Three Thousand Miles - Forever, (book #3 of Three Thousand Miles, Series) (36 page)

“Your beautiful sister has ended her relationship with my brother and I believe
that she needs to suffer for breaking his heart.” Adrian’s nostrils are flaring as
he watches Chad man-handle his sister. I can tell from his eyes that he wants
to leap forward and punch Chad’s lights out, but Iknow that he will restrain
himself as he is the bigger man. Michael is standing behind Adrian, his lips are
burst and there is blood gushing out of his forehead. I look at him and I still
cannot believe that he has done all of this to us. I thought that Chad was the
bad brother, but now that I have seen Michael in his darkest moment I realise
that Chad doesn’t have a patch on him.

“Why do you care so much about other people’s relationships? Is it because
yours was such a failure?” Adrian says to Chad in a deep, dark voice. I wait
anxiously as Chad snarls at Adrian.

“Why exactly was my marriage a failure again? Oh that’s right, it was because
of you.” Chad lunges towards us and he drags Emma over with him. He is now
standing a few inches from us and my heart is racing as I can’t bear this any
longer. I hate confrontation and I especially hate seeing family members bicker
with one another and I can’t help but feel that everything is my fault. If I hadn’t
of lead Michael into thinking that there could be more between us then none
of this would be happening. Adrian wouldn’t be hurt and Michael wouldn’t be
so angry. Our lives would be normal and I wish that I could change what has
happened.

“That marriage was over long before I came around.”

“You have stolen everything from me, my wife, my parents and now my son.
How can you live with yourself knowing the pain and hurt that you have
caused me and my family.” Chad eyes are darting from side to side as his
words ring in the air around us. Michael has moved closer to us and Emma is
frozen in one spot as Chad squeezes her arm. I grip Adrian tighter as I begin to
feel uncomfortable and scared of what Michael’s actions might be.

“I have heard quite enough from you and I am not going to stand here and be
threatened by you any longer.” Adrian lunges forward and he drags me with
him. He marches over to Chad and he rips Emma from his grasp and then he
races over to the door with Emma and me by his side. I can hear Chad and
Michael shuffling in the background as we leave andwhen Adrian reaches out
to open the door Michael shouts after us.

“Stop,” Adrian turns to look at him and I do the same. Michael is shaking as he
points the gun at us. My heart is racing as I lookat him and I am terrified that
he is going to hurt Adrian. Michael’s eyes are raging as he continues to
threaten us with the gun. Emma begins to cry as she stares at Michael, Adrian
sense his sister’s trauma so her tries to talk Michael down.

“Put the gun down, this isn’t you.” Michael laughs and then he moves closer to
us. I clutch Adrian’s arm as my heart is pounding so hard that it may burst from
my chest. “Come on mate, put down the gun.” Adrian tires to soothe Michael
but he laughs at Adrian –again.

“I am not your mate,” Michael says in a dark voice. Chad is standing beside
him, laughing smugly. As I look at these brothers I can’t help but think that
they are severely messed up. I wonder if they have had a traumatic experience
as children, but then I remember that Michael and Chad were born into a life
of privilege. As I look at the brothers more, I begin to think that their high
society lifestyle is the reason for their downfall. When you are born into a life
that is filled with wealthand power I feel that you don’t have a grip on reality.
Michael and Chad have never had to want for anything in their lives unlike
Adrian who had nothing as a child.

“That’s maybe so, but come on put down the gun.” Michael shakes his head at
Adrian’s pleas and then Chad lunges forward and snaps the gun from the
Michael’s hand.

“What did you do that for?” Michael says to Chad in an angry voice. Chad
smiles at him and then he slowly walks over in our direction –with the gun
lodged into his hand. Adrian protectively places his arm over my chest as Chad
nears us. Emma is still crying and I am frozen in the one spot as I await Chads
next actions.

“You were stalling and these people need to know that they can just leave
whenever they want. We brought them here so we are the ones who call the
shots. You need to show then who is boss, brother.” Chads words are icy and
my stomach is turning from the sight of him. His jet black hair is greasy and
stuck to his face. His clothes are sloppy and his smile is disgusting –he repels
me. I used to think that he was quite handsome –when I first saw him, but now
that I have seen him in his true form he is repulsive to me. He has gained
weight since the last time that I saw him and he doesn’t suit it. His face is extra
chubby and he has a beer gut, the more I look at him the more I realise how
much he has changed. He looks completely different than before and I can’t
understand how he has turned so ugly –in the space of a few months.

