She seemed shocked. “About the wedding, what else?”
I let out a laugh. “No, not at all. I can’t wait to marry Mason.”
She lifted her eyebrows before taking another drink.
“What?” I asked her. She seemed like she wanted to say more but was holding back.
“It’s just that you two are still so young. I can’t believe you’re wanting to get married already.”
“I have been in love with Mason since I was eighteen-years-old. There is no one else that I could even imagine spending the rest of my life with. He’s it for me.” I shrugged.
“Awe, I’ve never actually seen a couple as in love with each other as you and Mason are. It’s like your soulmates or something.” She had this dreamy look in her eye, like maybe Mason and I were changing her outlook on how she viewed marriage.
Sarah and Alissa rushed to my side and flung themselves down in the lounge chair next to mine. Sarah grabbed her drink and sucked it down quickly.
She held her head in her hand. “Ow, brain freeze.”
We all laughed. “Slow down, we have all day. How many of those have you had already?”
Sarah shrugged. “Like four, but I’m a mom. I never get to do this anymore. Plus, I think they are seriously skimping on the alcohol in these things. I’m not feeling a thing yet.”
“Next round is on me,” Jessica volunteered, getting up from her chair and walking toward the bar.
“So what’s next? Do you have this planned out or are we just winging it?” I asked Alissa.
“No plans, we’re just going to do whatever we want to do. I figured I would let you choose. It is your party after all.”
Jessica came back and sat down a tray of drinks. She handed us each a shot. “Best wishes on a happy marriage.” She tipped her glass to me and we all took the shot.
Sarah scoffed. “Oh my God. What was that?”
“Patron,” Jessica answered.
“I hate tequila.” She chased the shot down with a long drink of her daiquiri.
After hours of lounging pool side and drinking, we all decided to get cleaned up and head out for dinner.
After Sarah drank five daiquiris and a couple shots, she wasn’t feeling so well. Jessica and I had to loop her arms around our shoulders to help her get to the room.
We got her settled in bed and stood back, trying to catch our breath from the long journey. “She always was a light weight,” I said holding my side that had shooting pains running through it.
“Should we call Trent?” Jessica asked.
Alissa joined us at Sarah’s side. “She’ll be fine. Let her sleep it off awhile. We can bring her back some dinner and sober her up before we hit the town.”
We all took turns taking a shower and dressing for our night out. I pulled on a white dress that was form fitting around the top but was thin and flowing until it stopped at my knee. I paired the dress with a pair of heels and curled my hair, leaving it hanging down my back.
Alissa stopped and looked me over. “It’s missing something.”
I looked in the mirror. “What?”
“I know.” She rushed to her bag and was back within a minute, handing me a tiara and a bachelorette sash.
I smiled. “Really?”
She nodded while grinning widely. “Hey, a girl only gets two or three of these things. We might as well do it right.”
I let out a loud laugh. “Two or three?”
She shrugged. “If you do it right.”
Once the three of us were dressed and ready to go, I peeked in on Sarah one last time. She was sound asleep.
Before we left the room, I placed a bottle of water on the table beside her along with two Tylenol and a trash can on the floor in case she got sick. I felt horrible leaving her alone, but Alissa and Jessica assured me that she would be fine.
We headed down to the restaurant that was in the hotel and Alissa ordered us a round of drinks and appetizers. We all sipped on our Long Island iced teas and picked at the blooming onion.
Two guys came over to our table. “Mind if we sit down?” the taller one with dark hair asked.
The three of us looked at each other. “Actually, we’re kind of having a moment here,” Jessica answered.
“Hey, I know you.” He pointed at me. “You’re Lennox Madison, right?”
Alissa rolled her eyes. “And it starts.”
The hotel we were in didn’t allow any paparazzi on the premises, but they couldn’t stop guests from noticing me.
“I am.” I nodded.
“Do you mind taking a picture with me?”
“Do you promise to leave us alone if I do? We’re kind of busy as you can see.” I didn’t want to be rude, but I hated when people wanted pictures and autographs while I was out having dinner with friends or family.
He smiled, not taking any offense. “I promise.”
I stood and he handed his phone to Jessica to take the picture. Once he had it, he did as he promised and left us alone.
“Compliments of the chef,” the waiter said as he sat down something that looked completely disturbing. I never was a fan of fancy food. It all looked gross to me. I couldn’t even stomach caviar.
I smiled politely. “Thank you.”
When he walked away, I took my napkin and threw it over the steaming pile of whatever it was. “No way can I eat with that thing looking at me.”
After we ate, we decided to have a few more drinks and figure out what it was we wanted to do with the rest of our evening. Jessica bought another round of drinks and even though I had eaten, I was starting to feel the alcohol taking over my system.
“We could head over to the casino and do a little gambling,” I suggested.
“Or we can hit up Pythons,” Alissa suggested.
I had to ask. “What in the hell is that?”
“The male strip club down the road.” She used her thumb to motion over her shoulder.
Jessica and I both cracked up laughing.
“I’ve seen Magic Mike, I think that’s enough,” I said when my laughing stopped.
