by Ford, Mia
“Is something going on here?” Pippa is blown away, but she doesn’t look pissed off which I decide to take as a good sign. I know she would be usually, but no one knows my full situation better than her. “Oh, wow.”
“I’m sorry.” I hang my hands loosely in Jayden’s. “I know this might seem a bit wild, but it’s been ten years in the making. Bryan has been horrible to me anyway, what we share isn’t a marriage.”
“Oh no, I know that and I’m glad about this…” Pippa points between us both. “It’s just a shock, that’s all. But a good shock. Like, it’s awesome. After everything you’ve been through you deserve happiness most of all.”
I smile at Pippa. Loving her acceptance of me and Jayden. Unfortunately, Tommy doesn’t look like he feels the same way. I suppose I can’t blame him. This is all a bit much and since he’s Jayden’s best friend I’m sure he has a view of what happened in the past, but I don’t think that will put him off. Only we know what we share.
“Okay, well on that bomb shell,” Pippa chuckles. “I have to get to work and you boys need to get out and back as soon as you can to sort out Savannah. I don’t want you leaving her alone for too long.”
“Yep, of course.” Jayden pulls back away from me but I don’t miss the long, lingering look he gives me. “I’ll see you soon, Savannah. You take care of yourself, okay and keep me up to date.”
I roll my eyes and grab a towel. “Sure, I’ll let you know when I’m out of the shower. Although you might be back before that since I intend to stay in there until the water runs cold. I have to pass the day somehow!”
They all leave regretfully, darting looks at me as they go, but I simply smile and wave as they go. It isn’t until the door shuts behind them that I let my true fear out. I am scared about being alone, truly terrified, but I can’t let them know that because I don’t want to slow down the investigation because I have to be babysat.
“It will be fine,” I mutter quietly to myself. “I’m going to be okay. They will be out an hour at most.”
I spin on my heels and head towards the shower, truly intending to follow through with my plans. I need to get into that water and let it relax me until all these worries flow away. Okay, so I might not be able to get rid of all of them since I still don’t have Peter with me, but I can become less of a jittery mess.
I flick the television on as I move into the bathroom and flick it to a music channel. The song playing on the station isn’t one I recognize but I hum along regardless. Out of tune, out of rhythm, just to create noise. I need sound more than anything right now, the silence is what’s killing me. I can’t stand it. I don’t want to jump at every single little bump that runs through the room. Especially in this motel where it’s all noise.
I flick the shower on and bring it to life. The trickle of water isn’t high enough to relax all of my muscles, but it’s a start. At least I can still hear the music over it, which is something. I touch my fingers under it until it gets hot enough for me to brave stripping off, then I peel the clothing bit by bit. As I do, I imagine it’s Jayden’s hands doing all the work again, just like he has been the past couple of times. I smile to myself, glad that I now have some actual knowledge to back up my fantasies. I know how good he feels now. He feels amazing.
I’m in love with him, that’s for sure. I definitely know it now, and it’s good that I’ve told him as much. It’s also better that he feels the same way about me. Sure, it’s going to be a long old road if we ever intend to be together, but we know how hard it is to be apart from one another now. We’ll fight to be together. We know now that our love is worth battling hard for and I honestly think we can do it. If we make it out of this.
I grab a bottle of shower gel and step into the water. I squirt a big glob of it on me and I slide my eyes closed to day dream about Jayden while my hands work all over me. He makes me insatiable, I feel like I can’t get enough of him even when he isn’t here. The fact that it’ll be about an hour before I can even touch him again is too much. So, I take things into my own hands. I slide my own fingers down my body and I rub my slit as the water rushes over me. My heart hammers against my rib cage as I find my clit and my breaths come out ragged and desperate. I play with my nub hard and fast, loving the way that it feels. It’s intense.
“Oh, Jayden,” I mutter to myself, thinking of only him. “Jayden, Jayden.”
