Wanted (Addicted Trilogy Book 3) (8 page)

Alek

The text I sent to Sara was utter bullshit, but I didn’t know
what else to do. Of course I had pressing work issues, and of course I was
having a hell of a time with getting my new hotel up and running, but shit like
that never stopped me from seeing her before. Nothing stood in the way of us
spending time together.

Without even asking, I knew my odd behavior was weighing on her. I
knew I was an asshole for putting her through it, especially after she’d
finally revealed her deepest feelings for me.

When she uttered the three words I’d been longing to hear, a
piece of my soul broke away. I knew she meant every word, and for as much as I
held those words tight, I knew nothing would ever be the same between us going
forward. So, I cherished our night together, then, like a coward, slipped away
in the morning before she even woke.

I was still a man conflicted. Loving Sara made me feel alive, made
me whole. But her life was more important. Her safety, to be exact. I knew
exactly what I had to do, even though it would tear me up inside. Staying away
from her was going to be my ultimate challenge, but I had to do it. Otherwise,
I ran the risk of endangering her forever simply because of the hold she had on
me.

My phone’s shrill ring busted into my thoughts like a
sledgehammer.

“Devera,” I answered curtly. “What? Are you fucking kidding me? Well,
why did he go back on his initial quote? Goddamn it! All right, I’ll be there
in the morning.” I ended the call, even more irritated than before. The new
deal was taking so long to lock down, causing so many unforeseen complications.
 

One more thing to add to my
plate.

The only good thing to come out of this debacle was I would be
away for a few days trying to work everything out with the developer. Which meant
I wouldn’t be tempted to do or say anything rash, something I might regret
later on.
 

Since I’d been acting like such a dick lately, the least I could
do was stop by to see her the following day before I left town.

It was close to noon when I walked through the front door of Full
Bloom. I was met by a stranger manning the front counter.

Who the hell is she?

The woman instantly made eye contact, but the look she gave me
mirrored my own.

Truth be told, I wasn’t used to such a reaction from women, so
looking at the annoyance written all over her face threw me.

Actually, the way she looked at me was as if I’d killed her dog.

“Where’s Sara?” I asked, still doing my best to figure out who
she was.

Realizing she should appear to be somewhat professional, she
plastered on a fake smile before answering me. “Is there anything I can help
you with, sir.” The
Sir
tumbled from
her lips as if it was poison.

Before I came back with a retort, Sara walked into the front of
the store, her head thrown over her shoulder as she yelled something back at
Matt about an order.
 

When she turned her head in my direction, she stopped dead in her
tracks. Looking at me as if she’d seen a ghost, she grabbed onto the edge of
the counter top to steady herself.

What the hell is wrong with
her?

 
“Alek? What are you doing
here?”

I walked closer and reached for her hand. “Can I talk to you? Outside?”

I didn’t even give her a chance to respond before I pulled her
out the door and away from the woman shooting daggers my way. Ushering her
toward the back seat of my town car, I opened the door. Without reservation,
she stepped inside, scooting across the seat to give me some room.

The air instantly changed. I hadn’t realized how much I missed
Sara until she was two feet away from me. The skirt she was wearing rode up on
her thigh when she tried to situate herself on the smooth leather of the seat. My
eyes were immediately drawn to her supple skin, remembering her on top of me as
she rode me the last time we were together.

“What did you want to talk to me about?” she asked, pulling the
hem of her skirt lower. Her breathing quickened when she noticed me ogling her,
but she tried to seem unaffected.

I thought she’d be all smiles and hugs and kisses when she saw me
but weirdly, she looked annoyed to see me. I couldn’t blame her, really. I’d
basically pulled a disappearing act on her over the past week.

My lips parted to answer her question, but she cut me off before
I could say a word. “Oh, and thanks for basically causing a scene back there,
too.”

“What are you talking about? I didn’t cause any scene.”

What the hell is she
talking about?

“You dragged me out of there like you were pissed. Anyone can
tell by looking at you that you’re annoyed and itching for a fight. So what? What’s
the big problem this time?”
Oh, great.
I wasn’t with her two minutes before she started in on me.
 

