Wanted (Addicted Trilogy Book 3) (9 page)

Alek

Holy fuck, she is infuriating!
I had half a mind to go over to her place, throw her over my knee and give her
the spanking she deserved. I was losing my patience. I was trying my best,
trying to be the man she needed me to be, but I was struggling.

My phone chimed with a message from Alexa, letting me know they
were in a cab and on their way home. After what Sara had insinuated, I lost it,
but instead of saying something I would later regret, I simply hung up on her. Then
I texted her friend. Thankfully, she was in agreement, ushering Sara from the
club immediately. I was grateful she had someone close to her to look out for
when I couldn’t be there.
 

The more thought I gave it, the more I knew I had to engage the
services of my good friend, Calvin. He was the one person I trusted over the
years to watch over Sara whenever I couldn’t. He owned his own P.I. firm and he
was the best at what he did. It wasn’t much of a challenge watching her before
because she lived a pretty sheltered life, especially after what had happened.

It was even easier now because she was walking around with a
tracking device in her phone, one she agreed to have.
 
Thankfully, she carried it everywhere with
her. It was how I found her at Throttle, even though it wasn’t a hard guess,
seeing as how I knew both of them loved the place. From her responses, she was
either too drunk to figure out how I’d tracked her or she’d simply forgotten it
was on her phone. Either way, I wasn’t reminding her.

Thankfully, Calvin answered on the second ring.

“Alek. How the hell are you? It’s been a while since I’ve heard
from you. Everything all right?”

Calvin Herdsman was based in California. He’d done a lot of
traveling for me over the years, but luckily he wouldn’t have far to go with
the new assignment.
 

“Depends on what you mean by ’all right’.” I allowed a brief
moment of silence to linger between us before speaking again. “I need your help
again, friend. The woman, Sara Hawthorne, the one you were helping me out with
before? Well, I need you to look out for her for a few days while I’m away on
business.”

 
“Whatever you want, man. You
know I’ll be there to help you. Does she still live at the same address?” I
heard him shuffling through some papers, no doubt trying to find the file he
kept on her.

There was another pause before I answered. “No, she up and moved
to Seattle about a year ago.”

“She did?” he asked, sounding confused.

“Yeah. I’ve been able to keep an eye on her, but I have to go
away for business and would feel better knowing you had my back while I’m
gone.” I didn’t want to divulge all the details of our recent relationship. The
only thing I wanted to hear from him was that he would drop everything to help
me out. I knew it was short notice, but I’d pay him whatever he wanted if it
meant her safety and my peace of mind. I wasn’t so crazy this time around
because Samuel was no longer a threat, but to be safe I wanted an extra pair of
eyes on her.

“Okay, yeah, sure. When do you want me to be there?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? Damn, Devera, nothing like giving me some notice.” He
blew out a breath of air before continuing. “Okay, let me move some stuff
around and I’ll be there in the morning.”

“Great. I’ll send you all the details.”

“Sure thing. Talk to you later.”

A wave of relief washed over me after we’d hung up. I needed to
start making the transition back to the way I handled things before.

Before I’d made the best and worst decision of my life.

Before, for my own selfish reasons, I walked into her shop and
drew her into my world.

I texted Sara to let her know I was leaving early the next day
and would be away for a week. I’d initially thought it would only be three days
but more issues arose with the new building plans. I also informed her I would
be back late Friday and would see her then.

She didn’t text me back. I wasn’t surprised.

~~~~

It’d been four days since I last had any communication with Sara,
and it was weighing heavier on me than I thought it would. But I couldn’t
break. I had to be strong.

Calvin provided me with daily updates. So far, everything was
fine; nothing out of the ordinary. He reported back she retired to her
residence after she closed up the shop, never leaving her apartment once she
was home.

I knew she was hurting, and the thought alone was almost enough
to make me pick up the phone and give in, to tell her I was an asshole and beg
for her forgiveness. When those moments crept up on me, I instantly grabbed a
drink, downing it to abate my momentary weakness.

My phone alerted me to a text as I was preparing to take a
shower. I’d assumed it was work-related, so I was surprised it was actually
from Sara.

        
We
need to talk when you come home –S

I was dreading our talk because it would mean the end of us. The
more time which passed without communication was more time for it not to be
real. But once we talked, once we ended our relationship, it would cut me. Deep.

        
Ok

My response was curt. I knew Sara was dealing with this all by
herself, going about it blindly because I refused to let her know what I was
thinking. But I couldn’t tell her because all she would say was that I was
being ridiculous and somehow, she would talk me out of it. Then I would be back
to square one.

Breaking it off with her was the only thing I could think of to
try and sever the hold we had on each other.

I would wither up inside, but I could go back to keeping her
safe. Not once in the eight years I watched her did anything bad happen to her.

After I forced myself into her life, she was attacked in the
hallway of a bar, kidnapped by a psycho, shot, rushed into surgery and spent
eight goddamn days in the hospital.

I only had a few days left before I said goodbye to the only
woman I’d ever loved.

Sara

Five hours.

Five hours to go until I demanded some answers from Alek. He’d
arrived back in town a day early but went straight into the office. He messaged
me telling me he would be tied up all day in meetings.

More avoidance.

I couldn’t go on the way I had been. It was too much. The
constant worrying where our relationship stood, if he still loved me, if he
still wanted to be with me. His behavior as of late was odd. It was indicative of
someone who wanted out.

For the life of me, I couldn’t understand why.

