Suspicious Minds (Fate #3) (31 page)

By the time Elton returned to the room, she had a sort of half-baked
plan. But the moment he bent to lower the tray on her lap she saw it, the plastic
end of a syringe sticking slightly out of his sweatshirt pocket. Thoughts of
the pinch between her toes and everything going white nearly suffocated her.
She couldn’t risk waiting. She’d planned on saying the tea was too hot and
while she waited for it to cool ask for a tour of the house so she could get a
better idea of at least which way to run. Maybe she could find her phone or his
so she could call for help. Now she may have to just go for it the moment she
had the chance before he drugged her again.

Thoughts of what he might’ve already done to her while she’d been
out made her cringe. “You’re shivering,” he said in a genuinely concerned
voice. “Drink the tea. It’ll warm you up.”

“D-do you have plain crackers?” she asked, her stupid words
nearly betraying her.

He stared at her for a moment. “You said you couldn’t keep
anything down.”

“I-I know,” she said, bringing her hands around the cup of tea
and holding it there tightly so that he wouldn’t see just how uncontrollably
her hands were shaking. “But I
am
getting a little hungry, and I think I
might be able to keep down some plain crackers.”

For an uncomfortable moment, it felt like a standoff the way they
held the eye contact. But Olivia was determined to not look down and give away
that she’d seen the syringe.

“I’ll go check,” he finally said then glanced at her tea. “Drink
it. It’ll make you feel better.”

Olivia bet it would. Managing to control her shaking hands, she lifted
the cup slowly to her lips. He watched her take a sip then smiled. “Drink up. I’ll
be right back.”

The second he was out of the room Olivia spit the tea out and
jumped out of the chair. She hurried over to the fireplace and grabbed the wrought
iron poker carefully, but the whole damn thing toppled over, crashing to the
floor loudly.

“Damn it,” she muttered, grabbing a good hold of the poker and
rushing over and standing just inside the doorway. She could already hear his
hurried footsteps coming back.

“Olivia!’ he called out. “What are you—?”

The poker hit him right across the temple, and she’d swung with
such force she was certain she’d knocked him out, but he’d fallen right in
front of the doorway, blocking it. She didn’t even realize she was crying
hysterically until she tried climbing over him and he grabbed her leg, bringing
her down with him. With a blood curdling scream, she let out what she’d wanted
to from the moment she realized he had brought her here against her will.

“Let me go!” she screamed again, thrashing her legs and arms,
landing a few slaps across his face. “Please,” she cried feeling as if she
might have a heart attack.

“I just wanna make you feel better!” he said, reaching for her
arm with one hand, and she saw him reach for his pocket with the other. “You’re
not well, Olivia. Let me help you.”

“
You’re
not well!” she screamed again, kicking his arm,
and heard the syringe hit the floor.

He let her go for a moment, and she scrambled to get on her feet so
she could make a run for it, but she could barely catch her breath she was so
terrified. She’d barely been on her feet for a few seconds when she felt him
grab her by her waist, and she fought for her life, elbowing and even biting
him once to try and get away, but as expected he overpowered her, and that’s
when she felt it: a pinch on her lower back.

“No!”

She pulled away from him, and he actually let her go as she
touched her behind where it still stung. Olivia squeezed it frantically in a
desperate attempt to try and squeeze out whatever it was he’d shot her with. “What
is it?” she asked screaming. “What did you inject me with?”

Already she could feel the numbness begin in the spot where he’d
injected her.

“It’s okay,” he said, holding up his hand in front of him. “You’ll
feel better in a few minutes.”

“No!” she cried, shaking her head, but it made her woozy, and the
room moved with her. “Why are you doing this?” she asked again, sobbing now. “
Why
?”

He took a few cautious steps toward her. “Let me help you.”

Olivia jerked away and again felt the room shift, so she held on
to the next chair over, determined to not fall.

“Olivia, you’re going to fall and hurt yourself,” he said calmly.
“Let’s get you back in bed.”

“No!” she screamed, but even her voice was feeling weak, and she
was having trouble seeing straight.

Something banged in her head, and she shook it, blinking wildly.
Then she realized when Elton grabbed her and brought his hand over her mouth
that the banging wasn’t in her head; it was the front door.

“Liv!” she heard someone yell then bang again. “Are you in there?”

