Running From Destiny (26 page)

I know it’s a stupid question, but the fact that he shot him right in front of us has me completely stressed.
After taking a deep breath, Nathan answers me. “Gerard and Gerald, the twins, were already eating dirt and Evan took a shot at Chase. Gerard survived and it seems he is singing like a canary. Thankfully Evan was a bad shot, but his next one might have been luckier, so he had to be taken out. I’m sorry that you had to see that, but if he had successfully taken down Chase, he probably would have come after you and Heather. I wasn’t about to let that happen.” He says. I lower my eyes and shake my head, “Which one was Gerard?” I ask.

“Gerard has the piercing over his eyebrow.”
Nathan tells me and my body starts trembling again. “Ally, what is it?” Jackson asks over my shoulder.

“He-He’s the one that.......” And I drift off, my hand slowly traveling up and down the front of my shirt
.

“It’s okay Ally,” I hear Chase speak.
“Just because he’s turning states evidence, and calling out his boss, does not mean that he will walk free. Once the docs here patch him up, he is going away for a very long time. Please try not to worry.” I nod my head in agreement, but my heart is telling me to run, far away.

“Please stay in town for a while, Ms. Sanders.
We may find that we have more questions for you and you need to be available. Take some time off work and get yourself together.” Nathan says as he hands me a business card. “This is the information for Janice Wells, the APD Police Psychologist. If you need to talk, feel free to give her a call. In fact, she may check in with you in a few days anyway.” I take the card and tuck it in my hands.

“Where is my purse and phone?” I ask.

“Forensics has your phone and your bag, you can pick up the bag tomorrow at the Precinct, but we will need to keep the phone for a while.” I nod, but inside I scream because that’s my favorite method of contact. Thankfully I have the land line at home because I need to call Tim and my parents to let them know......well, maybe I won’t call my parents, but I need to call Tim to let him know I won’t be at work for a few days.

“I’ll get you a new phone tomorrow, Alexandra.” Jackson tells me as he opens the door
.

“No, thanks.
I’ll take care of it.”

“Please, Alexandra.
It’s the least I can do. I know I have a lot of explaining to do - seems like I always do and I tend to avoid it. Maybe if I had been more persistent, this wouldn’t have happened.” He says to me as he escorts me down the hall, as he pulls his phone out.

“Please bring the car around, we’re taking Ally home.” He barks into the phone, not giving the person on the other end time to argue, then we walk slowly toward the exit of the hospital.
We are leaving out a side exit, I assume it's because the media is outside the front doors, waiting to pounce on their prey. For this, I am thankful.

As we exit the doors
, I see the Bentley limo parked along the curb and Jackson’s driver waiting by the back door. He doesn’t speak to me as I get in the car, but Jackson says something to him quietly. I sink into the plush leather seat and the tears come rushing back, I assume from the drop in adrenaline, which has been pulsing through my blood for hours now. With my head in my hands, I sob. Shaking, full body sobs. I am so overwhelmed I don’t know which way is up. My mind is telling me to keep a watchful eye out for other bad guys, but my heart is telling me I am safe, at least for now. My body aches for rest and my eyes sting from exhaustion. I close my eyes and dream of my bed and blissful sleep.

Chapter 22

My eyes flutter open, but I can’t focus. Heavy lids prevent me from opening my eyes too far, but I see enough to know its dark outside. No light filters into the room and I stretch my aching limbs, rolling over and grabbing my pillow. If it’s still dark, I don’t need to get up yet. I sigh in the pillow and drift back off to sleep.

I am blinded by rays of light that stream in through the curtains and fall over my eyes.
I blink away the burn and take in the room around me. I finally register that I am not at home in my own bed, but in Jackson’s bedroom. I throw the covers off and swing my legs over the side of the bed, silently thanking God that I am dressed. Well, no
t
dresse
d
dressed, but I am not naked. Naked would be bad. I take in the silky nightgown that covers my body and rub my hands over the soft fabric. Nice.

As I come awake, I realize the first thing I need to do is go to the bathroom.
I typically don’t sleep all the way through the night without getting up at least once to pee, but I must have been so tired that peeing was not necessary. Now it is. I clench my legs together and pad over to the bathroom, scanning the large room looking for the toilet.

After I finish, I take a glimpse of myself in the mirror.
Good Lord, what in the hell happened to me? My hair is flying in a thousand different directions and there’s a round, black ring around my eyes from my mascara. Between the ordeal from last night, the tears and heavy slumber, I look like shit wrapped up in a pile of shit. I splash some cold water on my face to wake up, but decide a shower would be better. I pull the nightgown off and stare at the bright red mark that travels down form the hollow of my neck to the hollow under my breasts, tracing my finger down the jagged line. Memories from the prior day come rushing back and I have to hold myself up on the counter.

