out loud.

  “Yeah, I’m unforgettable like that,” Tara joked. “Thank you for helping me. I know this had to be a lot for you to handle with Alex being gone.”

  “Oh, that was nothing, I love being in charge. Some would say too much but I fired those people,” she said, wiggling her eyebrows at her.

  “It still was a lot. Thank you for helping us out,” Alex said sincerely. Leslie smiled his way but didn’t look in his direction. He turned to his brother, who also looked uncomfortable and sighed. He’d had no choice when he’d sent Maks here to protect Leslie, but he hoped he hadn’t made a mistake. The last thing he wanted was for her to get hurt.

  “I’ve been working in the empty office down the hall. Let me show you what we found,” Maks said, turning to head back to the office. He cast a look at Leslie but she ignored it. Alex nodded and walked over to Tara and kissed her on her head.

  “I’ll be right back,” he said. “Once we’re done here I will take you to check out your office and we can go talk to your family together.”

  “Okay,” she said.

  When they left, Leslie straightened up and smiled brightly. “Hey, do you want to watch the Housewives episode that came on last night?” She pointed to the television in the corner of Alex’s office.

  “Yes! I need to know what happened when Stephanie confronted Kenya.” At the mention of the fight highlighted in the preview clip, Leslie shook her head.

  “Well, pull up a chair. You are about to be underwhelmed,” she said with a laugh. She turned and opened a small fridge next to her desk, grabbed them two Coke’s and some chips, and started the show as Tara took a seat.

  * * *

  “So, what’s going on with you and Leslie?” Alex asked when as they entered the empty office. Maks had files everywhere. Alex sat down in front of one of them and started to go through it.

  “It’s none of your business,” Maks said brusquely.

  “It is if you hurt her. Leslie is my family. She’s been by my side for a long time. She isn’t like the women you’re used to and I’m not going to let you fuck with her.”

  “You know me I don’t hurt women for fun. But what’s going on between us is private,” Maks said firmly.

  “So you admit something is going on.” He adjusted his glasses and leaned back in the chair.

  “Listen…” Maks started to say, when the door to the office shut and the lights went out. All of the top office floors had automatic doors. If the door was closed it wouldn’t reopen until the lights came back on.

  They both ran to it and tried to open it, but something had triggered the automatic electric lock. “Tara!” Alex yelled through the door, banging on the glass. He knew that this wasn’t a coincidence.

  Josh was here.

  “Leslie!” Maks shouted as well.

  But it was useless. They were too far down the hall to be heard and the glass here was so thick it was almost sound proof.

  “We have to get this door opened,” Alex said, cutting on the light on his phone and opening his security app. He had to focus. There was an override code he could use to turn on the second generator and unlock the door.

  “I’m going to try to access the generator online,” Alex said, searching his brain for the code.

  “Good, then I will try to get it open the old-fashioned way,” he said grabbing a heavy looking pipe from under the sink.

  He grimaced as Maks started to strike the glass. They had to get out of here. He couldn’t let anything happen to Tara. As he worked, he also started to do something else that he hadn’t done since he was a child, he prayed.

  Tara and Leslie were laughing hysterically when the lights went out. They both immediately fell silent.

  “We need to go,” Leslie said, jumping to her feet. “I’ve been spending some time with Ben; the PI Alex hired to look into Josh. He told me if something happened out of the ordinary to run.”

  “What about…we need to call 911,” Tara stuttered as she stood up, too. Her heart was pounding.

  “I’m doing it now. All I have to do is find the panic button,” she said.

  Tara pulled out her phone and turned on the flashlight app. Leslie grabbed a stun gun from her purse and a small vial of pepper spray. She hit the emergency button under her desk and grabbed Tara’s hand.

  They were walking as quietly as they could when they heard Alex’s voice, a bit muffled but clearly trying to shout. They ran in the direction of it, and through the glass they saw Maks trying to forcibly break the door down and Alex working furiously on his phone.

  “Go and hide!” Alex commanded when he saw them standing there.

  “What is he doing on his phone?” Tara asked as the shock started to fade from her brain. Alex was typing something on his phone.

  “He’s probably trying to override the system online. Once these doors are locked they can’t open until the electricity is back on,” Leslie explained.

  “But our door didn’t lock.” Tara pulled at the door handle.

  “Yeah, Alex has the only office door that is controlled by a panel. It’s not on the same line as the others,” she said.

  “Y’all need to go, Leslie!” Maks yelled. His eyes were wide with worry. “Go now, that psycho is probably here.”

  “Tara…” a voice called from the darkness.

  Dread swamped her senses. She knew that voice. She hated it.

  Immediately, Maks stopped hitting the door. Both Tara and Leslie slowly turned in the direction of the new voice. They wore expressions of horror and fear. Tara turned off her flashlight; she didn’t want the light to make them an easy target.

  Alex stopped working as he watched Tara through the glass. For the first time in his adult life he felt helpless. A well of rage formed in his chest. How could this happen? He’d taken so many precautions.