I use my other hand to knead my breast, I lose myself in the incredible sensations, my body is buzzing with flames. He lights me up, and even the thought of him is enough to get me going. I soak my fingers with my juices as I flick hard and fast. My body contorts, my legs turn to jelly, I can barely keep myself upright as the pleasure races through me, rolling over me in powerful shocking waves.
“I want to be with you, Jayden,” I murmur to the vision of him in my mind. “I don’t ever want anyone else. Only you. I want to be yours forever more. I love you, you’re mine, I’m yours, I love you.”
The love flows intensely through me along with the orgasm, it rockets and shakes me, making me cling onto the shower wall just so I don’t fall. It floods me completely, and I let it consume my entire body.
Once finished, I make some more decisions in my brain. I can’t get too hung up on what my dad is up to anymore. That’s his business, not mine. If he wants to be an asshole criminal, just like my husband, then so be it. I don’t have to be involved. It doesn’t even need to change my memories of him. I don’t have to let him go just because he’s into something dodgy. I can just push that to one side and simply remember who he once was.
Once I have Peter I’m going to go and be with Jayden wherever his life is now. I’m going to forget about all of this, push it to one side, and live my life. I haven’t been happy for far too long so now it’s time to finally just be that. Other people have happiness, they’ve searched for it and found it. Why shouldn’t I?
I grab the shampoo and wash my hair quickly with a smile on my face. I feel like today is going to be a really good day. Once Jayden and Tommy return we can decide what to do next, what mystery to unlock. I hope they get something from the station, I really hope they somehow manage to find out what happened to the Rice brothers. Tommy seems to have some magic charisma even more powerful than Bryan, so I think if anyone can do it, it’s him. Then we’ll have something else to go on with which is awesome.
I step out of the shower and stare at my reflection in the mirror. Even with my face and body still dripping with water and my hair sticking to my face, I look lighter, happier, more beautiful, actually. I haven’t ever been the sort of person to consider myself pretty, but now I have a lot more confidence in me.
“Ooh, hello?” I call out as I hear a clicking sound. “Jayden, is that you?”
Either he didn’t take long at the station or I’ve been forever in the shower. Either way is possible, so I grab some sweat pants and drag them on, then I shove a tee shirt on too. I don’t bother with a bra because I don’t think I’ll have it on for very long. The way I’m feeling today I’ll be naked in a heart beat.
“Hold on, Jayden, I’m just coming.”
I drag my fingers through my soaking wet hair like a brush and I smile at myself. Then I practically skip out of the bathroom into the bedroom, just to find it empty.
“Oh.” I pout, disappointed. My wet hair is dripping onto my tee shirt, soaking my nipples. They are hardening underneath the material, begging to be touched, but the man I want to touch them isn’t here. “Okay.”
I swing my hands by my side feeling a bit silly now. I don’t quite know what to do with myself. I grab the remote control and switch the television set to a close for a start. Then I breathe deeply, wondering how I can most effectively use my time. There has to be something I can do…
“Oh…” Footsteps again. This time they’re definitely in the room. I spin around wildly. “Jayden, this seems like a really ill-timed joke. Can you just show yourself already? I’m getting freaked out here.”
But there’s not
hing. Maybe there aren’t even footsteps in the room. It might even be my heartbeat hammering against my chest. I might well be sending myself cray right about now for no reason.
“Maybe I should turn the TV back on again,” I mutter to myself. “The quiet is all too much.”
But just as I hit the button on the remote and sound fills the room, something else happens. A bang rings out, and I feel a blinding white hot pain in the side of my face. My body tumbles, I can’t seem to stop it, I fall to the ground as everything pinholes. A blackness fills my vision, I lose all control of everything around me.
This is the end, my brain unhelpfully pops up. This is the moment I die.
He has found me.
22
Jayden
“That was a fucking bust, wasn’t it?” Tommy claps his hand to his head. “The fucking cops wouldn’t give us anything. They didn’t tell us anything about the Rice brothers at all. Even with all my charm.”
