by Lane Hart
“There’s nothing wrong with being smart, Sadie. Or having a thing for turtles,” I tell her, reaching for her hand to intertwine her fingers with mine. “It’s pretty damn adorable to see you all excited about something that’s important to you.”
“Thanks,” she says with a small smile. “I’ve always felt bad for the little guys. Sea turtles are endangered because of our pollution, which is just sad. The mothers lay nests of a hundred or so eggs and then just leave them to fend for themselves. It seems so…unnatural for them to abandon their babies and never look back, which is probably why only a few manage to survive.”
“That behavior isn’t limited to just sea turtles,” I mutter.
“No, it’s not. Maybe that’s why I sympathize with the hatchlings.”
“I hate my mother.” I blurt out the words without considering them, but don’t take them back since they’re true. “She’s a selfish bitch that gave up her family for a piece of ass she had no business being with.”
“I know the feeling,” Sadie says with a sigh. “I’ve never been important or a priority to my mom and that pisses me off. My friends all have mothers who would do anything for them, to the point that they drive them crazy. But mine...” She shakes her head. “I’m never going to be more than a runner-up to something or someone else, so I give up.”
“I’m sorry. You should come first with her, but I know for a fact that you do as far as your dad’s concerned.”
Now I realize why it was so important to him that I take Sadie to the prom. She means the world to him and he just wants her to be happy. And instead of making her happy I’ve only managed to hurt her. I basically told her that the title fight is more important to me than her. But if I’m honest with myself I know that’s not true, despite the incredible opportunity it presents and how I’ve worked for years to get this chance. In the end it’s just a few minutes of sweating and bleeding, and then it’s over. I win or I lose, but neither outcome will really change who I am. With Sadie I’ve found something that feels life altering and even permanent.
“I guess we’re lucky to have amazing dads,” she says, pulling me out of my deep reflection.
“We are,” I agree. And now I can’t tell Sadie the truth because it'll crush her to find out her dad bargained a fight for me to go out with her. I can’t be the one responsible for coming between the two of them. But trying to end things with her isn’t going to happen either. I’m falling in love with her, and if I hadn’t been such an asshole then she might feel the same way about me.
I'm trying to find the words to tell her how I want her, all of her, when the aquarium people show up. Sadie’s enthusiasm for sea turtles is contagious. The two young college interns are really nice, more than happy to share their stories about working with the aquarium for the past two years, and it’s obvious that Sadie’s envious of the girls.
“You should do that,” I tell Sadie when we’re walking back to the condo.
“Do what?” she asks with the same bright smile she’s had for the past hour, her hand still in mine.
“The internship thing with a conservation group.”
“That would be awesome,” she agrees. “But not exactly helpful for my major.”
“It could be an elective.”
“Maybe,” she says with a shrug.
As soon as we get back to our room I fuck Sadie in the shower again after we wash the sand off of each other, and despite my attempts she still won’t fucking kiss me.
As we dry off and put on swimsuits to head to the pool I decide that I’m ready to say and do whatever it takes to convince her I want more. That I want it all with her. But then something happens causing Sadie to shut completely down.
"What's wrong?" I ask when she sinks down on the bed, frowning at her phone.
She shakes her head and when she finally looks up at me I almost swear her eyes are watering and her face is paler. “I’m fine, let’s go,” she says quickly, rushing to the door.
While I'm swimming laps in the pool Sadie and Brayden have their heads together in two lounge chairs like they're plotting. Brayden looks pissed off, probably because she's not getting her way. That girl is a spoiled handful.
Sadie is full out moping by the afternoon, and I'm starting to seriously worry about her. It just doesn’t make sense since she was so damn happy this morning. After finding her curled up in bed I asked her if she wanted to go for a run with me. She declined saying she was tired and wanted to take a late nap. Not knowing what else to do, I reluctantly leave her be.
