Love, Lies, and Deception
Page 21
Pulling me to my feet, he kissed me again quickly. “I love you, now go,” he muttered, before turning away to help Kristian. As soon as Alec pulled Justin off of Kristian he collapsed onto the ground, wincing in pain; I couldn’t leave him there.
Shakily, I staggered over to Kristian and fell onto my knees beside him. I glanced down at his leg, and even though there was blood dripping down it only looked like a graze.
“I’m okay,” he said through clenched teeth. “It’s just a scratch.” He winced as he sat up, but he clutched me to him with all the strength he had. “Please forgive me, Mare. I love you and I would never hurt you. It made me sick when I found out what Justin was doing behind my back. All I wanted was you, and to keep you safe from him.”
“I know,” I breathed. “The police will be here soon, Kristian.”
Kristian nodded somberly and closed his eyes. “I accept my fate, Mare. All I want to know is if you forgive me.”
Before I could answer, the gun went off behind me and a searing hot pain spiked in my side. Warm blood soaked through my shirt and I stared at it wide-eyed, shocked. I couldn’t move; I was frozen in place, staring at the red liquid pumping out of the hole in my side.
“No!” Alec and Kristian yelled at the same time.
Turning around slowly, my gaze landed on Alec whose face was flushed in fear. He wanted to come to me, but Justin had the gun pointed straight at his chest. Justin laughed at Alec’s pained expression and sneered, “This wasn’t exactly the way I wanted her to die, but I guess it’ll have to do. Now you’ll get to see what it’s like to watch the woman you love die before your eyes.”
Kristian fumbled quickly behind me, and I hissed as more pain shot through my body. Kristian applied pressure to my wound to help staunch the flow, but then he pulled one of my hands behind my back and laid something cold and hard in my grasp. It was a gun.
With Justin taunting Alec, he had no clue what Kristian was doing. He bent his head lower and whispered in my ear, “You can do this, Mare. You were always the better shot than me, and we only have one chance. He will kill Alec if you don’t do this. That was always his plan. Shoot straight, baby girl, and end this.”
Gripping the gun in my hand, I closed my eyes and the tears started to fall as I remembered what my dad had always said to me when he would take me shooting. It was almost the same thing Kristian just said to me.
He would say, You can do this, princess. Take a deep breath, and with a steady hand keep your eye on the target. If you believe in yourself you will never miss your mark.
Taking a deep breath, I quickly pulled the gun out from behind my back and pointed it straight at Justin’s head. Everything moved in slow motion after that, and even though I’d been shot I was extremely focused.
Justin’s smile slowly faded when he realized what I was doing and I could see his finger about to pull the trigger on the gun that was pointed straight at Alec. My eye was on the target, and I had only one chance to hit my mark.
Without hesitation, I fired off the gun. Suddenly, everything went black.
“Marissa! Marissa, wake up,” Alec cried, gripping my face in his hands. I was slipping in and out of the darkness, but I used all the strength I had to open my eyes one last time.
I was on the ground, and when I looked up both Alec and Kristian were there, each holding one of my hands. The grave expressions on their faces let me know that my condition wasn’t good. Sirens blared out in the distance and I knew they were coming for me.
“What happened?” I asked weakly. “Where’s Justin?”
Both guys hesitantly glanced at each other and back down to me. “He’s dead, Marissa,” Alec informed me warily. “Your dad taught you well.”
Hesitantly, I gazed up at Kristian who smiled and shook his head. “I’m okay, Mare. There was no other way.”
I knew I should feel guilty about killing a human being, but I didn’t. Justin deserved what he got, and to save Alec and Kristian I would do it all over again. “You need to get out of here,” I whispered to Kristian. “Go … now.”
He shook his head and kissed my hand. “I can’t leave you, not like this.”
“She told you to go,” Alec growled through clenched teeth. “I’d listen to her if I were you. I want nothing more than to see you put away, but Marissa seems to think otherwise. She doesn’t need you anymore now that I’m here.”
The sirens grew closer and I knew we were out of time. Kristian closed his eyes and when he opened them a lone tear fell down his cheek. Out of the past two years I’d known him, I never saw him cry. Slowly, he bent down and laid a soft, gentle kiss to my lips.
For my ears only, he whispered, “I will never be too far away from you. I love you, Marissa.”
“Leave,” Alec yelled pushing Kristian away from me. My grasp on his hand severed and he was gone. I loved him, too. I was going to miss him, but my heart belonged to Alec if he’d still have me after what I did.
“Good-bye Kristian,” I whispered, feeling the hot tears leave my eyes.
My vision started going blurry and the darkness started coming again. I was so cold that I shivered uncontrollably. “Hang on, baby, they’re coming. You’re going to get through this,” Alec cried. “I love you, Marissa. Please don’t leave me again.”
“Alec …” I began softly, “… I love you, too. I’m not going anywhere.”
Those words were a lie because in the following second I was gone … the darkness took me.
When I woke up, I thought I was in heaven, but then realized I wasn’t because of the pain in my side and the hard lump of a mattress under my body. Slowly, I opened my eyes to the stark white walls of the hospital and Alec sound asleep in the cot beside me. His arm was outstretched so that he could keep his hand on top of mine on the bed.
The room was filled with dozens of flower bouquets and it smelled heavenly. The early morning light started to filter in through the windows, and as if it called Alec from his sleep, he stirred and opened his eyes. He gazed at me once, but had to do a double take to see if he really saw that I was awake.
I smiled. “Yes, I’m awake and alive apparently. I thought I died.”
“You almost did,” he replied sadly. “If you would’ve lost any more blood, you would have.”
