Surprise Delivery (Page 43)

But tonight, he looks like he hasn’t showered in days, his hair is wild and greasy, and he’s got at least three days’ worth of growth on his face. He almost looks like he’s been living on the streets. It only adds to that half-psychotic energy about him and deepens my fear even further.

“You do need my protection,” he insists.

“From what?” I ask.

“From guys like him.”

“Guys like him? You mean, guys like Duncan?”

He nods and scratches at the stubble on his face. “Exactly,” he says. “Guys like that only want one thing from you, Lexi. They’ll use you, drop you when they get it, and hurt you badly in the process. You need to be kept safe from that. You deserve better.”

“And by better, I assume you’re talking about yourself,” I say.

“Obviously,” he tells me. “I’m devoted to you, Lexi. My heart belongs to you. You are the only woman I’ve ever wanted. That’s something guys like that asshole don’t understand – love and loyalty. You’ve been my entire world since I met you. Duncan may be able to give you all kinds of fancy, expensive baubles, but they can’t give you what matters the most – true love and devotion.”

Hearing him speak sends tendrils of ice crawling across my skin. He speaks with the fervor of a tent revivalist, that crazed light in his eyes punctuating his every word. He honestly believes every single word falling out of his mouth right now.

I know that I need to tread lightly, with him in a state like this. I can’t afford to upset him because I have no idea what he’s going to do, nor what he’s capable of. If I want to get out of this and keep Aurora safe, I’m going to have to make sure I stay totally neutral. Keep my words even and measured and do nothing to set him off.

That’s going to be tough because my natural instinct is to put him in his place. But I’ll have to bury my natural instinct to ensure the safety of myself and my baby girl.

“What do you want, Brad?” I ask again.

“I want you, Lexi.”

“You know that’s not going to happen.”

“But why not?”

“Because you and I aren’t good together,” I say. “We never have been.”

“We were great together back in college.”

I shake my head. “We really weren’t,” I explain. “I know you wanted to believe that, but that wasn’t the truth of things. And I think somewhere deep down inside of you, if you’re really honest with yourself, you’ll see that.”

He shakes his head this time, his face turning a dark shade of purple. “That’s not true. That’s a lie, Lexi, and you know it.”

Not wanting to enrage him while at the same time trying not to feed his delusions is a fine line to walk. I feel like I’m treading on a razor’s edge right now. One slip up is going to lead to some very bad things. But I know I can’t tell him anything other than the truth.

“What was he doing here?” he asks again.

“He came over to see me,” I sigh. “We had to talk about a few things.”

“Did you fuck him?” Brad presses, leaning forward.

“That’s none of your business,” I snap. “You have no right to barge into my home and start interrogating me about my personal life.”

“I’ll take that as a yes, you fucked him,” he says, an expression of betrayal on his face. “How could you do that, Lexi? How could you fuck that piece of shit when you know that I love you?”

I let out a silent breath and steel myself. “Because I don’t love you, Brad,” I explain. “Not like that. I never have, and I never will. I’ve been more than clear about that. Many times.”

He jumps to his feet and starts pacing the room again, seemingly even more agitated than before. He looks at me, then stops and looks over at my bedroom door as if he’s having a thought, which sends a spike of terror through me. Finally, he starts pacing again, looking at the floor beneath his feet.

“You betrayed me, Lexi,” he mutters.

“I didn’t, Brad,” I say. “I gave you nothing but respect by being honest with you from the start.”

He shakes his head. “No, you were supposed to love me.”

“I told you all I wanted was a friend,” I remind him. “If you tried to turn that into something else, that’s on you, Brad. That’s not my fault.”

“Marry me, Lexi,” he says. “Be my wife now and forever. I love you with all of my heart and want to spend my life with you. Please. Marry me.”

I shake my head. “That’s never going to happen, Brad. I’m sorry, but I won’t marry you. Ever.”

