Wanted (Addicted Trilogy Book 3) (17 page)

Sara

A week had gone by. Work was busy, as usual, thank God. Alek and
I had been spending all of our free time together. Life was good. But it became
even better…when Alek proposed.

That we live together.

For good.

It was a no-brainer.

I said yes right away.

I’d been staying at his house almost every night, so the move
made sense.

We were it for each other.

At first, I was hesitant to broach the subject with Alexa, even
though I was sure she knew it was coming. I still felt bad leaving her all
alone in the apartment. As soon as I found enough courage to talk to her about
it, she shut me down, telling me it was about time.

Figuring it was as good a time as any, she informed me she and
Braden were having the same exact conversation, with one minor difference. She
wasn’t quite sure if she wanted to take the leap yet. Braden was pushing for it,
but my dear friend was afraid of losing herself in the relationship. She wanted
to still keep her independence, something Braden was trying to be understanding
about.

I was lost in thought when a voice startled me.

“Sara? Did you hear me? Did you want to go?”

I turned around to see Megan hovering over my right shoulder,
watching me put together an order for a delivery.
 

“Huh?” I asked, continuing to arrange the gardenias until they
were perfect. “Sorry, Megan. What did you ask me?”

She sighed, almost as if she was annoyed. But her tone when she
spoke again was anything but. “I asked if you wanted to go to Throttle tonight.
There’s a new band playing I’m dying to check out.” Rocking back and forth on
her heels, she asked, “So, what do you say? Are you in?”

My first thought was that Alek might end up showing up at the
club, being the owner and everything, and what kind of tension it would cause
between the two of them. But the bigger Megan’s smile became, the less I
worried about it.

 
“Sure. Sounds like fun. Why
don’t we invite Alexa and Matt to go with us? They love Throttle, and I’m sure
they would be up for some new musical talent.”
 

Again, she looked annoyed, but as soon as she smiled, I thought
I’d misread her.
 

