Authors: Krysten Raine
"Alyssa, we live together now. We are a couple and I hope that we always are. Please let me treat you to something nice. Over the last year you have had so much hardship and sadness. Today we got the news that all of that is over. We can finally move on. So please let's just celebrate today, okay?"
Alyssa smiled and nodded and then Jack called the salon to see if he could get her in right before their dinner. His stylist usually required appointments to be made weeks in advance but Jack convinced him that it was a special occasion and that he would be extra
generous with his tips if they squeezed Alyssa in. Once the plans were all set and Alyssa was ready, they headed out to Fifth Avenue to indulge in the high end merchandise of the finest shops in New York. Alyssa had never even attempted shopping in this district before. She was very excited to see what the buzz was about.
It didn't take Alyssa long to find a dress she loved. They purchased a stunning full length, one shoulder bandage gown from Herve Leger. She found a beautiful pair of strappy, suede platform heels to go with it. To complete the outfit, Jack surprised her with an elegant diamond and sapphire wrapped necklace and hanging earring combo. They were absolutely gorgeous and Alyssa didn't know what to say. She threw her arms around Jack and kissed him excitedly. Then she turned the beautiful jewelry over and over again in her hands, admiring its pristine beauty. Then the couple made their way to Armani Exchange so Jack could browse the suits. Jack admitted that had a real preference for Armani. He found a distinguished two button, stretch wool suit in sleek black that fit him just perfectly.
Once they were happy with their purchases, they headed to Jack's stylist for Alyssa's appointment. They were about an hour and a half early so Jack asked them if Alyssa could get some of their spa treatments as well. His stylist, a man name Marco Fernidi was happy to oblige and they told Jack that they would take good care of Alyssa. Jack left Alyssa's new dress and jewelry with her so that she could get dressed at the salon while he went to finish up his work at the office.
Marco and his team spoiled Alyssa. She felt like a movie star as she was treated to luxurious spa treatments and pampered with a manicure and a pedicure and then they did her hair and her makeup. Once it was all done and Alyssa was dressed, she looked and more beautiful than she had ever been. If anyone were to see her on the street, they would have thought that she was a model or a celebrity. When Jack got back, they still had sometime before their dinner reservation and so Marco grabbed him and snuck him in for a quick hair cut as well. Then Jack put on his suit and when the couple saw each other they both marveled at how wonderful they both looked. They could have easily been going to a Red Carpet event, the way they were made up.
Arm and arm, the happy couple joyously walked to Jack's car to head out for their fabulous romantic dinner. Jack opened the door for his lovely date and Alyssa graciously entered the car and carefully pulled in her dress before Jack shut the door. Neither one of them noticed the black car that was parked across the street, nor the man who sat inside, smoking a cigarette and staring at the couple with vengeful intensity. Jack hadn't noticed that the same car had followed him to the salon from the office either. It was an ironic turn of events really. After months of being hyper vigilant and always looking over their shoulders, the one night that Jack and Alyssa let their guard down turned out to be the one night that they were truly in danger.
Chapter Twenty: A Proposition
Jack and Alyssa arrived at Golden Elegance about fifteen minutes before their reservation time. The valet took Jack's car and the couple entered the restaurant together, both looking and feeling like a million bucks. Alyssa was so excited; she had never had a day like this before. She felt so spoiled and so pampered and it was an experience that she would truly never forget. Jack was as happy as Alyssa was, but he also seemed a bit unnerved, so much so that Alyssa kept asking him if he was alright. The truth was the Jack has something special in his pocket that he had been planning to give to Alyssa for a very long time, but up until now they didn't have the opportunity to go out somewhere nice. Tonight Jack was going to take advantage of their magical evening, and ask Alyssa to be his wife. He caressed the small jewelry box he had in his pocket, anxiously awaiting the perfect moment to ask her the big question.
The
maître d came around the corner and called out Jack's last name. Jack and Alyssa responded right away. The maître d instructed them to follow him to their table. The restaurant was so incredibly beautiful. There was a full orchestra playing for the patrons and the décor was a delicate combination of white and gold that was reflected in some way in nearly everything in the dining area, from the table cloths to the gold and marble statues that stood elegantly in every corner.
The couple sat down and Jack ordered a bottle of fine wine to get them started and then they started looking over the menu. Alyssa admitted that she didn't know what most of the food items even were. Jack just laughed and he ordered a delightful herb crusted salmon appetizer and the golden flaked filet mignon for both of them. Alyssa smiled and told Jack that she loved him more every day. He beamed at this comment and he told her that he felt the same way and that he would never forget how incredibly beautiful she looked in that moment. Alyssa blushed and sipped her wine.
