Next to Forever: Shattered Innocence Trilogy Book Three

by Long, A. L.

  “I don’t even know what to say, Mason,” Dylan choked, trying to hold back her doubt.

  “Just think about it. In the meantime, I’ll let Keeve and Rade know of my proposition,” Mason said as he stood and left Dylan’s office.

  This news was just too much for her. Being the head of a company was the last thing she ever expected she would be offered. Even though Dylan had put a lot of time and effort into Spectrum and she knew it inside out, she was still not sure if she was ready to take on such a big responsibility. It was one thing to know everything there was to know about the financial stuff, but to actually run a company, that was a whole different ball game.

  Five o’clock was approaching and Dylan was ready to call it a day. Gathering her things, Dylan headed down to the lobby. Taking her phone from her purse, she decided to send Rade a quick text.

  Dylan: I’m heading home. Will you be there by the time I get there?

  Rade: Running a little late. Should be there soon after you.

  Dylan: I will cook dinner. What would you like?

  Rade: You.

  Dylan: Very funny. I’ll surprise you. Love you.

  Rade: Love you too!!

  Dylan wanted to share the news with Rade and get his thoughts on what Mason was offering her. Since Rade didn’t mention it in his texts to her, she thought it was better to get his opinion before Mason had a chance to bring it up first. She decided that if Rade didn’t bring it up after they finished dinner, it would be a good opportunity to talk to him about it.

  Entering the penthouse, Dylan placed her things on the barstool and poured herself a glass of wine. Scanning the contents in the fridge, she decided on chicken Alfredo and a Caesar salad. Dylan wanted to make something special for Rade. As much as he liked making her breakfast in the morning, Dylan enjoyed cooking him dinner at night. It was a way that they could decompress and share the events of the day together.

  While Dylan was watching the water boil for the noodles, she kept thinking about Rade and what she planned to do to him. She wasn’t sure what was going on with her. Lately, she had been feeling really needy when he was around. All she could think about was Rade touching her body and being inside her. Maybe it was everything that had been going on with them. Whatever it was, the only thing she could think about was jumping his bones.

  Preparing their meal, Dylan didn’t realize that there was someone else in the penthouse. It was only when she turned to place the plates and tableware on the counter that she saw her.

  “Hello, schoolgirl. Bet I’m the last person you expected to see? You should have listened to me,” Chloe seethed in a low voice as she took one of the knives from the knife block, running her thumb over the sharp edge.

  “How did you get in here?” Dylan asked, hiding her fear.

  Chloe reached in her pocket and pulled out a key card. “You left this behind at The Castle. You know, you should really be more careful. Someone could just walk in,” Chloe said arrogantly.

  “I didn’t leave it. You or Michael took it from me,” Dylan asserted.

  “No matter,” Chloe smirked.

  “What do you want, Chloe?” Dylan asked, afraid to find out.

  “You out of the picture so Rade and I can finally be together once and for all,” Chloe hissed as she rounded the breakfast bar.

  Dylan swayed back and forth trying to judge which way Chloe was going to come after her with the knife. Turning away from where Chloe was, Dylan thought she could escape her. Running toward the front door, Dylan was stopped abruptly by Chloe’s claws in her hair. Taking hold of Chloe’s wrist, Dylan tried to alleviate some of the pain caused by the pull on her hair. It was no use. The harder Dylan tried, the harder Chloe pulled. Chloe had her where she wanted her. With her hand gripping Dylan’s hair, Chloe was able to pull Dylan’s body closer to hers. The knife was so close to Dylan’s throat, she thought for sure she was going to die.

  “You ruined everything. You made me lose the baby. Rade and I would have been the perfect family if it hadn’t been for you.” Chloe’s words echoed throughout the room as she pressed the knife against Dylan’s skin.

  Dylan knew she had to do something. The blood from the cut to her throat began to trickle down her neck. Dylan wasn’t sure how badly Chloe had sliced her, but she wasn’t ready to die like this. Stepping back with her left foot, Dylan was able to throw Chloe off balance. Turning her body, Dylan tried to get the knife away from her. When Chloe wouldn’t release it, Dylan punched Chloe in the face, hoping that the jolt would cause her to release the weapon. The only thing it did was make Chloe angrier. “You fucking bitch,” Chloe yelled as she started swinging the knife radically at Dylan.