“Well, we already know that they are under Bryan’s power,” I reply grimly. “Or at least, he must have something over them, so it makes sense. That was probably a bad idea anyway. We should have known…”
“Well, what do we do now?” Tommy bangs his hands on the dash board. “We still don’t know where the boy is. We have all of this information, but nothing that seals it together. Do we go back to Savannah now?”
“No.” I shake my head determinedly. “Savannah is right. She’s okay for a little while longer. She’s locked away in that motel room where no one knows where she is. I have someone that I want to see.”
“You must be confident that you have a plan. You can’t honestly want to leave Savannah alone for long?”
“No, I don’t. Not really, but this is something that she might not agree with, but we have to do.”
“Oh God.” Tommy shakes his head, disappointed. “That sounds either incredibly dangerous or really stupid. Which one is it because I’d like to be prepared this time before walking in to anything.”
“It might be both,” I admit. “We’re going to see Savannah’s father.”
“What?” he exclaims, completely shocked. “Are you serious? Why the hell would we do that? She’s already been to see him and got hardly anything from him. What else can we do? He doesn’t even know us.”
“I know that, but I’m very certain that he knows something about where the boy is and I need to start down that road. Figuring out this blackmail plot is something, but it only solves one part of it. I’m much more interested in where the boy is anyway, and I think Savannah is too. That’s how we find it out. That’s what we do.” I tap my fingers, trying to think of more reasons why this is the right thing to do. I know it is, I just don’t know how to explain it fully. “I know he doesn’t know us, but maybe we can use that to our advantage. Maybe the fact that he doesn’t know us is good because he’ll listen to us more. He’ll accept what we’re saying.”
“Or we can threaten him? I presume that might come out here, right? Just so I know where I am.”
“I suppose so.” I offer a one-shouldered shrug. “I’d rather avoid it, but if needs be…” Urgh, I hate myself for even thinking it. Savannah will not be happy. “If we need to then that’s what we’ll do.”
“Right, I see.” Tommy nods slowly. I can almost hear the cogs ticking in his brain. “Okay, well on that front I’m sure you’re right. But there’s something else we need to discuss, isn’t there?”
I squirm already knowing where this is going but I decide to play dumb for a while. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, you and Savannah. Really? Are you serious about that?” He throws his hands above his head in frustration. “She’s a married woman, also she’s going through a really crazy time. Is it a good idea?”
“No,” I admit. “Probably not, but what can we do? We have this chemistry that you can’t ignore, and it’s also been a very long time coming. I’ve always been in love with Savannah…”
“Yeah, I know that. That’s why I don’t think this is a good idea. You’ve been hung up on this woman for a decade and she’s never been with you. You shared one kiss, one night, ten years ago. I’m worried that you’re allowing yourself to get dragged in to heart-ache again. You know how hard it’s been…”
“Yes, that’s right, but I also know that she loves me and that she wanted me even then, she was forced into marrying Bryan and she didn’t want to. She’s always wanted me.”
He doesn’t answer me, but I can see his thoughts darting behind his brain. He’s struggling to deal with all of this and he’s putting his own history into his opinion too. He’s been hurt in the past so he thinks it’s all that can happen. I just hope that he comes around soon enough when he sees how we can make this work.
“Look, Tommy, I appreciate your concern. I really do, and I understand it, but I know what I’m doing.”
“Yeah, well I hope you’re right, I really do. I don’t want more heartbreaks for you.”
I don’t say anything else about me and Savannah, I don’t think I need to. Tommy gets it now, he knows that I’m going to do this whatever. He probably thinks I’m naïve and dumb but he’ll soon change his mind. Once he sees that we really will have a future then all will be okay. I have to trust in it.
“Right.” I don’t say anything at all until I need to. “We’re here. This is the place. We need to go in.”
“You ready for this?” Tommy is the one who doesn’t look ready. “This is going to get ugly.”
