Kyle looks at Eden and surprises the complete hell out of me. “Hell yeah guy, that’s completely cool, thanks Eden,” Kyle tells him, then holds his fist up, and again to my surprise Eden holds his fist up, and they bump their fists together.
I try to hide the surprise, but Eden catches it and smiles at me. He’s so full of surprises. My heart skips a beat as I feel so much love for him at this moment. This can’t be easy for him to have Kyle here.
Gesturing for them to follow me, I lead them upstairs. “Come on guys. Follow me.”
I hold Laura’s hand as Kyle follows close behind us. “Al, this place is beautiful. I can’t believe any of this. It’s like a dream. Your mom must be over the moon with this.”
I smile at her. “She sure is.”
We walk down the hall and then come to the bedroom door I picked for her. It’s at the end of the hallway, and Kyle’s is right across from it. I open her door, showing her to her room first. The room is beautiful with a large bed in the middle of it. The bedspread is her favorite shade of dark green as are the curtains.
“Go ahead, check it all out, and don’t forget to look in the dressers and the closet. Those are all yours, Laura,” I tell her.
She turns to look at me in astonishment, “You know you didn’t have to do all this, Ally.” I just smile at her. Then I turn to Kyle.
I hope he likes his room as much as Laura seems to like hers.
“Right across the hall is you. Just like I told Laura, Kyle, check it all out, everything is yours,” I tell him, as I walk the short distance to open the door to his room.
He walks past me into the room, then turns around to look at me. “This feels right, doesn’t it, Al?”
I smile at him. “Right as rain, Kyle. Now once you’ve done whatever you need to do, grab Laura and make your way back downstairs, so we can start eating. I’ll be waiting in the living room for you two,” I tell him, as I turn to walk away, trying my best to lighten up what flows between us.
I turn back to look at him as he sends me, ‘We’ll get through this, Al.’
I send back, ‘We have to, don’t we?’
I find Eden waiting in the living room as well as my little brother, Scotty. “Come, Alyssa,” Eden tells me, as he pats the open space on the sofa, next to him.
I smile as I walk down the stairs, still feeling uneasy with Kyle’s presence. I sit down next to my husband. Eden puts his arm around my shoulders, then kisses my cheek. I look up at him to see he’s smiling widely at me. His emerald eyes have a sparkle to them they only get when he’s happy about something.
“Laura looks happy, Princess. They must be getting along well,” he says.
My wedding ring catches my eye as a light in the chandelier makes it sparkle. “You think?” I ask, not really wanting to talk about how my Kyle and my best friend are getting on.
Kyle and Laura come down the staircase, hand in hand. My heart thumps hard against my chest, and Eden gives me a squeeze, and a kiss on the side of my head. Scotty jumps up, almost running over to Kyle. Scotty is still such a little kid at fifteen.
I suddenly realize he’s had to leave all of his friends. He’s been thrown into this completely different life just like I have. Only I have Eden and Kyle. Scotty has no one. The thought makes me a little sad.
“Hey creep,” Scotty teases Kyle as he mock-punches him in the arm.
Kyle mock punches him, back, and says, “Hey there, small fry. I’ve been told you have your own game room.”
Scotty is pumped with Kyle here to play with him, and nearly yells, “You wanna see it?”
I stand up quickly. “Not yet, Scotty. We need to eat, first.”
“What a party pooper!” My brother mopes as he heads off to the dining room.
I immediately feel sorry for him. “After dinner we’ll see about it, Scotty,” I say, and see his face light up again.
We follow Scotty’s lead, going to the dining room. Terri, the head maid from our home, has outdone herself on glamorizing it. The dining room looked good before, but now it looks grand. Large bouquets of fresh flowers are everywhere. The table is set with gorgeous crystal glasses and beautiful china.
Laura lets out a gasp. “Ally, this is beautiful, so elegant.”
“Sit here, right across from us,” I tell them.
Kyle pulls the chair out for Laura. I smile at her as I follow Eden to the other side of the enormous table. He pulls out a chair for me, and I sit down. I notice Scotty has taken the chair next to Kyle. I can tell he’s glad Kyle’s here.
