Sophia's POV
Waking up in a hotel room was a completely new experience, it wasn't that I hadn't ever slept at a hotel before- I had, but not a 5-star hotel with silk sheets that melted against my skin. The nicest place I've ever stayed in is a motel just outside the city when my father's house was revoked after he died.
After Noah's confession, I felt confused. So much of this still doesn't make sense but I'll stay away if it's for the best. I've started a new life before and I can do it again.
My phone buzzed from the bedside table. Deep down I hoped it was Noah. It was just Jasmine.
"Hey," I spoke into the phone.
"Get up sleepy head, we're going for lunch,"
"It's like..." I took the phone away from my ear and glanced at the screen, "half eleven."
"Exactly, I'll swing by the Mckenzie's and pick you up in 30 minutes," Jasmine said.
"I'm not at the Mckenzie's anymore,"
"Why? Where are you then?" I laid my head back on the pillow and braced myself for a long explanation. I told her which hotel I was at and gave her a brief overview of the situation. We agreed to talk about it once we are at the restaurant.
Ever since Jasmine moved in with Derek, she has got her life back on track. She is no longer working at Joey's on minimum wage and is now in a relationship which she seems really happy about. Although she says it's pretty new so she doesn't want to tell me about it in case that 'jinxes' it. Either way though, I'm glad she's decided it's finally time for something serious.
I was ready within 10 minutes so I waited patiently watching some tv until Jasmine arrived at the hotel. I raced down the stairs, phone in hand. I took the elevator to the ground floor and met Jasmine outside, she was in Derek's convertible.
"You ready to go?" She asked as I slipped into the passenger's seat and leaned over to place my bag in the back.
"Yeah," I said clipping in my seatbelt, " here exactly are we eating?"
"At a cute little restaurant, I found just on the outskirts of town."
We sat humming to the music which was playing on the radio. The drive was neither awkward nor comfortable but there was a silence that hung over us, similar to the silence created when you know you're withholding a secret from someone you love.
Then again there was never this sort of silence between Noah and me, and he was keeping a secret from me for months.
*
The restaurant was cute, it had an English vibe to it. There were round tables with 4 chairs around them neatly placed in rows on the large floor. Around the edges of the room were smaller square tables with two chairs. Jasmine spoke to the waitress and we were directed to our table.
We took our seats and I began to look at the menu. A minute hadn't even gone by before I saw Jasmine become agitated out of the corner of my eye.
"You okay?" I reached over and placed my hand on hers giving her some reassurance.
"Can we switch seats? I prefer sitting with my back to the wall." It was a slightly weird request but I agreed anyway. The strange thing was Jasmine had never had this issue before, but I wasn't one to question her, something was definitely up.
"Better?" She nodded and then went back to looking at her menu, I did the same.
Once again I saw Jasmine look up, this time I remained staring at my menu so hard in fact that I thought I was going to burn two holes through it.
"Sophia, I don't want to dampen your mood so don't turn around, but Brad just walked in with someone," my heart began to beat quicker and quicker. I glanced up at my friend who sat with her head ducked down looking at me concerned. Is this why she was so agitated the whole time, she must've seen Brad walk in a few minutes ago.
"Let's go somewhere else, I can't stand being in the same room as that bastard," Jasmine said through gritted teeth.
I followed her out, making sure to stay as close behind her as possible so that he wouldn't see me. Luckily he didn't see me or Jasmine, but that didn't settle my nerves at all- his eyes weren't on me but at the same time, it still felt like he was watching my every move. He wasn't in my life anymore but it still felt like he was always 2 steps behind me, threatening to catch up.
"Can we just go back to the hotel and order a Chinese?"
"I could really do with a Chinese right now," Jas said rubbing her forehead in frustration.
"They said delivery will be 20 minutes," I looked over at Jasmine who was concentrating on driving, "are you okay?"
"Honestly?"
"Of course, I'm always here if you want to talk about anything."
"I'm not ready to talk about it yet Soph,"
"Well whatever it is, when you are ready I'm here to talk."
Back at the hotel I set up the coffee table with Chinese pots and located a couple of plates from the kitchen section of the hotel room. We sat at either end of the couch facing each other, plates in our laps chatting like we used to back when we lived in that ratty old apartment.
How different everything is now. Here I am sat in a beautiful- and expensive hotel room with my best friend, both in financially better situations than a few months earlier. Yes, I had just lost $250,000 dollars but I never really had that money, to begin with. It was my grandmother's and I survived without it in the first place so I can do it again.
