Closer to the Heart (The Heart Trilogy Book 3) (19 page)

Quickly he reached and grabbed her before she hit the floor and caused any unwelcome commotion in the building. He carried Charlie to the nearest set of seating and laid her down. The final call for boarding came over th
e
tanno
y
system. Felicity smiled and took the arm of Mitchell as they walked towards the first class lounge before their flight. The documents had passed the scrutiny and Mitchell had remained subdued. All Mitchell could think about was the girl he had bumped into, so like Charlotte in every way. He was determined that once his Mum relinquished such a controlled grip on his life he would search and find her again.

Coming round Charlotte looked up into the worried brown eyes of Zach. She sat up slowly and he handed her a bottle of water.

“Take it steady, you fainted”

“I think I've just seen Mitchell”

“Mitchell's dead” he said quietly, laying his hand on her clammy forehead.

“No...I've just seen him with Felicity and Daniel” she struggled to try and stand
,
to look at the gate in case they were still there. Her legs felt like jelly and she felt a cramping pain in her stomach as she collapsed back into Zach's arms.

One of thegathere
d
crowd
s
had called for help and a paramedic appeared and knelt down by the seats. He took Charlotte's temperature and blood pressure.

“I think we'd better take her to A&E just as a precaution” he said. Charlotte had closed her eyes once more, it was better than the building spinning. Zach picked her up and placed her on the stretcher and followed them out of the building.

“I'll follow in my car” he said to the female paramedic. She nodded and he watched her into the back of the ambulance.

Gripped with fear Zach easily caught up with the ambulance, despite the traffic. He carried Charlotte's bag into the hospital and then sat in the sterile waiting room. A nurse appeared after an hour's wait.

“Are you Miss Eden's boyfriend, Mitchell?”

“Um...no just a friend, Mitchell was her boyfriend he's missing presumed dead” he explained.

“Oh, sorry for the mistake, if you want to follow me I can take you through. She's stable but I think we might just keep her in overnight”

“What's wrong with her?” Zach asked, as they walked down the corridor.

“I'll let Miss Eden tell you, I'm afraid that unless you're family we can't divulge
a
patient’
s
medical condition”

Walking into the small side room Charlotte looked up into Zach's worried gaze. He took hold of her hand and sa
t
down
,
she was pale and still shaking in his grip.

“I'm sorry” she whispered.

“No need for apologies. Do you want me to phone your Mum? Or James or anyone”

Charlotte shook her head, a small tear balanced precariously on her long lashes.

“So what'
s
wrong”

Those three little word
s
wa
s
all it took for Charlotte to break down. Zach stood up and enfolded her body into his embrace. Her tears soaked his shirt and left a damp patch near his heart, when she struggled from his grip.

When she was calm again she let go and leant back on the pillow.

“Just stress mixed with a touch of depression” Charlie said “they have advised 48 hours rest but then I'll be fine”

“That'
s
a relief, I thought it was something more serious”

Charlie glanced away, afraid he would see through the lie that she was telling. She was too afraid to tell him the truth, too scared to even admit it could be true.

“They're keeping you in overnight so I'm going to pop back and check the clubs are ok but I'll be back tomorrow morning to take you home to the flat”

She smiled weakly, amazed at the tender side of Zach. With a quick kiss on her lips he left.

Chapter 26

Confusion reigned in Charlotte's mind as the time ticked by in the Hospital room. A nurse came in later and checked her drip and bought her some food. In the darkness she struggled to sleep as dreams plagued her. They all revolved around Mitchell and the fact that he could still be alive. Like waves her emotion fluctuated between the peaks of happiness that there was still a chance, to troughs of despair that she was hallucinating in her heightened emotional state. Her hand crept under the covers and touched her belly, it felt tender but soon everyone would know.

In her heart she hoped that the baby belonged to Mitchell
,
and the
n
if he really was dead she would still have a piece of him forever. If it was Zach's then she had no idea how he would react, she still didn't know how she felt about him let alone guess his feelings for her. She must have slept for the Nurse woke her as she bustled in and drew the curtains. She did a quick check and gave Charlotte some pills and a glass of water. Then after an awful breakfast and the Doctor she was free to go.

Pulling on her jeans and jumper she heard a faint knock on the door.

“Come in”

Zach peeked through the opening crack.

“Are you decent?”

“Yes” she said, watching him walk in, his usual self-assured demeanour back in place. He looked at her cheeks, still pale but at least her eyes were brighter and no longer tearful.

“Ready to go” he asked, taking her arm. She nodded and let him lead her out to his car. The journey was quick and once in the flat he tried to get her to rest more in bed.

“Zach I'm ok, I don't want to go to bed”

In the end he relented and let her lie on the sofa beneath the duvet.

