The two boys had been in the room when their father killed their mother.And when the police showed up to arrest him, he begged them to turn their backs for a while so that he could kill the boys, too.Needless to say, it didn’t happen, and the boys were safe.The children were all safe now, thanks to his family, and he couldn’t love them any more.
When the game was over, he and his brothers cleaned up the living room.They weren’t slobs at all, but there were some water bottles that had been turned over as well as a bowl of chips.After it was all in good order, they went to the kitchen and took care of the little bit of leftovers there were.Mostly, that meant that they ate what was left, but it was taken care of all the same.When they left, it was just him and Olivia again, and he asked her how it went with the wives.
“ They don’t understand why we’re not in love right now.It’s been two weeks.”She laughed, but he could tell that she was confused.“ I guess the rest of them were madly in love from the moment they saw one another, and they figured that it would happen to you too.”
“ They really were in love from the moment that they met.Especially Alex and Locke.She was Martha’s granddaughter, and in her will, she asked Locke to take care of her.He got jealous when one of us asked her out on a date a couple of days later.It was just a formal thing that we were going to, and she was just going to hang on his arm.It worked out well, I guess, with Locke telling us all we weren’t to date her.”He laughed.“ I think that the one who had the quickest romance was August and Jack.They were in love within minutes of seeing each other.”
“ I don’t love you.I like you a great deal, but I never thought that I’d fall in love with someone so quickly.”He said he felt the same way.That they were just good friends.“ We are.Very good.And someday, if that turns into love, then okay.But for now, I’m all right with just being friends.”
“ So am I.”He didn’t know why that bothered him so much, her telling him that she didn’t love him, but it got him in the chest.Shaking himself, he knew better than to mess things up with the ‘l’ word, so he just let it go.“ I was wondering if you wanted to go to your house and pick up some of your clothing?We can be there in about twenty minutes and get you packed up, and then bring you back here.There is no point in your plants dying just because your parents are trying to kill you.Do you really think that they would?Kill you, I mean?”
“ I don’t want to think that they would, but I’ve been hurt by them before, and it came close.They’ve never been this mad before.And I’ve never been this good at hiding from them.I have a feeling that it’s going to build up with them until they explode or something like that.I’m worried.”He said that he was doing his best to keep her safe.“ Yes, and I don’t know how I’m going to repayyou for it either.You’ve gone way beyond what anyone just meeting me has done, and I can’t thank you enough.”
“ I don’t want you hurt either.”He found that he was afraid for her to get hurt, and he didn’t much care for that feeling.He’d never been afraid of anyone in his life, but his father, and that was so long ago now that he didn’t think he could pick him out of a lineup.“ Just stick with me, and we’ll get you through this.Their pretrial is Monday, a week from now.Just eight more days.We’ll keep on top of things until then; we should be home free.”
He thought that her parents were unstable and would do just about anything to get what they wanted.They’d proven that when they went to the restaurant where Mae was staying, they’d stay out all night just to follow her home to find out where she lived.Zander didn’t trust that they’d do anything to get to their daughter, and that scared him quite a bit.He liked the other woman and didn’t want to see her hurt.Just as they were loading up in his car to go to her home, his cell phone rang.It was Mae.
“ How did you get this number?”She said that he’d given it to her last night.“ No.I don’t give out my cell phone number.I only give out my house number to people that I don’t know so well.Did you happen to get it from Olivia’s phone when I called her?”
“ What difference does it make?I have it, and I wanted to call you to report that Olivia’s parents are getting desperate.And desperate people take all kinds of chances.”He told her that he was keeping an eye on them.“ I just don’t know what happened last night.We were set to have dinner again, and she just disappeared.And now she’s not answering her phone for me or her parents.I’ve done nothing wrong.”
“ Are you helping them find her?”He thought that asking straight up would get him the answers that he wanted.“ They seem to know where you’re staying and when Olivia is with you.Could you be helping them?”
“ I don’t know what you’re talking about.What a thing to say to me.Why do you think that anyway?And if they know where I’m staying and that Olivia is with me, that’s just the way it is.I didn’t tell them.They know that Olivia spends a lot of time with me when I’m in town.”She paused for a full minute, and he didn’t say anything.“ Is that what this is all about?Her not answering my calls?You tell her that I’m not happy with the way things are going and don’t deserve to be treated this way.If they do find out where she lives, it’s not going to be on me.”
“ They were going to follow her home the other night, and I don’t think that it’s a coincidence either that they knew that the two of you were having dinner in the hotel where you’re staying.”She huffed at him, and he had to smile.“ Did you give them her phone number at her work?”
