Scattered Thoughts (Betrayed by Love Book 1) (18 page)

“You’re welcome,” she said with a smile that reached all the way to her eyes. “Don’t forget to call Alec,” she added before pulling away.

Biting my tongue to keep from telling Anna how I felt about calling Alec, I waved goodbye and watched her until the car was out of sight.

I’d decided to stop at Manatee’s bar in the hotel lobby for a drink before heading upstairs to my room to deal with Alec. I was still fuming about him buying Anna a car without at least talking to me about it first. And this whole senior class trip thing was way over the top. He needed to be stopped, and by the time I’d finish my second drink I’d garnered all the strength I needed for the job. After settling my tab I strolled confidently to the bank of elevators, determined to put an end to Alec’s meddling once and for all.

My phone rang before I made it back to my room. I glanced down at the screen. Anna. “Hey, sweetie.”

“Have you called Alec?”

I sighed heavily into the phone. “Not yet.”

“Mom, I promised him you’d call.”

“Okay, okay, already, I’ll call him as soon as we get off the phone.”

“You better. I’m going to call you after my meeting to make sure you did.”

Oh yes, Alec definitely needed to be stopped. As soon as Anna hung up I dialed Alec’s number. He answered on the first ring. “Isabella, where are you?”

“Alec, this has to stop. You can’t keep doing this.”

“Have you been drinking?”

No, no, no, that wasn’t going to work this time. He was not using redirection to get out of this mess. Not with the level of irritation I felt, or with the amount of alcohol running through my veins. “Did you even consider asking me first? Did you stop to think for one second that maybe I didn’t want her to have a new car?”

“Where are you, Isabella?” he asked again, completely ignoring what I’d just said.

I exhaled loudly into the phone. “Seriously, Alec. This has to stop!”

“I agree. This does have to stop, Isabella. Frank is there for your protection and I expect you to let him do his job. Now tell me where you are!”

My mouth dropped open.
Really, he’s mad at me?
There was no way I was going to let him make this mess my fault. “Alec, I’m serious!” I stomped my foot, my free hand fisted at my side. “I can’t believe you bought Anna a car. And then there’s this whole senior trip you’re paying for.”

“Isabella, I’ll be happy to talk about the car and anything else you want to pitch a fit about after you’ve sobered up. Now tell me where the hell you are!”

“I’m at the hotel,” I shouted. “And I’ve only had two drinks I’ll have you know.”

“From the sound of your voice, I’d say that was one drink too many. Stay put and we’ll talk about this in the morning.”

“But—”

“But nothing,” he snapped. “I’m in the middle of a meeting. Eat. Sleep. We’ll talk about it tomorrow.” Just like that the phone went dead.

I swung my room door open and tossed my phone on the sofa. “Ahhhh,” I screamed as loud as I could. I wanted to talk about it now.

There was a knock at the door. “Ms. James,” Frank called out. “Is everything okay?”

“No! Everything is not okay,” I shouted, throwing my hands in the air. “I’m surrounded by control freaks!”

The door opened. “What is it, Ms. James? What’s wrong?”

“Frank! What the hell are you doing? You can’t just come into my room.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but I heard you screaming. I was worried.”

“Well, as you can see, I’m fine,” I said through gritted teeth. This was too much. The walls were closing in. I was suffocating and had to get out of there. Storming past him, I headed for the stairs.

“Ms. James, wait,” he called after me.

“I’m going for a walk, Frank. And I want to be alone!” I called over my shoulder. Swinging open the door to the stairwell, I hurried down the stairs, taking them two at a time, desperate now to escape the madness that was consuming my life.

By the time I made it outside, the sun had already started to set, turning the sky brilliant shades of blue and orange underneath the dark gray storm clouds. A strong sea breeze slammed waves against the beach. Sheets of rain fell from the clouds on the edge of the horizon and were moving rapidly toward the shore. Thunder rolled, and lightning flashed in the distance. The force of Mother Nature surrounded me. The beauty of the storm had me captivated.

