Saving Me (Finding You #3) (5 page)

“It’s beautiful, Cheryl. It’s modern and light. There’s a pool and huge backyard. I think we’ll all be really happy there.”

“I’m sure you will. I’m looking forward to seeing it. When do you move?”

“Well, Kyle has asked for a quick settlement of two weeks, so all going well, we’ll move after that.”

“Who’s moving?” Joseph, Kyle, and Daniel appeared in the doorway.

“I bought Dakota a house this morning. With everything that’s been going on I forgot to mention it to you both.” Kyle walked over to me with an adoring gleam in his eyes before placing a soft kiss on my forehead.

That lightened the mood and had everyone discussing the house as we found our places and sat down, Daniel listening quietly.

Kyle and Joseph discussed the finer details of the sale, while Cheryl and I became engrossed in talk about home furnishings.

The evening coasted along. A bottle of wine had gone down well with dinner. Kyle and Joseph had gone out the front with Daniel so he could swing and climb the big tree while Cheryl and I cleared away the dishes.

“Now that the boys are gone, I wanted to give you something,” said Cheryl, walking out into the family room, leaving me wondering what it could be.

When she returned she handed me a small unwrapped box.

“What is it?”

“Open it and find out.”

I carefully opened it, not expecting to find an exquisite old silver necklace with a teardrop pendant hanging from it. In the middle of the teardrop was a stone the same color as Kyle’s eyes.

My head snapped up to find Cheryl’s eyes crinkled in delight.

“It’s beautiful.”

“It was my mother’s. She wore it on her wedding day and I wore it when I married Joseph. I don’t have a daughter that I can pass it down to, but I’d like to give it to you so that maybe some time in the future you can wear it.”

I picked up on the hidden meaning. She could see Kyle and I getting married down the track. As nice as that thought was, I wasn’t ready for that huge step. I needed to get divorced first. There was too much else in the way. I was about to protest about the necklace and hand it back to her but when my eyes connected with hers. I could see with absolute clarity that she wanted me to have it. She bobbed her head up and down, encouraging me to accept it.

Tears built in my eyes as I hobbled closer and hugged her. “Thank you. I will wear it with pride.”

“Here,” she offered, taking the necklace. “Turn around.”

I did and pulled up my hair to allow her to put the necklace on. It hung perfectly, not too high and not too low. I fingered it and turned back around.

“I don’t know what to say. Are you sure you want me to have it?”

Cheryl placed both hands on my cheeks. “Yes, honey. You’ve already become like a daughter to us. I think of you as my own.”

“That means a lot to me.” We hugged again and then went outside to join our men.

Chapter Eight

Dakota

Moving day fast approached and I was grateful for the distraction of packing and cleaning up the apartment.

Kyle hadn’t left my side, as promised, but decided that I probably didn’t need a bodyguard. He still had a few more weeks before the next movie shoot started and so he’d taken up that role himself.

Joseph had heard back from the FBI that they were unable to determine who the person in the video footage was but the uniform he wore was from a Los Angeles based security company and they were looking into it.

There had been no more hand delivered notes or flowers of any kind, so I settled into my routine, keeping the thought of John in the back of my mind.

Kyle’s apartment was starting to look sparse with boxes stacked up in the spare room and only the bare essentials out.

Saturday morning early, the movers arrived. We’d been up since around 5 a.m. making sure the last plates and cups were packed as well as any personal items.

I ran over the floors with the vacuum after all the furniture had been removed and mopped the wet areas. The apartment was going to be let out to tenants so I wanted to make sure it was spic and span. Kyle would still own it and had decided to keep it as an investment.

Once the truck was loaded everyone left and drove to the new house. I was busting as we drove through the gates.

Kyle smiled. He glanced at me as we parked out front with the removal truck behind.

“Welcome home, Ms. Livingston.” He leant across the car to kiss me.

“You don’t know how much I like the sound of that,” I said in between kisses.

Daniel was already out, waiting on Kyle to unlock the front door.

“Come on, I think someone is anxious to see his new bedroom.” We looked towards the house at Daniel and then pulled apart, exiting the car.