Well, let’s go, sweetheart.

 
I should have allowed her
the time to settle down and not fueled her bad mood because I knew I was the
cause for it. It was all my fault, so I should’ve kept my mouth shut. But I didn’t.
Of course.

Instead of delving into the fact I was going away on business, I
chose another topic altogether.

“Who’s the woman?”

“What woman?” she asked, irritation laced around each word.

“The strange woman working the counter in your shop.” My eyes flashed
anger and my body tensed as the seconds ticked by. But I kept my temper in
check, knowing damn well Sara didn’t deserve any of it.

“She’s my new employee. Her name is Megan and I hired her on part-time,
on a temporary basis. If it’s any of your business,” she chided.

 
I leaned a little closer to
her. She was hiding something from me but then again, wasn’t I keeping my own
secret? The more we sat in silence, the more it looked as if she wanted to
smack me. But there was something besides anger looming behind her gorgeous
eyes. The faint appearance of fear and sadness were hiding in there, as well.

I fought against every instinct I had to reach out and pull her
to me, to ravage her mouth and claim her. Exhaling a deep breath, I leaned back
against the seat and decided the best course of action right then would be to find
out all I could on the mystery woman.

“What do you know about this woman? Where did she come from? Did
you do any background checks on her?” I rattled off questions faster than she
could answer me.

“Of course, I did some checking on her. I called all her
references and they all gave her high recommendations.” For a split-second, she
looked like she was going to tell me something else but decided not to at the
last minute.

“I want her social security number, Sara. I’m going to run my own
background check on her.”

“No, the hell you’re not. I got this, Alek. I’m taking care of
it.”

“Well, why didn’t you at least tell me you hired someone?”

“When was I going to do that? During all of our lengthy phone
conversations? Or maybe I could have told you when we actually spent some time
together.” Yeah, she looked like she wanted to hit me right about then.
 
She shifted her body and moved closer. “Wait,”
she said as she raised her finger in the air. “None of those scenarios happened
because you’ve been avoiding me like the plague.”

I immediately broke eye contact and looked out the window. Yes,
she was upset with me, but it went much deeper. I was being a coward because I
didn’t want to see that look, the look which told me I was chipping away at her
heart little by little.
   

“Well, you still should have told me somehow,” I spit out, still
glancing at the people walking by.

“Fuck you,” she whispered, drawing my attention to her
immediately. Sara had only told me to go fuck myself one other time. I deserved
her anger, but her words hurt just as much as the first time.

Her voice choked up and I saw her try and catch her breath. Before
I could react, she raised her hand and wiped away a lone tear.
 

My heart broke.

I wanted to comfort her and explain everything but it didn’t
fully make a whole hell of a lot of sense to me, so I remained silent. After some
time had passed, she spoke again in a much calmer tone. “Why did you come here
today? It wasn’t about Megan, because you didn’t even know about her until you
walked in.”

“Yeah, I know.” I couldn’t keep the sarcasm from my retort. Our
encounter was not what I’d envisioned. As I sat next to her, the last thing I
wanted to tell her was that I was going away for work.
 
It may have gone over smoother had we not gotten
into an argument, but now it was going to add to the ever-growing tension bouncing
back and forth between us. “I have to go away for a few days, Sara. I have to
deal—” She cut me off before I even finished speaking.

“With some business issue, yeah, I know. Same old excuse.” She
gripped the handle as she prepared to leave. With her back turned toward me, she
asked, “Is there anything else?”

Before she was able to escape, I reached for her wrist and halted
her movements.

“Sara, look at me,” I demanded. She didn’t comply at first but
when I tried to tug her into me, she turned her head in my direction. I knew if
I pulled her into my arms, the tears which were gathering behind her saddened
eyes would spill over, causing both of us to break. I never wanted to hurt her.
Ever. But apparently it was exactly what I was doing.

 
“I love you.” I uttered
the words, hoping to bring some sort of solace to the both of us, but it had
the reverse effect. Another lone tear broke free and slid down her flushed
cheek.

