Stay (25 page)

Nate narrowed his eyes and looked at his watch. “I have some business to attend to.”

I blinked and swallowed. Yes, my throat was definitely sore. “And I care because?”
 

“It’s out of town,” Nate continued.

“I still don’t care,” I told him and wished my voice wasn’t so scratchy.

“You’re not going.”

“No shit, Sherlock,” I spat and hid the fear. Nate was up to something, as always. Why else would he be downstairs?

Nate sighed. “You just won’t break, will you?”

“I never will.” I said each word slowly and stared Nate right in the eyes.

“You know what they do to horses that can’t be broken?” He shook his head. “Never mind.” He turned to Zane. “Put her in the closet.”

“No!” I screamed. Not again, not in the dark. Not alone.

“Stop the antics,” Nate said, sounding bored. “I’m not leaving you to your own devices while I’m away on business.”

Zane picked me up. The drugs weren’t as strong, but I wasn’t at full strength, and even if I was, being sick put a damper on my ability to fight off anyone, let alone Zane. He carried me like a rag doll and flopped me down into the closet. He kicked me in the stomach for good measure and dashed out, slamming the door.

I didn’t get up. What was the point? I hadn’t been able to get out before, and now I was weak. Tears filled my eyes. Nate was lying. He had to be. He really wouldn’t leave me all alone for two days, would he? My lip quivered. I had been in there for three days before, and Nate had no problem with it.
 

Yes, he had to be serious.

Zane and Nate went up the stairs and locked the basement door. I lay on my side, curled into a ball, and cried. It hurt my throat. I desperately wanted water. I took in a slow breath and thought about my family. I was sitting at the dining room table again. My mom handed me a steaming cup of lemon tea. It was her cure-all for colds.

I would have given anything to be home again. Though I tried not to cry, the tears began to fall again. I shivered and hugged my legs closer to me. My body ached. I wasn’t sure I would make it two days.

I wasn’t sure I wanted to.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

I DRIFTED IN and out of consciousness, unsure of how much time passed since I had been locked in the closet. Again.

Sweat dripped down my back, and I shivered. I felt like my head was in a vice that was continuously being tightened. It hurt to swallow, and my entire body was plagued with chills and aches.
 

I thought I heard something clatter to the floor on the first level. I opened my eyes and squinted at the hole in the door from the missing doorknob. I coughed and closed my eyes. The heat from my fever was horrible. I brought my knees to my chest. Was someone there? My mind was too hazy to get the words out and call for help. Besides, it was probably Nate or Zane anyway.

Consciousness left me again. Sharp metal clicks roused me. I tried to roll over and look at the door, but failed. I lifted my head up for a brief moment only to have it heavily fall onto the hard floor.

Then the door opened.

“Oh God,” a deep voice spoke.
 

I tried to open my eyes. Something fluttered inside of me. I knew that voice.
 

“Shit,” he whispered and bent down, his knees cracking. “Addie?” He pressed his hand against my cheek. “You’re burning up.”

My eyes fluttered open. “Jacks…” I mumbled, not able to say his whole name.

“Don’t talk,” Jackson said quietly. “How long have you been down here?”
 

I opened my eyes again. I was dreaming. I had to be dreaming. Or maybe I was dead.
 

Jackson shook his head and pushed his dark hair behind his ears. “It doesn’t matter.” His arms slid underneath me and he picked me up, pressing my body against his. He didn’t speak as he carried me up the basement stairs.
 

I struggled to stay awake as he crossed the kitchen.
Is this really happening?
My head jolted against his shoulder when he hurried up a second flight of stairs.
 

“Am I dead?” I croaked.

Jackson opened a bedroom door. “No, you’re not,” he said gently.
 

“What is…you…you…” I tried to make sense of the situation.

“Don’t worry about anything right now, Addie. You’re really sick.”

“Okay,” I breathed.
 

Jackson carefully lay me down on a bed. He pulled back the covers, tucked me in, and said he’d be right back. I was too out of it to wonder where I was. My heavy eyelids remained closed until I heard Jackson come back into the room.

