Scattered Thoughts (Betrayed by Love Book 1) (30 page)

I frowned when the words were out of her mouth. I hated hospitals and the thought of staying even one more day was depressing.

“Don’t pout, Isabella,” Alec said, kissing me on the forehead. “This is for your own safety.”

I rolled my eyes, silently wondering how many times he planned to use that against me.

“I saw that,” he whispered, that wicked grin making a brief appearance, but it was enough to make me blush.

“I’ll leave you two to work this out,” Dr. Leonard said, laughing. “I’ll have the nurse bring you something for your headache.” She patted me gently on the shoulder before leaving the room.

“I’ve missed that,” Alec said.

“Missed what?”

“Your feisty attitude, those crimson cheeks, your shy smile.” Alec kissed me softly on the lips.

Oh how I’d missed that kiss.

A loud knock against the door cut into the private moment we were sharing. “Come in,” Alec said sharply.

“Excuse the interruption, but I heard Ms. James was awake.”

“Can’t this wait, Detective? Isabella is still pretty weak.”

“It won’t take long, Mr. Payne. We have some new evidence we’d like Ms. James to look at if she’s feeling up to it.”

“What new evidence?” I asked.

“We’ve isolated an image from the hotel’s security video.” He pulled a picture from the manila folder he was carrying. “Does the name Stephanie Sanders mean anything to you?”

Stephanie Sanders?
Why did that sound familiar? Unable to place it, I shook my head.

He moved closer to the bed. “That’s likely an alias anyway. Take a look at this picture and see if you recognize the woman.”

Alec stepped in between us, effectively blocking my reach. “Isabella, you don’t have to do this now if you’re not up to it.”

“I need to do this, Alec. I want this psycho bitch caught.”

Without another word, he stepped out of the way, and I took the picture the detective was holding. The picture was grainy, and she wasn’t looking at the camera, but I recognized her immediately.
Valerie.
Tears filled my eyes. I dropped my head into my hands, the picture falling to the floor.

“Baby, what’s wrong?”

I was frozen; unable to move, unable to speak. Alec bent down and picked up the picture.

“Do you know who that is, Ms. James?”

“Charlee!” Alec shouted. “Her name is Charlee Barnes.”

Charlee Barnes? Valerie was Charlee Barnes?
Alec was   husband number three. My heart began to race, and I couldn’t breathe. Spencer and Valerie and Alec. Tears fell in a steady stream. Valerie? She did this? My head was spinning.

I swung my legs over the edge of the bed. “I’m going to be sick,” I cried.

Alec held the trash can in front of me. My stomach contracted and that was all it took. My emotions came flooding out of me like water through a broken dam.

“We’re done here, Detective,” Alec snapped.

A nurse rushed through the door and quickly injected something into my IV. “Your heart rate is dangerously high, Ms. James. I’ve given you an injection of Lidocaine to slow it down. We can’t risk another episode.” She turned toward the detective. “I’m going to have to ask you to leave now. Ms. James’ medical condition is still pretty fragile.”

“Wait, that’s not her name,” I cried. “Her real name is Valerie Russell. She lives in Chicago.”

“Are you sure about that, Ms. James?”

“Positive.”

“Thank you. I’ll be in touch.” The detective took the picture from Alec’s hand and showed himself to the door.

Alec wrapped me up in his arms. The medicine the nurse gave me had already started to take effect, and I leaned against his chest. “Valerie said she knew Charlee. I had no idea this is what she meant.”

“Let’s not talk about that right now, baby. You need to try and stay calm.”

“It was Valerie, the pictures, Spencer’s affair,” I continued, my voice beginning to fade. I was so tired. My eyes closed.

Valerie…Charlee…husband number three.

Drew and Anna stopped by for a visit the following afternoon. While I’d been dreading having to tell them about Valerie, I was more than happy for the distraction from the awkwardness that had fallen between me and Alec. Learning he was husband number three had proven harder to accept than Spencer having an affair with Val. Looking back, it all made sense with Val and Spencer. The way she laughed at everything he said, how she always had her hands on him, small, subtle touches that had seemed so innocent at the time. Actually, I couldn’t believe I hadn’t seen how she felt about him sooner.

Alec, on the other hand, now that was completely unexpected. Granted, Val could certainly turned heads, I just hadn’t expected she’d ever turn
Alec’s
. Certainly not the Alec I knew, anyway. Even though their relationship only lasted six weeks, I was still having a hard time wrapping my head around the idea that Val had managed to keep her true self hidden for so long, and that was where the awkwardness came in. Had he known who she
really
was and married her anyway? Was that the type of woman he was interested in spending the rest of his life with?

Anna brought me a magazine to help occupy my time, and Drew brought chocolate. Not just any chocolate either, but Ferrero Rocher, my favorite. It was supposed to lessen the sting of him leaving, but it hadn’t helped much. I knew he had to get back.

Summer session was only eight weeks long and he’d already missed an entire week being at the hospital with me. But even knowing that hadn’t made the fact he was leaving any easier. To make matters worse, Anna was leaving too. She planned on spending the next few weeks getting acclimated to Gainesville before fall semester began. Summer was slipping away so fast. My life seemed to be moving at warp speed, and there was nothing I could do to slow it down.

