I wasn’t going to get trapped in the metal coffin of the elevator. I barely made it to the next floor down when the explosion sent debris flying down on top of me. I shielded myself with my hands and was able to make it six more floors before pulling the fire alarm.
People began to spill out of the rooms, running for the safety of the street. The whole building was rocked like an earthquake had struck with indifference to the cost of human lives.
I was soaking wet and following a trail of survivors down the stairs. I kept looking back, hoping to see a sign of him surviving the blast.
We were met in the lobby by the chief of the fire department. He had his men escort us out of the building where we were to remain until questions were answered.
“I have no idea what happened… The fire alarms woke me up… I think it came from the penthouse. Do you think it was terror-related? Could it be some kind of leak? I hope I don’t lose everything.” There were a multitude of voices, and they were barely a whisper considering the circumstances.
A fireman with a mask over his face led me away from the crowd. I tried to protest, but he was rather insistent.
“It’s me." Two words had never sounded better coming from his lips.
“How is it possible?” We found a car with the keys still in the ignition and drove away without making a scene.
“The explosion threw me through the balcony and I was able to change temporarily crashing into the fire escape of the building across from this one. The bear is going to need some time to recuperate, but I’m relatively in one piece.” He was in a bit of pain. The Alpha was no more than a memory.
“I know this is a strange question, but what now?” I felt a shift in the air and his eyes were no longer yellow. There was a tinge of red. It wasn’t there before.
“I’m going to take you home.” There was something final about his statement that made me feel like somebody was walking across my grave.
Chapter Eighteen - Tom
I saw the look on the Alpha’s face when he burst into flames. I knew the only chance for survival was by changing into the bear. The last time I saw the Alpha was when I was airborne and crashing through the doors to the balcony. The oxygen entering the room was enough to feed the fire. I momentarily saw him collapse in the flames, never to be seen again. I was naked when I scrambled down the fire escape in the dark. They were going to find one fireman’s outfit missing from their inventory. I found the first thing to cover-up my dignity.
“Penny for your thoughts.”
I couldn’t believe it was over. The bane of my existence hanging over my head like a dark cloud was replaced by the sunshine of her smile. “I know this isn’t the outcome you were hoping for, but we are going to have to stop seeing each other. I’ve learned the hard way being with you might be something that my kind will never understand.” She was the light in my life. I was telling her what we had together couldn’t survive.
“I believe the explosion might be still ringing in my ears. Could you repeat that? I’m not sure that I really heard you.” She was giving me a chance to take it back with a clean slate, but I wasn’t about to do that.
“I know you heard me. I’m going to have to answer some questions and I’m not sure how the others are going to respond. I would say for the most part they will be relieved. Things are going to be complicated and you’re only going to get in the way.” I knew the burden of responsibility was going to be on my shoulders. They would look to me to become the Alpha and I would have no choice but to accept. I had inherited his power.
“We’ve been through too much to let it end like this.”
I didn’t want her to have the chance to change my mind. The shifter community would find us being together something to unite factions against me. Some with new-age thinking would accept the change better than those clinging to the old ways.
“I’m not saying it’s going to be forever, but we need to take a step back. I need to figure out my next move without constantly worrying about your safety.” I gazed into her eyes and I could see a well of tears, not to mention complete and utter denial.
“We have been through hell and you walked through fire to protect what we had together. I’m going to need more than superficial words to convince me of your sincerity. Tell me you don’t want me and I will gladly step aside. I don’t think that you can do that with a straight face and mean it.”
She was right, but I was going to have to use my best acting skills. “I can’t be what you want me to be. I will always hurt the one I love. People tend to die when they are around me. You are a fragile human being that will break easily. Don’t test my resolve. I’ve made up my mind and nothing is going to change it. This life isn’t for you.” I was trying to let her down easy, but she was standing there looking at me with her eyebrow cocked.
“It’s not enough to make me stay away. The one thing you haven’t said is that you don’t love me. Say that and we will never have to see each other again. It might be awkward in the office, but I can be professional. It’s entirely your decision.”
She was going to make me say the words. They would hurt her like a knife cutting through her heart.
I tried to walk away, but she was not going to let me off that easily. She chased me back to the car and used one hand to push me up against it. We were outside her place in the very spot where Jason had found out his anger was no match for my beastly disposition.
“I don’t love you and I never have. I’m incapable of that kind of emotion. I was only stringing you along to get close enough to the Alpha to make my move. You now know the truth, and I hope you can live with it.”
“You can’t mean it. It doesn’t seem possible for you to be this cruel and conniving. I don’t believe you.” She was pushing me into a corner and I was going to have to come out swinging with my best verbal shot.
“Don’t get me wrong, the sex was phenomenal, but there was nothing of an emotional connection. I can’t believe you could be so gullible to believe I could fall in love with you. It makes me sad and it’s no wonder you gave Jason your heart.” My eyesight was still trying to adjust from the explosion. The street lamps were giving me a headache.