The tide rose higher and higher until water rushed over my feet, my sandals becoming emerged in the smooth wet sand. When the water retreated, the soft ground under my toes went with it. Shuffling my feet and waving my arms, I tried to maintain my balance, but my efforts were fruitless and I fell backward, landing hard on the sand. A sharp pain pierced my side and I instinctively reached for it.

An unfamiliar voice startled me. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I said quickly, embarrassed by my clumsiness, but even more embarrassed this blonde haired stranger had been there to see me fall. “The sand moved and I lost my balance.”

He extended both hands toward me. “Here, let me help you up.”

I grabbed hold and allowed him to pull me to my feet, his piercing blue eyes staring down at me. “Thanks.”

“No problem. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, just embarrassed is all.”

A smile crossed his face, exposing his perfectly straight teeth. “Don’t be embarrassed. The ocean is a powerful force. It takes some getting used to.”

I burst out laughing. “I live on the beach.”

The stranger laughed too. “Then you should be embarrassed.” Smiling, he continued, “I’m Nathan by the way.”

I opened my mouth to speak but pain pierced my side and took my breath. I pulled my arm into my ribs, looking for any relief I could find.

“Are you hurt?”

“It’s nothing, just an old injury.”

He tilted his head the side. “Broken ribs?”

My body tensed, the tiny hairs on the back of my neck suddenly standing on end.
How did he know about my ribs? Could he be my attacker?
My heart racing, I made a move toward the hotel. “That storm is moving in pretty quick. I better get inside.”

“Wait. What’s your name?”

“I’m Izzy,” I called over my shoulder, not stopping for even a second.

The sky turned bright white, thunder crashed around me. I picked up speed and ran as fast as I could to the safety of the building. The pain in my side worsened with every step, making it almost impossible to breathe. By the time I reached the lobby I could barely stand.

Frank gasped when he saw me. “Ms. James. What happened? Are you okay?”

Before I could answer Frank was at my side, his arm around my waist, helping me stand. “I’m fine,” I finally managed, doing my best to hide the pain on my face. “The storm just scared me.”

“Yeah, that’s some storm rolling in.”

Frank helped me into the elevator. “Who was that you were talking to on the beach?”

Turning in his arm so I was facing him, I asked, “Were you watching me?”

“My job is to keep you safe, Ms. James, and I’d appreciate it if you’d allow me to do that. We both know Mr. Payne isn’t going to like that you were out alone, so please, who was that you were you talking to?”

“Who cares if he likes it? It’s none of his damn business,” I said, pulling out of his grip.

“He only wants you safe. Now, do you know that man or not?”

Throwing my hands in the air, I shouted, “No!” Frank’s eyes closed, his jaw tightening. “I fell and he helped me up. He said his name was Nathan.” There was no way I was going to tell Frank that Nathan spooked me, that it was him I was running from and not the storm. One control freak was more than enough for me to handle.

My clothes were dripping with sand and salt water, so I headed straight for the shower when I got back to my room. I stripped down and stepped in, closing my eyes, letting the warm water run over my face. Thoughts of the day floated through my mind: Anna’s car, the class trip, Alec, and Nathan, the stranger with steel blue eyes, shoulder length blonde hair, and creamy skin. I wondered if he was staying at the hotel, if I’d see him again, if he could be the man who broke into my house and attacked me. A shiver ran up my spine as I considered that possibility.

A loud knock at the door brought me back to the here and now.  I turned off the shower. “Just a minute, Frank,” I called out quickly before he decided to burst into my room again. I pulled on the fluffy white robe the hotel provided and headed to the door.

“Everything’s fine, Frank, I was in the shower,” I called through the door as I wrapped my hair in a towel.

“Uh, its room service, ma’am.” My whole body tensed. That voice; I know that voice. “I have your dinner, Mrs. James.”

