Devoted To You

by S. S. Richards

  “What are you trying to do?” I swallow hard, my hands are still trembling as blood rushes through my body.

  “I gotta admit, she is very pretty.” He smiles, and my blood boils. My eyes darken as I stare right into his eyes, my hands turn into fists.

  “If you are not going to give us the company, then we want her,” he adds.

  “You want her for what?” I hiss.

  “Our sex trafficking business,” he adds. “She would make a perfect candidate.” He points at the photos. “I mean look at that hair, those curves, just everything about her is…”

  I spring up, hoping I could punch this asshole, but my dad and Will both hold me back. Eric and his men get up. “She does look a lot like Mrs. Adams.” He takes a glance at my dad. “Contact me whenever you make up your mind.”

  Anger is roaring through me as they all walk out of the room, leaving me, my dad, and Will, who are still holding me back. I take a seat, trying to calm myself.

  “Are you okay, Mr. Adams?”

  I don’t answer Will. My thoughts are all about her. What I have always feared happened. They got to her, they know about her, and they won’t let me or her go.

  “Who is that girl, son?” my dad asks. His voice is shaky. “She does look a bit like your mother.” His voice is low, almost timid.

  “That’s my assistant.” I look at him. “This is all because of you.” He looks down. “I hope that while you are sitting in front of your TV, drinking your shitty scotch, you think about all this shit that you have caused us.” I stand up and start walking toward the door. “For now, I don’t need you, clearly you are useless.”

  “Will.” I stop in the middle of the room to face Will.

  He gets up. “Yes, sir.”

  “Start working on our plan B. I want your men to follow Alyssa and make sure she is safe wherever she goes but without her knowing.” He nods. “I also want Luke to drive her everywhere she goes. No cabs, no buses, no trains. She needs to be on watch twenty-four seven,” I instruct. “Is that clear?”

  “Yes, sir, I’m all over this.”

  We retrieve our phones and head out of the warehouse. My thoughts start going back to the first time I saw her, at the bar, how everything right at that moment should have never happened, but even if I didn’t see her at the bar, I was still going to see her at work. It’s like destiny, and this is why I never even thought of carrying on a normal life, the life of having a girlfriend, a home with kids and all that comes along with it. I knew that my dad was up to something ever since my mother died. I just knew that dragging someone into this mess with me wouldn’t be fair to them. I did it for years until she came into my life and changed everything. Changed everything about me. And this is the first time that I realize, without a doubt, that my feelings might be a little stronger than my pride when it comes to her.

  CHAPTER 11

  Alyssa

  It has been three days that he hasn’t showed up to work. I have called him over ten times ever since I sent him that last message asking to meet him face to face in order to speak to him, but to no avail. I have been coming to an empty office every single day, and while I try to focus on doing my job, I can’t stop thinking about him. Luke has been driving me everywhere, which is very unusual, and every time I ask him about Liam, he says the same old sentence. “He is just very busy, I assume.”

  There is nobody I can talk to. Even Sofia is still on a leave, taking care of her husband. And Jason? So busy that he’s barely replied to any of my texts either. What is wrong with everybody? Defeated by my extreme worry and my impatience, I head toward Gary’s office. Right before I get in, I knock and notice how busy he looks going through piles of documents spread all over his desk. He looks up and finds me standing by the door.

  “Come on in, Alyssa.” He motions for me to enter.

  “I am sorry to disturb you, Mr. Ainsworth. I was just going to ask about Mr. Adams.” I pause. “There are a lot of new projects that require his signature, and I don’t know if you are aware or not but he hasn’t been in the office for days.”

  “Yes, I am fully aware. I did speak to him this morning and yesterday as well. He is just busy with other things. He didn’t inform you?” He raises a brow.

  “Umm. He probably texted or called, I just have been extremely busy, I should maybe check my phone,” I say as I burn with anger. Gary just made it all clear to me. It seems like Liam is ignoring only me.

