The Devastatingly Beautiful Series (5 page)

10

Molly

I shouldn’t have come here. This feels too much like a trap, but it’s the only way to ensure my safety. Hopefully Tatum is out of town by now. It makes my chest ache thinking about never seeing him again. The man was the first ever to truly make me feel alive and worth something and I had to let him go as soon as I found him. I know it’s nuts to think that I could fall for someone that quickly, but it’s like fate threw us together and then ripped us apart right away. I just hope he found the note I left for him.

The plane ride gave me plenty of time to think. I had been shunning myself away from love and affection for so long I had forgotten how good it felt to be desired. Tatum set me on fire when he grinned at me that first time, but I ignored the ache, blaming it on not getting laid in a while. What I didn’t expect in our few short days together is that I would fall head over heels for him. Just two days into our work relationship and I ached to be around him all day. When I went home to rest, before the attack, I actually had to stop myself from inviting him to come for a nap as well. There’s something about him that makes me want to never leave his side, which scares me.

Now I sit in a cab on the way back to the one place I hoped I’d never have to return to. Things seem more lived in now in our old neighborhood. When we bought the house there were fledgling trees and bare lawns. In these 5 years the trees have grown and people have taken time out of their schedules to make their lawns lush with greenery. A slight twinge of jealousy rises in my gut, but I won’t let that play out to the end. I chose to leave here. As much as I love this state, and the beautiful landscape surrounding my city, it was my choice to leave. Well… sort of. Had it not been for those thugs after the money and drugs, I would’ve probably been able to stay, but I wasn’t about to get wrapped up in that. I thought leaving would be my only way out.

Apparently I was wrong.

The cab stops in front of a white, two story house with a wraparound porch. I pay and get out, grabbing my one bag on the way. I didn’t have to pack much else then the necessities since I know exactly what waits for me in the house. Everything was left in tip top shape, and I’ve been paying a housekeeper to check in and dust every couple of weeks. As soon as the cab drives away, I drop my bag and stare at the house. My breaths come in short spurts and I can feel an attack coming. Not wanting to be seen, I head for the porch and sit behind one of the pillars.

I haven’t been here since I left, but we had enough money for me to be able to keep the house and still live comfortably. Every memory I once had in this house is now tainted. Tainted with death, tears, and so much blood. While I was in the hospital, the house was professionally cleaned, wiping all visible traces of the horror that happened here away. I, however, will never forget. One night took away all I knew.

My thoughts drift to Tatum as I sit on the old front porch. For the first time in years I’m happy about the thought of being near a man. He makes me feel something that I hadn’t felt before. Ever. The way he smiles, the carefree way he seems to take life. Just thinking about those muscles and chiseled jaw set me on fire. I let my thoughts wander to the time in my office. Remembering his strong hands, the way they touched me, the way he knew just the right thing to say.

I’m not here to dwell on things I walked away from though. I’m here to try and find the money. Hopefully I know what Brian was thinking when he hid it. If he hid it. For all I know it could have been long gone before the time those thugs came into our home, but I have to try.

Grasping the keys in my hand, I stand to enter the house. Taking one deep breath, I unlock the door and step in. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, my senses immediately recognizing the patchouli smell and noticing that the house doesn’t feel stuffy at all. Slowly opening my eyes I look around at the place I used to call home.

The first thing that I see is a table with a light on. Strange. No lights were set to timers, the house shouldn’t be using much power.

Then I hear him.

“Hello, Molly.” His deep familiar voice echoes throughout the house.

What the hell? I walk into the living room just to the right of the foyer and almost faint.

Sitting on top of an old table that I left behind, one leg carelessly hanging down and a golden drink in hand, Brian’s grinning at me. GRINNING! I’m not sure what to do first; faint, puke, scream, cry, or beat the shit out of him.

“Wh— How?” I manage to whisper once I find my voice.

“There’s a lot you need to know. Please, let’s grab a drink in the kitchen first. You might need it.” He walks towards me and has the audacity to reach for me.

“I’m not going anywhere with you.” I recoil from his touch.

