His for Now (His #2) (9 page)

I needed to go.  I had a life to get back to.

Over the past decade, Burlington had become home to me.  I’d come to think of the college as
my
college.  Even though my future there was uncertain, I couldn’t just walk away.  I needed closure.  I needed to know I’d done everything possible to pull my reputation out of the gutter – anything less than that would be letting Mark win. 

Hayden had offered me a future that was full of possibility. 
Maybe he could even make it happen, because I’d seen firsthand that he had money, and lots of it.  That part, at least, was true.  Maybe he really could buy himself peace of mind with a portion of his father’s fortune…

Part of me loved the idea of quietly slipping away to some remote cottage on the lake or beachfront villa.  It was
exciting and even a little dangerous.  Most of all it was adventurous, and adventure was one thing my life had been lacking until Hayden had walked into it. 

But I couldn’t just get lost in a fantasy. 
I had real life to think about.  And unfortunately, reality was something that appeared to be beyond Hayden’s grasp.  How could I stay with someone who was such a slave to his delusions that he’d kidnap me? 

I couldn’t help but feel heartless as I walked out.  Maybe a stronger woman would try to stand by the man she loved – or maybe an impractical woman would. 

My own sister had experienced a mental break during her senior year of high school. 

It was something my parents pretended hadn’t happened,
partly because acknowledging it could have dire consequences for her medical career, but it had and I remembered it well.  I’d been the one who, terrified, had talked her out of hanging herself.  I’d been the one she’d attacked with a pair of scissors and I still had the scar on my shoulder to prove it.  I’d also been the one who’d talked her into seeking treatment even as my parents remained in denial that their precious little snowflake was anything short of perfect.

Things had turned out well for my sister, but I knew she’d just been one of the lucky few.  I also knew that events could have taken a much different course had I not found her in time that night she’d planned to take her own life.  And I could have wound up with much
, much more than a superficial flesh wound and a tiny white scar had her aim been just a little to the side.  She could have slashed my jugular vein and caused me to bleed out right there in the bedroom.

My experience with mental illness, although brief, had left me wary. 
Seeing Hayden slowly lose his grip on reality stirred up old memories and fears that were best kept buried.  The way he spoke about the threats against him with such conviction frightened me, making me wonder for the first time ever if maybe I wasn’t safe with him as I thought.

And so, I left, walking right out the front door while Hayden slept.

I moved quietly through the brush, thankful I’d been wearing sneakers when I was abducted rather than my high heels.  Sure, they looked frumpy paired with my now-wrinkled skirt suit but at least they were practical.  It took some time for my eyes to adjust to the darkness but I was thankful it was such a black, starless night.  It would make my escape easier.

Up ahead, I spotted the bobbing beam of one agent’s flashlight down at the end of the road. 
So he really was there.  That didn’t make a lot of sense, unless Hayden’s father had hired the limo driver to keep tabs on his mentally unstable son.  But what kind of person would just allow his delusional charge to kidnap an ex-girlfriend?  That was messed up.

I was careful to avoid the bobbing flashlight and the man who held it. 

I scanned my surroundings trying to identify the location of the second agent, but no luck.  I wasn’t surprised.  There probably was no second “agent” out there – just Hayden and the guy who was supposed to babysit him while he spiralled into a world riddled with delusions and paranoia. 

As I moved toward him, I saw that the so-called limo driver had his back to me.  He seemed to be completely oblivious to my presence, so I simply walked past him, using the cover of darkness to my advantage.  He didn’t seem any the wiser – in fact, he appeared to be playing a game on his phone. 
That confirmed my belief that he couldn’t possibly be a real security agent.

Up ahead, I could see the highway looming.  Traffic was sparse but there were enough vehicles going past that I figured I could get
someone
to stop for me.  I made a run for it.  As I ran into the headlights of an oncoming truck, I wondered briefly if this was how my life would end: in a bloodied heap on the side of the highway. 

But the truck
I ran out in front of came to a stop several feet away from me, much to my relief.  Maybe, I reasoned, my life would actually end as a result of being picked up by an axe-wielding murderer.  I braced myself as the window rolled down. 

“Ms.
James?” A young-sounding man’s voice asked.  “What are you doing out here?” 

I squinted and then realized I recognized the face that was peering back at me.
“Joey?”  I’d never been so happy to see one of my students in my life.  “My uh…my car broke down a few miles away,” I fibbed.  I detested lying but it was so much easier than telling the truth and opening a complicated can of worms.  “Do you think you could give me a ride back into town?” 

“Sure, hop in.”

As we neared the lights of Burlington, I felt myself relax a little.  Country music played on the radio, low and unobtrusive.  Normally I wasn’t one to favor the nasally twangs and folksy lyrics, but tonight they were, quite literally, music to my ears.  I settled back in the passenger seat and exhaled loudly.  Until that moment I hadn’t realized just how tense I was.

“You weren’t at class,” Joey observed, breaking the silence.  “Is everything okay?”

I froze.  How was I going to explain my absence away?  “There was a…uh, family emergency,” I said, thinking fast.  “It’s all fine now,” I assured him quickly, “But everything happened so fast that I didn’t have a chance to arrange for a substitute teacher for your class.  I’m sorry you all showed up for nothing.”

“It’s okay,” Joey replied, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel in time to the music.  “They sent Mr. Warren in to teach the class instead.” 

Mark!  My blood boiled that once again he’d had an opportunity to outshine me through no fault of my own.  “Oh,” I managed to mutter, hoping my voice didn’t give away my true feelings.  “Well I’m glad everything worked out.”

