Evan started looking for a hotel as the miles passed, knowing he needed sleep before they could continue the journey. There were few cars on the road and Evan felt confident that they hadn’t been followed. He spotted a brightly lit hotel next to an even brighter truck stop and pulled off the highway. Sally was opening her eyes as he pulled up in front of the lobby doors.
“Stay here and lock the doors,” Evan told her. “I’m going to go get us a room.”
Evan waited for Sally to lock the car doors and went into the hotel lobby. He paid for a room on the second floor near the front of the building where he could keep an eye on the parking lot. He came back out and parked under a light post, then grabbed their bags and led Sally to their room. Once inside, Evan wanted to take a hot shower before climbing into bed for a few hours of much needed sleep. Looking road weary and beaten down, Sally had crawled under the covers and fallen asleep almost immediately. Evan undressed and put his gun on the nightstand next to the bed before turning the shower on as hot as he could stand and climbing in.
He stood for a few moments letting the hard spray pelt his back and neck, loosening the tension from stress and driving. He lathered up his hair and body, enjoying the way the hot water kneaded the knots from his muscles. After about fifteen minutes, the extreme fatigue Evan had felt on the road began to settle over him. He couldn’t wait to climb into bed next to Sally and fall asleep with her wrapped safely in his arms. He turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, wrapping the towel around his waist. Evan was about to reach for the doorknob when muffled voices and a loud crash came from the beyond the door. At first he thought the neighbors had the television up too loud but then the sound of Sally’s terrified scream filled his ears.
Sally
Sally had fallen asleep the moment her head had hit the pillow on the hotel bed. She was sleeping hard and deep and so when she became aware of the voice and movement in the room, she thought at first that she was dreaming. As she began to come to fully conscience, Sally realized that she was neither dreaming, nor was she alone.
“Evan,” she said sleepily, rolling onto her back.
“Guess again,” came a deeply accented voice.
Sally sat bolt upright in bed, clutching the covers to her. Sitting on the end of the bed was Teddy Cruz, a gun pointed at her. Most people went their entire lives without ever seeing a gun up close but this was the second time in the span of six weeks that she’d had one trained on her. Before, with Teddy’s brother, she’d been scared but now, thinking of the life inside of her, she was utterly terrified. She had so much more to lose now and Evan still wasn’t completely healed from the last ordeal. She glanced over and noticed his gun on the nightstand.
“Don’t try to be a hero sweetheart,” Teddy said to her, following her eyes. “You’ll be dead before you reach it. Actually now that I think about it, go ahead and try. It might be more fun than just putting you down like the bitch you are.”
Not sure what to do, Sally sat stock still, looking Teddy right in the eyes.
“Where do you think you’re going to go Teddy,” she asked, trying to play cool. “Everyone is looking for you. If you shoot me, you’ll never get out of here alive. Surrender to Evan and they’ll come take you back. At least you’ll still be alive.”
In a quick flash, Teddy was up and grabbing a fistful of Sally’s hair and pulling her up from the bed.
“Is that the same bullshit your little boyfriend told my brother before he killed him,” he shouted at her. He jerked her head back harder and Sally screamed in pain. A split second later, Evan came barreling out of the bathroom and threw his shoulder into Teddy’s jaw, causing him to fling Sally away from him and back onto the bed. Evan and Teddy struggled, fairly evenly matched size wise, for Teddy’s gun. Their arms locked together, Evan head butted Teddy in the face breaking his nose and causing blood to pour down his chin. Teddy retaliated with a knee to Evan’s injured side, causing Evan to lose his grip and fall to his knees on the floor. Teddy, having the advantage now, swung the butt of his gun across Evan’s face. Sally watched, frozen in horror as Evan slumped to the floor unconscious. Teddy gave him a kick in the ribs to make sure he was out before raising his eyes back to Sally perched on the bed. He had a funny look on his face and it wasn’t until Sally felt the weight of the gun in her hand that she knew why.