Before long their food arrived. It was hands down the best steak that Alyssa had ever tasted. It was so juicy and flavorful and it felt like the meat was just melting in her mouth. She whispered to Jack that is was so good it was like a "food orgasm." Jack laughed and he commented that he would just have to make sure that the rest of her body felt the same way later on, to which Alyssa gratefully agreed. Throughout dinner Jack kept
talking about how much he cared for Alyssa and how he really wanted them to have a life together. Alyssa continued to agree and they reveled in the idea that without Trevor Barnes around, they were free to live their lives uninhibited.
As the meal progressed Jack looked more and more nervous and right after they ordered dessert he excused himself to go to the restroom. His palms and brow were sweaty and he was shaking. He hadn't been nearly this nervous when he proposed
to his first wife, but his feelings for Alyssa were so much stronger and so much more real than anything he ever felt for Jade. He didn't know if he would be able to handle it if Alyssa turned him down. After cleaning himself up the best he could, Jack told himself it was now or never and he made his way back to the table. Alyssa looked incredible and with the amazing way that she smiled at him, he knew without a doubt that she was the woman that he was meant to be with. Suddenly Jack didn't feel nervous anymore. He just knew in his heart that it was meant to be, and so instead of taking his seat, he bent down on one knee. Alyssa drew in a nervous breath in anticipation as Jack pulled out the ring box from his pocket.
"Alyssa, since the moment we first met you are all I think about. I know that we have been through a lot but we came out strong. Being with you has made me feel happier and more fulfilled than I ever have before. You are everything to me and it would be an exceptional honor, if you would be my wife," Jack said hopefully.
"Oh my God! Yes!" Alyssa said a little too loud for the type of establishment that they were in, but no one cared. The whole restaurant had eyes on them anyway and there was a resounding round of applause when she accepted Jack's proposal. Several people came by to congratulate the happy couple and the maître d brought over a complimentary bottle of champagne.
"Is that why you seemed so nervous tonight?" Alyssa asked as their dessert arrived.
"Yeah, I was so afraid that you were going to say no, that I was a total wreck," Jack admitted with a bit of a laugh.
"Jack, I love you in a way that I never knew was possible. No other man has ever made me feel like this. I think we are just meant to be," Alyssa said as she brought her champagne to her lips.
"My thoughts exactly," Jack agreed. Alyssa's comments just reaffirmed what he had been feeling. He knew in his heart that he had made the right choice in asking Alyssa to become his wife.
When their meal was all finished they were both a little tipsy from the wine and champagne combination. Jack was actually surprised by how buzzed he felt. Maybe it was the combination of alcohol and adrenaline but he didn't think he was okay to drive and Alyssa probably wasn't either. So when Jack paid the bill he asked the maître d if he could leave his car there overnight and take a cab home instead. The maître d called down to the valet's station and informed them that Mr. Coleman's vehicle was authorized to remain in their care overnight and then he called a cab for Jack and Alyssa. Jack gave him a substantial tip as a thank you and
the ecstatic couple made their way out the front door, holding each other in the true embrace of newly engaged lovers.
The man in the black car that had followed them was sitting across the street from the main entrance of the restaurant. He knew that they had driven there and that the valet had taken their car, so he figured he would stake out the main door. Much to his surprise he saw them just standing there. The man started the car and pulled out onto the main street. Two cars behind the mysterious stalker was the taxi that the maître d had called. Jack saw the cab and he walked toward the road with his hand raised high to flag him down. The man in the black car pulled up in front up the restaurant, and he rolled down the passenger's side window. As he approached Jack and Alyssa, he pulled out a Colt .45, pointed it toward the open window
and fired two shots!
The sounds of the gunshots were the loudest thing that Alyssa had ever heard. It was as if the rest of the world had gone completely silent, except for the ear shattering sound of two distinct bangs, one following the other as if they were beating the drums of death
! Alyssa didn't know what was happening. Her instincts were to duck or to run but it was like she couldn't move. Everything was in slow motion and her feet felt like they were dipped in concrete. She turned toward Jack but she didn't see him, everything looked hazy and surreal. Frantically she searched the crowd but he was nowhere to be found. She heard someone shout to call 911. She saw people running everywhere and the maître d was darting inside. Then in one tragic second she looked down and saw Jack lying on the ground, blood was pooling underneath him!
"No!" Alyssa screamed in absolute terror. She fell to the ground and placed her hands on Jack's chest, trying desperately to slow the bleeding that was pouring out quickly around her hands.
"Oh God, Jack! Please don't leave me," she begged desperately. Jack looked up at her with a wild look in his eyes. He tried to tell Alyssa that he loved her, but he choked on blood as he tried to speak. Alyssa kept trying to put pressure on the wound, but he was bleeding out fast. She could hear sirens approaching. She looked up and saw three police cars that went speeding past the restaurant and then an ambulance pulled up. The paramedics raced out and grabbed Jack as fast as they could. Alyssa stepped away so that they could help him but she stood there, frantic and confused as to what she should do. They loaded Jack onto the ambulance and the one paramedic asked Alyssa if she was going with them. She just nodded her head and she jumped on board. They allowed her to hold Jack's hand as they raced to the hospital. The paramedics radioed ahead to the hospital requesting an immediate surgery for a gunshot wound.
