by Sam Crescent
“Do you have a picture?” Jett from her past had black hair, a slightly lighter shade then her own.
“No, he doesn’t like to have his picture taken. He told me it reminds him of everything he’s lost.”
It couldn’t be him.
“Oh, well, he sounds like an amazing guy. I’ve got a question though,” Harper asked. “I know it’s kind of crazy, but when I was growing up, I knew a Jett.”
Stephanie gasped. “Do you think he’s one of your friends?”
“No, no, of course not. But, does he carry a knife?” Harper was going crazy.
Her boss laughed. “A knife? No, of course not. He’s such a sweetheart. He doesn’t carry a knife, or a gun. Just a pen to sign his contracts. I’m starting to wonder about you, Harper. I wonder if that ring is messing with your head. I heard of mom brain, but what about fiancée brain?”
Harper forced a laugh. “Yes, you’re totally right. Of course you are.” She rolled her eyes. “It’s just me. I know I’m going crazy. Let’s take a look what we have here.”
She dove into the box, more than happy for a distraction. What could she have done if it had been Jett Henry from her past? It wasn’t like she could have done anything. Not for the first time, she wondered what Alan had said about her disappearance.
Her dad certainly didn’t know. He didn’t have a clue. If Ian wasn’t told the truth, what did that mean about Alan telling Draven and the others?
Nothing.
He wouldn’t have told them anything. For Alan, he needed her out of the picture. She interfered with his plans and was a thorn in his side that got in the way.
Draven would have been made to feel the worst.
Her body tensed up, and it was like a dark cloud fell over her as she thought about what it would mean for her if she ever met Draven again.
Running away, turning her back on them, it was the ultimate betrayal.
Rubbing at her arms, she excused herself to get a sweater. Pulling it over her head, she tried not to think of Draven, what it could mean for her if he ever found out where she was.
For some strange reason, she had a feeling that ten hours’ travel away from Stonewall wasn’t enough.
****
Draven stood in Ian’s home office. It had been a long time since he’d been back at the old man’s place.
Ten years.
Ten years since he’d banged on Ian’s door and demanded to know what he’d done and what he’d said to Harper. Even though his father had told him the truth, he needed to know if it was actually the truth.
Ian didn’t have a clue back then. He’d let him inside his home though, and Draven had stood in Harper’s untouched room.
She’d left them at the mall. Run away.
Standing in Ian’s office, all those feelings came rushing back to him.
Draven ignored them.
They meant nothing to him now. He was a man now, not some boy hoping to have found the girl for himself and his friends.
“It’s good to see you, Draven.”
“Cut the crap. You know why I’m here. You had no time for me all those years ago. Nothing has fucking changed. Just tell me what Hannah was so desperate to talk to me about.” Even though his father was dead, Hannah’s loyalty was still to him. Of course, they still paid her handsomely to do everything they told her to.
Seeing the anger flash across Ian’s face, he laughed. “You really think that she loves you?”
“I’m not here to talk about Hannah.”
“No, I’m sure you’re not. You’ve still not handed her back though, have you?” Draven shrugged.
“What happened to you, Draven?” he asked.
“What’s the matter, Ian? Don’t like the man I’ve turned into?”
“You’re a better man than your father ever was, and you know it.”
Draven laughed. “If that’s what you need to tell yourself to help you sleep at night.”
“I got a call from Harper.”
This made Draven pause. Hannah had said Ian got a phone call that had spooked him, not who it was.
Now, he was fucking pissed. “And?”
“She … she’s getting married,” Ian said. “She sounded lost, and I don’t know, as if something was bothering her.”
“Why didn’t you come to me with this?”
“She’s my daughter, Draven.”
“And she’s a woman that is on my ultimate shit list. I think you need to understand here, Ian. You or her.”
He pulled out his gun and stared over at Ian. The man went white.
“You think I’m a good guy, but I’m not. I never have been. I’m not a man to mess with, Ian. What else do you know?” he asked.
Ian shook his head. “I don’t have anything else. I don’t … this is the number she called on.” He handed him a slip of paper, and Draven laughed.
“Even after all this time, you’ll sell out your daughter to make sure you live.”
“You don’t have to hurt her, Draven.”
“You’re right. I don’t have to. Doesn’t mean I’m not going to. So, she’s still alive. This is interesting news.” Draven laughed.
“Don’t, Draven, please, I’m begging you.”
“I’ll kill you. Would you like that? Life for a life.”
“What did Harper do to you?” Ian asked.
Draven stared at Ian, and the temptation to shoot him in the head was strong. He could do it, make Hannah clean up the mess. Maybe he should save it for when Harper was back in town and make her watch as he tortured her father.
He wondered if she’d even care.
Staring down at the number, he smiled.
“She left.”
“Women leave, Draven. It’s the way of life.”
“Your ex-wife killed herself because of a broken heart. It is not, nor will it ever be, the same fucking thing,” Draven said. “If you want to save your daughter, then offer your life up on a slab, and I’ll kill you instead of her.”
He stood, waiting.
