“Don’t get me wrong, Mrs. Hawthorne, I care for your son. He is a good guy, but I don’t ever want to marry anyone. Life has shown me that nothing good comes from marriage. When your son asked me, I didn’t want to hurt his feelings. That’s why I said at the chapel that we didn’t have to get married that day. I was trying to get out of it.”
I took a deep breath before forcing the worst of my words out. “I wanted to break up with your son anyway. He’s good looking and it was nice having fun with him with the money, but I’m going to get rich from my artwork now. I really don’t need him. I already had a few galleries in New York and London contact me.”
A lot of what I was telling her was the truth, but when I said it out loud, it didn’t feel like the truth. Especially the part about wanting to break up with Alex. Because I didn’t. And it was hard not to let my tears show knowing he was about to marry Alexa and I would lose Alex forever.
THIRTY-EIGHT
Alexander
I wasn’t happy.
“I’m so sorry, Alex. I can’t believe she said that. Maybe this is another trick from your mom,” Alexa said as she placed a soft hand on my shoulder.
We both sat on the concrete floor in a storage room of a warehouse. When I was brought to this room and had the bag taken off my head, I was happy to find I wasn’t alone—Alexa was here. But when I realized seconds later she was trapped too, all the happiness turned to anger.
There was no window, just a florescent overhead light and one door. I threw my body against the door at least twenty times before I gave up. As I rubbed the pain away from my arm it dawned on me that there was no way out. I opened every box I could find, which contained remote control toy trucks.
At that moment, I wished I had watched MacGyver instead of Get Smart. At least I might be able to make a small bomb using only AA batteries, some wire, and a plastic toy.
What was worse than being trapped with no way out? Hearing every word Aria said to my mother about not wanting to marry me. We must be near where she’s located and heard her heartbreaking words through the vents.
Alexa wanted to scream to let Aria know we were here but I stopped her. What could Aria do? She was trapped like us. Instead we sat quietly, hearing the woman I loved tell the woman I hated that she wanted nothing to do with me.
I already knew anyway. It shouldn’t be a surprise. Aria told me that when we were kidnapped.
But it didn’t stop it from hurting.
“It’s okay. Who can blame her? Look at what being with me brought her.” I waved my arms around the room.
“But it’s not about that. If you love someone, then you do anything for them. Even put up with their crazy mother.” Alexa elbowed me and smiled.
She understood. Laughter was necessary for sanity with families as messed up as ours.
“I would have for her. When she first started to tell me back at the motel, I laughed. Because I was willing to let her go to make her happy. Of course, I was hurt. Of course, I wanted to beg and plead for her to stay. But when I really thought about it I knew we would never be able to lead a normal and safe life with my mother around. Because I love her I was willing to let her walk away. It hurt so much that all I could do was laugh for fear if I didn’t, I would cry.”
I rested my head against the wall as I closed my eyes to the world. Maybe if I had done what my mother wanted from the beginning and left Aria out of it, we would be safe.
The door flew open and standing there was my mom and Aria. Her platinum hair in disarray and her clothes dirty, wrinkled, yet she looked like my first breath of air after being held down by water. I hated that despite what she said, I still loved her.
“The minister is on his way. In less than an hour, you two will finally be man and wife,” my mom said as she walked in, folding her arms.
“Husband and wife,” Aria said. She came to stand next to my mom.
“What?”
“You said man and wife. Alex is already a man, but after the ceremony he becomes a husband as well. I mean, she becomes a wife so it only makes sense that he becomes a husband,” Aria said.
Even in that moment, knowing she didn’t love me, I couldn’t help but smile at her adorableness.
“Yes, yes. It doesn’t matter. Husband, whatever,” Mom said before waving her hand at Aria.
I stood. “Mom, please, at least let Alexa and Aria go. You want me to do something to help you, fine. But let them go.”
She shook her head, laughing.
“Now why would I do that, Alexander? Aria is going to help me. She’s part of my team now.” My mom gave Aria a side hug. It was weird and both women appeared uncomfortable.
“As for Alexa, well, her plan was put in place a long time ago. With her by your side, after I take down all those men, it will be easy for you to become a senator. Alexa is practically political royalty. Who doesn’t want a nice, good-looking, young senator that hasn’t been tainted from years of politics? And then, if everything goes well, you can announce your intention to run for president.”
“I’m not even thirty. I’m twenty-six. How can I become a senator?”
“It’s going to take a few years to build your image and work the right angles. Anyway, this marriage is important. With the Dortons, you can meet with just about any politician you want. You see why this is necessary, right, Alexander?”
Whenever I overheard my mother talking on the phone growing up she mentioned politics, but I never put it together. I figured, since she was friends with the Dortons, she was speaking to them. It never occurred to me that she had plans for me to enter politics.
“I don’t want to be a senator or the president, Mom. You can’t force me into a career that I have no desire to be a part of.”
“It’s not about what you want, Alexander. I wanted a normal, happy family where I could raise my children in peace, but your grandfather made that impossible.”
“But Grandfather is dead. Who are you trying to get back at? The men who hurt you are dead.”
My mom frowned as her nose flared. “Don’t you think I know that! Who do you think made sure they died?”