She pulled free from my grip, opened the door then slammed it
shut, rattling not only the window but my very soul.
 

Sara

Hurrying back inside, I was so distracted with my interaction
with Alek I almost ran right into Megan. Thankfully, she maneuvered out of my
way quick enough so neither one of us was knocked on our ass.

The look on my face must have been enough to silence her from
asking me anything. I mumbled an apology and rushed past her to the back room.

 
“Whoa,” Matt warned as I
almost barreled into him.
Two for two so
far
.

“Sorry. I… need a minute.” I pushed my way into the small break
room and plopped down in one of the chairs. Thankfully, Matt saw the look on my
face and left me alone with my wandering thoughts.

Unfortunately, Megan was too new to give me the same consideration.

She came around the corner and poked her head in to see how I was
doing. “Are you okay, Sara? Is there anything I can do for you?”

I smiled as pleasantly as I could and tried my best to mask my
annoyance at being bothered. Internally, I chastised myself. She was only
trying to be nice; plus, I would have done the same thing in her shoes. “No,”
was my simple and short answer.

“Who was that guy? He didn’t seem very nice.”

Apparently, she’s not done.

I was shocked to see she wore an expression of dislike for the
great Alek Devera. Women never reacted to him in such a way. I wished they did,
but normally they were falling all over themselves, vying for his
attention.
 
Maybe she wasn’t attracted to
men.
 
Before the thought fully formed, I
quickly dismissed it, simply from her reaction when I introduced her to Matt. She
pretty much undressed him with her eyes as she watched him walk away.
 
I wasn’t saying I wanted my new employee going
after Alek…I simply found her reaction to him surprising.

“He’s my boyfriend.” I found my words sounded odd to me. Technically,
Alek
was
my boyfriend, but it didn’t
really feel like it as of late.

Megan’s response was a quick bellow of air and a roll of her eyes.
Obviously, she wasn’t a fan. Well, neither was I right then, but I wasn’t about
to air my dirty laundry. Especially to a virtual stranger.

When she continued to linger in the doorway, I had no choice but
to ask her to leave. “Megan, can you please give me a minute to collect my
thoughts?”

“Oh, sorry. Sure thing, Sara. Let me know if you need anything,
okay?” I nodded in response as she turned around and walked away.

An hour had ticked by when I’d decided not to spend any more time
wallowing in self-pity. I grabbed my phone and dialed Alexa’s number.

“Hellooooo,” she answered playfully.

“Hey, are you free tonight? Because I really need to go out and
let off some steam.”

“You must be in some sort of mood if you want to go balls-out,
Sara.”

“I am,” I huffed. “I really need a distraction tonight, and the
only thing I can think of is alcohol, maybe some dancing and my best friend. What
do you say?”

“I say count my ass in.” She mumbled something to someone before
returning to our conversation. “What time did you want to go?”

“I’d like to start as early as possible. I’ll meet you at home
then we can get ready and go.”

“Sounds great. See you later.”

“Bye.” I hung up the phone and let out a much needed sigh. I
really needed the escape to take my mind off Alek and our relationship, or lack
of one recently.

Sara

We started off our night with a couple of glasses of wine at
home. I was a bit tipsy by the time the cab showed up, which should have been a
sign to head back inside and go to bed. Refusing to listen to my nagging inner
voice, I sat back and enjoyed the ride. Against my protests, Alexa had
convinced me to go to Throttle. I didn’t want to be reminded of Alek but I gave
in, knowing my friend loved the place. Hell, so did I—minus the fact he owned
it.

Once we’d arrived at the club, we lucked out grabbing the last two
available seats at the bar. I wasted no time ordering a drink. We sat there for
what seemed like forever, waving off unwanted advances from some brazen men. My
thoughts were unfortunately consumed with one man; no matter how hard I tried
to push him out of my head, his image was persistent. Much like the man himself.

 
“Does Braden know we’re
out?” I teased, knowing Alexa had her own stubborn guy to deal with. At least I
wasn’t alone there. Although I would’ve given anything for Alek to actually act
like he cared about where I was or who I was with. Something. Some kind of
recognition to let me know he still cared about me. About us.