Sometime during Teddy and Evan’s scuffle, Sally had grabbed Evan’s gun from the nightstand though she had no recollection of doing it. Now, she knelt in the middle of the bed with the barrel of the gun pointed squarely at Teddy’s chest.
“You’re not going to shoot me,” Teddy said, the confidence in his voice not entirely reaching his eyes. He stepped away from Evan and raised his own gun, aiming at Sally’s head. “You’re just a scared little girl who needs a man to tell you what to do. What now? Your man appears to be indisposed.” Teddy was slowly circling around the bed toward the door.
“Shut up Teddy,” Sally said. “I’m not that same pathetic girl that followed Joey around like a damn puppy. I killed him and I can kill you too.”
“Well then I guess we’ll just have to see who’s faster on the draw,” Teddy said, pulling the trigger.
Sally felt herself jerk backward and waited for the pain to hit her. She looked down at herself, searching for the wound but finding none. Instead, she raised her eyes to Teddy standing before her with dark red blood spurting from a hole in his throat. His arm was limp at his side and his mouth was working open and closed, reminding Sally of a fish out of water. He seemed to stand there staring at her for several minutes before crumpling to the floor. She dropped the gun and scrambled off the bed and onto the floor next to Evan, who was starting to come around.
“Evan? Can you hear me,” she asked, cradling his head in her lap.
“Sally? What happened? Are you ok?” he asked, struggling to sit up.
“I’m ok,” she said, gently pushing him back down on the floor. “Teddy’s dead,” she said. “I shot him. It’s over, it’s finally over.” As she said it, tears began to stream down her face. Tears of relief, sadness, joy, stress, and love. She could finally begin again.
Evan
Evan tried to stay calm while the local police were questioning Sally in the hallway. The coroner and crime scene guys were busy in the room with Teddy’s body. He held an ice pack to his throbbing jaw and wrapped his other arm around his side. He suddenly felt eighty years old. All he wanted to do was take several aspirin, pull Sally into his arms, and sleep for three solid days.
One of the detectives came into the room and told them that a tracking device had been found on Sally’s car which was how Cruz had found them. Most likely, Sally’s feeling of being watched back in Florida had been right. When asked how Cruz could’ve gotten to Florida so quickly after the escape, as he would be on a watch list at the airport, the detective told him that a former friend of Cruz’s who lived in Florida and owed him a favor had planted the device in order to repay his debt to Cruz. He’d been picked up on a parole violation. The guy would not be a problem for them again as he’d been stabbed in lock up by a guy he’d ratted out to the police.
Sally and Evan gave all of their information to the detectives in case any follow up questioning was needed but the local PD was writing this up as self-defense and Sally was free to go. The hotel staff offered them a new room, which they appreciatively accepted. After getting settled in, they fell into bed and slept until the following evening.
When Evan woke up around seven o’clock, he found Sally sitting in the chair, legs tucked up under her, staring out the window.
“Hey,” he said to her.
“Hey yourself,” she replied, smiling back at him. “I found a local pizza place in the phone book and ordered some,” she said.
“Good, I’m starving,” Evan said, rolling onto his back. “How long until they get here?”
“About half-an-hour,” she said, getting up and walking back over to the bed.
Evan drew her
down next to him. “That’s plenty of time,” he said, kissing her shoulder.
They undressed quickly and Evan knelt between Sally’s legs.
“You are so damn beautiful,” he said, looking down at her. “I love you so much Sally.”
“I love you too Evan,” she replied, smiling up at him. “Forever.”
Evan raised Sally’s hips and entered her, groaning as he slid deep inside. She placed a foot on either of Evan’s shoulders, opening herself up fully to him. He took advantage of her offer and drove himself as deep as he could into her slick tightness. Nothing had ever felt as good to him as making love to this woman. He stroked long and slow, then short and quick, varying his rhythm in an attempt to prolong their pleasure. Sally writhed and moaned beneath him, shifting subtly to encourage him to thrust deeper still.
“Evan,” she moaned breathily. “Please, Evan, please,” she pled as he slowed his strokes. Finally he could deny himself no longer and he quickened his pace, thrusting long and hard until her body pulsed around him and he emptied himself deep inside of her. Before rolling off of her, Evan peppered Sally’s face with kisses and told her again how much he loved her. He was so incredibly happy.