Deep in my heart I knew it was true but refused to acknowledge it. My hand went to my forehead as I rubbed the deep ache that had been building all day.
“You killed them,” I said and was surprised she heard my whisper.
“No, I didn’t lay one finger on them. But I knew people who would make sure they didn’t live any longer. Your grandfather was easy. Most of his servants hated him and were happy to slip the drug into his nightly whiskey. They thought it was a sleeping medication. I told them I needed to get my hands on the paperwork he had in his bedroom. They drugged him so he wouldn’t wake when I did that. They didn’t realize he would never wake up. They were upset but I told them I would turn a blind eye if any jewelry found its way into their pockets.”
She laughed and shook her head. “When the police found he had been poisoned and some of his diamond cufflinks and an antique pocket watch in the cook’s home, it was an open and shut case. Of course, the cook tried to blame me, but really, who were the police going to believe? Especially, when I donated so heavily to their annual Widows and Orphans fund. Not to mention I ‘helped’ a few of the cops working on the case.”
My mouth hung open but she kept talking. “As for your uncle, who you thought was your father growing up, well, he proved to be more difficult. I didn’t want to have to kill him but he was going to take you from me. I had to make sure his plane went down. I knew why he suddenly showed interest in you that Christmas twenty years ago. It wasn’t because he cared—he knew you weren’t his. It was your grandfather whispering in his ear to take you away from me.”
“Look at what you did? You have blood on your hands, Mom. How can you say what you want to do is for the best when so many lives have been taken?”
My mother’s eyes grew wide and I believed in that moment what I said might have gotten through to her. I saw horror on her face but it dis
appeared as quickly as it came. Covered up by her usual steely façade.
She opened her mouth to speak but Aria’s hand on her shoulder caused her to turn. “Mrs. Hawthorne, why don’t you go check on the minister. See if he’s here yet. I’ll keep an eye on them. Make sure they understand why we are doing this.”
I saw the same hardness in Aria’s eyes as she held my mother’s gaze. This was a nightmare. It was one thing to lose Aria but to watch her turn into another version of my mother was unbearable.
“Good call, Aria,” my mom said and Aria followed her to the door, closing it behind her.
“Why, Aria? I get that you don’t love me, but why help her?” I stared at Aria’s back as she faced the door.
She stood there because she couldn’t answer me. Aria couldn’t face the truth that by helping a monster, she was turning into one herself.
After a moment, she faced me. I stared into her large, chocolate eyes and found nothing but fear mixed with determination.
“It’s not about me, Alex. This is about the bigger picture,” Aria said.
Alexa gasped. I should have been angry. Maybe screamed to wake her from this horrible dream. But I didn’t. Even after all that has happened, I walked over to her to put my arms around her.
Maybe if she felt my love she’d wake up.
But Aria held out her hand to stop me.
“Please, no, Alex. You don’t understand.”
“Then help me understand! I don’t want to marry Alexa,” I said as I glanced over at Alexa before turning back to Aria, “and Alexa doesn’t want to marry me. I want to be with you, Aria. But if you really don’t want me, then I’ll walk away. But please, don’t help my mother. She doesn’t care about you. Emma Hawthorne only cares about herself and her sick need for power.”
Aria smiled and placed her hand on my chest. “I’m not helping your mother. I’m feeding into her gruesome fantasy to help us escape. I love you, Alex, and I think it’s time to leave.”
I hadn’t noticed but she had placed her bare foot, as neither of us had shoes on when we were kidnapped, between the door and the wall so it wouldn’t close completely.
Aria opened the door and waved for us to follow her out.
THIRTY-NINE
Aria
“She saw us,” Alexa said in a hushed tone.
We were huddled behind some large crates after we heard some noise a few moments after leaving the storage room.
I held my arm out to stop them from moving and peered over the corner of the crate. Something moved but I held still. Then it jetted toward me like a missile.
I quickly moved back, pressing my back against the crate. It flew by missing us completely.
“It’s a bird, not Emma Hawthorne. Let’s keep going. There should be a way out in the back. By law, every building has to have at least two exits,” I said.
Alex grabbed my hand and brought it to his lips, kissing my dirt-covered fingers. “I love that you are filled with random knowledge. It’s cute and lifesaving at the same time.”
“Less kissing and more getting the hell out of here,” Alexa said as she made a move past us.
We followed her advice even if my heart was still racing from relief that my plan worked. It was hard not to run and jump into Alex’s arms when he said I didn’t want him anymore. I wanted to give him a thousand kisses and tell him it wasn’t true.
The pain in his eyes almost broke me, but I knew if I gave anything away we would never have a chance to escape.
I wanted to take him right there when I saw the love and relief in his eyes after his mother left and I admitted the truth. But it’s not always the right time to have sex. Like when we are escaping a crazy woman who had us kidnapped and is hell-bent on taking over the country by murder, bribery, and lies.
It felt like we were making our way through a maze as we moved farther toward the back of the building. Just as we saw the door with a red, glowing exit sign overhead, we heard loud voices.
“They’re gone! Quick, search everywhere,” A male voice came from the middle of the building.