He and Eden get along well, but I’m pretty stingy with Eden’s attention. We’ve seen very little of my brother since we came here. I’ll have to make sure we change that.
My parents enter the dining room, and Eden stands up, as is the custom when a lady enters the room, I found out. Kyle surprises me yet again, as he stands up too, and taps Scotty on the shoulder to get him to stand as well.
Laura looks over at me. “How formal,” she mouths to me.
My father walks to Kyle and shakes his hand. “It’s good to see you again, son.”
Kyle smiles. “Good to see you too, sir.”
Dad leans down to give Laura a hug, and says, “Nice to see you too, Laura. We’ve missed seeing you.”
“Your new home is beyond gorgeous, Mr. Devlin,” she says.
My mother approaches Kyle, and he takes her hand to shake it, but she pulls him into a hug instead. “It’s so good to see you, Kyle.”
Kyle hugs her back, and says, “You too, Mrs. Devlin.”
Mom kisses Laura on top of the head. “We’ve missed you both, so much. It’s been a month since the wedding.”
My parents go to the end of the table, taking their seats. The boys sit back down, but are forced to stand back up as Eden’s parents come in. Lyle walks up to Kyle and shakes his hand, beginning the lengthy hellos between my friends and Eden’s parents.
They go to take their seats at the other end of the table. Everything is going so well. Terri comes in with a bottle of white wine, pouring everyone a glass. After she leaves, Scotty holds up his glass.
“So, we’re sophisticated again, Dad?” Scotty asks our father.
Dad looks at him. “If it’s in front of you, drink it, boy. No need for comments.”
We all laugh a little, and I look at Laura. “It’s not always this formal, but I wanted to give you guys the five-star treatment. I’m so glad you’re here.”
Laura smiles back. “This is really nice of you, Ally. Nice of all of you,” she says as she looks at Eden, and then our parents. “Thank you all so much for inviting us.”
Eden looks at her and smiles. “We love having you here.”
Terri arrives again with our salads, placing them in front of us. Laura leans in a bit. “Ally, the clothes are to die for. I can’t thank you enough. I’m so lucky to have you as my best friend.”
“Having a personal shopper is the best.”
“So after dinner, Al, can Kyle and Eden play games?” Scotty asks.
“I’m not their boss, Scotty. They can do whatever they want to,” I answer him.
“So, do you want to?” he asks, looking back and forth between Kyle and Eden.
“If Kyle wants to, then yeah,” Eden answers him.
“Of course I do, Scott,” Kyle tells him, then leans close to him to whisper something in his ear I can’t make out, and then they both laugh.
“I don’t know about that Kyle. I’ve been playing like nonstop since we got here,” Scotty informs him.
Kyle looks over at Eden. “Should I be afraid, Eden, is he that good?”
“He kicks my ass,” Eden replies.
I look at Eden. “Your mouth, Eden,” I whisper.
“It’s quite alright, Ally,” my father tells me. “Scotty kicks my ass at those games too.”
Everyone laughs, and then Terri brings us the main course. Fried alligator and shrimp with beans, coleslaw and hushpuppies. I’m surprised by the taste of the alligator. It’s
not at all what I expected.
“You know I was expecting this to taste very different,” I comment.
Then Laura and Kyle look at each other. “It tastes like chicken,” they say at the same time, making us all erupt into laughter again.
Later, Terri brings in the dessert. It’s the most gorgeous pineapple upside down cake I’ve ever seen. I wonder how in the world our chefs can make such a simple cake look like a million dollars. They never cease to amaze me.
“Everything was so delicious,” Laura says, as she sets her dessert fork down next to her half-eaten piece of cake. “I’m so full, I can’t even finish this phenomenal piece of cake.”
Scotty clanks his fork down, loudly. “Dad, I’m done. Can I be excused?”
“Okay Scotty, but I don’t want you to stay up all night, playing games,” Dad orders.
“I won’t. Well, you guys coming or what?” he asks Eden and Kyle.
Eden looks at me, and Kyle looks at Laura for approval. “Just go,” I say, as I wave my hand at Eden.