  “Tara, Leslie run. Run now!” His whispered command finally broke through to Tara and she grabbed Leslie’s hand and ran in the opposite direction of where they were looking. Once they did, Alex ran to the door and started to yell loudly.

  “What are you doing?” Maks asked.

  “Trying to draw his attention to us to give them more time to run.”

  He nodded and started to yell too. It took a few minutes, but a dark figure appeared at the door. Josh Boehm looked through the glass and gave them an evil smile.

  “I’m busy right now, gentlemen. Let me get my women together and then I’ll come back and deal with you. Sit tight, I’ll be right back.”

  Maks started hitting at the door again, striking against the spot where his face was. Alex turned away from the door and started working again. He let his stress and worries wash away and focused on unlocking the code. When he got the door open he would find Josh and kill him. There was no other way to handle this. That man had to die.

  Leslie took over as guide when she and Tara entered the stairwell. They both slipped off their heels and ran as quickly as they could in the dark. There were three ways to get down from the top in floor. Would he beat them there? When they heard a sound at the bottom of the steps, they panicked and went into the closest door.

  They ran down the third floor looking for an open door to hide in. When they rounded a corner. Leslie pointed to a small door. She opened it and pushed her inside. It was a utility closet. They b
oth slid to the ground as they tried to catch their breath.

  “What are we going to do?” Leslie whispered into the darkness.

  “I’m sorry I brought this psycho here, Leslie.”

  “It’s okay. This isn’t your fault, it’s his. Don’t forget that, Tara.”

  “Give me the stun gun and stay here,” Tara ordered as she got back to her feet. She’d just realized her right foot was bleeding. They’d slipped off their heels before they’d started to run. Fuck, her blood would lead him right to them. It was time for her to try to fight.

  “There is no way on God’s green earth that I will let you face him alone,” Leslie said.

  They both gasped when the door swung open. A tall man stepped inside and closed it quietly. Tara started to lunge at him but stopped when Leslie stood up and hugged him.

  “What are you doing here Ben?” she asked, sounding frantic and relieved at the same time.

  “I figured out what was going to happen just a few hours ago when we’d completed the sting operation. He had information on the building. From everything I saw I was sure he was going to hit this place tonight.” His blue eyes were sharp as he examined them for wounds. He had a military feel, like her dad. Ben pulled out his gun and motioned for them to get behind him.

  “How did you find us?” Tara asked.

  “I followed your blood trail, Gretel,” he whispered, referring to the character from a popular children’s tale. “Okay, ladies, I want you to go down to the first floor as soon as we get back to the stairwell, and then take the west entrance and use the maintenance door to get out. I purposely cleared that area.”

  “Alex and Maks are trapped on the top floor,” Tara said as they followed him out into the hallway.

  “I’ll get them, don’t worry about that. You two just get out of the building.”

  Just as they were getting to the door, the lights cut back on. At the same time, Tara spotted Josh on the other side, through the glass. “No!” she started to shout.

  Before Ben could raise his gun, Josh fired his weapon and Ben fell to the ground.

  Josh didn’t hesitate; he aimed the gun at Leslie and pulled the trigger so quickly that she didn’t have time to react. But Tara did. She threw herself into Leslie to try to keep her from getting hit. The bullet went through Leslie’s shoulder and into her arm. Tara screamed as they fell to the floor.

  Leslie moaned as the blood seeped from her wound onto Tara. It was funny Tara had never really believed in the crazy stories about people killing in a fit of rage, but now she knew it was possible.

  The fear faded as anger consumed her. This fucking man had terrorized her for the last time. She couldn’t take it anymore. She grabbed the gun from Ben’s limp hand and fired into the door. She remembered what her dad had told her: if you didn’t know where to shoot, aim for the body, it was the biggest target.

  Tara heard a muffled scream, but the door remained closed. She took a deep breath and picked herself up from the floor. She limped to the door slowly. The gun felt heavy in her hand. Her heart was beating so fast that she thought she might to pass out.

  She pushed open the door and found Alex choking Josh. Maks was trying to pull him off, but he wouldn’t let go. Alex was so focused that it seemed like he was in a trance. Maks saw Leslie lying on the floor and ran to her, leaving Tara to handle Alex. Blood gushed from a wound on Josh’s stomach.

  Josh was turning purple from the pressure and was desperately pulling at Alex’s hands, which were wrapped tightly around his neck. There were scratch marks all over Alex’s hands but still he wouldn’t let go.

  “Alex, stop. He’s done. You’ve got cameras all around this place. He won’t get away this time.”

  His grip remained tight on Josh’s neck as if he couldn’t hear her at all. She had to figure out a way to stop him.

  “Alex, look at me. I love you. If you do this, I’m going to lose you. He’s not worth it; let the police deal with him. Please, Alex, I’m not strong enough to stop you, so I’m asking you to stop this if you love me even half as much as I love you.”

  “You love me?” he whispered.

  “I do, so please let him go,” she whispered, pulling at his hands. It took him a moment to stop. He slowly relaxed his grip and released him. Loud sirens were going off outside the building.

