Chapter Eleven

~ Scotty ~

It had been a grueling few days and I was glad that tomorrow was Friday simply because I was skipping work that day. I had plans, grand plans.

Well, maybe not so grand, but I did have plans.

I was supposed to be having dinner with Julia on Sunday. I wanted to be married before that happened. I refused to be put in a position where they could blackmail me into marrying her. If I was already married, there would be nothing they could do.

That was the general idea anyway.

If everything went according to Jake's plan, freedom was just a few short days away. We simply had to put on a brave—yet cowed—front and continue acting as we always had.

I was crossing my fingers that this elaborate plan would work, but I had my doubts. There were too many variables, too many moving pieces, and people. Worse of all, I had to sit on the sidelines while other people did the dirty work.

That didn't sit well with me, especially since Beck would be walking into the lion's den without me. If anything happened to him, Cynthia and Julia wouldn't survive my wrath.

I let myself into my apartment and closed and locked the door behind me. It was something I had taken to doing when I once found Cynthia in my apartment, waiting for me to get home from work. It hadn't been too long after she had kicked me out of my father's house.

I never made that mistake again.

Since talking with Jake, I had slowly been packing my stuff, taking only what I absolutely couldn't live without. Not trusting that Cynthia wouldn't break in if she wanted to, I'd been stacking the packed boxes in the closet and under the bed. If she did break in, I didn't want her to know I was leaving until I was already gone.

I changed out of my work suit and into a pair of jeans and a T-shirt before I got to work separating and packing more of my stuff. Since I was leaving all of the furniture behind, it made packing a lot easier.

There were things at my father's house that I wish I could take with me, things that once belonged to my mother or my grandparents, but getting them was never going to happen. It was better to give them up now than deal with Cynthia.

Maybe my father could sue for them once I got him away from that bitch. It wasn't like she had any sentimental attachment to any of it. She was holding onto it just to piss me off.

The only reason I even had a pictures of my mother is because I'd hidden them in my belongings before Cynthia could destroy them.

She's played nice for the first couple of years after she married my father, but then the facade had slowly started to slip. Little by little, her true colors came out and I learned what an evil bitch she really was.

After my father's stroke, she didn't even try to play nice. Her disdain and hatred of my dead mother was on full display. How she could hate a woman that was dead, and one she had never met, I would never know.

I packed an overnight bag and then set it near the front door. Our plan was to take the drive to the next county tonight and stay at a small bed and breakfast that Chelsea had found. We'd hit the bank in the morning and then get married on our way back home.

I pulled out my cell phone and dialed the burner phone Chelsea had bought me. I'd call Beck's cell phone, but we were still trying to keep our connection a secret. I couldn't wait until this was all over and I could call Beck directly.

"Hey, sexy," Chelsea said when she answered the call. "You about ready?"

"Got my bag packed," I replied.

"Great, I'll be over to pick you up in ten minutes."

"What about Beck?"

"We're grabbing him on the way out of town."

Worked for me.

"I'll be waiting," I stated. "Just buzz me when you get here. No reason for you to come all the way upstairs."

"Yeah, about that..."

I did not like the way that sounded.

"Can you meet me around back in the alleyway?" Chelsea asked.

"I can, but why?" Wouldn't be easier just to walk out the front door?

"Beck caught someone following him. That's why we're picking him up on the way out of town. He's trying to lose his stalker. If there's a chance this person was sent by Cynthia—"

"Say no more." I sighed, my chest feeling heavy. "I'll be waiting for you in the alleyway."

After hanging up with Chelsea, I grabbed my bag and my jacket and then stepped into the hallway. I made sure to turn on my alarm system. I might not be there to catch anyone that might break in, but that didn't mean the police wouldn't, especially if the alarm went off.

I would get an alert on my phone.

It bothered me greatly that Beck thought someone was following him. I knew he wasn't one to panic easily. If he felt that someone was following him, then they probably were.

That could put a real crimp in our plans.

I hurried down to the first floor and then turned toward the back of the building instead of the front. When I reached the back of the apartment building, I pushed open the security door and stepped into the back alley.

I hurried over to stand in a dark doorway, waiting for Chelsea to arrive. The sun was just starting to go down, so the shadowed doorway was enough for me to hide in.

The waiting was horrendous. Not because I was worried about someone spotting me, but more that I was worried about Beck. Where was he? What was he doing? Was he safe?

All of these thoughts floated through my head before I could stop them, making me more anxious by the second.

