Aligned: Volume 3 (14 page)

I end the call and glance back to the photograph lying on the top of the box. I need to do so much before the happiness that is apparent in the photo will ever return. First, I need to talk to Dean and see where his head is at. Then I can deal with convincing Alexa.

***

“Yes, I would love the opportunity to be a partner at the firm. I would have run you off that bridge myself if I had thought it would have given me a chance to run the firm instead of ownership going to Laura,” Dean says leaning back in his chair at his desk across from me.
 

My eyes tighten at his much-too-soon joke.
 

“Sorry,” Dean says, realizing his mistake.
 

I take a deep breath. “Good. I will write up a contract that will make you a fifty-fifty partner over the company. You will run the day-to-day operations of the company when I move to LA. I’ll just help out some when I can.”
 

Dean extends his hand and I shake it. “You’ve got a deal.” My lips curl into a smile. M first step toward happiness is complete.
 

Dean’s office phone rings. He answers, “Yes.”
 

I motion with my hands that I’ll be going. Dean holds up a finger for me to wait. So I wait.
 

“Send them up to the meeting room.” He hangs up the phone.
 

“That was the cops,” he says. “I sent them up to the meeting room. They said they have good news to share with you.”
 

My smile brightens.
 

“See you later, Dean,” I say getting up and heading to the meeting room a few doors over. This has to be it. The news I’ve been waiting for.
 

I hear a solid knock on the door shortly after I enter the meeting room. I head to the door and open it to a waiting Officer Nibbs and Officer Burner.
 

“Come on in. I hear you have good news for me.”
 

“We do,” Officer Nibbs says.
 

“Have a seat and we can get started,” Officer Burner says.
 

I take a seat on the opposite side of the table from them.
 

“We caught them. We caught Alfie King’s men. There was three of them who we believe are involved in your kidnapping and torture,” Officer Nibbs says.
 

“That’s wonderful news,” I say leaning back in my chair. A huge weight lifts from my chest as I take a deep, calming breath.
 

“So what happens now?”
 

“We need to take you down to do a lineup to see if you can identify them. After that, we will be questioning them to see if we can get a confession out of them, but we have enough evidence from the warehouse you led us to where you were held. We can easily go to trial with a good chance of winning,” Officer Burner says.
 

I nod, but I don’t want a ‘good chance of winning.’ I want to lock the bastards away for the rest of their life. I want to destroy their lives and know they have no chance of coming back after me, after Alexa. I want to know that I will win.
 

“We will get a confession out of one of the bastards who work for King, don’t worry. When we take this to trial, we will put them away for life,” Officer Nibbs says.
 

“I know you will.”
 

Officer Burner shakes his head softly at Officer Nibbs, likely not happy that he said they would get a confession when they can promise no such thing. But I have faith in Officer Nibbs; we have worked together on many cases before. If he says he will get a confession, he will.
 

“Do you have time to head back to the station now to do a lineup?” Officer Burner asks.
 

“Yes, just give me a moment to lock up and I’ll meet you outside.”
 

The officers both nod before heading out. I head to my office door and make sure it’s locked before letting Dean know I’m heading out.
 

‘I’m safe’ keeps repeating over and over in my head as I walk out of the office.
 
Although that’s not quite right. I’m almost safe. One step closer. Now, I just need to convince Alexa to move to LA and find it. Then I’ll be safe. Then we will be safe.

I can’t trust Ethan.
 

It’s been weeks since I’ve come. Weeks since I’ve had any sort of release. I could ask Ethan to help me. I’m sure he would gladly offer his services, but I’m not ready for that yet, though. But I need a release. I’m desperate for it.

Ethan’s gone to his office for the day. I’m alone in this apartment by myself. Left with thoughts of Ethan’s desire to move back to LA. Do less photography or better yet quit altogether. Work on a non-profit with Laura. Have kids. I don’t think I can do any of those things. Not. One. Thing.
 

