“You are such an ass.”
“Oh my god, you didn’t sleep with her, did you? What the hell Brad, she was naked in your bed. What else do I have to do?”
“You don’t have to do anything. That was so messed up.”
“You have liked her for over half a year, right? And how many times have you tried anything? I was doing you a favor and you totally blew it. You gotta do something, Brad. I can’t deal with her coming on to me like that. I’m not going there again. Love--never again…it is a fucked up feeling.”
“I haven’t even kissed her. I’m not going to try to have sex with her. Dylan, she still wants you.”
“Listen, I’ve got more important things to worry about. My mother did it, Chris comes in less than two weeks and my mother did it.”
“Did what?”
“They not only cut me off, they froze my damn accounts. She threatened me when I was in the hospital but I didn’t believe she would actually do it. I don’t know what happened. My mom changed.” Dylan walked over and closed the door. “She threatened to totally cut me off unless I married Sarah.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. It makes no sense. I know they want me to settle down. I know I have done stupid things, but since I met Nicole, I have changed. I told her I would give it all up for Nicole, every penny—but Chris is coming. I less than two weeks. I need that money! Steve stole everything from me. I need to get that SOB!”
“They really did freeze your accounts?”
“Yeah. I have just like $20,000 in the bank. What’s that going to do? What Chris is talking about is going to take around $100,000. You know his connections. We can find him, with Chris I can find him. The police aren’t doing anything. And every time Chris uncovers something it gets held up somehow. We need to do this on his terms. It has been two years and the police still haven’t made an arrest. Steve has to be that serial killer. How can they not find him? They’re idiots!”
Dylan sat on his bed and cradled his head in his hands. “I think I’m going to agree to marry that bitch. That’s the only way I can get my life back and get the kinda money we need.” He looked up at Brad. “Sarah wants a rush wedding. I guess so I won’t change my mind. I’m going to have to say yes.”
“You can’t marry Sarah, Dylan. We have to figure something else out.”
“They are pretty set on it. Chris is only here for a short time to help me begin the hunt. Someone hired him for another covert operation and he has to go under the radar again. I need to get some money, now. I have a small window. I’ve got to get to Seattle to try and get some money from my folks before he arrives. I don’t know any other way than to tell them I’ll marry Sarah. If I don’t get any money from my dad we’re screwed. Steve stole everything from me. I’m have to kill him.”
“Dylan, you shouldn’t leave. Nicole is still alive.”
“She doesn’t remember me, Brad. She doesn’t remember what we had.”
“You still have something, Dylan, but probably not after what you did today. You really messed up.”
“I can’t love her, Brad. I won’t do that to myself again. I just have to focus on how much I hate this guy. I have to learn to think like him.” Dylan pulled a yellow carnation out of Nicole’s jacket. “It’s another one! He was there; he was out there with her. I gotta get rid of him. I gotta do whatever it takes. And Jess, we have to find Jessica.”
Dylan twirled the flower in his hand. “Nicole screws up my head, Brad. I can’t have the distraction. I can’t take it, Brad. Watching how she looks at you is poison. Thinking about Steve hunting her again is eating away at me. I have to move on. I have to. Once I get the money, I will track down this guy and find Jess. I have to do it; it’s the only way.”
“What are they thinking?”
“I still don’t get why they want me to marry her, but if it is what I have to do, I will marry that whore.”
“But Sarah? Do you really think she would let you go searching for Steve? She’s got money. Why does she want to force you to get married?”
“I don’t know, and I can’t believe my parents are going for it. I guess they think once I get married I’ll become more responsible. Last summer I did some stupid things. Maybe they think it will help me settle down.”
“They want you to settle down?”
“Yeah.”
“You have. I mean look at you. You’re not the same guy you were last summer.”
“They don’t know that. If I didn’t need the money to track down this animal, I would never consider it. But I don’t know any other way to get the kind of money we need in a little over a week.”
“If they want you to settle down, why don’t you tell them you are marrying Nicole? Your dad is really understanding.”
“My dad? Right,” he said sarcastically. He hadn’t gotten along with his dad since junior high school.
“Dylan, you have done some stupid things. You can’t blame him for being upset with you. Your dad is a softy and you know it. He knows you’ve been dating Nicole. He knows she was in a coma and she woke up from it. I mean since you met Nikki you have settled down a lot. Who’d have thought you’d have spent a month in a hospital room?”
“They want me to marry Sarah.”
“You’re not partying or messing around with lots of women. You’re not traveling with the band. I think your dad would understand that you don’t want to marry someone you don’t love. You can say Nikki is learning to walk and you want to wait till she can walk down the aisle to marry her.”
“Have you not been listening? Say she is going to be my wife? Are you crazy?”
“It’s better than having to marry Sarah.”
“No way. Nicole makes me crazy. No way.”
