He dialed the police station in her town, the one Gabriel’s family “owned”. He waited for the call to be transferred to the Chief. He introduced himself, then without any further small talk, he berated and threatened the man for not taking Belle’s concerns seriously.
“You’re absolutely right, sir. Ms. Lahela did come to me a few months ago. I was … misinformed regarding the scenario with Mr. Avenant. I assure you, should she return, I will personally ensure her safety.”
Aleks was thunderstruck. He knew Belle had gone to the police, twice, and had been laughed at. “Why now? Why didn’t you believe her before?” His anger was easily directed at the scumbag excuse for a chief.
“Let’s just say people tend to admit the truth when drunk and angry. And Gabe drinks like a fish. She will be protected, day in and day out, until the threat is no longer there.”
Not confident with his words alone, Aleks continued, “Understand me. If I hear that Gabriel so much as comes within a mile of her, I will use every device in my power to destroy the reputations of the entire station.”
When the man on the other end of the line didn’t respond, Aleks continued.
“As a final assurance of your promise to keep Belle safe, ending if and only if I give permission, I will send a check with your name on it with enough zeroes to make this Christmas the best you’ve ever had. I assume we understand each other?”
Unsurprisingly, the man agreed.
After hanging up, Aleks spied the contract he had worked on with Tiffany. His emotions overwhelmed him. In a rage, he swiped his hand across his desk, sending pages flying.
Chapter Thirty-One
Three weeks had passed since Belle had left home. His home, she corrected. She still struggled with the idea that they were over. She worked at the bar nightly, doing whatever she could to keep her mind occupied. Every time she thought of him, she broke down.
It hadn’t helped that everything around her reminded her of him. Turning in the remainder of her assignments last week forced her thoughts towards her internship — learning he had given her an excellent review and recommendation, caused her heart to break again. Christmas decorations for the holiday only days away made her think of decorating at his castle. Even the bar — now hers because of him — was where they first met. It was as if her life began that night.
Cynthia had been a lifesaver. She spent the entire first week with her, as a shoulder to cry on. There were even times Belle woke up in the middle of the night in her arms, no doubt from crying herself to sleep. What I would do without her?
Cynthia listened to her explain the break up, multiple times, that first night … and the nights after; listened quietly as Belle tried to figure out any little thing she could have done differently. Cynthia didn’t blame him, didn’t blame her — just sat and listened, refilling Belle’s wine glass until she passed out.
Finishing her shift, she locked up alone, knowing it wasn’t safe. A large part of her didn’t care. She was numb.
As she walked to her car she noticed a police cruiser at the end of the parking lot. The same car followed her home. When the car parked itself at the end of her driveway, she walked down to ask why.
The window rolled down, and Belle immediately recognized Jake.
“What are you doing here?” she asked quietly.
“I wanted to let you know you’re safe. He won’t come near you anymore.” His face wore a guilty expression.
“So now you believe me? What changed?”
“I was wrong, Belle. He got drunk and was complaining about his ‘right to have you’. He let it slip what he did. I’m sorry.”
Belle inhaled sharply. She felt somewhat vindicated at his apology, yet still angry he hadn’t taken her word for it.
“How long do you plan on shadowing me? I know the force doesn’t have the money to spend with all this overtime.”
“Don’t worry about the money, Belle. It’s been taken care of.”
Aleks. She knew it was him. He promised to keep her safe, always. The fact he still wanted to ensure her safety after he ended them pained her even more.
She hurried inside and collapsed onto her bed. And as she had every night for the past three weeks, she cried herself to sleep.
Aleksandr continued on with his work, met with clients, and acted as if nothing changed.
Home was a different story. He found himself constantly sick to his stomach with little to no appetite. He couldn’t remember the last time he slept without needing whiskey. Yes, I do. It was before I asked her to leave.
He spent most of his free time in her library. He would catch himself on the couch, recalling the first time she allowed him inside of her. He could practically smell her all around him. He slept in her room some nights, remembering the first time he held her while they slept, how right she felt in his arms. He often thought to those moments most — missing the closeness they shared.
He would sit and stare into nothing, lost in his thoughts for hours. He pretended to be fine, but even he could admit he had become extremely difficult to live with. His temper returned, he was short with staff, and every minute that passed without her was agonizing.
Sirena kept her distance — torn between supporting him and reminding him the break up was a stupid decision. He often thought of asking her about Belle, knowing they kept in contact. But whenever he came close to asking, a feeling of nausea crept over him, leaving him unable to go through with it.
He checked in with the police to ensure she was still being monitored and that Gabriel was keeping his distance. He thought about calling just to see how she was doing, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to handle hearing her upset — or worse, not upset. He started at least a hundred different text messages, and deleted each one, not quite sure what he even wanted to say.
He was standing in his office, staring out the window, when Sirena walked in and slammed the door behind her.
“I’m so sick of this. I’m tired of one of my best friends being miserable. You need to grow some balls and fix this.”
Closing his eyes, knowing this conversation was unavoidable, he told her the truth. “She needs someone better than me.”
