Fuckin’ douchebag.
The Forsythes are from old money and an old (very conservative) Republican background. Allison and her whole stuck up family are a Republican’s wet dream. Me? Not even close. Allison wasn’t too hung up on my disappearance into reclusiveness, though. She put up a good front all these years looking like Daddy’s sweet and innocent darling, but she was a viper at heart. I was bred to do well and she was bred to marry well and provide two-point-five offspring to the sucker who said “I do.” There was no way in hell that I was going to marry that snob. She acted all prude, but that was all for show. I knew she’d been fucking their pool boy since she was seventeen. I didn’t give a shit though. I was just glad that I managed to skate that disaster.
***
I stop my stewing about the past to check the time. Sadie said she’d be here at noon. It’s ten after the hour and my paranoia seems to be getting the best of me. I slip on my flip flops and grab my keys.
Chapter Fourteen
So Scared
Sadie
“What did you say your name was again?” the handsome black man with short dreadlocks asks, flashing his charismatic smile again.
“Um. I didn’t. Sadie Parker,” I say, looking down as he holds out his hand expectantly.
“James Lancaster. Nice to meet you. Well, thanks again for your help.”
We shake hands and I realize that I don’t have a number to call if I do see which direction his dog went.
“No problem. Um, is there a number I should call or something if I see him?”
“Oh, oh yes,” he says, pulling a receipt from his pants pocket and the pen from his breast pocket. He scribbles the number down and hands it to me, brandishing yet another bright smile. “See ya, Sadie Parker,” he says with a wink and the way he says it has my nerves tingling with worry. James gets back in the car that he came into the parking lot with and turns back onto the main road.
He seems as harmless as they come, but something just strikes me as suspicious about James Lancaster. The creaking of brakes draws my attention from the receipt in my hand and I look up to see Zander in his red Jeep, looking concerned. He switches off the engine and hurries right to me.
“You’re late. I was worried,” he explains himself somewhat apologetically and I smile to get him to shut his lush mouth. “What?”
“It’s nothing. I wasn’t going to ditch you or anything. Some guy lost his dog. He was asking if I’d seen a black lab around here.” I shrug and hand him the receipt. He looks at it speculatively, turning it over twice.
“Black lab, huh?” Zander mutters then looks up to me with a fierce look in his eyes.
“What?”
“What did he look like?”
“What? He was, um, a black guy maybe an inch or two shorter than you, short dreads, great smile. Really nice. Too nice…” I trail off, furrowing my brows, knowing better than anyone that that man was too—too something. He was chipper, like he was in a good mood. Like he had found something he was looking for when he actually had just lost his beloved dog.
“Key,” Zander grumbles with a tensed jaw, holding out his hand, palm up.
“Excuse me?” My eyebrows rocket up my forehead.
“Your room key,” he demands with a pensive glimmer flashing in his eyes, causing every nerve ending in my body to spark to life, going on high alert.
I shove my hand into my bag to fish out the key. “Zander, you’re scaring me! What’s going on? Who was that guy?”
Zander snags the key from my hand and marches back to my room. He unlocks the door and barges right in. I rush after him, feeling scared and confused. I don’t want to be a victim. Never again. I sidle up next to him, subconsciously seeking a little comfort—safety. I feel safe with Zander.
He groans and closes his eyes, rubbing the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger. “I’ll explain when we get back to my place, but you need to pack up your stuff. I’ll call Miss Dawn and take care of your bill here. You’re staying with me.”
“The hell I am!” I snap back.
“Sadie, please just trust me,” he grates, displaying a fierceness that I had yet to see from him.
I recoil at the sight of it and widen my eyes. Something in his expression tells me that he’s dead serious and isn’t going to budge, but I need answers if he expects me to just traipse over to his place like an obedient little puppy. Staying at Zander’s house has its dangers too, it’s just a different kind of dangerous.
“If I’m not safe here for whatever reason, you tell me now,” I hiss through gritted teeth.