~~~~

“No, I haven’t. Because I don’t want to have the conversation
with him over the phone, Alexa. I need to see his face,” I whispered, doing my
best to not let anyone else overhear. I would have gone into the back, but I
was needed in front to man the shop until Megan was done with her current
arrangement. The order was already running behind, and I didn’t want to delay
it any more than necessary.

As I turned to face the door, a woman walked in. Normally, I
wouldn’t have paid her much attention, but there was something about her which
instantly set me on alert. She made eye contact with me and even scowled. Maybe
she was a dissatisfied customer. Thankfully, I’d never dealt with one before,
but there was a first time for everything.

“Lex, I gotta go. Talk later,” I rushed as I hung up the phone. Taking
a step around the counter, I approached the surly woman with my guard up, not quite
knowing what to expect.

“Can I help you with something?” I asked, taking another step
toward her.

She looked to be someone who’d come
from money, or at the very least put on the allusion of having money. She was
tall and thin, her clothes fitting her like a glove. Her dark blonde hair ran
past her shoulder blades, a trendy cut which she worked at every angle.
 
Minus the dour look on her face, she was
rather beautiful, but something told me her personality was going to ruin all
of it.

 
“You sure can, Sara,” she
hissed. The air of haughtiness in her tone was certainly off-putting and my
guard was on high-alert.
 

Clenching my fists behind my back, I didn’t want to let her see how
she was affecting my mood. My face was expressionless but my body had tensed
greatly. “Well, you appear to have me at a disadvantage. It seems you know who
I am, but I have no idea who you are, Miss…” The more time I spent in her
presence, the more I knew the turnout wasn’t going to be pleasant.

“Bossett. Cora Bossett. Alek’s fiancée.”

Don’t react. Don’t give her
the satisfaction.

Silence loomed between us. She’d certainly come out of nowhere,
denying me the opportunity to prepare for such a statement. Had my relationship
with Alek not been so rocky as of late, I would have laughed right in her face.
But I didn’t. I didn’t react at all. Initially, at least.

She looked pleased with herself as she stood there glowering at
me. Releasing a deep breath, I took two steps closer, fisting my hands at my
sides. It was time to set her straight.

“Don’t you mean ex-fiancée?” I returned her nasty scowl, glare
for glare.

“No, sweetheart,
current
fiancée. We recently got back together, as I knew we would. So you see, honey,
he no longer has any need for you.”

I
so
wanted to punch
her in the face. How dare she walk into my shop and spew such word vomit at my
feet. She had some real nerve.

While anger flushed my face, my heart was breaking, a little bit
for each second I stood in her presence. Before Alek started acting funny, I
would have said she was crazy. There was no way in hell he’d ever take her
back. He hated even talking about her. But my head was telling me to be
careful. There was something amiss, and I needed to find out exactly what it
was.

Don’t show all your cards. Don’t
let your guard down.

“I don’t believe you. He would never take you back, especially
not after what you did to him,” I spat, backing up. If I didn’t put some
distance between us, I was going to be hit with assault charges.

A quick look of shock crossed her face but was quickly replaced
by disgust, as if I was nothing, and even having to explain anything to me at
all was beneath her.

Completely ignoring my statement, she glanced around my shop in
boredom. Finally, she turned her stare back in my direction.

“Woman to woman, I’m giving you the courtesy up-front to let you
know Alek is done with you because he’s come to his senses. Finally. He’s done
slumming,” she declared haughtily.