“You have lost your mind, we are leaving now.” Adrian grabs my arm and he
pushes the door open. He thrusts me out into the cold and I begin to panic
when I see that he hasn’t followed me. I rush back over to the door and I smile
when I see Adrian marching out of the old garage. He grabs my hand and then
he walks me back over to the door as he shouts on Emma.

“Emma, come on,” I can see that Emma is still crying and that she is scared.
Adrian reaches out his hand as urges her to step out of the garage. She looks
back at Michael and then she places her hand into Adrian’s.

“No,” I scream. There was a loud bang –a gunshot. My eyes are firmly closed I
can’t look, has Adrian has been hurt. Tears begin to pour through my closed
eyes and my heart is racing. I fall to the ground with terror as I hear another
gunshot; I can’t breathe as I sob. My hands are stinging as I press them against
the hard gravel and my knees are weak. I can hear shouting from inside the
garage, but I can’t bring myself to open my eyes. I sit on the ground my heart
beating too fast, my head is beginning to pound and my terror rises when I feel
a hand on my back.

“Alanna,” I hear a soft voice say. It’s Adrian voice that I am hearing, but is it
really him? Am I just imaging him speaking to me because I know that he has
been shot? “Alanna,” he says again and this time I force myself to open my
eyes. I burst into tears when I see him standing over me, his green eyes are
looking into mine and I lunge straight into his arms as I can’t believe that he is
alright.

“Adrian,” I gush as I wrap my arms tightly around his neck. “I thought that you
were hurt?” I say as I lean in and kiss his cheek. He pulls me back from him and
his eyes are intense. My heart races as I wonder who has been hurt.

“Chad is dead,” I fall back from his words, but Adrian catches me before I hit
the ground. “He shot himself in the head but before he did he shot my sister.”
Oh no Emma is hurt.

“Is she okay?” Adrian shakes his head and then I cry again.
“I don’t know I have called an ambulance, but I don’t know if she will make it.
She has lost so much blood and I can’t deal with this, I need you.” Adrian leans
in and he places his head onto my shoulders. I gently run my fingers through
his hair as I try to comfort him.

“She will be fine, but we can’t leave her on her own.” Adrian pulls his head
away from my shoulder and he nods in agreement.

 

“Go and wait in the car, I will wait with Emma.” Adrian says as he pushes me
away. I frown at him.

 

“No,” I snap. Adrian rolls his eyes at me and thenexpresses his concerns.

 

“Baby it’s a bloodbath in there and I don’t want to cause you or the baby any
more stress. Please wait in the car.” I shake my head at him –again.

“I’m not a child, I can handle this. Your sister is badly hurt and she needs us let
me be there for her.” I plead with Adrian and he considers my words for a few
seconds and then he agrees with me. He takes me by the hand and he leads
me into the garage. When I enter, I see blood splattered everywhere. The floor
is covered and the walls are slushed in Chad’s blood. Emma is lying on the floor
and my heart breaks as I see her in peril. Blood is soaking through her shirt and
I panic when I see that Emma’s wound is in the exact same place as mines was
–her abdomen. Adrian rushes over to her and he kneels down to her level. He
takes her hands in his and he tries to soothe her. She isn’t unconscious and I
urge Adrian to talk to her.

“Talk to her, keep her occupied.” Adrian nods his head at me and then he
begins to reassure his sister that everything will be fine. I watch Adrian with his
sister and a gentle tear comes to my eye. I hate that Emma has been hurt over
Michael’s feelings for me and I am praying that shesurvives because if she
doesn’t then I will never forgive myself.

I look over at Michael and he is laying on the floor –with his arms wrapped
around a blood soaked, dead Chad. He is sobbing ashe holds onto his brother.
My head is spinning and although I am disgusted with Michael right now, I still
feel for him. He has just lost his brother and no matter how evil and messed up
that brother was, it’s still devastating. With thatthought I walk over to Michael
and I lean down to his level. I feel physically sick at the sight of Chad, but I try
to ignore his appearance as I begin to talk to Michael.

