Lost in Me (Lost Duet #1)

Chapter Seventeen

Jesse

I have been hiding in this fucking mansion for over a month now. Hiding away down in this fucking basement observing, watching, and listening, and fuck, I have learned a lot. One, this guy has an unlimited amount of money, and two, they are preparing to welcome a new addition to their family which will never fucking happen.

It was my dream to marry her, my dream to have a family with her, and I am not going to have a fucking drug dealer take away the family that was always meant to be mine. Emory doesn’t see it now, but we were always meant to be. She and I were always meant to be together, no matter where she moves or who she thinks she’s in love with. No matter how much she tries to forget me, I will never, ever fucking go away. Moving away won’t help her. Falling in love with a fucker won’t help her. She will soon learn her only choice is to give in to me.

I have waited in this fucking basement long enough. They never thought of looking for me inside their house, and soon Shawn will learn that is the biggest mistake he has ever made. There is an army of people on the outside but not many on the inside. It was easy to slip through right after the club situation. Shawn wasn’t thinking straight. He didn’t want me to see it, but I fucked him up real good. Just by touching her, by kissing her, by whispering things in her ear. I fucked him up so much in the head he forgot to look through the house.

It was easy to get away from the cops that took me to the airport. They are all fucking dumb as fuck. The cops tried to hold me, tried to force me to board a plane and leave Emory behind, but no one fucking understands I will never leave her. I will never go away. I am addicted to her. Obsessed with her.

Shawn will be leaving soon to look for me, leaving Emory alone to put together the baby’s nursery, which she will soon find out will not matter. None of this matters when I take her back to the place that started all of this. The locked room will be her new home. She will soon forget about the baby growing inside her. She will soon forget about Shawn, and the freedom and love he gave her will no longer matter because I will make sure the only one she remembers loving is me.

I have learned which vents go to which rooms. I don’t know why they made all of them come down here to the basement, but it has worked out in my favor. It is about time something fucking does. Nothing else has been going right, but finally, fucking finally, I am in the right spot at the right time to go through with my plan. Making Emory come with me will be much easier now. I know she would never do anything to put her unborn child in harm’s way, so she will do as I say. She will because I fucking know her. I know her better than anyone.

I can hear Emory and Shawn moving around in their room, which makes me fucking sick I have had to listen to him fucking her. I have had to listen to her scream and moan his name. It makes me want to fucking throw up, and it also reminds me of why I am here to get her the fuck away from him.

“It won’t be long,” Shawn states in a calm voice, making me smile. He will be gone long enough to come back and see that his world will once again be changed in the worst fucking possible way.

I have had plenty of time down here to think of what I want to do, and leaving behind the three items he kept throwing away and taking her back to the locked room is a fucking perfect plan. It will fucking shatter Shawn knowing he was out looking for me while I was inside his house listening the whole time. He is a smart guy. He will figure it out.

“I know,” Emory states calmly. The way she is with him is the way she will be with me. Just hearing her voice when she speaks to him makes my heart race. You don’t need to see them to know they love each other, that Emory loves Shawn. She was never meant to love someone else, and now I will remind her of that fact.

“Have you given any thought to baby names?” Shawn asks Emory, the question repeating inside my fucking head.

“A few,” she says. I can hear her moving around. She has been spending most of her time putting things away, and even now, I can tell that is what she is doing.

“Are you going to share, Angel?” Shawn asks in an amused voice.

I have heard them talk back and forth about names, but neither of them have settled on one, something I can’t wait to fucking do with her. I was the one that was supposed to ask her these questions. I was the one who was supposed to think of baby names with her. Fucking Shawn has taken my place in every way. Every fucking way, he has replaced me when it comes to Emory, and what hurts more is she let him. She let him make me disappear into nothing. Fucking nothing, after everything we have been through. She chose to replace me and forget what we had.

I feel my blood boiling as my hands turn into fists at my own fucked-up thoughts.

I can hear her laugh, making my blood boil even more. I feel like I am going to fucking explode. I want so badly to go up there and rip his fucking throat out. I want so badly to see their faces finally seeing me. Finally realizing that I have been here all along. The way she fucking acts with him, the way she touches him and loves him is how she is supposed to be with me, the way she will fucking be with me.

“How about Rachel Cross if the baby is a girl, and how about Harlow Cross if it is a boy?” Em states softly, making my heart sink. This is not how it was supposed to be. This is all fucking wrong, but soon I will right the wrong. Everything will be the way it is supposed to be, and soon, she will be picking out baby names with me.

Shawn doesn’t love her like I do. Shawn doesn’t see what she can be like. I can. I see her for what I can make her into, and fuck, she is beautiful. He has no idea what he has done—undoing what I fucking made her into—and now I have to start over and redo it all with her, but that is okay. It will be fun watching her break again, listening to her beg and scream for it to stop, but it will never fucking stop. I am her fate, no matter how hard she fights against it. It won’t change anything.

“Those are perfect names, Angel. I love them,” Shawn states.

I fucking hate the nickname he has given her. He had no right. No fucking right to give her a new nickname.

“I knew you would,” she says in an amused voice. A voice I haven’t heard from her in a long ass time.

She used to be so full of life, then over the years, things changed. We both changed. The laughter and amusement stopped and was replaced with anger and fights, but it won’t be like that this time. I won’t fucking let it be like that this time. This time will be different. I will make sure of it.

“Ethan is going to be out front if you need anything, just ask him,” Shawn states with confidence.

It takes everything in me not to laugh. It doesn’t matter who is out front. They will not be able to stop me from taking her, and just to make the wound deeper, we are going to walk right out the front door. They will all watch me take what their boss believes belongs to him.