It took all of my reserve not to jump on her and tackle her to
the ground. I envisioned snatching her by the hair and punching her in the
face, maybe even breaking her perfect little nose. My thoughts ran rampant
inside my head, helping to contain some of my anger. I couldn’t be arrested for
merely thinking it.

“Are you done?” I was able to pull off a calm tone, even though
inside I was a mess. As she flicked her hand in my direction, I caught sight of
the huge rock on her ring finger. She noticed, the smirk on her face proving
so.

She rotated her hand back and forth, allowing the ring to catch
the light and practically blind me. “He gave this back to me last night. He
said he carried it with him at all times, hoping I would come back to him
someday.”

When she saw my face fall, she grinned. She was done. She had
accomplished what she set out to do, which was to hurt me.

 
“You need to leave now. Don’t
ever step foot in my shop again.”

“Fine by me, as long as you stay away from my fiancé.”

“Get out!” I shouted. She laughed as she sauntered out the front
door.
 

As soon as she was gone, Megan walked into the front of the shop,
no doubt having heard some sort of commotion. “Are you okay, Sara?”

“I will be, Megan. I will be,” I repeated, not entirely believing
my own words. Grabbing my purse and keys from the back room, I rushed to leave.
“Megan, can you ask Matt to close up for me when he comes back? Please. Tell
him I’ll talk to him later.”

“Sure thing,” she answered as the door closed behind me.

Rushing to my car, I immediately dialed Alek’s number. It went
straight to voicemail. When I tried his office, his secretary told me he was in
a meeting and wasn’t to be disturbed for any reason.

I raced home in hopes Alexa was there so I could tell her
everything.

I needed someone to talk to and since I couldn’t reach the one
person I needed most, my best friend was the next best choice.

Alek

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

What the hell is that
sound?
 
Still groggy from passing out
drunk, I couldn’t wrap my head around where the irritating noise was coming
from. I closed my eyes again in hopes it would stop.

Buzzzzzzzzzzzz.

My lids parted again, trying to figure out where I was before I
even attempted to get up. Taking a few deep breaths, the room spinning around
me, I made to stand up but instead fell on my ass.

Goddamn it! That hurt.

Buzzzzz.
I glanced over
at my phone, but it wasn’t making any noise. The only other thing it could be was
the front gate.

Buzz. Buzz.

Scrambling off the floor took every ounce of energy I had left in
me. Whoever was out there was going to surely get an earful from me. Unless it
was Sara.

Shit!
I wasn’t ready to
deal with our relationship yet.
 

I shook my head as I reached for the intercom. “Hello,” I
mumbled.

There was a crackling sound before I heard a woman’s voice. “Hi,
sweetheart. Can you let me in, please?” I couldn’t place who it was, not at
first, but knowing it wasn’t Sara gave me a fleeting feeling of relief.

“Who is this?”

“It’s me, silly. Cora. Can you please open the gate so I can come
up?”

What the hell is going on?
Was I still dreaming? Cora? No, it couldn’t be. Why would she come back here
after all this time? And why the hell was she calling me ‘sweetheart’ and
acting as if we were still on good terms? I made it clear the last time we saw
each other I wouldn’t be held responsible for my actions if she ever came near
me again.

Even though more than a year had passed since I laid my eyes on the
despicable woman, my hatred for her was still as intense as the day I found out
she aborted my child.

“Go away, Cora. I’m not letting you in.” I walked away from the
intercom but she was relentless.

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

“If you don’t let me in, Alek, I’ll stay out here and lay on the
horn, disturbing whatever neighbors you have.”

“What do you want? Why are you here?” I mumbled.

“Let me in so we can talk, then I’ll go if you still want me to. Please,
sweetheart.”

“Don’t fucking call me that,” I barked. I reached up and grabbed
my neck, pulling down to assuage the tension which was quickly building. If I
didn’t let her in, she would definitely cause a scene, which would only make
things worse. It was already almost midnight and I was fucking cranky and tired,
never mind a pulsating headache was already starting to rattle my brain.

Deciding to find out what she wanted, I pushed the button to open
the gate. The quicker I let her in, the quicker I could kick her out.

My doorbell rang thirty seconds later and I was instantly
enraged, mainly because she was forcing me to deal with my past. Seeing her
again was going to put me in a dark mood for a while to come, and I had enough
on my goddamn plate.

