Eruption (The Hunted Series Book 3)

by Ivy Smoak

  The car came to a stop and the partition started to lower. I quickly wiped away the tears from under my eyes and slipped the picture into my purse so Ian wouldn't see it.

  "We're here...are you okay?"

  "I'm fine."

  Ian handed me a tissue.

  "Thank you." I grabbed it and blotted my eyes.

  "Call me when you're done, okay?"

  "I'm just going to walk home. Thank you, though."

  "James wouldn't want you to do that."

  Well James was certainly doing a bunch of stuff earlier this week that I didn't want him to do. "I'm not sure he really cares about what I do." I opened up the door and climbed out before Ian could respond. I walked into the building and gave the receptionist my name. In a minute I was being escorted to a room in the back of the store.

  I wasn't sure why I was here. I wasn't sad now, I was just angry. Did he even want to marry me? Was he going to sneak around behind my back all the time?

  "Are you waiting for anyone?" The woman said and gestured for me to sit in a chair.

  I put a smile on my face. "Nope, just me." No one came to dress fittings alone.

  "Okay, dear. Let me go get your dress, I'll be right back."

  I nodded and took a deep breath. James loves me. He had probably gone to go see Rachel for closure or something. He'd be able to tell me on Sunday night. And Isabella had probably attacked him with that kiss. She was a psychopath. He could explain it all tomorrow night. Everything was fine. I'm fine. I was here trying on a wedding dress because I was going to marry the man of my dreams in one week. Next Saturday James and I would be married and it would be the best day of my life. Isabella couldn't sabotage us. I took another deep breath.

  It felt like my heart was beating in my throat. I trusted James. Everything was going to be fine. I leaned my head against the wall behind me. Last night I had been worried about what he might do during his bachelor party. I had no idea what he had already done.

  "Okay, let's see how it fits."

  I shook my thoughts away and stood up. I plastered my fake smile back on my face. "Okay." I walked into the dressing room with her, took off my clothes, and stepped into the dress. She pulled it up past my waist and zipped it in place.

  It fit even better than the sample had. It was perfect. James would love it.

  I immediately burst into tears. "I'm sorry." I tried to clear my throat. "I don't know what's wrong with me."

  "Everyone always gets emotional when they try their dress on." The woman smiled and handed me a tissue box. "You look absolutely beautiful."

  I quickly grabbed a tissue and blew my nose. I wasn't crying because I was happy and excited. I was crying because I wasn't sure if James even wanted to see me in this dress anymore. I'm fine. It didn't matter how many times I had said it, it didn't make it true.

  "We'll have to take it in a little under the arms," the woman said. "And shorten it another inch. Can you come back in a few days?"

  I wiped my eyes with another tissue. "The wedding is next Saturday. Will there only be one more fitting?"

  "That should do it. How does Thursday sound?"

  "That sounds good. Do you have something for that night?" My mom was coming up Thursday after work. It would be so much better once she was with me.

  "The latest appointment we have is at 4 o'clock. Does that work?"

  James could deal with me skipping out on work a little early. And my mom had already been toying with the idea of taking a half day on Thursday. She wouldn't want to miss my final fitting. "Yeah, that works."

  The woman wrote the date and time down on her business card and handed it to me. "Is there anything you want to change?"

  I stared at my reflection in the mirror. "No. It's perfect."

  "Have you already tried on veils?"

  "A couple. I think I'll wait till Thursday to choose one if that's alright."

  She nodded. "Okay. Let me help you out of the dress."

  ***

  I walked out of the store a few minutes later.

  "Penny?"

  I turned around to see Tyler leaning against the wall outside of Kleinfeld's. It was so nice to see a familiar face.

  "I would have come in, but it didn't seem like you wanted me to." He scratched the back of his neck. "But I could tell you were upset."

  My bottom lip started quivering again. I couldn't seem to control my emotions ever since I had gotten those first pictures from Isabella. I walked over to Tyler and gave him a big hug. For the first time since James had left, I felt a little calmer. "I missed you too," I mumbled into his chest. I was making his shirt wet from my tears, but he didn't move away.