Ian did nothing.
He said nothing, and Draven burst out laughing.
“Some men, they think they’ve got what it takes to make the ultimate sacrifice, but when they’re faced with a real challenge, they’ve got fuck all to offer.” Draven lifted up the number. “Thanks for this.”
He walked out of the office. Hannah was waiting by the door. She held a smile.
“I did good?”
Draven stared at her.
All of her good looks were long gone. In the war that broke out in Stonewall, she’d put on a considerable amount of weight, and age hadn’t been kind to her. He could imagine Ian was regretting his decision to go with Hannah. From what he remembered, his first wife was a stunner even as she aged.
For a fleeting second, he wondered how Harper had aged.
Pushing that aside, he made way for the anger, for the pain that always took its place.
“You’re still getting paid, aren’t you?” He left the house and climbed into the backseat of the waiting limo.
His driver didn’t say a word as they took him to his home. Axel’s old place. He wouldn’t walk down the street, not to talk to anyone.
They were all afraid of him, which was how he wanted it to be.
Once at his home, he climbed out and headed into his office. Pulling out his cell phone, he dialed Axel’s number.
“Oh, yeah, baby, give it to me. Give me that big fat cock. I need it. I want it. Please, Yes, oh yes, oh yes.”
There was another feminine scream and Axel’s chuckle.
“What can I do for you?”
“Your current girlfriend?”
“You know I love the good girls. This one is so beautiful and sweet.”
“What were you doing to her?” Draven asked, mildly amused.
“Me? I was doing nothing to her. I’ve got my bodyguard pumping away inside her. I have a gift, Draven, you know that. A gift of making a woman do exactly as I want. I use it to my advantage
.”
“Yeah, well, guess what?”
“You miss me and want me to fuck you,” Axel asked.
Draven burst out laughing. “Harper called her father.”
Silence from Axel met his reply.
The sex was still going on in the background. The sounds faded to silence, and he heard the door close.
“What do you want to do?” Axel asked.
“What makes you think I want to do anything?”
“I know you, Draven. After all this time, you’re going to want revenge for what she did. You want me back home?”
“Actually, I want you to go and pick her up. I think it’s only fair. I’ll be waiting for you.” Draven hung up his cell phone and texted Axel the number that would help them locate her.
He sat back in his chair, and still, he held the number in his fist.
Putting his legs up on the desk, he smiled. When he got her back, Harper was in for a rude awakening. He was going to make her wish she’d never left Stonewall, and when he was finished, he was going to bury her right next to her mother.
Revenge was a dish best served cold.
In ten years, he’d not gotten over her betrayal.
He’d asked her to never run away, to come to him, and she’d ignored what he wanted, and now, he was going to get the payback he deserved.
Chapter Three
“My mom wants us to go to her place this weekend and to eat cake,” Ethan said.
Harper frowned. “Why?”
“It’s what engaged couples do.”
“They eat cake?” She rolled her eyes, pulling out the money the guy needed for her lunch. She was on the phone to Ethan as he was talking about the benefits of heading home, not to the apartment, but to his small town.
“Yes. We’ve got to pick what flavor we want for our cake, and the frosting. It’s a big thing.”
“I’m not much of a cake person. You pick it.”
“Honey, this is something we do together.”
Not when you’ve got four other men’s names printed on your back.
“You want me to help pick out cake. You do know I’m supposed to pretend to be on a diet right now.”
Ethan laughed. “Baby, I love you the way you are.”
After she left Stonewall, she’d lost weight.
She did skip meals often, and eating, when thinking about all that she lost, it didn’t exactly give her an appetite. In the past few years she had put some weight back on, rounding her hips and stomach once again. Whenever she looked at herself in the mirror, she always thought about those girls. The ones that wouldn't get a choice in their life anymore.
“Then we’ll go and eat cake. I’ve got to go. Bye.”
She didn’t give him a chance to say he loved her.
“A future bride should look a lot happier than you are,” the man behind the burger stand said.
“Yeah, well, weddings don’t exactly thrill me.”
“Tell your boyfriend you don’t love him and save yourselves both a lot of money and pain.”
She took her change as well as hers and Stephanie’s lunches.
There was no witty retort that came to her, and rather than keep the rest of the people in the line waiting, she turned on her heel and walked away.
Tucking her hair behind her ear, she walked back toward the shop.
She noticed the car, once again waiting. Stephanie had looked so happy this morning. She said her boyfriend had made a rare appearance last night, and it would seem he was back.
Entering the shop, she saw the Closed sign had been put into place. The moans coming from the back of the shop, in Stephanie’s office, let her know that her boyfriend was very much making up for lost time.
“I’ve got food,” Harper said, shouting as loud as she could to be heard.
Stephanie let out a chuckle, and there was a masculine groan.
“I’ll be right out.”
Harper sat on the stool, waiting. She opened up her burger and took a large bite. She was staring out of her window, when someone cleared their threat.
She smiled at Stephanie.
“I’m so pleased you came back in time. Harper, I would love for you to meet Jett Henry.”