“Great. You can let them know we’ll be meeting up at eight-thirty.
The band doesn’t go on until ten, but I thought we could relax and hang out before
they start.” Our conversation ended when she took off to help the customer who
had walked in.
 

~~~~

The night had been going well. Everyone was laughing and telling
stories, mainly about some asinine customers who had come into the shop. Thankfully,
there weren’t too many of them to regale.

“Then, as he was asking me to fill out the card for him—for his
wife, mind you—he asked if I was free later that night.” Megan grimaced as she
told us her story.

“What an ass,” Alexa bemused. “Guys are creeps.”

“Hey,” Matt fussed. “Not all of us are creeps. Some of us are
good guys, you know.” Even though Matt was smiling, he looked as if something
was bothering him. Matter of fact, he’d been wearing the same look on his face
for a while now. Trying to convince him to open up and talk about it was like
pulling teeth. Worse even. He’d shut down if I pressed too much. I assumed he
would talk when he was ready.

“Some of you are all right,” Megan chirped, smiling wide in
Matt’s direction. I’d seen her curiosity at the way the three of us interacted
together.

Matt was like our brother, warning off unwanted attention. There
were obviously no romantic intentions flitting around our group. Well…with the
exception of Megan, I supposed. The way she watched my friend was a little sad,
only because she seemed to really like him. The one thing he did open up to me
about was when he had to shoot down her advances toward him, an awkward situation
for sure because he didn’t want to hurt her feelings. But she was always
touching him and asking if he wanted to grab drinks after work. He let her down
easy, though, stating he only viewed her as a friend and nothing more.

But tell that to her heart. Or was it another body part which
needed to be told?

 
She watched him when he
flung his arm around Alexa’s shoulder, pulling her in close to give her a kiss
on the cheek. He’d done the same thing with me earlier.

As the night wore on, the more Megan’s mood seemed to sour. I
didn’t know if it was because Matt wasn’t paying her as much attention as he
was to Alexa and me, or if there was something else bothering her altogether.

 
“Can we move closer?”
Alexa asked as she grabbed my hand, already pulling me forward before I even
answered. “I hear these guys are amazing!” she shouted over her shoulder.

Megan and Matt followed us as we approached the stage. The band
was busy chatting with some patrons while they set up their equipment.
 

An hour into the show, I suddenly became a little woozy. I tried
to blame it on the alcohol, especially since I hadn’t eaten in hours. Drinking
on an empty stomach was never a good idea. Taking some deep breaths, praying it
would do the trick, I fumbled to find something to lean against. There were so
many people crowding me, it was hard to breathe. Add in my sudden attack of
dizziness and it didn’t make for a good time.

Staggering toward the edge of the bar, I
accidentally
bumped
into Megan, spilling a bit of her drink on the floor. My other friends were
turned away from me, thoroughly enjoying the music to even notice I wasn’t
okay. She looked annoyed at first then concern washed over her as she saw me
swaying where I stood. And it certainly wasn’t because of the music.
 

I knew something was wrong. My mind instantly flew to thinking
someone had spiked my drink. But I reasoned it was impossible since the only
people who had touched it before me were the bartender, Matt and Megan. They
had each bought a round for the group. In fact, it was Alexa’s turn to buy
next.

“Sara, are you okay?” Megan asked, shoving her shoulder under my
arm to try and keep me steady. Her support of my body was a relief, and I
leaned into her even more. I was terrified I was going to face-plant right
there, in front of everyone.
 

My head spun.

My muscles were like jelly.

My body started to heat up and my vision became cloudy.

My eyes glanced over at Megan, and in a split-second I saw a
strange expression cross her face. I didn’t have the energy to read into it
because it was gone not a moment later.

Suddenly, pain radiated across my cheek. Confusion swept over me
as I stared at the woman holding me up. She’d slapped me in an attempt to keep
me coherent.
 

“Sara, you don’t look well. Do you want to go home?” I heard Alexa’s
voice behind me, but she sounded so far away. It was almost as if I was
dreaming. I couldn’t focus on anything, all of the people around me blurring
into one large mass.

In a way, I was frozen.

I was unable to turn around.

I couldn’t speak to tell my best friend something was wrong.

The last thing I heard was Megan telling her she would take me
outside, that she lived around the corner and would pump me full of coffee,
sobering me up and returning me to our night out.

Promising we would be back in an hour, Megan ushered me from the
club.

It was the last thing I remembered before darkness dragged me
under.

Alek

It was past midnight and I hadn’t heard from Sara yet. Nothing. Not
a text or a phone call to let me
know
she was all right. Didn’t she
know what a mess I would be, leaving me totally in the dark as to what was
going on with her? I wasn’t asking her to call me every hour or anything so