Along with our food, we each had a bottle of beer. As the afternoon went on we began to consume more and more alcohol from the mini fridge, after all Noah did say he would cover all expenses of this room.
I cleared away the leftovers and washed the plates, well as well as I could since I was pretty drunk and kept walking into the island as I turned around to place a plate on it. Jasmine didn't get up at all to help, she just stayed laying on the sofa crying- she tends to get pretty emotional when she is drunk.
"Sophia," Jasmine dragged out the a.
"What?" I snapped as I walked into the island for the third time.
"I don't know what to do," she sniffed still crying. I picked up two bottles of water and walked over to my emotional best friend.
"Here," I handed her the bottle. It was only 5 pm and we really needed to sober up. There is definitely something bothering her but I didn't dare ask. If she wanted to tell me she I would only want to hear it when she was sober.
She continued to cry, so I held her in my arms for comfort. She cried into my shoulder and we stayed like that for a quite a long time- enough time for both of us to sober up. Jas reached over to the remote for the tv and she switched it on.
"I need to tell you something..." Jas trailed off.
"What is it?" I sat her up so that we were facing each other and I turned the sound down on the tv.
She looked at me and then to her hands as if she was ashamed of something, "The reason I kept my distance is because I've been struggling with the truth...I'm bisexual."
I'm going to issue a trigger warning here for further in the chapter.
Lia's POV
I met Brad outside of work for our 'date'. He seems rather excited whereas I am dreading it, the only reason I agreed to do this is to help Noah. I know we haven't seen each other in years but best friends are still best friends even if they don't talk a lot. It's not like he purposely stopped talking to me, his life and career got in his way and to be honest so did mine. I had a recording device in my pocket already switched on, ready to capture everything and anything this man says.
Yes, he didn't make the effort to shoot me a text here or there but I didn't either. Hopefully after I've helped Noah lock up Brad, he won't go MIA again, I don't want to only hear about his life from the newspapers.
"Ready to go sexy?" Brad whispered in my ear and I shivered in disgust.
"I'm ready when you are handsome," I smirked back at him putting on my best flirty voice. He latched onto my hand in a firm grip and led me to his car. If it was not for the force which me pulled me along and the tight grip he had on my hand it might've been considered a romantic gesture since he opened the car door for me helped me into the car- by helped I mean that he put me in the car forcefully and reached over to buckle my seatbelt.
For any other girl, this would have been the perfect gentlemanly way for a man to act around a woman but since I don't swing that way this is just disgusting- especially as I know his intentions are not of a good nature.
During the car journey, I felt Brad's hand come into contact with my exposed thigh. I wasn't on patrol today so I chose to wear a simple black dress to work as I only planned to sit behind my desk and do paperwork. I also knew that this outfit would make Brad putty in my hands, but I didn't expect him to be this hands-on so early in this 'date'.
I could feel his clammy hand travel up and down my thigh caressing it with a smirk plastered across his face. I kept my gaze forward out of the windshield so that I wasn't tempted to grab his dirty hand and break it in 50 different places because I had to continue with the plan...for Sophia's safety.
I haven't even met the girl before but for some reason, she feels close to me. It feels like I have known her for years, there is something about this situation that makes me feel guilty for letting things get this far. I've known about Brad's intentions with women ever since I started working and NYPD and I never did anything. Truth be told I was always too scared to speak out, especially after everything I've heard him threaten other women with.
He's threatened them with kidnap, rape and even death but I never had the guts to say a thing- until now. Having someone to watch my back and me having his seems to make this easier, especially after I get some proof the evidence will begin to stack up.
He draped his arm over my shoulder once we got out of the car and headed into a restaurant on the outskirts of the city. I knew this place would be quiet since I've been here before at this time during the day.
"Table for two please," I smiled at the waitress who was checking Brad out. Oh please honey, don't even think about it, you're too good for someone like him.
"Right this way."
The conversation started light and flirty, it was the typical sort of question and answers any first date required- you know to get to know the other person. Except I already knew exactly what this man was about and I wasn't buying any of the crap he was feeding me.
My phone buzzed, it was a text from Noah. Before I had the chance to look at the text he spoke up, "everything okay?"
"Yeah I think so, it's just my mom. Sorry I need to ring her quickly I'm just going to step outside," I said about to stand up.
"Take the call right here," he insisted.
I nodded and stayed at the table. I opened the message from Noah, it said; get out of the restaurant.