“Yeah, he does.” A quick look of annoyance danced across her face,
but it disappeared before I could question it.

“Does he care?”

“About what?
 
The fact I’m
out?”

Swaying a bit, I gripped onto the edge of the bar. “Yeah. Does he
give you a hard time when you go out?” I took a quick sip of my drink,
relishing in the numbness snaking through my entire body. I never waited for
her to respond, just continued to babble on. “Alek gives me a hard time
whenever I go out without him. Not because he doesn’t want me to have fun or he
doesn’t trust me, but because he can’t smother and watch over me every minute. Well,
he
used
to give me a hard time,” I
declared, taking another sip from my glass. “I don’t think he gives a shit
anymore.” My eyes welled up, but I pushed back the emotion.

I need another drink.

“I wish there was something I could do or say which would help
you, Sara.” She ordered us another round, swiveling around on her stool to
survey the other patrons.

The house music was pumping and people were drinking, letting
loose and having a great time. I wanted to be one of those people, but my mind
wouldn’t fully release me. More alcohol was the answer, I was sure of it.

“Lex, I have to use the ladies room. Be right back.”

“Okay, but hurry up because the band will be coming on soon.”

I nodded and walked toward the bathroom, taking it slow because my
feet weren’t as cooperative as they were an hour before. Thankfully, the line
wasn’t too long. While I was waiting, I decided to check my phone. I didn’t know
why. It wasn’t as if Alek had made a habit of calling me a lot recently.

So when I saw I’d received a text from him, I was utterly
shocked.

Sorry about today, Sara
.

That’s it?
After the way
he’d been acting, he should have apologized for much more. How about,
I’m sorry I’ve been an asshole lately?
or
Please forgive me for basically
ignoring you since you professed your love for me?

Feeling bold, I decided to text him back.

Don’t worry, Alek. I’ve already
forgotten all about it. In fact, I’m going to drown myself in alcohol and have
the best night of my life.

I hit ‘send’, stepped inside into an open stall and handled my
business. When I was washing my hands, my phone chimed. I wasn’t surprised he
responded so quickly. I purposely texted him what I did hoping for a reaction. But
I wasn’t lying. I really
was
trying
to drown myself in some liquid numbness. I’d pay for it the next day but right then,
I didn’t care.

Not funny, Sara. Where are you?

I’m
so
not going to tell him where I’m at.
Although,
all it would take would be one phone call and he would surely find out.

Moving back toward Alexa, I hopped on my barstool and for the
first time that evening, I had a smile on my face. Okay, maybe it wasn’t a
smile, but it was definitely a smirk. I’d been able to catch his attention and
I was going to do, or
not
do, whatever
necessary to keep it.
Lord knows it’ll be
fleeting.

As I took a sip from my fresh drink, my phone alerted me to
another text.

Woman! If I have to track you
down, I will. Then I’ll drag you out of wherever you are and lock you up in my
house. Forever, if that’s what it takes. Tell me where you are. Now!

Where was all of this last
week, or even the last couple of days?
He’d been acting so distant, but as
soon as I went out without his supervision, he wanted to act all demanding and
controlling?
To hell with that.

I’m where I’m at, Alek. You won’t
find me, so don’t bother looking. Besides, I would hate for you to waste any unnecessary
energy or thought on little ol’ me.

I turned off my phone after I sent my last text. I didn’t want to
go back and forth with him all night because it would sour my mood even more. Plus,
he was ruining the nice buzz I had going on. All I wanted was one night to
forget. One night to let go and be free from all of the emotional turmoil which
was my current life.
 

Alexa saw me typing away then shut my phone off. “Everything
okay?”

“Yeah. Fine.” I leaned over the bar and waved to the bartender. I
placed yet another drink order, sat back down and stared at my phone. I didn’t
know what I thought would happen. It was turned off, for God’s sake.

Alexa knew right then what my intentions were. We’d gone from a
fun night out to her being worried about me. “Sara, don’t you think maybe you
should slow down a bit? You’ve had a lot to drink already, and I really don’t want
to hold your hair back while you puke it back up later.” She smiled, but I knew
she was serious.

