Landen

by Holly C. Webb

  Landen quickly pulled his phone from his pocket, hoping that just maybe Amelia called Mike for a ride home because she had the flowers.

  “Mike it’s me,” Landen said before Mike even had a chance to say hello. “Is Amelia in the car with you?”

  “Yes, Sir,” Mike replied. Landen could instantly feel himself relax a little.

  “I want you to take her straight home,” Landen instructed him. “I don’t care what she says, I also want you to accompany her up to the penthouse. Don’t let her out in front of the building. Don’t let her out of your sight until you get her home. Is that clear?”

  “Certainly, Sir,” Mike replied.

  “Good,” Landen said before he added. “I think that fucker is in San Francisco, so keep your eyes open.”

  Landen didn’t wait for a response before he hung up the phone. Right now, he just wanted to get home to Amelia, to make sure that she was okay.

  Callum offered to drive Landen back to his penthouse and then insisted that he came up with him, to check that Amelia was okay too.

  Landen knew that Callum was probably as worried about him, as he was about Amelia. Liam had warned them all that Reynolds would probably come after Landen before he went after Amelia.

  In Pete Reynolds eyes, Landen was competition, the one thing standing in the way of him and Amelia. Landen knew that Callum wanted to be sure that he was okay, and if Landen was honest, he was grateful for the support.

  He had just stepped off the elevator, making his way down the hallway to the bedroom when he heard Amelia scream.

  His heart almost stopped as he kicked in the bathroom door, not really knowing what he was going to find. Never in his life had he been more terrified than he was right at that very moment.

  “Landen, promise me,” Liam urged his brother, bringing him back from his thoughts. “I need you to take care of Amelia, let me take care of Reynolds.”

  He looked at Amelia, who was sitting next to Nikki on the sofa. As he did, she looked up at him and gave him a pleading look. He wanted so much to protect her, but he also knew that if he had the chance, he would kill Reynolds.

  But right now, she needed him. She needed him to keep her safe, all he wanted to do was to make her happy once more.

  “I promise,” he replied as he walked across the room, sitting down on the sofa next to Amelia. He instinctively wrapped his arm around her, as she allowed herself to be pulled into his embrace.

  The buzzer on for the door sounded, and Amelia froze. Landen hated that even with everyone there, she was still beyond terrified of Pete.

  Carla hurried to answer the door and came back a few moments later to inform Landen that his mother and father, were on their way up and that Finn was with them.

  “I can’t do this anymore,” Amelia sighed as she pushed away from Landen and stood up from the sofa.

  “Amelia?” Landen said as he gave her a questioning look. “What do you mean?”

  “Look at us,” Amelia exclaimed as fresh tears trickled down her face. “Is this going to be our life forever now? Am I to spend the rest of my life being baby-sat like some precious diamond? Because that’s no life, that’s a prison sentence.”

  “It’s only until we pick him up, Amelia,” Liam assured her, but Landen knew his words had fallen on deaf ears. She had reached breaking point, he knew she was coming undone.

  “I know you think that Liam,” Amelia replied, sounding completely defeated. “But this is never going to end. He is going to keep coming back until one of us is dead. Sometimes I wish he would just get it over and done with, and kill me already.”

  Without saying another word, Amelia turned, heading back down the hallway, towards her bedroom.

  Landen stood up to follow her, but before he could, Nikki stood up too, stopping him.

  “Let me,” Nikki said as she gave him a knowing smile before she turned, hurrying down the hallway after Amelia.

  “You know she doesn’t mean that,” Callum assured Landen, as he just stood there, staring into space. Before Landen could answer, the ping from the elevator sounded, as Nell, Sean, and Finn made their way down along the hallway to the living room.

  “Is she okay?” Nell demanded the moment she saw Landen. She quickly closed the distance between her and her son, instinctively wrapping her arms around him.

  “No, not really,” Landen replied knowing that everything was falling apart but having no clue how to fix it.

