Reveal (Love & Beyond #2) Read online

  “You both looked so happy, last time I seen you both.”

  “We’re good actors.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that, do you want to stay and get something to eat with me?”

  “Yeah sure, we can have a catch up; it’s not every day I get to catch up with an old flame.”

  “Funny, we were only young, so I wouldn’t call it that.”

  “We were teenagers, love! So we weren’t that young, old enough to have sex.” He smirks,

  “True, you were my first love, and then you decided to dump me out of the blue. You broke my heart, you ass.” I laugh,

  “There is an explanation for that, I didn’t want too.”

  “Well enlightening me, I think I’m old enough now.”

  “Your brother would kill me for telling you this, you know back then, how we all were, me and your brother were the worst. He was my boy, like you and Carl. I didn’t expect to fall for his little sister. But It happened you and I, and we had to sneak around from your brother for ages, he caught us making out one day, so later on in the day he pulled me aside and jawed me, bloody throbbed. He told me to break it off with you or I’d have him as an enemy and not a mate. He was my boy, so out of loyalty I broke it off, I should have known better then hook up with my best mates’ sister, I broke the bro code. Plus, you know what your brother is like; I’d rather have him by my side then against me, that one was crazy.”

  “I could kill him; I can’t believe he made you do that. He is such a prick sometimes. I’m going to kill him. You kind of vanished after a while. I mean, after we broke up.”

  “Yeah, it was hard seeing you, as it was hard for you seeing me. Then I got offered an opportunity down here in London, I couldn’t pass it up, so I moved down here.”

  “Makes sense, what was the opportunity?”

  “Modelling and acting, then I took up martial arts and now I’m a master and I teach it.”

  “Wow, impressive! You’ll have to teach me some of your moves.”

  “You couldn’t handle it!”

  “Try me.” I smirk,

  “So anyway, what are you doing, all the way down here?”

  “I can’t tell you.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I’ll have to kill you.”

  “How original, come on, tell me. I know there is more; I can tell through them sparkling green eyes of yours, you could never keep anything from me, you know that.” I forgot how smug he could be; it brings a smile to my face and brings back the memories of when we were together.

  “I don’t know, I cannot have this going back to Adam or anyone, I’m kind of in this by myself, you know?”

  “Anything I can help with? You know what I can do, I won’t tell anyone, you have my word and you know I won’t break that.” I forgot how honourable he could be.

  “Ok, I could probably do with the help, but I need to know are you sure about this? It could be dangerous. It’s to do with what’s been going on.”

  “Let me guess, what happened to you and Jared? What happened to Carl?”

  “Your good, spot on! Obviously, there is more to it, but I cannot say anything here. We need to leave the cafe and go somewhere private. Come on; let’s go to my hotel room.”

  “Not even a first date and you’re taking me back to a hotel? Guys dream, sweetheart.” He smirks,

  “Funny and you wish, come on.”

  “You know me, I like to dream.” We grab our jackets and head out and I walk him straight to my hotel, it’s only a ten minute walk.

  Once we reach my hotel room, it’s only a small room as I need to stay low key. I go to put the key in the key hole and Tyler randomly scoops me up into his arms. I wrap my arms around his neck to hold on.

  “Tyler, what the hell are you doing?”

  “I’m carrying you over the threshold, its good luck.”

  “If you’re married, you weirdo, put me down.”

  “Well, if we’re about to be doing something dangerous, then we need all the luck we could get. So no.” He looks me into my eyes, my heart jumps a little bit, I’ve not smiled since Carl’s death, it’s like Tyler is awaken my heart once again.

  “Fine, just a heads up, when we go in there it may look a bit crazy.”

  “I can do crazy, come on.” We walk in and he drops me down, and I fall to the floor and hurt my arm.

  “Ouch!”

  “Oh crap, sorry! I was shocked, you weren’t kidding were you. That is many pictures. You want to fill me in girl?” He helps me up of the floor and I walk him to the wall that I have covered in pictures of Sabrina and Phillip and maps.

