by Liz Lovelock
“But no more dating apps,” Mom chimes in.
“I don’t need them anymore. I’ve got Dane.” I smile weakly. Mom hands me a cup with a straw. I sip at the cool liquid.
“Who’s this Dane guy? Do I need to give him the dad-slash-lawyer once-over?”
Mom and I laugh.
“No, Dad, he’s a good guy,” I assure him.
He nods, apparently satisfied with my answer.
“Someone talking about me?”
Mom and Dad move out of my way, and there’s my slice of heaven standing in the doorway. Tears instantly fill my eyes.
“Let’s go, William.” Mom touches his arm, and they both leave.
Dane rushes to my side. “Shh… it’s okay. I’ve got you now. You’re safe.”
I move over, and he climbs into the hospital bed with me. His arms come around me, and I sob into his chest. All the fear and hurt floods from me and onto his shirt. He holds me tight and doesn’t let me go.
“How are you feeling?” Dane asks for the hundredth time.
Rolling my eyes, I say, “I’m fine. I just want to go home.”
Mom made them keep me another night to make sure the concussion I’d received didn’t eventuate into anything more. I’ve been told to take it easy, and between Mom, Dad, and Dane, I’m sure everything will be alright. I’ll be waited on hand and foot.
“Can I have a minute?”
Glancing around Dane’s large frame, Parker stands there, his head low.
“Sure, I’ll give you two a moment,” Dane says and releases my hand.
“No, wait.” Parker holds his hand up. “Wait. I wanted to talk to both of you. To apologize for how I’ve acted lately. This…” He gestures between us. “… is going to take me a bit to get used to. You’re my little sister and he’s my best friend. I know I should be happy about it. I guess I’ve always been your protector, and now I have backup. Not only with Dane, but with William as well.”
My chest swells. “Oh, Parker.” I stand and walk toward him before I wrap my arms around him. “You’ll always be my big brother and protector,” I whisper into his ear.
When I release him, he steps up to Dane and extends his hand, and they shake. “Don’t go hurting my sister, or there’ll be more than one busted lip and a few bruises.” He laughs, punching Dane in the arm.
Everything has slowly done a three-sixty, and now we’re here. Peace has been made.
“The girls are keen to see you. They’re out in the waiting room—they couldn’t wait until you came over later.” He gives me a sheepish grin.
“Sure, they can come in. I’m hoping to get out of here soon. Then, we can go get something to eat other than this plastic hospital food. I need some real mashed potatoes.” We all crack up laughing. Parker leaves the room.
“I knew he’d change his tune eventually,” Dane says, and he leans into me, and his lips warm mine.
My hands cup his face. “You knew, huh? Then, why didn’t we tell him at the start of all this? Because you were a chicken, that’s why.” I kiss him again.
“Urgh. No. Don’t do that in front of me.” My head drops when Parker reappears followed by Aiden, Elsie, and Addison.
“Get used to it,” Addison says as she rushes to me and wraps her arms around me tightly.
“Uh… I can’t breathe,” I say.
She releases her grip. “Sorry.” Addison is shoved aside, and Elsie is next with another warm hug.
It’s so good having friends like these. Yes, they started out as my brother’s friends, but now they’re also our family.
My feet glide with the skates. A couple of weeks ago, I was this hopeless wonder who couldn’t get one foot in front of the other. Look at me now. Yes, I move at a snail’s pace, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Someone speeds past me. Lifting my head, I catch the back of Dane. A smile tugs at my lips, and my heart skips a beat. In the brief second I check him out, my skates fumble beneath me. With a thump, I’m on my butt once again. This is about the twentieth time.
“I see nothing has changed.” Turning my head toward the voice from my position on the ground, Jase stares down at me, a huge grin on his face.
“Shut up.”
He offers me his hand. I take it, and he pulls me to my feet with ease. “So, you and Dane, huh?”
“Yep,” I reply, releasing his hand and turning to grip the side of the rink. “How goes the girl hunt?”
He looks away then back to me. “Not so great. I keep getting the groupie girls.”
“Yeah, they’re pretty bad. Don’t worry. I’m sure the right girl is just around the corner. Word of warning—don’t do the dating sites. There are crazies on there.”
“Yeah, I heard. Sorry about that. I feel like it’s somewhat my fault because I pushed you into it.”
I swipe my hand. “Don’t worry about it. It all worked out.”
“But are you alright?” He leans against the rail and holds my gaze.
“I’m okay. Not great, but I’ll get better,” I answer honestly.
The nightmares have been terrible. Dane has stayed with me every night and woken me from all heart-stopping nightmares. In them, Dane doesn’t show up. But then, in reality, Dane’s right in front of me, saving me from my hellish dreams.
“I’m here if you need a friend.” Jase pulls me in for a hug and actually saves me from falling again.
I burst out laughing. “Sorry.”
“What’s going on here?” Dane’s happy voice chimes in.
“Just stopping her from hitting the ground,” Jase offers with a chuckle.
I smack him hard in the chest. Jase takes my hand and guides me into Dane’s arms and says goodbye.