Once inside there was great enthusiasm. Daniel rushed up the stairs to pick out his room before the movers started bringing things in and Kyle and I followed behind, his arm around my waist, pulling me in protectively and kissing my head as we made our way up the grand staircase.

We really did feel like we were home. Walking along the upstairs hallway and stopping at Daniel’s room, we relished in seeing him so happy.

“Dakota! I want this room! I have my own bathroom! And look at the view of the ocean! This is crazy! I love it!” He was flitting around everywhere, opening cupboards in the bathroom and built in closet. “Can I please have this room? Please?”

I laughed. “Sure you can. I think this will be a great room for you. Let the movers know to put your things in here.”

He came over and embraced me and then Kyle before racing downstairs to act as overseer.

Kyle pulled me further along the hall to the master suite, pushing me inside the door and against the wall away from view of anyone. He lifted both my hands with one of his and pressed them against the wall above my head before kissing my neck. “You do realize we’re going to have to christen our new bedroom tonight, don’t you?”

“Mmm and the bathroom. I’ve been wanting to get you in that huge bath since we first looked at the place.” Heat rose up my neck.

We kissed achingly slow, stopping when we heard someone on the stairs. “I love you, beautiful girl.”

“I love you too, Mr. Rutherford.”

We stayed like that for a moment, Kyle rubbing his fingers down the side of my jaw. He drew his brows together after his eyes lowered to my neck. “You’re not wearing your necklace. Did you decide to take it off?”

“Hmm?”

“My mother’s necklace. You must have taken it off. Did you forget to put it back on?”

My face chilled as my hand went to feel for the chain. “Oh no! I’m pretty sure I left it on the vanity of the bathroom in the apartment. I forgot to put it back on this morning after my shower. I have to go back and get it!”

“I don’t want you going alone.”

It’s not like I’d be wandering the streets out in the open. I’d be in a secure parking garage.

I thought about it. “You’ll need to stay here to guide the movers. I can be there and back in an hour. I’ll park underneath and hurry in and out, I promise.”

Kyle was fingering his hair, the muscles in his arm tensing.

I could see his indecision. “We don’t have a choice. The new tenants move in this afternoon and I need to get that necklace. Your mother would kill me if I lost it.”

Kyle paced, squeezing the back of his neck with one hand.

I didn’t think he was going to answer at first but finally he begrudgingly said, “Fine, but make sure your cell is on you at all times. If you need to call me for anything, no matter how small, do it. Don’t hang around. Just get in there and out.”

I walked over to him and ironed out the crease in his forehead with my fingers. “Stop worrying. I’m going to be either in the car or in the apartment at all times.”

His mouth was still set. “Why don’t you wait until the movers leave and then we can all go?”

I knew he was trying to protect me but the truth was, he couldn’t expect to be with me around the clock. There would come a time when I’d have to be on my own.

“It’ll be too late by then. I’ll lock my car door at all times, I promise. And I won’t stop anywhere else on the way.”

I didn’t wait for his response. I kissed him lightly and then turned to walk out, but not before he swiped me on the butt gently. “Hurry home.”

I stopped in the doorway and glanced back. “I’ll be back before the furniture is all unloaded.”

With that I left, stopping to let Daniel know where I was going before heading downstairs and out to my car, grabbing my keys and purse on the way through the kitchen.

Once in the car, I locked the doors and drove out the gates, which remained open for when the movers were finished.

Being a Saturday, the traffic thickened as I got on the freeway. All lanes were clogged and had slowed down to a crawl.

I turned on the radio to help pass the time and make the journey more bearable.

It took an extra twenty minutes to reach the apartment so I put the phone on hands free and called Kyle to let him know I’d been caught in traffic and would be late home.

As long as he knew where I was at all times, he wouldn’t worry.

His last words played over in my head. “Please be safe.”

Chapter Nine

Dakota

The basement was chilly as the cool breeze seemed to squeeze through the gap at the bottom of the roller door that had closed after I drove through. I shivered as I parked and got out, making my way to the elevator. Inside, I scanned the card that enabled me to travel to the penthouse.

After unlocking the door, I walked through the empty space to the bathroom where I was sure I’d left the necklace. Sure enough, it was sitting on the vanity. Relieved, I put it in my pocket and thought it a good idea to check every cupboard throughout one last time to make sure there was nothing else that had been forgotten.

