by Tina Saxon
“What the hell, Travis? A couple hundred grand is your most valued treasure?” I say.
“If someone took Addison away from you, tell me… what would you do?” Travis deadpans, his face set in stone.
“Is that a fucking threat?” Chills run down my spine as I jump up and get in Travis’s face. I will kill any motherfucker who touches Addison. I don’t care if it’s her father or not.
“I can see in your eyes that you’d have the exact same response I had. Unfortunately, I should have taken care of your dad before it came to that.” Travis stares, waiting for me to connect the dots. My mind pieces the puzzle together. A puzzle so convoluted it seems unbelievable.
“NO! “ I scream as I jump back and throw the chair across the room.
The door opens and a security guard looks at me. Concern on his face. “Agent Roberts, is everything okay?” he asks while looking at Travis, his hand on his gun.
“Yes.” No. It’s so far from okay it might not ever be okay again. I’m about to lose the love of my life. Addison was right, our path always led to devastation. He seems to accept my response and backs out of the room. I pace the room with my hands on my head.
“How do I know you’re not lying?” I know he’s right though. Our mothers were murdered the same year: hers first then mine. I knew this, but never in a million years would I have connected the two.
“If you need proof, you can always show Addison a picture of your dad. But you know I’m right, Aiden.” I continue pacing. That won’t happen. Ever.
The room closes in on me. I need to get out of here. I stare at Travis. “If you have any shred of love for your daughter, you’ll leave her alone. Forget you ever found out she was alive. For her own safety.” I slam the door open. I hear him saying something else, but I’m not listening. I’m not doing anything other than getting the fuck out of here.
Chapter Fifty-one
IT’S BEEN THREE days since I’ve talked to Aiden. When he left my house Tuesday morning, he told me he loved me. I believed him. Now he won’t return my calls. I’ve tried texting him but no response. I went to his office and Damon told me he had taken off for a few days. Each day that goes by, it gets harder to breathe. Hope slowly dwindles to barely hanging on. He doesn’t want me. I remind him too much of Travis. Time has changed his mind.
Travis’s attorney made a visit to my apartment yesterday. He still wants to see me. My life is in a tailspin, going round and round with no stop in sight. It’s going to throw me off if I don’t start putting my foot down and make it stop myself. I need to find out if Travis is the one having me followed.
I force myself to get out of bed. It’s Friday morning and the thought of seeing Travis today has me wanting to go right back to bed. Syd barges into my room right as I’m about to lie back down.
“No, Addie,” she says as she grabs me and pulls me to the living room. Too bad this living room can’t breathe any life back into me. She pushes me down on the couch and brings me over breakfast. “You need to eat, girlfriend. Enough is enough. The situation you are in sucks. But you’ve never been a quitter. Don’t start now.”
“Why? My life sucks. My entire life has been nothing but a roller coaster and I want off.” I throw my head back and stare up to the ceiling. “I’d rather be on the It’s A Small World ride. Smooth and slow.” I sigh.
Syd laughs. “Oh, pleeease. You hate that ride. You complained the whole time about it being the most boring ride you’d ever been on.” I look over at her. Really? Does she think that I really enjoy my roller-coaster life? “I’m not saying that your life has always had desirable outcomes,” she says as she looks at me with a raised eyebrow. “You’ve had some pretty shitty lows, more than anyone should in one’s lifetime, but you’ve always come out on top. You’ve got some great people in your life…” she smiles as she wags her eyebrows “…and Aiden loves you. You can see it every time he looks at you.” She leans her head on my shoulder. “I don’t think Travis being your dad is going to change that. Maybe he just needs some time to think things over.”
“Maybe.” Something is wrong, though. I tried to push him away, but he was so sure that it didn’t matter. I’m tired of trying to figure it out. It’s all I have thought about since he won’t talk to me. Syd is right. I have to keep living. I’ve been through heartbreak before. My heart has so many damn breaks, I’m surprised it’s still beating. But it is. The hurt reminds me everyday.