“I’m not,” Joey laughed.  “No one was exactly thrilled that he was our sub.  He looks cool and seems like he’d be an okay dude, you know?  But he’s actually sort of mean
…and has some weird ideas.  Today he said wage inequality doesn’t exist.  One girl raised her hand and said she knows it does because her parents work at the same office doing the same job but her dad makes more.  Mr. Warren kept picking on her after that until she was almost in tears.”

“That’s horrible,
” I said, immediately thinking of the pay stub of Mark’s that I’d accidentally gotten a look at.  I knew for a fact that wage inequality
did
exist because he was paid more than I was even though we both held the same position.  The injustice of it made me see red.

“Yeah,” Joey agreed.  “I know we’re not always the most attentive class but
everyone really loves you, Ms. James.  You treat us like our opinions matter…like we matter.  You’re the only instructor who meets with us outside of office hours to go over review questions.  I was scared I was going to lose my scholarship this semester because I’m not doing so well in my other classes, but I’ve been doing okay on those practice exams you handed out.  I’m feeling pretty good about writing the Sociology final and it’s all thanks to you.”

“I’
m happy to hear that, Joey.”  Secretly I was swelling with pride.  This right here was exactly why I’d pursued a career in the classroom.  Nothing was quite as gratifying as getting positive feedback from my students…I just hoped this wouldn’t be my last semester at it.

“Ms.
James?  Are you crying?”

Clearing my throat noisily, I shook my head.  “I’m fine, Joey. 
It’s just allergies,” I told him as I wiped the tears off my cheek.  It was all I could do to hold back the ragged sobs that were threatening to burst forth. 

Everything was falling apart.  It was amazing to think that a few short weeks ago, I’d felt like I was on top of the world.  My career was headed in the right direction and a sexy, handsome, charismatic man had wa
lked into my life, breaking all his rules just to be with me.  Though I hadn’t realized it at the time, I’d been the luckiest woman in the world.

And now my job was likely coming to an end and Hayden…oh God, Hayden.  I knew that when I got
to town, I’d spend the night glued to my computer frantically doing research, but not the kind I was used to.  From the moment I’d walked out on him, doubt had been creeping into the corners of my mind.  What if, by some miracle, I’d been mistaken about him?

It was preposterous that I was even considering an alternative to him being delusional.  He was probably just some rich man-child living off his daddy’s bank account who was a bit unbalanced.  But what if he wasn’t?  I’d walked away from him as a self-preservation tactic but now that I couldn’t reach out and touch him I wondered if I’d done the right thing.

I needed to find out everything I could about Hayden Slate.  I needed to try to verify the things he’s told me.  But I was afraid of what I’d find.  Either he was insane or he was in deep, deep trouble – and so was I.  Neither outcome was good.  I just hoped I’d be strong enough to handle whatever information I managed to unearth.

I didn’t go home.  I wasn’t sure it was safe there – not after what had happened.  Truth be told  I wasn’t convinced my office at work was safe either considering I’d been taken from the campus parking lot…but I figured it would be a better option than my house. 
For all I knew Hayden might be sitting on my front step waiting for me.

Thankfully Joey didn’t question me when I asked him to drop me off on campus.  With a grateful wave, I watched as he drove off into the darkness leaving me alone on the college grounds.  At this time of night, it was like a ghost town.

Punching in the security code, I hurried into the empty building that housed the Sociology department.  It was the middle of the night and all the lights were off.  Not wanting to leave any indication I was there, I left them that way, relying only on the moonlight streaming in the windows to guide me.  I rushed down the hall to my office where I shut and locked the door, barricading it with a chair.  Then I switched on my computer.

Two hours later found me a nervous wreck.  I hesitated and then called Mina, dying to hear a familiar voice.  “I’m sorry for calling so early,” I blurted out as soon as she picked up.  “I didn’t want to wake you but I need to talk to someone.”

“Wake me?” she laughed.  “The baby woke me an hour ago, so don’t worry about it.  What’s up with you, Daniella?  You don’t sound so good.”  That was the understatement of the year.  I felt like I was on the verge of hysterics because what I’d discovered was so impossible.  I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

“You wouldn’t believe it if I told you,” I muttered.
  Maybe calling her had been a mistake.  I’d thought it would help to talk things through with someone level-headed…maybe then what I’d learned would sink in.  It felt like I’d tripped and crashed into some alternate universe.

“
Try me.”

Taking a deep, shuddering breath, I let it all come spilling out.  “
That guy I told you about…the one I met after things didn’t work out with Mark?  His name is Hayden.  He’s this amazing, gorgeous, charismatic guy who works for his filthy-rich father buying and selling art.  He told me this crazy story about how he unknowingly bought a stolen painting and ended up on some mystery person’s hit list because of it.”

“Uh, Daniella, I dated a guy
a few years ago who swore the government was reading his emails and had put a tracking device in the sole of his shoes to keep track of his whereabouts,” Mina interrupted.  “Nice guy but in-freaking-
sane
!”

“That’s what I thought at first about Hayden,” I
admitted.  “But I did some research.  His father’s company does exist and the museum that’s being established overseas is legit.  I dug through the online news archives and was able to confirm that a very expensive painting was stolen in Germany.  I think Hayden was telling me the truth.”

“Did things end with him
because you didn’t believe him?”

“Pretty much…”
  That was far from the entire truth but I didn’t feel like getting into it.  It was still too raw.  After replaying that morning at my house over and over in my head I didn’t want to dwell on it any longer.  “There were some…misunderstandings,” I finally confided.  “But it turns out he had a good explanation.  He was just trying to protect me.”

“
So let me get this straight.  You’ve got a sexy, rich guy who wants to bone you
and
wants to take care of you,” Mina summarized succinctly.  “Is that right?”