extreme, but a simple check-in every five hours wasn’t asking too much. I
didn’t think so, anyway.

As I picked up my phone to try her, it rang.
Thank God
. I glanced down at the name displayed across the screen
and my heart picked up speed.

It wasn’t Sara at all.

It was Calvin.

I was still waiting on information about Megan. The strange
feeling I’d been harboring simply wouldn’t go away. Instinctually, I knew there
was more to her story than she revealed to Sara. I was hoping it was something
small, but my gut was telling me I should be wary.

And I always followed my gut when it came to the woman I love.

 
“Devera,” I practically
shouted into the phone. I was already pacing back and forth and he hadn’t even
uttered a single word.

“Alek,” he said pensively. “Is Sara with you right now?” The
tremor in his voice made my heart constrict. There was obviously something
wrong if the first words out of his mouth pertained to Sara’s whereabouts.

“No, she’s not. Why? Tell me what you know.” I was becoming
increasingly agitated, my fear overwhelming me to the point I could barely
catch my breath.

“I did a thorough background check on Megan Smith and at first,
there wasn’t anything alarming. She had no priors. Nothing unusual. Until I dug
further back and realized she changed her name eight years ago.” The silence
was deafening. I had no idea where he was going with his story, but mentioning
eight years ago
instantly raised the
hair on the back of my neck. “Alek, her name used to be Denise Colden.”

The world spun around me.

There was no way. It had to be a coincidence.
Don’t freak out.
As much as I tried to
convince myself there had to be another explanation, I knew better.
 

 
“Is it her?” I asked, my
voice dripping with worry. “Is Megan Samuel’s sister?”

I knew the answer, but hearing him say it was still a shock.

“Yes.”

All those years before, I’d done my research. I knew everything
about Samuel Colden, mainly in part due to Calvin’s expertise. I knew
everything about his family, including his sister Denise.
Or should I say Megan?
I knew his family received death threats for
what he’d done to Sara. I was assuming it was why she changed her name, but who
the hell knew.

I should have been more persistent in finding out about her. Or at
the very least, I should have asked Matt for Megan’s information immediately
after Sara’s refusal.

“I don’t understand, Cal. What could she want with Sara?”

“Not sure. Maybe she blames Sara for her brother’s death? All I
know is that she changed her name right after he was put away for kidnapping her,
probably because her family was receiving death threats.”
Bingo
. “Their parents passed away a few years back, so Samuel was
the only family she had left. And now…”

We both knew what came after
and
now.

And now, she blames Sara
for her brother’s death.

And now, she is going to
exact revenge.

But
I
was the one
responsible for killing Samuel. Me. Not Sara. So why not come after me?

A sickening thought rattled my brain as I tried to take in
everything. She
was
coming after me. By
tricking Sara into thinking they were friends, she was going to use her as
bait. To get to me.

The realization both infuriated and relieved me. If Megan’s attention
was truly aimed at me, then Sara would still be alive.

If
my hunch was
correct.

Quickly ending the call with Calvin, I grabbed my keys and rushed
out of the house.

I had to find her, before it was too late.

Trying to call her proved futile.

There was no answer, as I knew there wouldn’t be.

Racing toward Throttle, I prayed no harm had come to her. I
didn’t think I would survive another devastation.

I barely held it together last time when she’d been shot.

Sara

What was with me waking up with mind-splitting headaches? I made
sure not to overdo it, but there I was again. Temples throbbing and a dizziness
which instantly made me sick to my stomach.

It took me awhile to realize I wasn’t lying down. Instead, I was
sitting upright on something cold and hard, my limbs immobile. My eyes were
still closed and I couldn’t really hear anything. It was quiet.

Eerily quiet.

Where the hell am I? How
did I get here?
The last memory I had was getting ready to go out, to meet
everyone at Throttle.
 
That was where the
recollections became fuzzy.
 

Finally, I heard a faint noise, running water off in the
distance. It was muffled but I could make it out. Definitely water.

Then I hear a door open and close, someone slowly walking toward
me and then… nothing. Back to silence. I thought I imagined everything until I
heard a voice.

“Welcome back to the land of the living. For now, at least.” Megan
was the person behind the voice, but why was she speaking in such a hateful
tone?

“Megan? Where are we? Why can’t I remember anything? Are you all right?”
I asked, my speech slurring with each syllable.
 
I knew something was seriously wrong, but I
held tight to the hope everything would be explained and there was a good
reason for it all.

“I’m fine, Sara,” she said, my name disdainful on her lips. “You’re
the one who’s not.”

She moved around me with stealth-like precision. I barely heard
her footsteps before my head was violently forced back, my chair almost tipped
over with the force. I cried out, but it only fueled her anger more. She loved the