“Come on. Let’s get out of these skates,” Dane says.
“That’s the most attractive thing you’ve said to me all night.” I wink. He shakes his head and guides me off the rink to some seats. “At least tonight I didn’t sprain my wrist.”
“What am I going to do with you?” He leans and slips off my skates for me.
“Love me.”
His heated gaze comes up and meets mine. He kneels in front of me and comes closer. I’m eager for his lips to touch mine. I want to taste him and cherish these moments. I don’t have to wait long before his tongue slips between my lips and I’m lost in him.
“I love you so much,” Dane says.
Butterflies take flight in my stomach. Dane is everything I need, and I can’t wait to see what our future holds.
Would I change how everything played out? No. We needed to take this journey. It’s ours. It’s special to us. He was once the forbidden fruit I couldn’t partake of, and now everything is perfect, and I can have him anytime I want.
Thank you so much for reading My Forbidden Guy. I hope you love Paislee and Dane as much as I do.
If you enjoyed this, turn the page to have a sneak peek of The Lost One (Lost Series Book 1)
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(Lost series, #1)
Prologue
I don’t know how I’ll get through this day. It’s like I’ve been living in my own personal kind of hell over the last two weeks. Since finding out my sister, Abby, is gone, my world is so empty. My heart feels as though it’s been ripped out and stomped on a hundred times over. I never imagined my life without her. She was my best friend, someone I could always trust, and now… she’s gone.
Abby was a friend to everyone. On my bad days, I would find myself feeding off her happy, fun-loving spirit to help build me up. That is, until Jacob Smith came along and ruined her life, and mine.
I knew things were not right with him. Every time I saw him, the uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach set off alarm bells, but Abby was so happy after she met him. She said he treated her like a princess, always sending her flowers and bringing her lovely gifts.
One night when she came home after seeing Jacob, she had a bruised cheek. I questioned her
about it, but she told me it was an accident and he didn’t mean it. From that night on, she began to shut down and close herself off from her friends, and even me. She would come home straight from work and shut herself in her room. She wasn’t there for me like usual, and wouldn’t let me be there for her either. I wanted to, especially when I heard her crying in her room late at night. She would never tell me what was bothering her. It hurt and made me angry how she wouldn’t confide in me.
The day she came to me and said she was planning to leave Jacob, made me super happy. I noticed a change in her during the weeks leading up to the day she was going to leave him. She was happier and brighter than I had seen her in months. But she was unsure how to tell him, she was scared of his reaction. He was the type who flew off the handle, and no one knew what would happen. She started opening up to me before she left, telling me what he was capable of. It gave me chills, sending shivers down my spine, to think of what he might do to her. I told her I was going with her, but she didn’t want me to come. Hurt and afraid, I gave in and let her go alone.
That is why I am to blame for what happened. When she left that night, I never thought it would be the last time I would get to see her. Then she was gone, missing. My world has never been the same again, and my heart is broken, shattered into a million pieces.
We searched for her, put flyers around and even went to the local television stations, but found nothing. The hardest thing was hearing the police say they were now starting an investigation for a missing person since she’d been gone for more than seventy-two hours.
When they interviewed me, I told them about Jacob and how Abby started coming home with bruises and how her personality drastically changed. I informed them of her plan to break up with him the night she disappeared.
Upon searching his place, they found the locket I had given her for her eighteenth birthday in a pool of blood, along with blood-covered towels. He was arrested on the spot and charged with her murder.
Then my two weeks of sitting through hell began.
I’ve been sitting in this courtroom day in and day out, listening to the endless questioning from the lawyers to Abby’s colleagues and friends. How was Abby’s behaviour in weeks before she disappeared? Had anyone met the defendant, Jacob? Did they seem happy? Did she seem afraid of him? Hearing their responses has been excruciating, and I’m surprised to learn of all the things I didn’t notice, such as how she had stopped going to work and had often called off sick. I had no idea because she wasn’t at home much.
What kind of sister am I?
When they call me to the stand, my nerves are all over the place. I’m not sure if I’m going to burst into tears or vomit. After I’m sworn in, the prosecutor is first up with the questioning.
“Miss White, Abby is your sister, correct?” She is an elderly lady with kind, brown eyes that urge me to answer her question.
“Yes,” I respond, my voice cracking.
“Did Abby confide in you about her relationship with the defendant?”
“No. Not about what happened in their relationship. Not long after they started dating, she began shutting me out. She only opened up to me the night she left, telling me how scared she was at how Jacob was going to react.” My heart is pounding in my chest and I’m sure everyone in the courtroom can hear it.
“Why did she shut you out?”
“I questioned her about the bruises she began showing up with.” I look at Jacob, and his heartless, green eyes are staring back at me. I wish I could wipe that smug look off his face.
“How often did she show up with new injuries?”
“I can’t be too sure. I only saw them every now and then, so perhaps once a week, but then she started wearing more clothes and keeping herself covered.”
“Describe Abby’s behaviour in the weeks leading up to her disappearance.”