When they arrived at the hospital, the nurses were all ready to take Jack in for surgery. Alyssa reluctantly let go off Jack's hand as they wheeled him toward the operating room. Another hospital worker got Alyssa's attention and started asking her what had happened. Alyssa was shaking and in shock, she didn't know what to say. Everything seemed so surreal that she wasn't even sure what had happened and she was so upset that she couldn't even remember her own name at first when the nurse asked her. She did manage to give them Jack's name and to tell them that she was his fiancée. It figured that the first time she said that out loud it would be under these circumstances. Then the gravity of what had just happened hit her like a ton of bricks. She gasped and her eyes rolled back, and then everything went black. The next thing Alyssa knew she was lying on a stretcher with a nurse checking her vital signs. She stared at the nurse in utter confusion.
"Welcome back," the nurse said when she saw Alyssa opening her eyes.
"What…what happened?" Alyssa asked.
"Ma'am have you been injured?" the nurse asked. Alyssa sat up in a panic and looked over her own body. Her beautiful new designer dress was soaked in blood, but it was all Jack's. Alyssa held up her hands and realized that they were also stained in blood and she started screaming. Without warning, the nurse stuck Alyssa with a needle containing a strong sedative and Alyssa slipped once again into the dark realm of unconsciousness.
About an hour later, Alyssa awoke again. This time she was in the intensive care unit. She was clean now and she was wearing a hospital gown. She started to sit up and she realized that she was connected to an IV system and machines that were monitoring her vital signs. A doctor was sitting with the nurses and he came over to talk to Alyssa.
"Is your name Alyssa Snyder?" the doctor asked as he approached her.
"Um… yes. Can you tell me what it happening?" Alyssa asked.
"My name is Doctor Phillip Swan, and I am one of the psychiatrists here at St. Christopher's Hospital. Do you remember how you got here?"
"Jack! Jack was shot! Is he?" Alyssa was afraid to finish asking if he was alive. She wasn't sure that she could handle the answer. The doctor looked over at the nurses who smiled at Alyssa as she came over.
"Mr. Coleman is still in surgery but it looks promising so far. His doctor will come and speak with you once he is moved to the recovery room," the nurse said and then she started checking Alyssa's IV bag. Alyssa breathed a sigh of relief and then she turned her attention back to the doctor.
"Ma'am, you are suffering from trauma induced shock and for a while there you were showing signs of partial amnesia. This can happen sometimes during moments of great stress, but I need to ask you a few questions to see how you are doing and then if you are up to it, there are some police detectives here that would like to speak to you."
Alyssa nodded and then she answered a bunch of questions pertaining to who she was, where she grew up, if she knew the calendar date and a whole series of arbitrary things. Then the psychiatrist determined that she seemed to be well enough to speak with the police. He wrote a prescription for an anti-anxiety medication and one for depression and he left them with the nurses, instructing them to offer them to Alyssa if she felt that she needed it and automatically if Mr. Coleman did not pull through. A few minutes later, two police detectives entered the room.
"Miss Snyder, could you please tell us in your own words what happened tonight?" the one detective asked.
"Um…It's all kind of hazy, but I will try to remember as much as I can," Alyssa began. She closed her eyes and forced herself to mentally relive the worst moment of her life.
"There was a black car. It pulled up while we were waiting for the cab. I didn't see the driver. I didn't even really look at it. We were both looking at the cab. Then I heard two shots. It was the loudest sound ringing in my head. At first I didn't see Jack and then I saw him lying there, bleeding! I tried to put pressure on his wounds and then the ambulance came. That's when they took Jack. I rode here with him. When he got here I passed out and that is the last thing I remember until just now."
"Ma'am the police are currently in pursuit of the black sedan that was seen leaving the Golden Elegance. They have been engaged in a high speed chase with the suspect for nearly two hours now, but we have not yet identified who the driver is. Do you have any idea who would want to hurt you or Mr. Coleman?"
"Maybe. Um last year I gave a statement that put a drug dealer named Trevor Barnes behind bars. He sold drugs to my mother. She was arrested as well. She overdosed in jail and Trevor's friends on the outside kept threatening me and Jack. They even made it sound like they had killed my mom. I think they gave her the heroin that killed her but it was never proven. Trevor Barnes died though in the prison riot the other day. We thought we were finally safe but it must have been one of his partners or something," Alyssa said and then she started to cry. She told the detectives that Jack had just proposed to her a few minutes before all this happened and that they were preparing to start a life together. The police offered their condolences and then they told her they would be in touch if they had any more questions. They also asked her to call them if Jack was able to talk after his surgery. The detective handed Alyssa a business card and then they left.