by Franca Storm
Wow. She’s so twisted. She really believes what she’s saying right now. She really believes she’s the victim.
She stops circling me and gets in my face as she says, “I’m willing to bet he’ll pay anything to get you back.
I hear Bryan laugh and my eyes dart to him.
Isabella seems to read my expression. “Don’t worry. He won’t be touching you. I can’t damage the merchandise now, can I?” A creepy smile forms on her lips and she adds, “I’ll keep him fully satisfied, just like I did with Dan. I was the best he ever had. He told me that over and over again. He liked it rough. Something I’m sure a sweet thing like you can’t give him. Maybe I’ll give him another go while you’re out of the picture.”
My anger that had been simmering just below the surface, explodes into a furious rage. Before I can stop myself, I smash my fist into her face, scraping her right cheek. That’s right. My fist. I don’t slap like a girl. If I’m going to fight, I fight.
Isabella stumbles back, cursing and clutching her cheek.
Bryan jumps down from the hood of my car and stalks over to me, that black expression in his eyes.
But then I watch as he freezes. Looking past me, his eyes widen with undisguised terror. As Isabella follows his gaze, the same expression comes over her face too.
I turn around, bracing myself for what I’m about to find.
A woman dressed to the nines in a designer burgundy pant suit is standing there with a revolver in her hand, aimed at the two of them.
“Alexis,” Isabella seethes. “It’s been a while.”
“Not long enough, Isabella,” she bites back.
I recognize her voice instantly. Dan’s mom.
Dan’s mom is standing with a gun in the middle of a parking lot, facing off with Bryan and Isabella? Holy fucking shit. This is insane. It would be hilarious if it wasn’t so serious.
“Walk behind me, Emma,” Alexis says calmly, her eyes never leaving Isabella and Bryan.
I do as she asks. She’s the one holding the goddamn revolver. Shit.
I hear sirens in the distance. The cops are coming. Thank God.
“By the way, this little interaction has been recorded, Isabella. An attempted kidnapping. Blackmail. The list just goes on, doesn’t it?” Alexis tells her.
“You bitch,” Isabella growls.
“Right back at you.”
Dan’s mom really gives as good as she gets. She’s a tough old thing.
After that, everything becomes a blur with the cops bursting into the parking lot, Alexis repeatedly asking me if I’m okay and fawning over me.
Too many people! Too many people! No, no, no! Oh my God. Dan, where are you?
Chapter 26
~Daniel~
“You’re sure you want to sell the penthouse? You have the means to keep it and invest in the house, Dan,” my dad says as he looks up from the designs for Em’s house that are laid out over my desk.
I lean back in my leather chair and shake my head. “Nah. I don’t need it. Another life, Dad. You know?”
He smiles. “Yes, I do. This is you moving forward.”
I nod and he returns to studying the designs for several moments.
“How are they looking?” I finally ask, unable to stand the silence and anticipation any longer.
“Did you do these yourself?”
“Yeah, why? Did I miss something?”
“No, I’m impressed. Really impressed. It seems you were paying attention to my teachings after all.”
“Don’t forget, I also went to college. I wasn’t just fooling around. I did pick up a few things.”
He laughs. “I can get you the permit in a few days. Does that work for you?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
I watch him scrutinizing me with amusement.
“Dad?” I press.
He smiles kindly. “You seem…happy.”
“I am.”
“I know she’s pregnant, Dan.”
That throws me through a loop. Em hasn’t been outside into the town center. How could anyone know? I know J would never say anything to anyone.
And then it hits me.
I blow out a frustrated breath. “Mom’s PI?”
“Look, I made her pull back a lot, but you know how she is,” he says, scrubbing his hand over his thick, gray beard. He adjusts his navy suit jacket. It’s a nervous reaction of his, which lets me know some shit is coming my way. Great. “She’s been keeping an eye on you from a distance. I know you asked me to get rid of the tail completely, but I did what I could, son.”
“It’s okay. But, for the record, I was going to tell you. We decided to wait the three months and then things started getting busy, so I haven’t got around to it. I’m sorry, Dad.”
“Forget about all of that. This is great news for you and you deserve it. God knows, with what you went through before, you need this.”
Before I can respond, the speaker phone on my desk buzzes. It’s Alison.
I tap a button and ask, “Alison?”
“I have Alexis on the line, Mr. Alder.”
“I’m in a meeting.”
Of course, I’m actually in the middle of a personal meeting with my dad. But I’ll use any excuse to avoid my mom.
“She says it’s urgent.”
I scoff. “Alison, I don’t think—”
“She says it’s about Emma.”
That gets my attention. “Put her through.”
A second later, Mom comes on the line. “Daniel, she’s fine. She’s all right and so is the baby. But she could use you right now,” she blurts out in a rush.
“What? What’s going on? Where is she?” I demand. “You’re with her?”
“Yes. At her house.”
“Be right there,” I say in a calm tone that I sure as hell don’t feel. Adrenaline is spiking through me, growing more intense with every passing second.
I hang up and push back my chair.
“What the fuck is going on?” I bellow, as I hastily pull on my leather jacket.