The silence grew thicker as we sat there and stared at each other. There were so many things left unsaid that I didn’t know where to start. “I have to tell you something,” I said regretfully.
Alec put his finger to my lips. “No, you don’t. Trust me, Justin made sure I knew every sordid detail. I don’t need to hear it again.”
Lowering my head, I let the tears fall. “I’m so sorry, Alec. I was so hurt after what you did in Denver, or what I was made to think you had done. I don’t expect you to ever forgive me for my actions.”
My chest ached and I didn’t have the guts to look him in the eyes; I was too ashamed. Alec lifted my chin with his hands. “Look at me, Marissa.”
Slowly, I opened my eyes and gazed back at him. “I’m not going to lie, I was furious when I found out what you did, but I know we all make mistakes. Trust me, I’ve made plenty. It took all I had not to kill Kristian when I saw him. It makes me sick to think of him touching you. When Justin called me and told me the things he was going to do to you when he found you, I went hysterical. I called you over and over hoping you would pick up your phone, but you never did. Then, when he found you …”
I squeezed his hand. “I’m okay now. He can’t hurt me anymore.”
He nodded. “I know, but with Kristian still out there I’m afraid it’ll never be over. Why did you let him go? What if he comes back for you?”
“Kristian isn’t going to hurt me. You should know that by now.”
Alec sighed and gazed wearily at me. “He was obsessed with you, Marissa. The authorities tried to find this girlfriend of his, but it turned out she didn’t exist. It was a ploy so you would allow him to get close to you without you thinking he wanted to get romanti
cally involved. I must say it was a clever trick and it worked.”
Closing my eyes, I sighed and hung my head. How many more lies am I going to discover?
“What else did you find out?” I asked.
He pursed his lips. “Nothing much on Kristian really, just that him and Justin were from California and their parents were living off in Europe somewhere. After Lindsey died, the police found medical records where Justin tried to kill himself but failed. That was done shortly after her death.”
“Does Emily know all of this?” I asked hesitantly.
Sighing, Alec nodded and brushed the hair off my forehead. “Yes, sunshine, she does. When she couldn’t locate Justin the other day she went crazy trying to find him, only to find out from me and Detective Michaels that he was the killer. She left Boone to go to her parents’ house, but she should actually be here sometime soon along with your sister.”
“What will happen to me since I killed Justin?”
Alec smiled. “Nothing’s going to happen to you. You get to go on with your life just as you planned.”
“What’s going to happen to you?” I asked. “Where will you go from here?”
I didn’t want him to leave me, but if that’s what he wanted I wasn’t going to stand in his way. I held my breath waiting on his answer.
Cupping my face, he leaned over and laid a tender kiss to my lips. “I guess I’ll go wherever my heart takes me, and right now it belongs to you. I don’t want to be anywhere else. It’ll take some time to get over what happened, but I have to believe we’ll be okay.”
Releasing my breath, I sighed and pulled him to me. I laid my forehead against his and smiled. “All I want is your forgiveness. I’ll spend every day from here on out trying to make everything up to you. And you will always have my heart. Just promise me you’ll keep it safe.”
I could feel the love pouring out of Alec into me. It gave me a renewed sense of hope. Maybe things would work out all right. We’d survived facing death together, but now we had to face being from two different worlds. If we truly loved each other it would work. I had to believe it would work.
“I promise,” he whispered against my lips. “Your heart will be safe with me … always.”
To my husband – Thank you for supporting me in my dreams and helping them come true. I also want to say how much I appreciate your patience. I know the house is a mess sometimes, but it all pays off in the end. To my girls, I love you both and I hope that one day you will follow your dreams and what’s in your heart as well.
To my nieces – Thank you for listening to me and putting up with my crazy ways over the years. I also want to thank you for your enthusiasm and your eagerness to read my books. It means a lot that you take a great interest in what I do.
To my lovely PA’s, Jaime Radalyac and Kim Walker – You ladies are the best and I couldn’t have asked for better. Thank you for being there for me, and always there when I need you. I appreciate everything you do for me.
To Melissa Ringsted – I just have to say how much I love you for your amazing work and being the sweetest woman I know. I have enjoyed working with you and look forward to many years together.
To my readers – You all are amazing and I’m thankful each and every day that you’ve taken a chance on me. Some of you have become very close friends and I love you all dearly. Your support is what makes me love to write, and I hope to continue writing books that you love.
Finally, to my faves – Amber Garcia, Jenna Pizzi, and Jimie Castillo, you ladies have been my hugest supporters and I would seriously be lost without you. I am honored to call you my friends. Your love and support has picked me up when I was down, and helped me conquer my fears. I love you all so much.
L.P. Dover lives in the beautiful state of North Carolina with her husband and two wonderful daughters. She’s an avid reader that loves her collection of books. Writing has always been her passion and she’s delighted to share it with the world. L.P. Dover spent several years in college starting out with a major in Psychology and then switching to dental. She worked in the dental field for eight years and then decided to stay home with her two beautiful girls.
Her works consist of the Forever Fae series, and the Second Chances series. She’s really excited to be able to experience writing in the different genres. Her reading used to consist of nothing but suspense thrillers, but now she can't get away from the paranormal/fantasy books. Now that she has started on her passion and began writing, you will not see her go anywhere without a notebook, pen, and her secret energy builder … chocolate.
Other Titles by LP Dover:
FOREVER FAE SERIES
Forever Fae
Betrayals of Spring
Summer of Frost
SECOND CHANCES SERIES
Love’s Second Chance
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Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Acknowledgments
About the Author
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