He sat next to me and hooked his arm around my shoulders. “Here,” he said and pulled me up. He put a cup to my mouth, carefully tipping it. Warm liquid touched my lips. I opened my mouth just enough to sip the drink. “It tastes gross,” he warned just a second too late. I coughed and recoiled.

“Mhh,” I moaned and shook my head.

“It will help,” he said quietly and tipped the cup again.
 

I let the beverage spill into my mouth. It burned on the way down. Jackson switched to water, taking his time to let me drink as much as I could. Then he gently lowered me back onto the pillows and pulled the blanket up to my chin. The mattress sank down near my feet. I tried once more to open my eyes and get a good look at Jackson. I was pulled into a black sleep in just seconds.

The shaking of a pill bottle woke me up. The room was dark, illuminated only by a small lamp on the dresser across from me. I opened my eyes and took a breath.

“Addie?” Jackson said and stood. He had been sitting on the floor, leaning against the dresser. He was holding a book in one hand and a bottle of Tylenol in the other.

I blinked the sleep away and traced my eyes over his face. The breath caught in my throat, and tears stung my dry eyes. I shook my head in disbelief. “You’re alive,” I whispered.

Jackson gave me a small smile. “Yeah. I am.”

“But they shot you.”

He pushed up the sleeve on his right arm. “They did. I can’t decide if Zane’s aim is really horrible or if he meant to just clip me all along.” I took in the nasty scar on his bicep. I opened my mouth, only to close it again. “Don’t worry about me right now. I’m worried about you.” He set the book on the dresser and moved to the edge of the bed. “Do you think you can swallow pills? We need to bring your fever down.”

I nodded, and Jackson picked up a glass of water. He poured two pills into his palm and held them out for me. I took them, put them in my mouth, and let him hold the cup to my lips. I drank the rest of the water and leaned back on the pillows.

“Where am I?” I asked as I looked around. We were in a small room. The walls were white, the bedspread was plain and gray, and there was no décor on the walls. Only the lamp sat on the white dresser and cardboard boxes of books were pushed up against the wall next to the closet.

“This is my room,” Jackson replied. My eyes widened. “Nate brought me back the day he left. I thought you were with them, but then I thought I heard something in the basement and I found you locked in the closet.”

“You found the key?”

“No. I picked the lock. It took almost half an hour. Didn’t you hear it?”

I shook my head. “I don’t remember. You shouldn’t—”

“Addie, you could have died. There’s a few scratches on the lock, but I don’t think Zane will notice.”

I nodded and closed my eyes for a few seconds. I remembered Nate telling me he was going out of town. He was gone, and Zane was with him. My eyes flew open. “We should run.”

Jackson looked down and shook his head. “Nate changed the combinations on the doors. I can’t get out, and I have no idea where he put the keys to the Blazer. We would literally have to run. On foot … and you’re really sick.” His eyes flicked to the foot of the bed, looking at the covered-up ankle bracelet. “They’d find us. It would only be a matter of minutes before Nate sent someone this way.”

Dejected, I only nodded and ran my eyes over Jackson once more. So many questions rushed through my head, adding to the dizziness. “Where were you?” I asked, deciding that was the most important.

“After I got shot, I was in the hospital for a week,” he answered. “The wound got infected. Then Nate took me to a house he just bought upstate. I wasn’t allowed to come back here until I was done doing renovations.”

“Renovations?”

“Yeah. Nate owns a lot of houses.”

“Full of girls, right?” I asked.

“Yeah. There are probably a dozen girls at the new house.”

I bit my lip, not knowing what to say. I hated Nate with everything inside me. And he terrified me almost as much. He had the farmhouse, the club, the restaurant,
and
another house full of girls? I shivered again, but it wasn’t from the fever. “Why are you back here?”

He shrugged. “I finished the work on the other house, and Nate won’t admit it, but he can’t function without me.” Jackson gave me a lopsided smiled. “I guess he’s used to having me do all his work. This place was a disaster when I came back.” He sat at the foot of the bed. “I’m glad you’re okay. He used you as a threat, said if I tried to tell anyone what happened he would hurt you.”

His eyes met mine and I smiled. Then I started coughing again. Jackson got up and opened a door on the side of the room. I heard water running, letting me know that it was an attached bathroom. He refilled the cup and offered it to me. I drank half of it and leaned back.