They sat in bed and ate their pizza, talking about what they would do once they got back to Oklahoma. She would move in with him, Evan insisted, and she could get her job back at Buck’s if she wanted or she could stay home and do nothing if she wanted that. Evan had more money than they really needed so it would be her choice.
“Of course, I’ll have to make an honest woman of you,” he teased. He noted the surprised expression on her face. “Seriously Sally, I don’t want to waste any more time. Marry me.”
He watched as tears sprang into her eyes. “Of course I’ll marry you Evan.”
“Good, now the little old ladies in town won’t break down the church doors praying for our sinner’s souls,” he laughed.
“Trust me, they’ll have plenty to pray about soon enough,” Sally said, smiling at him from across the pizza box. “Unless they’re really bad at math.”
Evan looked at her with a puzzled expression. Sally reached over and took his hand, placing it low on her abdomen and covering it with her own. Sudden realization lit his eyes and a broad smile broke over his face.
“Are you serious,” he asked.
“Yes. I haven’t been feeling myself lately and I thought it was just because of everything that had happened. But something clicked yesterday morning and I went and bought a test.” She got up and went to her duffle bag, retrieving the positive pregnancy test. “I was going to tell you right away but then all hell broke loose. I wanted to wait for the right time.”
Evan stood from the bed, pulling her into his arms and swinging her in a circle.
“You’ve just made me the happiest man on earth,” he said. He put her down on her feet and kissed her slow and deep. “Let’s go home.”
THE END
Billionaire Romance
Billionaire’s Secretary
Desired Destiny
Bethany Bladen
Billionaire’s Secretary: Desired Destiny
Chapter One
“You’re fired, Miss. Madill. Please pack up and go,” Olivia Madill’s boss—Kaitlyn—said. Motioning for Olivia to leave with a flourish of her hand.
Shocked and speechless, Olivia could only stare and gawk as she stared at the morbidly obese woman, mouth gaped open as she pushed from her swivelling chair. Quick to scramble to her feet, she hastened her short pace and ran after the only person who could explain for why she was fired.
“Wait, Kait—I mean, Miss. Shores!” she rushed on and nearly broke her ankle for using her two-inched heels like a pair of running shoes. Biting down on her lower lip, she dodged another co-worker and managed to keep up with the other woman’s surprising swift stride.
“Did I not tell you to pack up and go, Miss. Madill?” Kaitlyn asked, rising an eyebrow at her breathlessness, stopping shortly that she nearly plastered herself on her chunky back.
“But Kaitlyn—” she cleared her throat, “I mean, Miss. Shores. For what reason am I fired?”
“I do believe that you had your sick leave a week ago,” her boss said. Her thick, shaggy eyebrows still raised and Olivia tried not to stare at it. Merely ignoring the obvious itchiness of her hand as her fingers twiddled together, sinking her nails onto a small patch of her skin to prevent herself from grabbing her tweezers and pulling out a huge and extreme excess of her boss’ eyebrows to fix them up.
Suddenly she swallowed, realizing what was coming. “Uh, yes?”
“And you’re asking me to give you another week for that paperwork that is due today?” her employer enquired, further asking her questions that bemused her.
“But you don’t understand,” Olivia reasoned, trying desperately for her boss to understand her perspective. “I was sick last week and the previous days before that. I couldn’t do anything but remain in bed all day long with a hot mug of tea in my hands.”
“Well, I suggest you do just that Miss. Madill. I need not hire lazy employees who asks for extension when they were given a week notice that you are unable to do that. Not in my company anyway.”
“But that wasn’t my fault—”
“Goodbye, Miss. Madill. Please don’t leave a trace of garbage on your desk. I’ve already hired another employee who will be taking your place tomorrow morning. Therefore, I suggest you pack up and leave as quietly as you can. I’m sure there is no need to call the security, don’t you think?”