He gives me a quick kiss on the cheek, then jets out of the room, following Kyle and Scotty. “Looks like it’s just you and me. We should go for a swim. I think I’d love swimming at night,” I tell Laura
“That sounds good to me,” Laura says, in agreement.
We run upstairs to change into our bathing suits. “Come to my room as soon as you’re ready,” I tell her.
She’s at my door before I know it, and we take off out to the pool. I turn on the outside lights. A light inside the pool comes on as well, making it look pretty. The usually humid and hot air is a bit cooler, making the night more pleasant.
“I just can’t believe this, Al. Like when did your parents get rich?” Laura asks me.
That question has caught me off guard. So I make something up. “Dad sold some stocks or something like that. You know they don’t talk to me about their finances.”
We slip into the warm water. “This is a lot warmer than I thought it would be,” I say.
“It feels fantastic. It’s so nice out here. You were right, swimming at night is cool,” Laura says.
We sit on the large steps that lead into the pool, leaning back on the edge. Stretching my legs out, I kick them back and forth slowly. Stars sparkle in the night sky as I gaze up at them. An image of Eden and me flying in the dark sky flitters through my mind.
“So what’s your plan for the fall, Laura?”
“I’m up in the air about it right now. You know how I’d planned on going to a local community college and staying at home? Well Kyle wants me to go to Austin with him now. There are small colleges there too, and many more part-time jobs for me to choose from,” she tells me, making my stomach clench. “I’m really happy we can still be close, Ally. You know you’re like the sister I never had.”
How can I be jealous of her? I love her!
I smile as I say, “You’re like a sister to me too, Laura. I’m happy for you. So, are you thinking about going with him?”
She nods her head, and says, “He told me he loves me last night.”
My heart stops! He loves her?
“Wow,” I say as I look up at the sky, trying to make sure the tears which threaten don’t fall.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought too,” she says.
Still looking up, I ask, “How about you, do you love him?”
“Of course I do. What’s not to love about him? I told him, after he told me,” she says. “Then we went inside my house and made love for three hours.”
Good Lord, I want to cry my eyes out, and throw up!
Chapter 49
ALYSSA
The room is dark, except for one small light. I see a chair, sitting under the light, but no one is in it. I try to move and find I can’t. I look up to see my hands are tied to the headboard of a rusty iron bed. My feet are tied at the bottom of the bed to the rusty rails of the footboard.
Looking down, I see a lacey, blue nightgown which just covers my body to the tops of my thighs. I try to scream for help but there’s something in my mouth, almost choking me. The choking sensation seems to turn on my senses. I feel intense pain all over my body and groan in agony
The smell of cigar smoke fills my nostrils. Someone is in here, hiding in the shadows. I move my head frantically, trying to see where the person might be. I see a red glow from the cigar I smell. It’s not that far away from me. Then I hear a voice, a man’s voice.
“I wouldn’t wear myself out, trying to get out of the bonds I’ve put you in, Mrs. Fontaine,” the man says.
It’s him, the crazy man, Stiles. His chubby, round face with straggly, thin, grey hairs surrounding it comes into the light just enough for me to see him.
His voice a hiss, he says, “Glad you’re awake now. It wasn’t much fun with you asleep, but I managed.”
What? What the hell has he done to me?
I pull at the ropes which hold me tight to the lumpy bed. He comes closer to me. I struggle even harder to get free. His hand reaches out, lifting the bottom of my nightgown up as he looks underneath it.
He holds up his other hand. A light blue pair of silk panties is hanging on his finger. He begins to twirl them around. I realize they’re mine and try in vain to scream.
“I’m afraid the gag was something I had to do to you, as I can’t stand the ugly accent you have. I have to tell you I’m sorry, as it would seem I used maybe a bit too much morphine when I drugged you. You were very unresponsive even as I did the dirtiest things to you, Mrs. Fontaine. Otherwise you could have enjoyed them too.”
Tears start to run down my cheeks. They burn as they do, making me realize they’re scraped up. He must have beaten me. I can taste blood in my mouth. I look down to see my knees are scraped as well. He senses I’m figuring out he’s hurt me in more ways than one.
