Page 9 of Betrayed By the Alpha

He hit the break in the middle of the road. Zach took calming breaths and tried to think of positive thoughts, but the only thing that kept crossing his mind was the day he rejected Hayley. Maybe he should have stayed behind and had a few more drinks, at least till he got drunk enough to forget. When he felt a bit better, he started the car up again and drove home. Zach went straight to bed, falling asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.

***

Zach's mornings were the same every day. He got up by seven, had a cup of coffee and toast, and drove to the office, getting there by eight. He returned home by eight in the evening, ate, and went straight to bed. It was a boring routine, and Ryder never failed to tell him this every day, but Zach would rather live with that forever than spend a day in the life of his best friend. This morning was different. He stayed in bed till ten and had only one thing on his mind—Hayley.

He wanted to see her, speak to her, but he didn't know how to go about it. There was no way he would be allowed access to the house. The only way to open the gate was by the fingerprint of those living in the home or the security code. He didn't have the code, but he was friends with the person who built the system. He picked up his phone.

"Hey, Tolliver. Are you busy?" Tolliver was the opposite of Ryder.

"Not now, but in an hour, I will be. I'm in charge of training the new recruit today. Why? Do you need something?"

"Kinda. I need you to hack into a security system."

"Explain yourself."

"It’s Hayley."

"I knew it. I heard from Ryder. But why are you telling me this? I thought you hated Hayley."

"You know I don't. I want to see her, but I can't get to her... that's why I need you to hack into the Green's security system, just for a few seconds. Once I get in, you're done."

"Zach, I could get in trouble with this."

"With whom? The head of the black ops? I don’t think he’s going to mind.”

"I hate you sometimes. Fine. I’ll be there in five minutes.”

"Thank you.”

Chapter 5 - Hayley

Hayley was feeling much better when she woke up the following day. She’d struggled throughout the night, waking up with nightmares only to go puke. She was relieved that she only drank the beer on offer, and not the weird fish drink. For a few minutes, she lay still, but fully awake in bed, trying to remember why yesterday had been so terrible. Suddenly, she became aware that the reason behind her recent troubles was sitting on the chair close to her bed.

His eyes were on her. Watching with a curious expression on his face, like she was an experiment, and he was a scientist. It took a while for her brain to register that he really was sitting in front of her.

In her room!

"Arrgh!” Hayley let out a scream. She sat up, taking her duvet with her to cover her upper body part though she was fully clothed. "What in the actual fuck!” she shouted. "Am I—no, this must be a dream.” She swallowed and closed her eyes, trying to calm herself down. She knew it wasn’t a dream; dreams didn’t look this real, but she told herself it was. Maybe—she hoped—some god would have mercy on her, and when she opened her eyes, the man on her chair would be gone. "One, two, three..." She counted the following numbers quietly.

"If you’re doing the count to ten and the boogie man would disappear thing? It’s not going to work. You can open your eyes now. I’m not going to harm you, Hayley."

"Oh no," Hayley whispered under her breath and slowly opened her eyes. “You are really here?” He nodded. "This is not a dream. "

"It’s not," he answered. "Hayley, I’m here to talk to you. I heard you arrived in Bellefleur a few days ago, and I know this might be too soon, but I couldn’t wait anymore...are you listening to me?"

"I’m wondering why you are even speaking to me. Well, I don’t care if this is a dream or not. I want you out." She stood, letting her hands loosen on the covers, and pointed to the door. "That’s the way out. You walk there and head out."

Zach stood up. "Listen, Hayley—"

"Shut up, Zachery Hill. I want you out, and I want you out now. Leave before I kill you."

"No, I’m not leaving, and you won’t kill me because you don’t want to be thrown in jail. I don’t know you well enough—yet, but I know you value your reputation. Now, will you please calm down?"

"How did you even get in here? Who let you in?" Hayley didn’t think Greta would do something like that. They shared the same amount of hate for him. Greta’s might be even greater than her own.

Zach looked to the open window, then back to her. "I let myself in through your window. You left it open. It’s not exactly the smartest thing to do with what’s been happening lately in town."

Hayley shook her head, letting out a sound of disbelief. She moved out of her bed and walked to him angrily. Her eyes were still heavy from her fitful sleep. Now, they were glowing with anger. "The audacity you have, Mr. Zachery Hill."

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