After chicken soup for lunch Charlotte sat up and turned to Zach.

“Can I see the photo's you took?” He nodded and sat down next to her with his phone. Charlie found the one of Matthew and stared at it intently.

“Are you any good with computers or can you get someone to change the hair colour from blond to black?”

“I'll have a go” Zach said, pulling his laptop over and transferring the picture. Half an hour later and Charlotte felt numb with shock again.

“It's Mitchell, he's not dead but how can we prove it?”

“Leave it with me, I'll do some digging and call in a favour with Daniel” Zach said, he looked away to hide the anger burning inside. This was his chance to make Felicity pay.

“But why do you want to help me? This is my fight”

“I have my reasons” Zach said, standing up and leaving the room. She heard him enter the bathroom and then running water.

“I've run you a bath”

“Thanks, I think it will help me sleep. First rehearsal is tomorrow”

“Yes, I'm taking yo
u
there
,
I might even stay an extra night as you still look pale”

He chivvied her off the sofa and watched her saunter up the hallway. He made her a cup of tea and then entered the bathroom with the cup.

The warmth from the water had made her cheeks pink and she smiled as he entered.

“Hey I could get used to this” she giggled, as he put the mug on the end of the bath.

“Just don't tell anyone, I would hate to ruin my reputation” his eyebrows quirked as she flicked some bubbles in his direction before he left her alone. Back in the lounge he put the music on from her iPod and let it fill the vast areas of the flat. It normally felt empty when he stayed here but Charlotte filled it with her zest for life.

He listened to her return the mug to the kitchen and then a faint call down the hallway.

“Goodnight Zach, see you in the morning”

“Goodnight Lottie”

He loved the way it sounded on his lips as he switched the music off and finished his drink. He hesitated outside her bedroom but in the end he entered the spare room. In the middle of the night faint music woke him. He took a moment to realise it was coming from the flat. He padded down the hall and paused in the entrance of the dining room, captivated once more. Charlie danced in the moonlight that streaked across the woode
n
boards
,
she wore just an oversized t-shirt.

Breathless with desire he waited for her to sink into splits at the end of the routine. He started to clap and she looked up, startled in the headlights of his gaze.

“Sorry, did I wake you” she mumbled, climbing off the floor.

Zach quickly covered the space between them and picked her up into his arms. He felt solid as she laid her head on his chest, suddenly tired beyond belief. He placed her on the bed and tried to untangle his arms but she refused to let go.

“Hold me for a bit” she pleaded.

Relenting he cuddled up behind her, the t-shirt rubbed against his bare chest, her smooth legs against his pyjama bottoms.

He couldn't resist the scent and feel of her as his hand crept beneath the edge of her t-shirt; over her stomach he cuppe
d
her small pert breast. She sighed softly as his fingertip nudged the nipple and rolled it between his finger and thumb. Slowly she turned to face him, her lips softly touching his, tentative and shy. Zach was free falling back into memories of a past life as he lifted the fabric from her body. His tongue parted her lips in a soul, searching kiss. Charlotte moved her hands down his smooth back and slipped into the waistband, pulling them down as far as she could reach. He wiggled and shuffled them off, feeling her naked and pressed against him.

“Make love to me Zachary” she whispered. Slowly he pushed her down into the soft mattress beneath them and let his lips and tongue pay homage to her flesh. Soft kisses he rained onto her skin in a journey to her centre. Tenderly he parted her lips and let his tongue dip inside as if tasting her for the first time. He moaned and then reared up to enter her, all the while her fingers were on his lower back, glancing over his scar, as if she was trying to read it lik
e
braille. He moved inside her, she felt soft and yielding as the ripples of her orgasm washed his away in a tidal wave. All the while her eyes had been locked onto his, trying to reach his soul.

Lying next to her she took his hand in hers.

“I need to tell you something”

“What?”

“I'm pregnant. It might be yours or it might be Mitchell's”

In the darkness their expressions were unseen, but Zach felt a sob rising inside her as she shook. He was dumbstruck, swallowing hard as he tried to decide what to say or do next.

“That's wh
y
it’
s
so important that I find out if Mitchell is still alive” she continued “but I understand if you would rather not help me anymore”

At that moment, something buckled inside Zach, the cage bars that had kept his heart protected through the many girls and the few guys he had fucked between losing Sasha and finding Charlotte.

Holding her hand even tighter in his he took a deep breath.

“I guess I need to tell you some stuff about my past. I'm just not sure if you're strong enough to hear it”

“I can only promise to listen” she hesitantly replied. The darkness hid the fear in her eyes. She rolled into him, placing her head on hi
s
chest
,
she could feel his heartbeat increasing. Then he started to talk.

