by C Renee
“Lou? Are you alright?” Alex comes up behind me; he kisses my neck and squeezes my waist.
“Yeah, I’m okay.” He seems worried about me, I’ve been thinking on and off all day today. I can’t help it, just seeing all these boxes reminds me of the first day I moved in with Matt. It was a confusing moment for me.
“Louise, don’t just stand there. Come inside to your new home.” Matt stood in the doorway to his house; it felt so unreal to start calling it our home.
“Alright, let me just get my purse and I will be in.” I made my way back to the car and I stood frozen. Was this move a little rushed? It had only been a few months and I knew I loved him but I couldn’t help think this was too quick for us.
I grabbed my bag and walked up the steps to the new house I will be living in.
I’ve been here so many times I’ve lost count but walking through those front doors, it felt different.
“Welcome home Sweetness.” Matt came up to me and planted a heavy kiss on my lips. Matt was happy about me moving in, he should be because he was the one who asked.
“Are you sure everything is okay Louise? You don’t seem happy to be here.” How could I convince him that everything was okay? Plant a fake smile on my face until it became real.
“It’s going to be a while before I get used to things, I am happy to be finally living under the same roof as you.” I pulled him towards me to give him a passionate kiss; I hoped that worked to convince him.
“Let’s go out and celebrate, I will call the boys to meet us at a bar.” I watched Matt walk off into the other room to make a few phone calls.
“Welcome to the family Louise.” Rover came up to hug me; he had always been the nicest to me.
“Thanks, it’s good to be here. Where is everyone else?” I looked around the bar. There was only Rover, Matt and Joey here.
“They will be here soon. They wouldn’t want to miss this celebration. I’ve known Matt a long time and I’ve never seen him this way, not about a woman.” I took comfort in what Rover said.
“Louise my girl.” I turned around at the voice, and I saw it was Jax.
“Hey!” I squealed, I ran towards his open arms. Jax and I had only met but we felt like real family, like he was half of me. Crazy, I know but it’s true.
He lifted me up in his arms for a big hug, I was so glad he came tonight.
“I’m so happy you made it tonight.” I kissed his cheek, out of all Matt’s boys, Jax was by far my favorite and then Rover came second.
“Me too darling, me too.” He sat me back on my feet; he went and greeted the other boys that were here. I felt happy in that moment; my three favorite people in the world were in one place.
“Louise, they are ready to leave. Do you still want to go?” I shake my head out of that memory. This time it’s different, I’m in a good place now and Alex isn’t Matt.
“Yes sorry, I’m just trying to remember everything before we leave for good tomorrow.” I walk over to Alex and embrace him. He has been so good to me lately and I haven’t fully appreciated that. It will all start once we have moved into our new home.
“Give me a kiss Precious.” He looks down at me and smirks, those dimples appear and he is as gorgeous as ever.
I smile up at him and kiss his soft lips. He deepens the kiss but for only a few minutes, we break apart and we both have to catch our breath.
“I’ll see you soon Precious.” Alex leans down and kisses my forehead; my heart skips a beat every time he does that. I don’t know what why that happens but I never want that feeling to stop.
I walk over to the front of the truck and get in to the passenger side. I think the driver's name is James and the two guys in the back are Jake and Joel. They do look alike now that I am paying more attention.
“Are you excited for your new home Miss?” The driver James asks me. I look out the window before I answer him.
“Of course, I just wish the process would hurry up you know.” I don’t bother looking back at him.
We pull up outside my new home and there are more people working on the house. I see men and women carrying in furniture, boxes and food. I’m not even sure what’s going on here. I walk up to one of the ladies who are carrying in a basket full of fruit.
“Excuse me, why are you bringing food to my house?” now that I am up close to her, she is wearing a maid outfit. Alex hasn’t said anything about having maids.
This is nonsense.
“Mr. Knight hired most of these people. Some of us are here because we want to help him but he did tell each and every one of us to make the house feel at home before the two of you moved in. I’m here to bring you and Alex food, another lady will be coming every week to have the house stocked with food. If you would like to know more, please come inside so I can make you a coffee and something to eat.” I can’t believe Alex didn’t tell me about any of this.
“Alright, I am a little bit hungry, but as soon as the three men have unloaded the truck, I must go back. Mr. Knight is in trouble.” I give her a wink.
I follow her into the house and it already feels like home. The kitchen has the table and chairs, bar stools at the counter and the kitchen utensils are neatly on display. I can’t believe how amazing it looks already. I walk over to the kitchen cupboards to check them out. I was right, there is food stocked up in every inch of the cupboard. I walk over to the fridge and that is stocked up with every kind of food imaginable.
“What would you like Mrs. Knight?” The lady walks up behind me and puts the basket on the counter.
Wait, what did she just call me?
“Oh ha, I’m not Mrs. Knight. Just call me Lou.” I turn away and walk towards the window that outlooks the backyard. Alex and I didn’t get a chance to look at it the last time we were here. He never told me we have a pool!
