Authors: Marie Rochelle
Anger took over Sahara and before she could stop herself, she tossed Mr. Edwards across the room. His body hit the wall hard then he crumbled to the ground a few feet from the entranceway to the dining room. Rushing over to him, she picked him by the front of his shirt and slammed his back against the wall.
“Stop,” he cried out in pain as blood poured from the corner of his mouth.
“No, I’m not going to stop,” she hissed, wrapping her fingers around his throat. “You were going to kill me and my best friend Raya for no good reason. Your son was a murderer, but instead of accepting it and going on you decided to take revenge on me, my family and friends because of his death which had nothing to do with us. You have to pay for that and I’m going to be the one who makes you.”
Sahara tightened her grip watching as Mr. Edwards fought to breathe. She knew she should stop, but all the pain he had caused in her life was too much to let go. He had to be punished and she didn’t consider jail good enough for him.
“Sahara, sweetheart, let him go
.” Jax’s voice whispered in her ear as his hand suddenly wrapped around her wrist.
“No, he has to pay for what he’s done to me. He doesn’t deserve to spend the rest of his life in jail. Let me do this,” she begged softly as tears slid down her face.
“Baby, I don’t care about this SOB. I’m worried about you. I can’t lose you over this pile of shit. Let go of him. Thorsten called the cops and they’ll be here soon. You can’t let them see you like this. Please... baby listen to me. Do you want to spend eternity in jail away from me and everyone else in your life who loves you?”
Turning her head, she looked at Jax and saw the fear shining in his green eyes. He was scared for her and she hated being the one who put that look there. He was right, she didn’t want to spend the rest of her life locked away because of this asshole.
“You’re right,” she said, allowing Jax to take her hand and pull her away from Mr. Edwards’ prone body. Jax guided her across the room away from her stalker.
“Wait, I have to check on Raya,” she said, struggling in his arms. She broke away from her husband and raced over to her best friend who was still unconscious. Sahara was surprised to see Thorsten holding her hand and stroking the side of her face with his other one, but she didn’t have time to get into it right now with him.
“Is Raya okay?” she asked, bending down beside her friend.
“She’s still out,” Thorsten answered, looking up at her. “What did that bastard do to her?”
“He hit her on the back of the head with his gun. I thought she would be awake by now. What if she doesn’t wake up? She’s hurt because I asked her to answer the door. It should have been me. If she’s hurt worse than I think, I won’t ever forgive myself. She was so happy today when she came over and now she is lying there so still.”
The police sirens grew louder, but Sahara wasn’t concerned about that. All she wanted was for her best friend to be okay, but it wasn’t looking good. Raya looked so small and lifeless. She could hear her heartbeat and see her breathing, but it wasn’t enough. She wanted her to open her eyes and say something.
“Sweetheart, Raya is going to be okay,” Jax said behind her as he helped her up from the floor. “We need to get ready because the police cars are pulling up in the driveway and they’ll want to know what happened here. Raya is out, so you’ll have to tell them everything that you know. Can you do that?”
Glancing around her husband, Sahara noticed Jax had tied Mr. Edwards up with some rope while she’d been with Raya. She wasn’t about to let him get away with anything he had done in her home. She would tell them everything she knew.
“Yes, I can handle it. Just give me a minute to catch my breath. I don’t want to lose my temper when I’m talking to them.”
Not even thirty minutes after Jax talked to Sahara, two police officers rushed through the open front door followed by paramedics who hurried over to Raya and went to work after they got Thorsten to give them some breathing room.
Holding Jax’s hand for support Sahara waited for the questions to begin. She knew she had to stay strong and answer each question truthfully, but it was hard to do since her mind was on Raya. She watched as the paramedics placed her best friend on the gurney and wheeled her out of the front door followed by Thorsten.
“I have to go with her,” she said, taking a step towards the door, but Jax squeezed her hand making her stop in her tracks.
“Sweetheart, you have to stay here and tell the officers what happened and then you can go to Raya at the hospital. Thorsten will go with her. He will let us know of any change in her condition.”
“Raya doesn’t know him. She needs someone around she knows when she wakes up,” Sahara insisted, looking back at the door feeling bad she was standing here while her best friend was out there.
“Mrs. Irizarry, we only have a few questions and then you can check on your friend,” the officer told her in a kind voice.
