Sweet Eternity Page 3

  My father’s temper snapped. “I don’t know who the fuck you think you—”

  Lucas tsked as he turned his attention to the corner of the hotel room where a chair sat. “How could you forget already? We already covered this. I’m Lou. How about you tell me who you are, and why you think I should be so afraid of you?”

  Another bout of silence from my father, and then … “You kidnapped my daughter, yet you don’t know who I am?”

  I didn’t understand what was so freaking special about the chair Lucas was still staring at until I watched as he turned his head in the other direction where the bathroom door was, then back at that corner with the chair.

  As I studied the dark corner one more time, my eyes finally saw it—a door.

  Excitement rushed through my veins, adrenaline filling my body as the loud whoosh-whoosh-whoosh of my heartbeat filled my ears. If the door to our left was the bathroom, then that meant the door to the right was to a connecting room. And if there was a connecting room, that meant there was an avenue of escape. Now all I had to do was figure out how to get Lucas through that door while I ran in the opposite direction. It was the only way I could save both him and my mother.

  My plans of escape were cut short when Lucas silently dragged me up and off the bed, keeping his hand over my mouth.

  Keeping that nonchalant tone he had been using on Richard, Lucas egged him on, “How about you do me a solid, man, and just tell me who you are? Perhaps after you enlighten me, I’ll realize this was a horrible mistake, give you back your daughter, and we can all go on our merry way.”

  “Some would say I’m an entrepreneur.”

  Since my father couldn’t see me, I didn’t bother to stop my eyes from rolling at his statement. However, I didn’t have a chance to do anything else, because Lucas was moving us quietly and quickly toward the connecting door as my father prattled on like a puffed-up peacock from the phone Lucas had left on the bed.

  “Others might say I’m a criminal,” Richard stated as Lucas picked up the chair in front of the door and set it aside. “Me? I say I’m a fucking king.”

  A snort escaped me at my father’s oversized load of bullshit. I was sorely tempted to be a smartass and ask Richard if I should call him “His Highness” from now on. However, my attention snagged on what Lucas was doing, and I couldn’t believe my eyes.

  He had that damn paperclip from the bedside table and was picking the lock.

  Could he really unlock the door with a bent paperclip?

  “… which means this is not a democracy! Nor is it a dictatorship. This is a motherfucking empire, and I’m the man sitting on the throne,” Richard continued to blather on as I watched the man I loved wiggle that piece of metal around in determination.

  A few seconds later, Lucas turned the knob and answered my unspoken question.

  Quietly rushing over to me, he clapped one hand over my mouth again, firmly grabbing my upper arm with the other, and pulled me from the room, leaving my cell phone behind.

  The last thing I heard as I crossed the threshold was my father calmly intoning, as if he had this whole situation under control, “That means you will do what I tell you to do, or I wil—”

  I had no idea what Richard Wellington thought he was going to do to the former Special Forces soldier who was pulling me through the connecting room, but I did quickly learn what our neighbors looked like and what they were doing, because they were both buckass naked and screwing like rabbits.

  The woman who had been riding the man beneath her with enthusiasm squealed in surprise as her partner tried to dislodge her so he could cover them both up.

  With an angry, red face, he shouted, “What the fuck, man!”

  Lucas didn’t answer him. He stopped at the rickety dresser, grabbed a lighter that was laying on its surface, and then dragged me three steps closer to the door. I thought we would run through it, but then Lucas did something else that surprised me. He stopped abruptly and lifted one hand toward the ceiling. By the time I realized what he was doing, the lighter’s flame held to the sprinkler head had triggered and water rained from above.

  I didn’t have time to scream as the cold water soaked us, once again being pulled forward, at a running pace now, through the hotel room’s door, out into the hall, and then out into the night as multiple screams sounded off throughout the hotel.