Daniel had packed up his own room, so after leaving the bathroom and not finding anything, I went into his bedroom, opening the wide closet doors to find them empty.

Every noise seemed to echo in the emptiness. When I was happy the bedrooms and bathrooms were all clear, I made my way into the kitchen, stopping to look at the view from the window.

The apartment had served its purpose well but had never felt like home. Not like the new house. Maybe because Kyle and I had chosen it together. The penthouse was very much Kyle’s, and even though I’d added my own little touches to it, it still felt very much like a bachelor pad.

Lost in thought, I jumped at a sound directly behind me. As I spun around, my breath was lost to terror.

“Hello, princess. Miss me?”

My jaw fell and every dribble of blood thumping through my veins rushed to my heart as it pumped vigorously in response.

“J…John! What are you doing here?” I couldn’t move. Alarm had me rooted to the spot. My worst fears were confirmed. The rose. It had been hand-delivered. The monster who had tried to kill me really was here and I didn’t know what the hell I was going to do next. I was trapped.

“Is that any way to greet your husband?” He wore an arrogant smirk. His eyes lit with a raging fire.

As he stepped towards me, I instinctively cowered down, head lowered, arm raised as if to protect my head.

“Tsk. Tsk. It seems you’re still the meek little mouse you always were. I thought after your resurrection from the dead, you would have grown some balls by now.” His hand snatched my arm, fingers digging in as he tried to straighten me up so I would look at him while he was speaking. I didn’t want to look at him, ever. He frightened me. I didn’t want to feel like that anymore.

I cringed at his touch and tried to pull my arm away but he held firm. “Leave me alone! I’m not with you anymore. I have a new life.” My eyes were everywhere but his face as tears crept out. Everything came crumbling down. All I had fought to escape and forget was back with a vengeance.

“Well, that’s not how I see it. I’ve traveled a long way to be with you again. Mortgaged the house to pay for this trip. I’ve gone incognito to escape authorities. Bided my time so we could be alone.” He pulled me from the kitchen towards the front door. I knew if I left the building with him it would all be over.

I couldn’t do that to myself, Kyle, or Daniel. It wasn’t an option.

I struggled by digging my feet into the carpet but it only made his grip on my arm tighter. He was hurting me now. There would be bruises for sure.

“Now, here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to come with me like a good girl and we’re going to go somewhere we can re-acquaint ourselves better.”

Oh my God! I am so dead! I have to get out of here. Shit! Shit!

My frantic brain seemed to be unable to think properly as I continued to pull on his arm.

He was getting frustrated with me, I could see it in his expression. Puckered brow. Lips pulled up in a snarl.

“Listen, you little bitch! I tried to be nice so you’d come easily but it seems you’re only making this difficult for yourself.” He pulled a handgun from his pocket and directed it at my head. “Now move! Try anything funny and I’ll end this once and for all…and that would be a crying shame after the lengths I’ve gone to.”

My eyes were bugging out. I let out a snivel, knowing he would indeed use it if I didn’t comply. How was I going to get out of this? Either way I was dead. Trying to make a run for it wasn’t an option now.

Just when we were about to walk out the door, I inconspicuously put my hand into my pocket and pulled out the necklace Cheryl had given me, dropping it on the tiles. There was nothing else I could leave as a sign. I knew if I wasn’t home in the next hour, Kyle would come looking for me and discover it.

I tried to stall for time, anything to keep me from getting into a car with the man I despised most in the world.

“Wait! My purse!” It sat on the kitchen bench and carried my cell. I needed it.

“Leave it! You won’t be needing it.” With that he shoved me into the foyer, slammed the front door, and pushed the button for the elevator.

I prayed that Kyle would come to the apartment looking for me, find the necklace and my purse, and know I was in trouble. Just how I was going to get out of this mess, I didn’t know.

In the basement we walked past my Lexus and stopped at a black SUV. For an instant it looked familiar but then I dismissed it, realizing how many of them were driving around Los Angeles.

John opened the door and flicked the gun in a “get in” motion. He stood and watched me buckle up before running around to the driver’s side and climbed in, locking the doors from the inside.