  “Thank you, Mr. Ainsworth.” My voice is clear and strong even though I am hurting so much on the inside.

  “You're welcome.” He smirks and eyes me up and down before I head out. Ugh, disgusting pervert.

  Does he ever get tired of being a dickhead? Clearly not.

  I start walking fast. I don’t go to my office to take my purse but rather, I take the elevator down and leave the building. Luke comes running after me as I am walking outside, fast, anger showing on my face.

  “Alyssa.”

  I don’t turn to face him.

  “Ms. Thomson, please wait.” He grabs my arm, and I turn, looking fierce. His eyes widen. “Are you okay?”

  “No, I am not okay,” I hiss at him. “Listen, Luke, take me to Liam’s house now, because if you don’t I will end up finding my way there eventually. Would you do me this favor?”

  “Sure I just have to call him quickly.” He pulls his phone out of his pocket and I snatch it away from his hands.

  “No,” I bite. “You are not calling him.”

  A moment of awkward silence passes between us as I stare into his eyes.

  “Alright, Alyssa, after you.” I hand him his phone back and start walking toward the car. My body is locked up with rage as I sit still, no words come out of my mouth during the whole ride. I have kept way too much inside of me that I got to the point where I can’t take this anymore. He has been ignoring me for days without giving me a reason, and all I have been doing is thinking and fantasizing about him—about us.

  The ride goes by very fast as my brain explodes with fury. As soon as we get to Liam’s house, I get out of the car and come across four men—bodyguards—in front of the main door. One of them prevents me from going forward.

  “I’m sorry, ma’am, I’m gonna have to stop you there.”

  “I’m here to see Liam.” My tone is cold. I am trying to calm myself as much as possible. Another tall man comes out of the main door. He is gorgeous with blue eyes, light blonde hair, and wearing a black suit similar to the ones that the bodyguards are wearing but his looks a little fancier.

  “Ms. Thomson.” He smiles at me.

  “Do I know you? Please, I need to speak to Liam,” I ask politely.

  “I am afraid that is not a good idea as Mr. Adams doesn’t want to see anyone at the moment.”

  Anyone? Is he fucking kidding me right now?

  “Listen.” My voice is loud, I am out of patience. “I am not leaving this place until I see him,” I hiss. “I have never seen you before, who are you?” I add, confusion showing on my face as I hold tears back. “Can someone please explain to me what the fuck is going on?”

  Before he gets the chance to explain, his phone rings. He pulls it out of his pocket and answers immediately.

  “Yes, Mr. Adams,” he says

  “Let me talk to him,” I say, and he holds his palm up toward me.

  “Alright, will do.” He hangs up the phone. That wasn't even a minute call.

  “Follow me, Ms. Thomson.” He motions me with his arm, and I follow him inside the house. He leads me to the living room, the same living room where Liam and I first had sex. He is standing in front of the window with his back facing me, clasping his hands behind his back. Suddenly my fury turns into desire. My knees wobble as I take a few steps toward the center of the room. The tall, blond guy leaves, and I am alone with Liam.

  “Liam.” My voice is so tiny, almost a whisper.

  “I heard you were looking for me.” He turns slowly to face me. He looks different, his eyes are darker
than usual.

  “You haven’t been returning my calls or my texts.” I pause. “What’s going on?” I ask desperately.

  “I’ve been busy,” he says firmly and starts walking toward me. “Did something happen?”

  His coldness is killing me. I am not used to this, and I hate how vague he is being with me right now.

  “No, but I wanted to talk to you about us, and you never replied.” My voice is shaky, still holding back my tears while his neutral expression is only making it harder for me to let out what I’ve been keeping locked inside of me.

  “About us?” He raises a brow and puts his hands in his pockets.

  “Yes, Liam, you and I.” I pause. “I want to know where this is all going, whatever this is that’s between us.” I swallow, my voice is timid and almost a whisper. “I think I have feelings for you.”

  My words don’t even make him flinch. He is still standing tall and still, his eyes locked to mine.