I needed to tell Drew and Anna that Val was the one responsible for the attacks, but I was stalling. Anna adored her Aunt Val, and I knew telling her was going to split her heart wide open. The very thought made me frown.

“Mom, what is it? What’s wrong?” Drew asked.

I exhaled slowly. Time was up. “I need to tell you guys something.” I looked over at Alec. He nodded, encouraging me to continue. “Come, sit, both of you.” They sat beside me, one on each side. “I don’t know how to tell you this—”

“Just tell us already,” Anna interrupted.

I took a deep breath. “Aunt Val—”

“Oh my gosh. No! She’s not hurt too, is she? Tell me she’s okay, Mom. Tell me.” Anna’s voice quivered as she spoke.

“No, Anna, it’s nothing like that.”

“Then what is it?” Tears had filled her eyes. She was on the brink of a meltdown, and what I was about to tell her would surely push her over.

“Aunt Valerie did this. She’s the one who attacked me.”

“Aunt Valerie?”
Drew and Anna said simultaneously. Unable to take the pain on their innocent faces, I closed my eyes and nodded.

Anna jumped up from the bed, her sudden departure jolting my eyes open. “I don’t believe you. Aunt Val wouldn’t do this!” Pacing back and forth next to the bed, she added, “There must be some mistake.”

“I didn’t want to believe it either, but it’s true.”

Drew finally spoke. “How do they know it was her?”

“There’s a surveillance video from the hotel. It was definitely her.”

“Why would she want to hurt you, Mom? It doesn’t make sense.”

“None of this makes sense,” Anna cried.

Tears were rolling down her cheeks in a steady stream, the pain on her face ripped at my heart. “Anna, I’m sorry, sweetheart, but we have to face the facts here. She did this.”

Drew moved closer and pulled her into his arms. “I’m sorry too, Anna.”

“But Drew,” she cried, even louder. “It’s not fair. Aunt Val said I was like a daughter to her. Why would she want to hurt us?”

“I don’t know, Anna. I just don’t know.” She unraveled in his arms, hysterically sobbing. He rocked her gently back and forth, comforting his baby sister, his twin.

Tears filled my eyes again as I played witness to this bittersweet moment. They’d been through so much— the divorce, the attacks, and now this. Discovering your beloved aunt was trying to kill your mother was enough to rock anyone to their core.

“If she contacts you I need to know about it,” Alec said after a while, “any calls, texts, emails, and especially if you see her. Are we clear on that?”

Drew spoke first. “Yes, of course,” he said.

“She took me shopping this morning,” Anna said through her tears. “I’m meeting her for dinner later.”

As soon as the words left Anna’s mouth, Alec asked, “Where?”

“Um.” Anna hesitated before answering. “I can’t tell you. I wasn’t even supposed to tell you I’d seen her.”

Adrenaline coursed through my veins at the mere thought of my baby girl having dinner with the crazy bitch who’d almost killed me.
Aunt Val
, yeah, her pseudo title meant nothing to me anymore. I didn’t want her anywhere near my family. “You’re not having dinner with her, Anna.”

“Mom’s right. What if she tries to hurt you too?”

“Look, there has to be a mistake. Aunt Val didn’t do this. She would never hurt mom. And she definitely wouldn’t hurt me!” Anna’s voice quivered as she spoke. “Plus, I promised her I wouldn’t tell.”

“Well, I never thought she’d hurt Mom either, but look where we are.” Drew motioned around the hospital room. “Now, I don’t give a shit what you promised her, tell us where you’re supposed to meet!” Drew’s patience with his sister was waning, his voice raising several octaves when he spoke.

Anna folded her arms across her chest, her head shaking. An act of stubborn defiance I’d seen countless times over the years.

“Sweetheart, please,” I begged. “Promise me you won’t have dinner with her. Not today. Not ever.”

“Mom, she wouldn’t hurt me. And even if she
wanted
to, she couldn’t do anything in a public place. But she doesn’t even want to. She loves me!” Her tears began falling once again.

“This isn’t a game, Anna,” Alec barked, standing abruptly. “Now tell me where you’re supposed to meet her!”

Anna’s face turned white as the color slowly drained from her cheeks. She wasn’t used to having someone yell at her. Spencer was always so gentle, never wanting to upset his princess. “Five Sisters. It’s on West Belmont,” she finally answered, her voice barely a whisper.

Alec stepped out into the hall, Drew close behind.

Anna sat back down on the edge of the bed. Her face buried in her hands. “This can’t be true. Not Aunt Val,” she cried.

I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her close to me. “I’m so sorry, Anna. I wish it weren’t true. But you have to accept the facts here, and I need you to promise me you won’t see her.”

She sat up and wiped the tears off her face. “Are you sure? I mean
really
sure she did this?”

I nodded, my silent answer to her pleading question. Breaking her heart was killing me. Anna threw her arms around my waist and burst into tears once more.

Time  stood  still  as  I  held  my  baby  girl  in  my  arms, doing whatever I could to comfort her, rubbing her back, kissing her forehead, telling her how much I loved her. It could have been minutes or even hours. None of that mattered. My Anna, her heart was broken.