“ They knew where she worked before I told them.”He nearly said ah-haw but didn’t.So she had been telling them information about her and helping them find her.“ Besides, there aren’t too many places around here that have personal shoppers.So what if they put two and two together and figured out where she’s working?They know a lot about her, that’s all I’m saying.”
“ I believe that you’re helping them.And until I find out differently, I’m going to stand by that.I have Olivia somewhere safe now, and I’m going to make sure she continues to be safe, too.”She asked him where he was getting his information.“ My gut.And it’s never steered me wrong before.Stay out of her life, and you’ll be a lot safer than she is around her parents.And if you’re helping them to find her, then I’ll hunt you down as well.”
He closed the connection and looked over at Olivia.She has a strange smile on her face, and he wasn’t sure how to interpret it.Finally, asking her what she found to be funny, she shook her head and looked out the front windshield.
“ You’re defending me like a hero would.So are you more convinced that she’s in on this or not?”He said more so, she said that she told them where you worked.“ I figured it had to be her.All I did was say that I was a personal shopper to your family, and they knew who I worked for.Not many places around here can afford that, I guess.I have two jobs right now that I’m afraid to go to because of them.I don’t know what to do.”
“ Stick with me, and I’ll get you there back and forth safely.If not, then you don’t have to work.Ihave plenty enough money for the two of us to live like hermits for the rest of our lives.”She laughed.“ I’m glad to hear you laughing.I was worried that your sense of humor was all gone thanks to them.”
“ What am I really going to do?I can’t have them causing a scene at the shop where I work, and if I were to go and wait tables, they’d surely catch me.It would be just the kind of dive that they could afford.I’m afraid for the first time in a long time.”He pulled her into his arms and hugged her.It was something that he’d been needing as well.“ You’re going to make me fall in love with you, Zander, then what will we do?Your family will be relentless in telling you they told us so.”
“ I can handle them.Besides, I needed a hug as much as you did just now.”He let her go, and she leaned back in the seat, staring at him.“ I’m going to have to get my number changed as well if she calls me too much more.I have no use for her if she’s really helping them get to you.”
“ I don’t either.I’ve never really trusted her.I guess I should have gone with my gut, too.But I never put it that she was feeding them information about me at all.I just thought that they were really good at guessing.I’ll have to be careful around her from now on.”He asked her if she was going to see her still.“ I can get information from her, too, I think.She’s too easy to get things from when I want it.I’ve never really tried all that hard, but I will now.And since she knows that I’m avoiding her, she’ll be pleased to have me call her up and want to hang around.I’ll just be more careful what I tell her.”
“ Please do.I don’t want anything to happen to you.You’ve come to mean a great deal to me.”She kissed him on the cheek, and he smiled.“ Not that I mind, but what was that for?Are you falling in love with me?”
“ I think that I am.But let’s not tell your family as yet.I don’t think we need the pressure of them telling us that they were right just yet.”He asked if she was ready to go.“ I am.I want to move out of that place now that they might know where I live.I really am afraid of them.They’ll kill me if they can.”
“ I’m going to try my best not to let that happen.I’m going to be there for you every moment of every day until we can get this figured out.”She nodded, but looked so sad.“ I’m not going to allow them to hurt you, Olivia.I promise you that I’m going to do everything in my power to keep them away from you.”
“ I know you will, and I love you for that.However, I’d never forgive myself if something happened to you.You’re on their list now, and it can’t be good to be there.They’ll stop at nothing to get what they want, and since I have it, they’re going to keep at me until I give it to them.I’m tempted just to hand over my money to get them out of my life.But I have a feeling that they’ll want more and more, and I don’t have it.”He held her hand while he drove to her apartment.“ You’re making it difficult to just remain friends, Zander.What will you do when I tell you that I’m in love with you?Run for the hills?I would.I’m not exactly a good catch for someone like you.”
“ I don’t know what that means, but I’m all right with you falling in love with me.I’m about there myself.”When they pulled up in front of her apartment complex, she was ready to get out when he stopped her.“ I’m in love with you, Olivia.I’ve never said that to anyone before, but I love you with all that I am.I hope that I can make you happy.”
“ You already have.And I love you as well.”They got out of his car and headed to her place.He was surprised that she lived in such a crappy neighborhood, but he knew that she was saving her money for a house.He hoped that she liked the one that he had, he wanted her to be happy about their hopefully long life together.
Chapter 6
Olivia couldn’t believe how many people were there for the pretrial of her parents.She knew a few of them, people who had had dealings with her family before.Up front and right next to her was her aunt.She seemed to be pinched about something—a word that she’d gotten from the kids and wondered if it had anything to do with her.Not that she cared much.She was going to tell the judge just what they’d said to her about killing her and be done with the lot of them.She’d had enough.
