Untangle Me (Love at Last #1) Page 18

  “Kayden, I’m blessed to have you in my life. You’ve definitely brought excitement and new experiences,” I said into his shirt. I thought about all the possibilities he had now that he was clear of the charges. It meant he could go back to New Orleans. The thought of losing him caused my stomach to twist in knots. Would he go back to that glorious city and the work he loved so much, or would he stay with me and start a new beginning?

  “Kayden, you know that means you can go back to NOLA and your old job. Do you want to go back?” I said to him as I backed away so I could see his face when he answered.

  “Sophia, I’m not going anywhere. I can’t be without you for a couple hours, let alone weeks. How could you even think I could just pack up and leave you behind?” he asked as he stroked my cheek with his hand, looking like I just stabbed him in the heart.

  “I know you loved that job and you miss New Orleans. I just thought maybe—” His finger touched my lips, stopping me from finishing the rest of the sentence.

  “Yes, I love New Orleans, and maybe we can move there someday. But you’re my home, Sophia. I need to be with you. I want to be with you. I need you to sleep in my arms each night and make love to you each day,” Kayden said as he stepped closer and embraced me. I exhaled, not realizing I had held my breath waiting for his answer.

  “I just want you happy, Kayden. I want you to be at peace. I know you’ve struggled with happiness over the last few months.” Concern and worry filled my voice, and the feeling nearly suffocated me. He had become my world. We did everything together. I didn’t know if I could even function without him anymore. Could I go back to evening web chats and text messages as our main form of communication? I didn’t want to find out the answer to that question.

  “I’m staying. End of discussion. I’d never leave you. You’re the most important thing in my life,” he whispered against my lips before he kissed me. My knees grew weak from the passion and emotion he conveyed with his kiss.

  35

  Sophia

  The Shadows

  A noise startled me, waking me from my dream. My heart pounded in my chest. I felt someone staring at me. I had drifted off to sleep hours ago. I could see a fuzzy black figure standing at the end of our bed. My breath came faster, knowing the person had been watching me sleep. My heart pounded so hard I could almost hear it.

  “Hello?” I said in a whisper, my hands shaking. I didn’t know what else to do. I had nowhere to run. The doorway was behind them, and I was naked.

  “He’s mine, Sophia,” she said in a calm, even tone.

  I covered my mouth with my hands as alarms went off in my head—Lisa. She was batshit crazy, and I was alone with her. I squinted, trying to get a better look. I could see something in her hand, but I couldn’t make it out. A lump formed in my throat as I lay in the dark waiting for her to act.

  “He doesn’t want you, Lisa,” I said through trembling lips.

  “You bitch! What makes you think you can take Kayden from me?” she said in an acidic tone. I could see her figure start to sway a bit.

  “Lisa, you threw Kayden away a long time ago. I didn’t take him from you.” Butterflies formed in my stomach. Should I have told her she could have him?

  “I didn’t throw Kayden away, Sophia. I was seeing him until you came into his life. I went to New Orleans and spent time with him.” Lisa started to move from the foot of the bed.

  “Lisa, you had him arrested. You ruined his life. He loves me,” I said as I started to shift in the bed. I needed to get away from her. Think.

  “He’ll always love me. Kayden and I were meant to be together. You just occupied his time. You were his bank. He used you,” Lisa said, moving closer to my side. She switched on the light and momentarily blinded me. I reached for my glasses, and she swatted my hand. “I didn’t tell you to move,” she said as I whimpered from the sting.

  “I just wanted to grab my glasses,” I replied.

  She grabbed my glasses off the nightstand and tossed them on the bed and into my lap. I grabbed them and pulled the sheets up over my chest. I sat up slowly, sliding on my glasses. I saw a gun in her hand—she didn’t want to talk.

  Was she going to kill me?

  “Kayden and I have a long history. He loves me and always will. He begged for my forgiveness. He said he couldn’t live without me. Kayden always comes back to me,” she said as she sat down next to me on the bed. I shook my head as she spoke. They were like fire and gasoline when together. But now, Kayden loved me. He picked me. I didn’t believe a word that was spewing from her mouth.