I can’t think straight. I have to get out of here before I lose it.

He’s supposed to be dead!

Just as I start to run, he grabs my arm hard, twisting me towards him. He looks much older; the last 5 years didn’t treat him well. Looking down at where his hand is touching my skin, a peaceful look crosses his face. I take the opportunity to knee him as hard as I can right in his groin. He goes down and I run. I bolt out the door and down the street. I don’t even know where I’m going, but I run until I think I’m going to pass out.

Slowing to a stop, I check my surroundings. Ahead of me there’s nothing much but a few trees, a house in the distance, and a dingy little bar with a flashing neon sign.

It’s been a while since I’ve really drank, but it’s the only thing I’ll be able to do to get my mind off of my dead husband that’s waiting for me back at our old house.

Damn, things have really taken a turn for the worse in the last few days.

****

About 4 hours later, I don’t remember why I started drinking in the first place. Thanks whiskey, you did your job!

“Ma’am, we have to cut you off. We don’t like to serve those who are obviously drunk and while you look like you need to bury something, we aren’t the place to do that.”

I stare up at the old man who has a beard and beer gut. He’s been serving me all afternoon.

“Uh, sure. I’ll be on my way” I manage. Holy cow, I’m too far gone to do much of anything. What in the hell happened? And how am I going to get through this?

The only thing I can think of at this moment is how amazing of a lover Tatum would have been. Mmm, Tatum. I wonder how he’s doing. I should call him!

Pulling my phone out, I clumsily find his name and press send. It goes directly to voicemail. Whatever, he probably changed all of his contact information once he realized how much crazy followed me around. It’s too bad, though, since I think I was falling for him. Hard. I could easily fall in love with him. Now he doesn’t want me. Life sucks sometimes. Ooo, this bush looks nice and soft. I may just take a nap here….

Tatum

After scouring through Molly’s life I pull up her recent financial records. It’s nice to be rich and smart. With money and brains, you can have the world at your fingertips. I don’t care who knows where I am now, all I care about is Molly. I have to make sure she’s safe. I have to. My brain and dick aren’t giving me much of a choice, but funny thing is, my heart isn’t either. There’s a rock there, weighing me down, and it isn’t going anywhere until I find her safe. How in the world did I get myself so wrapped up in a woman after only knowing her a couple days?

Not the point. What is the point is that I found Molly’s travel itinerary. Tacoma?! What the fuck is she doing in Tacoma?!

Right as I find this much needed information, Eddie calls back.

“Hey, asshole, you know you owe me, right? Whoever this chick is, she wanted to keep that file under lock and key with ten guard dogs ready to attack if approached.”

“Dude, I don’t have the time, did you get it open or not?”

“Of fucking course! That’s why you pay me the big bucks.”

“Thanks, man, I’ll be in touch.” I hang up and shake my head at his attitude. He’s lucky he’s so smart and good at hacking into things, or he’d be on my shit list for the way he talks to me.

I wait for the email to ding, then double click to open. The file’s here, waiting to be opened, but I hesitate. I already know where to find her. I should just walk away and forget about this mystery file. I don’t of course, but I should have. What’s inside breaks my heart. Photos, all of them of Molly and I assume her dead husband. Wedding pictures, vacation pictures, a life that she looked so happy in. No trace of fear or sadness in her eyes. The last pictures I open are the most beautiful and depressing pictures I’ve ever seen. Sonogram scans, baby announcements, and Molly. Every month she must have taken pictures to show her progress. She was the most beautiful pregnant woman I’ve ever seen. My heart aches for everything she lost and an anger grows inside me. Anger with everyone involved in taking her life from her, making her live the rest of her days with this memory of what she will never have. Anger like never before courses through my veins. I want to personally dismember each of them for making her hurt so much. She hides it well, but now knowing what I do, I want to spend the rest of time trying to fix it, fix her.

I bring up the Jet’s number on my phone and call the captain. Time to go to the Pacific Northwest. Hopefully I make it in time.

