Saving Me

by Scarlett Haven

  “Thank you,” I say. “For doing this. I know that it’s going to be bad for you when Steven finds out.”

  “I can handle Steven,” he says.

  I don’t doubt his words.

  He pulls in front of a semi-nice motel.

  “You’re staying in room two oh nine,” he says.

  I turn to him. “Are you sure I’ll be okay?”

  He nods. “I promise.”

  “Okay,” I say.

  He hands me my bag. “Goodbye, Serenity.”

  “Bye, Nolan.”

  With my bag in hand, I get out of the SUV and walk up the stairs of the motel. I use the keycard on room 209 and am pleasantly surprised to see that it works. I turn around and see Nolan wave one last time before leaving the parking lot.

  I put my bag down and sit down on the edge of the bed, feeling my first taste of freedom. It still doesn’t feel real, but here I am.

  It won’t feel real until I see Sebastian walk through the door. Because this could still turn out to be some trick. Just because Nolan has been truthful with me this whole time doesn’t mean he’s being true now.

  And a worse thought...

  What if Steven changes his mind about going out of town and turns around to find I’m not at his house?

  He will kill me.

  Either way, Steven wants to kill me. At least now, maybe I have a chance of surviving.

  I lay down on the bed, knowing I probably won’t be sleeping a lot tonight.

  Saturday, January 13

  Reunited and it feels so good.

  I wake up to a noise at my door. I assume it’s Nolan coming in to wake me up until I remember...

  I’m in a hotel room.

  I’m not at Steven’s house anymore.

  I sit up, wondering who is about to walk through the door. Will it be Nolan? Steven? Or... was Nolan telling me the truth when he said he called Sebastian to come pick me up? I trusted him. Let’s see if I was right to or not.

  The door opens—it’s still dark outside. But I see Sebastian walk through the door. I am stunned for a second that Nolan was telling me the truth, but then I’m just so happy to see him. I get off the bed and meet him halfway. Sebastian holds on, not letting go of me, which is just fine with me because I don’t want to let go.

  “Are you okay?” Sebastian asks, still holding onto me.

  “I’m fine,” I say.

  Eventually he pulls back so he can look at me. “They didn’t hurt you? Steven didn’t? Or Nolan?”

  I shake my head. “I only saw Steven one time. Sebastian, he killed my mom.”

  Saying the words out loud brings tears to my eyes. I haven’t gotten to really process what Steven said at dinner, yet.

  Sebastian pulls me to him. “I’m so, so sorry, Serenity.”

  “It’s not your fault,” I say. “I just... he told me. And then he laughed about it. He’s the one who put me with that woman.”

  I force myself to push the emotions down. We don’t have time for me to cry about it right now.

  Nolan hasn’t lied to me so far. But I still don’t trust him completely. I don’t know that bringing me to this hotel wasn’t all just an elaborate scheme for Steven and him to finally capture Sebastian. That’s the last thing I want.

  “Sebastian, we should go,” I say. “In case this is a trap.”

  “You’re right,” he says. “We’re too close to Steven’s house for comfort.”

  A few minutes later, Sebastian and I get in his SUV and get on the road. We’re headed to the closest airport, which is about thirty minutes away. As he drives, he holds my hand, and I hold on tight. I still can’t believe this is real.

  Did Nolan really help me escape?

  “What happened while you were with Steven?” Sebastian asks. “Tell me everything.”

  “Nothing,” I say. “Honestly, I was locked in this room when Steven was there, but Nolan brought me food. I even had Netflix. Then after Steven left, Nolan let me out. He did some training with me and he took me for a run. I would’ve tried to escape, but there were armed guards, and Nolan said if I tried to escape, they had a shoot to kill order from Steven.”

  “I’m going to kill him,” he says.

  “If I don’t kill him first,” I say. “I was summoned to dinner with him my last night there, where he basically confessed to making my life a living nightmare. He was so happy about it. He wanted to brag. He even said he tried to date my mom and that I looked like her and that you guys have the same taste. I wanted to stab him with a fork.”

