She decided on skinny jeans and a cropped purple top. Mia was just plaiting her long hair before dressing when her cell beeped: please let it be Cody; please let it be Cody. She grabbed her cell, and the message she saw chilled her to the bone.
‘I’m on my way Mia sorry I didn’t make it last night. But Cody prob kept u company hope u made the most of him as he’s mine after 2day’
“For fuck’s sake,” Mia mumbled, almost dropping her cell due to her shaking hands.
She managed to dial Cody’s number and was relieved to hear his voice, “Mia what’s up? Did you see my note?”
“Huh, note, yes Cody, I saw your note. Listen, my creepy ass stalker’s been in touch again,” Mia said into her cell, hoping for some comforting words from him.
“Really? Fuck, you okay? Want me to come to your room?
“No, I’m fine. Cody, where are you?”
“Downstairs just finishing breakfast, you coming down?”
“Yeah, soon. I’m not dressed yet,” she replied.
“Hmmm, not dressed, huh; just the way I love you.”
Mia giggled into her cell, “Cheeky. Watch your back, Cody, okay? The stalker wants you and obviously has a problem with me for being with you.”
“Great. Well, it’s pretty crowded around here, so I should be safe, but I’ll keep an eye out for anything suspicious, I love you, pixie. I’ll be down here for a bit, so hopefully see you soon.”
“I love you too; see you soon,” she ended the call and smiled. He’d cheered her up and made her feel safe.
Mia stepped daintily into a pair of boy short panties in a delicate peach shade. They were made from a mixture of satin and lace and felt wonderful against her skin. Her white lace bra was next on closely followed by her skinny dark denim jeans; Mia loved skinny jeans as they accentuated her tiny waist and shapely legs.
The deep purple cropped top fitted her like a glove and with its lace-trimmed hemline looked feminine and attractive. Pulling on some tiny sneaker socks, Mia started to laugh; her petite feet had always been so ticklish; luckily, this was a secret Cody was yet to discover. She wasn’t too keen on them being tickled.
Her sneakers were gray and pale pink, and Mia found them so comfy. She thought back to Izzy’s six-inch heels the night before and almost felt her feet give a huge sigh of relief.
Her stalker hadn’t entered her head while getting ready, but now it came to leaving the sanctuary of her room, she felt anxious. What if they jumped her? What if nobody heard her screaming?
“Good God, girl, sounds like a tagline for a crappy horror movie.” She chuckled at her own stupidity.
She put her cell in her small shoulder bag and left her room, leaving only the scent of her expensive perfume behind her.
“There she is!” a familiar voice squealed as Mia left the elevator downstairs.
“Eliza! What are you doing here?”
“Fine welcome,; here to see you of course, mate,” Eliza replied, throwing her arms around Mia’s neck. Mia had to admit she was thrilled to see her short-haired mate.
“Back to pink, I see; what happened to the red firecracker?” Mia laughed, holding Eliza at arm’s length now.
“I always preferred the pink, Mia. It was Dwayne that wanted me to try being a redhead. Trouble was, I seemed to also adopt the fiery temper with the fiery color; so I changed it back!” Eliza giggled.
“I’ve missed you,” Mia whispered as she hugged her close again.
“Me too. Look, I’ll be honest. I’m here cos Cody rang; he told me about your stalker. I was gonna come here soon, anyhow. I didn’t even know you were here, Mia, why didn’t you tell me? I thought you just went home after the Robert fiasco,” Eliza said as the girls made their way into the dining-room.
“Cos I didn’t want you to worry. You were upset when I called you about what happened between Robert and me, and I thought if I told you I was meeting another potential partner that you might worry again,” Mia explained, hoping Eliza would understand.
“It’s all good. So come on, tell me all about this pesky stalker of yours.”
The girls ate their breakfasts and chatted easily. Mia filled Eliza in on her stalker episode.
“Hey, you, Eliza. Good to see you, and thanks for coming,” Cody said, entering the dining room and looking sexy in tight black jeans and white cotton shirt. “Guess who else’s back, Mia?”
A shy looking Shane appeared from behind Cody’s back, smiling at Mia. “Hey, Mia good to see you.”