  Lucas’s stunt must have set off the sprinklers in the whole place, not that I had time to wait and see since he had us booking it across the parking lot, avoiding all the parking lot lights. I was sure my assumption was correct, though, as I looked back to see streams of people pouring out of the hotel, shouting angrily and filling up the edges of the parking lot.

  Lucas pushed me as fast as I could possibly go in the opposite direction. He took us through the dark, down a littered alley, and then kept us tucked next to buildings as he zig-zagged through the streets and away from the hotel.

  My bare feet were burning from making harsh, rapid contact with the concrete. I could feel the skin ripping whenever I stepped on a loose pebble. Tears were running down my face from both the pain and the fear that was pounding through me. My only saving grace was when we suddenly stopped at a door to a brick building, Lucas trying to open it.

  Locked.

  Cursing under his breath, he dragged me down the side of the building to another door, trying that handle. It was also locked.

  As I watched Lucas try to open another door and failed again, I couldn’t help looking behind us to see if Dexter or another one of my father’s men had somehow found us. There was no one there as Lucas dragged me along, but my frantic mind knew we couldn’t possibly be that far from the hotel. I could still hear the commotion from the fire alarm, meaning we were still near, and therefore, very much in danger.

  I was still staring behind us when Lucas stopped abruptly, and I ran into his back. When I squeaked in surprise, he squeezed my hand and shot me a distracted glare over his shoulder. I didn’t need for him to tell me what that was for. It was a reminder that we needed to be quiet.

  Lucas reached out once again to try another door handle, but this time his hand never even made it. The door suddenly swung open and three laughing men wearing uniforms stumbled out, one of them walking straight into Lucas.

  The man snapped his head up and swayed a little on his feet as he raised his hands in surrender, slurring, “My bad, man. Didn’t mean to do that.”

  I thought he was drunk at first, then I happened to catch a whiff of smoke as another man hid his hand behind his back while edging away from us. My jaw dropped open as realization hit me. They were employees of this building and high as a kite.

  Lucas didn’t bother saying anything to them. He just pushed the guy away and dragged me into the building, slamming the door behind us. The snick of an automatic lock followed, leaving me gaping at the sight of stairs going up to our right and an entrance to our left.

  As soon as Lucas heard the door lock, he turned around to swing me up into his arms, securing me to his chest. Then he started running for the stairs.

  I had no idea how he did it, but he ran up them, two and three at a time, and didn’t drop me. He must have run up at least five flights of stairs before he finally stopped at one of the doors and tried its knob. There was no locked door to stop us this time, so he stuck his head through the doorway.

  It must have been clear, because he tightened his hold on me and raced down the hall, still silent as a ninja, until he ducked into a pitch-black office. I had no idea what kind of building we were in or what sort of office we had just invaded. What I could figure out as Lucas gently dropped me to my feet was that the windows had a view of the hotel that was a few blocks over.

  The flashing red lights of firetrucks could be seen in the distance, but that wasn’t what held my attention. It was the people outside of the building. Or, should I say, one particular man with a hulking build that I was familiar with, searching through the crowds of angry and confused people.

>   Dexter.

  He was searching for me, and I was in here with the man I had been desperately trying to protect. It was only a matter of time before Dexter bullied the office personnel into giving him Lucas’s information. Once he got that, he would pass it on to Richard Wellington. If I didn’t get Lucas to leave me here and now, there was no protecting him from here on out.

  Turning back to him, I whispered with a trembling voice, “You need to leave right now, Lucas Young. Leave me here, run, and never look back. If you do that, maybe I can find some way to keep my father from killing you once he figures out who you are.”

  Lucas cocked an eyebrow back at me. “And why do you think your father is going to figure out who I am, angel?”

  Pointing a shaking finger toward the window, I snapped, “Dexter is out there! I just spotted him. Let me tell you something, buddy; that is one man you do not mess with. He’s big, scary, and I know, without a doubt, he will kill you without blinking an eyelid. He’s going to go into that hotel office and figure out your name. Once he gets that, you’re as good as dead. That’s why I need you to leave now so I can buy you some time to run and hide.”