“We have to run. There’s no other way. If we hide, they’ll find us,” I whispered.
“I’ll stay and distract them. You two run,” Alex said as he placed his hands on our backs.
“Absolutely not! I didn’t just tell the devil herself a pack of hateful lies and risk myself, just so you could get caught again. We all go,” I said as I glared at Alex.
“Aria, no. You two need time to flee. Who knows what’s out there. We could be in the middle of the desert. Where will you hide? At least if I distract them, then you two can assess the area and find some place to go. It gives you time.”
I could feel the tears burning my eyes as I shook my head. I refused to leave behind someone I loved, again.
“No, I’ll stay. You two get help. At least, Alex, you can protect Alexa. You might need to climb over a fence, you can use those big arms of yours to help her out.”
“They’re coming. Why don’t we all just make a dash for it? If we stay and argue, we all will be caught,” Alexa said, her eyes wide in frustration.
“I don’t like any of this. Why are you being so stubborn?” Alex said and gritted his teeth.
“Because I love you, that’s why. I will fight them for you. Now, both of you, go,” I said pointing to the door.
Alexa started to make a move but Alex grabbed her and kept his eyes on me. “Oh, and I don’t love you enough to fight them? I will fight them until the ends of the Earth and into the stars. So, you go with Alexa.”
“How about all of you come with me?” A deep voice came from behind us.
We turned and looked up from our crouched positions to find the douche, Jagger, standing there.
As we stood, Alexa turned to us, pointing her finger in our direction. “I’m never speaking to either of you again. Who has a fight about who loves whom more as they try to escape a kidnapping? Idiots, that’s who.”
She was right. I glanced at Alex and his pitiful expression matched how I felt.
“This was all my fault,” both Alex and I said at the same time.
“Damn straight it is,” Alexa said as Jagger pushed us forward.
We walked past the storage room and dread filled my chest. This was it. I would have to witness the man I loved marry the woman he didn’t love.
Mrs. Hawthorne must be with the minister right now telling him exactly what to say, even if the two people getting married tried to say no.
We kept walking and noticed more people mulling around the area. More of Mrs. Hawthorne’s thugs. We probably wouldn’t have had a chance of escape even if we tried. She must have a bunch of help both inside and outside the building.
“Go out the door,” Jagger said as we came to the front.
Alex pushed open the door and we all shielded our eyes to the bright light. Once my eyes adjusted to the light, I noticed we were surrounded by green. I could see a farm off in the distance and wondered if we could have made it to that farm in time before being caught.
More ‘what ifs’ weighed me down as I tried to get by in this world. Would I even have any desire to paint anymore with so many people I loved being taken from me?
Jagger stood in front of a large black SUV and opened the back door, waving for us to get inside. We were probably going to be taken to some church Mrs. Hawthorne gave a lot of money to so this forced marriage could take place.
I felt sick. And when I saw Grace in the front passenger seat, my heart hit the floor. They got her.
Mrs. Hawthorne won. There was no beating her.
“Thank goodness you all are all right,” Grace said as we took our seats.
I nodded and didn’t have the energy to even fake a smile.
“Did Agent Chance explain everything to you?” Grace asked as she turned in her seat to face us.
The driver’s side door opened and Jagger got inside.
“Agent Chance?” Alex said.
Jagger turned, final
ly taking off his ridiculous sunglasses to stare at us with his cool, green eyes. “I’m Agent Jagger Chance with the United States government.”
“The CIA?” I asked.
“Something like that. We work with the CIA and FBI. We are here to arrest Emma Hawthorne, Douglas Dorton and his wife, Sofia Dorton. Emma Hawthorne, who goes by the name Jay to cover her tracks, is head of a criminal organization to infiltrate the government. We had the warehouse bugged and heard everything she said to you. Don’t worry, you all are safe, thanks to the help of Grace here.”
My eyes widened. “Grace? How did you help?”
Grace blushed and shook her head. “It was nothing. I told Jagger when he reached out to me a few months back that I would help him. When I met you, Alex, I knew you were a good guy. I can sense it, you know?”
She shook her head. “Anyway, I made sure he kept an eye on you two when our mom was going to make you marry Alexa. I couldn’t reach him when she first brought you all to the chapel in Vegas.”
I noticed some pink filling Jagger’s cheeks as he cleared his throat.
“So, I took it upon myself to get you out of there. But, of course, Mom found us so I called Jagger to make sure he got to you before she sent someone else to kidnap you.”
“Unfortunately, we needed the kidnapping to happen in order to get more information from Emma Hawthorne. I made sure my team was waiting to stop everything on my call.”
“You’ve known about this for months?” I asked Grace.
“Yes, but I had to keep everything a secret. I meant it when I said I was happy when our mom reached out to me. I thought I finally had a family that cared about me. But when she explained what happened and what she planned to do about it, I wanted no part of that. In fact, I was angry. I didn’t want anyone to be hurt ever again. These people she’s trying to hurt, while they may be bad, have families. They have children. She’s not God. She can’t decide who lives and who dies. I had to do something.”
Alex reached over the seats and kissed Grace on the cheek. “You’re my hero, Grace.”
One Wild Ride Page 21