When the door finally opened, it was Drew who came into the room. “We have to go,” he said as he crossed the small room to my bed. “I’ll be back in a few weeks though.”

Anna wiped the tears from her eyes. “I’ll be back too,” she said.

Reluctantly, I climbed out of bed to get one final hug before they left. Drew kissed my cheek. “I love you, Mom.”

Anna kissed the other cheek. “Me too. I love you too.”

The most convincing smile I could manage crossed my face. “I love you both so much. Be safe.” I took one of their hands in each of mine and squeezed. “Call me. Often.”

Anna walked out into the hall first. I heard her talking to Alec, but I couldn’t hear what they were saying. Drew kissed me one final time then followed his sister, closing the door behind him. I buried my head in my hands, my heart aching for the pain they were feeling, trying not to cry but failing miserably.

• • • • •

Alec hadn’t come back into the room since hearing Anna was supposed to meet Valerie for dinner. The sun had set over an hour ago, and I was starting to get antsy being stuck in the room by myself. I’d wanted to go for a walk, but the security team posted outside the door wouldn’t allow it.

I’d already finished the magazine Anna brought me and most of the candy. Nothing interested me on the television, but I flipped through the channels anyway, for the third time. I closed my eyes, hoping to relax for a while, but images of the attack quickly flooded my mind—her long red nails, the leather paddle, her hands around my neck, the hatred in her masked stare. Valerie. My friend, my
best friend
, was responsible for all that.

The door swung open, pulling me out of the half fitful sleep I’d fallen into. Detective Rux walked through the door, Alec close behind. “What can we do for you, Detective?” Alec asked.

“The Chicago police have finished searching Ms. Russell’s home.” I sat quietly, eagerly awaiting the news. He looked at me then Alec then me again.

“Well?” Alec snapped, his patience wearing thin.

He exhaled loudly. “They found her journals. And they also found some disturbing pictures…”

My heart beat faster, and I prayed he wasn’t talking about the pictures of her and Spencer. “What kind of pictures?” I whispered.

“We believe they’re pictures from the attacks.” An uneasy feeling started to wrap its ugly arm around me. Not pictures of Spencer. Pictures of
me
. The thought of someone seeing me tied up, defenseless, had my stomach turning flips.

“And it looks like there were several we didn’t know about,” Detective Rux continued. That news didn’t come as a total surprise. My nightmares started months before the attack that sent me to the hospital. I’d figured the broken ribs and fractured forearm had been the result of an attack I didn’t remember. But were there others? Were all of my nightmares real?

“How many?” I asked, finally deciding I needed to know.

Detective Rux shook his head. “It’s hard to say, Ms. James. The pictures could be from a few attacks, or from several. Her journals haven’t supplied many clues to that question.”

Annoyance was starting to set in. I wanted answers, and my patience was in short supply. “Well, did her journals give you any clues about why she wants to hurt me?”

“We’re still sorting through them, along with all the other evidence the Chicago PD collected, but I can tell you her hatred for you is deep seated. She blames you for taking Mr. James from her.”

Memories from the last attack flashed through my mind. She’d said I stole him with my sex. It didn’t make sense. Valerie didn’t even meet Spencer until after he and I started dating.

Detective Rux opened his tiny notebook and flipped through the pages. “Yes. Here it is. She refers to him over and over again as her ‘one true love’.” He looked up at me again. “Her hatred toward you grew with each milestone in your relationship with Mr. James: your engagement, the wedding, the birth of your kids.”

I searched my memory, looking for clues of my own. The trip to Miami, her reaction when I told her Spencer had proposed. It all made sense. She had been in love with him.

“When Spencer broke off the affair and you began dating her former husband it was more than her psyche could handle and her hatred turned dark.”

“I didn’t have anything to do with Spencer ending the affair. And Alec and I aren’t dating, Detective.” The words tasted bitter coming out of my mouth. As much as I wanted to believe I meant more to Alec than a quest for control, he’d never made mention of it. If we had been dating, surely he would have come after me when I left the beach house, or at least asked me to come back. Only he didn’t do either of those things. No, all Alec asked was
if
I was coming back, and that certainly wasn’t a question you’d ask someone you were in a relationship with.

“That may be all well and true, but her perception is what led her to escalate the attacks, and until she’s caught, I’m afraid it’s her perception that matters.”

The detective turned toward Alec. “I’m afraid she’s after you too, Mr. Payne.”

“Why would she be after me?”

The detective turned a page in his notebook. “According to her journal, she wants you dead because you betrayed her.”

“That’s ridiculous, Detective. Charlee, I mean Ms. Russell, ran off with my finance manager soon after we were married. If anything, she betrayed me.”

“Look, I’m not saying anything she’s written is true. But it’s how she sees it.” He closed his notebook. “Did you know she’s broken into your office three times already?”

Alec nodded. He nodded! My head was starting to spin, the words around me suddenly making no sense. He knew Val was behind the break-ins and he hadn’t bothered to share that with me? I shook my head, trying to still the thoughts that were racing through my mind.