“PULL OVER HERE,” I SAID to the cab driver.
There was no way Mac would have gone along with my plan, and since I had yet to get my Honda back, a taxicab would have to suffice.
The driver slowed and parked behind Sebastian’s Jag. My eyes scanned the area, but Sebastian was nowhere to be found. Movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention, and I turned to see Sebastian walking down a long alleyway to my right.
I hesitated to get out, my fingers turning white from gripping the door handle. The entire area looked abandoned and shady. Broken black asphalt shined from the recent rain and trash littered the ground. I didn’t know what he was doing in such a place, but I was about to find out.
My eyes lingered on Sebastian’s back until he disappeared into a building. The metal siding on the building was rusted—broken pieces hung from the roof that looked ready to fall and impale the next passerby.
He was going inside alone. There was no telling who or what awaited him inside that building. Swallowing my nerves, I ran my fingers through my hair as I waited for him to come back outside. The window was down. The wretched smell of body odor and trash filled my nostrils. I silently wished I could breathe some fresh air.
I dug through my bag in search of my phone. I was useless when it came to helping Sebastian if he needed it, but at least I could call for help. My fingers brushed my gun and relief filled me. I’d tucked it inside before leaving the condo.
Then my fingers caught the edges of the white envelopes I’d stuffed inside before leaving Sebastian’s office. I pulled them from my bag. There were at least twenty of them—all addressed to Sebastian and all with the same jagged handwriting.
I started from the bottom and worked my way up the stack. With each letter, the unsettled feeling inside me grew. My stomach tightened in knots and the nausea that I’d been keeping at bay rolled around in my center—hot and disgusting.
Why had Sebastian kept this from me?
It didn’t make any sense, but then again, it did. Sebastian was always trying to keep me safe—always trying to keep me worry-free. Meanwhile, he took the brunt of everything—carrying the stress of three people around on his wide shoulders. I loved him for it, but it wasn’t working. He was going to make himself crazy.
My eyes scanned the next letter in the stack. The paper was more worn than the others were, as if Sebastian had read it repeatedly—folding and unfolding each time. When I reached the part of the letter telling Sebastian to leave me alone, it all made sense. This sick bastard, whoever he was, was the reason the last few weeks had been unbearable. He was the reason Sebastian had been so cruel. He was protecting me—pushing me away to keep me safe.
The meter was running, the cab driver slowly falling asleep in the driver’s seat, but I didn’t care. I couldn’t move—not until I knew Sebastian was okay—not until I knew what in the hell was going on. Instead, I continued to read the letters repeatedly—searching for clues that I knew I wouldn’t understand.
I didn’t know who the bastard was who wrote the letters, and I was sure Sebastian didn’t know either, but judging by the last letter, it sounded like he knew Sebastian.
It meant something personal to this guy, and he was hell-bent on making sure Sebastian was going to pay for whatever sin he was blaming him for. It made me fearful of what this guy possibly had planned for Sebastian, and from the sound of his letters, me too.
The only comfort I got out of the letters was that Sebastian did and always had loved me. He pushed me away because he thought he was doing what was best. He was trying to protect me. I understood that now. Even if I didn’t agree with the way he went about it, I knew it was Sebastian’s way of dealing with things. After everything that had happened with my parents, he wasn’t going to risk losing me too.
I just wished he would have come to me—trusted me enough to let me in. I wish he had told me what was going on. I would have understood—at least, I told myself I could have. I guess I couldn’t blame him really. Thinking back over the years, I’d done some ignorant things—things that could have gotten us both killed. In the end, we were both stubborn people who were willing to do whatever it took to keep the other safe.
The driver snored in the front seat and the time on my clock changed once again—another minute Sebastian was out of my sight. I couldn’t take it anymore. Opening the door, I tossed the money for the ride onto the front seat. The driver jumped when I slammed the door shut.
I crept across the street and into the alleyway where I’d last seen Sebastian. My eyes scanned the disgusting space, and I flinched as the smell of trash and sewer grew stronger. Making my way around the rust-covered building where Sebastian had gone, I tripped over the sidewalk and almost fell onto the gross asphalt. My fingers skimmed the rough outer shell of the building.
“Damn.” I hissed, pulling my fingers back to see blood rush to the surface.
“Now, that’s no way for a lady to speak,” a voice sounded from behind me.
I gasped and started to turn around, but whoever it was held me forward, his hand skimming my side and making my nausea thicken in my stomach. My purse fell to the ground, the letters and my gun spilling out onto the broken wet asphalt.
“I see you found my love letters.”
The sound of his voice in my ear was all too familiar, and I quivered at the sound of it. It was instinct to want to turn toward the sound of his voice, but he pushed the blunt tip of a gun into my side—the metal cold through my thin shirt—and it stopped me.
“Not just yet, sweetheart. You don’t want to ruin the surprise, do you?” I didn’t respond, and he just laughed. “That’s a good girl. Now, we’re going to take a little trip. Start walking.”
I did as he said, afraid to do anything else. My feet felt heavy as I moved. I left my purse, the letters, and my gun—the only thing I had to save myself—on the ground just outside where Sebastian was. I considered dropping to my knees and snatching the gun, but I knew I wasn’t faster than a bullet. And with his gun pressing into my side, I was as good as trapped. I wasn’t about to take that risk. Not with the life of my unborn baby on the line.
“Why are you doing this?” I whispered.
The ground beneath my feet shifted as a wave of fear and dizziness swept over me.
“You read the letters, Rosslyn. You know exactly why I’m doing this. A life for a life, remember?”
“I don’t get it. Whose life was taken? Taking Sebastian’s life isn’t going to bring that person back.”
“Silly, stupid girl,” he spat angrily.
The gun dug harder into my side and I winced. I’d upset him. The gun moved from my side and brushed my chin before he stuck it to my neck. Closing my eyes, I silently prayed to live.
For Sebastian.
For our baby.
I just needed to live.
“It’s not Sebastian’s life I plan on taking. At least, not the way you’re thinking.”
“I don’t understand,” I said, holding back tears.
My voice was raw with emotion—harsh and gritty.
“And you won’t understand. Not right now, anyway. And until everyone’s joined the party, you’ll have plenty of time to wonder. Now, move your ass.”
I dragged my feet. My knees feeling weak and wobbly. I could feel it coming. I was going to faint. I was definitely going to pass out on the dirty asphalt with a gun digging into my neck.
“Fuck!” he roared behind me. “Fucking move.”
I didn’t see the blow coming. Instead, pain shot into the back of my head and down my spine when he smashed something against the back of my skull. I wobbled for a bit, hearing a string of his angry curses from behind me. Then the blackness moved into my vision slowly before swallowing me completely.