Once I calm down some, I step under the steaming water flowing from the rainforest type shower head and sigh with relief.
Who knew a shower could feel this good? Well, I didn’t - because my shower at home feels nothing like this. I wash my hair with Jackson’s manly smelling shampoo and wash my body, reflecting on the previous couple of days. Then it really hits me that I am at Jackson’s place, not my apartment. Now getting angry, I step out of the shower and find a towel that has been warming, noting that I didn’t turn it on when I got in the shower.

I grab the towel and dry off, searching the floor where I dropped my gown, but it’s gone.
I wrap the large, fluffy towel around me and head back into the bedroom, where I see clothing laying out on the bed, the Bergdorf bag from New York sitting on the floor beside it. Shaking my head, I realize this man thinks of everything and I try not to be so angry at him for not taking me home last night.

I get dressed and make my escape toward the living area, where I hear clanging of pots and pans in the kitchen, but I don’t see Jackson. Instead, Dani is standing there looking relieved
.

“Oh, hi Dani.
I didn’t know you’d be here, in fact I didn’t kno
wI
would be here. But anyway, where is Jackson?” I ask her.

She lets out a soft laugh, “Hello to you too Ally, good to see you again.
Jackson went down to the police station to get your things and pick up your friend’s car.”

“Right, damn.
I completely forgot about her car. I can drive it to the hospital later when I go visit her.” I say.

“Oh, she was released yesterday, her parents picked her up and took her to their house.”

“Yesterday? They let her go home this quick?” I ask.

“Ally,
its Monday. You’ve been sleeping for two days, which is why I’m here, Jackson was worried because you hadn’t woken up. I checked on you and told him you were exhausted and to let you sleep.” She says as she continues pulling utensils out of the cabinets and placing them as if she is fixing to cook something. “You must be hungry. Sit, I will whip something up for you.” She says as she turns toward the fridge.

“Two days?
Shit, Heather must think I abandoned her, she’s gonna be so pissed at me.” I say to myself, but Dani answers.

“Nonsense, I’ve spoken with her and so has Jackson, she’s fine.
She slept for a lot of the time she was in the hospital too. You two went through quite an ordeal and your body knew what it needed, and it let you sleep. How are you feeling anyway?”

“Ummm, to be honest, I’m not sure.
I feel kind of strange, waking up after so long and not being at home like I thought I was.” I finish my sentence as Jackson walks in the door.

“Ah, my beautiful Alexandra, you’re awake.
Good, I see Dani is fixing you something to eat which is also good, since I gave Hilda the day off.” He says as he drops his keys on the table and sets a plastic bag on the floor, and then he comes to me, wrapping his arms around me in a tight hug. “I was worried; how are you feeling?”

“I’m not sure yet.
I woke up thinking I was at home, but obviously I’m not. Why didn’t you take me home??” I ask, my pulse speeding up.

“Your keys were in your purse, at the police station.” He says as he moves back to the bag he dropped, handing it to me.
Inside is my purse, keys and a new cell phone.

“What’s this?” I ask, holding the Apple box, shaking it at him.

“I told you I would get you a new phone, and I always keep my word.” He smirks as he scoots past me, heading toward the kitchen. He sticks his finger in the pan on the stove that Dani is stirring, and she smacks him on the hand.

“Get out of my hollandaise, I don’t know where that finger’s been.” She shoves him back, trying to direct his large frame out of the kitchen.

But Dani is tiny, so he must be like a brick wall to her. He doesn’t budge, glaring at her with a smirk on his face. I just stand there watching, enjoying the sibling banter. I know they are trying to make me feel comfortable, but I am far from comfortable.

“Move Jack, you’re in my way.
You wanna eat? You’d better get your overbearing ass out of my way.” Dani chuckles as she shoves his chest, and he concedes and steps back.

Jackson’s cell phone rings and as he looks at the caller ID, he turns to me.
“I have to take this.” He says as he moves out of the room and into another room I have not seen before, in fact, I never even noticed the door. Maybe a den or office, but I don’t know.

I take this as my opportunity to grab my purse and Heather’s keys.
“Dani, no need to cook me anything, I really need to go home.” I tell her as I walk toward the door. Before my hand gets to the doorknob, Jackson is back in front of me.

“Where are you going, Alexandra?
Running again?”

He looks angry, but I don’t care.
I need to get out of here and go home to clear my head. “I need to go home, Jackson. I’ve been gone for days and I have things to do and I need to check on Heather and I need.......” I ramble on, but Jackson wraps his strong arms around me and pulls me close.

“No more running, Ally.
Please stay, we have...things, we need to talk about. Dani will be leaving after lunch and we’ll have some privacy. I’ve been waiting for two days while you slept this off, but I can’t wait anymore.”