We ended up going into the casino and playing the slot machines. Each of us lost all our money and we found ourselves back at the hotel bar.
We all had drink after drink until we realized that we forgot to bring Sarah dinner. I went to put in an order at the restaurant before they closed, leaving Alissa and Jessica to continue drinking.
I stopped back at the bar to let them know I was going to take Sarah her food when I ran into Jessica helping Alissa walk to the room. I grabbed ahold of Alissa to help.
“What happened? She was drunk when I left but not this drunk and I’ve only been gone twenty minutes.”
“We took a few shots. She said she wasn’t feeling well right before she bent over and puked all over the floor. The bartender was mad and kicked us out.” Jessica’s eyes were wide and glassy.
We made it to the room and laid Alissa down beside Sarah. I shook Sarah. “We brought you some dinner.” She grumbled and rolled over.
I stood back, watching the two of them. “Great, I guess we should just call it a night.”
“No way, it’s not even midnight yet. Let’s go to that bar down the street.” Jessica was beaming her best smile.
“I don’t know. I don’t know if I want to leave them.” I sat down on the edge of their bed.
“Come on, Lennox. This is your bachelorette party, live a little.”
I looked up to her big smile and bright eyes. “Okay, just for a couple drinks though.”
We walked down the sidewalk and stopped in the first bar we saw. The place was filled with loud music and swinging bodies.
“This is so much better. Let’s get a drink.” Jessica grabbed my hand and led me toward the bar.
“Order me a drink, I’m going to use the restroom.”
When I came back, Jessica had us both a beer and a shot.
“To our new friendship,” she said, holding her shot glass in the air.
&nbs
p; She clanked it with mine and we threw the shots back.
We moved to a quiet corner near the back exit. The air of the night blowing in the open door felt amazing against my overheated skin, but the smell of cigarette smoke was making me nauseous.
“You know, I’ve wanted to meet you for a long time. I have heard so much about you before I started working at the shop.”
I was beginning to feel dizzy, but pushed it back, trying to have a good time with Jess. “Really? What did you hear?”
Her face suddenly got serious. “My sister said that you were a bitch that took everything she wanted.”
My ears started ringing. “Your sister?”
“Yeah, Ashley. You know, the girl who died because of you.”
My mouth started watering, I knew I was about to be sick but tried holding it off. I needed to understand what she was saying. “Ashely was your sister?”
She nodded her head while a wicked smile tugged at her lips. “She was my little sister. I was taken away from my mom before she was born, but we stayed in contact. She told me all about you.”
I tried to stand, I didn’t know what was happening or how I got drunk so fast. When I almost fell, she reached out and grabbed my arm to help steady me.
“I’ve been looking for a way to pay you back since her death. Imagine my surprise when this all just fell into my lap.”
“What are you talking about?” I tried to stand again, when I toppled over, it wasn’t Jessica that caught me. It was Chris. He pulled me against his chest, holding me with all his strength. I knew I couldn’t get away, he was stronger than me when I wasn’t drugged. No way could I fight against him and win when I couldn’t even stand on my own.
I took a ragged breath, trying to scream but my body was shutting down. She drugged me. She drugged Sarah and Alissa too. She took out everyone around me to get me alone, all so she could hand me over to Chris.
“Thank you, Jessica. Here is your final payment, I hope you’re able to help your mom.” He handed her an envelope.
She smiled widely before opening the envelope and counting the money.
Chris picked me up, despite my fighting against him, and walked us out the back exit. I saw a black car parked in the alley before the darkness took over.
Chapter Thirteen
Mason
When none of the girls were answering their phones, I felt my chest tighten. Thoughts started running through my head.
Is Lennox okay? Is she just having fun with her friends and not checking her phone? Maybe she forgot it in her room. Is it possible that Chris managed to get out of his house arrest? Could he have shown up and hurt her?
I turned and grabbed Dane by his shirt. “What room are they in?”
“Come on, I’ll show you.” He smacked Trent on the back of his head as we walked away.
“What’s going on?” Trent asked, chasing after us.
“The girls are missing,” I told him, trying to control the anger in my voice.
“What do you mean, missing?”
“They were supposed to be here at midnight and they’re not. They won’t answer their phones either,” Dane said rushing to the elevator.
We only had to go up a few floors, but the slow elevator seemed to move at a snails pace. I was anxious and damn near bouncing to get off.
When the doors opened, Dane stormed through them, making a right and leading us down the hall.
He stopped at room 402 and he pounded on the door.
We waited.
He pounded again and again until we finally heard rustling behind it.
Alissa opened the door with her hair a mess and her black eye makeup smeared across her face.
Dane grabbed her and pulled her to his chest while Trent and I rushed past them. Trent found Sarah passed out in bed, he went to her automatically.
I searched the other bedroom, the bathroom, and the living space, but came up empty handed.
“Dane, she’s not here.” He could detect the fear and worry in my voice.
“What’s going on?” Alissa asked, pulling away from Dane. I could tell she was just as worried, picking up on our urgency.
Dane placed his hands on either side of her face. He leveled his eyes on her. “What happened? Where is Lennox?”