11

Molly

Jesus, what’s that smell? I open my eyes just to immediately close them tight. What the hell, who put a light that bright in my room? And why does my head hurt? And WHAT is that smell?

I slowly crack open my eyes. Very slowly and agonizingly taking in my surroundings. First thing I notice is the source of the smell. Apparently I’m lying in throw up. As gross as it is, I hope it’s at least mine and I’m not in someone else’s puke. What the hell happened? Did I sleep in a bush last night? I attempt to stand, but the pounding in my head is insane. My head hurts so bad I can’t think straight. I look around and things start coming back to me when I see the bar. Oh good lord, what did I do? I don’t drink. Obviously I can’t say that anymore, though. I need something to drink, preferably with a lot of caffeine to help with this headache.

Standing up proved to be more difficult than I thought it would. After a few failed attempts, I find my footing in the grass and wobble over to the bar. Hoping they’re open, I pull at the door and it opens. Inside is dark and musty smelling with lit up bar signs and music playing from an old jukebox. What century am I in?

“Hey there, how ya feelin?” a woman from behind the bar says. She has curly blonde hair and is probably about 10 years older than me.

“Kinda like shit. Was I here last night?” My throat is scratchy and I’m certain I look exactly like I sound. Hell, I probably smell horrible too considering what I slept in, but she doesn’t hesitate to smile at me like any other paying patron.

“Honey, you were here all afternoon yesterday. Finally we cut ya off and you went outside to sleep it off. You just wake up?” she asks, wiping the bar down.

“Yea. And I don’t remember anything that went down last night. Did I say anything?”

“Just babbling on about someone named Brian, a baby. You mentioned a fine man a few times. Other than that, it was just blank stares across the bar at your reflection.”

I remember all too well about what went on before the bar. Glad I didn’t get in too much trouble. I ask for a coke and an order of biscuits and gravy to aid in my hangover. I have plenty of weaknesses and grease covered carbs is one of them at this point in my hangover. When the food comes out the woman kindly sets two ibuprofen tablets alongside my drink and gives me a wink. I grab my fork and dig in, thinking about the last twenty four hours.

If Brian’s still alive, why would they come after me and attack my employee for the money? Why wouldn’t they go after him for the money? Why am I still wrapped up in this bullshit?!

I eat my order as fast as I can, happy for the warm grease filled hug. Now on to face the day, hoping that whatever happened yesterday was just my imagination, even though I know it wasn’t. First, though. I need a shower and the only place I know to go is the one place I’d rather never have to go back to.

Tatum

I’ve never traveled to this part of the country before. There doesn’t seem to be much here that I would enjoy so I haven’t wasted my time on it. All the beautiful people and warm weather in the south is where I’m more comfortable. I have to say, though, that after flying in and seeing the view from the sky, I might’ve been missing out. The trees are so beautiful and the mountains look incredibly peaceful with their snowcaps. It’s very peaceful and rugged. I can see Molly living here, growing up here.

As I wait for directions to Molly’s old house to load, I think about the last few days. Just a week ago I was loading up my most personal belongings and heading out on my bike. I had no destination in site and only one goal in mind: get out of town. I needed to rid myself of every memory from the last few years. I needed to start over. This was not quite the way I envisioned starting over, but I would trade anything for Molly. I would do this all ten times over if it meant I still get to meet her. That is, if she will have me once she knows my true self. Funny thing, though, I’m not even sure about my true self anymore.

With the directions loaded, I head out in my black Dodge Ram. Apparently you can’t rent motorcycles and the lady at the airport said a truck would be good for any terrain and hill I come across. Fine, whatever. As long as it gets me to Molly before it’s too late.

Hopefully she’s there. Her files and bank statements didn’t show any record of other places she’d be staying, so this is the only logical explanation. 20 minutes later I’m pulling up in front of a white two story with a nice sized porch. Looks very much like a home I could see her living in, raising her family in. I hate that she came back here, that she felt she had to. Getting out of the truck, I lock the doors and head for the front door. I don’t yet know what I’m going to do if she’s not here so I pray she answers the door.