Defenceless and felt weak at the knees, Olivia could only watched as her now former boss walked away. Her massive and shapeless hips sashayed towards her unorganized office, blinking furiously in an attempt to flirt with the other men. If things would have turned out differently, if she hadn’t been late this morning and woke up late and finished the supposedly paperwork—she probably would have still had her job.
Shoulder blades drooped and defeated, she went back to where her desk was located and began to clear her things away. The soles of her feet ached and cramped from the small compartment of her shoes, her toes pleaded for them to be freed. Though, tempted to toss her heels away and wriggle her foot in relaxation, Olivia ignored the insistent and grabbed an immense box. Seizing everything on her desk and throwing them into a huge pile within the container.
“I cannot believe that woman had the guts to fire you when you did a really good job last week in spite of your sick issues,” her co-office worker Nicole Adams said. Her voice appearing out of nowhere that it startled Olivia.
“Are you like a ghost or something?” she asked, slightly irritated at her friend’s unnoticed showing up.
Instead of being insulted or annoyed at her light outburst of impatience, Nicole spoke, “Well, no. Not a ghost but a real, living woman.”
“That’s nice to know,” she responded, a tinge of sarcasm lacing into her voice.
“Is something wrong? No wait, don’t tell me. I already know,” Nicole said as she went around Olivia’s desk to help out. “But what are you going to do now?”
Casting a glance at her friend, Olivia noted the red, fiery hair that almost matched up to Nicole’s attitude. At five foot two, her friend was on the smaller side and never had to worry about exceeding fat and the calories that she ate every time. Studying the other woman’s features, she took notice of her diminutive form and tried not to giggle at the scrunching of her nose.
“What is this?” Nicole alleged, bringing up a greenly-looking sandwich that must have gotten stuck in the pit of her drawers.
“An expired sandwich maybe?” she offered and finished up packing and closed the lid.
“So, is there anything that I can do for you?” Nicole obtained, lifting up a hand to put on her arm in a soothing manner.
“No, not really. I just have to figure out things by myself but I will keep in touch. I’ll give you a text this week and see how it will go. I’m sure there’s another job posting available somewhere
around here.”
“Why don’t you call your brother?”
Just as immediately, Olivia felt a rush of panic. Before she realized that she had risen her voice, she screeched a loud, “No!” but quickly bit down on her lower lip and swiftly followed it up with an apology. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell. But he can’t know, Nicole. Not yet or ever.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t tell. You know that I could barely talk to him when he’s around. You know, I get tongue-tied.” She supplied and sent Olivia a weak smile.
Ever since her friend met her brother George, Nicole had developed an unrequited crush that soon turned into an unexpected love. Although, she was all for them being together and all, it seemed as if her older brother couldn’t see the potential in the other’s woman’s eyes.
Soon enough, they said their goodbyes and Olivia was forced to leave. With a reluctant and heavy heart, she left the building and carried over her things outside. The leather strap of her handbag was draped around her shoulder as she walked out the lobby, the cold rush of air wafting in as she stepped foot outside the workplace she had been in for almost four years.
The sight of the long skyscraper she had worked on was going to be just another memory. Running her eyes on the building, she took in its glassed scales as the surface glinted against the bright sunlight. The fine crystalline exterior highlighted and sparkled against the ball of heat that continued to blind her despite of the hand she had propped over her forehead.
A sturdy gust of wind floated by and formed into a form of hands. Its invisible fingers waving into her thick tresses of strawberry blonde hair. It was in the middle of November and the cold was starting to creep into her bones. Only wearing a thin cardigan in the worry of getting even more lately this morning, Olivia had grabbed the quickest route in her house and never realizing that her clothing wasn’t warm enough against the frost. Cursing herself under her breath, she lifted her head up and glared at the familiar structure. Beyond caring whether she looked like a sad, lonely woman who stared pitifully a building.
BILLIONAIRE ROMANCE: The Unforgettable Billionaires: The Complete Collection Boxed Set 1-12 (Young Adult Rich Alpha Male Billionaire Romance) (Alpha Bad Boy Billionaire Romance) Page 124