Her eyes found mine from over Dane’s shoulder. “I don’t know,” she cried. “I don’t remember anything.” She almost collapsed but Dane caught her just in time and moved her to the bed to sit down.
“Alissa, think. What do you remember?”
Her eyes flashed around the room, trying to remember what had happened.
“Alissa, please try and remember anything you can,” I pleaded with her.
Sarah sat up. “That bitch drugged us.”
All of our attention went to her.
“Who?” Trent asked.
“Jessica, she drugged us!” She threw the blankets off of her and tried to stand. She swayed before sitting back down, grabbing her head.
“Somebody better tell me what the fuck happened before I trash this room!” I laced my fingers into my hair, pulling slightly, hoping the pain eased my anger and fear.
“Okay,” Alissa said, pushing her hair back. “We all went to the pool and had drinks. Everything was fine until Jessica started buying. That must have been when she drugged Sarah because before we could even make it to the room, she was sick. We laid her down and she passed right out.”
“I don’t know what she used, but it was strong and kicked in fast. Everything was blurry and I felt like the room was spinning. Then nothing. I don’t even remember making it to the room.”
Trent pulled her to his side.
“We thought that maybe she just drank too much and we hadn’t eaten so after we got Sarah settled, we went to dinner. We were going to let her sleep it off and bring her back some food to help her sober up.”
“Okay, then what happened?” Dane asked sitting beside Alissa. He leaned in toward her, resting his elbows on his knees.
“We had more drinks with dinner, then we played around in the Casino for a bit before going back to the bar. Lennox went to get Sarah some dinner while Jessica and I stayed in the bar taking shots. That’s when she drugged me. She got the last round.”
“So that was the last time you saw Lennox?” I asked.
“Yeah, when she went to get Sarah food. I don’t even remember how I got in here, but she had to have helped her. Jessica couldn’t carry me on her own.”
“What time was that?”
Alissa shrugged. “Around eleven, I guess.”
I looked at the clock, it was one A.M. Lennox had been missing for two hours.
“Fuck! What are we going to do now?”
Trent stood, suddenly filled with energy, probably from the anger and adrenaline that was coursing through us all. “Let the girls stay here, they can eat and sober up and us three will separate. We can cover more ground that way. Check all the bars, clubs, casinos, anywhere you think they could’ve went.”
“What can we do? No way can we go back to sleep now,” Alissa said walking us to the door.
“Call the police and fill them in on what’s going on. I doubt there is much that they can do since she hasn’t been missing that long, but they need to be aware of the situation,” I told her as we were walking out.
The three of us went in our separate directions. I checked every place she could be in the hotel and asked if Jessica, or Chris had a room reserved. When I came up empty handed in the casino, pool, gym, bar, and restaurant, I left the hotel.
I walked down the street and went into the first bar I came across. I showed the bartender Lennox’s picture, asking him if he had seen her.
“What is this, some kind of joke?”
“No, this is my fiancée and she’s missing. Has she been in here tonight?”
“Pal, I think you need to get some sleep. That girl is Lennox Madison, the famous country music singer. You expect me to believe you’re lucky enough to marry her?” He laughed
.
I shook my head, feeling my head start to swim from my high blood pressure. “Just humor me, huh? Has she been in here?”
He laughed. “I can say for certain, she has not been in a dump like this.”
I pushed past a crowd of people as I made my escape. I walked for miles, I looked in every bar I passed. I stopped in every fast food joint, bar, and club.
I came up empty handed.
We all went back to the girls room, defeated.
“Did you find her?” Alissa asked rushing to Dane’s side.
“Nope and we looked everywhere, some places twice between the three of us,” he answered looking haggard.
I crashed into a lounge chair. “Where the fuck could she have gone?”
Alissa sat at Dane’s side. “Do you think Chris had anything to do with all of this?”
“That was my initial thought, but he’s supposed to be on house arrest.”
Alissa shook her head. “Jessica has had this whole thing planned out. She has to be working with him.”
“Why would she do that?” I leaned forward, needing to understand her thinking process.
“Maybe Chris payed her off.” She shrugged.
“We don’t even know if Chris is involved,” I said trying my hardest to think of something.
Alissa leaned forward. “Let’s just assume he is. Where would he have taken her?”
I shrugged. “No fucking clue. The last time, he didn’t try taking her anywhere, he just tried killing her.”
“What has been the one thing that Chris has wanted this whole time?” Her blue eyes locked on mine. It was like we were feeding off of each other.
“His life,” I answered.
“Exactly. He has his fancy apartment, his fans, I’m sure after he buys his way out of trouble, the movie rolls will pick up again. The one thing he doesn’t have, and would never have if you two went through with the wedding, is Lennox. He took her back to California.”
I stood. “I’m going to California.” I started for the door.
“I’m coming too,” Dane said standing up and following after me.
“Wait a minute.” Alissa stood, looking at the two of us. “Neither of you even know where Chris’ apartment is. I’m coming too.”
Our Last Chance at Forever (The Chance Series Book 3) Page 10