  “Where is she?” Nell asked as she released Landen from her embrace, holding him at arm’s length.

  “She’s gone to lie down,” Landen nodded towards the hallway where Amelia had vanished moments earlier. “Nik is with her, but she isn’t doing so good.”

  “Can you blame her?” Nell asked, giving her son a sad smile. “That poor girl has to be scared out of her mind.”

  “He was in our home, Mom,” Landen breathed out. “In our bedroom. I promised her he would never get near her again, and he was right here. What am I supposed to do?”

  “We will get him, Son,” Sean promised. “I have called in a few favours, we aren’t going to stop until this asshole is behind bars.”

  “Thanks, Dad,” Landen said, giving his father a grateful smile, but in his heart, he knew that wasn’t going to be enough. Not for Amelia to ever feel truly safe.

  “What are you going to do now?” Finn asked, and Landen hated that even Finn looked scared for them. “Surely you can’t stay here.”

  “I don’t know,” Landen replied honestly. “I don’t know what Amelia wants. She won’t talk to me, so I have no clue what she is even thinking.”

  “Well, you could come and stay with me for a bit,” Finn offered. “I mean, I’ve lots of room.”

  “Nonsense,” Nell interrupted him. “They are coming home, and that’s the end of it.”

  “Mom,” Landen sighed. “I need to see what Amelia wants to do. I don’t want to do anything until she talks to me.”

  “What about the wedding,” Callum asked the one question Landen didn’t want to answer. He had no clue what was going to happen about the wedding now. As far as he was concerned, nothing had changed for him regarding the wedding, but he didn’t know if the same thing applied to Amelia.

  “I don’t know,” he shrugged, wishing he could have given his brother a different answer. “I mean, I want to get married. I would marry her right now if she agreed to it, but I honestly don’t know what she is thinking.”

  “Do you want me to talk to her?” Nell asked, giving her son a sad smile.

  “Thanks, Mom,” Landen sighed. “But I think this is something I need to deal with myself.”

  Landen turned, walking down the hallway to their room and tapped on the door softly before he pushed it open, stepping inside.

  When he stepped inside, he found Amelia sitting on the bed, next to Nikki, sobbing once more. Landen hurried across the room, as Nikki stood up. Landen sat down, wrapping Amelia in his arms.

  “Please don’t cry,” Landen whispered, as he held her tightly, while Nikki just quietly left them alone. “I will do whatever it takes, whatever you want to do, I will do it. Just please, talk to me.”

  “What is there left to say,” Amelia sobbed without lifting her head from her chest.

  “I need you to tell me that we are going to be okay,” Landen pleaded. “I need to know that I’m not going to turn around and find that you’re gone. I need to know that the love you feel for me, is stronger than the hate you have for that man.”

  “Of course it is,” Amelia said as she sat up, looking at him. “How could you even ask me that?”

  “Because I’m scared, Amelia,” Landen replied honestly. “I’m scared that I’m going to lose you; that I’m going to lose the best thing that's ever happened to me. I don’t know the right things to say to make this right,”

  “Why do you have to make it right?” Amelia replied as she reached out for his hand.

  “But what you said earlier,” Landen explained. “About ho
w you wished he would just kill you…”

  “I was upset, Landen!” Amelia replied as she looked up into his eyes. “I still am.”

  “And what about the wedding?” Landen asked.

  “I don’t know,” Amelia replied honestly, much to Landen’s dismay. “I mean, right now I can’t think about anything except how that creep was in our home.”

  “That will never happen again,” Landen assured her.

  “I know,” Amelia sighed. “And I know you said that what happened with the hospital will never happen again either; but don’t you get it. This is Pete. This is what he does. He worms his way out of everything…”

  “He is not going to worm his way out of this,” Landen stopped her mid-sentence. “We are going to catch him, and when we do, I will make sure that he never sees the light of day again.”

  Amelia smiled as she reached up as softly touched Landen’s face.