“I’m ready.” I slide out the car and stand determinedly on the side walk. “Let’s just do this already. The sooner we get this over, the quicker I can get Savannah and we can find her son. Let’s end this today.”
“Oh, thank fuck for that. I can’t wait for this to be over. I’m looking forward to getting back to real life.”
I don’t know if I agree with him about that. I don’t know how much I’m looking forward to my normal life, or if I’ll even be able to live as I once did, but now isn’t the time to worry about that. Now is the time to move in. “Okay, well let’s do it then. Let’s go and face this tosser then we can go.”
My heart races as we step closer. Somehow, I’m more intimidated by this than when we faced the drug dealer’s home, but I won’t stop now. I can’t. Even being here is going to make Savannah mad, it has to be for something.
Bang, bang, bang.
I hammer on the door, back to my heavy-handed ways. I suppose I can’t push down my annoyance today, especially not at this man. He’s done some terrible things to his daughter, but to me too. Even if he doesn’t realize it. He’s made me lose the last ten years of my life where I could have been happy with Savannah.
As the door flies open, I’m stunned by the face looking back at me. He isn’t what I was expecting at all. He does have a similar look to Savannah, but he’s smaller and less intimidating looking than I was expecting.
“Mr. Donald?” I ask him curiously. “Are you Savannah’s father?” He nods, but looks unsure. “Can I and my friend come in please? We have some things that we wish to discuss with you.”
“Look, I’ve already told your boss that I can’t do what he wants yet. I need more time…”
“We don’t work for Bryan, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
His shoulders roll forwards, the tension rolls off his body in waves. Clearly, the idea of Bryan terrifies him just like it does everyone else. But that’s something I already know. What I need is more.
“So, do you think you can let us in? Because we want to put an end to the danger.”
“Trust me.” He steps to one side. “That’s what I want as well.”
Pictures of Savannah and a very beautiful woman who I assume must have been her mother litter the walls, but I try not to look at them too much. I don’t want the reminder that I probably shouldn’t be here. We walk all the way through into a kitchen where we take seats on bar stools. Mr. Donald darts his eyes between me and Tommy, giving us curious looks. I can see that
the uncertainty is something that he’s lived with for a long time.
“So, I’m going to start by telling you that we are friends with Savannah…”
“Are you taking care of her? I’ve been so worried. I know she hates me but I’m trying to help her…”
“Yes, but are you trying to save her son? Because right now, he is the one in danger, isn’t he?”
“He… he died.”
“No, Mr. Donald, there’s no point in you lying to me because I already know that he’s alive.”
“Savannah think that… but she’s wrong.”
“I didn’t get my information from Savannah. I got it from the Rice brothers and Hank Fry.” I can see from his expression that this has gotten to him. He knows what I mean. “The boy was kidnapped, wasn’t he?”
He pauses for a moment but eventually breaks down. “Y… yes.” His head falls into his hands. “It wasn’t supposed to be this way. It wasn’t ever supposed to go this far. It’s got out of control.”
My heart leaps up into my throat. I knew coming here was a good idea! Now we’re going to finally get something definitive. “Tel me where the boy is, Mr. Donald. Tell me and we can end it.”
“I… I don’t know.” He breaks down. A tear flies down his cheek. “I don’t know and I won’t know. Not until I pay Bryan the money he wants but I don’t have it. He’s cleaned me out, I don’t have it. I shouldn’t have said something, this is why all of this happened, if only I had kept my mouth shut…”
“What did you say?” I lean in. “What started all of this? We need to know so we can end it.”
Just as he’s about to answer me, his cell phone blasts out and his itchy fingers instantly reach for it. I can tell by the way that his face pales this isn’t a good call to have. I have a funny feeling it’s Bryan.
“Answer it,” I command. He gives me a petrified stare. “Go on, pick it up now. I want to hear it.”
With a shaking, trembling hand, he pulls the phone up to his ear and hits the answer button. “H… hello?”
