Strung (Seaside)

by Rachel Van Dyken

  “Cruel,” Alec’s hushed voice said.

  “And in order to prove my theory, I also recorded a few bird calls on my iPhone. Did you know there was an app for that?”

  THE HELL she was! I roared, and willed my body to thrash, instead, I almost gave myself an aneurism and my pinky finger moved. Score! I tried again, this time it was easier, as if my body was remembering that yes it was supposed to move when I ordered it to.

  “Play it again,” Alec ordered.

  NO! Do NOT play it again!

  I wiggled more fingers, and tried for toes. Hey I was on a roll!

  She pressed play again. Holy. Shit. Was that the sound of a crow? They killed people. Wow. Heartless. Both of them.

  With one final surge of energy, I wiggled my right hand and opened one eye, then two. Everything was blurry.

  “His eyes are open! Get the nurse!” Nat yelled, as Alec ran out of the room.

  I thought by opening my eyes the nightmare would be over. Nope, it had just begun. I felt like I couldn’t breathe. My chest hurt so bad like it was on fire. My throat was closing, swear, and every inch of my body felt like someone had run me over with something and then thrown me off a cliff for fun. I couldn’t talk, I couldn’t do anything and it freaked me out. Freaked me out because I was still having trouble moving.

  I tried to look around the room. Machines. Everywhere. Tears pooled behind my eyes. Great, so I couldn’t move my damn legs but I could cry?

  “No, no, it’s okay.” Nat grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “You’re fine, okay? Don’t panic. I need you to not panic right now, okay?” Tears slid down her cheeks. I didn’t want her to cry!

  “Ice?” Nat reached for a cup next to my bed. I nodded slightly, the movement so painful I nearly passed out.

  The ice melted the minute it hit my lips but it felt so good I wanted to devour the cup. I smiled or I think I smiled I mean, I flinched and then Nat giggled so yeah, my smile though I thought it looked bad ass probably looked terrifying.

  “Well, well, well, it seems my daughter’s treating our patient well.” Nat’s dad walked into the room. Hey I knew him! Oh wait… He was in a nice doctor coat… because he was a… get there faster Demetri. Doctor. My doctor? Did he operate on me? Holy shit he saw me naked!

  He walked to the monitors and wrote some stuff down on his clipboard then began a slow examination of Demetri. “How are you feeling? Blink once if you are in pain, twice if you are okay for now.”

  I blinked twice. Nat squeezed my hand in encouragement.

  “You’ve been in an accident,” Dr. Murray stated. I rolled my eyes. No shit.

  Everyone laughed nervously at me; Alec put his hand on Nat’s shoulder so that the three of us were linked. How we’d been from the beginning. Funny because this whole time I kept thinking it couldn’t be the three of us. But it could. Nat and Alec could be together and I could still be a part of it. I could still be their family.

  “You should have died,” Dr. Murray stated slowly. I knew as much, hadn’t I seen the swirly light? “I’m going to be honest with you, and I’m not going to sugar coat anything, son.”

  Nobody had called me ‘son’ since my dad. And he’d died so long ago that to hear that term of endearment was like… coming home. A tear pooled at the corner of my eye and slid down before I could stop it.

  “You have a long road ahead of you,” Dr. Murray said, “I’ve made a few calls to enroll you in a local rehab program, along with therapy. The missus thinks it will be a good idea.”

  I respected him. I had no idea why, but I did. My eyes continued to get wet with… emotion, but I seriously lost control when he said, “You’re better than this, son.”

  Because I was better than this. I knew I was.

  I just needed to hear it.

  He sat on the bed and sighed. “You were made for more than music, more than just living on the edge, son. I need you to believe that. I need you to work with me so we can get past this. Together. Can you do that?”

  Slowly, using strength I knew I didn’t have, I lifted my hand and placed it on his. A gentleman’s agreement. I wasn’t going back. I couldn’t.

  He gave me a firm nod then stood and hugged Nat. “He’s going to be fine, baby. I’m going to leave you guys for a minute. I’ll send the nurses in to start taking away some of that equipment hooked up to him.”

