Burning Up (33 page)

Pulling the door open, he stormed down the steps as I chased after him frantically. He marched across the beach toward the bonfire.

“Ollie! Please, Ollie! Wait!”

Stopping, he spun around and glared at me. “What for? For you to tell me you love me again? For you to tell me you’re sorry, but you choose him and I don’t even come a close second? What, Layla? What the fuck am I waiting for because I’ve waited long enough! I waited months for you to come back, and now that you have, I still can’t win!”

I reached for his arm, but he brushed me off. “Fuck you, Layla. I hope you and him are very happy together because this … me and you … is over. I told you, I wouldn’t be your fucking safety net anymore, and I won’t. I’m out of here.”

Tears were streaming down my face as I watched him walking away. His arms brushed his cheek, and I knew he was wiping away his own tears. This wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted a fresh start, a clean slate and a chance to make things right, but all I’d done was create a bigger mess. I slowly walked across the beach, and when I finally got back to the bonfire, only Amy and Mel were there.

“They left,” Amy snapped.

She had every right to be angry, and I probably deserved her ire. Mel stood up, and lifting my chin with her hand, her expression softened from a harsh stare to one of concern.

“Oh, baby girl. You really made a mess of this one.”

Sniffling and sobbing, my body shook as she held me in a tight hug. Amy immediately dropped her angry tone and wrapped her arms around me.

“He hates me. I’ve broken him. I can’t believe it. I never wanted this to happen.”

Mel shook her head. “Well what did you want, Layla?”

I swiped my tears away and tried to control my erratic breathing. “I don’t know. But now, I’ll never know. He said he’s done He’s giving up on me. And I deserve it.”

Amy shook her head. “Bullshit. He’s hurt. If there’s one thing I know about Ollie Green, it’s that that guy is head over heels, take a bullet for you, cross an ocean to find you, in love with you. That’s not something you can easily throw away, Layla.”

Maybe she was right, but she hadn’t seen the hurt in his eyes, and I would never get that image out of my mind.

“I have to make this right, guys. I can’t be without him in my life.”

Pulling my cell out of my pocket, I wrote a text and sent it. I held my breath, hoping he would give me the chance to make him understand, and to explain. He needed to know how I felt, and I needed to choose which path I would take before anyone else got hurt. This couldn’t go on anymore. 

I stared out of the window as my mind repeated everything I needed to say to him like a mantra over and over. It would be the hardest conversation of my life, but it was time. I’d made so many mistakes, broken too many hearts, and my own was tearing in two. I needed to end the cycle, and this was the only way I knew how. As the plane landed, I let out a long breath that I hadn’t even realized I’d been holding. Asking me to come to New York had taken me by surprise. I knew he was there on business, but I’d hoped we could have talked in L.A. where it had all begun. It would have had symmetry, and I liked symmetry. As I stepped off of the plane, I glanced around, hoping to see a familiar face, but there wasn’t one I recognized in the sea of people waiting in the arrivals’ lounge. I found it odd considering he knew all of my flight details, and I’d kept him up to date on my arrival time. Maybe he was busy signing contracts, negotiating a deal or maybe, just maybe, he’d finally quit babysitting me and allowed me to be slightly independent. Either way, I was clearly going to have to make my own way to our meeting place.

Hailing a cab, I climbed in and gave directions to the apartment, and as we pulled up outside, my heart started pounding like a drum. I got out of the cab and stared up at the building. Memories flooded my mind and a sense of regret and longing filled me. It should have and could have been so different between us if only we’d tried harder. Pushing my way through the entrance doors, I walked slowly through the lobby to the elevator. I noticed Layton wasn’t at the desk. It struck me as odd, but I assumed he must be on a bathroom break. To be honest, I was glad that he wasn’t there to have his beady little eye on me. Pressing for the elevator, I stepped in and hit the button for the apartment. The entrance hall was silent, and as I walked slowly through it, I heard the distant sound of music. It wasn’t Jared’s usual choice of music. I didn’t have him down as a Guns N Roses fan, but sure enough,
Sweet Child of Mine
was playing. Dropping my purse on the table, I took a deep breath and followed the sound of the music to Jared’s office. I pushed the door open gently, and stood rigidly as I saw his chair, turned away, facing the window. I swallowed the lump in my throat.

