Fulfillment (Book 3 in The Temptation Series) (49 page)

I scampered
through the lounge and straight to the elevator, thinking it was
the quickest way out of the apartment, all the while hearing Gareth
cursing and fighting in the kitchen. His cries of misery and
anguish pierced my heart deep as I pressed the button, hoping to
God the cart was this end of the building.
Come on, please come
on.

Panicked,
frantic and knowing I couldn’t waste another second waiting for the
elevator, I went to abandon it and try the stairs. Thankfully, as I
turned around, the doors slid open.

I ran inside
and hysterically pressed the button to close the doors. “Go, go,
go!” I shouted, willing the doors to slide shut and swiftly take me
to safety. My agitation and fear were increasing at the sound of
Gareth’s outbursts getting louder and I knew he was losing, losing
his internal fight. “Please!” I screamed, as I backed up slowly to
the far end of the cart.

The doors
began to slide shut, painstakingly slowly, and just as the elevator
started to descend, there was an enormous explosion. I screamed as
the cart shook violently, thinking that it would plummet 43 floors
to the ground, but it didn’t. It dropped only slightly then shook
violently again, knocking me off my feet.

I felt a surge
of pain through my head as I hit the hand railing, and almost
instantly, I recognised that feeling of sleep, that feeling of
losing control. I felt that feeling of unconsciousness and watched
my sight tunnel into darkness with no power to stop it.

CHAPTER
THIRTY-FOUR

Bryce

As I made my
way back to work, I realised Gareth’s prognosis wasn’t good even
though he’d been taking his meds daily. I’d fucking made him take
them in front of me like a God damned child, and I hated having to
do it like that, but I’d had to—there was no choice.

It worried me
that Jessica had mentioned he’d missed a few sessions, which was
never a good thing, and now the evidence before us suggested he
would need to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital ward. I hated
that, I hated having to commit him to such a place. When all was
said and done, I fucking loved the poor guy; he was my cousin—my
brother. Deep down I knew it had to be done, though. Alexis was
pregnant again and she was in far too much danger. Not only that,
Nate and Charli could be in danger, too, and I was not about to let
anything happen to any of them. They were my family now, and I had
to do everything in my power to protect them.

Fuck! I needed
to call my uncle and tell the miserable old bastard that his son
would be spending some more time in the hospital. Not that he’d
give a shit. It made me furious knowing he wouldn’t care, he never
had. He only cared about one thing and that was money. It’s ironic
how miserable bastards only ever seem to care about things they
don’t have, can never have—explains why they are so fucking
miserable in the first place.

I went to
request that the Bluetooth on my car dial my uncle’s number, when
an incoming call came through the speaker. It was Gareth.
Thank
fuck for that.

“Gareth, where
are you? I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”

“If only that
were true, Bryce. I’m where I always am, right under your nose,” he
said sarcastically, but with a tone of sadness.

My stomach
clenched, my instincts immediately telling me something was
wrong.

“Are you okay?
Do you want to talk?” I offered, sincerely.

“I’m past
talking.”

His voice was
flat, and that just reiterated my unease.
Fuck! I’ve neglected
him lately, pushed him aside.

“Listen, I
know I have been distant with you lately, so much has happened, but
I promise that will change. Things will get better.”

I had a
horrible feeling I wasn’t talking to Gareth, instead talking to
Scott. Remembering what Jessica had told me many times before, I
spoke of things that would make Gareth happy.

“You’re taking
your meds again, Mate, and you’ve been doin’ good. You’ve also got
Samantha. She cares about you and was really worried last
night.”

“I don’t
fucking want Samantha, Bryce. I want you. I’ve always wanted you,”
he screamed down the phone, hurt and pain sounding throughout my
Aston Martin.

Painful sobs
then followed, filling me with dread.
It is Scott. I should’ve
known better. Fuck!

“Scott, what
are you doing?

“I’m ending
it, and I’m taking her with me.”

It took me a
second to comprehend those last words, and when I did understand
his threat, my chest pained immensely.

“Bryce, I love
you. I’ll always love you. Tell the kids I love—.”

