Page 51 of Tease Me


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My heart hitches in my chest as the memories come flooding back. Hateful painful memories that I’ve blacked out over the years. I don’t need to ask him how he knows. Lauren must have told him. Shards of pain pierce my heart. “She shouldn’t have told you. That was a secret.”

“Not the only one you kept from me,” he says with a dark chuckle that has no humor in it. He lights the cigarette but doesn’t take a hit. He sits down on one of the chairs and focuses his gaze on it, watching it turn to ash. There are so many things to unpack with Josh, but he’s a memory. Not someone I need in my life right now. He’s from another life. The only lives I need to focus on are Lauren’s and mine.

I bend my knees so I’m level with his head. He doesn’t even look up at me. The girl that betrayed him was a child. I had to keep secrets to survive. “I kept her secret because I had to keep her safe. Just like I have to keep her safe right now.” His eyes remain downward and my heart breaks. I thought I’d gotten over Joshua Nix. I was wrong. I lean forward and kiss his cheek. Beneath the hard exterior, I think I see the hint of him trembling.

When I stand and head back inside, he doesn’t follow.

“Come on, Lauren. We have to go now.”

“You can’t leave.” This time it’s Alexander Dacre.

I step up to the man in the suit and look up at him. Just like the others, he has tattoo’s but his are hidden beneath a suave business suit, only peaking out slightly above the collar. “Alexander is it?” He nods. Warm brown eyes stare down at me. “It’s a miracle my father’s men aren’t here knocking on your door already. They will soon. My father will have every one of his people searching for me. I’ve managed to stay under the radar for now, but it’s clear by the newspaper article none of you understand the gravity of the situation. She stays here, she dies. They’ll kill her and they’ll send me back to a life of abuse. You can’t save her. Only I can do that. I’ve spent my whole life planning this. "

Alexander’s eyes flash over to Lauren. There’s a storm in the depths of them. I don’t know him, but it’s clear Lauren made an impression on him, too. On all of them. I want to apologize to them, to thank these strangers for keeping her safe, but I don’t know the full story of how she ended up here, and until she tells me, I’m going to reserve judgment.

Alexander flicks his eyes to the other man. He folds his arms and makes no move to get out of my way. “If you’ve spent your whole life planning this, why was it we found her the very day after she left? She was alone.”

Suddenly it makes sense. I took Josh to my mother’s cabin a few times. Those days after my father beat me and I felt like life was not worth living. We’d spend the night huddled up together in the cold. Looking back, it wasn’t the most romantic setting, but it was a safe haven and I felt protected in Josh’s arms. I felt he could save me from anything... until he couldn’t and it became apparent I was going to have to be the one to save him. And now he hates me for the lie.

“I have to go,” Lauren says. “Let me go.” She looks so vulnerable. I’ve spent the last week cursing myself for fucking up so badly and leaving her alone in that cabin. It’s not a mistake I’ll make again.

She reaches out to me but it’s the shaved haired man that takes her hand. “We’ll look after you, Sinful.”

I open my mouth to snap at him, but Lauren gets in there before me. “You couldn’t even save me from yourselves.”

My blood runs cold at her words. I grab her hand from the man’s, but then it’s Alexander blocking the doorway.

“Let them go, Dacre.”

I turn to see Josh at the terrace door. His hair covers most of his face, but the part I do see has danger written all over it. The tension in the air is palpable as the three men standoff. I can barely breathe with it all, but then Alexander moves out of the way. I open the door, and without looking back, pull Lauren through it.

I can’t see Josh as the elevator doors close, but the two others watch intently. For the first time in my life, no one is looking at me. They both have their gaze focused on Lauren.

I pull my hair back into a ponytail and hide it under my hat. The parking lot was only open to residents, so I had to park around the back of the building. I pull two pairs of dark glasses from my bag and hand one to Lauren. It’s only when she struggles with them that I remember that she’s never worn glasses in her life. She’s never had a need to. I take them back and place them over her eyes. They are damp with tears.

“You are safe now. I found us a car. We’re going to drive south until we hit the Mexican border.”

She wipes her nose with the back of her hand. “Then what, Lucy?”

“Then we keep going until we find a beach to live out our days. I have a friend in São Paulo that my father doesn’t know about. Maybe we could go there.”

She gives me a little nod. Despite her life circumstances, Lauren is the most upbeat, optimistic person I know. Or was. something has broken her this week... or someone. I want to ask her what Josh and his friends did to her, but the elevator doors are opening and there’s no time. I want to be out of here before our father figures out where we are.

“Keep your head down and walk quickly,” I say as we step out of the elevator. She’s unsteady as we pelt across the marble flooring of the reception area. The concierge stares as we dash past him. It’s looks like the one he gives us that I need to avoid. I’ve dressed as inconspicuously as possible, and Lauren is no longer my spitting image, but the whole world is looking for us... me. It won’t take more than a second glance from the wrong person to get us caught. I bundle Lauren outside, past an elderly lady. My heart pounds as a well-built man dashes toward us, but at the last second, he ducks to the side and hurries past. Everyone is a danger on these streets. Anyone could be working for my father. I need to remember that. I keep my head down and Lauren does the same as we bustle past tourists along the street.

“We’re parked just down here,” I say, turning right. Lauren locks her arms in mine. The relief in finding her is masked by the fear of what Josh and his friends did to her. It’s clear she’s changed. And those words she said to them. They couldn’t even keep her safe from them. I don’t want to know what she means by that, but I’m going to have to ask her. She’s been through so much trauma in her life that the thought of Josh or anyone inflicting more makes me feel physically sick. I want to bundle her up in cotton wool and hide her from the world. Not the way my father did. I just want her to be safe, and we can’t be safe in New York. I can’t guarantee my father won’t find us no matter where we go, but getting out of the country is our best bet. I can’t go north. My father has eyes all over Canada. Even Mexico is risky, but it’s our only way out. I have two fake passports in my pocket and enough cash to last us six months. After that, we’ll have to figure out how to make money under the radar. Maybe I’ll cut and dye my hair like Lauren has. Not that she did it to herself. It’s a choppy cut and not professional, but it’s too good for her to have done herself. My heart lightens a little when we get to that car. There’s no one in sight and, by some miracle, we’ve not got a ticket. I didn’t park as legally as I could have. It’s only when we’re both in the car that I finally breathe easier.

It’s going to take at least two days' driving to get to the border. I have no phone to guide me, but the trunk has enough food to last us and I’ve bought maps. We’re going old school. Lauren doesn’t say a word as I pull out into traffic. One worry is replaced with another. I can’t imagine that Josh would hurt her, but things change. People change. And I can’t get the way he looked at me out of my mind.

We drive the first couple of hours in silence. Every car that drives behind us I watch, only breathing a little easier when they pull off onto other roads. The threat didn’t end in New York, it’s ongoing. “Did they hurt you?” I finally ask. Rage is already bubbling under my skin as I anticipate what she’ll say.

“I slept with Josh,” she finally says.

My knuckles turn white as I grip the steering wheel.

“I’ll fucking kill him. When we get to where we are going, I’ll think of a way to kill him. I’m so sorry, Lauren.” My heart implodes with pain as the consequences of me leaving her for fifteen minutes become apparent. I should have taken her with me.

“I wanted to, Lucy. I’ve always wanted to... so I did.”

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