fact she was hurting me, but for the life of me I couldn’t understand why.

When she let go, I sprang forward and quickly righted myself.
 
I was so weak, but I forced my body to
cooperate. Forcing my eyes open proved painful, but I needed to see her.

I needed to see what she was going to do to me.

As soon as my lids popped open, they closed just as fast. The
bright light was killing me, causing my headache to spike again. When I tried
to shield my eyes with my hands, I realized I couldn’t move them. They were
restrained behind my back.

“I don’t understand, Megan. Please…please, tell me what’s going
on.”

To say I was confused was an understatement.

“You want to know what’s going on?” she asked, hitting me in the
back of the head with her hand. Circling around to stand in front of me, she
squatted and looked me in the face, her eyes so glazed over, I was positive she
had taken something. “Well, let me tell you a story. Once upon a time, there
was a little girl who had a big brother, a brother who did his best to protect
her. But there was something off about him, something everyone knew about, yet they
still made fun of him. But he couldn’t help the way he was. It wasn’t his
fault.” Her voice cracked, indicating this story was indeed a personal one.

“Then one day, he did something beyond his control because he
thought he was in love. He took a girl to his house and because she was there
for a short time, everyone panicked and caused the situation to escalate. They
called him names and hurt him, locking him away for eight years, probing him
and forcing countless drugs down his throat. They even closed him off from the
only remaining family he had left. Me.”

As I tried to listen to her story, the only person who popped
into my head was Samuel. But it was impossible. He only had one sister and her
name was Denise. The only reason I knew was because I was afraid his family was
going to retaliate on me somehow, so I asked the police for as much information
as they could give me. Thankfully, nothing ever happened.

Until now.
 

My eyes had finally adjusted to the bright light in the room,
allowing me to see Megan standing in front of me, a knife held tightly in her
hand.
  

I finally realized how dire my situation was right then.

“Megan, I don’t understand what this has to do with me,” I squeaked,
afraid if I spoke any louder I’d set her off.

She leaned down and pointed the knife directly in my face, so
close if I breathed the wrong way, it would poke me. “I’ll tell you how you’re
involved.” She took a deep breath before ranting on. “You were the one who led my
brother on. You were the one who gave him false hope. And at the first sign
things weren’t going your way, you decided to tell the authorities he kidnapped
you. You stole him away from me!” she hollered. “
You
did that.”

“Megan, please. I liked Samuel. I did. But he was sick. He
thought we were in a relationship, and he forced me to stay with him against my
will.” I didn’t even finish before she flipped out.

“STOP!” she roared. Before I could take my next breath, a burning
sensation ripped through my arm. Warm liquid seeped out and dripped to the
floor. She’d lost control for a split-second and cut me. “Stop telling me lies.
We both know what happened.”

My eyes cautiously studied her movements as she paced in front of
me. She wielded the knife as if it would deliver the truth. Her version of the
truth. Glancing down at my arm made me wince. It hurt like hell because it was
more than a superficial wound. Multiple stitches would be required to seal the
flesh back together.

Another scar from the past
I can’t seem to escape from.

“The day they released my brother was the best day ever,” she
remembered, a small, crazy smile on her face as she thought of Samuel. She
looked away, lost in a memory which caused her to tear up. “I loved him, Sara. He
was my big brother.” She looked like the old Megan for a second.

“I’m so sorry,” I said, my words having the opposite effect.

“Sorry?” she screamed. “Sorry? Did you honestly just say that to
me, you deceitful bitch?” She swung her fist at me, hitting me right in the
temple and knocking me to the floor. “You and your bastard boyfriend are
responsible for my brother’s death,” she sneered, a look of pure rage
contorting her face. “And now both of you will pay.”

Lying on my side, I tried everything I could to remain as calm as
possible, doing my best not to pass out. I needed to remain alert, especially
since she mentioned exacting revenge on Alek as well as me.
 

All of a sudden, my cell phone started ringing. Wasting no time, Megan
stalked toward my purse and grabbed my phone.

“Well, lookey here. It’s the man of the hour,” she taunted, preparing
to answer it.

“Megan, what are you doing? Leave him out of it. You have me. If
you want to take out your anger on anyone, take it out on me. Please,” I cried,
but my pleas fell on deaf ears. She shot me an annoyed look, answering my phone
in the sweetest of voices.

“Alek, thank God you called. Yes, Sara is with me. She wasn’t
feeling the best, so I brought her back to my apartment to sober up before we
went back.” She was silent as she listened to whatever he was saying.
What the hell
is
he saying?

Her next words broke me. “Why don’t you come and pick her up
then? Yes.” She glanced at me as her lips turned up in an evil smirk. “I’ll be