“You just have to pretend while you are with your folks. I think your dad will go for it, Dylan. I bet he’ll…”
“There is no way Nicole will do it. Especially after today”
“It’s to get the money to find her daughter. And to get rid of the man that put her in the hospital. I’ll talk to her. It’s just to buy us time so you can get the money you need. You are right. We do have to find a way to get rid of Steve now before he attacks her again. And there is no better person than Chris to help us. If he’ll be here in a little over a week, we need to get you engaged, boy.”
“You can ask her, but it wasn’t my idea. This doesn’t change anything. I can’t be around her too much – -only when we are in Seattle. I can’t handle her temptation. You didn’t see her today. If I’m nice, she may get the wrong idea. I don’t want her to think I like her like that anymore. I don’t want her to think I care.”
“Dylan, you obviously care or you wouldn’t be doing all this for her.”
“I don’t, Brad. I’m doing this ‘cause Jessica needs her mom. And I’m doing this because Steve needs to pay for what he did. I’m doing this for you. I’ll hunt down that monster. Please Brad, I know you love her, do something about it. I know you’ll make her happy.”
*Dylan*
Brad walked out of the room and closed the door. Dylan went to his dresser and took out the little box that was wrapped in his top drawer with Nicole’s name on it. He sat back on the bed with the tiny gift, tracing the corners of the box and staring at the ceiling.
What was he doing, sending the only woman he ever loved into someone else’s arms? He pulled at the strings, opening the little envelope on the top. ‘Nicole, Forever isn’t long enough, I will love you till the end of time.’ He unwrapped the present, opening the box and took out the ring. As it glistened in the light, sadness consumed his core. I will always love you, he whispered to himself. That is why I have to let you go.
Chapter 43
*Bradley*
Brad gave Nikki a few days to get her anger out of her system. He knew Dyla
n fucked up big time and really hurt her. He wasn’t sure she would agree but he had to at least ask her.
“Are you crazy? Pretend I am engaged to that ass! I don’t want to be in the same room with that jerk. He is a conceited animal. There is no way.”
“I would even consider asking you if there was another way. We really don’t have much choice, Nikki. You only need to pretend while you are in Seattle. We need the money.”
“Brad, do you understand what he did to me? I can’t. It is hard enough being in this house with him much less pretending I’m in love with him.”
“He screwed up, I know he did. I’m not saying what he did was right, but we have this friend who can help us find Jess and we have no other way to get the money we need before he gets here. It’s only a few days in Seattle that you have to get along and he will be leaving after that anyway.”
“There is nothing else you can do? You need me to do this to get back my baby?”
“Just a couple days and we will have the money to find Jess and hunt down the monster that did this to you. It’s just a couple days.”
“You want me to do this?”
“I just don’t see any other way.” Brad didn’t want to tell Nicole it was her treatment and medical bills that had depleted most of Dylan’s savings. “It’s to help find your baby girl. Chris, a friend of ours, he has connections. He does contracts with different agencies on some really high profile cases. If anyone can find Steve or Jess, it is him and we have a short window when he is between missions. Dylan and I have done everything we know how to find her. It may take a lot of money. He’ll be here soon so we have to do this now.”
“He really hurt me, Brad. He really humiliated me. I can’t just get over this, I wish I could forget. The one thing I remember, I want to block out but it runs over and over in my brain. Why did I like such a man?”
“Nikki, I don’t think he has ever done anything like that to you before. I know it was totally wrong, but somehow he thought it would help us get together.”
“If anything it just made me want to be alone. I feel so dirty for thinking about him that way. I did come on to him. I was wrong. I don’t know what came over me. But how could he think what he did was right. I hate him. I would be happy if he would disappear. I’ll never forgive him.”
“You don’t have to forgive him. Just pretend you will marry him.” They both laughed.
“If there is no other way, I will do it. I want to see my Jessica. I want to find my daughter. If it is the only way to get her back, I guess I have to.”
Chapter 44
*Dylan*
The loud knock startled Dylan. “Maybe Bradley forgot his keys,” he mumbled to himself coming out of his room to answer the front door. He noticed Nicole at the table sipping her coffee.
“Justin?” What was he doing here? It was hard to believe it had been five months. He cut his hair.
Justin glanced around the room, inviting himself in. He took off his coat and laid it on the couch. His tight shirt advertised that he still spent most of his time in the gym. “Hey man, I haven’t seen you in like forever. What have you been up to?” He ran his fingers threw his blond hair, probably fishing for a complement.
Dylan tried to sound enthusiastic. “Brad said you are playing at the Lodge this week, that’s great.”
“Yeah, you should come play with us sometime. It’d be like old times.”
Dylan watched as Nicole stood up from the table to try use the walls to leave undetected.
“Is that Nikki?”
She stopped and turned when she heard her name. Her face changed as he scrutinized her sweat pants.
“Nikki, oh my god. Come say hi.” Justin opened his arms.