I was starting to realize that Beck was all that I wanted in life. In a few short months, he had become the center of my world. If anything happened to him, I didn't know what I would do.

My heart leapt into my throat when I saw a dark car pull up in front of the building. From my vantage point in the alley, I could only see the front end of it, but I knew who it was. There was no mistaking my father's limousine.

I pressed back further into the shadows and held my breath as I watched the driver get out and walk toward the back of the vehicle. A moment later, I heard Cynthia's shrill voice filled the air.

"You two stay here," she snapped out. "If you see that stupid brat, hold him here. He's not getting away from me."

Why in the hell was Cynthia looking for me? Yes, I'd taken the day off from work, but that wasn't a reason for her to come hunt me down. Did she know of our plans?

I waited a couple of minutes after I heard a door close and then darted out of the shadowy doorway and down the alleyway away from the apartment building.

As soon as I was far enough away, I hunkered down behind a dumpster and texted Chelsea. "Don't go by the apartment. Cynthia is there. I'm in the alleyway a block south of my building on Salmon Street between Fourth and Fifth Streets."

"Got it," Chelsea texted back. "Be there in five."

I prayed she was right.

I slid my cell phone back into my pocket and then stood up to peer over the top of the dumpster, looking for Chelsea's silver Honda Civic.

When a green Subaru Outback pulled into the alley, I dropped back down, hoping it wouldn't drive down far enough to see me.

"Scotty!"

Wait...

"Chelsea?" I asked as I stood. I eyed her and then the car. "That's not your car."

"Yeah, I know." She gestured with her hand for me to get moving. "I thought it might be better to drive something else so I borrowed a friend's car."

Not a bad idea.

I hurried to get into the front passenger seat, tossing my bag in the back. "Where's Beck?"

"He's waiting for us at a gas station on the edge of town."

"Is he okay?" I asked.

Chelsea nodded. "He's a little freaked out after being followed all day long, but he's fine. He texted me right before you did to let me know he had lost his tail and he was waiting for us to pick him up."

"I have no idea why Cynthia is at my apartment, but I feel like something is up."

"Is there any way she could know what we're up to?" Chelsea asked.

"We only talked about it between the three of us." I knew I hadn't mentioned it to anyone. "Do you think anyone could have overheard us somehow?"

"Not unless Cynthia has your apartment bugged."

I wouldn't put it past her, but I didn't think that was it. It had to be something else, but I just couldn't think of what it was. "Beck mentioned that he thought someone was following him. It would seem reasonable to think if Cynthia set someone to follow Beck, she'd set someone to follow me, too."

"Which might explain why Cynthia went to your place," Chelsea said. "If someone is watching your apartment, they probably didn't see you leave. She might think you are still there."

"Let's hope she continues to think that." And let's hope she didn't decide to break into my apartment. I wouldn't put it past her. She was a vindictive bitch.

It took more than thirty minutes to reach the gas station where Beck was supposed to be waiting for us. My heart rate was elevated and rapid the entire drive. My nerves were frayed.

I started to reach for my seatbelt after Chelsea pulled into a parking spot on the side of the gas station, but the bathroom door swung open and Beck hurried out, bag in hand. He climbed into the backseat and slammed the door closed.

"Go!"

I turned so I could look into the backseat. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Beck brushed the hair back from his pale face. "Just a little freaked out. That guy followed me for so long, I didn't think I would ever escape him."

"You're sure someone was following you?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure." Beck nodded. "He was waiting for me outside my apartment. I didn't really think much of it until he followed me to the coffee shop and then onto the subway. He never went into any of the businesses I went into, but he was always waiting there outside for me."

I quickly explained about Cynthia showing up at my apartment when I was leaving, and my suspicion that she had sent people to track us.

Beck shook his head after I was done. "We need to get this done as quickly as possible. We should get married in the morning first thing, before we even go to the bank. We can't give them the opportunity to mess with our plans."

I would never let that happen.

This was my chance to not only gain mine and my father's freedom from Cynthia, but also have the man of my dreams in my life forever. I wasn't going to let her mess that up for me.

I quickly sent Jake off a text letting him know what was going on and that we might need to move up our timeline. I also told him that Beck and I were currently headed out of town so that we could get married. I'd text him when it was done.

Jake sent me one text telling me to fax him the signed marriage license. I wasn't sure why he needed it, but I wasn't going to argue with him. The man was way smarter than I was.

I just hoped he was smart enough to get us out of this.