  “He’s not coming back to you. He’s erased you from his heart,” I said through a clenched jaw, unable to hold my tongue.

  I saw her hand move quickly, and then everything went blurry. I felt a searing pain in my cheek and heard a loud crack. I winced in pain, and my heart began to thump so fast I thought it would burst from my chest.

  “Kayden isn’t here with you right now. He doesn’t want to be with you. Where is he?” she asked.

  I sat back up, gathering my hand into a fist. “He went out with friends after work,” I said through tears. The pain had faded, but I didn’t want her to know.

  “He’d rather be with friends than home with you. Don’t you see he’s not happy with you, Sophia?” The sound of pity was oozing out of her.

  I punched her squarely in the jaw, and my fist crunched against her bone. Her head flew to the side, and I jumped from the bed and headed toward the door. She grabbed my hair before both of my feet touched the floor. I continued to move forward, my scalp throbbing as I tried to resist her attempt to stop me. She hit me in the side of the head so hard that I saw different colors dance in my vision. More tears formed in my eyes, and I fell back on the bed, dizzy from the impact.

  I blinked a couple of times, but without my glasses, I couldn’t see worth shit. My eyes adjusted slightly, and the gun filled my line of sight. “I’m taking him with me. You’ll see who he chooses. Don’t move or try to fight me. I won’t hesitate to shoot you,” Lisa said to me, waving the gun in my face. My body trembled as I tried to slow my breathing.

  I heard a key in the front door—Kayden.

  “Sophia, are you still awake? You left the door unlocked,” Kayden said from the living room. My heart pounded as I heard his footsteps in the hall. I could see his figure enter the doorway, and he froze. I held my breath and tried to feel around the bed for my glasses.

  “What the fuck are you doing here?” Kayden said in a seething tone, his veins popping out on his neck. All I could do was sit there and stare. Every muscle in my body felt like rubber.

  “You’re mine. You belong to me and with me, not Sophia. We’re meant to be,” she said, standing on the side of the bed.

  “No, Lisa. We ended long ago,” Kayden replied.

  “It can be like we were before. I know you still love me.” Her face grew red.

  “I don’t love you anymore. I love Sophia,” he replied quickly as Lisa moved toward him. “Stop right there! You drove me mad and had me arrested. You ruined my life and played with my emotions for the last time!” Kayden yelled at Lisa.

  She stepped closer to him, blocking my view.

  “Lisa, please leave us alone…please. You have a boyfriend. You don’t want me or need me in your life,” Kayden said in a softer tone, probably seeing the gun for the first time.

  “If I can’t have you, Kayden, then neither can she,” she yelled, pointing the gun at him.

  “Lisa, this isn’t you. Put the gun down. Leave now, and we won’t call the police,” Kayden said.

  “Without you, I am nothing.”

  Lisa tried to kiss him, and my blood boiled. I lunged off the bed and landed on her back with a smack. I wrapped my hands around her neck and squeezed.

  “Stop,” she said, gasping for air.

  “No, Lisa, let go.” Kayden fought for the gun, trying to pry it from her grip. A large bang echoed through the air, and my heart stopped at the sound, but I felt n
o pain. Our bodies fell to the floor in a heap of human flesh. I gasped for air. My mouth was wide open like a fish out of water, winded from landing on Lisa’s back. She was crying.

  “Kayden,” she yelled. “Get up, Kayden!”

  Kayden was lying on the bedroom floor, a red spot growing on his shirt. She fucking shot him. I covered my mouth, trying to hold back a scream. She killed my Kayden. I’d finally found a man who loved me the way I wanted to be loved, and this vile bitch took him from me forever. She still hovered over his body, crying and touching his face. She kissed his cheek and pleaded with him to wake up. Bile rose in my throat. Quiet. Be quiet. I grabbed a large crystal candle holder from my nightstand and tiptoed behind her.

  “You bitch,” I yelled, bringing down the candle holder on top of her head. Her body slumped over him. I didn’t know if she was knocked out or dead, but I didn’t care.

