B071NZPNXN EBOK

by Unknown

  “I think it’s safer if you stay here,” she smiled against his lips. “Try your best to stay out of trouble.”

  “You’re no fun,” he pouted, and Alice just laughed. “By the way, use the toilet on the first floor, no one else will be up there.”

  “I won’t be long,” she said as she kissed him once more, before she made her way through the crowd, towards the staircase that would take her to the first floor.

  Once Alice was in the privacy of the upstairs bathroom, she made her way to the sink and checked her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was holding up surprisingly well, and her makeup still looked good, other than needing some more lipstick. But the thing she noticed most was, she looked completely and utterly happy. More than she ever had in her entire life.

  Once she had reapplied her lipstick, and some more perfume, she headed for the door, excited to get back to the party.

  As she opened the door, she was surprised to come face to face with the man that had been the one dark cloud on a wonderful night.

  “Alice,” he said as he made no effort to step out of her way. “We haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Lewis Malone.”

  “I know who you are,” Alice lied. Something told her he was not there to share pleasantries, so she was not giving him the upper hand of knowing her, when she didn’t know him.

  “I’m surprised,” he said, the shock clear on his face. “I didn’t think O’Neill would have the balls to tell you anything about me.”

  “Well, you’re wrong,” Alice replied defiantly. “I know exactly who you are, Mr. Malone. Parker and I have no secrets, so if you have come here to start trouble, I’m sorry to disappoint you.”

  “You are a revelation, Alice,” Lewis said as he took a step closer to her. “I thought you were just some bimbo, O’Neill had bought to play the part of the dutiful wife, but it seems the new Mrs. O’Neill has teeth.”

  “And I can bite too, Mr. Malone,” Alice said trying her hardest to seem unfazed by this vile man, but inside her heart was hammering in her chest. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I should get back to my husband.”

  “Not so fast,” he said, blocking her way once more. “Did Parker tell you about the time he fucked my fiancé at a company party? Don’t you think it might be only fair for me to return the favour?”

  “Get out of my way!” Alice demanded as her stomach knotted with fear and anger.

  “When I am good and ready, Mrs. O’Neill,” Lewis said as he pushed Alice back into the bathroom, sending her tumbling to the floor. “I think you and I should get to know each other better.”

  He stepped into the bathroom and closed the bathroom door behind him. Alice looked up at him, as fear took hold of her. Where the hell was Parker?

  Chapter 27

  Parker

  “So what’s happening with Lewis,” Harrison asked once Alice was out of earshot.

  Parker had warned his friends not to mention Lewis Malone to Alice, or there would be trouble.

  “He is just being a giant douche,” Parker sighed as he took a sip from his glass. “He arrived here at the house two nights ago, insisting that Dad reconsider who should take over from him, now that he is stepping down. He told Dad that my marriage was a sham; that I would just end up destroying the company, and that when my marriage fell apart, I would lose half of everything to some random bimbo.”

  “You’re fucking kidding me,” Harrison said, giving his friend a worried look. “What did Robert say?”

  “Nothing,” Parker laughed. “He didn’t get a chance. Mom threw Lewis out of the house herself. She loves Alice, and she was never going to let someone talk about her like that.”

  “What does Alice actually know?” Jensen asked as he chuckled at Parker’s last comment.

  “She knows we had an argument,” Parker shrugged. “She arrived at the office last week while Lewis was having yet another rant. She doesn’t know he went to some of the board to have me removed. Hell, I wouldn’t have known if Gregory hadn’t told Mom last week. And she doesn’t know that he hired a P.I to try and find some dirt on her. But he knows that he is beaten, coming here the other night was his last-ditch attempt, but it failed miserably. To be honest, I am surprised he had the balls to show up here tonight.”

  “Well, just so you know,” Harrison said giving Parker another worried look. “Alice knows that something’s up. She was asking about him earlier; she said you were upset by him being here.”

  “Did you tell her anything?” Parker asked as a sudden wave of fear settled over him.