“Hope you don’t mind, honey. I like to get rough with my girls.”
I see his hand coming to my face slowly, then he pulls it back up really fast, bringing it down on my cheek with a hard slap. I try to scream again and almost choke as I do. Tears stream down my face.
“That turned a nice shade of red, I like that,” he says to himself.
“Stop crying or I’ll do it again!” he yells at me.
His nature changes extremely suddenly as he kneels down beside me, looking into my eyes. “Please stop, please stop crying,” he says. “I just want to make you feel good. I didn’t want to hurt you, but you made me do it. You should have stayed away and let Karen have that rich fucker. She doesn’t have everything you have. She’s plain like her mother. You should have given him up, so she could have a chance with him. Now that I’ve taken you away from him, maybe now he’ll take her. I need the money. I have special needs I have to pay for. I can’t afford it on my own, you know. Maybe I won’t kill you. Maybe I’ll just keep you here. You could do the things I need. How about that? I can leave you alive if you agree to not run away and do what I need. It’s not so bad, lots of people do it. Just nod your head if you agree.”
The tears have not stopped flowing. I nod my head yes, hoping to fool him into letting me go.
“No, shit! You agree? I can’t believe it. You want me, don’t you?” he asks.
I nod my head yes, again.
“I knew it. I want to let one of your arms loose. Promise me you won’t try to do anything crazy. I want to see if you can do what I need done.”
I nod my head yes again.
He stands up and takes a knife out of his back pocket. He opens it, then looks at me intently. Somehow I’ve managed to stop my tears. I have a hard time concentrating on what I need to do as my brain feels fuzzy.
The knife grazes my cheek on purpose as he brings it up to cut the rope tying my right hand to the rusty railing of the headboard. I act like I like the feeling of the knife on my face as I hope it throws him off.
I feel the freedom as the rope is cut, letting my arm fall. Unfortunately, my arm is asleep. I can’t move it. It falls limply onto the bed. I
try to move it, but it just won’t move right.
“Give me your hand,” the sweaty man commands me.
I try very hard, but I can’t move it. I move my head back and forth, trying to get him to take the gag out of my mouth.
“I’ve broken you,” he cries, then tears stream down his chubby, red cheeks.
I shake my head no, hoping he’ll let me go. Suddenly he changes again.
“You, stupid piece of shit! Of course you broke her,” he says to himself as he turns away from me. “You can’t do anything right. Now you have no choice but to kill her. They can’t find her like this, or you’ll go to prison. You can’t go there, they’ll rape you. You’re far too tender to go there, Darren.” His voice is high pitched. It’s as if he’s impersonating a woman.
He stops talking to himself and turns to look back at me. His eyes are almost black instead of the drab brown they’ve been.
The knife is still in his hand. I try to move my arm, and it moves a little bit. I move it to my side in an attempt to protect myself. This only infuriates him.
His voice flat, he says, “You’re dead.”
I feel a pain in my ribs almost immediately. My face is slapped repeatedly. Then my other arm is cut down as are my legs. They are all of no use to me. I close my eyes, trying to picture myself as the big, black bird.
A stabbing pain hits me in my shoulder. I can’t concentrate any more. He’s on top of me, slapping me hard. I can’t feel a thing anymore. I see only blackness.
“Wake up, bitch. I’m not done with you, wake up,” I hear him screaming at me, as I drift away.
“Alyssa, Alyssa is that you?”
I’m lying on something hard and cold. It’s cold in this place. I’m so cold. “Alyssa! Thank, Our Creator, Alyssa! I found you.” I hear Eden yell. “Doctor, you have to save her. I can’t lose her. Please tell me you can save her.”
“She’s lost a lot of blood, Eden. It looks like she has some broken ribs, and most likely a punctured lung. There’s a knife wound on her side. The ambulance will be here soon. We’ll get her to the hospital, and get started on her as soon as we can,” I can hear the other voice say.
Billionaire’s Quarry: A Billionaire, Bad Boy, Romance (An Alpha Billionaire Romance Boxed Set) Page 147