Next to Always: Shattered Innocence Trilogy Book Two (30 page)

“Alex, I need you to come to my apartment now,” Chloe huffed. “He knows it was us.”

Chloe didn’t wait for a response from Alex. She needed to think. She needed to restrain Rade before he woke up. Walking to her bedroom, she grabbed a pair of handcuffs from her closet and a gag ball she used to use on Alex. She also grabbed a red rope. Satisfied, she had what she needed, she trotted back to the living room and restrained him.
How could she have been so stupid? He was only after her for information about that night.
Chloe screamed at the top of her lungs. He was not going to get away with this. He would pay.

Alex arrived at her apartment fifteen minutes later. When Chloe opened the door, he was surprised to see Rade on her couch, restrained and unconscious. “What the fuck, Chloe?” Alex shrieked with surprise.

“I had to restrain him. I couldn’t let him get away with what he knows,” Chloe muttered.

“I need to think,” Alex said as he paced her floor. “We can’t leave him here. I know of a place we can take him. Get changed. We need to go.”

Chloe was changed into jeans and a t-shirt within minutes. Alex made sure the coast was clear as they headed down the elevator to the parking garage with Rade. They were both thankful that they didn’t run into anyone on the way down. Alex opened the trunk of Chloe’s car and placed Rade inside. This was the best place to keep him hidden out of sight and keep him incognizant of his surroundings.

Alex drove while Chloe tried to calm herself. She had always been in control, but kidnapping wasn’t something she had in mind. Alex reached their destination almost two hours later. It was an old rundown shack on the outskirts of a little town called Bethel. It looked as though no one lived in the house for some time.

“What's this place?” Chloe asked.

“It belonged to Mother. When she died, it was left to me. I haven’t been here in over ten years,” Alex confessed.

Alex pulled a key from his pocket and opened the door. The inside of the old house smelled musty. When Chloe walked in, she became nauseated. There was grime on the floor at least an inch thick. The wallpaper was yellowed and peeling at the corners. There was an old couch in the middle of the room with a wooden rocking chair to the right of it. The drapes hanging on the windows were torn and shredded. Chloe couldn’t even imagine anyone living in this hell hole. Chloe was so consumed by the interior that she didn’t hear Alex leaving until he came back with Rade slung over his shoulder.

“Grab that chair from the kitchen?’ Alex requested.

Chloe walked to the kitchen. It was more disgusting than the living area. There were old dishes still in the sink and roaches were crawling all over them trying to scrape up any morsel of food that may have been left behind. Chloe was afraid to touch anything. She spotted a dingy towel hanging on a towel rack. As soon as she grabbed for it, a mouse slithered across her boot. “Oh God,” she screamed as she watched it disappear behind a cupboard.
“Forget about the towel,”
she thought. Instead she pulled her jacket over her hand and grabbed a hold of the chair, rolling it to the living area, stopping when she got to the middle of the living area. She watched as Alex lowered Rade’s limp body onto the chair. With Rade’s feet already bound, Alex grabbed another piece of rope and wrapped it around his ankles. He then took the end of the rope, fishing it between Rade’s leg and under the chair, wrapping it through the handcuffs. Pulling the rope tighter, Rade’s ankles were brought back until his feet were off the floor. Alex needed to make sure that Rade wouldn’t be able to roll himself in the chair. The last thing he needed was for Rade to get away.

“Someone needs to stay with him until he wakes up,” Alex advised.

“I’m not staying in this petri dish,” Chloe barked.

“Then you will need to go back to town for supplies,” Alex demanded.

“Fine. You need to give him this as soon as he wakes up,” Chloe said handing Alex a syringe. “We need to make sure he doesn’t remember anything.”

It was nearly midnight by the time Chloe got back to the city. She knew nothing would be open at this late hour. She would need to wait until morning in order to purchase what they needed. Pulling into her parking spot, the only thing she could think of was getting the stench off her body. When she got to her apartment, she noticed that Rade’s jacket was still splayed across the chair and his phone was on the coffee table. Picking up his jacket, she held it to her nose and drew in his scent.

