Chapter 42
Paisley
M y head pops up when a loud clang sounds from the parking lot behind my shop. Something thunderous like the bang of metal on pavement, maybe the garbage cans going over. Is Beckett finally back? It feels like it’s been hours since he left me here. I’m going to actually kill him for locking me up in this damn bathroom without my phone.
“Don’t come any closer or I will have to shoot you, sir,” comes the voice of the burly man who’s holding me hostage. A shiver runs down my spine at the realization it’s not Beckett back to let me out.
“You’re going to want to drop that gun. I don’t know what lies Beckett has filled your head with, but I’m still in charge, and you answer to me. Not him,” comes a deep threatening voice.
Oh, fuck, I know that voice. That’s Mr. Prescott. Is that who Beckett was trying to hide me from? He said it was family stuff, that he’s still answering to his father. Is this what he meant? He’s after me? I stand in a rush, ready to fight. I take hold of the closest thing to me, a broom.
“Where’s the girl?” comes another familiar voice, this time it’s a female, Margo. Irritation crawls down my spine. What the fuck are they doing together?
“No idea what you’re talking about, miss. I was sent to guard the flower shop tonight. I know nothing about a girl,” replies the burly man. His voice holds a deathly edge that tells them to back the fuck off.
Then out of nowhere, I make out the sound of my brother and Beckett’s voices. “Where is she?” Parker asks.
“Safe in the bathroom. I didn’t think they would come here looking for me, not this late. That’s why I left her here instead of sending her home to hide out, but I have a man on guard in case,” comes Beckett’s voice. Their voices sound close, a lot closer than the others. Like they’re inside the back room of my shop, and I’m hearing them from the other side of the drywall. I want to scream out for my brother to save me, but even I know that would be a stupid idea right now. I have no idea what Margo and Mr. Prescott are capable of or what they want with me.
“If anything happens to her,” Parker warns.
“It won’t. I would never let anything happen to her. Noah is going around the back as we speak, and Detective McAllister is on his way. We just have to hold them off until he gets here,” Beckett says. “I guess we were lucky you were tailing them.”
Parker was following Margo and Mr. Prescott? I’m so confused. And their voices are muffled because they’re coming through the drywall, but that’s what it sounded like. And Noah. Why is he here? Hasn’t he done enough today, dumping me for that slut?
My skin prickles as the echo of a gun going off sounds. I feel the door of the bathroom move under some weight and the thud of what I can only imagine is the heavy body of my guard colliding with the door. Another shot goes off. I muffle a scream with my hand and get down low in case bullets start coming through the door. Oh my God. I’m going to die locked up in this fucking bathroom.
Before I know what’s happening, the door swings open and light floods the dark space. “You were warned,” he slurs at the poor man on the ground. Sickness fills me when I see blood leaking from him. Then Mr. Prescott’s evil eyes land on me, and his lips turn up at the sides in a wicked smile that has me shuffling back across the tile floor as far as I can go. “Seems your daddy wasn’t so useless after all. He knew where you would be hiding.” Mr. Prescott reaches for me.
I swing the broom toward him, colliding with his chest, and he dodges it, reefing the thing out of my grip. His fingers clamp around my wrist, and he drags me out of the safety of the bathroom. “Not very smart, girly.”
I dig my heels into the tile floor, not making it easy for him to move me. “I’m not going anywhere with you,” I spit back at him, a fresh wave of anger radiating through me. My father has screwed me over again. If I get out of here, I’ll make sure he pays.
“Put the gun down, Margo. What are you doing?” comes Noah’s voice over the chaos. His panicked eyes meet mine, but I drop my head so I don’t have to look at him. Mr. Prescott wraps an arm around me and ruthlessly drags me down the stairs toward Margo. I glance back at the deck and see the poor guy who stood guard on the floor. He’s clutching his chest, blood leaking out over his fingers. Why aren’t Beckett and Parker doing something?
Margo turns her attention to Noah, her gun still pointing in my direction. “Nothing that concerns you, sweetie. Just dealing with a loose end before we go on to win this campaign.”
“I thought we already dealt with Paisley. She’s not part of this anymore, remember? She’s not a threat,” he says cooly, and it’s like little knives are stabbing at what’s left of my heart. But then I remember what Beckett said to me earlier. Noah is trying to protect me.
Margo laughs bitterly. “Do you think I believed your bullshit attempt at breaking it off with her? I’m not stupid, Noah. I could see how much it crushed you to make that call. I know you still love her. Lucky, I had an insurance plan already in place. One daddy Prescott thought was genius. We get married and I take back control over Prescott media. See he and Beckett had a deal, if he couldn’t win this election both he and Hamilton would lose their share of Prescott media. He had thought Beckett would be easy to control, but turns out Beckett’s got his own agenda, that’s when we found you to run against him. Someone a little more pliable, and you have been such a good boy until now.” She pats his chest. “You had to go and let her get in your way.” She shakes her head. “I really didn’t want to do this, Noah, but you gave me no choice. That story has been sent to the paper, and will be held indefinitely. My friends at the paper will run it as soon as I give them the go-ahead. If you’re a good boy and do what we want, I can hold them off. If not, the whole town will know the truth about you and what you did for Paisley. A little insurance to make sure you do as you’re told.” She chuckles darkly, and I want to fly across the parking lot and take care of her myself. She was blackmailing him. That’s what the call was about, her trying to sink her manipulative nails into him.
