Just Guard Me Forever Read online

  Just Guard Me Forever

  Saving Sandy series book 3

  Valentina Turner

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Copyright © 2020 [Valentina Turner] – All rights Reserved

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication / use of the trademarks is not authorized, associated with or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  Chapter 1

  Sandy’s heart beat rapidly against her chest. She couldn’t believe that James had actually made good his threat of “getting her.” With all the drama going on in her life, she hadn’t even given him a single thought.

  Sandy tried to talk through the hand clamped across her mouth, but it wasn’t possible. She moved her lips against the calloused hand, striving to say something that would get to him. When that didn’t work, she tried biting him.

  “Bitch! Don’t even think about it. I’ll beat you black and blue if you dare try to bite me,” James warned ominously against her ear. The pungent smell of alcohol hit her nostrils.

  Her brain began to race, looking for possible ways to get out of the situation. If James was drunk, there was a possibility that she could outsmart him. In the past, when he was tanked-up, he was usually sloppy. At such times, she was able to run from him.

  Sandy believed that she could do it again if she kept her fear at bay and thought of something. And fast.

  However, when she felt the tip of a cold metal object against her cheek, Sandy had to admit this situation was not the same. The only weapon James used to wield in the past was either his belt or anything he could lay his hand on.

  This was the first time he was threatening her with a gun. Prison must have taught him to become even nastier. Sandy swallowed tightly against the hand that held her bound.

  “I can see that I have your attention. Your heartbeat can be heard even in the next county.” He snickered against her ear. “Now move slowly. No fast movements now or else you’ll regret it.”

  When Sandy stood there without doing anything, fear holding her immobile, he pressed the gun harder against her face.

  “I’m not afraid to use it,” he warned with a snigger. “I have nothing to lose anymore, Sandy. It’s dark. No one can see us; no one knows I’m here. I can easily disappear. And even if I get caught, I don’t care. I have nothing to live for anymore. I made your mother change her will. She was supposed to leave me the diner. I had no idea that when I went to prison, she had it changed.” He gritted his teeth. “She’s very fortunate that she died before I came out of prison. I would have made her regret the decision.”

  The intense hatred she heard in James’s voice frightened her. The man really did detest her with a passion. She wondered what she could do to keep him talking so that someone might come along and rescue her from his hold.

  Although she was furious with Seth, she wished he would come looking for her there. That was if he even cared enough to come after her.

  Tears made her eyes smart. After all, she was nothing but a sabbatical fling to him. His real girlfriend was pregnant. What more would he want with her? To apologize? She didn’t need his apology. She needed him to get out of her life for good.

  You need him now, Sandy.

  Her hurt took over. What could he do to save the situation? He was a neurosurgeon! He wouldn’t even be able to wrestle the gun from James and might get her killed in the process.

  You’re speaking from hurt, Sandy.

  She didn’t care if she was. When her mother died, she had to take care of herself and had been doing that ever since. So, it was up to her to save herself.

  James let out a low growl. “Am I not making myself clear to you? I said get into the truck. We’re going for a ride.”

  Sandy’s pulse raced as James nudged her forward. He moved the gun from her cheek to her back.

  She had no option but to move back to the truck with him poking the gun at her back. She stopped when she reached the truck. Still pointing the gun at her, he yanked her keys from her hand.

  “Get in,” he barked, “remember, no sudden movement or else …” He cocked his gun for emphasis.

  Getting the message, she nodded and opened the door. It took an effort to slide into the truck because she was shaking so badly. It was beginning to dawn on her that she was in a a pickle she might not be able to get out of.

  “Sit still,” he ordered sternly.

  James snapped the door shut and with his gun still pointed at her and ran to the passenger side. In the time it took him to run across, Sandy reached for the door. But just as she was about to step out of the truck, she was yanked back painfully against the seat.

  Pain exploded in her face when James struck her cheek. Sandy saw stars as her face stung.

  “I told you not to try to be smart, didn’t I?” he barked. “This will teach you to do as I say. Next time, I’ll use my gun. So, don’t test me. Have I made myself clear?”

  With her cheek rapidly turning red, Sandy nodded.

  “Good.” He tossed the keys at her. “Now, drive. Remember, I’m watching you. No matter what you think, you can’t escape this. I’ve got you right where I want. There will be no saving you. Before that fool you’ve wrapped around your finger knows you’re missing, we’ll be long gone.”

  “Where are we going?” she questioned quietly. Her hand shook when she took the keys, but she tried to hide it from him.

  However, her hand still trembled when she strove to insert the key in the ignition. James noticed and burst into laughter.