Holding onto his jacket, she picked up his phone. Turning it on, she put in what she thought would be the security code. She was glad that Rade was so predictable. After two attempts, she managed to figure out the code to his phone. It was his brother’s birth date. After changing the code, she went to Dylan’s contact information. She was going to end this thing Rade had with her once and for all.

Dylan, I wanted to let you know that I will be leaving the States. I’m not sure how long I will be gone. I don’t want you to wait for my return. You deserve to be happy. Please forget about me. I will not be answering any calls or text messages from you. Take care.

“That should take care of her,” Chloe said to herself with a smile.

With Rade’s jacket in hand, Chloe headed to her room. She laid his suit jacket on the bed and began taking off her clothes. Fully naked, she slipped into the shower and scrubbed the filth from her body. With every swipe of her bath sponge, she imagined Rade’s hands on her. Even though things got out of hand, she had to admit it couldn’t have turned out better. Dylan was out of the picture. She had Rade to herself. It would be only a matter of time before he was hers again.

*****

Rade felt the pounding in his head as he slowly opened his eyes. The last thing he remembered was Chloe finding out he recorded their conversation. He fucked up. Taking in his surroundings, he could see he was no longer in Chloe’s apartment. The place looked pretty bad and it smelled like someone died. He tried to stand, but he was restrained. Pulling and tugging at his bindings, he knew it was useless. He could hear some commotion coming from somewhere behind him. It was hard for him to turn his head. The pounding was too much for him to bear. Whoever was behind him came into view. It was hard for Rade to make out the figure in the dark, but as soon as the man lit the gas lantern resting on the kitchen table, Rade knew exactly who it was.

“Alex Moreno, or should I call you David Wu? I should have known you’d have a part in this,” Rade said between gritted teeth. “Chloe must really have her claws in you, for you to be with her.”

“Shut the fuck up, before I shut you up permanently,” Alex shouted.

“You don’t have the balls,” Rade began. “From what I understand you like your victims helpless. Just like you left Dylan.”

Alex had enough of this conversation. Walking up to Rade, he laid into him with a closed fist. He knew how to shut him up. Grabbing the drug Chloe left him, he jabbed it into Rade’s arm.

It was close to daylight and still no Chloe. Alex was beginning to get worried. With no running water or electricity, he decided to search the place and see if he could find wood or something to burn in the fireplace. Looking over at Rade, his eyes were directed right at him.

Lifting Rade’s chin, Alex said, “Don’t try anything stupid, asshole.”

Rade watched as Alex exited through the front door. His mind was fuzzy. He couldn’t think clearly. His head felt like it weighed a ton. Rade tried to loosen his bindings, but he had no strength. Whatever Alex gave him made him feel like he didn’t have a care in the world.

It was light outside when Alex returned from his outing. He was able to find some firewood that was kept in a small shed in the back of the house. Opening the door, he could see that his guest was still sitting pretty. Alex walked past him to the fireplace. The morning was chilly and a fire would take the chill off. Once the fire was going, Alex retreated to the kitchen to see what he could find. Most of the cupboards were bare. He got lucky when he opened the pantry door and saw a few canned goods remaining. Pressing the top on a few cans, he was glad to see they were still sealed.

“Let’s see. What would you like for breakfast? You have your choice of beans or beans. What was that? You’re not hungry. Oh, that’s too bad… just more for me,” Alex snickered.

“Come on, buddy boy, don’t be that way,” Rade pleaded. “I thought we were friends.

Alex had no clue what Rade was talking about. It must have been the drug kicking in. “Okay, if you promise to be a good boy, I’ll share with you,” Alex said.

“I will. You don’t have to worry about me,” Rade said under glazed eyes.