  Josh wheezed and choked in pain on the ground. The scent of his fear filled the room. Within moments, the police were inside.

  * * *

  It took hours before any semblance of normal reappeared.

  They’d been taken to the hospital to be treated and Josh had been taken into custody.

  Tara had received some stitches in her arm and foot and Leslie was out of surgery. Luckily, the bullet had missed her vital organs. She’d lost a lot of blood but they were optimistic about her recovery.

  Ben was another story. He’d been shot in the head. He’d survived the surgery but now his brain was swelling and they didn’t know if he would survive.

  Slowly Tara and Alex’s family trickled in. Bella hugged her tightly and then she cursed her out for not telling her about Josh. Alex kissed the top of Tara’s head and excused himself when he saw Nikos.

  “I need the number of that guy…the Sandman,” Alex said when they were out of earshot. He was referring to a man they knew through their mutual friend, Dmitri. A person they believed to be an active assassin.

  “Why?” Nikos asked.

  “You know why. I couldn’t kill him in front of Tara, but I can’t take the risk of him ever getting out,” Alex said seriously.

  “Don’t worry about that. I just ran into Tara and Bella’s cousin in the hallway, the one who gave those tapes to Julian before his fight. Guess who she is?” Nikos said. Alex remained quiet.

  “We’ve met her before because of Dmitri. They call her the Librarian, and I’m pretty sure she works with the Sandman. When she came in I made sure to tell her exactly who did this to Tara and where he was now.”

  “You think she’s like him?” Alex asked.

  “Trust me, something about the look on her face said that whatever is going on behind those pretty eyes isn’t good. I’d give Josh a day, if that. How are you feeling?” Nikos waved back at Bella who was motioning for them to come into the room.

  “For a second I thought Josh killed her. There was so much blood. I don’t know what I would do if I lost her now. How could she come to mean so much to me, so quickly?” he asked, shaking his head in awe.

  “I don’t know how it works. I just know that you can trust it and you have to protect it no matter the cost,” Nikos said. Alex nodded in agreement.

  “Have you seen Maks?” Nikos asked looking around the hall. Ada and the baby had stayed home and would visit later on.

  “He’s with Leslie. He has been since we got here,” Alex answered, his eyes on Tara. She looked so happy. With Josh gone, she could finally start living again. The only sad part of this story was Ben. Alex had already enlisted the care of the best doctors. He would pay anything to make sure his old friend was okay.

  “What’s going on there?” Nikos asked. They both knew Leslie was not Maks’ typical type.

  “I’m not sure, but I’ll let you know when I find out.” Alex patted Nikos on the shoulder and headed back in to get Tara. It took him ten minutes, but he finally got her out of the family-filled room.

  Tara and Alex walked down the hospital hallway hand in hand.

  “You know everything is different now,” he said when they reached the vending machines.

  “I do,” Tara said with a serene smile.

  “You don’t seem worried about it,” he said, pulling her into his arms.

  “Why should I be? You love me and I love you. We are adults and together we can make this work.”

  “You’re sure I love you?” he asked, loving how happy she was right now.

  “I am, and after everything that happened tonight I’m not afraid to admit it,” she said, looking deep into his eyes. Alex w
ouldn’t always be an easy man to live with. She knew that from the arrogant tilt of his chin. But he was hers.

  “I do love you more than I ever believed possible. Now obviously, that means things have got to change. We have to figure out where we should live…” He continued to talk but her mind was on other things. She thought about her life, how different it was now and how love had changed her outlook. She’d finally found the one she never knew she needed.

  A Few Weeks Later…

  “You’re going to leave me here?” Leslie said with her hands on her hips. Tara watched her carefully as they settled her into the cabin. They’d had it professionally cleaned and restocked with food and household items.

  “No, you just need some time to recoup, and we think this is the best place for you to do it. I mean technically we are leaving for a few days but we’ll be back before you know it,” Tara said, unpacking one of the heavy designer bags.

  “And you agreed to this, Alex? You know you need me manning the desk and watching your back. The doctor said I’m going to be fine.”

  “I need you to get better and honestly, you can’t be trusted. I’ve caught you in the office twice now. We’ve set this cabin up for you. It’s stocked with food and supplies. You can use this time to work on your book. I also have a nurse who will come here weekly to check on your stitches.”

  “These aren’t even my clothes,” Leslie said, grumbling as she sorted through the oversized Gucci bag.

  “No I just picked up some things for you,” Tara said, hanging up the last of the clothes.” They will fit you perfectly, trust me. Think of this as a paid vacation. Just relax and enjoy it.”

  “Is there anyone else around?” she asked as she peered out of one of the oversized glass windows.

  “There are a few people in the surrounding cabins, but everyone has been checked out and this place has state of the art security,” he said, showing her the control center for the smart house.

  Tara knew Leslie couldn’t stay mad; the cabin was too beautiful for that. Sure enough, after an hour or so she started to relax.