The One Adored (The One Trilogy Book 3) (40 page)

I keep talking and pray that Nathan is out there guiding the police in the right direction. “Since you were an eighteen year old boy you’ve always had a temper haven’t you? In fact you beat your first love so badly, during one of your sadistic sexual antics, she miscarried your baby, and was pronounced barren.”

“I didn’t know she was pregnant at the time.”
“Just like you didn’t know Dawn was pregnant when you threw her down the stairs?”

“I knew then. There was no way she was going to disappear off into the sunset with you and have your child!”

Lu twist against his hold and speaks for the first time. “She was pregnant? With your baby?”

A knife slices through my heart as I die a little, wishing I could take her in my arms and tell her the news myself. It had been before we were ever together and I’d never known but I wanted to soothe her, tell her myself.
 

“Oh, yes, your darling
 
fiancée
got
my
wife up the duff! He’s good at that isn’t he?” Leo cackles and my shoulders slump.

“Look at me Lu, it’s not like you and I, don’t listen to him. Poor Dawn, she lost the baby. Yes,
my
baby but I never knew she was pregnant until tonight.” My heart bleeds as I watch her face crumble at the news.

“The second I heard you’d spread your seed and impregnated Lucia, I knew what I had to do.”

“You fucking bastard.” Lucia hisses and I see the fire burning in her eyes. She was still in there.

“Hey, there she is, the sassy lady I’ve come to love. When you’re tied up and being fucked six way into next week, you can spit and swear at me all you like.” He leans in and moves a lock of her hair over her shoulder. “Bet you like that don’t you?” Then looks at me. “Does she Silver? Like it hard?”

I’m not sure how much more of this I can take but I plough on, talking through my anger, my shoulders so hunched my muscles burn, every fibre in my body wants to tear him from limb to limb but I know I have to judge this. “The next woman you chose at 22, because she reminded you of your first girlfriend but she wasn’t so keen on your intentions and reported you for sexual harassment. You have 3 cases of GBH against you and one for intent to harm. You married Dawn Walters, previously Dawn Peters, and you used her as a punching bag until she had the courage and determination to get away from you. That was nothing to do with me. She told me she had already made her mind up.”

“Piss off! It had everything to do with you. You made her leave!”

“Then you found
my
woman,
my
Lucia,
my
future and decided to target her. That was your last mistake.”

“Really? You think you’re all that Silver, don’t you? Who has the big knife? Huh?” He waves it around, then slivers it down Lu’s chest in a figure of eight, before pursing his lips. “Lucia was only ever going to be revenge against you! I didn’t give a shit about her…at first. But, as I spent time staking her out, watching her at work, at home, lying in her bed, listening to her conversations and wondering what a day in the life of Sebastian Silver was like, I realised that I cared for her more than just for the thrill of getting back at you.”

“So, an eye for an eye.”

“Something like that and in the words of Coldplay, Lucia has such ‘pretty green eyes’.”

“You know that this has to stop, don’t you Leo - the Police are on their way.”

For the first time I see a flash of the confidence disappear and fear replace it. “You’re bluffing.”

“I’m not. They followed me up here.”

Leo leans into Lucia and breathes deeply against her neck, muttering inaudibly. “She is the one for me, I knew it the second I saw her. She belongs to me.”

I watch as he raises his arm and presses the knife into Lu’s neck, a small trickle of blood drips down and onto her bra, soaking through the fine lace and I gasp.
 

“No!”

“Stay back, or it’ll go deeper! I warned you! You thought you had me with all that
psychobabble
, - well I’m not thick! Fucking stay back!” His voice rattles with anger, hoarse from shouting.
 

Leo licks his lips as he watches the blood dripping from her skin. Now is the time to move, I just hope Lu’s realised that all this talking has been to take him off guard and use it to our advantage.

“She will never belong to anyone. Lucia is her own woman. She
chooses
to be with me. You can’t make women
be
with you, you prick.” I glance at Lu and nod using several small movements and she does the same in understanding, and then I pounce. It was now or never.
 

Leo’s face contorts in pain as the Lu’s heel slams down onto his socked foot , pushing him backwards and unbalancing him. The knife drops from his hand and in anger he back hands Lu with his free hand, causing her to fall off the bed and onto the floor.

An anguished scream fills the low-lit room. I attack him with the pent up anger of the death of both my unborn babies and the intention to harm what was mine - pummelling his face with my fists. We wrestle to the floor, in the tight confines of the bedroom, where Leo reaches for the knife, waving it threateningly at my shoulder. I duck and attempt to take hold of his wrist. Leo manages to tackle me
 
rolling so that I am underneath at him. I’m at a distinct disadvantage, with him stabbing the floor, on either side of my head. I move back and forth, wrestling for the knife, our arms in the air, face to face and at the last second he leans in - using every ounce of strength I have left, I rise to meet him, head-butting him hard on the forehead with a terrible crunch. He falls forward onto my chest and I shove him off, noticing he’s out cold and try to get my breath.
 

I can’t hear Lu.
 

Staggering to my feet, I see the blood first, then Lu on the floor, next to Leo, panic grips my body stopping my heart in its tracks. Oh God no, please no!

“Baby, please. Come on, don’t do this to me now.” Her eyes open, lime greens blinking thankfully back at me.

“I’m Ok. It’s not my blood.”