A couple hours later I walk into the jail to see Travis. They have me wait in the visitor’s room. I’m at a table with two chairs. I glance around and there are a couple of other tables filled with inmates and their visitors. Voices are quiet and soft; crying can be heard. The longer I have to wait, the more I fidget. This will be a quick meeting, I keep telling myself. Have my say and then leave.
They bring Travis in, hands in handcuffs, and he sits down in the chair facing me.
“Hi, Addison.” He softly smiles. He’s a good-looking man and being in jail hasn’t been too hard on him, yet. I can see how my mom would have been attracted to him.
I stare at him. It feels weird having him call me by my real name.
“I still can’t get over how much you look like her. I’m glad to see you. Glad you came,” he says quickly.
“I didn’t come to talk about my mom or us. I came to find out what you want. Then tell you that I’m never coming back.” My voice is void of any emotion.
He nods as he twists his lips. “I never meant to hurt you.” His voice is low. “I hate seeing you in pain. I should have never told him the truth.”
My eyes jump to his and I tilt my head to the side. “What are you talking about? Who are you talking about?”
“Aiden,” he says slowly with a questioning look.
“When did you see Aiden? He already knows about you… and me,” I say.
“He came and saw me on Tuesday.” He looks at me assessing my reaction. “Did he not tell you?” I slowly shake my head. Still confused. “It’s… you look heartbroken, I figured he—” Travis stops talking, shakes his head. “Sorry, I never should have said anything,” he says, looking down quickly. “I’ve done nothing right for you. I’m so sorry, Addison.” He lowers his head and runs his handcuffed hands through his hair. The powerful and confident man I met last summer is not the man in front of me. For a slight moment I feel bad for him.
Aiden came and saw him on Tuesday. I glance around the room, like I’ll find the answers hidden somewhere on the walls. It can’t be a coincidence that Aiden was willing to accept that Travis was my father before he visited him. What changed? What could he have possibly said that would make Aiden run away from me? I look back to Travis and his head is still lowered.
“What did you say to Aiden?” My voice cracks. Travis looks up. I can see the pain etched in his eyes. They probably match mine.
“Addison…” he sighs and pauses.
“Tell me!” I yell, slapping the table. “I haven’t heard from him since Tuesday morning. He knew about us and said it didn’t matter. What could you have told him that changed his mind?” I plead.
His voice is quiet. “I told him why his dad died.”
“You mean his mom and dad?” I force through gritted teeth. He will not discount the murder of his parents to me. He can’t give me a good enough reason for killing Aiden’s parents.
“I know this will mean nothing to you, but his mom was a mistake. She was not supposed to be in that car.” He’s looking straight into my eyes, his voice apologetic. He’s right. It means nothing to me. “But his dad took something of mine. Something irreplaceable.”
I can’t believe he’s admitting to killing Aiden’s parents. He then says, “and something irreplaceable to you.” My brows furrow.
“What do you mean?” I have a fleeting thought that Aiden was right in this same situation a few days ago. He won’t talk to me now. What does his dad have to do with my mom?
My eyes widen when confusion turns to realization. I let out an au
dible gasp. “No, please tell me it wasn’t him.” I’m pleading, begging, hoping. The resignation on his face tells me everything. Tears that I didn’t think I had any more of break free. I’m shaking my head, in shock, repeating, “No… no… no.” If I thought mine and Aiden’s strained relationship couldn’t get any worse, it just did. There is no way back from this.
A hand softly touches my hands on the table. It makes me jump. “Don’t touch me!” I seethe with a chilly voice. “Do you realize that you are the root of my fucked up life? You’re the part that keeps me from having a normal life. You are the poison in me, seeping its way through at every turn. Because of you, I can’t be happy!”
I jerk to my feet, the chair sliding back on the floor making an awful screeching noise, and run out of the visitor’s area. I find the closest bathroom and empty my stomach. After I can’t dry heave anymore, I sit on the toilet and cry. I force myself to get up and glance at myself in the mirror but don’t recognize the person looking back. My face and eyes are puffy and red. My hair is pulled back in a ponytail, with pieces falling out everywhere. Grabbing my sunglasses, I put them on to cover my bloodshot eyes.
