Run (Lakefield Book 1)

by Jennifer Vester

  “I think we can talk about it. It’s a little sudden don’t you think?”

  I hear the phone make a muffled noise like he had shifted it or changed hands.

  “Nothing to talk about. Brandon is going to go ballistic. Brock called me and said he’d gotten a few items from our monitors that may lead back to him. If nothing else, I think the prick will try to contact me in some way. He’ll turn up.”

  I wasn’t sure what to say at that point. Nothing to talk about? Okay, maybe that was the whole ploy to begin with. He would probably, eventually, apologize for being insane today and that would be that.

  Nothing to worry about. It was just a diversion tactic.

  So why did I feel let down?

  “You okay babe?”

  I smiled, not that he could see me, but I always found when you smiled on the phone, people could hear it in the tone of your voice.

  “Yeah Aiden. I’m good. I need to get a hold of Julia. She’s leaving either today or tomorrow. She’s headed out with some friends to go see her dad and probably her sister.”

  “Tell her I can fly her out there on the plane. It’s not that big of a deal.”

  “Eh, you know those artist types. It’s about the journey, not the destination or whatever they say. I’m going to miss her.”

  “I miss you.”

  “Ditto.”

  “Wanna talk dirty?” he chuckled.

  I rolled my eyes. “No! Get off my phone, I have stuff to do.”

  “Give it to me babe.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I love you.” I said, not mentioning that I wanted to choke him right now.

  There was a silent pause for a minute while I waited, hoping he would just say it back. Not that I expected him to but it would have been nice to hear.

  “Sorry, just checking on an email from Brock. I have to go, I’ll be back soon. Stay out of trouble and don’t leave the cabin until I get back.”

  “Okay.”

  “Bye babe.”

  Then he hung up.

  I stared at my phone for a little while. He had been checking his email while I had been waiting on a return gesture of affection. What an ass. I was positive Logan would agree if he had caught that exchange. Where was the good doctor’s insight and advice when you needed it? He would probably tell me to be patient.

  Walking out onto the porch I opened my text messages. Julia hadn’t contacted me back about tonight yet. It was unusual not to hear from her. She might still be upset about last night, but it wasn’t like her not to respond. She should have finished packing hours ago.

  When I called her she didn’t pick up.

  One of the guards from the night before was patrolling around the drive. I had a hair-brained idea. Not a brilliant one, but an idea.

  I called out to him. “Hey!”

  He turned to look at me and started walking over.

  “Do you have the keys to the BMW?” I smiled and pointed to the car parked at the edge of the driveway.

  “Uh, Miss Dawkins, I was told you were in seclusion.”

  I acted surprised. “Oh goodness! No, I left something in there the other day and I really need to get it out. Tampons. Sorry to bring it up but I REALLY need them. Looks like it’s going to be a gusher of a week.”

  He looked panicked. One thing about men that I had always observed is that absolutely none of them wanted to talk about your cycle.

  “Uh,” he said, pivoting one direction and then the other.

  “Keys? Pronto man, this thing is hemorrhaging like a compound fracture on crack.”

  I thought that might be overkill for a moment but these guys knew the difference between a normal fracture and a bone that had pierced the skin. It was gross, but it got the point across.

  He blanched and dug in his pants for the keys.

  He tossed them to me as I ran toward the car. I hit the unlock button, slid into the driver’s seat and started the vehicle.

  The guard started running toward me as I hit the gas and spun around.

  I started laughing. This was SWEET!

  The tires squealed as I sped up the drive while punching in my house address in my phone’s map application. It started giving audible commands.

  I weaved through the small lanes and came out onto a two-way county road. The wind was still up and buffering the car with occasional gusts. It looked like there was a storm on the horizon. I turned on the radio to a channel that normally had some weather updates between songs.

  There was a ringing in the car from somewhere. It sounded like the same ringing that I had heard when Holden had been driving me to work. I started pressing a couple of buttons then her a click.