  “I know you believe that,” Amelia sighed, giving him a smile. “But he will never give up. He is never going to let me be happy. He is never going to let me go.”

  “So now what?” Landen asked Amelia, not knowing if he wanted to hear her answer. “What do we need to do to make this right?”

  “I don’t know,” she replied, blowing out a long, deep breath. “I just feel so tired.”

  “I know,” Landen said, pulling her to him once more, and kissed her on the forehead. “And I don’t want to force you to do something, or make a decision when you feel like you do, but I need to know. Amelia, I want you to be my wife, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I need to know, is that what you still want, too?”

  Amelia lifted her head and looked up at Landen once more. Landen held his breath for a moment, unsure of what she was about to say.

  “Every fiber of my body is telling me that the right thing to do it leave,” she admitted, her eyes not leaving his. “It’s the right thing to do. Getting married while that…that monster is out there somewhere; it seems like the most ridiculous idea in the world… it’s meant to be the happiest day of my life.”

  “Amelia,” Landen sighed taking hold of her hand. “I know I’m asking a lot, asking you to trust me again, but I am. I’ll hire an army if that’s what it takes to protect you. The best men that money can buy. Just don’t let him win.”

  Amelia stared at Landen for a few moments, and he knew she was considering her response. Landen had no idea what was going through her mind, and if he was honest, he wasn’t sure he really wanted to know.

  “Okay,” Amelia finally said, as a slow smile spread across her face.

  “Okay?” Landen repeated, unsure what she was saying okay to.

  “Okay, Landen Murphy,” she continued with a smile. “I will still marry you.”

  Landen gave Amelia a huge grin before he pulled her to him and hugged her tightly.

  “Thank you,” he whispered against her lips before kissing her softly.

  Right at that moment, Nikki came barging back into the room.

  “Shit, I’m sorry!” She exclaimed as she turned her back to them. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but the troops are getting restless out here. Nell is moments away from coming down here and packing a bag for you both, to take you home with her.

  “She’s what?” Amelia asked as she stood up from the bed. Nikki turned to face her and gave her a smile before Amelia turned to Landen as gave him a questioning look. “Why would your mom think we are going home with her?”

  “She wants us to stay there for a few days,” Landen explained as he too stood up. “You know, until everything settles down again. I mean, I wasn’t sure if you would want to stay here after…”

  “This is my home,” Amelia told Landen, stunning him a little with her reaction. “This is our home. I am not letting that asshole run me out of another home. Not this time.”

  “But I thought…” Landen said, not really sure what it was he thought.

  “If I’m going to do this,” Amelia explained as suddenly there was a new determination in her voice. “If we are going through with the wedding, and everything else; then I’m staying here. I’m not running. Not this time.”

  “Are you sure?” Landen asked her as a wave of pride swell deep inside him.

  “No,” Amelia replied with a nervous laugh. “But this is what I’m going to do anyway. I refuse to let him win. Not again.”

  “Then we are staying here,” Landen replied with a nodded, leaning forward and kissing Amelia on the forehead. “I guess I should go and tell Mom the good news. Though I am not sure, that’s how she’ll see it.”

  “Thank you,” Amelia said, giving him a grateful smile.

  “Anything for you,” Landen replied before he hurried out of the room, and back down along the hallway. He felt happy knowing that no matter what else happened, he and Amelia were going to be just fine.

  Chapter 23

  Over the next few days, plans for the wedding continued, while security at both the penthouse and Landen’s parent’s house was upped considerably. The codes for the elevator and the underground garage where all changed. There was a security team in the garage, a guy in the front lobby plus one that went everywhere with Amelia. All visitors were announced still, but all deliveries were now left at the front door, and thoroughly checked before security brought it up to the penthouse.

  Landen knew that Amelia hated how things were now, but she never once complained. She didn’t really say much of anything, he hated to see her so distracted. He asked her over and over if she was okay, and she would reply that she was, even though deep down he knew that was a lie.