“I have no idea, but I’m coming with you to find out,” my dad says, getting to his feet quickly.
We both frantically hurry out of my office.
What the hell has Mom done now?
***
I pound on the door of Em’s house, bruising my fist on the hard oak. It has me wondering why the hell I don’t have my own key yet. Shit, I need to get on that. My dad is at my back, almost as antsy as I am about this entire thing. Mom is always so damned cryptic about shit. Even if I’d kept her on the phone longer, it’s doubtful I would have actually managed to extract the whole story from her.
The door opens and I’m greeted by the sight of her. I do a double take. She’s normally so flawlessly put together. She’s obsessed with appearances. But right now her suit is creased, her normally perfectly coiffed, chestnut-brown hair is in disarray and her eyes are wild with worry.
“Mom,” I seethe.
To my surprise, she completely ignores my hostile tone. She steps aside and gestures to the couch.
Em is sitting there, wrapped in a blanket and clutching a mug of something. I brush past my mom and rush over to her. My arms are around her in the next second, pulling her against my chest.
“Angel, are you okay? What happened?” I ask in a rush.
“Bryan,” she murmurs, her voice muffled against my chest. “And Isabella.”
I jerk back in surprise. “What?” I choke out, my gaze darting to my mom. “That bitch was here…with him?”
Mom proceeds to tell me the story.
I blink hard, trying to absorb it all as quickly as possible, so I can swallow it and focus on making sure Em is going to be okay. But that’s a hell of a thing to do, considering what actually fucking happened. I can’t wrap my head around it. It’s nothing short of insane. What the fucking hell?
Before I can get a word out, my dad fumes, “You pulled a gun on them, Alexis? What were you thinking? Where did you even get it?”
Mom rolls her eyes. “Oh, please. I picked it up years ago. You were always away on business trips. I had to protect myself, Alfred.”
Em bursts out laughing then, startling all of us. She shakily places her mug down on the coffee table as she continues to laugh hysterically, unable to control herself. Her entire body is shaking from the force of it.
Her laugh is infectious and before long we’re all joining her and recognizing the absurdity of the entire situation.
When we finally manage to calm down, Em tells my mom, “Thank you, Mrs. Alder.”
“Please, dear. Call me Alexis.”
Em smiles that cute smile of hers. “Okay. Alexis.” She looks at me and says, “Your mom is badass, Dan.”
I shake my head and Dad and I exchange a knowing look. “Yeah, I know. She thinks she’s in the fucking CIA or something.”
“I got the job done, didn’t I? Those two are going away for a long time thanks to me and that PI of mine that you hate. He was recording the entire thing. We’ve got them on several charges.”
“Yes,” I force myself to admit aloud. “You did well, Mom. Thank you for protecting Em.”
“It seems like she’s quite good at protecting herself. There’s one thing I left out of my story.”
I turn my attention back to Em. “And what is that?” I ask, curious.
Em looks away sheepishly and murmurs, “I may have…punched Isabella.”
I take her hands and turn them over with her knuckles facing up. There’s a distinct outline of a bruise over her right hand. Shit. She must have hit her really fucking hard then. I knew Em was tough, but this is beyond what I’d imagined. I kiss her knuckles softly. “Angel, why did you do that? I don’t want you doing things like that when you’re pregnant. Preferably, even when you’re not.”
Her imploring eyes meet mine and she says, “She pissed me off. The things she said about you got under my skin. Someone needed to wipe that smirk off her face.”
“While I appreciate you defending my honor, words are just words. Don’t let whatever she said get to you. Okay?”
“She’s gone now, Daniel,” Mom says. “For good this time.”
Our eyes lock and I see the plea in hers. The plea for me to forgive her. I know she did this for more than protecting Em. She did it to make things right, to try to fix the Isabella situation. And I can’t deny that she has.
I smile and tell her, “We’ll talk, Mom.”
Her face lights up and she nods happily.
“Well, we’ll get going,” my dad says, understanding that I need to see to Em right now and make sure she’s really okay. “Nice to meet you, Emma,” he says politely.
“See you soon, Emma. I managed to salvage that apple crisp. It’s in the fridge,” Mom tells her.
“Thanks,” Em says shyly.
I get up from the couch to see my parents out.
I shut the door and walk back to Em.
“Apple crisp?” I ask. “You went to the bakery?”
“Yep,” she says, proudly.
“I can’t believe it. You went out, huh? Tell me everything. How was it? What did you do?”
She tells me about how scared she was at first, how she powered through and actually sat on the coffee shop patio eating cake and drinking tea. She goes on to tell me about venturing into the bakery. And then…the awful parking lot incident.
“I’m so sorry that happened, angel. If I’d known Isabella was in town—”
“Dan, it’s okay. They weren’t going to hurt me. I was more concerned about them hurting you than anything. She wanted your money and Bryan wanted payback for what you did to him.”
I cannot wrap my head around Isabella breaking Bryan out of jail like that. Fucking hell. I’d promised Em that the guy was gone. I swore to her that she’d never see him again. But there he was today.
“They’re gone for good this time, Dan. Both of them.”
A long silence falls between us, as we both get lost in our own thoughts.