  “Miss Dawkins!”

  I recognized Brock’s voice over the speakers.

  “Uh yeah?”

  “What are you doing? I just got a call from Holden who said that you’ve planned an unscheduled road trip.”

  “Well, Brock of the Dungeon, I’m headed home to check on my best friend because she hasn’t replied back to me regarding my invitation to go star-gazing.”

  “Uh, maybe she’s in the shower. You need to stop the vehicle and go back to the cabin. I have Holden, Jake and several other guys trying to catch up to you. It’s not safe to go there right now.”

  As logical as that sounded, I needed to see Julia. She hadn’t called, texted or answered her phone and I needed to talk to her about Aiden’s stupidity today. People had siblings to turn to when they needed them, I didn’t. I had Julia.

  I accelerated even faster. If I ever got a new one, this car would definitely fit my need for speed.

  “Sorry Brock, you’re breaking up. Go play with some launch codes in China or something.” Pressing several buttons, I finally heard the phone click off just as he was about to say something. Oh well.

  I passed some familiar buildings the further into the city I got. I knew several shortcuts that the GPS navigator didn’t direct me to. It kept trying to re-route me so I turned it off.

  My phone rang. Sexy Beast Calling.

  I dismissed it. Talking while driving could be seriously dangerous. I would tell him that later when I was home. He would appreciate my sense of self preservation.

  I checked my mirrors and scanned my street as I rolled closer to my house. I didn’t see anyone from Aiden’s goon squad yet.

  The car screeched to a halt when I applied the brakes. I didn’t have much time before they would come barreling in after me. I grabbed my phone, stuck it in my back pocket and left the car door open as I ran toward the door. Our extra house key was buried in the dirt of a flower pot that sat by the railing. After digging it out I unlocked the door and stepped into chaos.

  The house looked ransacked. The couch was askew, pictures tilting on the walls, papers littering the ground and clothes flung in multiple directions.

  “Julia!” I yelled.

  There was no reply from anyone inside. The house felt eerily empty as I sidestepped several books and made my way to the kitchen. Several drawers hung open and appliances were turned over. There was a small smear of blood on the countertop.

  My mind wasn’t processing what I was seeing. I felt numb. The house smelled like mine with a hint of cinnamon in the air. It had our familiar paintings on the walls. The appliances, even though they were knocked around and out of sorts, were still ours.

  It was like seeing your reality but through some sort of carnival lenses that changed it in ways that made it feel menacing.

  I heard car doors shutting outside as I glanced up the stairs. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go up there after seeing the smear on the counter.

  My phone rang again but I just stood there frozen by the fear of probabilities.

  Jake was the first one into the kitchen. He had a very serious look on his face and spoke in a hushed tone. “Liv, come with me, come on, now.”

  He gestured to the front door where I saw Holden entering with his gun drawn. He had the face of a killer. A fierce grimace, mouth set in a line, and jaw cl
enched tight. His eyes were narrowed and violent while he was scanning, constantly scanning everything in the house.

  I moved to Jake. He put an arm around my shoulders and directed me through the living room toward the door. I glanced back and saw Holden crouch down before slowly moving up the stairs. Two other men followed him as they entered from the back patio.

  Tears started to surface at the corners of my eyes. I let one fall, and then the other. “Jake, there’s blood in there.”

  He squeezed my shoulders as we stepped outside and walked down the stairs. “Don’t worry, that could be anything. Holden is checking it.”

  My phone rang again and I dug it out of my back pocket.

  Sexy Beast Calling.

  “Hello?” I answered.

  “What the HELL do you think you’re doing?!” Aiden roared.

  “Julia. She didn’t answer. She’s not here and the house is not good Aiden.” I said in a quiet voice.

  Maybe he picked up on my numbness. Maybe it was my shock. Perhaps he counted to ten and got himself under control. Regardless, after a short pause he sounded calmer. Almost cold.