I first met Felicity at her health spa when I was playing tennis with Daniel. We were eighteen, thought we knew it all. Felicity started to talk to us, every guys fantasy an older, attractive woman. She gave us three months full membership of the club and started to turn up whenever we were there. Daniel was more confident than me and let her make the move on him one day when the three of us were in the Sauna together. I tried to leave but Felicity told me to stay, she somehow guessed that I liked to watch.

It used to happen quite a lot, in the Sauna or even in her private room. She made the two of us do things to her and to each other. We were like her personal sex slaves. All the while she dangled treats and wealth at us like carrots to donkeys. New watches, tickets to concerts, money! Then one day I met Sasha. She was the aerobics teacher at the Health Spa, she was twenty one, older than me but younger than Felicity.

Zach paused, lost in the moment of his first sighting of Sasha.

I plucked up the courage to speak to her and then over the weeks and months we became a couple and fell in love I guess. Felicity was seeing Daniel quite a bit and he didn't seem to mind that she was married. I didn't realise that Felicity was jealous of what I shared wit
h
Sasha
,
Daniel gave me the impression that he was more than enough for her. Then she invited us to one of her house party's we had no conception of what happened there until we arrived. Felicity had grumpily consented to me taking along Sasha so we all just turned up prepared to have a great time and enjoy the free food and drink on offer.

The house was filled to the rafters wit
h
wealth
y
couples and various handsome single men and glamorous women. Sasha stood out with her polished brown skin and dark cropped hair. Daniel hung around with us as Felicity was paraded on the arm of her rich sugar daddy husband. You could tell she enjoye
d
ever
y
second of being centre of attention. Then the crowds thinned at midnight and that was when I realised that Sasha had disappeared. I found Daniel who ushered me down into what looked like a wine cellar but was in fact Felicity's play room.

Men and women were gathered round in a semi-circle, most had discarded their designer clothes for equally expensive underwear. Felicity ordered Daniel to strip me down and then she chained me up alongside another couple of men and women. Then Felicity's husband Anthony entered and everyone moved back to reveal the dais in the centre of the room. Blindfolded, shackled and gagged to it was my Sasha. She was so still that I guessed she had been given something.

I struggled to get free but all that did was incur the wrath of Felicity. She carried a riding crop and she tapped me with it and told me there would be more if I continued to struggle. It felt like hours passed in slow motion as I watched Felicity remove her gag and then start to kiss her. A couple of men on orders from Anthony stepped forward and started to undress Felicity. Her tongue was replaced with others as they crowded around Sasha. I could make out that she was writhing beneath their hands and tongues. I felt sick with rage as the other five people tied up were becoming aroused.

Every so often a couple of men or women would leave the main attraction and tease us with their fingers or mouths. Despite my anger and loathing I was hard and longing for release. Anthony ordered Sasha to be moved so that she was kneeling instead and then he entered her from behind, everyone else stepped back to allow him the honour of going first. I could feel the tears running down my cheeks as I choked on my sobs. They all took their turn with her, the spunk ran down her thighs and the smell of sex permeated the room.

I watched her slump down after the last withdrawal and I knew that she was hurting as much as I was. The crowd turned to us then, still chained they sucked and teased. Felicity made a bee-line for me and I could see the look of triumph in her eyes. They had completely debased my love in front of my eyes and I had been helpless to prevent it. Tears streamed down my cheeks as she tugged me off, my cu
m
dripped wasted onto the floor, mingling with all the others there.

Felicity then released Sasha and bought her to stand in front of me. She said the words “Zach is mine, you can never have him” Then she handed Sasha to Anthony in exchange for a burning branding iron.

Zach took a deep breath, aware of the tremble in his voice and the sob that was lodged deep inside his chest. He felt Charlotte's hand start to rub gently over his biceps.

“Zach, you don't need to continue” she soothed, her voice sounded distant in his ears.

Turning me around she burned her initials into my skin, the pain was immense but not as much as my heart breaking. I knew that I could never be with Sash
a
again
,
I knew she would never love me again for allowing that to happen. The heat and pain made me black out as the next thing I knew Daniel was releasing me from the chains. I noticed that he was branded, the same as me 'FCA'. He led me back into the house and a room where I could stay.

The rage I felt was immense and after finding my clothe
s
lai
d
out on the bed I got dressed and went in search of our hostess. She was waiting for me in her office, the room that we went into. I shouted and screamed as she sat there, two men either side of her. I promised to reveal what had been going on at the party but she just laughed at my threats. With nothing else to say Felicity held out a cheque for my silence and continued participation at future parties. It was such a large amount as she tucked it into my jacket pocket. Taking the time to run her hand down my chest and then around to slap against the tender skin of my brand.