Harper’s smile dropped as she looked over Stephanie’s shoulder. The man behind her was not the Jett she knew from ten years ago.
No, the man behind her, with a half-scarred face, was Axel Cook.
“You know, Harper knew a Jett from her school. Do you two know each other?” Stephanie asked.
Harper felt a little dizzy. Remembering she had to chew her food, she started to do so, vigorously. This was really bad. She felt sick to her stomach. The food in her mouth no longer appealed.
“I’m sure Jett is a common name.”
Axel was in the shop.
Right in front of her.
She’d recognize him anywhere, even with the scars. They stood out, but it also enhanced the side of his face that wasn’t scarred. How beautiful he was.
Axel had always been good-looking. To some women, he’d been the best-looking guy of the four of them.
Her heart started to race, and her hands shook.
“I need to use the bathroom,” Harper said.
Getting to her feet, she heard the concern in Stephanie’s voice. She stood in the bathroom, staring at her reflection in the mirror.
She was white as a ghost.
Her past was back.
With Stephanie’s back to him, he’d looked fucking pissed. The ten years apart had clearly made him angry. Axel was angry at her, and she imagined so were the other three.
She couldn’t stay locked in the bathroom, and as she turned to leave, Axel was there.
He stepped into the bathroom and closed the door. Before she could do anything, his hands were wrapped around her throat, and he slammed her against the wall, near the mirror.
“So, you’ve been here, all this time that I’ve been coming here. How about that, we’ve been missing each other. I wonder if that was fate interfering, letting you live just a bit longer.”
He’d cut off her air, and she grabbed at his arm, panicking.
“You need me for something now?” he asked. “Oh, you need air?”
He released her neck, and she breathed deeply.
Once.
Twice.
He held her again, cutting off her air.
Tears filled her eyes as she saw nothing in his gaze. The Axel she once knew was gone. All that was there was the cold, blank stare of a killer.
A man who was going to kill her.
Suddenly, he let her go, and she gasped again, stepping away from him, trying to get as far from him as humanly possible, in the small space.
Taking a deep breath, she tried not to panic, but Axel didn’t leave her alone. He didn’t turn his back on her.
“Where’s Draven?” she asked.
Axel smiled. “He’s going to be expecting you.”
“No. I’m not going back.”
“Let’s get something straight, Harper. You’re coming with me, whether you like it or not.”
She shook her head. “Why are you using Jett’s name?”
“So much you don’t know about. Poor thing. Draven’s going to have a lot of fun with you.”
Tears filled her eyes.
“You’re going to go out there and tell Stephanie how ill you feel. Then you’re going to walk a couple of blocks. I’ll pick you up, and guess what, we’re going home.”
“Don’t, Axel, please, I’m begging you.”
“I always wondered what it would be like to have a woman beg for me.” Axel sighed. “It always sounds so … desperate. You’ll do it or I will go out there and kill Stephanie, and it will be all your fault.”
“You don’t want to kill her,” she said, hoping to find the Axel of the past.
“She’s been a good fuck up to now, but I don’t care. The bitch can die for all I care. Your choice. Dead Stephanie or alive and breathing Stephanie.”
> She nodded. There was no choice for her. Words failed her. She’d never seen Axel look so mean, so angry. It was all directed at her. Panic filled her, and she tried not to cry.
“Go.”
Without argument, she grabbed her bag and jacket. She made excuses to Stephanie, who was filled with concern.
The only thing was, Harper didn’t stop at the corner a couple of blocks away, waiting for him. Axel intended to hurt her, and not only that, he gave the merest hint that it was exactly what Draven wanted to do as well. She wasn’t about to hand herself over to anyone.
Cutting through the streets, she used all the shortcuts she knew to get to her apartment faster. All she needed to do was grab a few things, leave the engagement ring, and get the hell out of there before Axel hurt her or anyone else she cared about.
Even as tears fell down her face, she didn’t stop. With her key in her hand, she charged into the building, taking the stairs. The elevator was the slowest one on the planet, and right now, speed was all she could hope for.
Rushing up the steps, she got to her door.
Her hand was shaking so bad it took her three tries to get the key in the hole.
“Come on, please, come on.” She sobbed against the fear that clutched within her chest.
This was not how she imagined meeting Axel or anyone else.
She charged into her apartment, slamming the door as she went to the bedroom. Opening up drawers, she grabbed her passport, some money, and her bag. Throwing in some clothing, she was heading out just as Axel entered the apartment.
Her heart raced as he closed the door slowly, quietly, carefully, his gaze on her.
He’d aged, and the scar across one side of his face let her know that it hadn’t been done all that well.
“What did I tell you to do?” he asked.
“Please, Axel, let me leave.”
“You mean how you left us once? You just ran away. Didn’t even give us a chance to help you, or for you to explain yourself. What it was exactly that forced you away? You betrayed us. You used us for your own gain, and then went into the arms of our enemies.”
She had no idea what Alan had told them, but she heard the pain and bitterness within his voice. Her heart broke. Gone was the playful Axel she once knew.