I glance a look his way; he did this for me. To stop her running some horrible story. This bitch is going to pay. I struggle to pull out of Mr. Prescott’s grip, but it’s futile, his fingers digging into my side like a vice. He’s surprisingly strong for his age. “Stop squirming you little bitch.”
Margo’s attention flits to me. “Imagine the horror of the good town’s people when they read about their football golden boy who killed the man who raped Deception Bay’s homecoming queen. It would be a romantic tale if she were around to read about what you did for her. I’m sure you would be her hero. But sadly, we’re shipping her off to the Rebel Raiders tonight for a nice little reunion with her daddy. They can deal with her until this campaign is over and you’re mayor.”
A cold sweat comes over me, nausea churning through my body, a gasp of shock coming from my lips before I have a chance to stop it. Tears well in my eyes as I search Noah’s face for the truth in all of this. What did he do? His face tells me all I need to know. She’s not full of shit. He killed the man who hurt me. And if she ran the story, he would end up in prison. Everyone in town is going to know my worst secret. He hurt me to protect me. Pain radiates through my chest, and I crumple in Mr. Prescott’s hold on me, all my fight gone. We both know Noah will have to do everything she wants to stop that from happening.
Mr. Prescott lets out a low dark chuckle that vibrates through his body. “It never fails to impress me the power I hold. How a small story can destroy a life so effortlessly. And now you will come with me, and Noah will win the election and take his rightful place in my plans for the future.”
I glare back at him. How can anyone be so awful, so destructive. I thought my father was terrible, but he was dealing with so much worse at the hands of this vile human.
Noah nods, his attention returning to Margo, his expression unreadable. He closes the gap between them.
She lowers her gun, staring back at him like he’s her everything. “You did it, Margo. I’m impressed. You worked out all my secrets, got Paisley out of your way, plotted and planned out how to win this election so you could get Beckett and Hamilton out of the Prescott Media company, all while winning old man Prescott’s hand in marriage. All so you could rule every part of this town. No one will ever assume you’re a dumb blonde again. I take my hat off to you. And so will the rest of this town when they work out you’re in charge.” There is an edge to the way he says the last part, and he looks right toward us. Not me this time but the man holding me hostage.
I feel the anger vibrate through him. “She’s not in charge. I am, and I have been for a long fucking time,” Mr. Prescott sneers back at Noah. I don’t think he likes being told he was manipulated by a girl. But it’s clear from what Noah is implying, that’s exactly what’s happened. He wanted Mr. Prescott to know about it as well.
“Forgive me. Of course you’re the one in charge. Until midnight, anyway.” Noah smirks at him, a psychotic grin that tells me he’s baiting him and throwing Margo under the bus at the same time.
Mr. Prescott squeezes me more aggressively. “What did you do, you greedy little bitch?” His accusation flies at her with bitterness so cold it chills me to the bone. I don’t know what he’s capable of, but I know I wouldn’t want to be her. I feel his weight shift, his free hand moving around under his jacket.
Margo’s eyes go wide, filling with fear as she searches his face. “I didn’t do anything. I don’t know what he’s talking about,” she cries, panicked, her eyes flitting between Noah and the old man.
“She made it easy for me to get everything I wanted.” Beckett steps onto the balcony finally, gun in hand, and I wonder what the hell he was waiting for. “Noah stepped down. He’s no longer in the running for this campaign, and looks like Mayor Michaels has decided to end his term a little earlier than expected. Tomorrow, I will be announced as the new mayor of this town, as there is no one else to contest me,” he announces proudly.
“What? That’s not possible. Noah, tell me you didn’t,” Margo cries dramatically.
Noah’s lips twitch into a smile, and he nods toward Beckett. Confusion fills me. What am I missing? Did they somehow become friends while I was locked away. “Turns out the Prescott boys have more pull than you do, sweetheart.”
“You useless little bitch.” I feel old man Prescott’s arm tense as he fires his gun at Margo.
She screams as the bullet hits her, sending her flying backward onto the gravel parking lot. She was just as quick firing her gun as soon as his went off, right at him. Noah tackles me to the ground at the same time, shoving me out of the way, and the old man falls down beside us dead, blood leaking from his forehead. She shot him right in the face.
The sound of sirens fills the space and drowns out their voices and the chaos around us. I break into a cold sweat, my body feeling weak.
Beckett comes toward us quickly, searching my face to make sure I’m not hurt.