And then Em cuts through it, asking me suddenly, “Her boobs are fake, right?”
I burst out laughing. After what happened, she’s making jokes? She really is something else. I decide to go with it. She clearly wants to lighten the mood and she’s had enough shit to deal with today already. “Yeah. They’re definitely fake. Hard as hell.”
She giggles. “Really?”
“Oh yeah. Nothing like yours.” I slide my hands under the blanket wrapped around her and cup her tits through her sweater. “These are perfect. Just the right size. They fit so snugly in my hands. Perky and so, so soft.”
She pulls away, laughing. “Dan, stop. It’s the middle of the day. You should head back to work. I told your mom not to call you, but she wouldn’t listen.”
“Uh uh. I’m not leaving you like this.”
“Like what? I’m honestly fine.”
“Then why is this blanket wrapped around you?”
She rolls her eyes. “Your mom thought I was in shock. I wasn’t. I just…I may have had a little bit of a freak out when the cops arrived and everything. There were too many people…everywhere.”
“Angel,” I breathe. “I’m so sorry. I should have fucking been there,” I say, pulling her close.
“It’s not your fault.” She pulls back again and a huge smile lights up her face. “But I did it, Dan! I went into town. I talked to people!”
“Oh, Em. I’m so proud of you. You have no idea.”
Fuck, this is a major step for her. I make a mental note to focus on that, instead of the Bryan-Isabella crap that followed. I’m not about to let those two assholes ruin what Em achieved today.
Chapter 27
~Daniel~
I’ve been wide awake for hours in Em’s bed, just watching her sleep.
I can’t get what happened today off my mind.
Isabella had been right there with Em, threatening to fucking kidnap her with the assistance of that asshole, Bryan. I cannot believe she returned to try to ruin my life yet again. She’d tried to take my pregnant girlfriend away from me. The one thing in this world that I could never live without. After all these years, she still thinks she can walk all over me. She thinks she’s still in control.
I can’t let this lie.
I need to face her.
I need to end this.
I climb out of bed and pull on my boxers and jeans that are scattered all over the floor from mine and Em’s fuck session earlier. I snatch my shirt up off the floor and slip it on over my head. I remember leaving my leather jacket and shoes downstairs.
I walk quietly over to Em’s bedside table and pick up the pen there. I leave her a note on the notepad in case she wakes up while I’m gone. I don’t plan on being more than an hour or so, but I can’t risk her waking up panicked and wondering where the hell I am. I don’t want her stressed out at all, but with the baby, it’s even more imperative that she stays calm. Stress isn’t good for the baby and that’s another fucking reason why I’m so pissed about what Isabella did. It’s one thing trying to come at me, but another thing entirely to come at my pregnant girlfriend for fuck’s sake.
I sneak out of the bedroom and make my way down the stairs.
Tonight it ends. Once and for all.
***
“All right, Dan. You have ten minutes,” the Chief tells me as he unlocks the door to Isabella’s cell.
“Thanks. I appreciate this.”
“I know you do.”
I nod and brace myself as he opens the door to the cell. I draw in a calming breath and then step inside. I try not to flinch at the sound of grating metal as he shuts the door behind me.
My eyes wander over to the cot in the corner.
I watch as Isabella’s eyes widen, surprised as hell to see me walking into her cell.
Her appearance shocks me.
All the glamour and fake beauty of the woman I’d known is gone.
Then again, it was just a role she’d been playing. It’d all been nothin
g but a long con she’d been running.
Her hair is a greasy mess, hanging lifelessly. She’s wearing gray, over-sized sweats. Her face is clean of all that caked on makeup she used to wear. The spark she’d had has been completely snuffed out. And as twisted as it may be, it makes my day. I’d never wished suffering on anyone until I’d met her.
I check myself.
I don’t want to be that kind of person. I won’t let her drive me down that road. I’m not on her level. I’m better than that. I’m a decent person. I won’t let her take that from me as well.
“Dan,” she breathes, scrambling to sit up.
I lean against the opposite wall, my arms folded across my chest, regarding her with contempt.
She’s weak. Powerless. She was never anything but a leech, or one of those ticks that burrows its way into your flesh, forcing you to rip it out to be free of it.
“You’re all worn out, Isabella.”
“I was never gonna hurt her, Dan.” Her voice is a desperate plea. “You know that, don’t you? That’s why you came? To help me out of this mess? I know you have the power, so use it to help me.”
She’s right. I do have the means to get her out of here. But, fuck, if I’m going to.
There’s only one reason I came here.
To cast the bitch out once and for all. There’s only one way to do that.
And here it goes.
“Dan, I know you still love me,” she continues, in that fake, sickly sweet tone that I remember all too well. “We were good together. You can’t deny that. Just help me this one last time.”
I glare at her, my gaze threatening to burn a hole right through her. “Beg me.”
“What?”
I can see how shocked she is. Exactly as I’d expected. She was never the begging type. She didn’t have a submissive bone in her body. She preferred to be the one making others beg. And that will just make this all the sweeter.
“You heard me. Beg me.”
Her eyes shift back and forth erratically. She doesn’t know what to do. I can see she’s trying to figure another way out of this. Good luck with that.
