Chapter 31
Faye
I woke up relaxed and blissfully in love.
It was a feeling I wanted to savor, and I was bummed I’d only get two more days with them before we went our separate ways.
At least they would get to be together. It still wasn’t an ideal setup, since they’d be based on the opposite coast from where I lived, but it was better than what we’d endured for the first half of the season.
For a few seconds, I didn’t move, but then I blinked at the clock on the nightstand and sucked in a sharp breath.
“Oh my god,” I whispered.
Jase groaned. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s almost noon.”
Dylan shifted behind me, his hand sliding over my stomach. “No it isn’t.”
“It is,” I said, twisting enough to look back at him. “We slept half the day away.”
Jase rolled onto his side, his eyes barely open. “That’s what happens when you wear us out, Princess.”
Dylan chuckled and pressed a kiss to my shoulder. “We never even made it downstairs for drinks.”
“You can’t blame all of that on me.” I smiled, remembering how the night before had played out. “But if we don’t get up now, we’re going to miss the spa appointments I booked. We’re supposed to be there in an hour.”
Jase pushed himself up on an elbow. “You booked appointments?”
I nodded. “Yep. For all three of us. You guys are getting massages, facials, and pedicures.”
“Seriously?” Dylan groaned.
“Yep. Don’t worry, you’ll love it.”
Eventually, we rolled out of bed. While I got ready, the guys ordered lunch from the room service menu. It took less than forty-five minutes for us to get dressed, eat, and head downstairs.
As soon as we stepped into the spa, I felt my entire body relax before anyone even touched me. The space was quiet and dim, with soft music in the background.
Jase and Dylan may have been surprised when I told them about the treatments I’d booked for them, but when I met them a couple of hours later, they looked more relaxed than I’d seen them in months.
“You can thank me now,” I teased as I approached.
“How about we thank you with dinner?” Jase suggested.
I shrugged. “That’s a good start.”
We walked back to our suite in a post-spa haze, my body loose and calm.
“So what’s the plan?” Dylan asked as soon as we were back in our room.
“I can make dinner reservations,” Jase offered. “Do we want to try that steakhouse downstairs?”
I nodded. “The menu looked pretty good.”
While Jase handled the planning, Dylan grabbed three bottles of water from the minifridge and handed me one. “You’ll want to drink all of this to flush out the lactic acid and prevent soreness.”
I grinned. “Is that advice from the kinesiology major?”
“Maybe.” He leaned down and gave me a kiss.
Jase hung up the phone and turned to us. “We’ve got reservations at seven.”
I glanced at the time on my phone. “That gives us three hours. Maybe we could go for those drinks beforehand.”
“Wonder what we can do until then.” Dylan waggled his eyebrows.
I laughed and pointed at him. “Don’t you start. You saw what happened last night.”
“None of us were complaining about not going out,” Jase interjected.
I shot him a playful glare. “Yeah, but I’d very much like to make it to dinner tonight. In fact, I’m going to take my time getting ready.”
Dylan nodded. “Okay, what are we going to do?”
I shrugged. “Why don’t you go to the casino and gamble a little? Then you could come up here to pick me up like it’s a real date.”
Jase smiled. “We can do that.”
They both changed into collared shirts and slacks before returning to the living room to say goodbye.
Dylan leaned in and kissed my forehead. “Text us if you need anything.”
“I will.”
Jase followed it with a kiss to my mouth, lingering for just a second. “We won’t be gone long.”
I watched them grab their wallets and keycards, and the door clicked shut behind them.
In the bedroom, I searched the closet for a dress to wear. As someone who was always accused of overpacking for every trip, I had plenty of options.
I settled on a gold sequined minidress with a halter top and matching heels. As I crossed to the dresser to grab my makeup bag, I noticed Dylan had left his phone behind.
I picked it up and hurried out of the room hoping to catch them at the elevator.
The second I opened the door, I froze.
Standing on the other side was Callum Whitmore.
My breath caught.
“What are you doing here?” I gasped.
“Just came to see my favorite person.” He smiled but it came off as menacing rather than friendly.
“Look, I don’t know how you were able to find me, but I’m not really interested in talking or hanging out.” I went to close the door, but he shoved it open and forced his way inside. My shoulder slammed into the wall, knocking the wind out of me.
His hand shot out and wrapped around my wrist. His fingers dug into my skin.
“What the fuck,” I yelled and tried to break out of his hold. “I don’t know why you’re here, but you need to leave.”
He leaned in close, his breath hot on my cheek. “I think you know exactly why I’m here.”
My stomach dropped.
“It wasn’t supposed to happen this way,” he mumbled, and I wasn’t sure whether he was speaking to himself or to me. “I was willing to wait until you figured out we were meant to be together.”
“I told you more than once I wasn’t interested.”
He glared at me. “But you don’t have a problem parading around Vegas with those two baseball players like a slut.”
The word hit me like a slap to the face.
I tried to yank free again, but he shoved me further into the suite.
It was then that I heard someone banging on the door. I opened my mouth to call out, but he wrapped his free arm around me and clamped a hand over it.
“Don’t,” he warned.
I felt his grip loosen for half a second, and I watched him reach down for something. When he lifted his hand again, metal caught the light spilling in through the window.
A knife.
“Callum,” I said as calmly as possible, though my pulse raced. “Don’t do this.”
He shifted so we were face-to-face again. “You were supposed to be with me. I waited,” he spat. “I played nice. And then you—” He jerked his chin toward the bedroom, as if it offended him. “You let them have you. Both of them.”
I swallowed hard and tried to force air into my lungs. If I tried to run past him, I’d likely get hurt, but I knew I had to find a way to escape. Fast.
“You know this won’t end well for you if you hurt me,” I said, hoping he’d realize it would be the worst choice he’d ever make.
He stepped closer, the knife angled down but still close enough to make my heart pound against my chest. “Well, you should have thought about the consequences before acting like a whore. But if that’s how you want to behave, I can certainly indulge you.”
He pushed me onto the bed, and the mattress dipped as he climbed over me.
“Get off!” I yelled.
Panic threatened to swallow me whole, but I refused to let it leave me helpless.
My gaze flicked to the nightstand, and I saw the lamp with a marble base sitting there, just within reach.
Callum loomed over me, the knife still in his hand, his eyes wild and unfocused.
“Things didn’t have to be like this.” He leaned forward, burying his face in my neck. “If only you’d accepted that you are mine.”
My mind screamed at me. If I was going to escape, I had to move now.
With him distracted by his own words, I grabbed the lamp and swung it as hard as I could.
It connected with a sickening crack to the side of his head.
He hit the floor, and the knife skittered from his hand.
For a second, I stared at him, my chest heaving and shocked at what I’d done.
Then survival took over again.
I ran.
My bare feet slapped against the tile as I sprinted through the living room, glancing back to make sure Callum wasn’t following.
I undid the locks with trembling hands, yanked the door open, and collided with another man.