Rade tried to take in his surroundings while he waited for his dinner. He wasn’t sure where he was. He looked around to see if he could get a clue as to where he might be. There were a few pictures on the walls, but nothing clear enough to tell him where he was. He wished he could see out the window, but what was left of the curtains blocked his view. Somehow he needed to get out of the chair. He was about to get Alex’s attention when he heard a car pull up. Moments later, Chloe stepped through the door, holding several paper bags in each arm.

“About time you got here,” Alex bickered.

“Cool your jets, big boy. Stores don’t open till morning,” Chloe replied.

Chloe sat the bags on the table as she watched Alex struggle with a can of baked beans. Digging in a bag, she pulled out a can opener.

“Here, knock yourself out,” she said, handing him the opener.

“Very funny,” Alex sneered.

Chloe left the house to grab some more bags from the car. She went on a major shopping spree. She bought cleaners, bedding, and various household items. If she was going to stay in this dump for any length of time, she wanted to make sure it was clean. As she unloaded the bags, Alex just stared at her.

“What the fuck, Chloe? Didn’t you buy any food?” Alex asked, looking through the rest of the bags sitting on the table.

“What do you think? There are still more bags in the car,” she said as she continued emptying the bags.

Rade watched as the two argued back and forth. They sounded like an old married couple. It reminded him of Dylan and how they argued back and forth. God, he missed her. If for no other reason than that, he needed to get out of here. If he ever got out of here, he needed to tell her his true feelings. “When can I go home? I really miss my Dylan,” Rade babbled.

Chloe walked up to Rade and lifted his chin. She leaned down so that his glazed were on her. Bending slightly, she placed her lips on his. “Did you miss me, baby?” She asked in a hushed tone. “I missed you.”

Rade smiled at her. “I did. But I want to see Dylan.”

“Oh, Rade, did you forget? You left Dylan. She hurt you so badly by cheating on you. You have me now,” Chloe declared.

There was a buzzing noise coming from inside her purse. It was Rade’s phone. Chloe pulled it out and looked at the screen. “Damn bitch.” Walking over to Rade she caressed his cheek. “You need to tell her goodbye once and for all if you ever want to get rid of her and be with me. You tell her to stop calling you. Let her know you are out of the States and you are finished with her. It’s time for her to move on, baby. This is the only way you are going to be rid of her once and for all so we can start our life together.”

Chloe placed the phone up to Rade’s ear. “Hello,” Rade said.

“Rade, what’s going on? I don’t understand,” Dylan said confused.

“You need to quit calling me, Dylan. It’s over. You need to move on with your life,” Rade said convincingly.

“Rade, please don’t do this. I love…” Chloe hung up before Dylan could finish.

“How was that, beautiful? Do you know how beautiful you are?” Rade asked, looking at her with glazed eyes.

“I know, lover.” Chloe professed as she held on to his chin. “You’ve been a good boy. For that you will be rewarded.”

Rade smiled with excitement as Chloe lowered her lips to his. Something didn’t feel right with their kiss. He felt confused.

Pulling him closer, she deepened their kiss. This was the way she liked Rade: helpless and wanting. She had him right where she wanted him. She would have no problem with him submitting only to her, thanks to her little drug.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Something was very wrong. Dylan knew it wasn’t Rade she was talking to. At least not the Rade she knew less than twenty-four hours ago.
Why would he be so cruel to her? Something was off. What happened between now and then to cause him to act this way?
Her heart broke hearing the words he confessed to her. After everything they had been through together, how could he end it like that? Tears started to form in her eyes at the possibility they were done.

She needed to pull herself together. Keeve and Mason planned on leaving at nine for Spectrum to finish the tour. She struggled to get ready. Her heart was no longer in the tour. She was fascinated by all the technology yesterday, but today it just didn’t matter. She thought about calling Keeve and letting him know that she wasn’t feeling well. She couldn’t, though. She wasn’t a very good liar and he would know as soon as the words came out that something else was wrong.