  I smiled. Wow, I never thought being scolded would actually feel so good.

  “What are you smiling about?” Nat grinned.

  I moved my head from side to side, as if to say, oh you know…

  Alec laughed behind Nat and wrapped his arms around her. “I’m thinking it’s the first time an adult has scolded him in years.”

  My smile widened. Yeah he knew me way too well.

  They laughed together and Nat walked over to me and kissed my forehead. Her lips were warm. “I love you, Demetri. I’ll always love you.” She grabbed my hand and placed it on her heart. “You’re right here. Always.”

  ‘I love you too.’ That’s what I would have said if I could. ‘I love you too and I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I didn’t love you the way you deserve to be loved.’

  ‘I’m thankful he does.’

  The thing about love… You can’t fully give it, when you don’t even know what it is. I didn’t love myself, I didn’t accept myself; I blamed myself. And until I was done with all that? I couldn’t have loved her.

  Not the way Alec loved her.

  Nat walked out of the room leaving me alone with Alec. I stared at him. He stared at me. I stared at him some more. And then he blurted, “If you ever scare me like that again I will bring you back to life, only to kill you all over again, okay?”

  I nodded.

  “Good.” He swore and then did the strangest thing. My strong-as-nails bad-ass brother, pulled me into his arms and burst into tears.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  Nat

  I THREW ON a pair of sweats the following Sunday night and ran across the lawn to the guys’ house. I knocked and waited.

  Within seconds Alec appeared. Demetri’s voice was yelling in the background, “Since when does she knock?”

  Alec rolled his eyes and tugged me in for a heart-stopping kiss. I parted my lips. Things were just getting interesting, when we heard Demetri gagging from the living room.

  Alec winked and stepped back. I laughed and followed him into the house.

  Demetri had only been home for a few hours. It looked like a tornado had attacked their living room. Clothes and medicine were everywhere.

  “Moving?” I asked as I noted the suitcases in the corner. The room went quiet. I looked to both guys and waited for someone to say something.

  “I forgot to take my medicine!” Demetri blurted then hobbled out of the living room with his crutches. I glared at his escaping form then turned my attention to Alec.

  He sighed and sat on the couch. “We need to talk.”

  “I don’t like that phrase.”

  “Fine.” Alec chuckled. “I need to ask you something.”

  Tense, I stood. I couldn’t sit. Not if he was breaking up with me, not if he was ending the best thing that had ever happened to me. I knew things were going too well. My parents and I were finally talking, Demetri wasn’t dead, thank God, and Alec and I were on our way toward bliss! It was only a few weeks until Christmas and I was hoping we would be able to spend our entire break together. I didn’t want to spend it alone crying into a pint of ice cream.

  “Nat, stop worrying.” Alec pulled me down across his lap. I straddled him, but kept my body from touching his. “I love you.” He kissed my lips and chuckled. “Seriously, you’re stressing me out. Stop freaking.”

  I managed a tight smile. “So what is it?”

  “We’re going on vacation.”

  So not what I expected.

  “Huh?”

  “I imagined lots of screaming, jumping, and lots of kissing. Huh wasn’t exactly on my list of answers.” Alec flicked my nose
and kissed my mouth. “We, as in you and I, are going on vacation before Christmas break.”

  “But we have like a week and a half of school and—”

  “I’ve taken care of it.”

  “And my parents will flip out…”

  “Already talked to them.” Alec seemed bored with my excuses.

  I glared. “I can’t believe you would leave Demetri all by himself!”

  Alec threw his head back and laughed. “Okay, first of all, you have trust issues. Second, Demetri is a grown man.”

  “Thanks dude!” Demetri called from the kitchen.

  I rolled my eyes.

  “And…” Alec’s hands moved to cup my backside, pulling me closer against him. “I’ve managed to convince your parents that you deserve a few days away from all this craziness. Besides, I have to go to L.A. to take care of some stuff.”