  “Of course we didn’t,” Jensen replied. “But she isn’t stupid, Parker. Keeping secrets from her is only going to upset her more if she finds out the truth.”

  “I will tell her,” Parker sighed miserably. “Just not tonight.”

  “I don’t know what’s going on here,” Jenny finally spoke up. “And honestly, I don’t want to know. But if there is something that Alice should know, you should tell her before someone else does. Trust me; she will understand anything, once you have the guts to tell her yourself. But if she hears a twisted version from someone else, she will freak the hell out.”

  “Damn,” Parker sighed as he thought for a moment. He knew Jenny was right, just like he knew Lewis being there that night was a liability. He just hadn’t wanted to ruin their night.

  “Here,” he said as he handed his friends the two glasses of champagne. “I’m going to go talk to her. I won’t be long.”

  Parker pushed his way through the crowd and headed for the staircase in the hallway. As he made his way up the stairs, he thought about what he was going to tell Alice. He knew he should tell her the truth, but he didn’t want to upset her, not tonight. Tonight was their night, and he was determined that Lewis Malone was not going to ruin it.

  As he made his way along the hallway, he smiled to himself as he thought that when Alice saw him, she would think he had followed her for very different reasons. Parker’s cock twitched at that thought. Maybe they could have a little fun before they re-joined the party.

  You really are like a horny teenager! He laughed to himself. This girl has well and truly gotten under your skin.

  As he reached the bathroom door, he stopped when he heard Alice talking. She sounded strange, scared almost. Then he realised that she was crying. A rush of anger and panic washed over Parker, as he quickly pushed opened the door, and found Lewis pinning Alice to the sink. He was trying to pull her dress up, but Alice was struggling and making it too hard.

  “PARKER!” She cried out, even though she hadn’t spotted Parker yet.

  “I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU!” Parker yelled as he grabbed Lewis from behind, and threw him against the wall, knocking over a towel rail with a loud crash. Before Lewis had time to react, Parker landed a punch on Lewis’s face sending him tumbling back towards the wall once more, but before he reached it, Parker grabbed him and punched him again.

  “PARKER, STOP!” Alice cried as she quickly stepped in front of Parker. When he looked down into her face and saw fear staring back at him, his heart almost broke. “Please, he’s not worth it.”

  “I’m going to kill him,” Parker growled angrily as he tried to move her out of the way.

  “Parker, please!” She begged as she stepped back in front of him. “PLEASE!”

  Parker looked down into her eyes, and he knew as much as he wanted to beat every last breath out of Lewis’s scrawny body, he knew he had to take care of her.

  Blowing out a deep, calming breath, he wrapped her in his arms, and pulled her to his chest.

  “Okay,” he whispered as he kissed the top of her head.

  “I think you broke my nose,” Lewis said from where he was slumped on the floor.

  “You’re lucky I haven’t fucking killed you,” Parker growled back at him. He knew he needed to get rid of this scumbag with as little fuss as possible. If not for Alice’s sake, then for his mother and father’s. He pulled his phone from inside his jacket pocket and brought up Jense
n’s number.

  “What did you do now?” Jensen laughed the moment he answered the phone.

  “I need you and Harri, right now!” Parker demanded. “We are in the first-floor bathroom.”

  “We’re on our way,” Jensen said, and Parker knew by the tone of his friend’s voice, he understood something serious had happened.

  “Getting your two flunkies to come and finish what you don’t have the balls for?” Lewis sniggered as he stumbled to his feet.

  “Oh, I can finish it, Malone,” Parker growled as he moved Alice behind him. “I would take great pleasure in beating the snot out of your vile, slimy ass.”

  “Then what’s stopping you?” Lewis asked as he squared his shoulders and stepped towards Parker. “Maybe your little bimbo isn’t worth the effort…”

  “YOU SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH!” Parker shouted as he grabbed him once more.