  “It doesn’t have to be like this, Chloe. You can have Rade. I’ll stay away. I’ll tell him I don’t love him anymore.” Dylan knew she could never leave Rade, but she had to try anything to convince Chloe differently.

  “You think I would believe you? I know exactly what you’re doing, schoolgirl. It’s not going to work. The only way I’ll have Rade is if you’re dead.” Chloe cursed as she lunged forward.

  Dylan looked down to her side, seeing blood slowly seeping through the material of her blouse. Looking up at Chloe, Dylan was angry that Chloe got a piece of her. Dylan didn’t know where her strength came from, but she charged at Chloe, causing them both to tumble to the ground. Struggling back and forth, Dylan tried to get the knife away from Chloe. Blood was everywhere, coating the white marble floor with Dylan’s blood. Dylan began to lose her strength. With the amount of blood that was on the floor, she was surprised that she managed to fight Chloe off this long. Unable to fight anymore, Dylan was ready to give up. By the smile on Chloe’s face, she knew she was inches away from finishing her off. It was then that Dylan heard Rade’s voice.

  “Dylan,” Rade yelled hysterically.

  Chloe looked up at Rade with apologetic eyes. Returning her focus back to Dylan, she lifted the knife above her head, ready to plunge it inside Dylan. Dylan’s eyes shut, knowing that soon her life would be over. As Dylan waited for the pain of the knife to dig into her skin, she only felt the warmth of Rade’s arms wrap around her.

  Dylan didn’t know what happened. When she was able to open her eyes, she saw Chloe lying on the floor and the knife was no longer in her hand. Looking back at Rade, Dylan asked softly, “Is she dead?”

  “No,” Rade said with regret, pushing her hair from her cheek with his hand. “When I saw what she was going to do, I grabbed her arm and punched her. She’s going to be out for a while.”

  Rade pulled Dylan closer to him. When he felt something warm, he looked at her. He thought for sure the blood on the floor was from Chloe based on how much covered her clothing. Dylan’s eyes slowly closed. Lifting his hand to her cheek, his hand was covered in blood. Turning her body, he could see that she was the one bleeding. Chloe stabbed her. “Oh God, Dylan, hold on, baby.”

  Rade pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed 9-1-1. After talking to dispatch, letting them know what happened, he placed his phone on the marble floor and held Dylan close to him. He thought by holding her, she would be okay. He was there now to protect her.

  The paramedics finally showed up along with the police. Rade refused to let go of her. It was only after they told him he could ride to the hospital with her in the ambulance that he let them do what they needed to take care of Dylan.

  The police wanted to question him about what happened, but Rade wasn’t going to leave Dylan’s side. Rade told the police that until he knew for sure that she was going to be okay, he wasn’t going to leave her. It was then that the police officer gave in and agreed to meet him at the hospital for questioning.

  As Rade followed the paramedics out of the penthouse, he looked over to Chloe, who was now handcuffed by the police. Before he got into the elevator, he heard Chloe’s voice crackle. “Rade,” she said sharply.

  Looking at Chloe’s defeated body, he cursed, “I have nothing to say to you, Chloe.”

  “
But I thought you loved me,” Chloe cried with a confused look on her face.

  “You can rot in hell for all I care,” Rade claimed with vengeance. “I hope when they lock you up, they throw away the key.”

  Chloe lowered her head. She knew Rade was angry with her, but he would forgive her eventually. She knew he loved her, or at least her demented mind thought he did. Soon they would be together.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  Rade had been pacing back and forth for what seem like hours. He still hadn’t heard anything. With his clothing covered in Dylan’s blood, he looked down at his appearance. He needed to make sure she didn’t see him like this, but for now he didn’t care. All he wanted to know was how she was doing.

  Richard showed up two hours later. He wanted to let Rade know the status of Chloe and to find out about Dylan. Putting his hand on his shoulder, Richard asked sympathetically, “How is she doing?"