“I never thought you could be this abusive with your words. I should have known better than to think we had something special. I deluded myself into believing in a happy ending. I got my hopes up, only to have them dashed yet again. I didn’t see this coming and that’s on me.”
My heart was breaking, but I smiled to give her the idea her words meant nothing to me. “I literally had to beat it into your thick skull. There were moments I thought you were going to see through my ruse and call me out on the carpet. You wanted to believe, and you swallowed everything that I said with a spoon.”
“You could fire me, but then you would have a litigation nightmare breathing down your neck. I could leave quietly without making a scene, but I would rather make you live in awkward silence when you see me in the hall. You haven’t heard the end of this.” She was going to become a thorn in my side and I deserved worse.
“There are several moving pieces on the board. The king is dead, leaving those under the umbrella of his power to run around like chickens with their heads cut off.”
I was going to have to dedicate my time between business and my duties as the new Alpha. I couldn’t afford the distraction of the shifter community raising holy hell about me being with a human female. We had to be united and they would know from the outset I had an open door policy. I was never going to be the kind of ruler to put them underneath my thumb. Their opinions would matter and a new age of trust would be born from the death of the Alpha.
I didn’t want anything to happen to Roseanne and the best way to avoid that was to get her out of the line of fire. The harsh words weren’t easy to formulate into sentences, but I managed to make her believe in my conviction.
“I know deep down you don’t mean anything you say, but I hope you can live with being alone. It gets cold at the top, an
d you won’t have anybody there to warm you up. I hope you find some cold comfort in your vast fortune.” She was making it sound like I was a fool to let her go. A big part of me believed that.
“I’m through having the same argument. I was hoping to end things on a good note with no hard feelings. I can see how you might feel betrayed by my good intentions. I should leave while we still have a good working relationship. We are destined to make a huge amount of money, and I don’t want to do anything to ruin what could be a very profitable future for this company.”
Without the Alpha, the money I was paying in dues was no longer something of a concern. His percentage was extravagant. I wasn’t going to handcuff the entrepreneurs in the shifter community with the same outrageous demands.
“I don’t know what you measure success by. I hope you will be very happy. Don’t come crying to me when you change your mind. I may not be waiting for you to come crawling back on your hands and knees.” She had taken off the shackles that restrained her from being strong and confident.
“You were instrumental in my plan, but I was unaware how this was going to affect you. Call it tunnel vision. I should’ve been more compassionate, but my main focus was to rid the shifter community of its greatest threat.” I tried to take the sting out of my words by giving her credit for helping to topple the governmental structure of the Alpha’s control.
“I’m glad I could help,” she said bitterly. “I only wish you had a better way than to use me to get what you wanted.” She was saying every word through clenched teeth. It probably took all her effort not to take a swing at me.
“Time is the only thing that will heal these wounds. Yours is more psychological and mine are physical. I need some rest to prepare myself for the change in command. This is going to shake the foundation of my world as I know it. I can only hope the next leader will feel it necessary to include all of us in the decisions.” I didn’t tell her the true reason why I was pushing her away.
“I wouldn’t want to wish what happened to you on my worst enemy. I do hope it takes you more than a few hours to bounce back. I will get my pound of flesh by seeing you writhe in agony. If you were expecting me to break into a million pieces, then you are sorely mistaken.”
“I can’t stand here anymore trying to explain myself. I hope you find somebody worthy of your affection.” I had let her in and now I was closing the door and throwing away the key. “Don’t make the cardinal mistake of going back to something familiar. You love with all of your heart, and that kind of emotional bond comes with a risk of heartbreak.” I walked away, not bothering to turn around, knowing the temptation of running back into her arms was stronger than it appeared.
I looked down at my shoes and kept my head firmly planted on my shoulders. I had come close to losing my life. It made me see what was important. My happiness was nothing compared to the shifter community getting a new lease on life.
I would slowly open their eyes to new ideas, but any chance of being with Roseanne was summarily destroyed by words alone.
I was worried about her fragile state of mind, but I could see a new woman emerging, stronger and more resilient than ever. I wouldn’t want to be the next man to cross her path. She would be extra cautious and find any little thing to ruin what could be something to build on.
I flagged down a taxi and my future was written by the drastic action of taking someone’s life. He couldn’t be allowed to slink away into the dark to gather his forces to wage a war that nobody would win. His death would serve notice to those who had followed blindly in his path.
Chapter Nineteen - Roseanne
I kept playing everything Tom said over and over again in my mind. There had to be something I was missing, but I couldn’t figure it out. His words hurt, but I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of curling up in the fetal position and crying myself to sleep. I was no longer going to let anyone hurt me, regardless of their good intentions.
I woke up to the sounds of birds chirping outside my window. If I had a gun, I would have made them run for their lives, screaming in defiance in a language I couldn’t understand. I was feeling like somebody had run me over and then put it in reverse to do it again.