  "Do you want to tell me what's going on?"

  "No."

  He laughed and pulled back. "Well, are you hungry?"

  "I'm starving." I had skipped breakfast because I felt nauseous after eating tons of ice cream and drinking wine last night. But being paranoid all morning had made my appetite come back.

  "Let's get lunch."

  I wasn't sure if I should protest. Having lunch with him might make Melissa take even longer to get over this whole mess. My train of thought was waylaid when Tyler grabbed my arm.

  "Come on. There's a diner down the street from here that has really good grilled cheese."

  I smiled. He knew I couldn't resist a grilled cheese sandwich and fries. We walked toward the diner in silence. He was probably wondering the same thing I was about Melissa's reaction to this. I didn't want him to be in the doghouse because of me.

  As if sensing what I was thinking, he opened up the door for me, and said, "I'm not leaving one of my best friends alone when they just burst into tears in the middle of the sidewalk. Food. Now."

  "When did you get so bossy?"

  He shrugged. "I don't know. Apparently girls dig it, though."

  I laughed and walked into the diner. It smelled like hot grease and all things wonderful in the world. We got seated in one of the booths by the windows. I slid in across from him and picked up a menu.

  "You're really not going to tell me what's wrong?" Tyler asked.

  I bit my lip. "It's just been a really bad week."

  "Because of your new job? Or the last minute wedding stuff?"

  I shrugged. "Everything. I've been so stressed out ever since graduation."

  "I remember that feeling. Moving here was probably the scariest thing I ever did. Sometimes the real world sucks." He looked down at his menu and then set it aside.

  "Especially when two of your best friends aren't speaking to you."

  "I never agreed to that," said Tyler. "I'm here, aren't I?"

  The waiter came over and Tyler ordered each of us a Cherry Coke, grilled cheese, and French fries.

  "And what is Melissa going to say about that?" I asked. "She won't even speak to me."

  "James came around. She will too."

  I sighed. "Not fast enough. I need her right now."

  "I know. I'm sorry about the timing of all this." He scratched the back of his neck.

  "It's not your fault."

  "Well, it kind of is. Apparently I talk about you too much." He smiled at me. "But we always have the best stories. Remember the fall cricket fiasco? How can I not talk about that?"

  I started laughing. "That was the best. I mean, horrible, but hilarious." His neighbor had kept blasting music at all hours of the night. So we had gone to the pet store and bought tons of crickets. For some reason Tyler knew how to pick locks. He said it was a fraternity thing. The plan was to release them in his neighbor's apartment. But the bag had a hole in it and the crickets escaped all over Tyler's apartment instead. It took him weeks to catch them all. And for the longest time afterwards we'd still hear chirping noises and go on cricket searching missions on Friday nights.

  "It's like my go to party story."

  "It's a great story."

  He shrugged. "Melissa hates it."

  I shifted in my seat. "Do you think you could try to get her to freak out
about this after the wedding?"

  "I've tried talking to her. I can't believe she didn't come with you to this. She's your freaking maid of honor."

  At least he understood.

  "Not that I minded stepping up." He gave me a small smile. "And I think you should tell me what's really bothering you. On top of your two best friends banging."

  I laughed and pulled the picture out of my purse. I needed to talk this through with someone. Tyler was my friend. If Melissa wasn't around, I was allowed to go to him for help. "Isabella's been sending me pictures, trying to freak me out or something."

  "She's so insane."

  "I know. And I know that's all this is. But I can't help but think it's something more." I put the picture down on the table.

  "What the fuck?" Tyler picked it up. He looked really mad.

  "She came by the office the other day. He told me she wanted to be friends or something. But he said he told her to leave us alone. This has to be from that day. Do you think it looks like she surprised him? Like, does it look like he's kissing her back?"

  Tyler's jaw was clenched. He didn't say anything.

  I laughed, but that didn't seem to make Tyler look any less pissed. "You're supposed to be calming me down, Tyler."

  He put the picture back down on the table.