  He clenched his jaw as he gave me that stare that went right through me, even in the darkness of this room. I could see the muscles working through his cheek, and thought I could even hear him grinding his teeth in frustration.

  Stepping forward until we were barely a foot apart, seeming to swell in size, almost overwhelming me with his presence, Lucas said, “Three things you need to know right now. One, you’re not the only one who knows how to go by a different name. Two, stop saying your father is going to kill me because, I promise you, that’s never going to happen. And three—you listen good, angel, because this one is damn important.” When I didn’t respond right away, he ordered, “Nod your head if you’re hearing me, babe.”

  I nodded, unable to form any words in the presence of the man who I was quickly starting to realize was so much more dangerous than I could have imagined.

  He reached up with his left hand and brushed away a tear I hadn’t realized had fallen as he growled the last bit of his message. “The last thing you need to know is that I will never run from you again. So, you better get used to seeing me and learn to trust me a fuck lot more because, I swear, no one short of God Himself will ever keep me from you again.”

  Chapter

  3

  Ginny

  I was numb with shock from the events that had taken place. There were only two thoughts running on repeat in my mind, yet it was the first one that escaped my lips as I watched Dexter run out of the hotel.

  “What have you done?”

  Lucas engulfed my shoulders with his strong hands, turning me to face him. We both now stood in profile in our shadowed little corner by the window.

  “No man is untouchable, Gin. He may think he’s a king, but I’m going to kick his ass off his own self-imposed little throne then stomp him into pieces for ever hurting you.”

  Shaking my head, I cried out my second repetitious thought in denial, “He’s going to kill us all!”

  Lucas opened his mouth to retort, but I grabbed his shirt in two fistfuls and kept going.

  “The sad thing is, I would gladly let the man end me if it would save you and Mom … But this has gone too far! He’s going to kill us all.” Sobbing raggedly, my restraint broke.

  I shook him like I could shake sense into the man. Then, all strength drained, my knees buckled under the weight of my despair.

  My body never hit the floor, though. Two steady hands scooped me up into an embrace. Even as I cried my heart out, let all my fears flow in the form of salty tears down my face, I subconsciously knew Lucas wouldn’t let me fall. Instead, he secured me in his arms then carefully lowered us both until I was cushioned on his lap as he sat on the floor. The realization only made me cry harder.

  Maybe that was why it took me who knew how long to finally hear what he was murmuring while gently rocking me.