“Michael,” I say gently, but he doesn’t respond. I take a deep breath and I hold
back my nausea as I lean closer to him. I gently place my hand onto his back as
I try again to talk with him. “This isn’t helping; I think that you should come
away from Chad. You are only going to make yourself more upset.” Michael
leaps up from the ground and he leans over me, hiseyes have deep evil in
them and I am scared. He is staring through me and my heart is pounding. I
begin to feel uneasy around him so I pull myself off the floor and then I take a
few steps back from him as he continues to stare at me.

“How dare you tell me what to do,” Michael says in a dark voice. His hands are
trembling as he fills the gap between us. He lunges forward and he takes my
arms firmly in his hands. He begins to squeeze my skin until it feels like fire. He
is scowling at me with pure hatred in his eyes.

“I was only trying to help,” I say as I try to pull my arms away from him.

 

“Why do you want to help, is it because you feel… guilty,” I stare at him as my
throat dries up. I can’t breathe –he is blaming me for what happened.

 

“You and Chad brought me here, this isn’t my fault.”

“Yes it is!” Michael screams at me. I jump from his loudness and tears begin to
pour from my eyes. He is squeezing me so hard that my arms are numb from
the pain. Adrian hears his loud screams and he comes rushing to my defence.

“Let go of her,” Adrian says as he pulls me free from Michael’s grip. Adrian
pushes me away from them and then he marches towards Michael and pulls
him in towards him –by the collar of his shirt. Adrian’s eyes are burning and his
lips are white as he gives Michael an ultimatum.

“This is how it’s going to be, you are going to leave right now and never come
back. I would love to see you rot in prison for what you have done to Alanna,
but I feel that you will suffer more if you have tolive the rest of your life
…alone. Now leave before the police get here.” Adrian tightens his hands
around Michael’s neck as he alerts him to leave.

“I can’t just let you …win.” Michael says through his choked voice.
“This isn’t about winning or losing this is a matter of life and death for you. If
you don’t leave right now, then I will not hold back my greatest desire –to kill
you for what you have done.” Adrian’s words are firm and alerting, but they
have seemed to work as Michael nods in agreement.

“Fine,” He snarls. Adrian pushes him back as he lets go of him. Michael takes
another look at Chad and then he briefly looks at Emma –smirking more like.

 

“At least I hurt one person who you love.” Adrian lunges towards Michael at
his rude comment, but I pull him back.

“He is not worth it,” Adrian smiles at me and then he pulls me close to him.
Michael rolls his eyes as he walks over to the door. He pushes open the door
and then he looks back at me –smiling.

“You will never forget about me,” I narrow my eyes at him and then I clutch
Adrian for support. Michael shakes his head and then he walks out of the door
and into the dark, cold night.

Twenty-Two

We arrive at the emergency room and Emma is rushed into surgery to remove
the bullet. Adrian is nervous as he paces the waiting room of the quiet hospital
and if I am honest he looks terrified. His eyes are heavy and his hair is flopped
down onto his forehead. He looks sad and I don’t know how to comfort him. I
am feeling super guilty as I fear that Emma has been hurt –because of me.
Michael had strong, obsessive feelings for me and he wanted to punish Adrian,
Chad was jealous and he wanted Adrian suffer, but instead of hurting me they
hurt Emma. I am scared that Adrian will blame me for what has happened and
I don’t even want to think what Maggie will say when she arrives from New
York. Adrian called her as soon as Emma went into surgery and he immediately
booked her flight. I can’t begin to understand how distraught Maggie must be.
She lives for her daughter and I can’t bear the thought of her losing Emma. I
remember how upset my mom was when I was in the hospital and I feel guilty
that I am causing a mother this type of stress –again.
Adrian has insisted that I get checked out –just in case anything is wrong with
the baby. As the small dark haired nurse leads me to an exam room I can’t help
but feel selfish. Here I am going to get checked out when Emma is being
operated on. I try to shake of my guilt as I begin to think about my baby. I
remember earlier when I felt strong pains in my stomach and how I was scared
for the baby. I try to compose myself as I pray that everything is alright, if not
then I will never live with myself for taking Adrian’s baby away from him. The
nurse asks me to lie down onto the bed and then she begins to examine me
whilst she asks me questions about my health.