  “Alyssa, there is nothing called you and I. It was just sex, and it doesn’t matter anymore because we’re not going to keep fucking.” His tone of voice is raw and parky. Like he’s been ready to have this conversation for the longest time. But none of it matters because his words feel like a knife to my heart. Grief shatters me, and I suddenly start feeling empty inside.

  “What do you mean?” I whisper. He takes a step forward, and I take one backward.

  “I am sorry. We should have kept it a professional relationship, only so, I apologize, and I hope we can move past this.”

  “Move past this?” Tears burn my eyes as my lower lip trembles. “Who are you?” I ask, because the cold-hearted man standing in front of me is not the one that I fell for. This man is mean, selfish, and completely pitiless.

  “As I said, I am sorry, and I really would like for us to start having a professional relationship, boss to employee. Can we shake on it?” He holds out his right hand in order to shake mine. I take another step back and turn toward the door, standing only a couple inches away from it. I turn to face him. This time, anger rolling through me. “Is this because of your mother?”

  His eyes get even darker as rage fuels him. His hands turn into fists as he takes two steps toward me. I freeze. I don’t know what to do. I shouldn’t have said anything. My chest tightens with fear.

  “What the fuck did you just say?” He narrows his eyes.

  “I am sorry,” I say with a quivering voice before I turn to face the door and start walking faster toward it. He pulls me by the arm and pins me against it as the fingers of his right hand clench my throat.

  “What do you know about my mother?” he hisses at me. I can barely breathe while his hands are gripping into my throat. I dig my fingers in his hand, hoping he will let me go but he doesn't. His dark eyes are studying me intently.

  A knock at the door interrupts him, and his hand opens slightly, giving me space to breathe a little.

  “Mr. Adams.” I recognize the voice; it is the man who welcomed me and politely asked me to leave when I got here. I wish I had left then and never got to experience the abuse coming from a man who I never thought would do such thing.

  “I am busy over here, Will,” he yells at the man and it only makes the pit of my stomach fall.

  “I am afraid it’s urgent, sir.”

  He pulls me away from the door and opens it. Will walks in.

  “What the fuck is going on now?”

  “It’s for Ms. Thomson.” Will’s eyes lock with mine while I am trying to catch my breath. My neck hurts so bad, but I still manage to give Will my full attention.

  “We have received a call from a man named Jason Miller. He has been trying to get a hold of you, but you are not answering.” Anxiety swirls around me as I remember that I don’t have my purse on me. Earlier when I left work, I left everything at my desk.

  Liam glances at me.

  “Jason is my best friend. What’s going on, Will?”

  “It’s your grandmother, Ms. Thomson. She is in the hospital.”

  Liam

  Her eyes widen with shock as Will gives her the news. Without saying a word, she storms out of the room, brushing past Will.

  “Will, go with Luke and take her to the hospital,” I order, and all he does is nod before he disappears into the hallway. I take a huge breath at whatever just happened between us. Guilt and pity trickle through me as my head replays the repulsive scene of my hands choking her slim neck. The way her tiny fingers tried to fight me but nothing would make me stop. All of this because she mentioned my mother. My hands turn into fists. What does she know and who told her about my mother? Whoever it is, I will for sure find them and end them.

  This rage is not caused because of her, I have been fucking overwhelmed dealing with Janvoski that she just happened to be on my way on this day, especially today. Today is a fucking shit day.

  I take a seat on my couch, the couch where I fucked her for the first time and made her mine. And today she comes crying to me about her feelings, and wants to talk about us. I have to admit that as soon as she mentioned she has feelings for me, I got a warm, fuzzy feeling I have never felt before, and I had to shut her down, like the cold-hearted prick that I am.

  Do I have a choice?