“Her personality and even her appearance changed. She didn’t seem to care anymore and dropped her normal standard. It was like her happy and caring soul had been taken from her. Seeing it broke my heart.” My voice breaks and tears begin to fall. “Sorry,” I mumble into the tissue.
“It’s okay. When you’re ready, could you tell us about the night she disappeared?”
I nod and focus only on the prosecutor. I don’t want to look at my parents. I know my mum will be a complete mess. “Something with Abby had changed. She was a little happier, and she told me she was planning on leaving him.” I glance toward Jacob, giving him an ice-cold glare. I wish looks could kill. “I offered to go with her, but she assured me everything would be okay and she would see me later, but…” tears burn my cheeks again, “… later never came. I haven’t seen my sister since.”
The prosecutor thanks me and I’m allowed to leave the stand since Jacob’s lawyer has no questions for me. I return to my seat beside my mum.
Jacob is next to be called to the stand. When he gets up, he looks around at my family with a conceited look on his face. Arrogant arse. The anger within me is slowly reaching boiling point. I have so much hate and bitterness toward this man. I hope he gets what’s coming to him. I hope karma comes around and punches him right in the face. I’m not usually a violent person, but my parents and I have been through so much lately, and I can’t take much more.
Jacob is sworn in and takes his seat. His lawyer is first up with questioning.
“Mr. Smith, please tell the court your relationship with Abby White.” His lawyer is young, and I can only hope he’s fresh out of law school and does a terrible job.
“We were in a relationship, a happy one and so very much in love.” His voice is full of confidence. Liar!
He sits there all sure of himself, with his jet-black hair and shining fearless green eyes. If I had met him on the street, not knowing what I do now, I would have probably considered him a nice guy.
“Were you in any way abusive toward Abby?”
“No.”
“How do you explain the bruises?”
“Well, let’s just say she was a little clumsy at times and she also enjoyed things… rough.”
What? He is so full of it!
My hands begin to shake with my anger and I start looking at my hands, picking at my nails to keep my hands busy.
“Do you mean sexually?”
“Yes.”
There’s no way she was like that at all.
The questions continue to fly at him, and still he expresses no emotion as he sits up there and lies. All I hear are lies. They make my ears want to bleed. I hope they’re just as clear to the jury.
After both lawyers have finished, the jury is ushered away to make their decision. I sit in silence, praying it will all work out in our favour.
“Please stand,” I hear the court officer addressing the courtroom, pulling me out of my thoughts. I focus on the judge entering, followed by the jury. Feeling very anxious regarding the outcome, my heart is racing and my stomach is twisting in multiple knots.
“Please be seated,” says the judge, slamming his hammer down for order in the courtroom.
I actually feel like I might be sick or pass out—I’m not too sure at this point. Feeling my mother’s hand grab mine, she squeezes. It’s a good comfort, and I feel myself calm a little.
I gaze at my parents. Dad has his arm around Mum for support, and both look worn out from this whole ordeal, as I’m sure I do as well. Looking at Mum’s deep red hair, now with some grey streaks through it, I notice how similar we look with our hair and crystal blue eyes. Abby was the opposite, even though we were twins. We weren’t identical twins, but fraternal. She had beautiful brown hair like Dad. So she gained most her features from Dad, while I gained mine from Mum, but we had the same clear blue eyes.
As we sit, all I can do is hope Jacob is found guilty. Then justice will be served for my sister. I look over at him and he appears all calm and relaxed. He glances over his shoulder, catching my eye, and smiles. I feel the bile rise in my throat, so I quickly look away taking a few deep breaths to
settle my stomach. I grip Mum’s hand harder.
“Has the jury reached a verdict?” asks the judge, looking toward the jury panel.
The spokesperson for the jury approaches the front, handing a piece of paper to the court officer, who takes it to the judge. My stomach is feeling like the sea in the middle of a storm. No matter how much breathing I do, it won’t calm, and if I keep the deep breaths happening, I might hyperventilate. The judge unfolds the piece of paper that holds the fate of that pathetic excuse of a human in his hand. He reads it before he presents it back to the court officer who extends it to the spokesperson.
“We, the jury, find the defendant, Jacob Smith… not guilty.”
“No! That’s not fair. He killed my sister!” I shout at the jury. I can hear my mother trying to calm me down, but all I feel right now is rage, rage and hate toward Jacob Smith. I watch him as he’s thanking his lawyer, shaking their hands, and smiling.
Oh, how I wish I could wipe that smile off his face.
I don’t realise I’m crying—sobbing actually—until my mother pulls me into her, and we cry together, standing here holding each other. Dad walks out after the verdict is read. He knows he won’t be able to control himself. I guess I get my temper from him.
I sense someone standing behind me.
“I’m sorry for your loss. I did love Abby very much.”
I whip my head around to face the scum of the earth.
Did he just say he loved her?
I look Jacob in the face. There’s no compassion in his eyes, I know he never cared for her. I don’t know what comes over me. I just see red. Straightening up, I turn my entire body toward him, and before he knows what’s happening, I clench my fist and let it fly right at his face, hitting him square in between the eyes and then smile at him.
