Xavier (Men of Forbidden Temptation Book 5)

Chapter 3

I glancearound the tiny doctor’s office as I wait for the nurse to come back.

I’m nervous. Like really nervous.

My palms are sweaty, my heart is racing, and all I can do is fixate on the what ifs.

What if Austin gave me something?

What if word gets out that I have an STD?

What will my parents think?

The thin sanitary health paper sticks to the back of my legs. It’s hot in this tiny room. Really hot, like one hundred degrees hot.

The door opens and the older nurse comes in holding a small plastic cup.

“Alright, honey, give me a urine sample, and put the cup in the metal bin, and then I’ll take your blood so we can run all the tests.”

“Thank you.” I take the cup from her and walk down the hallway to the bathroom that shares a wall with the lab.

I’ve been coming here almost my entire life, but that doesn’t make the awkwardness of handing over a jar of my pee go away.

After I am finished, I screw the lid back on the plastic cup and put it in the metal cabinet.

I stare at my reflection in the mirror as I wash my hands. My face is flushed with embarrassment, and my eyes are wide with fear.

Blowing out a deep breath, I close my eyes and concentrate on my breathing.

In and out. In through my nose and out of my mouth.

I can’t let everyone know how scared I am.

When my emotions are stable, I walk back to my room and sit in the chair where the blood retrieval cart is.

A gentle knock sounds on the door before the nurse walks back in. “Alright, I’ll just get a blood sample and then you can be on your way.”

Leaning my head back against the wall, I close my eyes and concentrate on breathing.

I hate giving blood. I hate the pinching feeling. I hate the tourniquet they have to put on my arm. And most of all, I hate seeing the blood fill up the vials.

My stomach jolts in protest.

I can’t think about this right now.

I search my brain for something, anything, to think about other than what is happening to my arm.

The stranger.

My heart leaps in my chest as I picture his dark stare and the way his clothes clung to his body.

A few times last night when I couldn’t sleep, I even swore I could smell his bourbon and pine cologne.

The nurse’s voice breaks through my memories. “Alright, you’re going to feel a prick.”

A few seconds later, the junction of my elbow stings as the needle pierces my skin.

In and out. In and out.

The nurse finishes in record speed and jams a cotton ball against the pinhole before wrapping sports tape around my arm.

“Are you feeling alright, dear? You look like you’re going to pass out.”

I crack open my eyes and instantly regret it. The room spins as my stomach does somersaults. “I feel lightheaded, and the room is spinning.”

She rushes away and returns a few moments later with a small bottle of orange juice. “Drink this. It will help.”

I take the bottle from her and say, “Thank you.”

She puts up everything and throws the trash away. “I’m going to bring this to the lab. I’ll be right back to check on you.”

My thoughts turn to Austin and our relationship.

It started out so well. We saw each other every day. We ate lunch and dinner together or with our families. And we had several date nights a week.

I felt good about us. We were young, in love, and happy, but that changed once I started working for the police department.

I wasn’t always available for his every whim. He grew impatient, and sometimes even irate. I guess that’s when he started seeing Candace.

I was a fool to think we were getting back on track.

The nurse comes back in. Her gaze lingers on my face for a few extra moments. “How are you feeling?”

I offer her a small smile. “Better. Thank you for the juice.”

“That’s what we are here for. How are you doing with the breakup?”

Unfortunately, this is one huge drawback of living in a small town. Everyone knows everyone’s business. And a breakup between the mayor’s daughter and her longtime boyfriend is the juiciest gossip around.

Especially when everyone thought wedding bells were in the future.

“I’m trying to heal and move on. This is just one thing I needed to do first.” And she’s the only one that knows exactly why I’m here.

She pats my legs in a motherly manner. “You’ll find someone when you least expect it.”

My smile grows. “That’s what Mom said yesterday.”

“That’s because it’s the truth. True love isn’t what all fairytales make it out to be. Sure, some people find love on the first or second try, but there are still bumps in the road.”

I take the last few sips of my juice as she continues.

“Even Cinderella had to fight for the love of her life. It won’t be easy, as true love rarely is, but you’ll find someone you can’t live without, and then you’ll just know.”

“Thank you. Hopefully, it won’t be as dramatic as Mom depicted yesterday.”

She chuckles. “Pie will help. It always helps. If it doesn’t, then you aren’t eating enough of it.”

I laugh as I stand and throw the juice bottle in the trash can.

She walks with me out to the lobby. “I’ll call you when we have the results in a few days.”

“Thank you. For everything.”

She gives me a nod before turning around and heading back around the counter.

I leave the health department more confident than I was last night. Maybe I am being overly cautious. Maybe Austin and I can go our separate ways with no problems.

Unfortunately, Candace’s mom still works for my dad, so I’ll still have to see her and talk to her at town events, but maybe I’ll get lucky and I won’t have to see the two of them together.

I drive around town aimlessly, not knowing where to go.

It’s rare to be off work on a Monday, but I needed today as a mental health day. Not to mention the doctor’s visit.

Of course, everyone at the station heard about the breakup, so they were understanding.

They are probably gossiping about me right now, and God knows what the rumor mill is stirring up.

I’ve been on the other end of this sort of situation plenty of times before, and the gossipers always do more harm than good.

But I’m going to be strong and ignore all of that. For today, at least.

A carn horn honks behind me. Looking in my rear-view mirror, my eyes widen as a black SUV with blacked out tint scoots closer to my back bumper.

I’ve seen plenty of television shows, and real life police paperwork to know this isn’t good.

Someone is following me, but the real question is why?

It doesn’t make sense that this would be about Austin. We just broke up last night.

Could this be related to work? I haven’t had to do much in this small town, so it’s highly unlikely that it’s related to work.