The 17-year-old looked well and happy with his short spiky blond hair and numerous facial piercings.
“Shane offered me a lift here, Mia, cos Dwayne couldn’t come. I found out Shane was coming here anyhow, so it worked out well,” Eliza said.
26. Chapter Ten
The four shared coffee and swapped stories of their lives after Thrill Seekers.
Mia began to relax in the company of Cody and the others; it felt good to chill and not worry about things for a while.
Cody and Shane left them to it and went off for a walk.
“You and Shane seem good mates,” Mia winked at Eliza as she spoke the words.
“Shut up, it’s not like that. I’m with Dwayne, and anyhow, Shane’s you know ...”
“If you say so, girl, and Shane’s what? Good to see him looking so well.”
“Yeah, he gotta bad wrap really for agreeing to Cody’s plan to go missing, but he only did it for the cash. God, he’s only 17, what do people expect? He’s 18 next week, Mia, time flies eh,” Eliza sighed.
Mia laughed at her mate. “Spoken like a true 16, oh, sorry 17-year-old now!”
Eliza laughed, nearly spilling her coffee.
“So you and Dwayne good?”
“Yeah, real good. We talked long and hard about me talking about other guys, you know like I did about Cody and saying he was hot. I don’t do that anymore, well not when I’m with Dwayne, at least!” Eliza smirked.
“Glad to hear it!”
Mia’s cell beeped, ‘Cody looks super sexy 2day like him in black jeans!’
“Fuck, it’s them!” Mia exclaimed.
“Mia, what’s wrong, who is it?” Eliza asked with panic in her young voice.
“My dumbass stalker, Eliza. They know what Cody’s wearing today, they’re here,” Mia cried, clutching her cell to her chest. “I’ve gotta warn Cody.”
She quickly pressed his name on speed dial, “Mia, come quickly, it’s Cody!” Shane’s voice said. “We’re in the forest, quickly.”
Mia ended the call, “Eliza wait here, that was Shane. I think Cody’s in trouble.”
“No fucking chance. I’m coming with you; this is the most excitement I’ve had in years!”
“Glad we could oblige with your excitement levels,” Mia snapped at her mate.
“Sorry, Mia, that was fucking tactless.”
“You think? Come on!”
The girls rushed out of the dining-room and into the forest. They’d no idea where they were going as the forest was a huge place. The sun hid behind a cloud, and the forest suddenly took on a sinister feel; no birds sang, and no breeze blew. It was uncannily quiet as though someone had turned off a switch to stop all the noise.
“This way, up here!” Shane’s voice shouted.
“Jeez, why so high up!” Eliza moaned. Shane had obviously been looking out for them. He was stood halfway up on the steep trail that continued to the Ink Pots.
Eliza linked her arm through Mia’s, “Come on girl, let’s go rescue your guy!”
Mia smiled nervously. She’d no idea what they were going to find or what exactly they were going to do with what they found. All she knew was Cody needed her.
Eliza had a confident stride for a shorter girl; she was around 5’3” and dressed in combat pants with a camouflage print. Her pants were designed to be low-rise; Eliza’s definition of low-rise seemed to be more in line with pants that were losing their struggle with gravity.
Mia glanced across at her as they
made their way toward Shane, “Thanks for being here, Eliza.”
“Hey, it’s all good; where else would I be? I’m here for you, Mia,” Eliza replied, panting slightly from their brisk pace. Her combat pants were matched with a black cropped vest with the word Adidas emblazoned on the front across her breasts in pure white. Being a petite girl, Eliza wasn’t exactly voluptuous, but her figure was trim and sexy; she shared Mia’s tiny waist.
Her sneakers were in complete contrast to Mia’s gray and pale pink color; Eliza’s screamed out for the whole world to see them in bright orange and royal blue.
“I hope Cody’s alright,” Mia mumbled, climbing up the steep trail toward Shane.
She felt Eliza squeezing her arm lightly in reassurance and placed her hand on top of Eliza’s as if to say a silent thank you.
They reached Shane, who was looking very flustered, “Come on, Cody’s up here.”
“What happened, Shane?” Mia asked.
“We got jumped by someone, and Cody ended up being hit, Mia,” explained Shane.
