Love, Lies, and Deception(67)

“So, needless to say …” Justin angrily cut in, “… when Alec set his sights on you I knew I had my perfect revenge, much to the dismay of my brother. It was easy though, finding you in Denver. All it took was a simple tracking device attached to the inside of your purse.”

“How did you get something like that?” I demanded.

Justin shrugged. “Money talks, Marissa. You can get anything if you have the right amount of money.”

To Kristian I asked, “So you had no clue about any of this?”

He shook his head and glared at his brother. “There were many things I had no clue about.”

Kristian gazed up at me and gripped my hands that were almost too numb to feel anything. I stared at him blankly, not knowing what to feel or think. “I never wanted to hurt you, Marissa. You have to believe me on that, but by the way you’re looking at me now I know you don’t. Whatever happens, I want you to know that I love you and that last night was one of the best nights of my life.”

Justin’s phone beeped with an incoming text and it drew mine and Kristian’s attention to him. Justin grinned at the phone and got to his feet, tucking the gun in his belt.

“This is all touching, really, but the fun’s about to begin,” he remarked with a gleam in his eyes.

Kristian squeezed my hand and stood guard beside my chair. My heart slammed in my chest when I heard a car door shut at the front of the house.

“He’s here,” Kristian whispered.





Taking deep, calming breaths, I braced myself for what it would be like to see Alec again. It felt like an eternity of being apart from him when it was actually only just a couple of days. Reluctant, heavy footsteps sounded out from the side of the house, and as if it was in slow motion, Alec sauntered through the side gate and came into view.

My breath caught in my throat as his gaze landed on me. He stopped cold, and stared at me with such longing and worry that it made my heart break. Dark circles colored the underneath of his eyes and he appeared pale and worn out.

The guilt inside of me heightened because I knew that he looked like that because of me. I ignored him and ran away when I should’ve trusted him and stayed. I would never forgive myself.

Justin had the gun in his hand and Alec eyed it warily. “Are you alone?” Justin asked him.

“Yes,” Alec gritted out through clenched teeth. His fists were tight and he stood rigid and ready for a fight at the other end of the pool. However, his strength was no match for the gun Justin held in his hands.

Justin started moving closer to me, and both Alec and Kristian bristled. “Now that you’re here, let’s get down to business,” he said keeping his gaze on Alec. “For years I watched as you had everything handed to you on a silver platter. You had no respect for the law or for the women you f*cked and screwed over. Lindsey shouldn’t have died that night. It should’ve been you.”

Alec sighed and lowered his head. “I agree, and not a day goes by that I don’t regret what I did to her. I was stupid, and will pay for it every day of my life.”

“Yes, you will,” Justin sneered. “I thought I succeeded in your demise when I sabotaged your motorcycle a while back, but for some reason you just won’t die. But then, I figured there were other ways to make you suffer. Ways that would make you feel the same way I do.”

In the blink of an eye, Justin rushed toward my chair and tried to push me into the water. Kristian interfered, but Justin fired off the gun at him and I heard the shot make contact with his body; he howled in pain. Not knowing if he was okay, I screamed as Kristian went down behind me. Please let him be okay. Alec bolted around the pool, and the last thing I saw before I was pushed into the water were Alec’s wild eyes as he tried to reach me.

Panicking, I gulped in a huge breath of air before I sunk slowly down underneath the water. My heart was pounding in my ears and I could hear the guys yelling from above. When I reached the bottom of the pool, I was lying sideways on the pool floor, and I tried desperately to tug loose of my restraints.

Thoughts of my parents crossed through my mind, and if I didn’t get out of the water soon I’d be able to see them again. My lungs were screaming at me, burning and constricting, and soon my body would convulse and suck the water into my lungs, drowning me. It was all about to be over; I couldn’t hold on any longer.

The second I was about to give in to the pain, a set of arms gripped me around the chair and pushed me straight up out of the water. As soon as the air hit me, I sucked in a ragged breath and coughed up the water that had slowly started to drown me. Alec pushed me to the shallow end.

“I got you, Marissa, hang on. I’m gonna get you out of there,” Alec replied hastily.

“Alec,” I cried, wishing I could touch him. “I’m so sorry, oh my God, I’m so sorry.”

Still in the water, Alec pulled out a pocket knife and snipped the cable ties at my wrists and dunked under the water to get the ties at my ankles. Since I could barely move my hands or fingers, Alec lifted me under my legs and carried me out of the water.

Behind us, Kristian was battling it out with his brother. Blood trailed down his leg, and I breathed a sigh of relief that he wasn’t given a fatal shot; it was only a leg wound, but he needed help. Alec laid me down on the ground and took my face in his hands.

He searched over me quickly before crushing his lips to mine, tasting me greedily. “Fuck, I’m so glad you’re okay. Don’t you ever run off like that again,” he growled angrily.