She glanced up, but lowered her eyes to ignore his stare. The walls helped support her as she walked toward him. She paused in front of Justin, and looked up at him. She tilted her head. A blank stare. Dylan knew that look. There was no memory.
The color in her face and her insecure fidgeting revealed she felt embarrassed by her lack of memory as well as the way she was dressed, so Dylan tried to break the awkward silence and at least clue her in that this was someone from Seattle, so she wouldn’t act like she hated him too much.. “Justin and I used to play in a band together in Seattle. We played at the Lodge, Brad’s club, when we were in Alaska.” He hoped it would jar some kind of memory.
“Nice to meet you, Justin.” She extended her hand.
He took her hand, glared over at Dylan with a smirk, and raised his eyebrow. “What’s all this about?” His eyes then scanned Nicole. “What have you been up to? Man you look rough.”
Dylan smacked Justin upside the head as Nicole’s eyes saddened.
Justin quickly spit out, “I’m just messing with you. You, you, you look…great.”
Nicole’s eyes examined the floor. She bit the inside of her cheek and glanced at the hallway to the bedrooms. “I’ll let you catch up.” She excused herself, using the couch to stand tall.
“Here let me help you.” Dylan went to put his arm around her.
“I’m fine,” she snapped and staggered toward the wall.
Justin called to her. “Hey, you should come and see us play. Tell Dylan he should join us. Let’s see if he still has it.”
She turned and her eyes fixated on Dylan. She tilted her head as if trying to remember. “How long did you play together?”
“For years. We’ll be back at the Lodge all week. That is where you two hooked up, right?” He turned to Dylan. “You know you’re aching to play that guitar.”
“Maybe it will help me remember. I’d like to hear you. That would be nice.” She turned back around and ducked into her room, closing the door.
Justin stared down the hallway. “What’s up with that?”
“She was in an accident. You didn’t hear?” Dylan sat on the arm of the couch.
“What’s wrong with her? She seemed like she had no idea who I was.”
“She has amnesia.” His voice softened for a moment as he rubbed his thighs trying to make sense of it. She doesn’t even remember me.
“That sucks.” Justin shook his head. “She looks like shit.”
“Fuck you, man. You want to start something? Watch how you talk about her.” He stood up. Justin wasn’t intimidated and stood his ground.
“I just don’t understand, you of all people--whipped? Dylan why are you with her when you can be with any girl. You can be with Sarah.”
“Sarah’s a bitch.”
“She still loves you man, and she’s rich and she’s got a body to die for. She blows Nicole away. I mean Nicole can’t even walk.” He chuckled.
Dylan grabbed Justin’s shirt. “Just get out.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. I take it back. But what about us? What about our band? We need you man. We were a good team. The girls were putty in our hands. Don’t you miss that? We’re playing here a few more days this week and then we fly to New Orleans. She’s not worth it. Because of her you just up and quit. Everyone back home is talking about how much she is fucking up your life. Everyone can see it but you.”
“Get out of here, Justin.”
“We need you. We got a great tour lined up. You, me, Trevor, and Jordan it can be like old times. Come out and play with us this week.”
“Have you run out of money again? Is that what this is about?” Dylan led Justin to the door. “I’m not interested. You really should leave.”
“At least think about it. I’m sorry about what I said about Nicole. If she’s what you want- – fine. Maybe it will help her remember. Sing her that song you wrote. Remember how she stared at you when you sang. We’re only here for a few more days.” Justin put his hand on Dylan’s shoulder. “I bet when she sees you on stage she’ll remember everything. You heard her…�
��
What if she doesn’t? Dylan didn’t respond.
“You lived to make music. I can’t believe you are giving up everything for a girl. A girl who is definitely not in her prime right now.”
“Get the hell out of here. I told you, I am not interested.”
“Your fans miss you, Dylan. I know deep inside, you miss them too. If you don’t want to go on tour, fine. At least come and play with us here in town. The only reason we came up here again was to see you. The guys would love to see you. We miss you. Think about it. Like she said, it may help her remember, she saw us playing every night together.”
“I’m not going to join the band again. It’s not what I want to do anymore.”
“You’re a natural. Why don’t you just do one set with us? The guys really want to see you.”
“Tell them hi for me.” Dylan opened the front door for Justin.
Justin turned to leave. “At least think about it.”
Dylan closed the door, standing in silence. He didn’t even want to begin to enter that world again. Music was his life. WAS. Now he had more important things to think about. Going on stage would be another distraction. He had to hunt Steve. Besides what if she did remember? What if she remembered what they had? She would be better off with Bradley. Dylan buried his head in his hands. Why did he have to feel so much for her? Why did he have to still care so much? He hated her for stealing his heart. He would never be the same. She was alive. She was here. But she would never be his. He had to leave.
He knew in his hunt for Steve he would be risking his life. But a piece of him had already died.
Obsession and Sacrifice (Alaska #2) Page 16
