Cheaters Anonymous (24 page)

“How did you get the electricity here?” I asked, looking up at the lights, and pulled my fish apart with the fork.

“They’re solar-powered. The charged battery should last us until morning.”

“Oh. I still can’t believe you did all this. It’s the most amazing thing anyone’s ever done for me.”

“So as first dates go, would you say this one was a success?” he asked digging into the meal.

“No one could compete with this,” I said. “You blew me away tonight. Completely.”

“Well, for what it’s worth, there’s plenty more where that came from.”

“Good, because I want it all.” My hand flew up to my mouth.

“Don’t cover up. I love it when you let go of the stress and when you laugh. It’s the most beautiful sound. Actually that’s a lie. The most beautiful sound is when you scream my name as you come in my arms.”

Wow!
“Well, I certainly don’t mind that at all.”

He lifted off his chair and leaned toward me, kissing me. “Then I suggest we get started.”

My phone phone buzzed at the same time as Scar’s. Trish’s phone number came up on the caller ID. My brows scrunched together as I wondered whether she was all right.

“Hello?” I said at the same time that Scar picked up the phone call from his brother.

“If you want Trish to live, you’re going to smile and say
Hello, Trish. How are you?
” Brad’s voice cut into me like shards of glass. I slowly turned around so that Scar couldn’t see the fear on my face.

“Hello, Trish. How are you?”

Pasting a smile on my face, I stepped toward the cave’s opening, away from Scar. My hand trembled, and I pressed the receiver harder against my ear to stop the shaking. Thankfully, Scar was on the other line engrossed in his own conversation.

“You have five hours to come to the old Huntington Clinic by the hospital on your own.”

“That won’t be easy. I’m not in town,” I whispered.

“Do you think I fucking care?” he screamed, and I jumped up. I looked back at Scar to see whether he saw me, but he was turned away.

“Okay, how do I know she’s still” – I couldn’t even get the words out. The lump grew in my throat. If I was going to follow Brad’s instructions without Scar or anyone else finding out, I had to do better than this – “alive.”

I quickly brushed the stray tear out of my eye and bit my lip to stop it from quivering.

“Julia, don’t listen to him.” I heard Trish’s voice and gasped.

“Shut the fuck up,” he screamed. The sound of a slap was so loud I could imagine its sting on my own face.

“If you hurt her,” I whispered, but saw that Scar had just finished his conversation with Axel, and said, “Yes, this was definitely a wonderful surprise. I should get back to Scar.”

“If you want to see her alive, come alone, Julia. Five hours.” And he hung up.

I looked at my watch: it was already ten at night.

I didn’t want to turn around. The moment Scar saw me, he’d know. There was no way I could hide Trish’s abduction from him. But if I didn’t, Brad would kill her, because Scar would never let me anywhere near Brad.

What do I do? Think, Julia!

If I didn’t tell him, I’d need to lie, so that we could leave Colorado right away. It would take some major acting on my part for Scar to agree. I could tell him that I changed my mind about us. That I wanted to go back home immediately because I was confused and afraid to commit to a relationship with one man. He’d believe that, wouldn’t he? I could convince him for Trish. I’d break his heart and crush him, but I’d save Trish’s life.

I don’t want to lie.

Would telling him the truth work? Was there any way this protective man, who’d kept me out of work and away from Brad for almost a week, the one who hired body guards and private investigators to help me, would be willing to let me go so that I could save a friend?

Even though it felt like minutes, it had been only a few seconds since my conversation with Brad ended.

“Was that Trish?” Scar asked.

“Yes. Is everything okay with Axel?” I couldn’t turn around to face him. Not yet.

“He’s in Europe. Actually he called because Trish left him a weird message and told him she needed some time away. He has no clue what caused it. Did she say anything about it?”

I could feel Scar behind me. There was uneasiness in his voice. He already knew that something was wrong without me having to turn around. I let out a breath, leaned against the frame of the chair, and closed my eyes.

“What’s wrong?” He gently gripped my wrist, and I swiveled on my feet to face him. I couldn’t hide it. As much as I wanted to save Trish, I failed before I even got a chance to do so. Unless Scar could help me, my friend was doomed.