Not to mention that LA would be torture without Landon. Despite how mad I am at him for cheating, LA will always be ours. And photography is all I know. How could I do anything else? How could I handle working for his mother day in and day out? I can’t ...

I can’t think about that right now, though. Right now, I have so much pent-up sexual frustration that I’m going to explode if I don’t do something about it. Landon started a fire inside me, but I can’t go back to him to help me extinguish the flames. And I can’t go to Ethan yet. So I will take care of it myself.
 

I move my body upstairs as fast as my legs will move me. Ethan said he would be gone for several hours, but who knows. He could be home faster than I think. We only live three blocks from his office. An easy distance to walk if he decides the office is too much and he needs to come home.
 

My gaze drifts around the bedroom,
our bedroom
, as I look for where I might hide a vibrator. The only three options are the nightstand, dresser, or closet. I start with the nightstand but find nothing. I quickly look through the dresser, nothing. I glance in the closet, but there are too many boxes. I would be in there for hours looking. Time I don’t have.
 

Instead, I lie down on my back on the bed. I adjust the throw pillows surrounding me until I’m comfortable. I close my eyes and let my mind wander to whomever it chooses. Ethan or Landon.
 

It chooses Landon; despite how angry I am with him, it’s easier to imagine being with him. Ethan has been amazing and he’s very attractive, but it’s just too hard for my brain to comprehend at the moment.
 

I start moving my hand over my body imagining it’s Landon’s touching my neck and fondling my breasts. I imagine as his rough fingers reach into my panties encouraging the warm liquid to pour out of me. I pretend it’s his kiss on my neck when a cool breeze gives me chills. I move my fingers over my clit. Soft and slow at first. Giving the liquid a chance to form.
 

I think of Landon’s hard body towering over me. I think of Landon’s hard cock driving inside me when I push my fingers inside, but my fingers don’t even come close to feeling the same. I try to imagine his teeth sinking into my skin as I move my hand in and out of my slit. Faster and faster.
 

I feel myself building. My breath coming faster. My muscles tightening, readying for release, but it doesn’t come. I need more. I take my phone out of my pocket and search for pictures of Landon. Hundreds come up and I click on one of him posing practically naked with his guitar.
 

I move my fingers over my clit again. Twirling faster and faster. I build again. My body doing everything to get the release it needs. I pinch my clit hard like Landon has done before, hoping it will send me over the edge, but it doesn’t.
 

I flip through the pictures, hoping to find a better one of Landon that really does his body justice. But instead of another photo of Landon, there is a picture of Landon and Caroline with an engagement ring blown up in the corner of the picture. I stare at it. Not blinking. Not moving.
 

“When was this photo taken?” I yell at my phone. I search, but the picture shows no indication of when this was taken.
 

I stop masturbating and begin frantically searching websites trying to find out what happened when I read it. ‘Landon Davis proposed to Caroline Parker on the red carpet.’

I click the article and skim it. He proposed with one of the most beautiful rings I have ever seen. She said yes. They want to get married as soon as possible. A beach probably.
 

I open another article. ‘Landon Davis taken. Heartbreak among woman everywhere. Turns out Landon Davis did need Caroline’s love after all.’
 

The articles are wrong. Heartbreak isn’t happening in women everywhere. It’s happening here. Right here.
 

“I hate him,” I scream as I grab a damn throw pillow and slam it into the ground. I grab another and punch it over and over imagining Landon’s face with each punch. Funny how moments earlier, I was pretending his hands were all over me, pleasuring me. Now, I want to rip out his heart.
 

I hear the door slam downstairs. I freeze listening to Ethan walking around downstairs. I pick up the pillows and put them back on the bed. I walk to the bathroom and close the door as I hear Ethan climbing the stairs. I lock the door and take a deep breath as I lean against the door, trying to calm my pounding heart.
 

“Honey ...” Ethan shouts.
 