“Has the someone gone?” asked Eliza.
“Yes. We didn’t even see who they were; it all happened so quickly,” Shane sounded close to tears.
“Hey, it’s all okay. You did the right thing by calling me, Shane,” Mia said soothingly.
“I didn’t expect you to come with her,” Shane said, his tone noticeably changing abruptly as he glared at Eliza.
“Got a funny feeling about this Mia,” Eliza whispered.
“She came to help me, Shane,” Mia replied sharply.
“Mia, Mia is that you?” Cody’s voice asked. He sounded faint and weak.
“Cody, where are you?” shouted Mia.
“Run, Mia, run, Shane’s the stalker; fucking run, get out of here!”
“What? Shane’s what?” Mia yelled, refusing to believe what she’d just heard. Shane was helping them, and why would Shane be jealous of her being around Cody?
“Mia, Shane’s gay, did you not know that?” Eliza whispered. “That’s why he hates you; he wants friggin Cody; it all makes sense now. I did try to tell you at breakfast that he was gay, but the conversation got lost.”
They made it to Shane, who was standing with a small smile on his lips, his blond hair looking even lighter in the morning sunlight as it radiated through the tall trees.
“Should’ve listened to your boyfriend, Mia, and run while you’d the chance,” Shane said, glaring at Mia as though she were the most hated person in the world.
“Shane, we can sort this out; there’s no need for all of this, just tell me what you want,” Mia said as calmly as she could.
“You wanna know what I want, little miss fucking perfect? I want him,” Shane shouted, pointing to the side of where he was standing.
Mia followed his finger to see Cody lying on the forest floor down a slope on his back staring up at the sky. A small scream escaped her lips as she ran as fast as her shaking legs would carry her; she was aware of Eliza behind her.
“For fuck’s sake, Cody, are you alright?” Mia gasped, collapsing next to his body on the soft floor. Eliza stayed standing so she could watch Shane. Cody’s white cotton shirt was covered in dirt.
“Mia, you should take Eliza and go; please, Mia, go,” Cody whispered in her ear as she crouched over him.
“No ... I’m not leaving you, ever,” Mia replied, tears welling up in her green eyes.
“I can’t walk Mia, my ankle’s twisted or worse. Shane pushed me down here, and I fell badly; where is he?”
“Up the slope, I can see him, Cody; Eliza’s watching him. What did he say? What did he do?”
Cody struggled to sit up with her help, “He confessed to texting you, Mia. He fucking wants me; he’s gay. I’d no idea.”
“Me neither til Eliza told me just now, what does he want?”
“I want him. It’s simple, Mia, real simple; if you’re not around anymore, he’ll want me, I can comfort him,” Shane yelled, heading toward them quickly.
“Sorry, Mia, I’d no chance to stop him,” Eliza yelled, coming down the slope after Shane.
“What the fuck do you want, Shane? Just tell me,” yelled Mia, standing up to face Shane.
“It’s simple. I already told you what I want, Mia, and that’s Cody. He’s all I’ve ever wanted since the day we planned our little scheme together for me to go missing; I’m in love with your boyfriend and was hoping you’d understand,” Shane muttered, slowly approaching Mia and Cody.
“How am I supposed to understand when all you’ve done is hurt Cody? And scare the shit out of me with texts?”
The guy’s obviously crazy, Mia; you’ve got to get everyone away from him.
“I never meant to hurt him; he fell down the slope and fucked up his ankle. I never pushed him or anything, Mia.”
“Like that’s supposed to make this okay, cos you never pushed him?
“Mia, I don’t think he meant to hurt me,” Cody said, trying his best to stand up with Eliza’s help, which in truth wasn’t much good. A 5’3” girl helping a 6’2” guy to stand up when he’s got a bad ankle probably wasn’t the best idea. Mia admired Eliza’s courage, though.
“Let’s just leave it there and go and get Cody some help; we’re not too far from the center,” Mia said, rushing to help Eliza. They managed to get Cody between them with his arms wrapped around their shoulders.
“We go back to the center, and you’ll say what’s happened, and I’ll get in the shit,” Shane whined.