  “But…” I had no argument.

  “Your teachers are more than understanding. In fact I’m pretty sure they couldn’t care less if a straight-A student skipped out before break. Demetri is going to go crash at your parents’. Bob is staying with him, even though he begged for Lloyd.” He would beg for Lloyd, the less scary one. Jerk. “And we’ll be back in time to have Christmas together.”

  I bit my lip and looked at Alec. “As a family?”

  He nodded. “Your grandparents, your parents, Demetri, and myself. That is, if you’ll have us.”

  I squealed with excitement. “When do we leave?”

  “Tonight.” He checked his watch. “You have exactly an hour to pack.”

  I scrambled off his lap and nearly fell to the floor.

  “Easy, Nat. I want to get you there in one piece.”

  I saluted just as Demetri hobbled back into the living room. Alec looked at me and then made some lame excuse about making sure he had everything he needed.

  “So…” Demetri plopped onto the couch and motioned for me to join him.

  “So.” I repeated.

  “My brother.”

  “Your brother.”

  “Are you really just going to repeat everything I say?”

  “You almost died,” I whispered.

  Demetri sighed then put his arm around me. “I think I liked it better when you were repeating after me, Nat.” I released a shuddering breath and looked at his face. He licked his lips. “Nat, I’m happy for you guys. I can’t say that it doesn’t suck, but I knew. Damn, I knew the minute you guys looked at each other. What can I say? I’m a selfish bastard. I knew what I was doing, Nat. Even if you didn’t know your own feelings.”

  “But I love you!”

  Demetri laughed. “Aw, Nat. I know, but it’s not the same kind of love you feel for Alec. Believe me, I’ve felt that love before, and that wasn’t it.”

  “Before?”

  He nodded. A shadow fell across his features. “Once, and she died. I think in a way you reminded me of her. I was trying to fix things, by not really fixing them, Nat.”

  I leaned my head against his shoulder. “So what do we do now?”

  “You mean other than make noises so my brother thinks I’m totally making out with you?”

  I pinched him.

  “Or that.” He winced. “We stay friends, and you keep me far, far away from parties and alcohol-induced stupidity.”

  “We can always put one of those dog collars on you and press the shock button when you act stupid or make a bad choice.”

  Demetri threw his head back and laughed. “Kinky, I like it.”

  “Who’s kinky?” Alec growled as he came around the corner.

  “Your fiancé.”

  “We aren’t—” I felt myself flush red. “We aren’t engaged. It was just pretend.” I assured them both and myself.

  Alec said nothing, but Demetri grinned like a fool. “Yeah okay, Nat. You just keep telling yourself that you won’t be marrying this one over here the minute he asks you.”

  I felt my cheeks heat even more! Glancing away I offered a nervous laugh and felt my treacherous heart jump at the thought. I was only eighteen for crying out loud!

  “We good?” Demetri grabbed my hand in his.

  I squeezed. “We’re good.”

  “Love you, Nat.”

  I leaned over and kissed his cheek. “I love you, too.”

  Alec lifted an eyebrow.

  I rolled my eyes. “Fine, I’m going to go pack!”

  Alec followed me outside. The minute the door closed he pushed me up against it. “I can’t wait to be alone with you.”

  I giggled as he kissed my neck and squeezed me against his hard body. “Finally, all mine.”

  “All yours.” I hungrily searched for his mouth as he lifted me into his arms. Wrapping my legs around his body, I hung onto his neck and went about proving to him exactly how much of me he had.

  Enjoy Strung? Want to read Nat’s POV in Tear?

  Go grab it! It’s free everywhere ebooks are sold!

  Each book is a stand alone about a different couple.