  I grabbed my phone, dialing 9-1-1 as I kicked her body off his. His breathing was shallow, but he was alive. “Kayden, hang on. Help is coming,” I pleaded with him. “I love you, Kayden. Don’t leave me.” I sobbed in a shaky voice. My hand shook as I stroked his face, and my lips quivered as I kissed him. I loved him, and he couldn’t leave me.

  “Sophia…” Kayden said in a shaky voice as I rested my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

  “Oh, Kayden! Help is coming, stay with me. Fight, Kayden, please,” I begged him. I bit my lip and stared into his beautiful green eyes, the same ones that had captured my attention the moment I saw him.

  “I love you, always,” Kayden said in a trembling voice. I whimpered as his eyes closed. The color and liveliness he had brought into my life was slipping away from me. I rocked back and forth a bit, mumbling and trying to hold him in my arms. Where the fuck are the paramedics? Helplessness and despair sucked the air from my lungs.

  I yelled and sobbed as I heard the paramedics rush through the door. I sat back on my feet, rocking and watching them work on his body. Everything moved in slow motion. I heard the men talking, barely able to process the words, Kayden’s heartbeat sounding on the machine.

  “He’s critical, but alive.” My heart fluttered in my chest hearing those words, and I bit my bottom lip.

  “She’s alive,” said a paramedic, checking Lisa’s pulse.

  I hadn’t killed her, but she would’ve killed me. If she could shoot Kayden, I’d be a piece of cake. I sat with my knees pulled up to my chest and my face buried as I rocked back and forth. Tears were streaming down my face. Kayden couldn’t leave me—not now.

  I sat in the emergency waiting room covered in blood—Kayden’s blood. I stared at the floor, watching my tears splash off the tile. “Ms. Romano?” a man said, pulling my attention away from the puddle on the floor.

  “Yes.” I lifted my head.

  “Mr. Michaels is in recovery. He was touch and go for a while. The bullet nicked some organs, but we were able to repair the damage and stop the bleeding. He’ll be in the hospital for a couple of days, but he should make a full recovery,” the man said as he patted me on the shoulder. Warmth spread across my body as my tears flowed heavier.

  “Thank you, Doctor. When can I see him?” I asked with a shaky voice.

  “Give him a while to wake up. A nurse will come and get you,” he replied.

  I had no other words, only thoughts of Kayden.

  I didn’t move. I cried—no, I sobbed. I didn’t know if they were tears of sadness or joy. Kayden survived Lisa’s attack. He didn’t leave me.

  I entered his room slowly. He looked weak—he’d fought for his life. The machines beeped in a steady rhythm as I walked toward his bed. Butterflies filled my stomach as I stood over him, looking at his beautiful face. I kissed his forehead, trying to smell him, but his scent was missing, replaced by the antiseptic smell of a hospital. I sat down in the chair beside his bed and held his hand. Resting my cheek against his hand, I closed my eyes, exhaustion overtaking me.

  I longed to feel his touch.

  36

  Kayden

  The Beginning

  I opened my eyes to a yellow room, beeping machines filling my ears. I could feel Sophia’s face against my hand, and I turned my head to look at her. Her expression was peaceful after all she had been through. Everything was because of me. I could have lost her to Lisa, and my life would have been over, forever.

  “Sophia…” I whispered, moving my fingers to rub against her cheek. Drool ran down the side of her face. That was my Sophia. I didn’t want to startle her. She sat up quickly as if in shock.

  “Kayden, I love you,” she said. She kissed my forehead, my cheeks, and ended on my lips. “Shh. Don’t speak, just rest.” Tears ran down her cheeks.

  “I love you too. Lie here with me, please,” I said. I needed to feel her in my arms. I wanted her to curl up against my side, her spot. I hadn’t slept a night without Sophia in over six months.

  “I don’t know, Kayden. I don’t want to hurt you, baby,” she said, grimacing.

  “Get up here. I need you.” I patted the bed next to me, not taking no for an answer.

  She climbed on the bed carefully, kicking off her flip-flops, and they fell to the floor with a thud. I let her try to tangle her body around me, but she seemed so uncertain.