  “So basically, this is Sabrina, she is also Jared’s ex, but he done something really bad to her, which I cannot say, but she hates him with a passion and wants nothing but revenge on him to destroy him. That is why she has targeted me, to hurt him. This bitch is the reason why everything has happened. Well so I thought, until I found out from my ex that there is someone behind her.”

  “Wait!” Tyler stops me in the middle of my rant.

  “What?”

  “You went to see your ex Dillon? I know what he did to you, are you fucking insane.”

  “That’s strange, you sound exactly like Adam, he would say something like that.”

  “Well he would be right, It may have been years since you and I, but don’t forget, I was around a hell of a lot longer before then, I practically helped your brother with you guys and was pretty protective.”

  “I know, I don’t need protecting, now you said you wanted to help, so this is how, now let me finish.”

  “Still stubborn I see.”

  “Still got a mouth I see.”

  “Just carry on Danni.”

  “Like I was saying, Dillon said Sabrina is just the face, there is someone behind her and that’s what I’m clueless on because I don’t know this guy.” I point to a picture of Phillip. “He was my bodyguard and one of Jared’s longest workers, who he trusted, so he assigned him to me to watch my every move, he’s the one who killed Carl, the son of a bitch betrayed us.”

  “Wow, that’s horrendous, what the hell have you got yourself into girl?”

  “You want out? I told you this could be mental.”

  “No, I’m in. It will be like old times. You could do with someone like me. Why don’t you get your brother involved in this? You and I both know this is his expertise and him and I together, you couldn’t lose.”

  “No! He would shout at me and make me stop and I don’t want him getting hurt. I’ve already lost my best mate; I will not lose my brother too.”

  “You’re protecting your brother? Sweetheart, people need to be protected from him, he’s perfect and you know it.”

  “Tyler, I said no.” He holds his hands up as his white flag.

  “Ok, fine! Carry on.”

  “I’ve been following them, since I’ve left the prison, in hope that the guy they’re working for appears, but Dillon was right, this guy is a shadow. “Danni, what are you trying to accomplish in all this? This girl shot you and the dude snapped Carl’s neck, they will not think twice on killing you. Don’t you think you should leave it to the police?”

  “Phillip won’t kill me, Dillon said he’s got a soft spot for me, so I don’t worry about him, it’s mainly Sabrina. All I want to do is get one of them cornered and get them to confess and I’ll secretly record it and send the recording to the police, but the problem is, they always seem to be together. It’s like they know it’s the best plan of action, if that makes sense.”

  “Wow, you’ve watch to many action films.”

  “Tyler, don’t be an ass. You have to admit, it’s pretty cool that we can act like this, even though we’ve not seen each other in ages and you don’t count the lake house as that was brief and we hardly spoke because of your fiancée.”

  “I know, it’s great! It’s just like old times, like we’ve never been apart. I’ll stop being a dick. What’s the plan of action next then?”

&nb
sp; “That’s where I’m stuck, I followed them here but that is where it ends, it’s like they figured it out and vanished. I don’t want to give up, I have a purpose and I need to do this. Hey, I’ve already taken one of them out.”

  “Who are you on about?”

  “Well not so much taken out, at the prison, one of Jared’s men works in there and is pretty loyal to me. I basically gave him the sign to do whatever he wants to him, as in make his life hell and beat him black and blue.” Tyler walks over to the bed, and sits at the end and cups his face with his hands in shock.

  “Geez Danni, this is not you at all. What happened to that sweet, kind, caring light spirited girl?”

  “That girl got screwed over more times than I can count everything that happened to me with Dillon and now Sabrina, Carl, even my mum. Everything I have been through it’s a wonder why I’m still sane. I won’t be that weak girl anymore, she’s dead.”

  “What do you mean, with your mum?”

  “You know what she was like back then, when she was around, but she also told me before Christmas that she never wanted me, she resented me, oh and my dad isn’t my real dad. So yeah, a lot of shit has happened to me. Don’t get me wrong, after Carl’s funeral she was there for me and I decided to give her a second chance. The bad memories are still there though.”