  “What do you mean?”

  “The house, there’s blood.” I started to cry, hard, in huge gasping breaths.

  Jake took the phone from me even though I could hear Aiden talking on the other end. He maneuvered me to the backseat of one of the cars and stood there talking to his boss. I had no idea what they were talking about. I was just thinking about Julia and what they might find in the house.

  Tears were still streaming down my face when Jake handed my phone back to me. I looked at it. The screen was blank. Aiden wasn’t on the line.

  Holden came down the steps. His face was hard and set. There was no emotion in his eyes or features as he told the other men behind him to get into their cars.

  He bent his head down to look at me in the backseat. “She’s not here Liv. That doesn’t mean anything. She probably took off already. I’m not sure what that mess is in there.”

  “Brandon?”

  “Maybe. Julia hangs out with a different crowd though. Maybe one of them did it.”

  “No. None of them are like that and she’s never, ever had them over to the house. She was supposed to leave some numbers of the people she’s traveling with upstairs on my bed. Were they there?”

  His eyes slid to the side. “I’ll look in a minute. Go back to the cabin. I’m sure she’s fine.”

  John, the guard that picked me up at the lake, was my driver. He didn’t say much on the ride back. Only offered some encouraging words and left me to my self-imposed silence.

  I turned my phone over in my hands several times.

  Looking at it closer I noticed there was a missed call from Julia ten minutes prior to Aiden’s call. I flipped the screen to voicemails but saw nothing.

  I called Julia.

  The phone picked up and I heard some muffled sounds in the background.

  Then a voice I never wanted to hear again started talking. “Hello Livvie, it’s me. You know the great guy you dumped. Don’t make a sound or poor Julia isn’t going to make it.”

  I heard whimpering and it sounded like someone was trying to scream. A cold shiver went up my spine and suddenly, all my senses were aware in anticipation of the danger in Brandon’s voice. I had to think of Julia’s safety.

  “Hey mom.”

  “Good girl. That’s my Livvie, always thinking with that beautiful brain of yours. The prettiest girl I’ve ever met.”

  I glanced at the back of John’s head. “Thanks.”

  “I need you to tell me some things my pretty Livvie. And don’t be a bitch and tell anyone or Julia goes bye-bye.”

  “Yeah things are good. What’s up?”

  Brandon paused then chuckled. “Good. I know you left the house. I’ve been watching it. Hell, I’m still watching those idiots try and figure things out. Really Livvie, these people are so far below you and I. They don’t understand us. They don’t know what all of this means.”

  “What do you mean mom?”

  “You’re mine. You always have been since the day I met you. No one will ever understand you like I do. None of those people are like you and me Livvie. We’re destined to be together.”

  “Okay.”

  “See that’s what I want to hear. I can forgive you for not talking to me. I can even forgive you for seeing that man!”

  I heard something hard hit an object in the background of the phone and I jumped slightly. There was a high pitching keening coming from Julia.

  John’s eyes found mine in the rearview mirror. I gave him a tight smile. I had to play this right or Julia wouldn’t make it.

  “Thank you. I really appreciate those words.”

  “I’m a forgiving man Livvie. Of course, he’ll have to die, but I know you didn’t mean anything by it. I mean we were just separated for so long that you probably forgot my love for you. I do love you. I will always love you. Me, and no one else.”

  His words nearly made me wretch with revulsion. I had one shot to save Julia’s life though, and I was going to take it. “Yes me too.”

  He sounded weirdly giddy when he answered. “I knew it. I knew it!”

  I was beginning to wonder if he was just sick. Medicine did a lot for people with certain conditions. There might be a chance to talk him into turning himself in.

  He was calm again when he spoke, “Where are you headed?”

  “Back to the cabin, mom. We’ll be there soon.”

  “Good. I need you to go down to the shore at midnight. Do you think you can do that?”

  “Yeah of course. Which one?”