“Be out in a second,” I shout back through the door. I walk to the sink and look at myself in the mirror. Tears I didn’t even know I had been crying have rolled down my cheek and stained my shirt. My cheeks are flushed a bright red. My hands are shaking with adrenaline and anger.
 

I take a deep breath before turning the faucet on. I watch the water come out in a continuous stream. Trying to think about anything other than how sexually frustrated and angry I am. I run my hands under the water and splash some on my face. Washing the tears away. Doing my best to wash the pain away with them. I take the hand towel and dry my face.
 

I don’t feel any calmer. The pain hasn’t even begun to wash away, but I look normal as I stare at myself in front of the mirror. I head out of the bathroom and see Ethan sitting on the edge of our bed holding an enormous bouquet of roses.
 

I do my best to smile. “What are those for?”
 

“You.”
 

“Why?”

“Because you are beautiful and you deserve to have something equally as beautiful.” Ethan stands and meets me halfway between the bathroom door and the bed. He hands me the flowers and I breathe in the smell. The smell immediately relaxes me.
 

“Thank you,” I say, genuinely thankful to be married to someone so thoughtful to bring me flowers on a day I needed them the most. Even though he didn’t know I needed flowers.
 

“I have something else for you,” Ethan says giddily.
 

I raise my eyebrows at him. “The flowers are more than enough. I love them.”
 

“Well, this is even better.” He pulls out two plane tickets and hands them to me.

I stare. “We are going back to LA? I thought we weren’t going back until the police were done with their investigation...”
 

“They’re done.”

“What?”
 

“They caught the men who did this to us.”

My eyes light up at his words, unable to process what he is saying.
 

“They are in prison.”
 

My smile gets bigger.
 

“One of the guys even confessed which, along with the evidence, will put them away for life.”

“We’re safe,” we both say simultaneously. Our eyes meet revealing every emotion we are both feeling to each other. Happiness. Joy. Anger. Revenge. And need ...

I drop the beautiful flowers on the floor and wrap my arms around Ethan’s neck as my lips collide with his. I don’t know if it’s the fact that I haven’t had sex in weeks, that I’m angry with Landon, or that I’m relieved at being safe that causes me to want more with Ethan. But whatever the reason, I don’t question it.
 

Ethan kisses me softly, expecting me to pull away like I usually do. Instead, I sweep my tongue farther into his mouth welcoming more from him. I wrap my arms tighter around his neck, pushing my body closer to his. His tongue pushes back, testing my boundaries. I massage his tongue with mine welcoming him in but wanting more.
 

I shove him backward, unable to wait any longer, and we are both falling on top of our bed in a tangle of arms and legs. His mouth falls open and his eyes widen in surprise at my blatant need for him.

“Alexa?” he asks hesitantly, still not sure if he is reading my signs correctly, as I press my body on top of him.
 

“I want you.” I run my tongue over his lower lip.
 

“I want all of you,” I say seductively as I pull away from him.
 

He groans and tucks my hair behind my ear before grabbing the nape of my neck forcing my lips back on top of his.
 

“I want you too, but are you sure?”
 

I smile. He’s been beyond chivalrous these last few weeks. He needs this as much as I do. He has to be losing his mind having his wife back but not being able to love her as he wants. Not being able to fuck her and own her body as he would like. Tonight, that is going to change.
 

“Fuck me, Ethan. Make me yours again.”
 

That’s all it takes to convince him. He flips us over so that I am underneath him. His shirt comes off immediately followed closely by mine. He presses his warm skin against mine as he kisses me hard and fast. I try to savor the kiss, but he moves too fast to fully enjoy the kiss.
 

He unhooks my bra exposing my hard peaks to the cold air. His hands find my nipples as he teasingly rubs them, encouraging them to form harder peaks. They respond easily to his touch as they probably have a thousand times before. He takes one in his mouth, swirling his tongue around it.