Relief floods through me and I look to the floor where Leo is slumped in a pile, a fresh blood stain rapidly expanding across the side of his shirt.

I look down at her body, feeling her for wounds and when I’m satisfied that she isn’t bleeding, I wrap her in my arms and hold her. We are silent in our thoughts as we revel in the the contact of our hearts beating against each other, when Leo moans.
 

I race forward, ready to do some serious damage to the repulsive individual in front of me, cowering on the floor, now not so bold without is weapon of choice. “Get up, you pathetic excuse for a man.”

“I c…can’t. Think… my… luck may… be up.” His words roll out in broken breaths.

I frown, then look at his wound, his blood loss is rapidly expanding. God, I hope so, I wanted to see him pay.

“Appears I fell on my sword for you, my sweet Lucia.” He croaks.

“Seb, don’t… let the Police handle this.” I glance quickly to Lu, where she is still holding her beautiful face, which is already turning an ugly shade of purple. I can hear voices, finally Nathan and the Police were here.
 

“Stay with me, Lucia!” Leo moans and I shoo her towards the door then head over to stand over the body of the man who’d tormented us for so long.

 
Looking down into Leo Peterson’s eyes I see pure evil, despite the slowly depleting life. I shudder at the possibility of what could have just occurred. He’d nearly raped Lu, stalked her for months, nearly killed her in the accident and killed our baby. If he died - I didn’t give a shit - I was just fucked off it wasn’t at my hands.

“Come on then, do your worst!” Leo’s taunts from his pitiful state and I breathe deeply, gritting my teeth, thoughts of stringing him up, stabbing him, punching him to within an inch of his life, would not be good enough for this imbecile. He was already a goner. His best revenge would be to see me in jail for his murder and I wasn’t about to give him that pleasure.

I lean in, close to his ear, ensuring he hears every last word. “You deserve so much more pain than this. You deserve to be hunted like an animal and tortured for what you have done to my woman, for killing our baby. For murdering Dawn’s baby. But you will pay, wherever you are going. I’d hoped it would be in prison - they don’t take too kindly to child killers in the joint - someone like you wouldn’t last a month but like the coward you are, it appears you are getting out of this, with a fucking get-out-of- jail-free-card. People like you you always get off easily. But, whilst you go pay a visit to the hottest place on earth, be safe in the knowledge that I’ll be marrying Lucia. Trust me, that’s
the
best revenge we can have against you - our happiness and a future together. You fucking psycho.”

“Seb, leave it now bro. I know you want to kill him but leave it to the man upstairs.” Nathan says, glancing towards the ceiling. “The Police are here. They’ll deal with this.”

“About fucking time. Where were they when he was about to rape her?”

I look back to Na in assurance, to make sure he has his eyes on Leo, before I turn and reach for Lu. I make it to her in four swift strides, lifting her off her feet and into my arms. I hold her to me for what seems an age, whilst she sobs uncontrollably and I enfold her in my strength.
 

“I’m here, baby and I’m not going anywhere. I’m not leaving you, I promise. I love you, baby. I love you so much. So much. You and me, forever and always.”

“I didn’t know if you would find me.”
 

“I’ll always find you, lady Lu. You’re mine. No one will ever take you away from me again. It’s over now.”

*******

3 weeks later - Thursday 10
^th
December
 

I flick a glance in my rear-view mirror and see Seb’s Range Rover tailing me, with Seb at the wheel, Ralph in the passenger and Finn chattering away to him in his booster seat in the back. He’d not wanted to come with me - choosing to go with Thor instead! Boys together - so sweet. Ralph was here as our guest this weekend, a thanks for all his support and I wanted him to relax and enjoy himself, if that was possible with his nature.

My own car was groaning it was rammed so full of luggage, decorations, fresh flowers and all manner of wedding preparations, so it worked to my advantage. Behind him, my mum and Dad follow in their vehicle also full to the brim and in front of me, Nathan is driving Seb’s Silver 911 so we can use it as our wedding getaway vehicle on Saturday.

I feel a small shudder of excitement shoot over me at the thought of us all coming together to celebrate Seb and I declaring our love, officially, at Christmas. It was going to be so festive and will bring all of the people I love together in one place at one time. We’d been preparing for this for weeks, years if I’m honest.

We pull into the now familiar, but still breathtaking, long-sweeping drive of The Ashton and journey up to the house in procession. Suzie and Gino’s car is already parked up, alongside Abby’s and Bob and Bitzi Silver’s. We were gathering today to help Gigi Divine and her team prepare for tomorrow’s wedding, before enjoying an intimate pre-wedding dinner tonight for family and close friends, before settling in for the big day.

Glancing up at The Ashton, which I’d never seen at this time of year before, I smile. James Marcell, with the obvious assistance of Colin, had outdone himself - the external gardens and front facia looked beautiful with fairy lights on huge spruce pine trees located around the building, and twin coned pines either side of the entrance. Outdoor lights sparkled on every surface twinkling like glitter and enormous wreaths, with red bows addressed the focal front doors. It was the perfect setting.

Stepping out of my car, I’m hit full throttle by Finn. “Mummy, I remember this place! It’s soo cool!”

“It is cool, isn’t it sweetie.” I laugh, locating Seb, just behind us.
 

“He was major excited as we came up the drive. I think he’s impressed.” He plants a kiss on my brow.