  “PARKER, NO!” Alice screamed as Parker drew his fist back once more, but before he could land the punch, Jensen and Harrison came rushing into the bathroom. Jensen grabbed Parker and pulled him back, while Harrison stepped in between them.

  “LET ME GO!” Parker demanded as he struggled to free himself from his friend’s grasp. “HE IS FUCKING DEAD!”

  “He is not worth it,” Alice said as she stepped in front of Parker. “Please, I need you, and I don’t want you to do something you will regret. Not for him.”

  Parker released another frustrated breath.

  “I want you out of this house,” Parker said through gritted teeth. “And I never want to see your face again.”

  “You think it’s that easy?” Lewis laughed as he straightened his tie. “You think I’m going to walk away from O’Neill’s.”

  “And you think the board is going to give you the job when they hear you tried to rape my wife?” Parker shot back. “Or maybe I should call the cops, let them deal with your scumbag ass.”

  “Wait! He did what?” Harrison asked as he turned to face Lewis. Without even waiting for a reply, Harrison swung out and connected with Lewis’s chin, sending him stumbling back once more.

  “ENOUGH!” Alice cried. “This is not the time or the place…”

  “Alice, he can’t get away with what he has done,” Harrison said turning to look at her. “This asshole is a predator.”

  “No,” Alice said as she looked from Harrison to Lewis. “He is just pathetic.”

  “Get him out of this house,” Parker said as he took hold of Alice’s hand. “I never want to see him again.”

  “Are you serious?” Harrison asked, giving Parker a look of disbelief. “You’re just going to let him walk?”

  “It’s what Alice wants,” Parker replied knowing he was doing the right thing, even if that’s not how he felt inside. “Besides, he is finished in this town. I will make sure of it.”

  Harrison and Jensen grabbed hold of Lewis and dragged him to his feet.

  “Take him down the back stairs,” Parker instructed them as they headed to the door. “I don’t want my parents to know about this, not tonight.”

  “Okay,” Jensen replied as Parker stepped in front of Lewis once more.

  “You will go,” Parker growled into his face. “I don’t even want to see you at the office to pack your crap up. When it comes to O’Neill’s; you’re done. But if I see you anywhere near my wife again, I will kill you. I give you my word.”

  Lewis didn’t answer him, but Parker could see the defeat in his eyes.

  Parker stepped back out of the way, while Jensen and Harrison dragged him out of the bathroom.

  Parker stood for a moment, taking a few deep breaths before he finally turned to look at Alice. The moment he did, tears trickled down her face as she hurried to his arms.

  “It’s okay,” Parker whispered as he softly rubbed her back. He cupped the back of her head with his hand and brought her closer to him. “I’ve got you.”

  “I thought he was going too…” she sobbed, unable to finish the sentence. “I was so scared.”

  “I know you were,” he said as he pressed his lips to her forehead.

  “He…he was saying all these things about you,” Alice continued. “And I really thought he was going to…”

  “This is all my fault,” Parker sighed, knowing that he had put her in this position. “I should have never left you alone. He hates me, and he took it out on you. I knew when I saw him here tonight that he was here to cause trouble. I just didn’t want to let him ruin your night…”

  “This is not your fault,” Alice said adamantly as she looked up at Parker. “I don’t want you blaming yourself for this.”

  “But Alice,” Parker argued, but she stopped him with a look.

  “This is not your fault,” Alice insisted. “He did this, not you.”

  Parker kissed her on the forehead and pulled her to him once more.

  “Maybe we should just go home,” he suggested as he held her tightly.

  “No,” Alice said suddenly as she looked up at Parker. “This is our party. Your mother worked so hard to make this night special.”

  “But she will understand,” Parker assured Alice, as he took her face in his hands. “I will tell her you’re not feeling well…”

  “No,” Alice repeated once again. “He is not doing this; he is not taking this from us.”

  “Alice, it’s okay,” Parker tried to reason with her, but he knew by the look on her face that she was determined.

  “I just…I just need to fix my hair,” Alice said as she turned and looked at her reflection in the mirror. The moment she did, a fresh wave of tears took hold, and she began to sob once more.