  “I don’t know. They haven’t let me know anything,” Rade admitted painfully, trying hard to hold it together.”

  “She’s a strong woman, Rade. She’ll get through this,” Richard reassured him.

  Leading him over to the waiting area, Richard convinced Rade to take a seat. Pacing the floor wasn’t doing him any good. Richard spotted a coffee cart and asked Rade if he wanted some coffee. Rade nodded his head in acceptance. With two cups of coffee in hand, Richard took a seat beside Rade. Handing him one of the cups, he filled him in on Chloe. “When the police took Chloe away, she went crazy. She started confessing to everything she did to you, to Dylan. She even confessed to how she got pregnant. How she drugged you and then had her way with you. She even confessed to persuading Michael to kill the guy they found by the Brooklyn Bridge.”

  “Oh God, she did get a piece of me!” Rade cried out with disgust.

  “Rade, you were drugged. It was the only way she could get you to submit to her. This was by no means your doing.”

  “I should have never followed through with my plan to seduce her. All it did was give her the opportunity to take what she wanted. Me,” Rade confessed.

  “Wasn’t that your plan? To get her to fall for you and confess everything she had done to Dylan?” Richard asked.

  “Yeah, but not like that. I guess I should have thought that one through,” Rade said with agony.

  “Anyway, they had to call in a doctor to sedate her. He’s evaluating her now. Don’t be surprised if she spends the rest of her days in a mental institution,” Richard advised.

  “Better there than anywhere near Dylan or myself,” Rade admitted.

  Just as Rade was ready to get himself another cup of coffee, the doctor appeared. It was the same doctor that saw to Dylan’s care when she had been beaten so badly. “Mr. Matheson, I didn’t expect to see you here again,” the doctor said, surprised.

  “Cut the crap and tell me how Dylan is.” Richard placed his hand on Rade’s shoulder, trying to calm him. Richard knew how much Rade loved Dylan, but there was no reason for the harsh words that he flung at the doctor. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude. I've just been sick not knowing how she is.”

  “That’s understandable. I need to ask you a question. Did you know that Ms. Adams was pregnant?” the doctor asked, concerned.

  “What? No,” Rade answered, confused.

  “It’s hard to tell how far along she really is, but when we did the blood test on her, it showed positive. It’s common protocol to do a pregnancy test when pain medication is going to be administered. We don’t want to endanger the fetus in the event the patient is pregnant,” the doctor explained.

  Rade was shocked by the news. He had no idea that Dylan was pregnant. She was always so careful in taking her pill every day. She always kept the small disc with her in her purse. It was then that Rade realized that Dylan couldn’t have taken them while Michael had her. Her purse was left behind. He remembered seeing it with her things in the private room at The Castle. It should have dawned on him then that she didn’t have access to her pills. Pushing away his thoughts, he asked. “How are they doing? Dylan and the baby?”

  “Both of them will be fine. Dylan has lost a lot of blood, but we were able to stop the bleeding. Her body should be able to regenerate the lost blood in a couple of weeks. Being that it’s so early in her pregnancy, the baby wasn’t affected by the knife wound. We were able to repair the small cut to her large intestine,” the doctor confirmed.

  “When can I see her?” Rade asked.

  “She’s still in recovery. I’ll have a nurse come get you when they move her to a room,” the doctor advised.

  Rade looked to Richard, trying to find the answers that he needed. Dylan was pregnant. Rade didn’t know how to feel about it. It was something that Dylan wanted. Even though they discussed it, Rade wasn’t sure he was ready to love another being. All he could think about was, what if something happened to the baby?

  It was as though Richard knew exactly what Rade was thinking. Patting him on the shoulder, he said understandingly, “Not everything turns out bad, Rade. Dylan gave you her love, something you thought you would never find again. Now you have been given the gift to share the love you have for her with another being. A being both of you created out of that love. Don’t treat this as an omen, treat it as a second chance to live free from your demons.” With those choice words, Richard left Rade to his thoughts.