“I didn’t order dinner,” I said quickly, wondering how he knew my name. Alec had insisted on booking the room in his name so the psycho who was after me wouldn’t be able to track me as easily.

When I looked through the peephole all I could see was a man in a hotel uniform leaning over a service cart, his face not visible. Cautiously, I opened the door and he looked up. “
Nathan
.”

“Izzy, hey.”

My body tensed once more.
It’s just a coincidence
, I told myself, doing my best to slow my breathing. “What are you doing here?”

Nathan pushed the cart forward, nudging me a little. “Bringing you dinner,” he said.

“But I didn’t order dinner.”

“Maybe I have the wrong room. Let me check.” He pulled a slip of paper from under the tray and looked it over. “Are you Isabella James?”

I nodded slowly.

“I’ve got the right room then.”

Alec must’ve ordered it. Control freak! Reluctantly I held the door open, allowing Nathan to push the cart inside.

“Do you want this on the table?”

“Yeah, sure,” I said, cautiously watching Nathan’s every move. From my place in front of the door I had a clear view of him inside the suite.

He transferred the tray of food to the small table then pushed the cart back into the hall.

“Thanks,” I said, when he was standing in the hall too.

“Just doing my job,” he said with a crooked smiled. “How long are you staying at the hotel?”

I shrugged my shoulders. That was a question I’d been asking myself lately, but one I hadn’t found the answer to just yet.

“Is Mr. James staying with you?”

“We’re divorced,” I blurted out, caught off guard by his question.

Nathan looked up from the cart. “Oh yeah?” he asked, seemingly intrigued by the news.

He stepped in front of me, effectively blocking my escape. The tiny hairs on the back of my neck stood on end again.
Where’s Frank when you need him?
my inner voice snapped. My legs began to tremble.
Could he be the one? My attacker?
I stood frozen, unable to move, not wanting to look up. I wanted to scream, to push him out of the way and lock myself in my room, but I couldn’t. My legs wouldn’t move, and when I opened my mouth no sound came out. A startled squeal escaped me when Nathan leaned closer. I squeezed my eyes shut, saying a silent prayer Frank heard me. “Who’s Frank?” he asked, his mouth only inches from mine then.

“Who the hell are you is a better question.”

My eyes flew open. “Frank,” I shouted, more than happy to see him this time.

Nathan spun around and the two men were face to face. “Dude, relax. I’m from room service, and I was just leaving.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Frank barked, as he snatched the ID badge off Nathan’s maroon colored server jacket. “And if you value your job you’ll stay the hell away from this room. Are we clear on that?”

“Yes. Of course, sir.” Nathan turned toward me and nodded. “Ms. James.” With that he pushed the cart quickly down the hall in the direction of the elevator.

Frank kept his eyes glued to Nathan until the elevator doors closed, with Nathan inside. Only then did he turn back toward me. “Are you okay, Ms. James?”

My knees were still trembling when Frank spoke, stunned by what just happened. I nodded. “Thank you, Frank,” I whispered, with a whole new appreciation of him. God. What would I have done if Frank hadn’t shown up when he did?

“If he comes back I want you to call me. And whatever you do, don’t answer the door.” I didn’t argue. How could I after he’d rescued me from that frightening encounter with Nathan.

Frank started to walk away then abruptly stopped and turned to look at me again. “You know, Ms. James, we could have avoided this whole situation if you’d let me know you were ordering room service.”

I raised my hand, palm out. “Hold it right there. You need to discuss that with the control freak you call a boss, because I didn’t order room service, he did.”

A smile crossed his face and for a fleeting moment there was gentleness in his eyes I hadn’t known existed. “My apologies, Ms. James, I’ll be sure to do that.”

It was just a coincidence
, I told myself over and over again after Frank left, doing my best to calm my racing heart. Nathan must’ve been on his way to work earlier when he’d seen me fall. I gave him my name but there was no other way he could’ve known which room I was in.
Plus, he did bring you food
, my inner voice chimed in.