The adrenaline overcomes me. I’ve never felt anything like it before. It actually feels…incredible…like I’m unstoppable.
I make sure the tape is on nice and sturdy before grabbing the hammer and pipe wrench. He falls to the floor, trying to wiggle himself to the door.
“Not so fast, dearest brother,” I say as if I actually mean to sound sincere. I toss the wrench to Carissa, leaving the hammer in my hand. “I have a few words for you first.”
Carissa does the next part because frankly, I just refuse to go there. She grabs his pants and pulls them down to his feet. She climbs over him, getting really close to his face while setting the wrench close to his boxers.
“Listen, asshole,” she begins, speaking louder than a whisper, but softer than a shout. “As you can see, you are very accessible. I can get to you anytime…anywhere. If you do not leave Velaney or her boyfriend alone, I promise to use this pipe wrench to personally castrate you.” The way Carissa speaks is even making me cringe just thinking about it. Aiden’s eyes grow wider, squirming as he feels Carissa urging the wrench closer to his most sensitive area. “And I never break a promise, Aiden. If you lay one finger on her or Eric, I will hunt you down…and make sure you never use your dick again!”
He tries to scream but the tape keeps his mouth from moving. I feel so hyped from the adrenaline rush and from watching Carissa that I decide to add my own few words.
“And if you come after me, Eric, or Carissa, I will personally come find you and knock every single tooth out.” I hold the hammer to his face, letting it rub against his cheek. “And these nails might find a way to join the party as well,” I quickly add, feeling brave. It’s like I’m having an out of body experience—a feeling overcomes me and makes me finally stand up to him. Something I’ve wanted to do since I was eight years old.
“Are we clear?” Carissa chimes in, wrapping the wrench harder around him. I didn’t even notice she did it in the first place, but seeing Aiden beg for mercy is pure pleasure.
He rapidly nods his head as he sees Carissa get closer to his favorite male part. Part of me wants to giggle at how risky she’s being, but for the sake of looking dominant, I hold it in.
“Good. This is the last time we will ever see you. Don’t contact her, don’t come into her apartment and don’t tell her who or what she’s allowed to do. Don’t even breathe the same damn air as her.” He nods again. His eyes are begging her to stop. She releases the wrench around him and nails him right in the junk with it. “That’s for being a sick motherfucker!” He cries out, but it’s muffled and can’t be heard outside of the bathroom. My heart is racing so hard, I can barely remember to breathe.
“Let’s go,” I say, grabbing the supplies off the floor. “I think he gets the message.” I look back at him, wanting to smash my shoe into his face, but I don’t. “At least he better.” I decide to kick him in the ribs instead. It feels good to finally get revenge. I’m not usually one for violence, considering my past, but he is one person who deserves it.
* * *
“Wow, I can’t believe we just did that,” I say to Carissa as we get into the car. My heart is still racing, and I can barely catch my breath.
“You did good, girl. I’m proud of you.” She smiles, glancing at me before turning her head back to the road.
“You did all the good stuff. I’m proud of you,” I say back, grabbing her hand and squeezing it. “Thank you.”
“No need to thank me. It felt good.” I simply nod in return. “He’s gone, Velaney. You can move on now. He’s out of the picture.”
“But what if he’s not? What if this just fed him more reasons to come after me?”
“I highly doubt he will. And if he’s stupid enough to, we’ll be ready,” she says, holding up the duct tape. I smile back at her amusing face, knowing she’d kill for me if she had to.
We decide to stop at a hotel for the night and order dinner. It’s been a long, exhausting and emotionally-draining day. I feel for the first time in my life…free. He can’t control me anymore. I won’t let him.
I think about Eric all night long. I want to tell him I made a mistake and beg him to take me back, but I feel like he deserves more. He deserves a proper explanation, but if I tell him the truth, he’ll go after Aiden.
I plot my next move as I slowly drift into sleep. I miss Eric…I miss him so fucking much.