“Hey, I’m here,” I said, trying to be heard over the music. Silence. Walking into the room, I approached the desk.

“Jared?”

Silence. Skirting around the desk, I grabbed the back of the chair and spun it around and was surprised to find it empty. Where the hell was he? I glanced down at the desk and noticed all of Jared’s files and papers sprawled across them. Case files for his paternity battle, property development contracts … everything. I felt uneasy and turned to leave when I found myself grabbed from behind and held firmly in a tight hold.

“Hello, Layla.”

The sound of his voice sent a chill down my spine.

“Felix!”

I tried to scream, but he held a handkerchief firmly over my mouth. His lips were pressed to my ear.

“Shhh. Don’t try and scream, it won’t work, and struggling will just make the narcotic kick in faster.”

My head felt woozy and my eyelids began to feel heavy. The room was spinning quickly and my legs were growing weaker.

“That’s it, just relax and let the chloroform do its job.”

Every atom in my body was screaming for help, but I couldn’t utter a sound. The room was fading away. I tried to focus on something, I tried to stay awake, but it was no use. Darkness descended, and I was helpless to stop it.

* * * *

My head was pounding like a drum, and my entire body ached.

“Wakey wakey, sleepy head.”

The sound of a man’s voice was echoing in my ears, and as I opened my eyes, his blurry and hazy shadow loomed over me.

“I was beginning to think you would never join me.”

I suddenly recognized the voice, and my eyes flew open. “Felix,” I muttered helplessly.

“The one and only.”

I shook my head, trying to regain some composure. I tried to move my hands and feet, but as I looked down at them, I discovered they were both bound to a thick wooden chair by leather straps attached to the legs and arms.

“Where am I?”

He chuckled and crouched in front of me, lifting my chin. “Ah, you’re in my favorite place in the entire world. Well, at least it was till Garrett went all one woman man on me.”

I tried to lift my head to look around, but it felt too heavy.

“Don’t bother trying. The chloroform will wear off, and then I’ll give you the grand tour!”

“The grand tour of where,” I muttered.

He grinned wickedly and his smile made my blood run cold. “The pleasure penthouse! Don’t tell me you’ve never been here. It was Jared’s favorite property he owned!”

My mind went into overdrive trying to figure out where I was, and as I slowly regained my consciousness, my eyes fell on a disturbing sight. I was in the middle of a torture chamber. Well, it looked that way. Tables, chairs, beds, and all kinds of devices were scattered around the room. A large cross was attached to the far wall and chains with leather straps hung from the ceiling. The arched doorway opposite me revealed a room with several beds all covered in red satin sheets. Felix walked around the room, examining each piece of equipment with an expression of affection, and each seemed to provoke a memory. His smile was broad, and he clearly enjoyed every second he spent in that chamber of horrors.

Toying with one of the leather straps hanging from the ceiling, Felix snickered.

“We threw hundreds of parties here. Only the most elite and beautiful people in the city were invited. We spent hours drinking; women would throw themselves at us and we could use them, toy with them, and tease them for hours in these very rooms. They were our play-things. We used to laugh about it all. Jared Garrett, the respectable business man by day was a sexual deviant by night.”

He let out a loud laugh, and my stomach churned. The thought of Jared with all those women made my chest tight, but the thought of what he would do to them in there, made me feel sick. Crouching down to meet my gaze, Felix gripped my arms tightly.

“Surely, Layla, you knew about his nocturnal habits? His pleasures and his dirty little secrets?”

I didn’t answer him. I wouldn’t give him the sick and twisted satisfaction he would get from it.

“Well, after he met you, all the parties, games, and fun stopped. But I was intrigued when I discovered he’d kept the apartment.”

It suddenly dawned on me where I was. The apartment in Daniel’s building. The one he was so adamant that I not go in. I was inside the fucking apartment! This was what he kept it for? This entire apartment for one disgusting purpose? I felt dirty, and a feeling of total devastation was eating away at me. I was right; I didn’t know Jared at all. Felix watched me with glee.

