Page 26 of Chance Happenings
I start to come to. My body is screaming in pain and I'm going numb mentally and physically. Mentally the numbness is my safe place where nothing or no one can hurt me, but physically I am numb from the pain and the chill of the granite floor. After enduring his worst, I’m oddly relieved that it’s over. My heart's still beating, and I can still draw breath. Sighing, I relax and find peace in my safe place. My only thoughts are that I made it. It’s kind of sad really, but I’m content in my hopelessness. I feel like this is it for me….
I don’t know how long I lie there staring into space, not feeling any particular emotion, but I'm jarred by visions of my dream of going back home, working and being in a relationship with Chance. It seemed so real. I wanted it to be real, but it's not. I'm still lying on the same damn floor I was at the beginning of this dream. I still feel the engagement ring on my finger. Lifting it to my face to make sure. And yep, it's the same ring I pawned off in my dream.
Also in my dream, there was blood. But there's no blood now. Just tears over the pain of me losing something all over again that I never really had. I move to get up off the floor and realize that I'm in the guest room of Pearce and I's apartment, which is... odd. I also notice that the dress I have on is some form-fitting stretchy situation that stops well above my knees. It’s something I would never wear on my own, which is also strange. When I walk to the door, I get an ache in my quads which is different. It immediately makes me think of self-defense cardio and Nova. The memory excites me until I reach for the doorknob and realize it’s turned backward, locked from the outside.
This sends me over the edge and I bang on the door and the window relentlessly before turning to the room and trashing everything in sight. First in anger. Then, in search of anything that may help me get out of here. I see something shiny on the floor, but before I can grab it, the door opens. I will myself to remember anything from the self-defense class but nothing we learned applies to this scenario per se. Think Alexa. Damn it!
"Alexa." Pearce says as he enters the room and sits in the armchair, motioning for me to sit on the bed. Still thinking of ways to get out of this predicament, I opt to remain standing, eyeing the door discreetly. Pearce reads my body language and advises against me making a run for it because Jack, the asshole who helped ambush me, is right outside the door.
“Do you know why you're here Alexa?”
“Because you're a sick fuck?” I say, trying to get a rise out of him. I figure the basic moves I learned yesterday only apply if I'm actually being attacked. If I can force Pearce to engage, I can react accordingly and hopefully make my escape. At least that's my logic, anyway. Unfortunately, this only amuses him as he burst into laughter.Ironic right.
"I don't understand why you constantly test me, Alexa. I thought about letting you go and maybe just settling for ruining your new boyfriend's little company, but he and that old man had to start interfering with my business. Somebody has to pay for that." This throws me for a loop because I don’t know what Chance or his dad have been up to regarding Pearce. But the way he lets that sentence run off, I think… screw the plan and make a run for it. With aching legs, I run out of the room before Pearce can stop me. When I see the front door, I pray Pearce was bluffing because I don’t know what to do about the guard. Fearlessly I surge towards the door but am jolted back, almost taken off my feet as Pearce snatches me back to him by my hair. Instead of admitting defeat, I fight. I make Pearce work to subdue me. Pitting his strength against my will to be free. He’s still behind me and has me by my hair, making it hard for me to reach my target. I contort my body, punching, kicking and swinging for a nut shot.Because honestly besides the running that's all I remember.With some luck and a lot of persistence, I'm able to graze the general vicinity, which causes Pearce to loosen his grip and lean forward to protect his manhood. That moment is when it hits me and I lean forward with him, only to throw my head back hard and fast, connecting with some part of his face. He yells out a string of curses, fully letting me go to grab at his face that is now bleeding.
At this point I know I should run but Jason, Jack or whoever is on the other side of that door, so I do what comes natural dropping to one knee, going straight for the nuts successfully grabbing, twisting, and pulling as hard as I can. Pearce is falling back, his curses now turning into an incoherent rant. The door opens. Jack and another big guy rush into the room, cornering me to where the only way out is going through them. Stuck, I try to pull from that magic I had just moments ago where I handed Pearce his ass and come up with nothing.
I decide to just go for a running attack at the smallest guy to possibly get by him while using his body to block Jack. Before I can make my move, the sound of an electrical pulse fills the air. Jack drops to the ground. And I see Nova in the doorway. She has a Taser in one hand and tire iron in the other. After it’s served its purpose, she drops the Taser with prongs still connected to the back of Jack's neck and takes a double handed swing with a tire iron to the side of the smaller guy's head, sending blood splatter clear across the room.
"Run Alex! Cacey’s waiting in the blue car by the door of the parking garage!" She yells out. I don't hesitate to do what she says after seeing her single-handedly drop both of Pearce's bodyguards. She’s now set her sights on Pearce, who is still recovering from my improvised attack. I run out of the room barefoot, only to be stopped again when I see the barrel of a gun pointed directly at me. I lift my hands. Stunned… backing into the apartment as Alaina, an NYU graduate that worked for Pearce, holds me at gunpoint. She has tears in her eyes and shaky hands, looking totally different. No longer the girl with the golden locks that I used to know. Her hair now has a hair color, length, and style, similar to my own. It’s shocking. I don't know what look crosses my face, but I fix it quick, because whatever it was, causes her to add a sinister sneer to her already sick-looking expression.