Looking back on my time with Cora, I realized I never truly loved
her, not like I loved Sara. There was simply no comparison. Which was why when
she cheated on me, I was able to cut ties without a second thought. But when I
found out she killed my child on purpose because I wouldn’t take her back, that
was the clincher which pushed me from not loving her to full-on hating her.

Ready to engage the crazy bitch, I flung open the front door. I
knew I looked like I was hit by a train, but I didn’t care. I was far from
trying to impress her. Hell, she was lucky I didn’t reach out and throttle her
right where she stood.

Our eyes connected but neither one of us spoke. I was instantly
hit with all of the bad memories of the last conversation we had. After a
minute of simply standing there and staring at each other, she decided my
rudeness was no longer tolerable. She smiled and pushed past my foreboding
body, entering my personal space.
 

I think I was still drifting between reality and drunken stupor,
the alcohol wearing off a little the more I was forced to be in Cora’s
presence.

After I shut the door, I turned around and realized I was only
half-dressed. I’d quickly thrown on my jeans which had been tossed over the
edge of the couch. They weren’t even buttoned all the way, for God’s sake.
 

She was busy taking in every facet of my home, her eyes widening
the more she looked around. She was definitely impressed. If she’d only kept
her legs closed, she could have had it all. But thankfully, she and my cousin
Cameron were cut from the same cloth.
 
Her betrayal essentially forced me to find my one true love.
 

Sara.

My thoughts flitted to the woman who was going to hate me soon
enough.

“What do you want, Cora?” I pulled her attention to me, and it
was a mistake. The way she drank me in actually gave me chills. I hated I was
standing in front of her, shirtless and pants half-undone.

“I’ve come to win you back, sweetheart.” She took a step toward
me but I held up my hand. One look in my eyes and she knew she would be in for
it if she came any closer.

Teeth clenched and jaw squared tight, I yelled out again. “Don’t
fucking call me that, Cora.” My sudden rage startled her, and she took a step
back. As I was about to tell her there was no way in hell I would ever take her
back, my doorbell rang.

Now
who the hell is here?

I turned back toward the door and as I tried to control my anger,
I gripped the handle and swung it open. Standing there on my doorstep, at
midnight, was Sara. She looked a little worse for wear but still stunningly
beautiful. Her eyes were red and puffy. There was no argument she’d been
crying.

“Sara, what are you doing here?” I was shocked she’d showed up so
late but then again, I didn’t blame her. It wouldn’t have taken me long to
barge in on her if the roles were reversed, and she was the one who was constantly
blowing me off. I knew she wanted to give me some space, most likely believing
the whole time I would work through whatever shit I was dealing with. “How did
you get past the gate?”

Clearly my question was rude because the look on her face told me
so. “It was open
."
Taking a deep breath, she continued with, “I
know we haven’t spoken a lot recently, but we really need to talk, Alek. Enough
is enough already. I need to know what the hell is going on between us.” A
brief look of relief washed over her, and I was positive it was because she’d
finally been able to broach the subject I’d been avoiding. I remained silent,
not quite sure what to do or say.

She started to speak again but stopped abruptly.

Sara was no longer looking at me but instead at something behind
me. Or should I say
someone
behind
me? It was then I realized Cora was the someone she was staring at.

Sara’s body instantly tensed, her breathing becoming shallow and
rushed. Her hands clenched at her sides as she tried to control the wave of
emotions rushing over her. She glanced back and forth between Cora and me,
stopping to take in my half-naked, disheveled body. When her eyes finally
rested on my face, she silently pleaded for an explanation. However, I couldn’t
give her one. I had no idea what Cora was doing there, but it didn’t really
matter. Knowing what was obviously running through Sara’s mind was enough to
put a shadow of doubt on our relationship. And in that moment, I did something
I would soon regret.

I let her assume the worst.

It was a coward’s way out, I knew. But I thought if she hated me,
it would make it easier on her in the long run. Anger was always better than a
broken heart. While fury would fuel her to push forward, a broken heart would
devastate her.

It didn’t take long before her eyes turned cold.

Hurt and resentment danced with sadness and rage.

The woman standing before me was quickly becoming someone I didn’t
recognize, and I hated the fact I was the man responsible.

“Sara…” I only called out her name. Nothing more. There was so
much I wanted to say to her, but I didn’t.

While I knew her heart was breaking, she remained stoic, simply
stepping closer. Tears had broken free and cascaded down her cheeks. Then I saw
the emotion in her eyes switch to full-on anger. “I hate you!” she seethed
before turning and fleeing to her car.