  He managed to finish up work by Wednesday, determined to spend time with Amelia before the wedding. So Thursday morning, he woke her early and told her to get dressed; that he was taking her out for the day, just him and her.

  “And security?” Amelia added with a sad laugh.

  “Not today,” Landen replied, much to Amelia’s surprise. “I mean, Mike will be with us, but I don’t think he really counts, do you.”

  “I can live with Mike.” Amelia laughed before Landen kissed her, then slapped her on the back side, telling her to get ready before he disappeared out of the room.

  As he walked down the hallway towards the living room, the doors of the elevator opened and Liam stepped off, giving Landen a nod.

  “You look like you’re in a good mood,” Liam said as he reached Landen and gave him a questioning look. “Something you want to share.”

  “There’s nothing to share,” Landen laughed. “I’m marrying the most amazing girl in the world in two days’ time; why wouldn’t I be in a good mood?”

  “I guess so,” Liam smiled, nodding in agreement with this brother.

  “So, what brings you here today?” Landen asked, but he already knew the answer. “Is there any news yet?”

  “We found the hotel he was staying in,” Liam replied with a sigh. “He was booked in under the name of a doctor that works in the hospital he was taken to after the incident last week. The doctor had reported his cards stolen, so they were flagged when the hotel tried to put it through their system.”

  “Why did it take so long to raise a red flag?” Landen asked, knowing a stolen card would normally be cancelled immediately.

  “The doctor didn’t actually notice that his card was gone until a couple of days ago,” Liam explained, as he rubbed the tiredness from his eyes. Landen knew that his brother had been working around the clock to try and find Pete Reynolds, there were no words to express how grateful he was. “Anyways, we went to the hotel and the receptionist positively identified Reynolds. We also got him on CCTV several times, but when we got to the room, he was gone, and it looked like he left in a hurry too.”

  “So he made a mistake, letting you get too close,” Landen replied. “Is that a good or a bad thing?”

  “A little bit of both,” Liam replied honestly. “If he is making mistakes, it makes it more likely that we will catch up with him, but it also means he knows he is r
unning out of time, so he might make a move sooner rather than later.”

  “Well he isn’t getting in here again,” Landen growled as the memory of Amelia’s face when she saw the message on the mirror filled his thoughts. “And if he does, he won’t be walking out of here again. I promise you that.”

  “Just be careful,” Liam sighed, and Landen knew his brother was worried that if it came to it, Landen would do something stupid.

  Before Landen could reply, Amelia walked into the room, and Landen gave Liam a look that told him not to open his mouth to her about the hotel and credit cards. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to tell her, but it was only going to make her worry, right now nothing had really changed. They still didn’t know where Reynolds actually was.

  “Hey, Liam,” Amelia said in her usual bright, bubbly tone when she saw Liam standing there with Landen. “What has you here this early?”

  “I was just passing by,” Liam replied would out missing beat. “I just called in to see how you were holding up, and maybe sneak a cup of coffee before I head to the station.”

  “I’m okay,” Amelia said, giving the same answer she gave every time someone asked her that question.

  “Well you look as beautiful as always,” Liam replied, giving her a smile. “Not sure what you see in this loser!”

  “Hey!” Landen said as he punched his brother on the arm. “Remember, I can still kick your ass.”

  “Dream on, Old Man,” Liam laughed as Landen turned, leading him and Amelia through to the kitchen where Carla was busy baking. Liam walked around the counter and kissed Carla on the cheek. “Good morning, beautiful. When are you going to quit working for this old fart, and run away with me?”

  “One day,” Carla replied with a giggle as her cheeks blushed a little. “But for now will you settle for some coffee, Mr. Murphy?”

  “Coffee would be perfect,” Liam said, giving her a wink.

  “Would you like some breakfast, Mr. Murphy?” Carla asked turned her attention to Landen. “Or some coffee?”