"I told you. You couldn't have him," she says, looking at me.
"Alaina, what the fuck?" Pearce roars, trying to add an extra note of authority in his voice. He and Nova have stopped fighting because of the gun-wielding crazy person in the room. Is this the chick he's been cheating with this whole time? Addressing Pearce, she still has her gun trained on me.
"And I told you to stay away from her. Why is it she's so worthy of your time and attention? Your Goddamn ring!!! I've waited so long for you to drop her like you said you would. But what do you do as soon as we're finally rid of her? You stalk her like some pathetic fuck and lure her back to New York, forcing me to get rid of her. But here she is yet again." Alaina yells, while jabbing the gun in my direction with every word that she spits out, getting more and more irate by the moment.
"If your ass wasn't so crazy, I'd..."
Bang!
One-shot rings out after Alaina aims the gun at Pearce, stopping his insult dead in its tracks. I yell out and dare to look over at Nova who, per usual, doesn't look phased at all. When I turn my focus back on Alaina, I know I need a miracle. Her gun is trained back on me and there’s no glimpse of reason visible on her tear-streaked face. Before I can plead for my life, make a move to get out of the way, or even attack. Several things happen at once. Alaina fires at me just as I'm tackled to the ground by Nova, and Tim appears in the doorway, firing off two shots aimed at the back of Alaina's head.
* * *
There’s so much blood everywhere. I look over to the corner where Pearce’s glare is still strong as ever, commanding my attention. I keep my eyes pried to his and a set of strong hands force me to look away. That’s when I realize that we’re not alone in the room. Chance is pulling me into his arms, looking over me and assessing my wounds while I sit on the floor stunned, still looking at Pearce’s cold, dead eyes. He’s so still. With the amount of blood I see, it would be a miracle if he were still alive. I know he’s dead, but I still can’t look away in fear that he’ll get up at any moment.
Slowly coming to the realization that he’s gone, I become more aware of my surroundings. I have a flash of a scene as my memory starts flooding back to me. I remember that Pearce is not the only one that I need to be wary of. Immediately I jump up, looking for the threat that I know is there. I know she’s here because she always has been, watching and waiting for me. As I frantically fight my way out of Chance’s embrace, I scan the area for any sign of her. When I find her, she is lying just inside of the door with a gun next to her.
She’s face down, not moving at all, much like Pearce. Somehow, I blacked out again at Nova’s impact.
I panic when I see police enter the room, but they don't seem to be too surprised to find Chance and I here in the room sandwiched between two... no, four dead bodies. When I see Tim off on the far side of the room just beyond the wreckage talking to an officer, something tugs at my memory, willing me to remember. I know what happened to Alaina and Pearce, but from everything I can remember, the two guys were incapacitated, yet still alive. Nova comes to mind, and I glance around the room to see no evidence of her at all. The Taser and tire iron are nowhere in sight.
"Ms. Wilde, are you able to answer some questions?" One officer asks, approaching our side of the room.
"She'll answer your questions after she's been properly checked out and with a lawyer present." Chance answers before I am in a full mode freak out. I do not know what to say about what transpired here. Nova has disappeared, but I know she was here, just like Tim does. He's talking to the police so calmly as if he's reading off a weather report, so obviously there's a story. A story I should be in on so I can corroborate his. Before they can ask any more questions, I’m being lifted and carried out of the room by Chance as he whispers in my ear. “Say nothing.” He takes me just outside to a waiting paramedic as Dane passes us, heading into the crime scene.
Chance
I try to stay outwardly calm for Alexa, but I’m freaking out on the inside. I fucked up bad and had to leave Dane to clean up the mess while I try to sort out Alexa's current mental state. Once she’s checked out and back at the hotel, I take extra care of removing her blood-stained clothes, washing her from head to toe. I wash her, making sure all traces of blood are gone. The task relaxes me until I notice the bruising on her neck and several parts of her body. If Pearce wasn't already dead, I'd kill him. But right now I’m just grateful she survived like she has seemed to do all these years. I don’t know the full story and maybe I never will, but I won’t dare ask Alexa. Not until she’s ready. She hasn’t said a word and has barely blinked in the couple of hours I’ve been caring for her. It makes me wonder what she saw and what all she remembers.
Dane
I'm glad my office manager is such a stickler for having all the guys' certifications, permits and documents in order at the security firm because it has made this whole ordeal go a lot smoother or smooth as it can be I should say. The police questioned Tim repeatedly all day for hours before determining that the mystery chick killed Pearce and his two bodyguards before being shot by Tim, who was protecting his charge, Alexa. All of which is fine with me except for the fact that half of that story is a lie. From what I gathered, Tim found the mystery chick who’s name is Alaina noticed the gun and strange behavior before following her to the scene. She went to school with Alex, worked for Pearce and had been involved with him for years. She also met Chance the night Alex was attacked in New York.
Once Tim is in the clear, I head to the hotel we’ve been working out of and straight to the person who’ll give me the rest of the answers I need. Not bothering to knock, I use the backup key card to swipe my way into the room. As soon as I enter, I see Cacey standing over Nova, treating what looks to be a bullet wound.
"Anybody want to tell me what the hell happened today?"