* * *
“I’m so damn hungry!” Carissa groans, rolling toward me on the hotel bed. I’m not sure I even slept. I kept reliving every second of last night. I thought I would feel safer—but I don’t. I feel worse…
“Riss?” She raises her head up towards me. “I’m terrified,” I admit, lowering my head. Sensing my vulnerability, Carissa rises and comes to sit next to me. She wraps an arm around my shoulders and pulls me in close to her chest.
“He can’t hurt you, Laney. Don’t give him that. Don’t let him have your fear.” Too bad that’s easier said than done.
“I thought I would feel better after getting revenge—but I don’t.”
“C’mon, let’s get some caffeine and food in you. We’ll talk some more.” I nod and watch as Carissa gets off the bed. We both get dressed and pack our bags. We check out and head back to her car.
We mostly walk in silence, unsure of what to say to the other. I love Carissa…I do…but right now, I’m no longer scared for just me, now I’m scared for her. Aiden holds no boundaries when it comes to getting what he wants…and there’s no doubt in my mind that what he wants right now is revenge.
“What can I get you girls this morning?” asks a nice, older lady with a pack of waitress checks and a pencil in her hand. She stands at the end of the table looking bored as all hell.
“Coffee and scrambled eggs, please,” I reply, handing my menu back to her.
“I’ll have coffee, orange juice, pancakes and bacon, please,” Carissa replies, grinning as she hands her menu to the waitress. Without another word, the waitress writes down our order, grabs our menus and walks away.
“Well, she was a friendly sack of bitch pills,” Carissa complains right as I take a drink of my water, causing me to spew it out of my mouth as she laughs at her own comment.
“Oh my word, Riss. You sure have a way with people.”
“Hey, I was nice! Not everyone gets the nice-version of Carissa.”
“True,” I agree, wiping the water from my chin.
“So what’s the plan?” she asks, breaking the awkward silence. I know we both want to talk about this plan.
“I was hoping you had one,” I retort, holding my hands together on top of the table. Although I feel that her previous plan has put us in more danger, I’m ready to follow her next lead on how to get out of it.
“Well, we could cross the border—run away. We have nothing keeping us here, anyway.”
“Oh, sure. We’ll just pack up and move to Canada,” I say sarcastically. I know she isn’t serious either, and we need a serious plan.
“Okay, Lane. Honestly, I don’t know why you are freaking out…I mean, did you see how scared he was? There’s no way he’s going to come back and mess with you. He knows what you’re capable of.” She pauses, taking a drink of water. “No man risks getting their nuts squeezed off.” A smile forms on my face as she lightens the mood. Perhaps she’s right—that pipe wrench could do damage.
We eat in silence and once the caffeine has absorbed in my body, I finally feel better. I adore Carissa for sticking by me through all of this. Now I just need to make a plan to get Eric back…but what would I say? Would he take me back? Would he think I’m a basket case of emotions?
“So, since you’re the one with all the plans, are you going to help me get Eric back?” I ask, teasing her as we drive back to our apartment.
“I might have a few tricks up my sleeve.” She grins, turning to look at me. Carissa knows the way around a man’s brain, body and heart better than anyone I know. She might not be a prude…or classy for that matter, but she has
qualities that are becoming very useful to me.
“Mind giving me the lowdown?” I cross my arms, looking at her. I can use all the help she is offering. I hurt Eric…I had to…but now I need to prove to him I didn’t mean it.
“Okay, listen and listen good, my dear,” Carissa begins in a fake French accent. I laugh, trying to take her seriously. “Men cannot resist lace. Lingerie lace, to be exact.” Memories flood my mind of the first night I met Eric—in a lacy nighty. “Next, men have a soft spot for when a girl places blame on themselves. Even though you had good reason to do what you did, he cannot know that. You use whatever tool you have to, Lane. Tell him Aunt Flow was in town—you were emotional, unable to make rational choices, bruised from your past…whatever you have to do! Tell him your feelings for him were getting too strong too fast and you just freaked out because you were scared. Blame it entirely on yourself! Trust me—he’ll want to soothe and comfort you right away. He’ll convince himself that it wasn’t your fault at all. He’ll comment on how maybe he rushed things and it was in fact his fault…trust me, Lane—it always works!”