Walking out of the jail, I pull out my phone to call Sydney. She’s already called me five times. I know she’s going to be worried. She’s always worried about me. Why does my life have to be so messed up? I can’t even fall in love right.
When I look up from my phone to walk down the few steps to the sidewalk, I notice Aiden leaning against the building at the bottom of the stairs. I stop walking and we stare at each other. He looks horrible. Like he hasn’t slept in days. I know the feeling. His broad chest takes in deep breaths. His hands are in his pockets and his eyes are pinned on mine. Panic flickers in his eyes. I’m thankful mine are behind my sunglasses. We stand there, neither of us taking the first step toward the other. He breaks our connection and looks down.
I want to run to him and tell him it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter what his dad did. He’s not his dad, the same thing he told me, but something keeps me frozen in my spot. Tears run down my face. Reality is I’m not sure that it doesn’t matter. He looks up and sees me brush away my tears. He pushes off the wall rushing to me.
“I’m so sorry, Addison.” He grabs me into his muscular embrace and holds me. I can’t believe just days ago our roles were changed, ironically the same story, just slightly different.
Fucking fate!
Chapter Fifty-two
Aiden
I PULL ADDISON to my chest. Her arms wrap around my waist. We stand there with not a slice of air between us. I can’t pull her close enough to release this feeling of emptiness. I knew Travis would tell her. I’m not sure if it was his way of paying me back, but the asshole hurt more than me. He destroyed his own daughter.
After leaving Travis on Tuesday, I needed to get away for a few days. I drove to the beach house to try and clear my head. The only thing I cleared was a couple bottles of Jack. I should’ve talked to Addison, but I couldn’t. How was I supposed to tell her that my dad killed her mom? That the coldhearted killer she saw is part of me. I squeeze my eyes shut. I told her that I didn’t care about Travis, that it didn’t affect the way I felt about her. And I meant every word. I love her and I sure as fuck don’t want to lose her. But how can I ask the same thing from her? Will she ever be able to look at me and not think of my dad? Losing my parents was traumatic, but at least I didn’t watch them die at the hands of Travis.
I came back into town last night. Barely sleeping these past couple of nights, I crashed on my couch last night. I woke up to a call from Trent that Addison was visiting Travis. He’s starting to question things. I told him to back off. I don’t care what happens now to Travis. Ironic, huh? I spent most of my life wanting revenge for the man who took my parents away, and now I’d let him go just to be with his daughter. Life’s a bitch sometimes. I’m starting to agree with Addison about fate. She’s got a sadistic sense of humor.
“Addison, I don’t know what to say,” I finally break the silence. I’m still holding her, afraid if I let her go that she’ll walk away. There’s a stabbing pain in my chest with just the thought. I hate that I can’t fix this, that I have to live with what she decides. I’ve never felt so powerless, hopeless, and broken before. This feeling sucks.
Please say you don’t care.
When she doesn’t say anything, I squeeze her tighter. She’s slipping away from me. “I want you to tell me how I can fix this. I can’t lose you,” I say, my voice choking on my words. She digs her head into my chest and shakes it. The feel of her chest quivering as she silently cries has me wanting to kill someone. I loosen my hold on her, taking my hand under her chin and lifting it so she can face me. I push her sunglasses to the top of her head. With my hands on her face, I brush away her tears with my thumbs. I lean down, putting my forehead against hers. I momentarily close my eyes and a tear escapes. I open my eyes as I feel her hand on my cheek, wiping away my lone tear.
When I look into her eyes, her eyes frantically dart away. “Addison, look at me,” I command softly. She lets out a shaky breath and looks up. “I love you, Addison.” I can feel her pulse quicken under the palm of my hands. She places her hands on top of mine, locking our fingers, pulling them down to our sides.