Alexis’
terrified voice hit me like a ton of bricks.

“Alexis!” I
shouted, frantic with fear.

“Shut up,
bitch. You don’t get to say goodbye,” Scott hissed with such
hatred.

She cried out,
her petrified weeps echoing right through me.

Oh God, he’s
going to hurt her. I have to do something.

“Scott, please
don’t hurt her. I beg you. I’ll do anything. I’ll leave her and we
can be together.”
Yes, lie to him. Trick him. Make sure she’s
safe then have him committed. Shit! He’s worse than any of us
realised. Fuck! How could I let this happen? I’ve fucking let her
down again.

Scott paused
for a second as if he were deliberating what I’d said.

“No. You’re
lying. I can see how much you love her,” he answered dryly.

Feeling utter
dread pass over me, I whispered to the speaker of my car. “I love
you more, Scott.”

“No, you
don’t. Goodbye, Bryce.”

Terror hit me
with force in that moment. “Scott, don’t be fucking stupid. I swear
to God if you hurt any hair on her head, I’ll kill you. I’ll
fucking kill you myself.” I yelled, hysterically, now more
desperate than ever to get to her.

Scott laughed,
painfully, almost masochistically, “You won’t have to.”

What the
fuck?
I’d lost him. He was going to kill her, kill them both.
This didn’t feel like a threat, it felt real—sounded real.

I had to get
back to the apartment. “Scott!” I yelled, “Gareth, don’t—.”

The line went
dead.

“Fuck! Fuck!
Fuck!” I roared with fear.

I looked out
the window of my car, only just barely being able to see the top of
City Towers as I pulled into the street of my building’s entrance.
Alexis was up there, held hostage by my mentally ill cousin. She
was terrified, carrying my baby and wearing a ring on her finger
that held a promise I had made to her, a promise I fucking intended
to keep.

***

With my heart
thudding like fuck, I dialled Dale; my Head of Security, then I did
something I thought I would never do in my life, I put my foot down
and sped dangerously through the traffic, desperate to get to the
apartment to save her.

After a couple
of rings, Dale picked up. “Yes, Sir.”

“Dale, get up
to the penthouse now!—” I demanded.

“I’ll send
Brett, he’s on level 40 doing a—”

“Just fucking
do it, Alexis in is danger. Gareth has fucking kidnapped her.”

I sped into my
basement garage and screeched to a stop just shy of the elevator
doors, and not wasting any time, I leapt out of the car and ran
toward the elevator as fast I could, hoping to God Scott hadn’t
already hurt in anyway.
Fuck!

Just before I
reached the button to the elevator, a loud roar echoed up above and
the ground shook mildly. “What the fuck was that?”
Oh no. Fuck,
no.

“I’ll call you
back,” Dale said quickly, before hanging up.

My heart
increased its painful thump in my chest, adrenalin coursing through
my body. I pressed the button in rapid succession, watching the
light remain lit on the 42nd floor. “No! Fuck! No!” I yelled, while
spinning and heading for the stairs.

The sound of
my building’s fire alarm rang continuously, reverberating through
the stairwell as I launched myself up the stairs, taking two,
three, even four steps at a time.

In no time at
all, I reached the exit to the lobby and wrenched open the door to
find subdued panic on the faces of staff and guests who were
looking up at the ceiling.

“Mr. Clark,”
Abigail called out, uncertainty and fear on her face.

I didn’t have
time to reassure her. “Put Emergency Plan B into action,” I
ordered, as I kept running toward the elevator. I had no idea what
I was running to, but I didn’t care. All I cared about was getting
up to the penthouse.

My phone
started ringing in my pocket, and a glimmer of hope flowed through
me at the prospect of seeing Alexis’ name on the screen. I fumbled,
my hands trembling as I wrenched it out only to see my head of
security’s name instead.

I answered
it.

“Dale, talk to
me.”

“There’s been
an explosion on the penthouse floor. From what I can see on the
Emergency System, it’s localised to that floor only.”
Geezus
fucking Christ! Alexis, please be okay.

“Abigail,” I
shouted. “Cancel Plan B action. Order an evacuation and floor
search of levels 35 and up. Explosion localised to the penthouse.
As far as I know, there’s no other threat.”