“You don’t get to make that decision for her, Aleks. She gets to decide who is good enough for her. And right now, you’re hurting her more than you realize. She can’t figure out what she did wrong.”
“She didn’t do anything wrong, Ari. It was all me. I told her that.”
“Oh, yes. Because when a girl hears ‘It’s not you, it’s me’ as she’s being broken up with, she totally believes it.”
His chest ached as the truth of her words sank in. His heart dropped at the knowledge he not only hurt her by ending it, but she thought she actually had done something wrong. He pushed the thought away, not wanting to think any more about the pain he caused her.
“It doesn’t matter. She’ll find someone else.”
Sirena moved to the window and stood in front of him, crossing her arms over her chest as she spoke. “Yes, Aleks. She will. I’m not so sure about you, though.”
He winced. He didn’t expect her to agree. He didn’t want to think about Belle finding another man, yet it wasn’t realistic for him to think she wouldn’t. Not wanting to admit this, he tried to distract Sirena. “How do you know I haven’t found someone already?”
Sirena rolled her eyes. “That’s why you’re sulking, right?”
“I haven’t been sulking.”
She looked at him incredulously. “Liar.”
“Want me to show you just how over her I am?”
She narrowed her eyes at him as she challenged, “Oh, yes, please. Show me you’ve moved on.”
She was being sarcastic, but something came over him. He needed a connection with someone. He found her in two strides, grabbing her by the back of the head, pulling her into his mouth.
With one arm around her waist and the other in Sirena’s hair, he kissed her like … like she was his Belle.
H
er lips were soft and sweet. He squeezed her, imagining Belle, knowing she allowed him to kiss her because he needed this. He imagined her long brown hair, the way her eyes shone with excitement. He thought of her laugh. The laugh he craved to hear, to let him know she was alright, they were alright. Feeling a lump forming in his throat, he let Sirena go, more upset than ever. His eyes brimmed with tears as he looked at her.
“I’m — I’m sorry, Ari. I don’t, I shouldn’t have.”
She touched his face. “It’s not me you want.”
“I know.” He held her against him, squeezing her as his decision to push Belle away weighed on his shoulders. He buried his face into Sirena’s neck as the tears rolled down his cheeks. He held onto her like she was his only lifeline in a sea of despair.
“I miss her so fucking much.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Belle’s phone buzzed early the next Friday morning. Heart skipping a beat with every notification, she hoped against hope that he would reach out to her and confess it had all been a huge mistake. She turned the phone over and read the text.
Hey Girl! What are you and Cynthia doing tonight? Want to go out?
Sirena. Not Aleks.
She texted back: Cynthia has a date but I’m free. Where do you want to meet?
Between work, school, and mourning, she hadn’t seen Sirena since the breakup. After finalizing plans to meet at a restaurant in the city for drinks and dinner, she spent the day pampering herself.
A long, hot bath soothed her muscles while she shaved, half-tempted to skip this step, not interested in meeting any men tonight. The thought caused her pause: it was the first time in weeks she had gotten ready without the subconscious comfort of her man at home. Sadness flooded her as tears fell down her face into the bubbles.
On her way into the city a text chimed from Sirena.
Running late, meet me at the office.
Belle hesitated before answering: I don’t think I’m ready to see Aleks. Meet me in the lobby?
Almost immediately another text arrived: He won’t be here. Come up.
Butterflies in her stomach, Belle nearly cancelled multiple times at the thought of seeing the office again. She white knuckled the steering wheel the whole way, determined to not allow thoughts of him to dictate her actions.
Belle used the key she had yet to return and unlocked the door to the lobby. The silence of the empty building was deafening; an unease creeping into her system. Her phone began to vibrate. Not recognizing the number, she let it go to voicemail. Rather than leave a message, the number texted her:
It’s Sirena. So sorry, phone was stolen today at work. Let me know when you’re at the restaurant.
Belle’s face scrunched in confusion and she dialed the number.
Sirena answered, “Hey girl. Sorry about that—”
Belle cut her off, “What are you talking about? I’m here, at the office, in the elevator.”
“Why?”
“Sirena … you texted me not more than an hour ago to meet you here at the office. I’m in the elevator.”
“Belle — that wasn’t me, my phone was taken when … Oh. My. God. Belle you need to get out of there. Now.” Sirena’s voice rose an octave.
“Sirena, quit playing.”
“Belle, get out of there, now.” She heard what sounded like a hand over the receiver. Another voice joined in conversation, sounds muffled. “Gabriel … office today … taken it … texted her.”
Heart pounding against her chest, she put two and two together. Gabriel had gone to the office and stolen Sirena’s phone, and more than likely her keys — unless he hid in the building all afternoon. Gabriel had coerced her to come to the office, alone.
She began to panic. Stay calm. Think!
The elevator reached the 53rd floor. Hitting the button for floor 54, she hoped there would be enough time for the elevator to register the next stop. Her heart sank when the elevator bypassed the next floor. She had no other choice and hit the emergency stop button.
She remembered one of the installed safeguards; once the emergency button was pushed, the doors could only be opened from security downstairs or from Aleks’ office directly. This left her stuck in the elevator, mere feet below where he waited for her.