  Parker quickly wrapped her in his arms and held her closely.

  “It’s okay,” he whispered, as he held her in his arms and let her cry. “Everything is going to be okay.”

  Parker pulled his phone from his pocket once more, but this time he called Tom.

  “Bring the car around to the back door,” he instructed his driver.

  “Yes, Sir,” the driver replied before Parker hung up and slipped the phone back into his pocket.

  Without saying another word, he then scooped Alice up into his arms, as she continued to cry against his shoulder softly, and carried her along the hallway, and down the back staircase.

  Just as he reached the back door, Jensen and Harrison were making their way back inside.

  “Is he gone?” Parker asked the moment he saw them.

  “He is,” Harrison said as he rubbed his bruised knuckles and gave Parker a look that said Lewis Malone had been taken care of. “I think he got the message loud and clear.”

  “Good,” Parker said as Jensen reached for the door for Parker. “Tell my Mom that Alice was feeling a little unwell, so I decided to take her home. Tell her I will explain everything tomorrow.”

  “We will,” Jensen nodded as he stepped back to let Parker through. “We will make sure the bathroom is sorted too. No one will know what happened here tonight.”

  “Thanks, guys,” Parker said, looking at his two friends. “I’m grateful for your help.”

  “You know we always have your back, Parks,” Harrison said as he stepped closer to his friend. He gently touched Alice’s arm, and she lifted her head. “That goes for you too, Alice.”

  “Thanks, Harri,” she said as she forced a smile through her tears before she looked over at Jensen. “You too, Jensen.”

  “Take care of yourself,” Jensen said as he walked over and kissed her on the cheek. “Now go, before someone notices that your car moved around the back.”

  Parker nodded, before he turned and hurried down the back steps, and into the waiting car.

  Once inside, Parker didn’t set Alice down on the seat. Instead he just held her tighter to him.

  “You’re safe now, Alice,” he whispered as he held her close. “No one will ever hurt you again.”

  Chapter 28

  Alice

  Alice woke slowly and groaned as every inch of her body ached. She ope
ned her eyes and saw Parker lying in front of her, watching her closely.

  “Hey,” she croaked as she tried to move slowly in the bed without letting Parker see how much she was aching.

  “Hey,” Parker replied, but there was something in his eyes that worried Alice. It was a look that she could only describe as fear. She had no idea what was going through his mind, but she knew whatever it was, it wasn’t good.

  “Are you okay?” Alice said as she swallowed hard, afraid of what he was about to say.

  “I think we need to talk,” Parker sighed, and the fear inside Alice formed a not in the pit of her stomach. “Alice, there are things you don’t know about me. Things that are hard for me to talk about, especially to you.”

  “You know you can tell me anything,” Alice replied, trying her hardest to keep the fear from her voice.

  “I don’t want to tell you this,” Parker sighed. “But I think you deserve to know the truth.”

  “Okay,” Alice said as she rolled onto her side so that she was now completely face to face with Parker.

  “I’ve done things I’m not proud of,” Parker began. “I ‘ve hurt people just because I could, and I didn’t care that what I was doing was destroying their lives. As long as it was what I wanted, I did it, and I didn’t care about the consequences.”

  “I find that hard to believe,” Alice sighed, unable to imagine Parker being so cold and cruel.

  “It’s why Lewis hates me so much,” Parker continued. “It’s why he came after you. He wanted to hurt me like I had hurt him. There was this party in the office; a couple of years ago and he was there with the girl he was supposed to marry. I didn’t know she was there with him, but I did know she was there with someone, and I fucked her anyway. I fucked her on the table in the boardroom, and Lewis walked in and caught us. Everyone at the party knew what had happened. I had humiliated him, and I had hurt him, and the worse part was I didn’t care. In fact, I told him I had done him a favour.”

  “I see,” Alice said as images of Parker with some faceless woman on a table filled her mind before she quickly pushed them from her thoughts.