Her eyes went wide as she realized what was happening. Elton was
trying to drag her back in the bedroom, holding his hand to her mouth and nose
so tightly she could barely breathe, and she knew if she didn’t pass out soon
from the drugs, she would from the lack of air, so she screamed as loudly as
she could.

The front door crashed open, and to her utter surprise, AJ
charged in. Elton immediately let her go as AJ bolted past her. She was so
dazed she hadn’t even seen Lorenzo enter, but he was holding her now, tapping
her cheek softly with his fingers. “What’s wrong with you?” he asked urgently. “What
did he do to you?”

She shook her face, unable to find the words to express herself.
Then she turned to the commotion behind her. Her other brothers and cops were
pulling AJ away from Elton, who appeared to be unconscious now.

AJ’s foot connected viciously with Elton’s bloodied face even as
Isaiah and Nathan tried to pull him away. One of the cops tried grabbing AJ,
but her infuriated little brother wouldn’t stop. He pushed away the cop, who
hit the doorway of the bedroom. The words were stuck in her throat. She couldn’t
say anything, but she wanted to scream at AJ to stop, tell him he was going to
get arrested, but she couldn’t. She turned to look into Lorenzo’s fretful eyes,
and then everything went white.

Twenty-four

Lorenzo

The waiting was torturous. The moment they were
informed that Liv was waking the family had rushed into her room, but Lorenzo
stayed back. The cops had gone in a while later to get a statement from her and
had since left. Her siblings were still in there with her. They’d been in there
for a long time now. Lorenzo could see AJ still wasn’t completely at peace with
him about this. Lorenzo couldn’t shake the feeling that somehow his sudden and
untimely breakup had something to do with Liv’s state of mind and why she’d chosen
to rush out and purchase the first available flight home, even if it was at an
ungodly hour. He was sure AJ was thinking something similar.

Vince, of course, insisted that it didn’t matter what time of the
day her flight had been. That whack job would’ve struck eventually anyway. He’d
obviously been planning this for some time. He also reminded Lorenzo that if it
hadn’t been for him remembering the flowers being sent anonymously and thought
to have Emi ask Jay if he’d sent them, it would’ve been hours before they got
the idea of checking out Elton. All her brothers and Emi admitted to having
forgotten all about the flowers. Lorenzo was also the only one to suggest they
might’ve come from Elton. It was that suggestion that prompted Romero to do a
quick check on Elton, which ultimately led to them finding her.

Still, while they were all certain the statements Elton had since
given the police when he’d finally come to were ninety-nine percent bullshit,
there was one thing none of them could deny. They’d all seen the airport video.
Though she’d obviously been surprised to see him at the airport, waiting for
her, and she’d initially shook her head no to whatever he’d suggested, she did
concede in the end. She’d smiled, nodding in agreement, and though none of them
read lips, it was clear she’d thanked him before accompanying him—of her own
free will.

Lorenzo just couldn’t help wondering if she would’ve agreed if
things had been different between them. If she hadn’t been upset about his not
responding to her text, she might have refused to go with Elton just to avoid adding
fuel to the fire when she and Lorenzo finally talked.

There was also no doubt what had been still on her mind that
night: her continued heartache about the breakup. Drunk, drugged, or whatever,
she’d felt compelled to talk about it to Elton. And according to his story, she’d
been beyond distraught. But that was the most any of them were willing to
believe of his story.

The door to her hospital room opened, and Isaiah stepped out but
stopped and turned to AJ. “Get back in there,” he said firmly. “You’re not
making a scene here, AJ. I got this.”

AJ protested a bit more but gave in, and Isaiah closed the door.
Lorenzo and Vince stood from the bench they’d been sitting at, looking at
Isaiah, confused.

“What happened?” Lorenzo asked, his heart already racing. “Something
wrong?”

“No, well”—Isaiah half frowned—“as expected, she was disoriented
and confused when she first woke up. At first, she didn’t remember anything,
but as we gently brought her up to speed and as the shit that psycho shot her
up with wore off, things started coming to her. She was able to tell the cops
everything she
did
remember: waking up at his cabin, pretending to
believe his outrageous story, and then trying to get away. She explained it all
calmly, and while, yeah, she’s pretty shaken up about it still, she seemed more
relieved that it’s over now, and she appears to be okay. She was fine until Emi
mentioned you were here. It was the only time she broke down. With everything
else that happened, she hadn’t thought about that until the moment Emi asked
her if she wanted to see you. She doesn’t.”

It was a blow to the gut but admittedly not a huge surprise.
Lorenzo had been bracing himself for it.