“How much do you trust me?” I asked, looking into his deep brown eyes.

“With my life.”

“And can I trust you that way as well? Can I believe that if I ask you to do something, you will? No matter what the consequences?”

“You’re freaking me out, Jules.”

“Promise me, Scar. I won’t budge on this.”

“What the fuck has the asshole done?” he asked. Whereas in such situations, blood usually drained from my face, for Scar it looked like all the blood in his body went straight to his. He already knew it was Brad. The rage in his eyes mixed with fear as the limitless possibilities of Brad’s “crazy” probably flew through Scar’s mind.

“Scar? You need to promise.”

He regarded me for a moment. I was afraid he wouldn’t agree, and if he didn’t, I’d need to find a way to get back to the city and save Trish on my own – which with a five-hour deadline was nearly impossible.

“All right, I promise.”

I quickly told him about the phone call. Scar didn’t waste time packing, and within minutes we were riding the ATV downhill. I shut my eyes. It was one thing enjoying the mountains in daytime, but in the darkness, with only the headlights, I felt like Scar was driving blind.

“We’re going to crash!” I screamed.

“Just hold on, Jules.”

In my mind I kept counting down the minutes until our deadline. If we were going to get back home on time, we’d need to leave now. Scar didn’t even bother packing up our stuff at the hotel. An SUV was already waiting for us outside, and we both jumped from the ATV into the car. Apparently our luggage would be packed up and sent on the next flight.

“I’m sorry our date was ruined,” I said.

“This isn’t your fault, Jules.”

“I know. I just keep thinking what more I could have done to make it clear that I wasn’t interested.”

“Jules, when a woman says no once, that’s exactly what it means. I heard him talking to you at the club, and believe me, that prick didn’t understand the word. And you were very clear.”

“He told me to come alone. What are we going to do? Are you going to tell Axel? Brad will kill Trish if he sees you.”

“He won’t see me. And there’s no point in worrying my brother when he’s on the other side of the world. Let me just take care of it. All right? Try to get some sleep. We probably have a long night ahead of us.”

Sleep. Right. Like
that’s
going to happen.

Once on the plane, I reclined the seat and closed my eyes. My mind was spinning like a Ferris wheel. Scar covered me with a blanket and then paced to the front of the plane while talking on his phone. I hoped he wasn’t involving anyone else in this. I just wanted to get to the clinic and make sure Trish was all right.

We landed with one hour to spare before the deadline. Scar’s Hummer was waiting for us at the airport. A brawny guy shook Scar’s hand and gave him a black bag, after which we quickly got in the car.

“Who was that?”

“My supplies manager.”

I was pretty sure Scar didn’t mean someone who restocked the club’s inventory. Scar reached behind my seat and unzipped the bag. When I saw the gun in his hand, I gasped.

“You’re not going to use that, are you?”

“This one’s yours, Jules. We’re not going in there unarmed.”

“He said me only. It has to be just me.”

“Right, and that’s what we’ll make him think. But if you think that I’m sending you to see this psycho on your own, you’re wrong.”

“Scar...”

“Jules, it’s bad enough that I agreed for you to be in on this. But you said Trish’s life is at stake, so I don’t think I have much choice. Besides, if Axel found out I did something to screw with his girl’s release, he’d never forgive me. I’m freaking out as it is doing this with you because if anything happens to you, this decision may be the worst one of my life.”

“Okay. Well, for what it’s worth, I’m glad that one of us has a plan.”

“Right, the try-not-to-die plan we make as we go along.”

“Better than no plan at all,” I whispered.

C
HAPTER
22

I cursed the dying batteries in my flashlight. Either they were old or a screw had come loose. The light kept blinking on and off. The emergency lights above my head flickered, which meant that Brad must have switched the old generators on. The sound of rain pattering the windows outside drummed out everything else. Far in the distance thunder sounded, and I wondered whether it was raining all over America today. Scar jumped out of the car before we rounded the corner and told me to drive to the clinic. While I knew that he had my back, I’d never felt as afraid and alone as I did now. He said he would sneak into the clinic and get Brad from behind. I didn’t want to know what he meant by “get,” but I willed myself to believe it had nothing to do with the gun he had tucked into his pants before he left.