Molly

Just as I turn off the water and step out of the shower, I hear the doorbell. Of course.

Racing to cover the important bits, I consider who would be knocking on my door at this house of the day. No one but Brian knows I’m here. I didn’t let the neighbors know I’m home yet and Brian has a key apparently, so why would he knock? I throw a robe on, pulling the tie tight, then wrap my hair in a towel. Padding down the stairs, I see a figure through the front window that takes my breath away. What’s he doing here? I open the door and see him standing at the side of the porch, looking at the street, his back to me. He hears the door open and turns to look at me. I can see the torment in his eyes, the questions, and the lust. He doesn’t say anything, just crosses the space between us with three long strides and takes me in his arms, hugging me tight.

Oh god… this is perfect.

“I never thought I’d see you again.” He whispers into my hair.

He holds onto me like I’m his last breath. I press in to him, wrapping my arms around him. I thought he had given up on me and washed his hands of this. I thought me leaving would push him away, especially after the note I left telling him to leave. I thought he was safe. Now he’s on my doorstep and I’m not sure what to think. Looking up at him, I smile. I’m thrilled beyond words he’s here, but I’m scared I’ve now put an innocent in the crossfire of my past.

“I think we need to go inside” I say. As happy as I am that he’s here, I don’t want everyone hearing what I’m about to tell him. Something tells me Brian wouldn’t like it if the whole town knew he really didn’t tragically die.

We walk inside the house and I know I can’t hide it from him. Somehow he found where I was and followed me halfway across the country. Somehow he had the funds to do this on the drop of a hat. Maybe he’s not the man I thought he was. Maybe we’re both hiding things.

Either way, he cares about me enough to put his life in danger to be with me. To help me. I have to be honest with him. He walks in and I shut the door behind me. As I lock it, he turns and stares at me. It’s the most unnerving thing, being stared down by someone so beautiful and not knowing what comes next.

Before my next thought can be processed, he’s on me. Kissing my neck, roaming my body with his hands, exploring parts of me that haven’t been touched in years. He finds the tie of my robe and tugs it loose, displaying my naked front for him.

“So goddamn beautiful.” He groans as his hands continue to explore my body. He kisses me with emotion and lust…and something else. Something that tells me he didn’t spend all this money just to find me, fuck me, and leave. His hand snakes around and grips my ass and heat floods between my legs.

Maybe what I needed to tell him can wait.

I shrug off the robe and pull the towel, tussling my still wet hair out. It drips down my back as I stand here boldly, waiting for him to make his next move. I’ve never been this bold with anyone, not even Brian. With Tatum, though, I feel beautiful. He slides my legs apart and kneels in front of me. His fingers find my folds and slowly opens me to his tongue, licking ever so softly on my clit. I moan and rest my head on the door. Jesus Christ. His other hand reaches up and pinches my nipple, making me gasp from the delicious pain. When I gasp, he shoves his fingers inside me, curling them forward to find the sweetest spot. I moan and press into him.

“God, baby, you’re so wet. I was worried sick they had you and I’d never get the chance to do this. Good lord, you’re so beautiful.” He growls and

His words make the heat between my legs rise and as he licks my tight nub I come apart. The world seems to spin and every limb goes numb after that mind-boggling orgasm. I slide down the door and sit on the floor, staring up at the very large, very obvious bulge in his pants.

Kneeling, I grab the waistband of his pants and unbutton them. Sliding them down, his thick erection pops out in all of its glory.

“Commando, huh?” I grin up at him. He gives me his best grin and shrugs. I take him into my hands and start exploring him.

“You know, I never thought I’d be able to enjoy you correctly. Now that I have you here, I’m not sure I will ever get enough of you,” I say, then I glide him into my mouth and as far back as I can go. He hisses and grabs the back of my head to still me.

“Do that again and I’m not going to last very long,” he groans his warning. I get it, but I don’t care. I’m not sure how many times I’ll be able to enjoy him, and as much as it hurts my heart, I have to get everything while I can.