Before turning on the engine, he turned to me, gun aimed, and said, “You’re looking fine, sweetness. Mighty fine.” His onyx eyes roved over my body, hovering on my breasts. “I’m going to take care of you as I always have.”

By this point, I was shaking. “Please. You don’t have to do this. Let’s discuss things rationally, as adults.”

“Oh, we’ll discuss things as adults all right. Patience, darling.” His smile was sickening enough, but when he licked his bottom lip seductively, I nearly lost my breakfast.

I felt nothing but hatred for him. It was hard to believe I’d been in love with him once. So long ago.

There was nothing even remotely nice about his face now. It was a permanent mask of evil.

John made sure to keep the gun aimed at me with one hand and managed to start the car and back out of the parking garage with the other. The dark, tinted windows would hide us from view of passersby.

I really felt screwed and wondered how anyone would find me and where on earth he was taking me. Back to Australia? I didn’t see how that was possible. He wouldn’t get past security with his weapon. No, John had this all planned out. He knew exactly where we were going. I shuddered harder.

When we were on the road, John asked “So, did you miss me?”

I couldn’t believe just how messed up he was. How could he possibly think I’d been pining away for him after all this time? “You tried to kill me!” I kept my eyes to the front, still not able to look at him.

“Now, now, darling! You know that’s not true. A man’s got to show his wife her place. You do wrong by me and there will be repercussions. Obey the rules and everything will be sweet.”

My voice was barely above a whisper. “What did I ever do that was so wrong?” Apart from marry you, I thought, but didn’t dare say it.

I could feel his eyes bore into me for a second before he looked back at the road. “You didn’t fucking obey me! That was a word in our marriage vows, if you remember? You didn’t take them seriously! I was out working all day, putting a roof over your head and food on the table and all I asked in return was dinner on the table when I got home and sex whenever I Goddam asked for it! Was that too much to ask? Huh? You made a mockery of our marriage and of me. Well, I’m here to change all that.” His hand gripped the gun tightly.

The air in the car was thick. I wondered if he’d totally snap and shoot me where I sat. Maybe that would be better than having to endure what he had planned for me. I knew it wouldn’t be good. It had never been good.

I slouched down into the seat, wanting to disappear. How could I ever survive another round of this? It would totally break me. After everything I had already endured it just didn’t seem fair.

Thoughts turned to Kyle and Daniel. Were they starting to get concerned yet? Had Kyle tried calling my cell to see how I was doing? He would start to worry when it rang out and went to the message bank.

I should be at our new home unpacking, excited about the new life Kyle had given me, not held hostage in my deranged ex-husband’s car on the way to face some sort of cruel punishment that he called ‘affection.’ The thought of his hands, mouth, or any other body parts on me was enough to invoke the darkest of fears.

It was quiet for ages. Houses, offices, parks, and life in general passed by with no interest to me whatsoever. Cars that drove beside us had no idea I was traveling against my will with a violent criminal. I called him a criminal because that’s what he was. Nothing less suited him.

In a controlled voice he asked, “Did you like the anniversary gift I hand-delivered?”

It had been him all along! In disguise! Holy hell. He’d managed to fool everyone, thrusting me into a false sense of security. “How…? Why…?”

“How did I get to the top floor? Why did I deliver it? Well, let’s start with the why first. I’m deeply disappointed in you, Dakota. Shame on you to have forgotten our anniversary. Haven’t I always brought you roses? Why should this year be any different? We’re still married, after all. Are you annoyed it was dried and not fresh?”

He didn’t even wait for my response, probably knowing he wasn’t going to get one. The sound of his voice was making me feel sicker than I already was.

“That rose traveled all the way from our garden back home. I thought it would have far more meaning if I hand-picked it from our own collection. Don’t you agree?”

I gripped my head, wishing he would just shut up. He was talking too much. I needed silence so I could think clearly. It didn’t seem to bother him though as he kept going.

“My brilliant disguise was compliments of a friend of mine who has security clearance to the building. He owed me a favor. So you see, everything has worked out just perfectly.”

I sat in my claustrophobic bubble praying that a truck would cross lanes and hit us head-on.