The metal barrel of my own gun pressed against my back. Before we arrived, we’d stopped on a secluded farm for a quick lesson on guns. Scar showed me how to turn off the safety latch, and how to aim and fire. After two rounds from my massively shaky hands, we had to leave. I wished I had asked him whether the gun could go off on its own in my pants. What if the safety latch failed? What if the gun fired right into my ass?

Keep cool, Julia.

Over the storm, somewhere in the distance I thought I heard footsteps and remembered Scar telling me, “You won’t see me, but I’ll be right there with you.”

I hoped that was him. Or maybe it was my imagination.

Goosebumps peppered my skin. The sound of the rain slowly subsided, and the streams of water flowing down the spouts turned into trickles. I jerked my head up at the sound of a quiet cry. It reminded me of newborn puppies wailing for their mother. I picked up my pace and headed toward the noise, wary of the shadows following me as moonlight filtered through the broken windows, illuminating the space. I was close. I could hear her, and I was sure that somewhere along the way I’d lost my heart because it certainly wasn’t in my chest; although I was willing to bet that it had lodged itself right in my throat.

“Hello?” My shaky voice reminded me of my mother reading Little Red Riding Hood. My mother might not have been very maternal, but she’d always been good at bringing the stories she read to life. The dark halls here were like the forest, and I was afraid that the big bad wolf was about to come out of hiding. Feeling stray debris crunch under my feet, I prayed no one else could hear me. The sound of my steps echoed from wall-to-wall, bouncing from the other end of the hall and coming back, penetrating me to the bone. To me it sounded like I was crushing loads of cockroaches or jungle-sized beetles underneath my soles.

I really hope those are just rocks and dirt.

The optimist inside me wanted to believe that no one was expecting me here; that I could just walk into a room, get Trish, and leave without even being seen. Yeah, sometimes I could be a dreamer too – especially when I was walking into a psycho’s world. The truth was that life had already taught me a lesson, and I knew that you didn’t always get dealt the cards you wanted.

Maybe I should start thinking like a psycho.

I stepped behind a wall and hid in the nook by the door. Chills overwhelmed my body when I heard Brad’s voice. After the sound of a slap, I heard Trish shriek.

“You’re the reason this happened, you fucking cunt,” Brad scolded her. His words were slurred as if he were drunk or at least high. “If you could have just kept your hands to yourself, maybe I wouldn’t have to look for another pussy. But now I’ll have her and I’ll take what was rightfully mine long ago.”

“Please, Brad. You said you wouldn't hurt her.”

Okay, so what was the plan here? I pictured myself jumping into the room in a professional tumble as I drew my gun out and pointed it at him. He’d put his hands up and surrender, while I removed the handcuffs from my back pocket, pinned him to the ground, and shackled him. Wait – I didn’t have any cuffs on me.

“One more minute, Trish, and it will all be over. You know, I really thought she’d come for you.”

Where was Scar? Wasn’t he supposed to be here? I couldn’t wait for the signal we agreed on. If I just stayed behind this door, time would run out and Brad would kill Trish. I didn’t want any blood on my hands. When I heard the next slap, I’d had enough. I kicked the door open – with a little surprise that it actually swung open and looked awesome – and drew my gun, pointing it at him.

For a few seconds I actually felt like a professional. Maybe watching
CSI Miami
wasn’t such a waste of time.

“Put your hands up, you fuck!”

I even sounded like a cop.
Go me!

Illuminated only by a single hanging bulb, most of the room was dark, the floor too dirty to reflect the meager light. Trish was sitting in a chair with her hands tied behind her back. Her eyes were bloodshot and her cheeks red. Not the blushing kind – the kind from a hard slap.

I held my hands straight out, just like I’d seen on TV, and pointed my gun at Brad. His surprise lasted a short uncomfortable moment before his smile crooked to the side and he said, “Finally, Jules. I was wondering when you’d get here.”

Brad was dressed in jeans and a black t-shirt. Even from a distance it reeked with sweat. He must have been wearing it for days.