She nodded,
and with courage and a professionalism I admired, she turned and
took control, shouting out commands to staff trained in the
appropriate areas.

I put my phone
back to my ear. “Dale, where’s Brett?”

“He got so far
as the elevator.”

“What’s the
status on the elevators? I’m going up.”

“But Sir—”

“Just do it,
Dale. Alexis is up there for fuck’s sake.”

“Okay, hang
on. Right, your private elevator is jammed between levels 42 and
41. It has structural damage according to these reports. The backup
brakes are locked and it’s not going anywhere. Elevators one, two
and four and at ground level and secure, and cart three is on
automatic override and is on its way down now with Brett in
it.”

“Good,
override number one now.”

“I can get it
as far as level 41, Sir. You’ll have to take the stairs after
that.”

“Just do it
now Dale, fuck! And override the security lock to all my apartment
access doors.”

“Okay, cart
one is open, go! And Bryce...from one mate to another, be careful.
I can’t tell the extent of the damage. Cameras are down up
there.”

I hung up, not
having time for small talk. I had to get to Alexis. I had to make
sure she was alright.
Fuck! I hope she is alright. No, she has
to be alright.

The doors to
elevator one opened and I wasted no time in stepping inside and
indicating to the surveillance camera—the one I knew Dale was
watching—that the cart should hurry and move. The doors then closed
and the cart climbed with speed.

Running my
hands through my hair, as I impatiently paced the enclosed space on
my way to the penthouse floor, I couldn’t help but replay in my
mind Alexis’ terrified voice. Of her crying out what she thought
were her last words and telling me that she loved me and always
would, that she loved her kids, kids I now loved too.

“Fuck!”
Can’t this thing go any faster?
I loved her so much, and the
thought of her being...dead...hell, I couldn’t even comprehend
that. I’d already had that feeling before for the smallest of
seconds and it tore me apart, was the worst few seconds of my
life.

The elevator
stopped and the doors slid open, and barely waiting till they were
wide enough, I squeezed through and headed for the stairwell. All I
could smell when I opened the door and started to climb the
stairs—again taking many at a time—was smoke.

As I
approached the door to my apartment, the roar of flames deafened my
hearing and smoke was now visible and thick, burning my eyes and
lungs. I pulled my shirt up to cover my mouth and nose then touched
the door handle. It was hot but not scorching hot, so I gripped it
tighter and turned. Then, without precaution or hesitation, I
pushed the door forward, being met with flames, smoke, steam, and
water from the sprinklers—visibility was almost impossible.

“Alexis!” I
shouted, through a wall of smoke and orange heat from the flames.
“Alexis!”
Please, please answer me.
There was nothing, no
response. All I could hear was the crackling of fire.

Looking up
while shielding my eyes from the flames, I noticed the second floor
to be smoke filled but not yet ferociously dominated by fire, and
with hope, I turned back toward the stairwell and climbed another
level.

I burst
through the doors to my second story apartment then bent down low
to avoid the thicker smoke and to get a better visual of the space
ahead of me. I scampered toward our bedroom, all the while shouting
her name.

“Alexis!” I
repeated, painfully realising that she wasn’t there. “Alexis!”

I stumbled
back out of our room, my lungs straining from the lack of oxygen,
and my eyes begging for relief from the smoke. The radiant heat
from the fires scorching blaze was also starting to find its way to
the second floor, making my plans to continue to search a hell of a
lot harder. I headed back to the stairwell door when I ran straight
into a firefighter.

“You need to
leave, Sir. It’s not safe up here—” he shouted, just as another
smaller explosion sounded.

“Alexis!” I
yelled while trying to barge past him, fighting his aggressive
restraint. “Fucking let me go, my fiancé is up here somewhere.”

“You need to
leave. We’ll find her,” he said automatically, as he led me back
into the stairwell.

Other
firefighters were coming up the stairs in single file.

“Bryce!” I
heard one of them call.

I looked up
and noticed Derek lifting his breathing apparatus from his face.
“Bryce, thank fuck you’re alright, Mate.”