When I get out of the shower after my eight mile run, Sadie's nowhere to be found. I eventually see her text on my phone saying she'd gone shopping with Brayden.
What the fuck? Why would she up and go shopping at eight o'clock at night?
I head out to the living room to see if the other girls are here, and if so find out where they've gone. Cassie and Ross are in the kitchen fixing dinner.
"You guys know where Sadie and Brayden went?"
Cassie turns quickly away from me before she answers with a short, "Nope."
"You sure about that?" I ask. "Ross?"
"No idea," he says. "Sorry, man, but I think something's up."
"Ross!" Cassie exclaims.
Still holding my phone, I call Sadie. It rings a few times and then goes to voicemail.
"What's Brayden's number?" I ask.
"Wh-why?" Cassie asks.
Ross grabs the phone from his girlfriend's pocket and tosses it to me.
"Thanks."
"Sorry, Cass, bros before...lovely ladies. It's the code."
I definitely owe him one.
Finding Brayden's number I dial straight from Cassie's phone. She thankfully picks up on the second ring.
"God, Cass. This is so fucked up! Maybe we should tell Jude," Brayden answers in a panic.
"Tell Jude what?" I ask with my heart racing. "Now, Brayden!"
"Jude? Oh my God! Sadie's..."
"Sadie's, what? Let me talk to her!"
"I'm not with her!"
"What?! Where the hell is she?" I ask.
"Ryder-"
"She's with Ryder?" I yell through the phone.
"He's blackmailing her! He sent her a video of them fucking and she didn't know he was recording her. He told her he was going to post it on the Internet unless..."
"Unless what?" I will kill that fucking bastard!
"He said he'd give her the video on a flash drive and delete it everywhere else if she...but she had to..."
"What!?!" I scream.
"Fuck him in his hotel room while his friends watch."
"You can't be serious," I mutter, feeling like my blood has turned to ice. Just as quickly, the rage that spreads through me brings it to a boil.
"She didn't want you to know because she was afraid you'd kick his ass and get in trouble, lose your title shot over her. She was trying to act like it’s no big deal since you and she aren't really together, but-"
"Where. Is. She?" I grit out through my teeth.
"I-I don't know. The hotel is the Coral Reef. She had me drop her off, but I don't know what room number and now she won't answer her phone!"
"I'm on my way there. Meet me in the lobby. Ask what room the dead fucker is in if you get back there first."
"Car now!" I tell Ross and Cassie, not leaving room for argument. Ross is quicker to understand, jumping up to turn off the oven before urging Cassie toward the door. I hand the girl back her phone. "You're going to look up the address for the Coral Reef and tell me how to get there while I drive."
I grab the keys to the SUV and the three of us rush down the steps to the parking lot and climb in. Ross takes over the navigating from the passenger seat while I call Page on my cell.
"Hey, Jude!" she answers right away.
"Page, I need you to call the Myrtle Beach Police Department right this second. Tell them you're an attorney or whatever else you have to. Just get them to hurry their asses over to the Coral Reef because th
ere's about to be a murder."
"Jude, what's going on?"
"Sadie's being blackmailed and didn't fucking tell me! She's in a room full of guys right this second, and I swear I will kill every single one of them who touch her."
"Oh God! Okay I'm gonna call them. Jude, don't-"
I hang up, not wanting to hear her tell me not to do anything stupid and to calm the fuck down. There is no calming down. I'm just trying to think through the rage to figure out how to find the bastards the quickest.
"Cassie, write down the first and last names of every fucker and their parents’ names that the room might be under," I tell her. Trying to think logically when I feel like I'm about to combust isn't easy, but we need to narrow down the options.
Pulling up at the entrance I'm out with the napkin of names, heading for the lobby a second later, looking for Brayden.
"Room?" I ask when I spot her.
"I don't know. The bastards won't tell me."
"Fuck!" I yell, wanting to punch something.
I go up to the counter to try getting the information myself, cutting in front of the line of people checking in.