  “I got you, angel. I’m going to fix this, I promise. And no one, not even me, will ever hurt you again. I’ve got you, angel …”

  ~~~

  Lucas had secreted us out of the city that harrowing night by buying us two bus tickets with cash to a destination I didn’t know. We rode the bus for over twelve hours before he would let us off to take a break on one of our scheduled stops.

  With an eagle’s eye, he watched everything and everyone as we walked to the bus station’s bathrooms. He didn’t let me out of his sight for a second, which meant it was beyond awkward when he pulled us both into the bathroom to relieve ourselves. I tried to protest, but he matter-of-factly stated that I had exactly two minutes to do my business and wash up before he dragged me back onto the bus.

  I quickly found out I could pee with someone else in the room if the faucet was running. That and Lucas had afforded me as much privacy as he could by turning to face the door.

  When I was done, he then relieved himself while I washed up as best as I could at the dinky sink. After he was done, he grabbed me and led me out of the bathroom to a small glassed-in counter where one of the bus station employees sat.

  “How long until we depart?” he asked the woman he had startled so badly I swore she just about fell out of her chair.

  “W-where’s your destination, sir?”

  “Maryland.”

  Why in the world were we heading to Maryland? I internally cursed myself for being so out of it when he bought our tickets. If I had been paying attention, I would have known this already.

  The employee fidgeted with her glasses, fixing them on the bridge of her nose as she looked over at a digital clock. “You have about twenty minutes before you need to board, sir.”

  Lucas thanked her then turned to drag me out of the bus station, but not before I caught her giving me a funny look because I had no shoes on.

  I thought we might go ahead and get back on our bus, but he surprised me by walking across the parking lot. I was thoroughly confused as we put distance between ourselves and the bus station. Had he changed his mind about riding the bus?

  It didn’t take long to figure out what the change of plans involved.

  He pulled me along into a little mom and pop store across the street, not stopping until he was at a rack of plain T-shirts and pants. Needless to say, the man didn’t ask me what I would like to wear, or even what size I was. No, he just grabbed a few items, dragged me to a wall filled with all sorts of things, grabbed a black baseball cap and a red pair of flip flops, then dragged me to the register.

  He paid with cash and asked the teenage girl who was gawking at him if they had a changing room, studiously ignoring the longing looks the teen was throwing his way as she breathily answered, “In the back, down the hall and to the right, mister.”

  I felt my eye twitch in irritation at the girl’s reaction. She looked like she was eighteen going on twelve. What did she think she was going to do with a hardened warrior like Lucas? Paint his nails?

  Said hardened warrior was once again pulling me along, back through the store, down the hall, and pushing me through the curtain into the small dressing room on the right.

  Closing the curtain behind me, I watched in confusion as he shoved his hand back into the room, thrusting clothing in my direction.

  Crossing my arms over my chest, I protested, “I’m not changing.”

  The curtain slid violently over and an irritated Lucas glared at me. “Change, or I will change your clothes for you.”

  My jaw dropped open. “You wouldn’t dare.”

  He dropped his eyes down to my still bare feet, then leisurely traveled back up my body in a way that warmed certain sensitive parts of my body. Once his eyes were locked on mine again, they were hot with lust.

  “Oh, angel, I would more than dare. I would fucking enjoy it.”

  Snapping my jaw shut, I glowered back at him, internally debating what I should do. At every turn, I thought I could push Lucas away, but he simply bulli
ed his way back in. Who was this man? Where was the boy who had so quickly and willingly run away from me every chance he had gotten?

  “You’ve got to the count of five before I start stripping you myself, Gin. One …”

  “I hate you.”

  “Two …”

  “I need a drink.”

  “I’ll buy you a soda on the way out. Three …”

  Losing all patience, I shouted back, “I meant alcohol, asshole!”

  “You’re running out of time, baby. Ready for me to strip you down? Four …”

  Letting out a small scream of frustration, I reached out and grabbed the clothes, spouting, “When we get to wherever we’re going, you better buy me a whole damn bottle of vodka if this is the sort of crap I’m going to have to deal with from you.” Putting my hand on the solid wall of his chest, I pushed him back out of the room and closed the curtain.

  I wasn’t stupid. I knew Lucas had let me push him out. Didn’t mean a girl couldn’t enjoy a little something-something from pushing him away when he was being such a pain in the ass.

  With angry, jerky movements, I changed into the charcoal baggy T-shirt and black cotton jogger pants that were a size too big. Then I slipped my sore feet into the red flip flops. Pulling the curtain back, I was surprised to find him wearing a different shirt and the black baseball cap.

  Looking down the hallway, I saw the teenage girl hanging over the side of the counter, staring at Lucas with her mouth wide open.

  Turning back to him, I growled, “You changed out here?”

  He shrugged, which only ticked me off more.

  Pointing in the girl’s direction, I asked, “Were you giving her a show she could enjoy?”

  The side of his mouth tipped up in a small grin. “Why, you jealous she saw me change my shirt, angel?”

  “No!” I yelled back a little more loudly than I had intended.

  Lucas snorted. “Right.” Grabbing my hand, I was once again subjected to being pulled around like a toy. “You need to work on your poker face if you’re going to try to keep lying to me.”