“Sirena, I — I’m stuck,” her voice shook.
“What do you mean you’re stuck? Can you—” Her voice was cut off and another one, the one she had been craving to hear, took its place.
“Belle?”
Belle closed her eyes and took a breath at hearing his voice. “Aleksandr.” Even in the midst of her panic, his voice set her aflame.
“Belle, where are you?”
“I — I pushed the emergency button. I’m stuck between the 55th and 56th floors.”
“Are you alone?”
“Yes. He’s not in here with me.”
As if waiting for the mention of him, a loud banging sounded on the door. She froze as the banging intensified; the doors shook as the assault continued.
Fear caused her to whisper. “He — he knows I’m in here. He’s banging on the doors.”
The pounding grew more intense. Goosebumps littered her skin, her muscles tightened, immobile as she kept quiet, not knowing what was happening. Just as suddenly, the banging stopped and a grinding noise filled the car for a few seconds.
A soft knock followed. The sound was closer. “Oh Anabelle. Sweetheart.”
He’s opened the outer doors.
Aleks called her name through the phone, but she couldn’t speak. She was caught in-between floors and knew the doors were designed to stay shut, but she also knew Gabriel. He would figure out a way to get to her. And when he did — no one would save her this time.
Gabriel lightly tapped on the door again. “Little pig, little pig, let me come in!”
“What’s happening?” Aleks used his authoritative voice — the one she couldn’t tune out and ignore.
She whispered her answer. “He’s gotten the outer doors open. Aleks he — he’s going to come in!”
Panic rose in her voice, making it hard to breathe. Gabriel had stalked her, broken into her home, forced himself on her, trespassed multiple times, and now, lured her into a trap. Knowing he was only inches away, knowing she was locked in a steel trap with no escape, tears cascaded down her cheeks.
“The doors won’t unlock on their own, they need the code. You’re safe in there.”
“B … but he’s … he’s going to…” Her breathing erratic, she couldn’t form a coherent sentence.
“Belle, listen to me. The interior doors cannot open on their own once the emergency button is pressed. You’re perfectly safe. I’m on my way, I’ll be there soon for you.”
Gabriel began banging on the doors again.
Belle squished herself into the corner trying to hide, knowing it was fruitless. If he entered, he would do much worse than simply scare her — he would punish her. She’d be lucky to make it out alive.
Aleks’ voice was low and intense. Just knowing he still cared helped calm her. She thought back to the months she spent with him, the happiest months she had spent with anyone. She needed to be honest with him.
In a whisper, she continued, “Aleks, I need to tell you something.”
“What is it, beautiful?”
Her voice broke at his words. “Just in case something happens, I wanted you to know. I … I love you. I love you, Aleksandr Wolfe. I have been in love with you for a while now. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I’m sorry I screwed it up. I’m sorry because it doesn’t matter anymore. I know you don’t want me, but it’s going to take me a really long time to get over you. And … I just … I needed you to know it. To know how happy you made me. You deserve to know.”
The words caused her to cry harder. Saying it out loud made her feel raw.
“Belle, I—”
Just then, a sound of metal scraping the door caused Belle to cry out. Her whole body shook, emotions on overload. Sweat dripped down her
face as she squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself anywhere but here. Her vision narrowed, she could feel consciousness begin to slip away from her. Don’t faint. Do not lose it, Belle.
She could hear Gabriel grunting as he attempted to pry the doors apart. She focused on Aleks’ voice instructing her how to breathe to keep from hyperventilating. Three seconds in, three seconds out.
After a few moments, the sounds stopped all together. She listened for what seemed like eternity. The quiet allowed her to catch her breath. When she heard nothing else, relief crashed through her.
“I think he left,” she assured Aleks and herself as she stood up. “I don’t hear anything.”
“I’m almost there, Belle. Please, hold on.”
Suddenly a boom crashed above her. She looked up in time to see Gabriel drop in the car from the ceiling panel. She dropped the phone as she screamed.
Aleks’ heart nearly stopped. Fear coursed through his veins. She was alone, scared, and with the one person who wanted nothing more than to harm her.
Harm my Belle. My sweet, perfect Belle who’s in love with me.
Her words opened something in him he couldn’t fathom. He wasn’t able to respond, fearing he would burst from the emotions coursing through him; fear from not being able to get to her and protect her, fury at Gabriel and what he was going to try to do to her, anguish at hearing the pain he caused her, and his own affection for her, mirrored in her words. She had changed him. He needed her to know and the words stuck in his throat. He was in love with her.
If I lose her… He wouldn’t let himself finish the thought. He turned all of the emotions into the one he was most comfortable with. Rage.
Aleks knew how Gabriel had gotten in. He kicked himself for not insisting the maintenance doors remained locked.
Her screams floated through the phone, pleading with Gabriel to leave her alone — to stop whatever he was doing to her. Scuffling and scraping noises increased his anxiety, imagining his hands on her, tearing at her. Her frightened cries drove him insane, fearing the worst was already happening.
Stealing Beauty (Fairy Tales After Dark Book 1) Page 29