"I need you to tell me if you have a room in any of these names, or any with the same last name. The police are on the way and you're going to give them the key to every single room that matches my list, got it?" I ask, handing over the list Cassie wrote out.
"Sorry, sir, but we can't-" the young timid woman starts.
"You are going to turn over those keys, maybe not to me, but to the police officer pulling up right this second or there is going to be destruction in this place worse than any fucking hurricane you've ever seen," I warn.
She nods and starts typing on her computer, either to pretend she's doing it or actually looking up the names.
As soon as I see the two uniformed police officers walk through the lobby I head for them to start explaining.
"I've asked them to look up rooms where my girlfriend might be and give you the keys. She's being blackmailed over a fucking sex tape. A boy from her high school lured her here to a room to...to give him what he wants to keep him from posting it online." I can't even say the words of what she might be doing this very second. I just have to find her. "We need to hurry."
"You look familiar," the younger, pudgy cop says. "Who are you?"
"Jude Malone."
"Ah, yeah! The Malone brothers. MMA cage fighters, right?"
"Yes, now will you please help me find her? They won't tell me what room the bastard is in!"
"Oh, well sure," he says, strolling right up to the counter and walking away with three cards. "Let's go."
The two officers and I take the elevator to the second floor, the closest room. After knocking on room two-thirty-eight, we bust in to find it empty except for luggage. Shit. The next room is on the seventh floor, room seven-fourteen. We knock since there are voices on the other side, when all I want is to bust the door down. Finally it opens. A young scrawny, pimply guy with mousy brown hair, probably eighteen or so, opens the door.
"Is Ryder in this fucking room?" I ask him. His face pales as his mouth falls open in response.
"Is there a female in your room?" the older officer asks.
"No. No, I swear!" the kid says, holding his hands up in front of him and flattening himself against the wall to let us in. Sadie isn't anywhere to be found, and I even check the bathroom and closets. The son of a bitch Ryder stands up like he's going to try and make a run for it past me and two cops. I'd love to see him try.
"Give me your fucking phone," I snap at him. The only reason he isn't unconscious yet is because Sadie's not with him.
"We don't have a search warrant," the younger cop says, but I ignore him.
"Give me. The fucking. Phone!" I yell, my entire body shaking with rage when he finally hands it over.
I go to the chat logs and pull up the recent conversation with Sadie. Her last text said she was on her way. It was thirty minutes old.
"Has Sadie been here?" I ask looking at each of the four guys in the room.
"No," the one that answered the door replies. "Not yet."
"Oh look, I found a phone for you to put in evidence," I say, handing it to the cop since there isn't a search warrant. "The blackmail is all laid out in the texts. Where's the video?" I ask the asshole.
"On the phone."
"Anywhere else?"
"No," he says, his face reddening while his gaze keeps darting to the cops. "Well, I sent it to these three."
"Phones, now!" I yell at them. When they hesitate I started getting pissed. "These cops are here to make sure I don't kill you, so give me your fucking phones now while there's still a small chance you might live to see tomorrow!"
Three more phones are turned over to me, which I also give to the cops. I don’t want to see the damn video, because if I do…
"If she shows up you will immediately call down to the front desk and tell them, got it?" I ask. After receiving nods, I have to get out of that room. I'm holding on to my restraint by a thread even with the law enforcement escorts.
I go back to the front desk and ask if anyone saw Sadie come in, showing them a picture of her from my phone, and describing what Brayden remembers she'd been wearing - a teal, spaghetti-strap dress, and that she watched her enter the front lobby doors.
"Do you have a security room? Like someone that monitors the cameras?" I ask the clerk and she calls the security office for me, handing me the phone.
"Yes, sir, have you seen a young woman come in by herself wearing a teal dress with long blonde hair?
"I can't be certain... there's a girl that might fit that description. I saw her walk into the stairwell, but I haven't seen her since."