“I’m so tired,” I mumbled.

“You need more sleep,” he said and I nodded in agreement. “I’ll be right back,” he told me and hurried out of the room. I turned, watching him leave. I was comfortable and didn’t want to get up, but I had to pee, so I pushed myself up and shuffled into the bathroom. I flicked on the light only to shut it off again. It was still too bright for my eyes.
 

I had just made it back into bed when Jackson returned with a steaming mug. He extended it to me. “It’s that gross stuff again,” he explained. “It helps, trust me.”

“I believe you,” I said and took the mug. I grimaced and drank the warm liquid. Jackson placed the empty cup on the dresser, trading it for a bottle of water. He twisted off the cap and offered it to me. I took a few sips before giving it back.

“Get some sleep, Addie.”

I nodded but kept my eyes on Jackson. “I can’t believe you’re alive,” I whispered, feeling emotional again. “What you did for me. And … and then …” I trailed off, sniffling and coughing.

“Adeline,” he said gently. “It’s okay. I’m okay. I hate that you thought I was dead. The whole time I was gone, I wished I could get a message to you, to tell you what happened. I knew they would make you think the worst.”

“But Lily saw Zane digging a hole.” I wiped away tears.

“He really played it up,” Jackson said to himself and shook his head. He closed his eyes for a few seconds. “Get some sleep. You need to rest.”

“Okay. You too,” I told him, knowing it was late.

“I will,” he promised. He backed away from the bed and picked up his book. “I’m just not tired yet.”

I didn’t believe him, but I was too worn to tell him that. I leaned back against the pillows and closed my eyes. Despite the emotions that flooded my ill head, I fell asleep quickly and was out for the rest of the night.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

WAKING UP IN Jackson’s bed wasn’t as awkward as I thought it would be. I pushed myself up just enough to get a drink of water and glanced around the dimly lit room in search of him. He was nowhere in sight. I laid back down feeling a lot better than I had the night before. Still, my body was
 
exhausted. I thought about Jackson and how he put himself in danger—again—to take care of me. I wanted to know everything about him. I wanted to make that deep, painful sadness in his chocolate eyes go away. The gentle hum of the ceiling fan lulled me back to sleep with the image of Jackson’s face still lingering in my mind.

I woke up several hours later needing to use the bathroom. Grey clouds muted the early morning sky, and the promise of rain was heavy on the breeze that came in through the open windows. I swung my feet over the bed and stepped on a leg. Startled, I jolted forward. My foot caught in a blanket and I lost my balance. I fell in slow motion, catching myself on my hands and knees. Jackson sat up, looked annoyed for a second, and then smiled.

“Are you okay?” he asked and moved over to me.

“What are you doing on the floor?” I replied and disentangled myself from his blanket. He stood and helped me to my feet.

“I didn’t think you’d want me sleeping next to you,” he confessed, looking almost embarrassed. “And I didn’t want to leave you alone. Your breathing was kinda shallow. It, uh, made me nervous. You look better now. I mean sound. Sound better now.”

A half smile formed on my face. “I feel a lot better. What was that nasty stuff you made me drink?”

Jackson smiled back at me. I hadn’t let myself acknowledge how good he looked when he smiled before. It was such a small, simple expression, and yet it changed his face so much. The heavy sadness was momentarily gone, and he looked boyish and handsome at the same time. With his dark, wavy hair and his strong jaw line, he was actually a very attractive man. It was just hard to see past the pain and the bruises that almost always covered his face.

“You don’t want to know,” he said with a smile. “It’s an old family recipe with a little bit of everything in it. My grandpa used to make it for me when I would get sick. He said it ‘burned the fever’ out of me, though I think the alcohol just made it worse.”

I bit my lip and tried to smile back at him. That was the first time he had ever mentioned anything from his past.
 
“Well, whatever it is, it helped,” I said gratefully. “I don’t feel like I’m going to burn up from the inside anymore.”

He gently pressed the back of his hand to my forehead. “Not from the outside either.” He let his hand fall and stepped back, his eyes locked with mine. My heart did that flutter thing again. I took a step closer. “Are you hungry?” he asked, blood rushing to his cheeks.