“Jackson!
This isn’t about YOU! This is about ME and I need to get ME back before I even think about YOU! A lot of shit has happened, before and after you came barreling into my life trying to change it. I can’t breathe, I need some space....I need time.” I finish and my voice has calmed some, but my anxiety is creeping back in.

“Fine, I’ll take you home.
I can send Heather’s car home later.” He tells me as he picks up his keys.

“No, Jackson.
I need to do thi
s
alon
e
right now. Space and time mean
s
space and tim
e
with myself. You’re a distraction and I need to focus on things, please. Let me go.”

Thing is, I am asking him t
o
let me go
,
and I feel like I need him to do this on a permanent basis. My feelings are too strong at this point and I know I am acting out of fear, frustration and confusion, but it’s what I need to do right now. He raises his brow and steps back, removing his hand that has made its way to my upper arm and I hadn’t even noticed.

I watch his hand leave my arm and the immediate loss of warmth is deafening, as is the quiet in the room.
Dani has stopped what she is doing and is watching our interactions, sympathy in her eyes.

“Jackson.” I hear Dani speak.
“Let her go for now. She’s obviously distraught and needs some time, you need to give her the space she needs.” She says as she comes into the living area where we are, a wooden spoon in her hands. Jackson nods and steps back, but I can tell he is fighting letting me go.

“I’ll call you soon, Jackson.
I promise.” I tell him, though I am not sure I can keep that promise right now.

“Can I at least walk you down?” He asks politely, almost begging.
I nod and turn to the door. We’re quiet while walking to the elevator, but as the doors close he moves into my personal space, he’s good at that. I feel the warmth of his body as he cages me to the back wall of the small box that is taking us down to the garage. One hand on each side of my head, he leans in and brushes his lips over mine. It’s not heated like prior kisses, it’s.....sweet, sensual. I don’t fight the kiss, because I want to kiss him back, but I need to get away for a while and get a grip on my feelings for Jackson and what I’ve gotten myself into.

The doors open and he points toward Heather’s Prius, which is parked just a few spaces away in a reserved spot.
I click the fob and the lights blink, a shallow beeping sound coming from under the hood. He opens the door for me and I turn to face him, my face is a mess of fear, lust and something else I can’t put my finger on.

“Drive safe, Ally.
I’ll call you later to check on you.” He says as he kisses me again, this time firmer and more desperate. He looks at me deep in my eyes, “Mine. Don’t forget that.” He says as he turns to walk back in the building. Huh?

I nod in shock, but I get in the car, start the engine and back away.
I scan the garage to make sure no one is following me and head out. Yes, I know, paranoia. But can you blame me?

Traffic is lighter than I am used to on this route, since it’s the middle of the day, so I make it home in no time flat.
I walk into my apartment and it feels lonely. Typically Heather is here hanging out on my couch, eating my food and watching my TV, but she’s not here. I dig into the bag and pull out the box containing my new iPhone and crack it open. As I power it up, I realize it is already charged and a few contacts loaded into it, Jackson’s being one of them, and it no longer says Unknown Number. I also see Heather’s number, my parents and Chase. Not sure why Jackson put Chase in there, but whatever. That’s a puzzle piece I will try to solve later, right now I need to talk to Heather.

“Ally?
Oh my gosh, I was so worried!” She screams into the phone without saying hello.

“Hey Heather, how ya feeling?”

“Sore, but better. The stitches are tight and my mom is being an overbearing boob, but other than that, I’m good. Tell me now, where have you been for the past few days?” She asks, suspicion filling her voice.

“Jackson took me to his place, since my keys were at the police station.
I apparently slept for two days, which is why I haven’t called. I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you needed me Heather.”

“Nonsense.
I’m fine. The police have been here several times talking to me and counseling me. It’s helped. They tell me the one that survived is going away for a long time, which makes me feel better.”

“Yeah, that’s what I hear.
I haven’t talked to anyone since......then.” I have to stop and think, because I can’t even remember what day all of this shit went down, and after sleeping for two whole damn days, my internal calendar is out of whack.

“How long are you going to be at your mother’s?” I ask her
.

“She’s bringing me home tomorrow.
Hey, Jackson told me he was going to pick up my car, did he do that?”

“Yeah, I drove it home.
It’s here in front of my apartment.” I tell her.

“Jackson let you drive?”

Laughing, remembering our prior conversation. “Yeah, I wouldn’t have it any other way. He tried to bring me home, but I told him I needed time and space, and he actually let me have it. Though he wasn’t very happy.”

“I can imagine.
What’s going to happen with you two?” She asks.

“I’m not sure.
I told him I needed space, but he said something as I left.” Heather doesn’t say anything; I can tell she is waiting on me to tell her. “He sai
d
mine
,
and for me not to forget it as I left. Does he really believe I belong to him?”

“I don’t know Al, maybe.....maybe he wants you to belong to him?
Have you thought about that?” Heather asks.