  No, I don’t have a choice except to push her away from me. Whatever is happening that she knows nothing about is all because of me. The poor thing has no clue that she is being watched, that there are people out there who want to take her away and use her for sex trafficking. I can’t bear the thought of anybody putting their hands on her, touching her, fucking her. It is making my body ache. And I know exactly why Eric Janovski used her as an option, he knows damn well she is important to me. The funny thing is, he probably figured out she was important to me way before I got to realize it myself, fucking pig. He put me in a tough situation, a situation I didn’t wanna be put in. Because there is no way I am losing my company, and there is no way I am giving her away to heartless, sinful fuckers.

  I take the elevator down to my basement and get in my car. I take the one that I used when I took her out for the first time. Memories of that night come flooding back: the beautiful time where I took her in and introduced myself to her body, the night I marked my territory and enjoyed every single scream that slipped out of her mouth. And right now, I find myself running after her to check up on her and make sure she doesn’t hate me as much as I hate myself for putting my hand on her, choking her till she wasn’t able to breathe and without even getting to the end of our conversation, she was slapped with the news of her grandmother. I can only imagine what she must be going through right now.

  I hate myself for being a complete abusive dick toward her. How dare I put my hands on the most beautiful woman on this planet? The purest woman my hands have ever touched and my body has ever craved. If there is anything I could do to ease my pain and bring happiness to my life, then it would be to face my emotions and to accept my reality of being a weak man when it comes to her. There it is, I am giving my mind the right to speak freely without fighting it back for the first time ever. I regret being a douchebag to her, and I am tired of having this war against myself. It is time I face reality and throw my arrogance in the garbage since it clearly didn’t do me any good, but rather made everything worse for me. I admit that I failed at preventing my emotions from controlling my life. My pride only got me into having sleepless nights, unlimited filthy dreams, and constant wonder and stress. All these years I have trained my heart to go to sleep forever when it comes to love. I never believed in fairy tales nor have I ever believed in happy endings. I simply didn’t accept the idea of giving any woman the chance to occupy my mind and my life. And then… I met Alyssa, who snatched away from me all the self-work and self-employment that I have practiced for years. She made me discover things about myself I didn’t even know existed in the first place. She unlocked my heart and set me free, and instead of bowing down to her feet and thanking her for everything, I decide to choke her and make her regret the da
y she was born.

  The palm of my hand bangs on the steering wheel, sending a keen pain radiating up my arm. I hate this shit. I hate what I did to her, and I wish I could take it back right this second. I slam my hands against the wheel, once again. This guilt that’s flooding me won’t go away. I lift my phone off the passenger seat and send a quick text to Will.

  What hospital?

  Presbyterian Hospital, he replies back within seconds. I put my phone down and turn up the volume, hoping the music will ease the guilt and sorrow I am feeling, but my head keeps shooting memories of our intimate moments and it is not helping. I have to stop this, I need to let her go.

  I get in the hospital after struggling to find a parking in the busy area and shoot a quick text to Will so he can meet me at the entrance and lead me to her grandmother’s room.

  Five minutes later, Will shows up.

  “Did you take care or the expenses?”

  “Yes sir, everything has been paid for.”

  Will just happens to take control of things, he’s the only employee who just happens to know what they’re doing without asking me or getting my opinion. He is a problem solver, always has been, and I trust him with everything, including Alyssa’s safety.

  We get to the waiting area where I see Alyssa, holding her head in her hands. Beside her, is sitting a short male, very well dressed in a navy suit, patting her shoulder. He must be Jason, her best friend.

  As soon as he sees me, he gets up quickly and starts walking toward me.

  “Jason Miller.” He shakes my hand. “Alyssa’s closest friend, but you can call me Jason.”

  “Liam Adams, nice to meet you.”

  As soon as she hears my voice, she looks up. Her eyes are red with tears filling them. Her sadness turns into anger in a matter of seconds, flames of annoyance shooting through her as she springs up and starts walking away.

  “I am sorry, Mr. Adams, she’s been really stressed out.”

  “It’s all good, Jason, thank you for today.” I pat his shoulder. “I’ll be back, guys.”