“Okay,” she sighed as she started answering the questions, but it only lasted a few minutes to be interrupted by the sound of Zander’s screaming voice as he stormed into the house.
“Jax, Sahara, what in the hell is going on? Why are the cops and ambulance here? Who in the hell is hurt?
“I’ll take care of him,” Jax told her as he let go of her hand. “Just finish up with this and I’ll tell Zander what’s going on.”
Sahara shook her head watching as her husband hurried over to his brother and got him out the house before he said anything else about the situation.
“Mrs. Irizarry, are you ready now to finish answering the rest of our questions,” the second officer with the red hair asked her as his partner glanced over at Mr. Edwards.
“Are there going to be a lot more?” she asked, already tired and wanting for all of this to finally be over for her and her family. “I don’t know how much more of this I can take.”
“Yes, we only have a few more things and then you can get on your way,” he answered.
“I guess I’m ready.”
Sahara knew the quicker she got over with this the faster she would be out of here. She was done with allowing Tyler’s father to take up so much of her life. She had better ways to spend her days now since she was a free woman out of the world of craziness that was Mr. Edwards.
****
Outside Jax pulled Zander away from the door over to the far side of the yard. He didn’t want the cops inside the house to hear anything they were saying. He had to make sure his brother’s temper was under control.
“Why in the hell are the cops and paramedics here at your house?” Zander demanded as Sabrina came up and stood next to him.
“Sahara’s stalker came to the house and attacked Raya. Sabrina got him to believe that she would leave with him to save her best friend’s life before she attacked him.”
“Oh my God.” Sabrina gasped, placing her hand over her mouth. “Is Raya okay? What about Sahara? I can’t believe it.”
Jax glanced at Zander’s mate touched by her concern for his wife. She wasn’t as unfeeling as he first thought she was. “My wife is fine, but Raya was still unconscious when the paramedics wheeled her out of here. Sahara wanted to go with her, but Thorsten went instead.”
“Yeah, I saw him getting into the back of the ambulance as we were pulling up in the car. Why did he go with her? What’s up with that?” Zander asked. He wrapped his arm around Sabrina and pulled her closer to his body.
“Raya is Thorsten’s mate,” Jax answered.
“You have got to be kidding me.”
He wasn’t surprised by his brother’s reaction. It was the same as his has been...total shock. Jax still didn’t understand how the two of them were supposed to be mated. Raya wasn’t about to put up with any of Thorsten’s nonsense and his cousin wasn’t aware of how strong and independent Sahara’s best friend was.
“I know, but he told me so earlier. We’ll just have to wait and see where it goes from here,” Jax answered.
“Is there something wrong with Raya and Thorsten being together?” Sabrina asked, looking back and forth between him and Zander.
“Let’s just say if oil and water don’t mix well then they will be twenty times worst than that,” Zander answered before Jax could. “My cousin believes his mate will just fall madly in love with him and then everything he tells her. From what I know of Raya, she isn’t like that and never will be, so he’ll have a fight on his hands to win her heart and mostly importantly her love.”
“I see,” Sabrina said.
Despite the fact he was standing here talking, Jax’s thoughts were on his mate. He wanted to touch her mind to see if she was doing okay, but he didn’t want to interrupt the police questioning. It had to be about over and he wanted to end as quickly as possible for her. He was still kicking himself that he hadn’t been there for Sahara when she needed him the most. He should have been the one protecting her from Mr. Edwards. He was her husband...her mate. It was his job to be there for her during the hard times.
“Stop blaming yourself for not being here,” Zander said, pulling him from his thoughts. “Sahara is fine and I’m sure that she doesn’t blame you at all. I think this is a fight that she wanted to have on her own to prove she could handle anything that was tossed her way and she did it.”
“I know but I still should have been─” Jax got cut off by the sound of a man’s voice screaming.
All three of them turned to the front door watching as a panicked Mr. Edwards was being dragged handcuffed out of the house by the police officers. “You have to listen to me,” he yelled, pulling at his arms. “She’s a vampire! I saw her fangs. Listen, I’m not crazy...I saw them clear as day.” Mr. Edwards glanced over at them as he was taken over towards the police car.