Vince started to say something, but Lorenzo waved him off. “That’s
fine. She just woke up. She’s been through a lot. The last thing she needs is
more emotional drama. I’m just glad she’s okay and the docs think the worst is
over—”

“About that,” Isaiah said, cutting him off. “She doesn’t remember
anything before she came to and was fully awake at his place, but before that,
she does remember waking one other time. Only not fully, so it’s still fuzzy.
She does remember being tied though, both her wrists and her ankles, but her
ankles weren’t tied together. They were spread apart.”

Isaiah stopped as if even he couldn’t go on anymore. Lorenzo and
Vince exchanged a quick glance, and Lorenzo felt his insides go even icier than
they did hearing that she didn’t want to see him.

Clearing his throat, Isaiah continued. “She has no recollection
of anything he might’ve done to her while she was out. So they’re going to be
doing an examination to determine if there are any signs of sexual battery. But
Lorenzo,” he said a bit cautiously, “even when she was talking about all that, she
was still fine. At least she was holding it together. And then Emi mentioned
you, and she fell apart. As you can imagine, Nathan and AJ, but mostly AJ, were
all over it. You may as well go home and get some rest, man. You won’t be getting
in to see her today.”

Without arguing and with an even heavier heart, Lorenzo agreed to
leave but made Isaiah promise to call and text him with anything new. He needed
to prepare himself for whatever trauma Liv would be dealing with. One thing was
for sure: he’d been so wrong when he thought this might be like with Linda.
That he could just move on with his life and never look back except to remind
himself why he shouldn’t allow himself to fall in love again.

He wouldn’t dismiss what he had with Linda as not being love. But
he knew now without a doubt whatever it was he’d felt for Linda had nothing on
what he felt for Liv. He wouldn’t be walking away from this one, and he’d
learned his lesson good and well. He’d never again be as hasty as he’d been with
Liv and just give up on them. He was certain now that was why she was so upset
with him and why she didn’t want to see him.

The walk back to their cars was a silent one. They reached the
place in the parking lot where they’d part ways.

“Alright,” Vince finally broke the silence. “Rosie spoke with Emi
earlier. Rosie called her for an update when you guys were still gone looking
for Liv in Arrowhead. Emi told her the details of why you two broke up. I get
it. I wasn’t surprised by your reaction. I would’ve been surprised if you’d
reacted any other way. Hell, I was more surprised you agreed to a relationship
with her in the first place and how fast things got serious between you two
than I was about this. Here’s the thing, Enzo. I know you. Without even asking,
I
know
the only way you would’ve agreed to give into this relationship
is if you set her good and straight about this kind of stuff from the beginning.”
Vince rolled his eyes, shaking his head, and then actually smiled. “I bet you
thought you’d be sticking to your guns too, right? And I bet you anything that
until you got back from deployment and realized what was going on you had every
intention of being a hard ass and not budging.”

“Are you gonna get to your point any time soon?” Lorenzo asked,
pulling his keys out of his pocket. “I’ve gotten about four hours sleep in the
last three days. I’m tired as shit.”

“My point is,” Vince said with a smirk, “look at this as another
one of those times in life Dad always talks about. You probably thought your
rules about this were carved in stone. As unreasonable or unfair as they may be,
that’s how you’d handle any of your relationship from now on, even with a girl
you’re obviously this crazy about. I know it seems drastic, but seriously think
about it. If this hadn’t happened, if Emi hadn’t come searching for you because
Liv was missing, your stubborn ass might still be refusing to budge. Clearly,”
he said with a chuckle, “she isn’t about to kiss
your
ass. So the ball’s
in your court now. I’m guessing since you decided to be so involved in getting
her home and because you stuck around all this time this means you’re gonna be
doing some ass kissing, but we both know if things hadn’t played out this way
that would’ve
never
happened.”

“You don’t know—”

“Get the fuck out.” Vince laughed.

Lorenzo got the feeling his brother was just trying to lighten
the mood, but at the same time he knew he was spot on. Even Lorenzo had to
smirk now. He’d
very
likely still be refusing to even listen to Liv if
she’d gotten back without incident. The mere mention that Jay may have been the
one who took her to the airport would’ve had him throwing his infuriated hands
in the air and saying, “Fuck it! I’m
done
!” No way in hell would he even
be considering letting it go much less him being the one having to grovel. Even
if he was willing to do some groveling, getting past her brothers would be a
challenge, but he was even more convinced that Liv was his soul mate now. As
impossible as things felt, not only did he have every intention of begging for
her forgiveness, he’d stop at nothing to get her back.