  “Why didn’t you?” he asks.

  “Nolan told me he was going to help me escape,” I answer. “And I know it’s crazy, but I believed him. I didn’t trust him completely, I still don’t, but he hadn’t lied to me. I knew that if I was going to escape, he was my only chance.”

  “Not your only chance,” Sebastian says. “Your dad would’ve stormed in there with all of Spy School to save you if he had to.”

  But he didn’t have to.

  Nolan let me go.

  And I am still expecting him to show up with Steven, but as we merge onto the interstate, I am starting to think that maybe Nolan was true to his words. He really did help me escape.

  “Why did Nolan help me?” I ask.

  “I don’t know,” he answers. “But if I ever see him again, I have to thank him for keeping my girl safe.”

  His girl.

  I grin. “I missed you.”

  “I missed you, too,” he says. “I’ve spent every moment while we were apart trying to plan. I was going to get you out of there, even if I had to do it by myself.”

  “I’m glad you didn’t come along. Then we would’ve been captured together,” I say.

  “I wish we had been,” he says.

  Of course, he would say that.

  But I’m glad he wasn’t there.

  “Where are we going?” I ask, when I see signs for the airport.

  “We’re going home,” he answers.

  “Home, home? Like Spy School home?”

  “Yeah,” he says. “Your dad wants us to come home.”

  “But won’t that be the first place that Steven looks?” I ask.

  “We’re prepared now,” he says. “It’s time to end this.”

  I nod.

  He’s right.

  It is time.

  “Does my dad know that Steven killed my mom?”

  “Probably,” Bass says. “Or at least he suspects it.”

  “I’m surprised my dad hasn’t gone after him, yet,” I say.

  “Michael Sinclair is a patient man,” he says.

  I laugh. “I must be more like my mom in that way then.”

  He grins. “Yeah, most likely.” He brings our hands up to his mouth and kisses my fingers. “Did my dad really try to hit on your mom?”

  “Yeah,” I answer. “He killed her because she turned him down, apparently. He says that he had crushed on her at Spy School the entire time. That apparently, he saw her first and that my dad stole her from him.”

  “Ew,” Sebastian says.

  “Yeah, I know,” I say. “We could’ve been brother and sister.”

  “Serenity, do me a favor and never say that again,” he says.

  Yeah, it is pretty weird to think about.

  We get to the airport and get on the private jet that was waiting for us.

  For some reason, I am still expecting Sebastian’s dad to show up as we get on the plane. But he doesn’t. And somehow, we take off. It’s not until we’re in the air that I let out a sigh of relief.

  We’re safe.

  We’re going to land in Switzerland, where we will be surrounded by many people who have been trained.

  Steven doesn’t stand a chance now.

  Once the fasten seatbelt sign goes off, Sebastian unbuckles his belt. He lies down on the bench we’re sitting on, putting his head on my lap. He goes to sleep pretty much the second he closes his eyes.

  I don’t think he’s slept since
I was taken.

  As he sleeps, I run my fingers through his hair, still unable to believe that I’m finally with him.

  I really am going to be okay.

  Back.

  Sebastian sleeps the entire plane ride back to Switzerland. He really was exhausted. He only wakes up when I shake him—he has to put on his seatbelt for landing, or else I would’ve just let him sleep.

  “We’re about to land,” I say, still running my fingers through his hair.

  I’ve had his head in my lap the entire flight and I’m not complaining about it. I’ve missed him.

  I couldn’t sleep. I’m exhausted, but my brain wouldn’t stop. I’m just worried about everything—like what is going to happen with Steven. He’s going to know we’re in Switzerland. It won’t be hard to figure out.

  I also wonder what’s going to happen to Nolan—he just let me go. Won’t he be in trouble? I know he said he can handle Steven, but I still worry.