She looks down at our hands, but quickly looks back up. “Oh, Aiden…” her breath catches “…I love you, too.” My heart races hearing her say that. “But is that enough? How do we move past this? How do we build a life together with this as our foundation?” She hiccups through her tears. Her head falls back, looking to the sky. She lets go of our hands and takes the couple steps to the ground, pacing. She lets out a loud sigh in frustration. “Why can’t anything in my life be fucking easy?” she yells.
I take the few steps to meet her, each one feels like my shoes are full of cement. Even though I understand her hesitation, it stings. I stand frozen in place as she walks back and forth in front of me, my eyes never leaving her. I stuff my hands in my pockets to avoid reaching out and grabbing her. I mutter a curse and she slowly turns around to face me, tilting her head.
“I get it, Addison. I understand this situation sucks. But don’t let our paths be determined by the actions of our fathers. I love you. You are the air that brings life into me.” I take a step closer. “I had one goal in life: revenge. Until I met you. You, Addison. After you left last summer, my desire for revenge was gone. You were always invading my thoughts. And that’s when I thought I’d never see you again.” I take another step forward. “Call it fate, destiny, written in the stars, what the fuck ever… we were given a second chance.” Another step, and I’m standing right in front of her.
She shakes her head and a bitter laugh escapes her lips. “A second chance for what, Aiden? Heartbreak? Closure on our parents’ deaths? We were meant to meet, yes. Were we meant to fall in love? If I hadn’t been kept there for those five days and we met on the street, at a club, wherever, would we still have fallen in love?”
“Fuck, Addison,” I growl and run my hands through my hair, “It didn’t take me five days to fall in love with you! It took me five seconds. When I walked into that room and saw you, I immediately felt my heart surge back to life. I might not have known it that second, but I felt it when you left.” My chest heaves. I turn around. Now it’s my turn to pace as I try to control my anger. I’m angry that she questions my love for her. I’m angrier that I’m questioning her love for me now.
“Aiden,” she hiccups. I turn around to face her. Tears cascade down her face. She wipes them as fast as they fall. She takes a couple deep breaths. “Please don’t doubt my love for you. You weren’t the only one who felt it immediately. But the entire time we’ve been together, I haven’t been able to give you a hundred percent of me. I’ve always had to hold back because of what I knew. What I was hiding.”
“Everything’s out now, Addison.” I throw my hands into the air. “It’s all in your hands now. I don’t know what else to do,” I say in resignati
on.
“Just give me some time.”
I take a couple steps to her. My hands cup her face. I swipe my thumb against her lower lip. “I’ll give you time. But if you wait too long, I’ll come find you.” I brush my lips against hers and whisper, “I love you” before I smash down on her lips. She opens for me, letting my tongue assault her mouth with frantic need. I feel her hands on my chest, knotting my shirt in a fist. I wrap my hand in her hair, pulling her into me.
As we break the kiss, we’re both breathing heavy. She takes a step back. Those gorgeous eyes that hypnotized me the first time I saw them pin me in place.
“I love you, Aiden.” She softly smiles as she walks around me. I turn in place and watch her walk away. I’ll give her fucking two weeks max. Then I’m going to take what is mine.
Or so I thought. Fate has other plans.
* * *
Two seconds.
Two seconds was all it took.
The whole thing happened in slow motion. Addison walking away from me. A black van door slides open as she’s about to cross the street. A black van that I should’ve seen. A black van that I normally would have taken notice of but didn’t.
Not fucking today.
In a second, a man grabs Addison, and I see him stab a needle in her neck. She tries to fight. I grab my gun and run after her. The next second, they throw her in the van. I scream for them to stop. A man in the front seat wearing a hat, points a gun at me. I know him. He shoots and pain reverberates through my body. I fall back not being able to catch my breath. Screams surround me as I shout and call for Addison. I don’t even recognize my own voice. The tires from the van squeal away. I hear more screams that aren’t mine, then sirens. Then blackness.
Two seconds was all it took for my world to go dark.
To be continued…
Acknowledgements