"Thank you!" I say before throwing the phone down and running to the stairs.
I yank open the door and there she is, sitting on the first step.
"Oh thank God!" I exclaim, going to my knees to wrap my arms around her. Sadie sniffles against my chest, her body shaking with sobs.
"What the hell were you thinking?" I ask squeezing her tighter.
"I didn't...I didn't want you...to hurt him...and then not be able...to fight."
"If I'd found you in that room, I probably would have killed him, Sadie. So you keeping it from me would've been for nothing."
"I couldn't do it. I couldn't...even if it means…everyone seeing me fuck him."
"No one's going to see it. The police have all the videos. If it's out on the cloud or some shit we'll delete those too."
"Really?" she asks.
"Yes. And now I might not ever let you go again."
She lets out a laugh mixed with a sob against me, and I pull back to wipe away her tears with my thumbs.
"So you're not mad at me?" she asks with red-rimmed green eyes.
"No, sweetheart. I love you too damn much to ever be mad at you."
Sadie gasps before wrapping her arms tightly around my neck, pulling me closer. "I love you, too, Jude."
I welcome the raindrop induced shiver down my spine that accompanies her saying my name with those four little words so affectionately. Now I realize that deep down my soul has always known what my heart has just figured out.
"I'm sorry about trying to push you away. I just..." The truth catches in my throat. "You're more important to me than this fight, okay? I want you, all of you from now on, whatever it takes."
I pull back enough that I can cover her lips with mine for the first time in what feels like forever. I taste her salty tears on them before I pry them open with my tongue. It becomes a possessive kiss to show her that she's mine and only mine from now on.
It was stupid of me to try and end things. I honestly don't think I can live without her in my life. Well, I know that I could, but I'd be absolutely miserable.
"Come on, let's go home," I tell her, picking her up in my arms to carry her. I just can't let her go.
Chapter Seventeen
Sadie
When we get back to the condo
Jude sits me down on the bed and undresses me like I might break. I had to give the police officers a statement about what had happened before we left the hotel. How Ryder had recorded us having sex without my permission and then used it to try and get me to fuck him for his and his friends' twisted pleasure so that he wouldn't post it online. It wasn't clear if the police could charge them or not, but if nothing else it scared the shit out of them. I'm sure Jude's threat had them all pissing their pants too.
I watch Jude quickly shed his clothes before climbing up on the bed with me. When he gets to the center he pulls me onto his lap, and I wrap my arms and legs around him to hold him to me as close as I can.
"I love you," he says against my lips. "So damn much."
"Please don't hurt me again," I beg him. Jude's body goes completely still against mine, he even stops breathing. I try and lean back to see his face, but he pulls me against his chest.
"I'm sorry," he says before he makes love to me, and then I fall asleep happy and relieved to be back in his arms.
…
The rest of the week Jude and I are inseparable. Things are even better than before we broke up, and we’ve finally gone on a couple of real dates with candlelit dinners and everything. Even though I haven't told him, I'm planning to stay home and go to Georgetown in the fall. I don't want to leave him because I know that this isn't some whim between me and him. I think we can make this work if we don't have to deal with the long distance. Actually, I'm certain of it, which is why I was so blown away when he'd told me he didn't want to see me a few weeks ago.
"So what do you want to do today?" I ask Jude on Friday as we lay in bed on our sides, face to face, recovering from an incredible round of morning sex.
"There's something I want to do, but you don't have to tag along if you don't want to," he says, pushing a lock of hair behind my ear.
"Of course I want to tag along," I reply.
"You sure? It might take most of the day."
"Yeah. What've you got planned?" I ask. I hope he's not gonna run a marathon or something else just as crazy.
"Let me show you," he says before he rolls out of bed and opens the closet to rummage through his duffle bag. He climbs back up on the mattress with a sheet of paper and offers it to me. It's a black and white stencil of my dad's Havoc griffin.