The red thread of Fate may stretch or tangle, but it’ll never
break.

Grateful that he had a brother who always seemed to shed some
light on and make Lorenzo see things differently, he showed his gratitude by
punching Vince in the arm.

“I got my work cut out for me,” he said as he started to amble
away. “But I need to get some sleep first. Thanks for hanging out all night. Go
home and kiss your wife and Ruby for me.”

“I’ll kiss Ruby, but you can kiss my ass if I’m doing anything to
Rosie for you.”

“Aw c’mon,” Lorenzo turned around, holding his arms out at either
side and walking backwards. “Where’s the love? Not even a long hot wet one
after everything I’ve been through today?”

“Shut up, ass!” Vince laughed.

Even as Lorenzo laughed, he felt a hollow inside him, one he knew
wouldn’t be filled until he talked to Liv. But first he needed sleep. If he was
going to have to go up against
Rage
and his brothers, he needed an
energy refill. As usual, his brother had hit it right on the nose. When he’d
gotten home yesterday, he’d been so ready to swallow that bitter pill and just
move on as he had with Linda. He had no idea how he’d do it, but aching heart
and all, his stubborn ass was determined to do so:
be a dick before he got
dicked around
.

Now he’d stop at nothing, even if it meant fighting—literally getting
past her shielding brothers—for a chance to reclaim the best thing that ever
happened to him.

~*~

Olivia

As much as I’d like to think of myself as a better man
than either Jay or Elton, I can totally understand now what I never would’ve
before. How any man could feel like he’s being driven to the brink of insanity
over a woman he can’t live without. But I’ll wait until forever if that’s how
long it takes.

Bringing her hand to her quivering lips, Olivia smiled for the
first time in over a week. This was the first text from Lorenzo since she’d
woken in the hospital eight days ago that consisted of more than just the same two
sentences he’d been sending once a day since.

I love you and I’m SO sorry. Call me when you’re ready to
talk.

She knew Lorenzo was no Jay. The relationships she’d had with
both couldn’t be more different. But what had scared her so much and why she’d
hesitated to call Lorenzo despite dying to talk to him was how easily he’d
walked away, how cold he’d been, and how profoundly disappointed she’d been
when he never responded to her text. She’d come too far to get sucked into
another relationship where the love and need for one another felt so lopsided.

Emi had been honest and told her about how unyielding he’d been
about listening to her when she insisted that Olivia was in fact in love with
him and not Jay. As sorry as he claimed to be now, would she always have to
deal with this? Jay would be moving even further away now that he accepted they’d
never be together again. He also accepted that a relationship with her even via
phone or texts would be impossible if she ever got back together with Lorenzo.
But there’d always be other guys, not that she’d ever do anything to hurt or
betray Lorenzo, but she didn’t want to live in fear that if something he deemed
unacceptable, even if it was out of her hands, happened, then things between
them would be over just like that. He’d walk away as easily and as coldly as he
had this time. Something she knew she’d
never
have in her to do.

Lopsided.

“You okay?” Isaiah asked as he hurried out to her.

Olivia glanced up from the screen on her phone she’d been staring
at and nodded. She’d just pulled into the back of their house from a day’s
work. Apparently, her brother had seen her get out of her van and freeze in
place when she’d read her text.

“I’m fine.”

“You sure?” he asked, looking down at her phone and then back at
her, and suddenly he appeared even more alarmed. “You’re crying? What happened?”

“Nothing,” she assured him.

“Well, something—”

“I just miss Lorenzo.”

His alarmed expression turned into a cross between annoyed and
sympathetic.

“Has he called you since—?”

“No,” she said, holding up her phone. “But he’s texted me every
day. He says he’ll wait until I’m ready to talk.”

“So I take it as much as you miss him you’re still too mad at him
to talk?”

She shook her head, leaning against her van, and took a deep
breath. “It’s not even that I’m so mad, Isaiah. I’m scared.”

“About what?”

She glanced at the back door Isaiah had just walked out of then
back at her big brother. “Don’t tell Nathan or AJ, okay? I don’t want those two
getting any ideas about flying out to Dallas to kill Jay.”

Isaiah’s expression went hard. “I won’t tell them, but I can’t
promise you I won’t do anything to him until I hear this.”