I rang Noah's contact and held the phone to my ear giving Brad an 'apologising' smile.
"Hi Mom," I initiated the conversation so that Noah would know that I was still sitting at the table with Brad.
"Lia, Sophia is in the restaurant...wait she's on the move," I turned briefly to the right as if I were listening to the words on the other end of the phone and caught sight of two women leaving through the door.
"She's gone," I said into the phone but as if it were more of a question. He mumbled a few words before saying goodbye and ending the conversation. That was a close call. I don't know what I would have done if Brad had seen Sophia and made a move towards her, then he would know that she stuck around and she would be in serious danger this time.
"Who's gone?" He asked, his face cold as stone.
"What? Oh um, my mum called to tell me that my cousin's cat...uh Boots had to be put down today. She was a real sweetheart you know?" I lied.
"Meh, I hate cats." I rolled my eyes.
"So this girlfriend that I've heard about, would she mind us being out together?" The time to get some real information out of this douche bag.
"Truth be told she isn't my girlfriend anymore...but she'll come back to me one way or another," He began, " You see she likes rich guys."
"Rich guys?" I provoked.
"Have you heard of that rich prick Noah McKenzie, the one who owns that newspaper company?" Now we are getting into the juicy stuff.
"The one who owns MKT?" I questioned as if I didn't know who Noah was.
He nodded, "she whored around with him."
I almost spat out the drink I had sipped, is this man joking? How can he make up all of these lies and still think himself to be the hero who is going to save her from her misery- his words not mine.
"She slept with him?"
He didn't answer my question, instead called over the waiter and asked for another beer. This was his 6th one and he appears to be getting a little tipsy and more open about everything.
"She fucked him while we were together for his money. I ended it but I will have her back and she will be my wife. She will be my wife...whatever it takes."
"Does she want to be with you?" I asked.
"I don't give a fuck if she does or not, I will have her as my wife!" He started to yell.
"Brad please sit down, you're causing a scene," I tried but he yelled more and more. As embarrassed as I was I couldn't risk shutting him up, he was finally about to tell me the truth and give the evidence we need. I managed to walk him outside before finishing he disturbed the customers in the restaurant any more.
"I waited years to fuck that bitch but she always denied me what was mine," his swearing started to become more prominent the angrier he got, "the more I hit her the closer she got to giving in. I'm no rapist Lia but when I can't have what is rightfully mine I will stop at nothing to get it."
His words slurred and I knew he was completely and utterly smashed. If it were not for the pepper spray that I had my hand wrapped around in my coat pocket I don't think I would be able to stand here and not be scared for my life. He came closer to me and before I knew it I was wedged between him and the wall of the restaurant. I could feel his liquor laced breath on my ear.
"...I would have had her if she hadn't have kneed me in the balls before running out on me," his breath was hot on the side of my face, I felt his lips connect with my ear. "Remeber Julie who left NYPD 2 months ago? Well she had no problem with me taking what was rightfully mine, and neither will you." He seethed.
I tried to reach for my pepper spray but Brad captured my hands and pinned them at my sides. I was helpless.
"Hey get off of her!" A man shouted from the other end of the parking lot. My eyes were immediately on the young man who had just saved me. I could hear the sound of his feet sprinting across the parking lot chasing after Brad who had made a run for it towards his car. I couldn't move, my body still felt as if it were being pressed up against the wall even though I was free of his grasp.
The young man came up to me and asked if I was okay. I thanked him for scaring Brad away. He also asked me if I wanted a lift but I denied and said I would ring my 'boyfriend'- really meaning Noah.
I pulled my phone from my pocket along with the recorder and dialled Noah's number. It only took two rings for him to pick up.
"Everything okay Lia?" He asked.
"Please can you come and pick me up?"
"I'm 5 minutes away, wait there." He ended the call and showed up quicker than expected. I got into his car clutching the recorder to my chest. This still wasn't all of the evidence we needed but we were one step closer, but there was one thing bothering me and it was that I am so shaken from that experience with Brad that I'm not sure I can continue with this plan.
As much as I need this man to go down for what he has done to all of those women, maybe I'm just not the girl to do it.
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A/N
I know it's been a month since the last chapter and I'm so sorry!
I've seriously struggled writing this chapter and I'm not sure why but I hope you enjoyed it.
Living with my boss is coming to an end very soon and I'm going to be so sad to see it finish, but there will be a second book so don't worry!
Leave any comments you have about this chapter and what's going on. I'll try to respond to everyone :)