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Sariah was still ahead of him when she burst out at the main level and then ran through the hallway to the main lobby. He’d almost caught her when a little boy darted in front of him in the main lobby. Mack dodged to the side and lost precious seconds avoiding the child. Sariah flew out the front entrance and onto the sidewalk. A man on a motorcycle pulled up and Sariah climbed on the back of his motorcycle.
“Go!” she yelled.
The man looked back at her in surprise.
Mack was almost upon them. “Wait,” he hollered.
The man glanced his way and the surprise turned to fear.
“Go!” Sariah pounded at the guy’s back.
The guy obeyed, gunning the motorcycle out of the circle drive. Mack ran after them but he had no hope of keeping up as the motorcycle raced down the road. Sariah glanced back at him once. The sadness on her face made him keep running, but they disappeared from sight and he finally accepted defeat. Pebbles were imbedded in his feet. He turned and hobbled quickly back toward the hotel. He prayed the man on that motorcycle would treat her with respect and that Sariah would come back to him. Somehow, someway he was going to find her, and explain better than he just had.
CHAPTERTWENTY
The motorcycle guy was surprisingly nice. He wanted to report Mack as an abusive boyfriend and Sariah had to explain they’d had a disagreement, that Mack was not abusive. He’d hurt her, but she knew he hadn’t intended to. Everything hurt though and all she wanted was distance from the pain, the humiliation, and Mack. He’d known, he’d seen those horrific pictures Denise had taken and shared everywhere she could. She tried to force it all from her mind, but couldn’t.
The motorcycle guy took her to the Greyhound in Gunnison, and luckily, the bus was only twelve minutes out. As she finally boarded it and rode toward Denver, she wilted into the upholstered seat. It smelled like moldy bread. At least Mack hadn’t found her. She felt bad for leaving him and being so dramatic about it, but she needed some distance from the pain right now and sadly he was entwined in that. She couldn’t believe how her dating Mack had exploded online. They’d been dating for months, why now? How did someone get a picture of her face and neck in the hot tub, the first time she pulled her hair back in who knew how long? There were so many questions firing in her head. She loved Mack and would expect that his family were good and honorable like him, but would his sister or brother have tipped off the media? How else would they find them and exploit them with the most horrific timing? She hated thinking ill of Mack’s family, but she couldn’t find another explanation. Unless Denise was coming after her again.
She pulled out her phone and typed in her name, Tyler’s name, and Denise’s name. The images of Sariah after Denise and her brothers tried to drown her were still there and all the sickening memories returned with them.
Tyler was four years older than her and she’d thought he was so mature, charming, and handsome. She had no idea he had a serious girlfriend in Boulder and had been two-timing both of them the summer after Sariah graduated high school. When Denise found out about Sariah, she’d attacked Tyler and his political aspirations, through attacking Sariah. She’d had her brothers almost drown Sariah in the lake by her house then rip her shirt off. When they discovered her scars, they’d laughed and taken all kinds of pictures of her. The pictures had been posted everywhere on the internet, with Denise claiming Tyler had burned Sariah every time she cheated on him. Sariah hadn’t even known about the other girl until she was attacked coming home from work late one night. Denise had served time for it, but Tyler had gotten through the lies, gone on his merry way to becoming a lawyer and was working into politics. Sariah hadn’t heard from him in almost four years. Sariah had been the one who’d had to carry the shame of it all. Over the years it seemed people had forgotten, but apparently it was still out there.
How could Mack have seen those pictures and pretended he didn’t know? Sariah hated that part of her life. She hated her scars. She hated feeling deformed. She really hated how dirty and disgraceful Denise’s attack and Tyler’s desertion had left her.
She stared out the window at the mountains and trees. Her phone kept buzzing in her pocket. She finally pulled it out and read the numerous texts from Mack—apologizing, begging her to talk to him, wanting to make sure she was safe. Leaning her head against the seat, tears squeezed down her face. Yesterday had been one of the best days of her life, because of Mack, and now she was second-guessing seeing him again. She finally texted back that she was safe, riding the bus home, and she just needed some space for a little while. It was the best she could do right now.
She should’ve texted Aunt Allie to pick her up from the bus station but she figured she’d get an Uber. She really didn’t want to talk to anybody right now.
She watched the mountains slide by on I-70, alternating between cussing herself for treating Mack so horribly and questioning Mack and his family and everything she believed about their relationship and the trust she’d placed in him. Yet had she really?Trust goes both ways.Why hadn’t she trusted him with her secret sooner? It probably had just been a matter of time before he found out from someone. There were pictures of her and Mack from Lily and Hyde’s wedding. It was inevitable someone would show him the pictures of her scars. At least he hadn’t gone looking for them. Maybe if she would’ve trusted him sooner, they could be dealing with the negative publicity together, the way Hyde and Lily would.
The bus finally pulled into the first station in Denver. She unloaded, clutching her purse. Walking through the terminal, she exited and stopped on the front sidewalk, pulling out her phone to get an Uber coming. The Uber driver confirmed quickly and she got a message to meet him in the south parking lot.
Walking over there, she glanced around and saw no one but empty cars. She felt so alone and she missed Mack. Why had she left him?
She heard from behind her, “Sariah.”
She spun and her legs barely supported her. “Tyler?”
He looked polished and handsome as ever in a black suit with his dark hair slicked back from his face. He had a very handsome face, but he was a snake underneath. Two-timing her and Denise, and deserting Sariah to the negative publicity after everything went south. Not that she would’ve wanted him once she found out about him cheating on both of them, but he’d turned tail and run before she could tell him where to go. He’d be perfect for the political career he was hoping to achieve.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, leaning against a nearby bench.
He approached her slowly, staring at her. “I saw the media, about you and Mack Quinn.”
“So now that I’m good enough for an NFL player I’m good enough for the future politician?”
His dark eyes flashed at her. “Mack Quinn isn’t the right one for you, I am.”
“Mack Quinn is one of the best men I know.” She jutted her chin out, knowing that was true. She wished she was back in that hotel room with Mack. She’d gone over the edge this morning when those pictures came out and let her fears and trust issues mess up her thought process, but it was so clear now. Maybe she’d have to deal with some media exposure with Mack, but being loved by him was worth it. “And he doesn’t have a crazy girlfriend whose brothers tortured me and lied to the world about me.”
Tyler came into her space. Sariah stood her ground, not willing to back down to him at all.
“Are you ever going to forgive me for something I didn’t do?”
“Two-timing Denise and I is something you did, Tyler.”
“Youhaveto forgive me. You know how crazy Denise was, the lies she spun. I was terrified of her so I lied to her that I loved her, but it was you I loved. Only you. You can’t hold her lies and psycho twisting of life against me.”