  READING ORDER

  Strung

  Tear

  Pull

  Shatter

  Forever

  Fall

  And coming soon: Capture

  OTHER BOOKS BY RACHEL VAN DYKEN

  The Bet Series

  The Bet (Forever Romance)

  The Wager (Forever Romance)

  The Dare

  Eagle Elite

  Elite (Forever Romance)

  Elect (Forever Romance)

  Entice

  Elicit (August 11, 2014)

  Seaside Series

  Tear

  Pull

  Shatter

  Forever

  Fall

  Wallflower Trilogy

  Waltzing with the Wallflower

  Beguiling Bridget

  Taming Wilde

  London Fairy Tales

  Upon a Midnight Dream

  Whispered Music

  The Wolf’s Pursuit

  Renwick House

  The Ugly Duckling Debutante

  The Seduction of Sebastian St. James

  The Redemption of Lord Rawlings

  An Unlikely Alliance

  The Devil Duke Takes a Bride

  Ruin Series

  Ruin

  Toxic

  Fearless

  Shame (October 6, 2014)

  Other Titles

  The Parting Gift

  Compromising Kessen

  Savage Winter

  Divine Uprising

  Every Girl Does It

  Elicit

  Eagle Elite Book 4

  Elicit: To evoke or draw out (a response or an answer or fact) from someone in reaction to one’s own actions or questions. Example: A corrupt heart elicits in an hour all that is bad in us.

  Prologue

  Tex

  Rage consumed me as I looked around the building. A sea of familiar faces stared right through me. It was as if the past twenty-five years of my life meant nothing at all.

  Had I been nothing to them?

  Nothing but a joke.

  The reality of my situation hit me full force as I fought to suck in even long breaths of the stale dusty air.

  “It is your choice,” the voice said in an even steady tone, piercing the air with its finality.

  “Wrong.” I stared at the cement floor, the muted color of grey was stained with spots of blood, “If I’d had a choice, I would have chosen to die in the womb. I would have drowned myself when I was three. I would have shot myself when I had the chance. You’ve given me no damn choice, and you know it.”

  “You do not fear death?” the voice mocked.

  Slowly, my head rose, I locked eyes with Mo and whispered, “It’s life. Life scares the hell out of me.”

  A single tear fell from her chin and in that moment I knew what I had to do. After all, life was about choices. And I was about to make mine. Without hesitation. I grabbed the gun from my back pocket, pointed it at Mo and pulled the trigger.<
br />
  With a gasp she fell to the ground. A bullet grazed my shoulder as I knelt taking time to reach for my semi-automatic from underneath my pant leg. When I stood, I let loose a string of ammo, the sound of it hitting cement, brick, bodies, chairs, filled me with more peace than I’d had in a lifetime of war.

  I stalked toward him, the man I was going to kill, the man who had made me feel like my existence meant nothing. I held the gun to his chest and squeezed the trigger, and when he collapsed in front of me, it was with a smile on his face, his eyes still open in amusement.

  Chaos reigned around me and then suddenly, everything stopped.

  When I turned it was to see at least twenty dead, and Nixon staring at me like he didn’t know me at all — but maybe he never had. And wasn’t that a bitch.

  He took a step forward his hand in the air, “Tex—”

  “No.” I smirked. “Not Tex. To you?” I pointed the gun and pulled the trigger. “I’m the Capo.”

  Part One: A Rise To Power

  Chapter One

  Two weeks before the incident…

  Tex

  “No! No! Stop!” Mo tossed and turned in her sleep, her arms flying around the bed as if she was trying to punch someone — though really she was only landing blows to the air.

  With a sigh I grabbed her fists as gently as I could and woke her up. “Mo, you were dreaming.”

  Her long lashes blinked against her skin a few times, possibly clearing out the images that had just haunted her rest. “Sorry.” Her glance fell to my hands as they held her wrists midair. Mo jerked away from me and moved to the side of the bed. “It was just a bad dream.”

  My touch used to comfort her. She used to crave it. At least I thought she did. It had always been about me and Mo. We were a team, a dysfunctional one, but a team’s a team right?

  “It’s okay,” I lied; it was absolutely not okay that she wanted nothing to do with me, that she was scared of me, that she was pregnant and I’d done everything within my power to make it easy on her — even when every day it was harder on me. “Just go back to sleep, things will look better in the morning.”