  "I mean, I know his hands are on her back. But maybe they were hugging goodbye. Isabella loves making scenes. He has to act a certain way around her so she won't freak out."

  "He had to kiss her?" he asked.

  "No. But I mean, maybe she just kissed him?"

  Tyler lowered his eyebrows. "Yeah, maybe. Have you asked him about it?"

  "He's away for his bachelor party all weekend. And the guys took his phone." I wasn't going to get into that whole fiasco. Those were all the details Tyler needed to know about that.

  Tyler shook his head. "You said pictures? Are there more?"

  "There were some of him with this girl he dated in high school. She was hugging him and he was going into her house. But I know it was kind of a rocky breakup. Maybe he just needed closure, you know? Before we tie the knot? I mean, that's definitely a thing people do, right?" I sounded pathetic.

  Tyler sighed. "I...I don't know what you want me to say."

  "Tell me it's going to be okay. Tell me Isabella is just messing with my head. There's an explanation for all of this. He's just not here to tell me. And I feel like she knows that. She could have sent me this picture earlier this week. She chose now to do it. She's manipulative and crazy."

  "She's definitely crazy. And it's going to be okay." He sounded so sincere, but I didn't really believe him. His eyes gave him away. He looked mad.

  "You think he cheated on me, don't you?"

  Tyler shook his head and grabbed my hand. "No, he wouldn't do that. You're getting married in one week. James loves you. Everything is going to be fine." He squeezed my hand. "It's going to be okay."

  I took a deep breath. His voice was soothing. I wasn't sure if he believed what he was saying, but it was nice to hear.

  Tyler let go of my hand when the waitress came back over with our food. "Do you know where Isabella lives?" he asked as soon as the waitress left.

  "No. Why, do you want to unleash hundreds of crickets into her apartment?"

  "It's not a terrible idea." He took a bite of his sandwich. "Do you have her number?"

  I shook my head. "This is really good," I said after I took my first bite.

  "Mhm. What's Rachel's last name?"

  "I don't know. And Tyler, I don't want you to do anything about it. I just needed someone to talk to."

  "But maybe we should..."

  "Nope."

  "Or we could..."

  "No."

  He laughed. "Okay. I guess I'm not a great girlfriend. I'm used to trying to fix things, not just listen."

  "You're such a boy. But don't worry, you're a fantastic girlfriend too."

  He laughed again. "Well, actually, I could use some advice too. I think I'm going to ask Melissa to be my girlfriend. It could help smooth things out between you guys too."

  "I don't want you to do that just so she's ready to be my maid of honor again."

  "No, that's not it. I really like her. And I think mainly she's just upset because I won't commit, you know? But I think I'm ready for that. I'm ready to grow up."

  "Ugh, growing up is so overrated."

  He smiled. I could see it in his eyes. He did like her. It was so nice seeing him happy. But I still felt compelled to ask.

  "So, you do really like her?"

  "Yeah. She's so easy to hang out with. When she's not mad at me that is. We became really good friends after you moved here. Our relationship progressed so naturally. And she's beautiful. And so smart. And she's incredibly passionate." He immediately looked down at his food. His face looked a little red. "Yeah, it's still weird talking about this with you."

  "A little." I laughed. I wasn't sure I wanted to hear about my two best friends' passionate lovemaking.

  "Okay, let's just agree to be friends that talk about everything except for our sex lives." He put his hand out for me to shake.

  "Deal."

  "Um, so, I was thinking I'd surprise her after work. With some flowers or something. And ask her officially. Hopefully she won't want to move out either. I've gotten used to waking up next to her." He looked a little embarrassed again.

  "I think she'll love that."

  "Yeah?"

  I nodded. I knew this would mean my relationship with Tyler would change. It would be different with Melissa too. But if it meant they were both happy, then I was happy too. I could adjust. The past few weeks I had handled so much change. I could handle one more thing.

  "Well, she gets off in about half an hour. I should probably get going. If you're okay?"

  "I'm good."

  "You sure?"

  "Go ask my best friend to be your girlfriend."