  “Don’t worry about hurting me, just lie with me.” She finally stopped and rested her head against my chest. I wrapped my arm around her and kissed her head, inhaling her scent. She fell asleep within minutes. I lay there listening to her breathing, the soft snore escaping her lips. I stroked her arm, relishing the feel of her smooth skin.

  Footsteps approaching the bed woke me. Two police officers entered my room, and for the first time in years, I wasn’t scared by their presence.

  “Sorry to bother you, Mr. Michaels, but we need to get a statement from Ms. Romano,” the officer said.

  “She’s sleeping. Can’t you come back another time?”

  “No, sir. We need to get something on the record quickly from Ms. Romano.”

  “I’ve already given you a statement of what happened. What more do you need?” I asked.

  “We need to hear it from her. You weren’t home or alert for some of the events. We need her to fill in the blanks,” the officer replied.

  “I’m awake,” she said in low, sleepy voice. “What can I do for you, officer?”

  “We need you to tell us what happened on the night of May thirty-first,” he said to her.

  She recounted the events—waking up to Lisa standing over our bed, the gun, trying to fight her off, and then the shooting. It was the first time I heard the full story. My heart hurt listening to everything she went through with Lisa. I wished I had gotten home sooner to save her. I squeezed her hand as she retold the story, and she gave me a fake smile. She made the officer aware of the history between the three of us. She wanted all the information to be out in the open.

  Lisa had been placed under arrest for the attack on Sophia and my attempted murder.

  As the officer walked out the door, I whispered, “I’m sorry you had to go through that, Sophia.” I kissed her head. I touched her chin, bringing it up, making her look into my eyes. “I love you. Thank you for saving us both.”

  “You’re free of her. She can’t hurt you—us—anymore. I’ll love you, forever,” she said as she leaned forward, kissing my lips.

  “You’re mine, Sophia, always. I’ll never leave you. Don’t ever give up on us,” I said against her lips. She snuggled back into my arms. We could move forward with our life. Nothing would tear us apart. I didn’t know what the future held for us, but I felt a sense of hope. I wanted a family with her. I wanted to grow old together. I loved being spontaneous and surprising her, as long as it didn’t end in handcuffs… Well, at least not those used by the police.

  “Kayden, will you tell me about your past? There’s so much I don’t know about you.” She looked at me with big, brown, puppy-dog eyes.

  “Where do you want me to start?” I asked, butterflies fillin
g my stomach. “You don’t want to hear everything, Sophia.” I cringed at the thought of telling her about my entire past. I knew she’d still love me, but she didn’t know the depth of my depravity and addictions throughout the years.

  “Start at the beginning. I want to hear everything. I love you no matter what, Kayden. I’ve earned the right to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly.”

  Epilogue

  Sophia

  Six Months Later…

  “The court has been notified that Ms. Jackson has accepted a plea bargain from the district attorney in exchange for pleading guilty to a lesser offense,” the judge stated.

  My blood boiled as the judge spoke. I wanted that bitch to pay for everything she did to us and to Kayden, but she took the easy way out. She found a way to have her charges reduced from attempted murder to aggravated battery. The court found her unable to stand trial earlier due to a mental problem and ordered her into treatment, placing her on medication. The court now claimed that Lisa was able to make coherent decisions, and she weaseled her way into a plea deal. Kayden rubbed my hand as I listened to the judge’s words.

  “Ms. Jackson, you are sentenced to ten years in prison with the possibility of parole in three. Court is adjourned.” The gavel hammered down, and there was nothing more to be done. Kayden squeezed my hand, but I felt deflated by the legal system. Ten years seemed unfair for almost killing the love of my life and the hell she put us both through.

  The bailiff walked to Lisa and waited for her to stand. Lisa turned slowly, and as she stood to walk, she looked toward us. She grinned at Kayden, and it caused my stomach to lurch and a lump to form in my throat. It was not an “I’m sorry” grin, but an “I’m not done with you yet” one. I’d be at every single parole hearing to make sure that conniving whore stayed in prison.