Targeted

Chapter Nine

~Arabella~

     The next day, I spend the day in bed as the doctor tends to my leg. Luckily, it wasn't broken, just badly fractured. It should take a couple weeks for it to heal, but I'll be able to walk by tomorrow, using crutches. Adrian and the kids stay with me, coddling me.

     I sigh, watching as Adrian puts Sadie and Tucker down for their nap, and bite my lip, knowing we're going to have to talk about what happened. He sits down next to me on the bed, pulling me close, being more cautious of my leg than he has to be.

     "Adrian?" I ask quietly, not wanting to disrupt the peaceful moment, but knowing that I have to.

     "Yeah?" He hums in response.

     "What happened? The day I was taken." He sighs, tightening his arms around me, as if he's scared I'll run away again.

     "I didn't kiss her, I promise. She came to my office and started kissing me. I was pushing her away when you walked in. Please believe me, I would never do that to you." He presses his face in the crook of my neck, holding me tight. I lift a hand and brush my fingers through his hair, trying to comfort him.

     "I believe you," I say, running my hand down his back. He sighs, pulling back to look up at me.

     "You do?" Relief coats his voice as a smile tugs at his lips. I smile, nodding, cupping his cheek with my hand.

     "I do." I smile, leaning in to press my lips to his. He smiles against my lips.

     "Thank you. I don't know what I would do if I lost you again, I could barely handle it the first time." I laugh quietly, making sure not to wake the kids, and nod in agreement.

     "I know, I was just as bad off as you were." He presses warm kisses to my forehead, nose, cheeks, and finally on my lips, kissing me passionately.

     "That will never happen again, I promise," he whispers against my lips. I open my mouth to answer when the door opens, loudly slamming against the wall. We jolt up as Tucker starts crying, and look at the door to find Brittany standing there with a sneer on her face. Adrian jumps off the bed, snatching his gun from the side of the bed, and stands in front of the three of us, glaring at Brittany venomously. "What are you doing here?" He spits. Brittany smirks.

     "What? Not happy to see me? We had such a nice time in your office, it would be a shame to let that go to waste," she states, shooting a smug smirk in my direction. I roll my eyes, swinging my legs off the bed carefully, and stand, keeping my weight off my bad leg.

     "I don't understand you, Brittany, you could have had such a nice life. By now, you could have a husband, your husband, not mine, a family, love, you could be happy. But you throw that all away to chase after a man that doesn't love you, doesn't even remotely like you. You live to torment me, but it doesn't work, it never will. I don't see the point in trying anymore." Her eyes narrow at my words and she takes a threatening step forward just to be shoved back by Adrian.

     "You're such a bitch, Adrian is mine, he always has been and always will be. He will never be yours." I raise an eyebrow.

     "Sorry to break it to you, honey, but he already is, and you will never take him away from me. So get your sorry ass out of my kingdom, and never come back." Her eyes widen, then narrow as she huffs and turns to Adrian.

     "Adrian, tell her! You belong with me! Not her! You love me! We're meant to be!" She pleads, stepping forward and placing a manicured hand on his chest. He shoves her away, glaring at Brittany.

     "I will never belong with you, and I will never love you. I belong with Arabella, I always have and I always will. You and I aren't meant to be, she and I are." Brittany clenches her jaw and turns, her hair flying, and storms off angrily. I turn to Adrian, shaking my head. He sighs, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me close, resting his chin on my head. "I'm sorry, Ara, I should have made them leave as soon as they showed up." I look up at him, smiling sadly.

     "You had no idea they were a part of this, you couldn't have known this would happen. It's not your fault." He sighs, nodding, and turns to Sadie and Tucker. Tucker stopped crying and was lying down, sucking his thumb. I limp over to them, pressing a light kiss to their cheeks as they fall back to sleep. I turn to Adrian. "Let's go find Ariel to watch them for a while and go down to the kitchens to get some food." He nods and goes to find Ariel while I change into a dress and a black pair of slippers. The door opens and Ariel walks in with a smile with Adrian behind her.

     "Off with you two now, I'll deal with these ones. You two need some alone time." She waves us out of the room with a smile and we walk down to the kitchen. Well, Adrian walks with me in his arms, refusing to let me down. I stare up at him as he walks, admiring his beauty. It still amazes me that I found someone so amazing, someone I love so much. I never thought this kind of love was possible. I smile when he looks down at me.

     "I love you," I whisper, laying my head in the crook of his neck. He kisses the top of my head.

     "Not as much as I love you," he whispers into my hair. I smile, closing my eyes.

     In the kitchen, we spend almost two hours trying to bake a cake, but we just ended up making a mess of the kitchen and of ourselves. Laughing, I look over at a flour-covered Adrian, who's pouting cutely.

     "Why am I the only one that's messy?" I point to my leg.

     "I'm injured, it'd be an unfair fight. I can't exactly defend myself, now can I?" He smirks, walking towards me with his hands behind his back. I narrow my eyes, hopping backwards on my good leg. "What are you doing?" I ask nervously. He shrugs, smiling mischievously. Just as he reaches me, a loud bang sounds from the dining room and Adrian steps in front of me protectively as we both turn, wiping the flour from his hair and clothes. He takes my hand as we cautiously walk forward. He quietly pushes the kitchen door open and we step into the dining room. We freeze as we spot Zach sitting at the head of the table with his feet propped up. Adrian tenses, glaring at him.

     "What are you doing here?" He growls lowly, pushing me further behind him. Zach smirks, standing and walking closer to us.

     "What, not going welcome your best friend into your home? That hurts, really," he drawls, trailing his hand on the wood of the table as he walks. Adrian's jaw clenches tightly as he tries to control himself. I place my hand on his back, just by his shoulder blade, and he visibly relaxes, though he stays alert and ready.

     "You will never be welcome here, not ever again," Adrian spits. Zach chuckles, the dark sound sending chills down my spine. "Why are you here?" Zach smirks.

     "I'm here to take back what's mine." He smirks at me. "Arabella," he states. Adrian's fists clench and I take his hand in mine, rubbing them comfortingly.

     "She will never be yours," he hisses, "she's not going with you, ever." Zach raises an eyebrow.

     "She will if she values the lives of her children." My heart drops at his words and my eyes widen. "Brittany is up there with them right now, I'm sure she'd love to just take them with her, they're such sweet kids," he threatens, smirking evilly.

     "Don't you dare touch them," I hiss, stepping around Adrian. He places his arm around my waist, holding me close to him.

     "They won't be hurt if you come with me." He claps his hands loudly, the sound startling me. "You have a big decision to think about, I'll give you some time. But, if you don't come to me within the night, you'll have to deal with the consequences." With that, he turns and walks out of the dining room, opening the door to reveal Brittany with two unconscious guards. She smirks at us, walking away with Zach.