  He stood up and pulled out his wallet.

  "It's my turn." I shooed him.

  He smiled. "See you later, Penny."

  "Bye, Tyler." I watched him leave the restaurant. It was probably the last time I'd hang out with him one on one. He probably knew it too.

  I sighed and looked down at my half eaten sandwich. Maybe I should go try to confront Isabella. I didn't want her to think she could intimidate me. Even if she had. I didn't want to give her the satisfaction. She was just messing with me.

  Ian probably knew where she lived. It was just a question of whether or not he would take me there. I grabbed my phone and texted Ian to pick me up at the diner.

  In a few minutes I saw the car pull up outside. I quickly paid the bill and walked out of the restaurant. Ian opened up the car door for me. Before he could ask me where I wanted to go, I climbed into the car. I couldn't make eye contact with him when he asked.

  When he got into the car, he lowered the partition. "Where to, Penny?"

  I looked out the window. "Can you take me to Isabella's?" I kept my eyes glued on the window, despite the awkward silence that greeted my ears.

  "Sorry. What's her last name?"

  "Hunter." I turned toward the front of the car. Luckily I only had to look at him through the rearview mirror because I was starting to feel sweaty.

  "I don't..." He cleared his throat. "I don't think I'm supposed to take you there."

  He wasn't supposed to take me there? God, James. Had he seriously told Ian where he could and could not take me? I didn't want to lie to Ian, and I certainly didn't want to get him in trouble. But I needed him to take me to Isabella's. "I have lunch plans with her. I don't want to be late."

  Ian glanced out the window at the diner that I had just come out of.

  Crap. Why am I such a terrible liar? I was even worse when I was angry. I tended to speak before I thought it out.

  "Penny, I'm going to take you home."

  "Ian, please. I need to talk to her."

  "James doesn't want you to be in contact with her."
/>
  Why? Because he doesn't want me to catch them making out? I swallowed hard. That wasn't fair. It was just a picture. There was so much behind a captured image. I looked down at my hands. "What, did he give you a list of places where I'm not allowed to go or something?"

  "I'm not at liberty to discuss that with you."

  I spent a lot of time with Ian. Whenever I was in the car with him, I usually lowered the partition and chatted with him. I considered him to be a friend. But he wasn't. He was polite and courteous to me because James paid him to be. Ian wasn't my friend. He wasn't even my employee, he was James'.

  "Okay," I said and looked back out the window. I felt like a petulant child. James had a way of making me feel like that. But he was right. I shouldn't be going to see Isabella. There would never be a reason for me to go see her. Ever.

  ***

  I got out of the car without saying anything and walked toward the front of the apartment building.

  "Penny, I'm sorry."

  I turned around and looked at Ian.

  I shrugged. "If you're not allowed to take me there, then you're not allowed to take me. It's fine."

  "Look, I'll take you if you really want to go. James doesn't have to know." He stared at me, wanting to know if I'd keep the secret. He was putting his neck out for me. Maybe he thought of me as more of a friend than I realized.

  "No, that's okay. James knows best, right?" I gave him a small smile.

  "You really don't want to see her anyway. Trust me. She's not...nice."

  He knows her? I hadn't even thought about it before. "Did you work for James when they were still married?"

  Ian nodded. "Yeah, he even kept me on the payroll when he went to teach at the University of New Castle for a year. So that I wouldn't have to keep my job with Isabella. We didn't get along very well. He probably did it because he knew Isabella would fire me." He laughed.

  "He knew he was only staying there for a year?" I asked as nonchalantly as possible.

  "Well, I mean, he came back before a year so I had to start back up again a few months early. With you." He smiled. "But, yeah, he said he'd be back in a year when he left."

  James had told me he was taking a break by teaching. He had never put a date on it though. He had never told me that his plan was always to come back to New York. I thought we had decided to make our fresh start here together. I had that same eerie feeling that I had when we had just met. That he was the hunter and I was the prey. I folded my arms across my chest, suddenly cold. Why did it feel like I still didn't know him?