“Tell him thank you for staying behind. I know he wanted to go with you,” Emory states softly. I don’t need to see them to know Shawn has his hands on her and she is allowing him to touch her to turn her on. I can hear it in her voice. She doesn’t hide her feelings very well.

“He wants to protect you more. You are important to him and to me,” Shawn states in a low tone. A stern but gentle tone. She is important to a lot of people, but I am the only one that fucking matters.

“Have you asked him yet?” Emory asks Shawn.

They have been talking more and more about the wedding. Emory wants Shawn to ask Ethan to be his best man, which again is never going to fucking happen. If I can’t have her, no one will. I don’t want to die, and I don’t want Emory to die, but if death is the only way I can have her, then so be it. I am ready. Either way, this is not going to end well for Shawn. Either way, he is going to fucking suffer and shatter without her.

“No, but I plan on asking him,” Shawn states. “Have you asked Sherri?”

I know for a fucking fact she has. That old lady is one at the top of my shit list. There are many people who will die in the next month or so, and that Sherri chick is one of them. She lied to me, and she wouldn’t let me see or talk to Emory, and the consequence of that is her paying with her life. I have no problem killing or leaving a trail of bodies, so everyone fucking knows what happens when they try and keep me from what belongs to me.

“I have, and she said yes,” Emory states in an excited voice.

All the talk about the baby and their wedding revalidates that I need to do this now. It is now or never. Things are only going to get more complicated. I must take her now and leave before it is too late.

“Of course she did,” Shawn states in an amused voice” I love you, Angel. I will see you soon.”

I can still hear the desire and longing in his tone.

“I love you too, be careful,” Emory states softly, acting as if this life with him is normal, acting as if everything is going to be okay. Man, she is in for a big fucking surprise.

“I will, I promise,” Shawn states.

I can hear his footsteps leave the room. One good thing about this house is I can hear everything. I can hear him making his way to the front door. The door opens and closes.

“Ethan, stay put,” Shawn states in a stern tone.

I smile and shake my head. It doesn’t matter if he stays put. Shawn is going to learn just how little power and control he really has over this. He was stupid to ever think he could take her from me. He was stupid to ever think he could keep her from me.

“I will,” Shawn states as he gets into his car.

I make my way over to the window and see him pull out and onto the main road, heading in the direction of the center. I take a deep breath as I hear Em starting to hum a song. She starts to move around, putting things where she wants them. It is one of the things I have always loved about her—the way she can turn a room into a home. She has always been able to do that, and she will be able to do it in the locked room. I am sure of it.

****

Thirty Minutes Later

I slowly make my way into Emory and Shawn’s room. I know she is about to take a shower and get ready for the day—a day she thinks is going to be simple and easy. Today is going to be anything but simple and easy.

I slowly look around the room and see all the baby stuff on the bed and the floor. She really is going all out with this stuff, but I am not surprised. When Emory puts her mind to something, there is no stopping her, and this is one of those things.

I take a deep breath as I pull out the cloth from the back pocket of my jeans. I lean down, putting the dead roses, ring box, and letter onto the bed on top of the baby’s clothes. I want to make fucking sure Shawn finds these items he tried to throw away.

I slowly make my way to the bathroom. She left the door open. Her guard is more down than I thought. She is going to regret that.

I stop in the doorway. She is brushing her hair, the shower is on, and the steam is starting to spread across the room. She locks eyes with me and drops the brush. I run up behind her, wrapping my arm around her stomach, and lifting my hand with the cloth I put over her nose and mouth. She lifts her hands, grabbing my arm, and trying to pull me off her, but it won’t work.

I lean down, placing my lips against her ear. “If I can’t have you, no one will,” I whisper as her eyes start to close. A second later, her entire body goes limp. I throw the cloth onto the floor, gently lean down, and lift her into my arms. Her head lays against my chest, making my heart race. It has been so fucking long since I have touched her like this, feeling her warmth against my skin.

I take a deep breath, quickly turn around, and head out of the bathroom, making my way through the bedroom and into the hallway.

I take a deep breath as I quickly make my way toward the open front doors. I can see all the men standing out front. None of them know just how much they have already fucked up.

I hold tighter onto Emory as I reach behind me and pull out the gun from the back of my pants. I lift the gun as I tighten my grip around her body, keeping her pinned against me. Her head is still lying against my chest as I make my way to the open door.

Ethan and the others quickly turn around and draw their guns as I gently place the end of my gun to Emory’s head. I slowly shake my head and my eyes are on Ethan as he takes a deep breath. He doesn’t need to speak. I can see the defeat in his eyes. Ethan slowly lowers his gun, and the other men follow his lead and lower their guns. I slowly make my way through the doorway and stop when I am beside him.

“He will fucking kill you,” Ethan states through gritted teeth.

“Tell him I will be waiting for him,” I state softly as I walk down the steps and pass the other men. The door is already open. I quickly walk through it, making my way across the street and into the forest. I can hear Ethan screaming at the men.

Shawn is about to find out that he was searching in all the wrong places because I was always right under his nose.

I quickly put the gun in the back of my pants and hold tighter to Emory as I make my way through the forest. We will soon be heading back home—the home she was never meant to leave. The home she will never leave again.

As we make our way through the forest, I look down at Emory. Her head is still resting against my chest. The only thing she is wearing is a bathrobe, thank fucking God. It will make things easier once we get back home.

I feel my heart racing as I quickly make my way through the forest toward the spot where I left my car. They have all been searching in the wrong places, but now that doesn’t matter. None of this matters because I finally have what I need—Emory.