  “The one near that piece of trash’s cabin. Just go to the shore and I’ll be there. Livvie, if you don’t show up I’ll kill her.”

  “I know mom, miss you too. Can’t wait to see you.”

  “Good. My pretty, pretty girl. I’ll see you then. Remember that I love you.”

  I nearly gagged. “You too!”

  Then he hung up.

  When we got to the cabin, I went straight inside and up the stairs.

  I started pacing around the bedroom. There had to be something I could do. If I was meeting him at the dock, there would be guards. If I told Holden and Jake, they could wait for him and grab him. But what about Julia?

  Brandon would kill her before they got to him. He would kill her if he got away just out of spite. This nightmare would never end.

  Aiden.

  I thought about him and stopped pacing. He was pissed but I didn’t care. I just wanted him home. He would come up with something.

  What would Aiden do? That was the question and I had an entire afternoon to pace, worry and think about it.

  Chapter Twenty

  After a very long afternoon, I took a shower to clear my mind. Aiden hadn’t called or texted. I assumed it was because he was still angry, but then again, I had no idea what Jake had told him. Maybe he was just trying to figure this mess out. I didn’t want to bug him though and I needed to focus on what was going to happen tonight.

  Putting on my jeans I thought of what I might be able to use as a weapon. Holden hadn’t let me keep the gun we had been practicing with the day before. I checked my pockets to see if there was any way to fit something of significance in them. I put on a simple black t-shirt, sneakers and didn’t bother with the makeup.

  I went through several drawers in the house. Everything seemed too bulky or inappropriate. I was digging through one in the third bedroom. Staples, no. Paperclips, in a pinch. I stuffed one in my pocket. A guitar pick, no. A pen, too big. I opened another drawer. Nothing. My fingers were moving as fast as they could to feel something that might help. I wasn’t coming up with much. I wandered to the first floor.

  Downstairs, I looked out the bay window in the living room. There were four guards walking around. I had no idea how I was going to make it out to the shore. Some of the cars were back, but not all of them. It was entirely possible that some of the cars had been
moved to other places that I wasn’t aware of.

  I went into the kitchen to fix a late dinner. Glancing at the clock, I noted that it was ten on the dot. Two more hours to go. If I was going to walk to the shore, I would need at least a fifteen-minute head start. If I had to go around anything, or hide for a while, it would put me behind. I decided to give myself thirty minutes. He wouldn’t tolerate me showing up late, so it was a sound plan.

  I made sure not to turn on any lights in the house except for the upstairs bedroom. If the goons outside saw the fridge door open and close, they wouldn’t think much of it. What I didn’t want to do though was light up the house like an invitation for Jake or Holden to come waltzing in unannounced.

  I had a small sandwich and an epiphany. Halfway through a chew of mayo and ham, I thought of something. There was a wine cooler beside the fridge. Wine needed a wine opener. Perfect.

  The opener was in the back of a utensil drawer. It was the type that folded up like a pen knife and could easily fit in my pocket. I grabbed the wine out of its wrack and looked at the bottle. Who knows how long it had been in there. It was unopened though and some brand I didn’t recognize.

  “Chateau Lafite 1865,” I mumbled.

  Whatever, I’d never heard of it. It probably didn’t taste any better than the box of Zinfandel we had at home. It would work though.

  I set both items on the island and eyed them while I finished my small meal. I chewed slowly, trying to think of any other possibilities. I had come to the conclusion much earlier that Aiden would have been proactive. He would face this head on no matter what the outcome.

  His tattoo of the clock and the inscription “time and tide wait for no man” kept rolling through my head. On the surface, it meant that time was fleeting, so the point was to do what you could in the time you had. On a deeper level, the quote was used in a story about strength in the face of adversity. If it was the last thing that went through my head tonight, then I would at least know I did something.

  I picked up my phone and dialed Aiden.

  It went to voicemail so I left a simple message. “I love you Aiden. More than you will ever know. You are my first and last. No more running.”