“I’m sorry Lou, I just assumed you were married to Mr. Knight but I didn’t see a ring.” I turn back towards her and I catch her smiling at me. She seems like a lovely lady but this is just creepy.
“No, just his girlfriend. I never got your name.” She unpacks the basket of food and places them in the fridge.
“Helga, I’ve been Mr. Knights kitchen hand since he was a little boy. I help when I can and feeding you is on top of my list.” Alex hasn’t mentioned this woman before; I must ask him when I see him soon.
“It’s nice to meet you Helga, I would like a quick sandwich, I want to wander the rest of the house before I have to go back.” I turn around to explore the rest of my home. I follow the way I came into the kitchen and spot the room that Alex told me would be my gem room and his office.
I walk into the office and I’m stunned. There are two office desks set up, one at each end of the room and in the middle of the two desks are my gemstone cabinets. I can’t believe Alex went to my parent’s house to gather all my things.
He truly is full of surprises.
“Lou, your lunch is ready.” Helga calls me from the kitchen.
I will have to explore upstairs and the backyard tomorrow when we finally get to move in.
I walk into the kitchen just as Helga is putting away the bread in the pantry and the meatloaf into the fridge. I spot the sandwich on the plate, it looks delicious.
“Thank you, I am pretty hungry.” I pick up the sandwich and the flavors of slow cooked meat with a sweet and sour sauce hit my taste buds. Holy hell this woman can cook.
“Mmm, this is so good. Thank you.” I tell her thanks after I swallow my mouthful.
“You’re welcome, I love cooking and I love looking after Alex. Now I get to look after you too.” She turns away from me with a wink and walks out of the kitchen. I quickly finish the sandwich and follow her out of the house.
“Miss, are you ready to head back now?” One of the truck guys walked up behind me. He must have been waiting for me to finish my food. How nice.
“Yes I am, lets head back.” I follow I think it’s Joel back to the truck and get in.
James is back
in the driver’s seat and we are off. I can’t wait to see Alex and tell him how annoyed I am at him. I was not expecting the house to be already done.
“Thank you guys for helping Alex and I with the move.” I blurt out to the guys in the truck. I wasn’t even thinking of saying that. Mouth before mind syndrome.
“That’s not a problem Miss.” Jake said that from the backseat.
“I do have to ask, are you related?” I couldn’t help my curiosity.
“Yes, we are actually triplets.” Joel said that. I had a feeling that was the case but I didn’t want to ask that straight out just in case I was wrong.
“Are you going to be alright here by yourself while I’m at the house?” Alex asks me when I walk into the apartment, I haven’t even been here for more than ten minutes and he is already stressing.
“Yes I’m going to be fine, I’ll finish off boxing the rest of the stuff before you come back.” I turn towards Alex; he has the worry line on his face. I reach my hand between his eyebrows and smooth it out.
“You don’t need to worry about me, you will be back soon.” Alex takes my hand and lays it over his heart. I look up into his eyes and I see so much love and adoration there, it takes my breath away.
“I’ll always worry about you Precious. There are two men from the agency watching the apartment while I’m gone, I don’t want to hear you complain about it. It will give me peace of mind when I’m not here.” He pulls me into his embrace, he is warm and he smells like the woods and cinnamon.
“Fine, but don’t hurry back because of me. If you need to stay longer then stay longer. I will be fine.” I cup his cheek in my hand and I bring his face to mine. I part my lips to kiss him; it’s a sweet goodbye kiss. I want it to last longer but Alex pulls away.
“I won’t be long Lou.” He quickly kisses my lips again before he walks towards to the truck with the triplets.
Once Alex leaves the apartment, I decided to walk around and see if there is anything for me to pack.
The spare room is empty, not even a few boxes lying around. It looks like it’s been cleaned top to bottom, Alex must have been very busy when I was gone. I feel bad because there’s not much left for me to do. I walk towards his room and there are three picture frames that still need packing.
I pick it up and one picture frame is of me. I’m lying on Alex’s bed asleep. Oh my, I’m smiling in my sleep. I can’t believe Alex took this picture and framed it.
The other two are of him and his family, they all look happy together. His brother Damon looks so much like Alex; they could pass up as twins.
I put the three frames into a small box and I carry it out into the kitchen. I place it on top of another box, I look around the room again and I can’t see anything else that needs to be packed away.
I hear the front door open and close, that can’t be Alex because he only just left.
I turn around and I’m faced with a small blonde woman.
She is wearing a long trench coat and a beanie. I have no idea who she is or why she is here.
“Where’s Alex?” The woman asks me.
“He… he isn’t here.” I begin to freeze up when she points a gun at me.
“Don’t fucking lie to me, I’ve been watching the house.” She takes a step closer.
“He isn’t here, he left no more than twenty minutes ago.” I take a slow step back; I want as much distance between us as possible.
“Where is he then? I have a few words I have to say to him.” I watch her as she takes another three steps towards me. The gun is still raised; I’m getting more anxious now because she could easily kill me right now.
I wonder where these men are, the ones Alex was telling me about, the ones who were supposed to watch the apartment.