“Why aren’t you listening to me? I knew there was something wrong with her and now I have proof. Just believe me. I’m not lying to you.”
Sensing his mate behind him, Jax reached behind and grabbed Sahara by her hand tugging her closer to his side still watching as the cops tossed his wife’s stalker into the back seat and slammed the door. A few seconds later, the cruiser drove off with Mr. Edwards watching them through the back window..
“It seems like your stalker is having some kind of hallucination,” Jax laughed then kissed Sahara on the temple.
“Yes, I know. He tried telling them the same story inside the house, but I don’t think they bought it there either,” Sahara said, spinning towards him. “Can we go and check on Raya now?” she asked him.
“Let me get the house locked back up and we can see how she’s doing” Jax knew his wife wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight until she knew her friend was going to be okay and when they were at the hospital he would call and update Frank on the situation.
“Thank you,” Sahara said, kissed him on the cheek then stepped back. “Also, you can tell me why Thorsten was so concerned about Raya. I know they’ve never met before.”
“You aren’t going to believe it when he tells you,” Zander laughed.
“What is he talking about?” Sahara asked, looking at his brother then back at him.
“I’ll tell you on the drive to the hospital. Zander, are you and Sabrina going with us?” Jax asked.
Zander shook his head. “I think I’m going to take Sabrina back to my house. She’s still going through the process of turning and if she gets too tired again I don’t want anyone there wanting to examine her.”
“I understand. We’ll call you with any news.” Taking Sahara by the hand, Jax took Sahara back to the house while Zander walked with Sabrina back to the car, so they could go back home.
Chapter Forty-Seven
A week later
Pulling the blanket a little more over their bodies, Zander planted a kiss on top of Sabrina’s head as he cuddled with her on the chaise in his backyard. All of his mate’s stuff was finally moved into his house and their wedding was in two weeks.
He hadn’t wanted a big wedding, but the excitement on Sabrina’s face when her mother brought up the idea instantly changed his mind. He wanted to do everything he could to make her the most loved woman in the world.
“I still can’t believe the police officers didn’t believe Sahara’s stalker when he told them she was a vampire,” Sabrina giggled. “I mean when they brought him out of Jax’s house, he was practically screaming it at the top of his lungs as they tossed him into the back of the police car.”
“You still find that so funny, don’t you?” he asked, poking her in the side.
“Yes, I do. For all of the hell he put her through all of those months, in the end he turned out to be a coward; but I understand her drive to save Raya and Jax. I’m so glad Raya is okay and out of the hospital. However, I would have done the same exact thing for you. The thought of someone trying to hurt you would send me into a blind rage.”
“Don’t you ever think about taking a chance with your life the way Sahara did. It was just a good thing she was strong enough to handle Mr. Edwards. She still isn’t at her full vampire strength yet.”
Turning her body, Sabrina laid her hand on him and looked directly into his eyes. “Zander, I did so much to keep us apart and, now that we are together, I wouldn’t let anything or anyone tear us apart. You are every breath I take. I love you. That means if I have to fight a stalker or an overly aggressive woman to keep them away from you then I’ll do it.
“Remember, I’m no longer that timid young girl who tried to find ways to stay away from the hunky vampire who was always chasing after her. I’m your mate and woman now. We protect each other equally.”
“Are you glad that you finally let me catch you?” Zander asked, his voice filled with love.
Sabrina nibbled at her lip while she thought about the question. “Well some days I am and other days I think I might have made a mistake.”
His eyes narrowed as he looked down at his mate. “Why in the hell would you tell me something like that? What have I done?”
“You aren’t the one waking up totally naked and cold in bed during the middle of the night while your handsome fiancée is all wrapped up in the covers.” She grinned.
Zander’s face softened as he smiled back at his special
Unique
woman. “How about if I promise to keep you wrapped in my arms, so you never feel the cold again?”
“It doesn’t matter where we are as long as you keep me wrapped in your arms. There isn’t another place I would rather be for the rest of my life, Mr. Irizarry.”
“I’m glad to hear that because I wouldn’t have you any other place than close to my heart.” Sliding his hand behind Sabrina’s head, Zander pulled her face down to his for a kiss sealing their future for eternity.
The End
Coming Soon:
Alpha Male Incorporated: Take Control
All songs © by Marie Rochelle