waiting for you.” She gave him the address before ending the call. We were ten
minutes from Throttle, which meant it would take him thirty minutes to arrive. She
could do all sorts of things to me in that time.

“Megan, please, don’t do this. Please,” I begged her.
 
I
couldn’t bear to drag Alek into yet another dangerous situation, but my hands
were tied. Literally. I was still lying on my side when Megan advanced in my
direction. Seeing as how this wouldn’t be the best presentation for when Alek
arrived, she bent down and lifted me back upright.
 

As soon as she turned her back to me, I fiddled with the rope which
bound my hands to the chair. Soon, I was able to loosen the knot she made. Not
enough to escape. Not yet, at least.
 

“I knew Alek would come for you without question. He’ll always
come for his precious Sara,” she scoffed, hate laced around each word.

“Please, don’t involve him. It wasn’t his fault. It was mine.”

“He shot and killed my brother. How is it not his fault?” She
breached the distance between us with a few angry steps. The knife was pointed
right in my face. “How? Tell me right now before I slice that pretty face of
yours.”

I trembled and hated myself for showing weakness. For some odd
reason, I knew my weakness would only fuel her vendetta even more. “I was the
one who misled Samuel,” I confessed, knowing I was only lying to try and buy
more time. “I was the one responsible for his death, Megan. It was all my fault
and I’m sorry.”

My lies permeated her crazy brain. I knew enough from watching plenty
of shows on people who have snapped to not stick with your version of the
story. If they believed it to be one way, you had to find a common link to keep
you alive. But how long would it work? I had no idea, but I had to give it a
shot.

“He loved you, Sara. All he wanted was to be with you. You should
have stayed with him this time.”

The bitch was stone-cold out of her mind. But at least I was
buying myself some time.
 

She continued to shake her head in confusion as she made her way
down the long hallway. She entered what I could only assume was her bathroom
and slammed the door behind her. I went to work on the rope with enhanced
fervor, trying to give myself the best fighting chance, only stopping when I
heard a noise behind me.

“Sara.” I heard someone whisper my name, but I thought I was
hallucinating. Whatever Megan gave me was strong enough to knock me out, then
keep my head fuzzy when I came to. I continued to work on my restraints. “Sara.”
I heard it again. I turned my head to the side and couldn’t believe who I saw.

Brian was crouched in the window, prying the rest of it open as
quietly as possible so as not to alert Megan. He must have been watching long
enough to know when to make his move.
 
For a brief moment, I was brought back to the night Samuel had managed
to hit him in the head, before abducting me.
 
I cringed at the thought he was putting himself in danger yet
again...for me.

“Brian,” I cried out, clasping my lips together as soon as I made
the noise. I turned my head toward the hallway to make sure she hadn’t heard
me. So far, so good.
 
He raised the
window the rest of the way so he could fit through.

He was on me in two seconds flat, working the rope from its knot
in even quicker time. Once my wrists were free, I grabbed them and rubbed
feverishly, forcing the blood to flow freely. “How did you find me so fast? Alek
just called here.” As soon as I tried to stand, I fell right back down. I
wasn’t strong enough to move on my own.

“Alek called me as soon as he found out Megan was Samuel’s
sister.” I looked on in confusion. “He told me what I needed to know. He gave
me your coordinates and I rushed right over. I was instructed to do everything
humanly possible to get you out of here alive.” Helping me to stand again, he
assured me Alek was going to be there any minute.

It was an assurance which made me fearful.

As Brian tried to usher me toward the front door, Megan came
tearing down the hall, wielding that damn knife and threatening to do some
damage.

“What the fuck are you doing? Move away from her before I kill
you both.” She advanced on us, anger and craziness mixed together to form the
most deadly concoction.

The front door crashed open before she reached us. The loud noise
startled all three of us, and for a split-second, time stood still.

Alek crouched in the doorway, assessing the situation for what it
was. Dangerous. He saw the knife in Megan’s hand then rested his eyes on my
arm. There was still a steady flow of blood dripping from my wound.

Without hesitation, he pushed off the door frame and ran straight
at Megan.

“Alek, no!” I screamed, but it was too late. He had rushed her
and knocked her to the ground, her head bouncing off the hard floor before she
was knocked out cold.
 

When I glanced back at Alek, I saw there was a confused look on
his face but I couldn’t figure out why. Until I ran my eyes down the full
length of his body only to come across a horrific sight.

The knife Megan had brandished was plunged into his stomach. Only
the handle was visible. Screams tore from me as he fell to his knees. I tried
to rush to him, but my body wasn’t cooperating. Falling to the ground, I did my
best to crawl toward the man I loved.
 

Toward the man who had given his life for me.