Chapter 4
1068 Words
When I came out of the diner again, Alex was still standing on the curb, leaning against a streetlight. He straightened as I walked out, my arms laden with a brown box full of my things.
Even the mere sight of him stirred unnameable emotions deep within me.
"Maisie—" He called out, but I didn't wait to hear his next words. I turned towards the street and walked down the curbside, eyes open for a taxi. The pain of Sophie's newfound hatred in me was still burning mercilessly in my heart.
Alex walked closely behind me like an annoying shadow. Finally I let out a sigh of frustration and turned to him. "Alex, will you please turn back? I don't want you to follow me!"
"No!" He growled loudly, earning a few stares from passersby. He grabbed my arm before I could walk any further, his fingers digging into my flesh like painful, iron claws.
"We shouldn't be together!" I snapped, trying to free myself from his grip, but he was resolute. "Our mating alone has done so much damage already."
"Oh, to hell with Sophie and whatever she thinks!" Alex snarled. Suddenly he pulled me closer, and I hit his chest with a startled gasp. The only thing standing between us was the cardboard box in my arms.
His eyes grew darker as they locked with mine. I could see possessiveness in those twin pools of brown—possesiveness and a fierce love that left me speechless.
The big city noise around me faded away as I slowly drowned in the intensity of his gaze. His lips parted slowly as he spoke. "You're my mate, Maisie. And no one else will come between us. Not Sophie, nor any other person."
I opened my mouth to stutter a reply, but as I did, a loud, jarring ring interrupted me. I almost jumped out of my shoes as I stumbled backwards, disoriented. Finally I traced the source of the ringing to my handbag.
"I... sorry," I muttered a reply to Alex. Hastily I pushed the cardboard box into his hands, then reached for my handbag and pulled out my cellphone.
I picked the call, then pressed the phone to my ear. "Hello?"
"Maisie?" A tiny, female voice called out in terror. "Maisie!"
"Yes?" I asked. The sheer panic behind the voice made my mouth turn ashy with fear. "Yes? Who is this?"
"It's Lauren!" The voice called out. I cast my mind back, trying to recollect the name. It took me a moment to realise that it was the teenage girl babysitting my children.
"Lauren, what's wrong?" I asked. "Where are the triplets?"
"They...Maisie, I'm so sorry!" I heard a loud grunt, as though she was in pain. "Maisie, they came—"
"Who came?" I yelled into the phone. "Who f*****g came?!"
"Some men....and a woman—I don't know, Maisie!" The girl wailed. "Please, come!"
"I'm on my way home, Lauren. Stay where you are!" I ordered, then cut the call.
The babysitter sounded like she was in a lot of pain, and she hadn't said anything about my children.
Goddess, what had happened?
"Maisie, what's happening?" Alex asked me, but I ignored him. Heart racing with fear, I stumbled towards the street and waved my hands for a taxi frantically.
"Hey!" Alex reached for me and pulled me back to the curb. Swiftly he grabbed my hand and led me down the street. "I have a car. We can get to your apartment faster than a taxi." He murmured to me.
He led me back to the diner, where his car was parked. Swiftly, Alex opened the door and helped me into the passenger seat, then slipped behind the wheel.
"Oh, God." I whispered, agitated, as he started the ignition. "Oh, God no!"
Alex pulled out of the parking lot of the diner and joined the traffic going uptown. I quickly gave him the direction to my apartment as we tore through the streets at an insane speed.
"Stop!" I screamed as we reached my apartment. Alex stopped the car with a loud screech and I jumped out before he could park properly. I dashed into the apartment building and raced up the stairs, my heart thudding heavily in my throat.
Alex was right behind me, silently following. Finally we got to my apartment door. I slipped the keys into the doorknob with trembling fingers, praying and hoping that my kids were fine. Lauren's voice on the phone however, had been full of pain and terror.
God, please. My heart couldn't survive two heartbreaks in one day.
Finally I opened the door and pushed inside, eyes darting this way and that. The sight that met my eyes was utterly devastating.
"What the f**k happened?" Alex asked in a whisper.
My leather couch lay on its back, upturned. Several books had been pushed from my bookshelves overhead, and now littered the ground like useless trinkets. The ground itself, which was covered with a beige rug, had been soiled by several muddy footprints.
The house was in disarray—but where were my kids?
"Lauren?" I called out for the babysitter, moving towards my bedroom slowly. "Lauren, where are you?"
Finally I heard a loud groan that pulled my attention. I halted in my steps, then turned to Alex and whispered. "Did you hear that?"
Alex nodded almost imperceptibly. I saw a flash of gold in his eyes as he crouched, then let out a snarl of warning that echoed through the house, warding off any enemy.
Another groan followed the first one, and slowly I traced it to the kitchen. I stopped short at the door, then saw a pair of feet sticking out from behind the kitchen island.
"Lauren?" I called out, and the feet twitched at the sound of my voice.
"M....Maisie?" Came a slurred teenage voice. I breathed a sigh of relief and rushed to the girl, Alex closely behind me.
I skidded to a stop beside the girl, then went to my knees. The babysitter was bleeding from her head, and a cellphone was in her in her hands, but her eyes were open, thank God!
"Lauren, what happened?" I sobbed as fear spread in my chest. "Where the f**k are my children?"
"Some men came, Maisie!" Lauren wailed, tears dripping from her
eyes. "And they took your kids with them."
- Writer
