Page 13 of Shattered

“But if you lived here in Seattle, how were you able to watch me and take all of those photographs?”

The next part of my story wasn’t going to go over well.

“I was starting up a new hotel not far from where you lived, so I was able to visit there often enough.But when I wasn’t physically there myself, I hired someone to watch over you.”

“What?You had someoneelsefollowing me?Was it all the time?Did they report my every move back to you?Did you have a good laugh at my expense, knowing I was none the wiser?”I’d thought she’d calm down after telling her the brunt of my tale, but I was wrong.Her spine stiffened and she looked as if she was preparing for battle.

“Sara, no.It wasn’t like that at all.I was trying to keep you safe, especially after everything you went through.”She instantly became uncomfortable, even more than she was previously.

“With my connections, I was able to obtain a copy of the police report.But someone wasn’t doing their job thoroughly, because it was more generic than anything.”She relaxed a little, which made me bristle with awareness.“It listed your name along with his, and his address, the duration of the kidnapping and that you were admitted to the hospital with minimal scrapes and bruises.Then it went on to give the length of his sentence to the institution.”

She calmed down even more.“That’s it?That’s all it said?”

“Yeah.Pretty much.Should it have listed more, Sara?”I knew I shouldn’t push, but I couldn’t help myself.

“No.”

Already knowing she wasn’t going to give me more, she switched it up, throwing me off-guard.

“So, what changed?” she asked, placing her empty glass on the table.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you were in the background for all those years, so why did you decide now to meet me?Was I a game to you?Did you pity me or something?Get close to the poor, unsuspecting girl.Did it become too much trying tokeep me safefrom a distance that you decided it would be easier to try and control my every action up-close and personal?Because it’s exactly what you’ve been trying to do ever since the first day I met you.”

“It was nothing like that, Sara, and I think you know it.”Frustration took over. I stood and started pacing back and forth.I hated the thought she didn’t trust me, thinking I’d only met her to fulfill some sort of sick fantasy or game or whatever the hell was running through her mind.

“Do I, Alek?Do I know?”

“Yes.All I ever wanted to do was keep you safe.I was drawn to you, for reasons I can’t explain.Once I found out you had up and moved—and tomycity, no less—I took it as a sign I should get to know you.So, I came into the shop and the rest is history.”

“But I'd been here for almost a year.Why didn’t you meet me sooner?”Based on our entire conversation, her question was odd.But I wouldn’t hold it against her because I’d asked myself that same question.

“I fought with myself, thinking it wasn’t a good idea to meet you in person.I wanted to keep my distance, thinking it was the safest thing for both of us.But the more time went by and the more I saw you walking down the street, or casually dining in a restaurant, the more my resolve weakened.Until one day… I convinced myself you would be safer with me by your side.Then the more time I spent with you, the more I just had to be with you.Looking back, I’d initially thought it was a mistake I walked into your grandmother’s room, but now I realize it was fate.”

~6~

Sara

I had no idea what I was going to do with all of the information he gave me.I was beyond livid with him, but was it because he kept the secret from me?Or was it because he’d been watching me all those years?I wasn’t quite sure.Maybe it was a mixture of both.

To say I was stunned was an understatement.Of all the scenarios which ran through my mind, that was not one of them.Him walking into my grandmother’s room?By accident?It was all too much to comprehend.

But it was his story.Did I believe him?

Without a doubt.

My privacy had been ripped away, and it didn’t sit well with me.I was trying to see his side of the situation, but it was still a little cloudy.

As I was starting to come around, having a bit of time to process everything, I was pulled back to the other side of the coin, pissed off he’d hid something of such magnitude from me.

My conflicting emotions were driving me insane.

I had to sort through everything to figure out what I wanted to do next.Yeah, good luck to me.

Alek had long since dismissed his driver for the evening.It was his car he drove to drop me off at home, the tension building with each mile.

I wanted to get something off my chest, and it looked like then was as good a time as any.“Alek, I’m still furious with you over the whole stalking thing.”

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