  Moments after Richard left, the nurse came and got Rade to take him to Dylan’s room. After Richard left, Rade had time to think about what he said. He knew Richard was right. Rade knew that he needed to put his fears aside and release the demons that had been haunting him for so long. He made the first step in forgiving his father, now he just needed to move forward and let the happiness that was going to fill his life happen.

  Before he entered Dylan’s room, he asked the nurse if they had something he could change into. The last thing he wanted was to have Dylan see him covered in blood. When the nurse came back with a set of scrubs, Rade ducked into the men’s restroom to change. He couldn’t see any reason to save his discarded clothing so he deposited them in the trash bin. Taking a quick look at himself, he said softly to his reflection, “You’re going to be a father, and you’re going to be the best father your child is going to ever have.” Pushing from the counter, he headed to the room where his future wife was.

  Stepping across the threshold, Rade looked over to the most gorgeous woman he had ever set eyes on. Even in her paper thin hospital gown, she was beautiful. Taking her by the hand, he lowered his lips to her head. Dylan was pale and looked so fragile as Rade gently swept his hand across her cheek. Dylan’s eyes fluttered open at his touch.

  Focusing her eyes, she saw the man she loved more than life itself. “Hey,” she whispered softly.

  Rade put down the bed rail and sat beside her on the bed, careful not to disturb the wires she had running from her body. Looking into her peaked eyes, Rade answered, “Hey, Sweetness. How are you feeling?”

  “Tired,” Dylan sighed softly.

  “The doctor said you lost a lot of blood, but that you both would be okay,” Rade told her as he rubbed her hand.

  “Both?” Dylan asked, confused.

  “Yeah, we’re going to have a baby, Sweetness,” Rade said smiling down on her.

  “Baby?” Dylan replied back.

  With Dylan’s one-word sentences, Rade was beginning to think she wasn’t rested enough to understand what was going on. Maybe by tomorrow she would feel better and understand what was happening to her.

  “Just rest, Sweetness. We can talk about this tomorrow when you’re stronger,” Rade demanded softly.

  Even when he was tender, he was demanding. This was how he would always be with her. Leaving her side, Rade called Richard to have him pick up some appropriate clothing for him. No sooner than he was gone, Dylan was back to resting soundly.

  When Richard came back with a change of clothing, Rade asked one of the nurses sitting at the nurse’s station if there was somewhere he could take a s
hower and clean up. Giving in to his request, one of the nurses was more than happy to show him a bathroom with a shower that he could use. She would have probably helped him wash his back.

  Rade came back to Dylan’s room to find that she was still resting comfortably. While Richard was out getting him a change of clothing, Rade also requested that he pick up his laptop from the penthouse. Rade wasn’t willing to leave Dylan’s side, but there was still work that he needed to do. Going through his emails, he saw that he received one from Mason. Opening it up, Rade began to read the message.

  After reading what Mason was proposing, Rade thought it was the best idea he had yet. Making Dylan the head of the New York facility was going to be the best thing for her. Rade was more than confident that she could handle the job. Emailing Mason back, Rade told him that he couldn’t agree more. He also suggested that they come up with a different name for the new facility, and said that he thought Dylan should have the honor of naming it.

  *****

  After being in the hospital for a week, Dylan was ready to go home. Just like before, Rade made all of the arrangements for her transportation. And just like before, he insisted on carrying her to the penthouse once Richard had dropped them off. As much as Dylan was feeling better, she was still sad that she missed her dad and Sally’s wedding. They had offered to postpone their trip and wait to get married when Dylan could be there. Dylan knew how important it was for them, so she insisted that they continue with their plans and told them to take a lot of pictures.

  When a video came over on her phone of the wedding ceremony, Dylan began to cry. She had never seen her dad as happy as he was. The way he looked at Sally, Dylan knew that he loved her very much.

  After watching the video for the fourth time, Dylan decided to take a nap. Even though she felt better, she was still tired. She blamed her tiredness on the fact that she was going to be a mom. She still couldn’t believe it. There were no signs that she was even pregnant. She was thankful that she hadn’t reached the stage where morning sickness set in. Thinking about her pregnancy, she wondered how Rade really felt about it. He was constantly asking how she was feeling and if she needed anything, but he never talked to her about the baby.