As Noah tugs me into his warm embrace, cradling me, he tries to shield me from the bloodshed surrounding us. Tears blur my eyes, and I let him hold me as my body trembles all over.
“Take her through the shop. I’ll deal with this mess with the cops,” Beckett yells over his shoulder. I glance toward him just in time to see him tucking his gun into the back of his suit pants like it’s always been there. He runs toward Margo. She’s hurt but still alive, groaning in pain as she rolls round on the ground.
“You’re going to pay for this Noah, every last fucker in this town will know the truth about what you did,” Margo cries.
My skin goes all prickly, but Noah doesn’t give her the time of day. His attention is fully focused on me, his eyes searching mine for forgiveness.
“Margo,” Beckett spits, standing over her. “You're in no position to make threats. It's a damn shame – your computer, along with all that delicious evidence on Noah, is toast. While you were busy tonight, I made sure of it.”
She screeches at him as Noah scoops me up, holding me in his arms. As we take the steps back up to the shop, the police cars pull into the parking lot, gravel flying up in all directions.
When we arrive inside the shop, Parker is assisting the guard who was shot, and Noah lets me down to the ground to help him. The man is pale and moaning in pain. They help him up to standing and almost carry him out the front of the shop to the van Beckett rented for me today. I flick the fob to open it, and they get him through to the back, laying him down. He’s still alive, but it’s obvious he’s not in a good way.
“He needs medical attention,” I gasp. His chest has been wrapped in some sort of fabric as a compression bandage, and I realize why it took Beckett so long to make an appearance. While his father and Margo were distracted with us, he must have been helping his guard to safety.
The man scowls at me over his shoulder. “No, take me back to the club, they’ll sort me out,” he growls in a voice that I wouldn’t mess with.
“That’s what Beckett said as well. They have someone who can take care of him,” Parker tells me.
Hamilton appears from nowhere. “I’ll drive him,” he says, swiping the key from me.
Noah pulls me into his car with him, and Parker tails along behind us. I glance back at the front of my shop. Nothing could have prepared me for this kind of first day. I have no words for what I witnessed tonight. None. All I know is I’m alive and so are all the people I care about.
I glance at Noah driving back up Main Street toward our houses like a madman. My heart is still racing out of control in my chest.
“It’s okay, baby, you’re okay,” he tells me.
But all I can do is stare back at him blankly.
He tears into his driveway, and Parker pulls in behind us. “Paisley.” He takes my hand, drawing me out of my trance. “You’re alright, okay?” His warm eyes meet with mine. “You’re safe.”
I blink back at him. “What the hell was that?” I whisper.
Pain etches his face. “Everything I did today, I did it for you. I didn’t want that story to get out.”
“Y… you gave up your chance of being mayor to Beckett?” I mutter, finding it hard to form a proper sentence.
His hand trails up my arm, then strokes along the side of my face. “You were right about Beckett. When Margo turned on me and started throwing threats around, it was him and his brother who helped us. I don’t know what kind of a mayor he will be, but it was a chance I had to take so I can keep you safe and you can have the life you deserve.”
Pain radiates through my chest. I know how important that role was to him. “You gave up your dream for me?” Tears escape down my cheeks, and he wipes them away.
“No, I gave it up for us. I was fighting to avenge my father. To save this town from the evil lurking around every corner. But what is revenge if I have nothing at the end to live for? You’re the only thing I care about, Paisley. I just want to make you happy and give you everything you deserve. Beckett and Hamilton assure me this town will be in good hands, and maybe you were right about them after all.”
“Does that mean I’m going to be your next project?” I smile through my tears, trying to laugh.
He takes my face in his hands, looking right into my eyes, into my soul. I have always felt this crazy connection with him, but after tonight, there is no doubt in my mind what this is between us. “For life. I love you, Paisley.”
“I love you too.” He pulls me toward him, our lips meeting in a passionate kiss. He sacrificed his dreams for me. “I would happily be your project for life,” I whisper into his lips.
Emerson and Mae come running toward Noah’s car. Mae sprints toward Parker, and Emerson pulls open my car door in a rush. “What happened to you three? Hamilton said there was a shootout behind your flower shop.” She pulls me out of the car, searching for signs of damage before pulling me into an embrace. “Whose blood is all over you?”
I glance down at my clothes, seeing the splattering of blood on my shirt. It turns my stomach. “The Prescott boys’ dad’s. I’m pretty sure he’s dead.”
Her face pales. “Does Hamilton know?”
“I’m not sure, Em, why are you so worried about Hamilton?”
“I’m not, I just… What the hell happened tonight?” she snaps, changing the subject, but it’s too late, we all saw the look of panic in her eyes. But tonight, I’ll let her get away with it. I don’t have the energy to meddle in her business or even my brother’s and Mae’s, even though it’s damn obvious she ran to him like she was scared he was the one who got shot.
Mae’s guilty eyes meet mine from across the driveway, and she moves toward me, pulling me into a tight embrace. “Thank God you’re okay.”