He grips his hair with both hands and starts pulling on it, his eyes squeezed shut, and a look of absolute rage on his face. I know his rage isn’t directed at me. It’s directed elsewhere – probably at Duncan. He paces the room, muttering to himself, but his voice is so low, I can’t make out his words.

Finally, Brad seems to calm himself enough to turn and face me again. His face is completely blank, his expression the epitome of neutral. There’s a coldness about him that I’ve never felt before. It’s almost as if something inside of him switched off his personality button, leaving nothing but a cool, emotionless automaton behind.

“You and I are meant to be together, Lexi,” he finally says. “In time you’ll see that.”

“We weren’t, Brad,” I tell him. “That’s what I’ve tried to tell you from the start. You and are not meant to be together. We could have had a great friendship but –”

“I know you can’t see it right now. I know you’re so caught up in Duncan that you’re not seeing anything very clearly right now,” he interrupts me. “But you’ll see. I’m going to make sure you see and understand the truth of things – that I’m yours and you are mine.”

“What are you going to do, Brad?”

He shakes his head. “I’m simply going to prove to you that I’m the only one for you. The only one you can rely on to always be there.”

“Please, Brad,” I say. “Don’t do something stupid. Don’t hurt other people and don’t let others hurt you.”

He looks at me with eyes that are filled with the rawest sense of grief I’ve ever seen in a person before. And even though I’m furious, even though I know he deserves it, it still pulls at my heartstrings. Even though I’ve done nothing to feel guilty about, and didn’t lead him on in any way, to see that much hurt and pain reflected in somebody’s eyes – because of me – feels like a stab of guilt straight through the heart.

“You’re going to see, Lexi,” he whispers. “You and I are going to be together.”

“Brad, please –”

He doesn’t give me a chance to respond. Instead, he turns and walks swiftly to the front door, slamming it so hard behind him on his way out, it rattles the pictures hanging on the wall. I rush to the door behind him and throw all the locks, making sure to seal him out of my place.

I turn and lean against the door, sliding down until I’m sitting on the floor with my knees drawn up to my chest. I wrap my arms around my knees and start to cry. Aurora and I are safe for now, but I know that Brad is going to do something stupid – and I might not be able to keep it from happening.

I scrub away the tears rolling down my face, irritated with myself for giving in to them in the first place. This has been one hell of a night. I never expected I’d be going from the high of having sex with Duncan, to the low of dealing with a psychotic man who thinks I owe him my love.

I’m terrified and uncertain about what comes next but determined to get through it all. Right now, the only thing that matters is that Aurora is safe. And I aim to keep her that way.

Twenty-Five

Duncan

It’s been about three weeks since the scene with Brad outside Alexis’ place. Thankfully, we’ve seen neither hide nor hair of him. He’s even stopped calling her a hundred times a day. She says that she still gets a text message from him now and then, but she thinks he finally gets it and is letting go of her.

I wish I could be that optimistic about it, but I know something is coming. I can feel it. Call me paranoid, but even though he’s not blowing up her phone all day, every day, I can still feel him out there. Watching. Waiting. Guys like Brad, who think they’re entitled to something, won’t stop until they either get it – or are stopped from getting it. Permanently.

No, I don’t believe we’ve heard the last of Brad. I don’t believe this is over yet. Far from it, in fact.

But until he rears his ugly head again, I’m just enjoying my time with Alexis. We’ve spent practically every possible moment together. I’ve even spent some time helping her down at the soup kitchen and homeless shelter she volunteers at. That she gives so freely of herself and her time and has such strong connections with some of the people who come in looking for a hot meal or a warm bed is actually touching. Inspiring. She even convinced me to make a large donation to the shelter, to help them stay open, providing vital services to the needy for years to come. It all only reinforces my belief that she would make a great nurse. Unlike some in the field, she genuinely seems to care.

I’ve enjoyed every single minute we’ve spent together. When I’m not on duty at the hospital, I’m with her and Aurora. I’m still a little sketchy around babies, but I really feel like this little girl and I are bonding. There’s just something about her that resonates with me – something I can’t explain.