Could this be someone from my past? That’s more likely because of the severity of the crimes they committed.

I slow down, waiting to see if they will pass me, but they slow down as well.

I press my foot down on the gas pedal and put some distance between me and the car behind me.

They speed up, closing the gap.

I get in the left lane. They get in the left lane.

Thankfully, it’s the middle of the day and most everyone is at work, so the streets are empty.

The last thing I ever thought would happen today is being involved in a car chase.

Grabbing my phone out of my purse, I call the police station.

The all too familiar, deep, gruff voice of my favorite officer answers. “Scarlett Island police department. How can I help you?”

“Hey, Lieutenant. It’s Brianna. I have a little situation happening.” I push down on the pedal until I am driving ten miles per hour over the speed limit.

“Oh, yeah, I heard about the breakup.”

I cut him off. “Not to be rude, but this isn’t about the breakup. I’m being tailed by someone. They are driving a black Ford Explorer with blacked out tint. License plate number is-”

I look into the rear-view mirror and read off the tag number backwards. “Charles, David, Henry, four, six, eight, two.”

CDH-4682. I repeat the license plate number in my head several times, committing it to memory.

Lieutenant scrambles on the other end of the phone, repeating the tag number before asking, “Where are you located now? I’ll send a couple of cars out to your location.”

“Driving west on Fifth Street.” I glance at the street sign as I drive through an intersection. “I just passed Seabreeze Avenue.”

“Take a right turn on Main Street, then three left turns until you are heading east on Fifth Street. I’ll have some officers meet up with you by the time you pass Seabreeze on the return.”

I do exactly as the Lieutenant says. I turn right on Main Street, watching as the car behind me also turns right.

The roar of his engine drags my attention off the road a second before his bumper hits mine, jerking my car into the next lane.

Gripping the steering wheel tighter, I swerve out of the wrong lane and keep my car straight. “He just struck me on my passenger side.”

“Fuck.” Lieutenant barks orders to someone a second before I hear a chair scraping across the floor.

I drive for a quarter of a mile before taking three lefts until I am back on Fifth Street.

“Okay, I’m back on Fifth and approaching Seabreeze.”

“Honk twice and gun it through the intersection. The officers will handle it from there.”

Not thinking about how dangerous this is, I press down on the center of my steering wheel and honk my horn twice before pressing all the way down on the gas pedal.

I drive through the intersection just as several police officers cut off the black SUV.

Their lights and sirens flash a second before a loud crunch fills the air.

“Are you alright, Brianna?” Lieutenant’s worried voice sounds from the phone.

I slow down and head toward the police station.

“Yeah, I think. What the fuck is going on?”

He sighs. “I wish I knew, but I’ll look into it.”

“Can you not tell my father about this?”

“Are you serious? He should know about this, especially because you are his daughter.”

I wince at his loud tone. “I know that, but I want to be the one to tell him, and preferable in person. Besides, this isn’t the first weird thing to happen to me in the past twenty-four hours.”

“I don’t think a break up is on the same level as this.”

I mentally roll my eyes. “I wasn’t talking about the breakup. My God, is that all anyone cares about? Someone almost kidnapped me last night after leaving the bonfire.”

“WHAT?” He yells into the phone.

“Don’t worry. Andy saved me last night from the attacker, but he got away before Andy could find out who it was.”

“You need to get home now. I’ll call your father and tell him he needs to be home before the storm hits.”

“He doesn’t need to worry about me on top of the storm.”

“The hell he does. You aren’t safe. That’s clear as day. Get home.” He hangs up the call.

I park on Main Street near the town square. I can’t head home right now. I need to clear my head and process everything first.

How else am I supposed to relay it all to Dad if I can’t think straight?

Austin and Candace walk past my car holding hands, but luckily neither of them notices me.

Pain sears my heart.

How could he do this to me?

How could my life be turned upside down in less than twenty-four hours?

Tears prickle my eyes before sliding down my cheeks.

I just want this pain to go away.

Pie.

My stomach rumbles from hunger.

Pie fixes everything, even broken hearts. At least that’s the southern way.

I grab my phone and call Uncle Zach. He answers after the second ring. “Hey, Bri. What’s going on?”

I jump right into my reason for calling. “Austin and I broke up. Can I get some pie from the restaurant?”

“Of course. Do you want some company?”

“I don’t think so. Not yet, at least. I need to process and eat my feelings.”

“Have at it. What’s mine is yours. Call if you need anything. I have a new shovel that needs breaking in.”

“Thanks, Uncle Zach.” I laugh at his joke and turn my phone on silent before driving the few short blocks to the beach.

He’s always been protective of me, but it could be because he only has boys, and I’m the only girl in the family.

I park in the parking lot just as the first drops of rain fall to the ground. Of course, the storm is coming sooner than expected.

I jog to the front door and use my key to get inside. After making sure the door is closed and locked, I head to the kitchen.

The restaurant is clean, tidy, and all boarded up for the hurricane, but sitting on the counter is a half of a peach pie.

I grab a paper plate, plastic fork, and a slice of pie, leaving the pie tin on the counter in case I need or want another slice.

Hell, it might take the entire half of the pie to make me feel better.

I dig my fork into the pie and shove a huge bite into my mouth. The sweet flavor bursts on my tongue.

I’m not sure if he bakes these pies himself, but if he does, it’s a miracle he isn’t still married.

As if a good pie can keep a relationship going. I chuckle. Maybe that was my problem.

Less time in the kitchen and more time at work.

The front door rattles, and not from the impending storm. Someone is trying to get in.

Did they see my car and assume the restaurant is open?

Or worse, are they looking for me?

I shut off the lights in the kitchen and hide my plate of pie in the corner under another plate.

Before I can look for a hiding spot, the front door shatters open.