“That sounds like a trap, Riss.”
“Of course it’s a trap! What do you think relationships are based on?”
I laugh because I simply can’t resist. She provides a good plan—a good way to get Eric back. Perhaps it wasn’t the best way to rebuild our relationship, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
“I think I need a few days to process this, Riss.”
The truth is, I need time to make sure Aiden doesn’t make a surprise visit. I can’t risk him seeing Eric with me again. That was the whole purpose in the first place—protecting Eric.
* * *
“It’s been six days, Lane. It’s time.” She crosses her arms, giving me the death stare. I’m such a coward. I’m so scared of him rejecting me…that would feel worse—worse than anything Aiden has ever done to me.
“Yes, I know, Riss. I’ve been pacing my bedroom for days, thinking—desperately trying to figure out how to do this. You know I’m no good at this relationship/boy stuff.”
“I’m telling you…because, well, I know this stuff, but seriously…Eric will melt into those pretty, skinny arms of yours.”
“Hey, they aren’t skinny!” I mock, wrapping my arms around her. She laughs and swallows me in for a hug. She’s right. I can do this…I can do this.
His car hasn’t been in the parking lot so I decide to stop by the station—assuming he’s working. I try to breathe as slow as I can on the drive over. I mentally rehearse my speech over and over…beg, my fault, emotional. God, Carissa better be right about this.
I park on the road, take one last deep breath and kill the engine. I miss Eric so freaking badly…I’m willing to do anything at this point to beg his forgiveness.
I spot a handful of equally good-looking men outside of the station—incredibly built, fit and strong. I suddenly feel shy just standing in front of them, but I force the air out as I begin to talk.
“Hey, um, is Eric Reilley here?” I ask softly, fidgeting with my fingers. The guys give me a look-over and smile. I feel self-conscious at the way they’re staring at me, so I ask again, “Is Eric here? I really need to see him.”
“And who are you?” one of them asks, making me cringe.
“I’m Velaney.” I pause, thinking of a fake explanation. “I live in his building,” I finally say, hoping one of them gives me some information on where Eric is.
“Oh, right. Well, sorry, he’s not here. Eric and his dad were called out to New Mexico.”
My heart sinks. New Mexico?
“Oh, why?” I try not to sound heartbroken, but I can’t help it. I never imagined Eric wouldn’t be around when I needed him—needed him the most.
“Don’t you watch the news?” one snaps at me as if I’m disturbing their day. “Huge wildfire in New Mexico. Chief Reilley and Eric went to volunteer. Dozens from all over the states headed out there already.”
Fractastic…
CHAPTER 21
“What are you doing?” Carissa asks, barging into my room as I shove clothes into a suitcase. She watches me intently, crossing her arms in the doorway. “I thought you were going to find Eric today and beg for his forgiveness? Lane, you have to stop running. Aiden isn’t going to bother you again.”
“I’m not running,” I simply say, too busy packing to give her all the details.
“Well, then what are you doing? It sure looks like you’re running.”
“I’m going to New Mexico. I’m going to find Eric.”
“Wait, what?”
“He and his dad went to New Mexico to help with the wildfires. I need to go find him.” I can hardly explain what I’m doing or why. I’m not even sure what I’m doing, but all I know is that I need to get to him—fast.
“Lane, have you seen the news? It’s bad. Like really bad.” Ugh, I need to start watching more TV.
“That’s why I need to go see him, Riss. What if something happens to him and I never get the chance to tell him how I feel or that I’m desperately in love with him? I need him to know how I truly feel.”