I knew she meant what she said. She truly hated me.

Join the club. I hate
myself right about now.

My soul ached. None of my actions could justify hurting her the
way I had, and it wasn’t only that night. I’d slowly been withdrawing from her,
tearing open her heart and confusing the hell out of her. I made her second-guess
our relationship. I even made her second-guess my love for her.

I flip-flopped back and forth so many times about what I should
do.

Well, it seemed my decision
was just made for me.
 

I could only hope in time she would forgive me, and although
anger was the better emotion to have then, I hoped it didn’t end up consuming
her.

Once I closed the door, I spun around only to catch Cora leering
at my naked chest. The woman was unbelievable. I was still in shock she showed
up at my house.

Without giving me the time to mourn the loss of my relationship,
Cora started in with her shit.

“You should know Sara and I had a little chat today.” She
smirked.

No. She didn’t say what I
think she did. The alcohol is messing with me.

The sneer on her face challenged me.

“
What the fuck did you
say?”
 

Noticing the look of pure rage on my face caused her to retreat. She
stuttered over her next words. “I went…t…to see her today at her little s…shop.”
She was pissed I’d made her stumble over her words, so she squared her
shoulders before continuing with the rest of her story. “I told her we were
back together, so she should leave you alone.”

She knew her mistake as soon as the last syllable left her lying
lips.
 

My movements were too quick for her to react.
 
Snatching her up, I crushed her bony body to
mine. We were practically nose to nose. Gripping her arms tight, I yelled in
her face. “You…bitch! Don’t you EVER step foot near her again. Do you
understand me? EVER!” I’d never raised a hand to a woman in my life, but I was
finding it difficult to control myself. All I wanted to do was squeeze the life
from her. After everything she’d done to me, she added hurting Sara to her
list. Although, I could add myself into that category, as well.

“Alek, you’re hurting me.” She tried to struggle in my grasp, but
it was useless. I made sure to hold on to her longer so she knew how serious I
was.

As soon as I released her, she stumbled backward. “Alek, baby. I
think we owe it to ourselves to give our relationship another try and work this
out. We were so good together. And I’m sorry…about everything. Please.”

This bitch is crazy.

I shook my head in amazement. I actually felt sorry for the
pathetic woman standing in front of me. Not only was she delusional, but she
was insane if she thought I would ever take her back.

The longer she stood in front of me, the more I suspected
something else was up. There was no way she truly thought she could win me over.
So, what else could it be?

I was lost until something occurred to me. I saw the way her eyes
lit up when she walked into my house. She came from money, so she shouldn’t
have been so impressed.

 
Then a light bulb went
off.

“You need money, don’t you, Cora?” My words made her turn away
for a split-second.
Bingo.
She was here
for a handout. But something else didn’t add up, either. No way would Cora show
up at my house, unannounced in the middle of the night, confess she told Sara
what she did and still expect me to give her what she wanted.

No. Someone put her up to it. Someone had convinced her that her
crazy plan would work. Someone who knew how desperate she was.

And I had an idea exactly who it was. Only one other person I knew
had the balls to back such a foolish plan: the guy who was still trying to mess
with me. Well, I’d had enough. I was going to take care of him once and for
all.

 
“Cameron put you up to
this, didn’t he?” She looked stunned I’d actually figured it out. “Didn’t he?”
I roared.

I didn’t give her a chance to deny it before I seized her wrist
and dragged her toward the front door. As soon as I opened it, I shoved her
outside.
 
She didn’t fall, but she did
stumble. “Go fucking ask
him
for a
handout because you won’t get one from me. And Cora? If you
ever
come near me or Sara again, you’ll
regret it.
 
Trust me.”

As the door latched shut on my past, I couldn’t help but wonder
what my future would bring.

~~~~

For two months I’d been drowning in grief, and I couldn’t take it
any longer. Sara missing from my life was like my heart being torn from my
chest. I knew I was the one who sliced it out, but at the time I thought it was
for the best. For her. I wasn’t so sure anymore.

I’d witnessed her version of living over the past eight weeks. I
didn’t even know if she was aware I was watching, but I was. Of course I was; I
had to make sure she was all right. Well, physically, at least. It was the
whole reason I’d basically broken it off with her.

A reason I’d instantly regretted.

She was sullen and removed, never venturing out except to her
shop then back home again. I didn’t even think she went to the grocery store,
most likely relying on Alexa to take care of all the mundane daily tasks.