Misguided Vows: Chapter 47

Honey has been by my side since the moment I arrived at the hospital. Dawson phoned her immediately. Rya was only ten minutes behind her, and they both sit beside me expectantly.

The police have taken a report of my recollection of events, and I’m now resting after being examined and treated for smoke inhalation and some minor burns and cuts. I’m still pretty shaken up.

It’s not from the way Jack slipped off the edge and turned into a monster that terrifies me. Or the way he had me transfer my entire life savings into his account.

It’s the desperation and vacant look in Will’s gaze, and when I saw that twist into something else, that terrified me the most. It was something ugly and predatory as he went after Jack, and that instilled that fear in me. I knew Will was a dangerous man, but this… it was something else.

He betrayed me, yet right now, he’s the only person I want to be with, holding me and telling me it’s going to be okay. And I want to give in to that weakness, but I know I can’t forgive him for tracking me this entire time. And I won’t know the whole story until I speak with Will, but I’m certain that’s what his role was.

“I bet he’s already dead,” Honey says, crossing her arms over her chest angrily.

“Most likely,” Rya adds thoughtfully. “Especially if Will saved you from the fire. I know any of our men would burn down cities to find the person who’d put us in danger.”

“Will doesn’t see me like that,” I find myself quietly saying.

Honey and Rya worriedly look at one another. Honey rests her hand on mine. “I think you two have a bit to go through, but we can see how you look at each other.”

I want to laugh at her, and tell her not to encourage the tiny bit of hope in my heart, but I know those aren’t the facts.

“Did you two know he was tracking me from the start?” I whisper. Had they been on it as well?

Honey’s eyebrows furrow. “What do you mean?”

Rya looks equally as confused.

I adjust myself in the bed, trying to get comfortable. I’ve always hated hospitals. The doctors have already run some tests, and want to keep me overnight just for observation. Just what I need, a big-ass bill after I just got robbed of all my money.

“The man who torched the place was the guy I was telling you about, who I stole from seven years ago.” Tears well in my eyes as I say this. “I’m so sorry, Honey. I didn’t know he’d find me at Dawson’s shop and set it on fire. I thought he’d given up on finding me.”

“Stop. We don’t care about the shop, Alina. As long as you’re okay, you’re all we care about. I mean that. What does Will have to do with this? Do I have to kick his ass for something?”

I laugh and cry and then cough. My throat is sore, and I’m so tired. “I think Jack hired Will to track me down and bring me back to him. He thought I still had the jewelry I stole from him.”

“How do you know Will was hired by him?” Honey asks.

“Apparently, the tracker had found me in London and was meant to bring me back to America but called off the job halfway through. I don’t know. I just think back to how much Will was around from the start…” I thought it was because he was attracted to me. Because of the sexual tension, but now I realize it was all just a job. In my heart, I know that’s the truth. I can convince myself it was another tracker, but I just know.

Honey goes a shade paler. “I don’t think you’re wrong, and no, we didn’t know. Will paid for everything. For your flights and hotel. He was adamant that you were the best for the job after you worked for his sister in London. I just… I thought he’d taken a liking to you.”

He what?

How did I not know this?

Is this why he was on the same plane and staying at the same hotel as me?

He organized it all.

Has he been buying me this whole time?

Is that what’s been happening and I haven’t even realized it?

Was the bet he made for my benefit or his?

Was it all just a game to him? I was in his trap before I’d even realized it. How had I been so blind to it all?

Rya mulls it over. “I do think he cares about you, Alina. If he’d wanted to hand you over for a paycheck, he would’ve. Instead, he just ran into a burning building to save you. I think that counts for something. Sometimes actions speak louder than words.”

There’s a scuffle outside my room, then the door flings open, and there’s Will, panting and looking disheveled. He still looks the same as I’d last seen him hours ago, right after the fire. When I see him, tears spring to my eyes. I’m relieved he’s safe, furious that I care, and sad that everything between us was all a lie.

And fuck me, I let him in.

“Get out!” Honey snaps as she stands. “You don’t get to speak to her right now!”

“Honey,” Rya says, stopping her, and we’re all taken back by her outburst. But part of me is also grateful. Protected. A true friend. “That’s Alina’s decision,” Rya presses. Honey’s eyes well with tears, and I know she’s quick to get upset with the pregnancy.

“Please, I just want to talk,” Will says, exhausted, and it’s so different from his usual charismatic self. He looks like a broken man. But I don’t know what to believe anymore. What I do know is he did run into a burning building to save me. A conversation is the very least we can have before I remove him from my life entirely.

“It’s okay, Honey,” I say quietly. Because even if I don’t like the answers, this man and I have to lay something to rest. And I feel a small part of me break apart as I make my decision to push him away.