“Please, he isn’t here. I can’t help you.” I try to reason with her but I doubt it will do anything.
“If I can’t kill him then I guess I will have to settle in killing you.” I watch her face turn into a smile, a really wicked one.
“You don’t want to do that, my life means nothing. You should wait until Alex gets back.” I will say anything to save my life right now.
“No can do, Sweetness. He has to pay for humiliating me. Did you know he left me waiting at a bar for him? He told me to wait and so I did, for 12 hours while he went to that fundraiser and that’s where he met you. ” She snickers.
I take another step back but I come up short when my back hits the wall.
Damn it!
I quickly scan the kitchen counter and I see my phone but it is too far away.
“Don’t even think about it, you move and I will shoot.” She takes another step towards me.
I’m stuck; I don’t know what to do.
I’m scared and I wish Alex were here.
I look around where I’m standing and I see a butter knife just a few inches away from me. Do I quickly grab it and throw it at her?
Will I be too slow and she will shoot me anyway?
I can’t live life being afraid, not after everything I have been through. I decide to quickly grab the knife and just as I was about to throw it at her, she pulls the trigger of the gun.
The noise is so loud; I cover my ears and sink towards the floor.
Two more gunshots were fired and then I hear men yelling.
I can’t tell if I’m hurt or the shock of everything has made me numb.
“Miss Carter, are you alright?” A man in a suit comes to kneel beside me, he checks out my body to see if there are any wounds.
“You weren’t hit, you are very lucky.” He helps me stand but I lose my balance and fall back to the ground.
“Wha… what happened?” I ask the man still staying by my side.
“We got Intel that the stalker was inside the apartment, we still don’t know how she managed to sneak in but once we knew she was in here, we had to take action. She fired the first shot and then my partner took her out.” I look up at him and he is around the same age as my dad, probably just hitting his mid-fifties.
“Is… is she… is she dead?” I had to ask the obvious question.
“Yes, the suspect is dead.” The man replied.
“Let me help you up, I have to contact Alex and remove the body.” He reaches his hand towards mine and pulls me up.
“Thank you.” I don’t look anywhere but at him. I don’t want to see that woman in a pool of blood.
“Follow me outside, don’t look anywhere but at me okay?” He asks me, leading me outside of the apartment. My ears are still ringing from the gunshots; I just want to hold Alex.
We make it outside the apartment and there are a lot of black SUV’s parked. I spot a lot of men in black suits and their guns tucked away.
“Who was that girl?” I asked one of the men.
“The suspect was Holly, she was stalking you and Mr. Knight. She used to work at Mr. Knights company before she partnered up with Matt and his club members.” I don’t want to think that was true. Why would someone be so cruel to want to hurt someone?
I don’t know how long I waited out the front of the apartment until the furniture truck pulled up.
“Louise, Louise!” Alex calls when he jumps out of the truck. I spot him and I run towards him.
He sees me and we meet half way.
“Oh Lou, I’m so glad you’re okay. I’m sorry that I wasn’t here.” He pulls me into his arms and kisses me all over.
I haven’t been more relieved to be in his arms then I am in this moment.
“Alex, it was… it was so scary.” I hug him tighter; I don’t want to go through that again.
“It’s alright now Precious, I’ve got you.” Alex whispers in my hair.
“We will be staying at the new house tonight. We don’t have to come back to the apartment ever again.” He pulls away from me to kiss me on my forehead.
“Come on, let’s go there now.” He kisses me on the lips and takes my hand.
Chapter Twenty-One
Louise
> THE SUN IS BEATING through the glass window and I wake up with a jerk. Not knowing where I am until I’ve looked around the room.
I’m in my new bed, in my new house and Alex is snoring beside me.
He had been up all night last night talking to the agency and he was not happy with them. They let Holly, the stalker into the apartment without them knowing anything until it was almost too late. I tried to get him to come to bed earlier but he wouldn’t get off the phone.
I move to lay on my side, facing the walk in closet and there on my bedside table there is a note and a little black box. My heart is beating out of my ears, I didn’t see this when I went to bed. Did Alex put that there by accident?
I reach over and pick up the note, it reads:
Precious, this is not what you think it is but please wear it tonight.
What is tonight? I don’t remember making any plans with Alex, I mean after what we went through last night I didn’t expect we would be going anywhere.
I open the box and inside there is a blue teardrop topaz necklace and matching earrings.
It has taken my breath away.
I turn the box left and right in the sun and you can see the sparkle that is coming off the surface.
Maybe we had plans and I’ve completely forgotten about them.
“I hope you like them.” Alex sleepy voice rings out in the quite room, he leans over and kisses my shoulder.
“Yes, they are amazing. Thank you.” I breathe; I can’t believe Alex had the time to get me something like this.
“Good, please make sure you wear them tonight and that blue gown you wore to the fundraiser.” I give him a puzzled look; I don’t like wearing something like that out to a casual place.
“It’s our special date tonight, you get to see your family afterward. Just make sure you pack a spare change of clothes.” I still don’t understand why I have to wear the gown.