“Oh, you didn’t know, did you? Well, this is even better than I’d hoped.”

Anger was beginning to flood my body and glowering up at him, I snarled through my teeth. “What do you want, Felix?”

Gripping the arms of the chair, he gave me a penetrating stare.

“I want him to pay! That asshole has ruined me! It wasn’t enough that he stole my wife away; he ruined me financially! I’m broke!”

I gave him a smirk. “You deserve every fucking piece he dealt you, you sick son of a bitch!”

Straightening up, he adjusted his tie. “I could live without the goldigging ex-wife, but my money … my money was my life, and he took it from me! It was the only thing I possessed that brought me unbridled joy and happiness. And now, he’ll find out just how it feels to have that snatched away from you.”

I watched in horror as he walked across the room to the corner and pulled out a large canister and began pouring gasoline all over the room. Panic set in.

“You can’t do this, he’ll come looking for me! He knows I’m here, and when I don’t show, he’ll track me down.”

Felix threw his head back and laughed. “Why would he come looking for you? You’ve spoken to him? Text messages are so impersonal these days.”

Pulling out a cell phone from his back pocket, he dangled it in front of me. “That assistant of his, Stephanie, is very accommodating. All it took was a little blackmail, and hey presto, the center of Jared Garrett’s world in the palm of my hand.”

My mouth dropped open as he held the phone up in front of my eyes, and I saw each of my messages, details of my flight, my plans, even my request to see him. It was never Jared behind each reply; it was Felix. I felt sick and I trembled with fear as he dropped the cell phone and continued to pour gasoline around the room, covering every surface.

“Don’t do this! You’re not a murderer!” I pleaded.

Shaking his head, he threw the now empty gas canister across the room.

“You see, that’s what I thought, too. I figured I could get even with him some other way. I tried intimidation, stalking, and even following you across the world, but even that didn’t get him off my case. So I called Alicia. I knew she was desperate for a little cash, and the off-shore account I have, provided just enough to entice her.”

I glared at him and growled deep in my throat, “You were behind all of this?”

He nodded and grinned with pride. “It was remarkably easy. The only difficult part of the whole process was obtaining a child. Luckily for me, a local crack whore was desperate for money and knocked up. Did you know you can purchase a whole human being for just ten thousand dollars? Amazing.”

I tried desperately to free my hands and feet from their binds, but it was no use. The leather pinched and dug into my flesh with every movement.

“You would never have won! A simple DNA test would prove it,” I jeered.

Holding the arms of the chair, he pulled me across the room and took out another handkerchief. Taking a bottle from a small table beside him, he poured some of the liquid onto the fabric.

“You really are a naive little girl. Everything has its price in this world. A pathology report is no exception. I was going to take him down, and you … you were my favorite part. I knew once you found those papers, it was only a matter of time before your relationship came crashing down around you. Stephanie really did prove a valuable asset.”

Striding over, he forced the handkerchief over my face and whispered in my ear.

“But you just wouldn’t let it go, would you? Coming back to L.A., enticing him, and giving him hope. Do you know how difficult it is to break a man that has hope? It’s impossible. Well, now I’m going to watch and enjoy every moment as this building, his dreams, his
one true love
burn to the fucking ground.”

My eyes felt heavy and my body became limp. I could hear his voice in my ears but was powerless and paralyzed by the drugs.

“Thank you, Layla. I couldn’t do this without you. Bravo, your performance will be the biggest finale.”

The room faded away and darkness engulfed me. The smell of smoke and an intense heat were all that was left to fill my failing senses. He’d left me here to die. I was going to die. I wanted to scream, cry, and yell for help, but I couldn’t. I felt trapped inside my own body completely unable to move. I was slowly slipping out of consciousness. This was it. My last moments on earth, and all I could think about was every regret. As I gently drifted away, I thought for a moment that I could hear someone calling my name in the distance. But it was no use, I was out of time, and I couldn’t fight to stay conscious any longer. My body was weak, starved of oxygen, and broken. I was not getting out of here alive. The smoke began to quickly fill my lungs, and the ability to breathe was becoming harder and harder with every minute until finally … I couldn’t take another breath …

“Layla!”