  Why am I worried about Nolan? Seriously, he shot Gage. He tried to kidnap me. And when Steven did eventually kidnap me, he helped hold me captive. Even if he did let me go...

  I still don’t understand Nolan’s way of thinking.

  But I refuse to think of him anymore.

  Sebastian’s eyes open and he looks at me with his dark blue eyes. He grins when he sees me, which warms my heart.

  Sebastian is a hard guy to get to know. It’s taken five months to get where we are. Five months of him pushing me away. Five months of him hating me—or not hating me, but pretending like he does. Yet, I wouldn’t change one second of those five months, because it led me to here.

  “Did you know you’re really beautiful?” Sebastian asks.

  I grin and shake my head at him. “I think maybe you need more sleep.”

  He laughs. “I do need more sleep. I don’t think I’ve slept more than a few hours since you were taken.”

  I hate that.

  I knew he would be worried, but I thought he would at least take care of himself.

  He sits up and scoots into the seat right beside me, putting on his seatbelt.

  “We’re almost home,” I say, hating how nervous I feel.

  It’s been so long since I’ve been here—so long since I’ve seen my dad for more than just a few minutes at a time. It’s going to be nice to get back here. But at the same time, I am worried. I know that Steven isn’t done with me, not by a long shot. Just because I’m home doesn’t mean I’m safe.

  The plane makes its descent into the airport within the walled city. But what good will those walls do to keep Steven out? The answer is, they will do nothing. I know he’s gotten through the walls before and there is nothing stopping him now.

  But for now, I am not going to worry about that. I am just going to be happy about the fact that I’m finally going home. I’m sure my dad will be waiting for us when we land and I can’t wait to see him. I’ve missed him a lot.

  Sebastian grabs hold of my hand.

  “It feels good to be coming back here,” he says.

  “It really does,” I say.

  “We met here not that long ago.”

  “Feels like forever ago,” I say. “And I remember you had a lot of animosity towards me.”

  “Past me was an idiot,” he says. “I’m sorry I was so rude to you.”

  I grin at him. “Don’t worry about it. It’ll be a fun story to...” tell our kids someday.

  Yep, not going to finish that sentence.

  We literally just started dating and it’s way too soon for that.

  Before Sebastian can ask what I was about to say, the tires of the airplane touch the runway and the plane makes a smooth landing.

  My dad has the best pilots.

  “We’re here,” I say, grinning.

  “Finally,” he says.

  Once the airplane lands, we pretty much get to exit immediately. Bass and I have flown commercial a lot lately, and they always make you sit on the plane and wait forever before you can get off. I guess this is the perk of taking your dad’s private jet.

  When we get off the plane, I see my dad standing there, waiting.

  “Dad!” I say, running over to him.

  I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited to see him before. He squeezes me tight.

  I have missed him so much.

  “I’ve missed you,” Dad says.

  “Ditto,” I say. “How about we not send me off without you for months at a time again?”

  “Not if I can help it,” he says.

  But I know he can’t promise. Steven is still out there and we don’t know what is going to happen. But even if we manage to somehow get Steven in our custody, we are still Spy School. There will always be a mission or something we have to do.

  “You ready to head home?” Dad asks.

  “Yes,” I answer. “I’m so tired. I feel like I could sleep until tomorrow.”

  “Me, too,” Bass says.

  Even after his sleep, he still has bags under his eyes.

  “Let’s get you kids back to the house where you can sleep,” he says. “Sebastian, you can take the guest room.”

  “Thank you, Sir.”

  We get into Dad’s SUV. I go to get in the back, but Bass moves me to the front door, telling me to get in. He gets in the back. He looks so tired he can barely keep his eyes open.

  Poor Sebastian.

  I get in the front, buckling my seatbelt.

  Dad is only about a mile from the airport and I’m so ready to get back home. I’m ready to sleep in my own bed. And take a shower.

  Eh, the shower can wait. Right now, I just want to go to sleep.