“In a late-breaking development, the owner of the penthouse turned up alive and well. He apparently was no longer residing there and somehow avoided being seriously hurt or even worse. The top floor was the only damage to the building. Regrettably, the remains found after sorting through the debris was apparently a derelict looking for shelter…” I tuned out the rest of the broadcast. Somehow Tom had found a way to sweep it underneath the rug.
I had to grab a pair of slippers, as the floors didn’t have the heat his penthouse did. I thought I heard scratching at my window. I bounded over the bed and looked out, wishing to the heavens above that Tom had come to his senses. The source of my confusion was a stray black cat crossing my path.
There was no collar and his yellow eyes reminded me of the one who had pushed me away. I opened the window and offered him a refuge from the chill in the air. He was a survivor, and we had that in common. I scrounged for some food and found a discarded can of tuna with a layer of dust on the top of the tin can.
The wings of my love were broken, but they were still attached. I thought mistakenly we were the wind beneath each other’s wings. It sounded so stupid, like some kind of fairy-tale romance.
“I don’t know where your owner is, but I am more than capable of taking care of you. I’m a little hesitant–men have a tendency to disappoint me. I have to trust someone, and I may as well begin with baby steps.” I was going to name him Phoenix. He was born from the flames of society and had risen from the ashes of being rejected for one reason or another.
I wasn’t looking for anything to take care of, but this cat had literally fallen into my lap. I couldn’t in good conscience allow him to live in obscurity on the streets begging for whatever scraps he could find from some restaurant looking to get rid of day old food. I was going to dote on him and give him the life he deserved.
He was in pretty sorry shape and needed a bath to get rid of the stench of garbage in his fur. I didn’t have time, but I would pamper him when I returned from work. The very idea of stepping outside the door gave birth to a panic attack. I stifled it and pushed it down deep where it would fester into something else.
“I’m going to take a quick shower and then put this ugliness behind me. I’ve been forged into something stronger than metal. The walls are impenetrable. It will be a cold day in hell when I ever get into a relationship again.” It was nice to have someone to talk to without the possibility of him talking back.
I needed somebody to listen and this animal had come to me when my strength was waning. I considered him my spirit guide here to take the burden off my shoulders. I was going to become confidence in motion, by walking with the stride of somebody who had it all together. It would be a lie. I would wear the mask of strength. I was never going to let him see me sweat the small stuff.
The cat was feral and tried to take a swipe at me, but he was family. He had lived in the wild and didn’t know how to be domesticated. Tom reminded me of the same traits and how he couldn’t be tied down to one woman long enough to make a commitment. He said the sweetest things, but he couldn’t back it up.
“I’m going to make the best out of a bad situation. The money is too hard to pass up without having something else to go to.” I was seriously considering utilizing my mechanical engineering degree for the competitor.
I had a few interesting ideas to take the automotive industry in a new direction. I was going to mention them to Tom, but I didn’t want to do anything to make him richer than he already was.
“I’m going to leave you here to adjust to your new surroundings.” I felt like I was getting rid of one stray and replacing it with another. Tom was never down on his luck, but he was never whole until I came into his life.
He didn’t have to believe it. I believed it enough for the both of
us. He needed a female influence to bring him into the next generation kicking and screaming. We were going to fight like cats and dogs trying to be civilized with one another. I decided sticking around was only going to cause me more harm than good.
I sat down at my laptop and typed my resignation. It was short and sweet. I was going to inform him of my decision when I got into the office. I was hoping to see a crack of disappointment in his eyes. It was wishful thinking, but maybe having the benefit of surprise on my side would make it easier to see what he was trying to hide from me.
I readied my verbal arsenal for a one-on-one meeting of the minds while in the shower. I was dead set on making him see he was making the biggest mistake of his life. The hot water only infuriated me further, and my temper boiled until I was looking for somebody to lash out at. I knew the perfect person.
I put on my armor, consisting of the same purple leather skirt that had made him stand up and take notice. I neglected to wear a bra, putting the girls on high beams. They were my secret weapon. I made a slight alteration to the leather skirt. There was now a profound slice up the side, practically giving away the milk and the cookies.
I only had to move a certain way to give him a bird’s eye view of what he was going to be missing. I decided on the new black leather jacket I had bought last night. It was an impulse buy, having my heart played like a banjo had made it necessary to splurge a little.
It fit me like a glove. It felt decadent to be walking without any underwear to impede my body from moving in a seductive manner. I felt liberated and free to speak my mind without a filter.
I had my hands in my pockets to ward off the inclement weather. My face was accosted by the chill breeze freezing my breath. The cold was a nice touch to make my nipples pebble hard.
I was about to storm the castle. I wasn’t in any mood to take prisoners. He was going to hear me whether he wanted to or not. Each step fortified my resolution to capture him while he had his pants down. I took the elevator, tapping my foot and waiting impatiently for it to open on a new chapter in my life.
Daddy In Charge_A Billionaire Romance Page 11