“No, you won’t, Shane. We won’t say anything. We’ll just say Cody fell while out for a walk or something; we’ll make something up,” Eliza said. Mia glanced at her across Cody; they both smiled, each knowing what the plan was without needing to exchange words.
The main thing was to get Cody away from Shane and get his ankle looked at; that was all that mattered now.
“Fine, but I’ll help Eliza with him, not you, Mia. Get away from him!” Shane yelled.
Mia’s hand was supporting Cody’s back as was Eliza’s on the other side of him. The girls joined hands briefly, and then Mia let Cody go as Shane took him from her.
Shane made Mia’s skin crawl as he stood next to her holding Cody upright with Eliza. She knew Cody would hate him doing this, but they’d little option. The four made their way back to Thrill Seekers slowly and carefully. Mia walked in front of them on Shane’s insistence; he wanted her where he could see her, apparently.
“We’re nearly there!” she cried when the center came into view.
She could see a few people outside wandering around, and as they grew closer, she saw Izzy dressed to kill as always in bright red skin-tight leggings and a black vest. Her high-heels from the night before had now been changed to slightly smaller heeled sandals, and her red hair was back in a low ponytail.
“Hey, what happened to you guys?” Izzy asked.
“It’s nothing, Izzy. Cody fell and twisted his ankle badly,” lied Mia, smiling awkwardly at Izzy as she thought back to the previous night.
Izzy seemed satisfied with Mia’s explanation, so they made their way into the center’s reception area where they soon found Cody the help he required from the first-aid team. It was only a bad sprain, and while he was being looked after, Mia went to find Sarah, the receptionist. Shane was sitting next to Cody and Eliza.
“Hi Sarah, listen, I need a favor, but you’ve gotta keep it quiet,” she whispered to the worried looking receptionist.
“What is it, Mia? You’re worrying me,” Sarah answered, leaning over the reception desk to speak to Mia.
“The letter you gave me yesterday was from a stalker, and that stalker’s Shane. I need you to stay calm Sarah and call the police. He’s not hurt us, but he’s obviously unstable and needs help,” it all sounded so bizarre to Mia as she repeated what’d happened.
Sarah stayed calm, and instead of calling from the desk went through to the back. Mia returned to the others and sat down. Cody’s ankle had been strapped up, and he’d been
ordered to rest.
“Anyone want any food?” Shane asked like nothing had happened.
They all refused, and as he left, Mia explained to both Cody and Eliza about the police being called; they were pleased. Within about 20 minutes, a familiar face turned up at reception: Robert, with a police officer at his side
“Shit, what’s he doing here?” asked Mia.
“Any case like this involving a teenager, Robert’s called as he’s the best teenager counselor around for miles, Mia,” Cody replied, smiling at her.
Robert barely glanced their way as he marched into the dining-room with the officer in front of him. Mia held Cody’s hand tightly as they sat with Eliza.
“You were so brave, Eliza, coming up with a plan to get us all back here,” Cody said.
“It’s nothing, you guys are my mates, and I’d do anything for you,” Eliza answered, grinning at them both.
The trio looked up briefly when Shane was escorted from the center. He wasn’t handcuffed or anything and looked relaxed as he left the building.
“Perhaps he’ll get the help he needs now,” Mia whispered, hoping that he’d be alright. Shane wasn’t a bad person, he’d just desired the wrong person and gone about winning that person over badly.
“I need to crash,” Cody said.
“Come on, we’ll help you to your room,” Mia and Eliza said simultaneously.
Mia couldn’t help thinking what a sight they must’ve made heading to the elevator. Two small women helping a 6’2” guy upstairs.
27. Chapter Eleven
Over the next few weeks, Cody rested up, and Mia found her perfect excuse to stay at Thrill Seekers: to look after him. She wasn’t ready to leave Cody just yet and had said as much to him. Mia had explained to her boss, Stuart, that she’d need more time to interview him about Rebecca Woodland although between her and Cody they knew she wouldn’t be interviewing him about the subject.
Izzy had taken the most recent story about Shane stalking Mia and how he wanted Cody; she’d told Mia that she’d be sensitive and respect Shane. Mia had her doubts, though, as Izzy wasn’t known for her caring personality.
Interview with a Billionaire: Billionaire Romance Box Set Page 18