I finish packing and sit next to Carissa, who is watching the news. I had no idea, and feel awful that I had no clue what Eric was going through. The pictures are devastating. The statistics of houses lost and people killed are even more traumatic.
“14 firefighters have been killed, over 300 homes have been destroyed and 7,000 acres of land have been burned down,” the news anchor states, making me gasp at the numbers and images that are being plastered across the screen.
“Oh…my…God.” I can’t help covering my mouth as I take it all in. I can’t even imagine what Eric is going through right now.
* * *
I take the redeye to New Mexico and anxiously await my arrival. I have no plans as to what I’m doing or where I’m going. This is unlike me in so many ways. I can’t even fathom losing him. I thought I lost him once before and it almost broke me.
Something inside me changes. For the first time in my life, I actually feel helpless. Aiden has made me feel rage, fear and anger—but never helpless. Eric was someone I let go because of fear, but I’m no longer going to let fear consume me. No—I’m not going to give him that.
“We will be landing in a few minutes,” I hear the attendant announce. I’m half-asleep so I don’t hear the rest of it, but I get more nervous the closer we get to arriving. I haven’t called Eric because I’m afraid he won’t hear me out. It’s something that needs to be said face-to-face.
“Oh thank God you made it,” Carissa shouts through the phone. She didn’t approve of me leaving, but it was something I couldn’t explain. Something in my heart told me to go…that I needed to find Eric.
“I’m fine, mother,” I tease, grabbing my luggage. I continue talking to her until I find my way outside and flag a cab.
“I need to go to the nearest hotel, please,” I say, shutting the door behind me.
“Everything will probably be booked, ma’am. With the wildfire, a good chunk of people had to evacuate, and with no place to go, they’re all setting up in hotels.”
“Do you know where the firefighters are staying?” I ask. “The ones from out of town?” I clarify.
“Santa Fe Inn, right by here.”
“Okay, take me there.” The driver huffs at me as if I’m an inconvenience. I shift uncomfortably in my seat as we make the quick drive to the hotel.
I pay for the cab and grab my luggage as I exit. The hotel is huge so I pray they have a room for me. As I walk in, I notice television crews standing around with their cameras. I completely underestimated the seriousness of the situation before coming out here. There’s a huge cloud of black smoke out in the distance that nearly covers half the sky.
“Hi, there. Welcome to the Santa Fe Inn. How may I assist you?” the overly cheerful woman asks.
“Hi, um, I’m looking for a room for a few nights. I’m hoping you have something open?” I plea
d with my eyes.
“We’re pretty booked, ma’am—”
“Please, I have nowhere else to go. I just flew in from Boston.”
“Let me see what I can do.” She begins to type away on her keyboard and finally looks up at me. “I have a room for three nights only, but it’s the elite package.”
“And what’s that include?” I ask, ready to take anything at this point just to lie down and sleep.
She reads off the amenities and the price. It’s higher than I want to pay but I don’t have much choice. I grab my room key and luggage and make my way to the elevator.
My heart is racing, my hands are sweaty and I’m a nervous wreck. I haven’t seen Eric in weeks and now I fear for not only his life, but mine as well. After watching the news, I’m more than ready to go find Eric. I need to see him. Touch him. Kiss him.
I need a shower. A hot freaking shower. Ugh, that damn word again. Ever since Aiden came to haunt my life again, I can’t say it. I want to, but I can’t help feeling if I do say it—something even more awful will happen, and given the circumstances, I’m not willing to risk it.
I practically melt in the scalding shower. It’s just what I need. I wish the heat and water could wash everything away—everything wrong. I wash my hair and my body and shave my legs. The pressure of the water makes my whole body feel refreshed and alive. I’m ready—ready to get my man back.
* * *
I get some much-needed rest. I crash on the bed and let sleep overcome me. The ache I feel for Eric is indescribable—powerful and weak all at the same time. I wake up ready to conquer the world—okay, Lane, let’s not overdo it.
Alphas & Millionaires Starter Set Page 40