  “You’re right, if it was me, I’d have gone crazy by now. Sorry you have been through all that. Makes you think though, how your life would’ve been is I never broke up with you. We’d still be together and you’d have never met Dillon.”

  “You really think we’d still be together?”

  “I do and in your heart you know that. We were great together and deeply in love, why wouldn’t we be? I thought about it, from time to time, I never forgot about you. You were always there.”

  “Likewise, everything happens for a reason though, I have to believe that.”

  “Why?”

  “Because that’s all I have, if I didn’t believe that, then everything that has happened to me was for nothing, it was just the world being cruel and I’d rather think different.”

  “I understand, maybe you’re right, you seem to be a very strong woman. Ok, let’s get back to this. So, you lost track of them, there’s always a way to find someone, have you googled them?”

  “I doubt Google could help me, especially if they’re on the run and Sabrina is a ghost, she was supposed to be dead, so she could be under any name.”

  “Dead? I guess that was Jared secret?”

  “There’s more to it than that, but yeah.”

  “What about an email? Surely she has tried to contact you some way?”

  “She did email me a while back, but I’ve tried that since and it doesn’t register my email, it just says email failed to send. Maybe she cancelled it.”

  “No email ever gets cancelled, well not straight away anyway. Maybe she just blocked your email, so you can’t contact her and if that’s the case, maybe we can email her from another email and if she replies, we can try and hack into her system, an ip address, which could give you her location.”

  “You are awesome, let’s do it, can we email her from yours? She’s got more chance in opening it, if it’s a name she doesn’t recognize.”

  “Sure, get her email up.” I hand him my laptop ready for him to send her an email.

  [email protected]: Hi Sabrina, you’re not stupid, you know who this is. How about you come out of hiding and face me, unless you want to keep getting filthy lackeys to do your own dirty work for you. Are you scared of getting your hands dirty? This has to end, grow some balls and face me finally; I’m sick and tired of waiting for your move.

  From D.S

  “Are you sure you want to send that?”

  “Yes, it will piss her of. She is a woman! If a woman emailed me that, it would infuriate me and my judgement would be clouded. No matter how smart you are, if you get a bitchy message of someone, the claws come out. The saying, ‘hell has no fury like a woman’s scorn.’ Well something along those lines, but you get what I mean and it’s true.”

  “Ok, sent! Now we just have to wait. You think we’ll have to wait long?”

  “I don’t know, what shall we do to pass the time?” He raises his eyebrow and looks at the bed.

  “Well I could think of something. I’m only playing, I know you’re not that type of girl and I have nothing but respect for you.”

  “I know, shame we don’t have cluedo, we so could have played that.”

  “I have not played that in years, you would always win. I swear you always cheated.”

  “I never once cheated; I was just amazing at the game. You were crap.” A pop up comes up on the laptop, that instantly gets our attention.

  “Looks like we didn’t have to wait long after all, let’s read it.”

  [email protected]: How cleaver Danni! Emailing me from another address, I like it. I know you are tracking me; the whole point in emailing me, was to do that right? I’m not that stupid. I’ll save you the hassle. Meet me in an hour at this address 44 Grove road. It’s not far from the hotel you’re staying at. Yes, I know where you are and yes, I know you have been stalking me. Looks like I weren’t the only one obsessed. See you later.

  From S.H

  “Damn, she knew I was watching her, she is always ahead of me, for fuck sake.”

  “Well, at least you know where to find her and you’ve got time to map out a plan. You need to be careful, as this could be a trap. It seems a bit off, if you get me. If she knew you were following her, then she could have mapped this all out and brought you here for a reason. You did say everything happens for a reason right? Therefore, there is something here. You need to be smart.”

  “You’re right, ok, how about this. I go by myself.” He interrupts me again.

  “Hell no! That’s exactly what they want; you’ll be playing right into their hands.”