“I’m not done yet, Lex. I need one more drink to push me over to
being completely numb,” I mumbled, clinking the ice cubes around at the bottom
of my empty glass.

Thirty seconds later, the bartender placed our drinks on the bar
and asked, “Which one of you is Sara?” He was holding a phone against his shirt
to block out some of the noise.

How the hell does he know
my name?
Alexa pointed toward me and smiled, knowing damn well who was on
the other end of the phone.

“Mr. Devera wishes to speak to you,” he said as he pushed the
phone at me. “You can take it in the back office, down the corridor to your
right.”

Scowling at him, I yanked it from his hand as I approached the
office. Not surprisingly, the door was unlocked.

“Hello,” I teased in my sweetest voice. Big mistake. The sounds which
came from the other end of the receiver were almost indiscernible. I had to
hold the phone from my ear because he was yelling so loudly. When he finally took
a breath, I interjected. “What seems to be the problem, sweetheart?” My smirk
was back, giddy I was able to rile him up.

“Don’t play games with me, Sara. Now, go find Alexa and get your
ass home where you belong.”

What the hell?
How did
he know I was with Alexa? How long was he talking to the traitor of a bartender
before he got me on the phone?
Mr.
Turncoat must have described my friend to him.

“Why don’t you come down here and make me?” I would normally
never instigate him in such a way, knowing full well he would actually come
down there, cause a scene, throw me over his shoulder and stalk out of the
club. But it was exactly why I did it. The uncertainty of our relationship
actually had me craving his caveman tendencies.

“Sara…don’t.” He exhaled into the phone. “I can’t. I just can’t.”

“Why, Alek? What the hell is going on with you? With us?” I was
full-on drunk, letting go of any and all inhibitions and saying whatever came
to mind.

“I’m not going to talk about this right now. Just get Alexa and go
home. Now.” His temper was controlled. I knew he was feeling guilty over
something, but he wouldn’t say what and it was driving me crazy.

I stomped my foot like an errant child and pushed back against
his crazy demand. “I’m not ready to go yet, so I’m not leaving. But when I
do
decide to go, on my
own
terms, maybe I’ll find someone to
give me a lift. You know, someone who’s actually looking to give me some attention.”

Taunting him was not the right move to make. Even though we were
physically separated, I was still waving a red flag in front of an aggressive,
pissed-off bull of a man.

The next sounds I heard were a barrage of obscenities, then
something crashing in the background.

Then the phone went dead.

My heart was beating so fast inside my chest. It was the most
interaction I’d had with Alek in days, and of course, it was not a favorable
one. He tried to tell me what to do, acting as if he even cared, and I pissed
him off with basically telling him I might go home with some random stranger.

Way to go, Sara.

As I headed back toward the bar, I saw Alexa’s full attention was
on the band which started playing five minutes prior. She was even singing
along to the song, a bright smile plastered on her face. Until she saw me
approach. Then her whole demeanor changed. She slid off the barstool, grabbed
our stuff and reached for my hand. “Come on, Sara. Let’s go.”

“What? No, I’m not going anywhere.”

“Alek wants me to take you home, and I think he’s right. You’ve
had too much to drink, and I don’t want anything to get out of hand.”

My eyes narrowed in confusion. “How do you know he wants you to
take me home?” She broke eye contact and fumbled with her keys, glancing at her
phone before looking back up at me.
Oh,
for God’s sake. He texted or called her and had a little chat. And she fell for
it.

I didn’t even need for her to confirm it. I knew exactly what happened,
and for the first time that evening I wasn’t going to fight it. I was suddenly
drained. All I wanted to do was curl up in bed and wait for a new day.

I snatched my things from her hands and stalked toward the front
door. Or should I say stumbled toward the front door.

We were in the back of a cab two minutes later. Resting my head
against the seat, I caught movement in my peripheral vision. Alexa was texting
someone, and I knew it wasn’t Braden. Taking a chance, I blurted out, “Tell him
I said to go to hell,” before turning to look out the window.

She didn’t say anything in response as we drove toward home.