  “I know you’re tired, so the debriefing can wait, but tomorrow we need to talk,” Dad says.

  I look and see that he’s talking to both Sebastian and me.

  “Of course, Sir,” Sebastian says.

  “What he said,” I say.

  For some reason, now that we’re home—now that I know I’m safe—I am too tired to even form a thought.

  I’m so glad to be back.

  Sunday, January 14

  Took you long enough.

  As soon as we got back to the house last night, I went to bed and slept until the next day. I slept knowing, for the first time in a long time, I am safe.

  I am home.

  And it feels so good.

  I get out of bed and take a shower. It’s a long shower.

  As I brush my hair out, I wonder if I can somehow dye it back to my natural color. The platinum blonde was fun, but I’m ready to go back to my natural color. It’s not much darker than this, anyway.

  After I get dressed, I head downstairs and find the living room full of people.

  I see Pops standing there when I first head down.

  “Pops,” I say, running over to him. “You’re okay.”

  He gives me a hug. “It takes a lot more than one bullet to get me down.”

  “You lost a lot of blood,” I say.

  “It went straight through. Didn’t hit anything important,” he says.

  I look around the living room, seeing everybody important to me—Dad, Sebastian, Gage, Hunter, Jaxon, Brett and Sander.

  I’m surprised to see Sander. I thought he was in the states helping some girl with something super important.

  “Sander, what are you doing here?” I ask.

  “You thought I’d miss all the action?”

  I shake my head at him. “What about that girl?”

  “Phoenix is okay. She’s not in any immediate danger,” he says. “But as soon as this is over, I’m going back.”

  “I’m sure you are,” Hunter says, teasing him.

  “Is she your girlfriend?” I ask.

  “Yeah,” he answers. “Which is why I want to get back to her.”

  “Ah,” I say. “That’s cute.”

  “The two of them are sickening together,” Jaxon says.

  I’m so happy for Sander. He deserves to be happy.

  “Who wants brea
kfast?” Dad asks.

  “I’m starving,” I say.

  Everybody laughs.

  “What?” I ask.

  “You’re always hungry,” Gage says. “Glad to see that hasn’t changed.”

  I stick my tongue out at him.

  Dad orders breakfast for all of us as we all sit down on the couch, waiting for our food and just catching up. I sit between Sebastian and Brett, listening to the conversations around me. I know eventually I’ll have to tell them about all that went down while I was at Steven’s house, but for now this is nice.

  I’m happy.

  So happy.

  Sebastian grabs my hand and I look over at him and smile.

  I didn’t know it was possible to love somebody as much as I love him. But here we are. And I am so, so happy to be back with him.

  I squeeze his hand before looking back at everybody else. They are all quiet, looking at Sebastian and me.

  “When did this happen?” Dad asks.

  “At my house,” Pop answers.

  “Took you long enough,” Sander says.

  I look at my dad, waiting for him to say something.

  “I’m happy for you,” Dad says, then looks at Sebastian. “You and I will be talking later.”

  Everybody laughs.

  Except Sebastian.

  His face is slightly red, which I find adorable.

  Everybody else starts talking again, and I’m glad they didn’t make too big of a deal out of Sebastian and me. I lean my head over on his shoulder and he puts his arm behind me, allowing me to snuggle closer to him. It feels so good to be here. I wasn’t sure that I would be in his arms again.

  “You slept the whole plane ride,” I say.

  “I slept all day and all night yesterday when we got back, too,” Sebastian says. “I didn’t sleep much while you were gone. For some reason, I find it nearly impossible to sleep without you now.”

  “You know my dad will never let us sleep in the same room,” I say, looking up at him.

  “I know,” he says. “It’s enough to know you’re safe.”

  I feel the same about him.

  “I love you, Sebastian.”

  “Love you, too,” he says, pulling me closer to him.

  I don’t even care that my dad and all my friends are watching us snuggle. It feels so amazing to be back in his arms—to be safe. I don’t care if they all know that I love him.