  “Will you stop interrupting me and let me finish. I know it’s what they want, but this could be my chance to get them and record them. We don’t know if she knows you’re with me and I’ve told you everything. So if I go there and something does happen, you have the mouth to tell people. The police, my brother, anyone, I’ll record them and send you it by text, it’s a good plan. I bet you’re wishing you never bumped into me now.” I joke,

  “Surprisingly no, I’m happy I did and to help you with this. I have nothing better to do and suppose that plan is ok. If it were your brother and I, he’d have us barge in and go for the kill. At least this plan is smart. Do you at least want me to walk you to the address? I live around here I know my way around.”

  “No, I don’t, I can’t have them seeing you, then they’d know what I’m up to.”

  “This is reckless, Danni! At least take my phone, its smaller than your one. As you can see, compared to your Samsung galaxy, my iphone looks like a baby; it’ll make it easier to hide. You know how to work one?”

  “Yes, I recently just got rid of my iphone and upgraded; it was pissing me of, always crashing, so I decided to go with something different. Turns out, the Samsung is just as bad.”

  “You gave up the iphone? You’re a strange one Shaw.”

  “Indeed I am, now let’s hurry and get this over with.” He grabs me and gives me the biggest squeeze and then grips my face and pulls it towards him and lays his lips on mine to kiss me. I freeze in shock, what do I do? And without realizing, my arms are around his neck and returning the kiss. I pull away, oh shit. “What are you doing?”

  “Sorry, spur of the moment thing, if anything happens to you, I just wanted to make sure I got my last moments with you perfect and reconcile from our past.”

  “That is cheesy and silly, because I’m coming back and we’ll talk about that.”

  “Admit Shaw, it felt good!”

  “It did, nice way to say goodbye don’t you think? Anyway, thanks for this, I appreciate it.” I give him one more last hug and leave the hotel room, feeling confused, scared and ang
ry, not knowing what is going to happen, am I doing the right thing? Or am I leading myself into a nasty situation, I guess there is only one way to find out.

  Chapter Fourteen

  I’ve turned up to an abandoned building. This cannot be right. 44 Grove road, it says it is. Suppose if they are hiding, this would be the best place. How dirty though, It is dark and I’m heading into an abandoned building, yeah, this is some sort of horror movie this. Maybe I should just head back. Don’t be stupid, Danni! You have come this far, don’t lose your balls now. My subconscious screams at me.

  I grab the handle, which is freezing. I push it down and the door opens with a loud creak. It’s dark in the hall way. I have to find a light switch and luckily I find one. Please say there is some electric in this place. I switch it on and I was wrong, it’s not abandoned, it’s pretty clean, probably up to rent and people to view. On the left, is one oak door, I open it and no one is in here, it’s just an empty room. I carry on walking down the hallway, to where I come to yet another room. I walk in, and switch the light and look straight in front of me.

  “You!” I snap, it’s Phillip, and I launch at him. Trying to punch him and kick him. He blocks everyone and grabs me in a hold. He has both of my hands around my back and puts his head on my shoulder from behind.

  “Easy pet, remember, I taught you everything you know, so you know this is useless.”

  “Exactly, so you should know better.” Before he notices his foot in the way, I stomp on it, causing him to loosen his grip and able to get free, as he hops on one foot, I then kick him in the shins.

  “Ouch, you bitch. Look, you wanted to talk; well now you’re here, so talk.”

  “I wanted Sabrina, not you, you cold blooded murder.”

  “She send her love, you really think she’d come out from hiding? Please, you should know better. What do you want pet?” I already have the phone ready in my pocket to hit record; I put my hand in and press the record button.

  “I want answers, I trusted you, I let you in my home and Jared trusted you with my life, and for what? To be betrayed by you for some skanky bitch.”

  “Hey, she isn’t a skanky bitch. She has every right to be pissed at him. She would have done this to anyone who had Jared’s love. Unfortunately, it turned out to be you. How could you love someone like him? With him around you wouldn’t look at anyone else.”