  “I can see that you understand me,” he stated with glee. “As to where we’re going, it’s none of your business. All you need to do is drive and stop when I tell you. So, don’t ever question me again. In fact, I don’t want to hear your voice anymore. You’ll earn yourself a slap and more if you talk.”

  I need to get out of his clutches.

  Sandy finally slotted the key in the ignition and started the car. Clumsily, she drove out of the parking lot and into the street. She pondered on the wisdom of driving dangerously so that they could have an accident and then she would escape from James.

  But what were the chances that she wouldn’t get hurt or even die in the process if she were to intentionally cause an accident? And then she might ram the car into an innocent person or another car.

  Sandy let out a small sigh. She would have to find another way to get free that would not involve hurting someone else. She didn’t mind if something happened to James in the process. He wouldn’t think twice if he wanted to hurt her.

  When she drove past the diner, impulsively, she pressed the horn. But that got her a slap from James which almost made her lose control of the vehicle. She had to maneuver her steering wheel really hard to avoid hitting a car coming in the opposite direction.

  “Do that again, bitch, and you’ll regret it. I’ll go in there and shoot everyone,” James savagely warned her, his face reddening with anger.

  Tears she couldn’t help shedding rolled down her face. It had dawned on her earlier
that she was in a dire situation. But after what just happened, she realized that she was really in danger.

  James was a psychopath who would think nothing of hurting people just to get his message across.

  He made her drive around the town, just stopping in popular places for some minutes before making her drive on. Sandy surmised that he wanted the truck to be seen around Plyrock.

  When he told her to drive toward the outskirts of town, she knew what he had done. Driving around town and stopping in several places would throw the cops off his trail.

  As she drove out of the town with tremors racing through her body, hope died inside her.

  Chapter 2

  “What’s going on?” Malcolm asked as they watched Sandy drive out of the ranch in a hurry.

  Seth ran his fingers through his hair. “I have no idea,” he replied, wondering what must have caused Sandy to leave in such a hurry without even telling him. Even though he tried to get her attention and ran toward her, she hadn’t acknowledged it.

  “I bet you that friend of hers had something to do with it,” Malcolm interjected with barely constrained anger. “She must have told Sandy something that got her so upset, she had to leave. We should question her.”

  Seth would have laughed at his brother’s excuse for seeing Jules but he was so worried about Sandy, humor was far from him.

  “It might be an emergency. Maybe something has happened to Aunt Karen,” Seth remarked with a frown.

  “She would have told you before driving off, wouldn’t she?” his brother pointed out.

  Seth’s frown deepened as he tried to make sense of what was going on. “Maybe it was very urgent.”

  Seth knew he was merely making excuses for Sandy’s weird behavior. What he didn’t want to admit to himself and to his brother was that he was afraid that Sandy might have suddenly regained her memory. If that was the case, then he wouldn’t be surprised she drove off like that. He, too, would have done the same thing.

  Seth shook his head. No. He would have confronted her instead of driving off without saying a word. But he had to allow for for the fact that her aunt had told him it was her typical reaction when she was upset.

  If indeed she had regained her memory, he would find a way to get in touch with her and explain everything. Then he would tell her never to leave again without first giving him a a chance to explain. Nothing could be gained by her always running away whenever they had issues to sort out.

  Seth reached for his phone in his pocket and dialed her number. It kept on ringing but she didn’t pick up. The hairs on the back of his neck rose as he feared the very worst. If she was really upset, then she shouldn’t be behind the wheel.

  The last time she had been that upset, she had gone into the road without looking first. What would happen to her now that she was driving?

  Fear slithered up his spine.

  “I’ve got to go after her,” Seth commented as they hurried toward the house.

  “I still think that you should go over to the shed and ask Jules what she told Sandy,” his brother persisted with a grimace on his face.

  Seth shook his head. “I’d be wasting time doing that. Sandy tends to be reckless when she’s upset. I’ve got to find her before she hurts herself.”

  Malcolm sighed. “You can take the jeep parked out back.”

  “Thank you,” Seth replied, trying Sandy’s number again.

  “Speak of the devil,” Malcolm said and snorted.

  Seth lifted his eyes from his cellphone to see Jules standing in front of the shed, looking in the direction of the gate. From the look on her face, he didn’t think that she had anything to do with the way Sandy had acted.

  Jules turned in their direction and started walking toward them. Seth decided to take his brother’s advice. Maybe he ought to wait and ask her if anything happened to cause Sandy to be so upset. Perhaps he would get answers from her and know how to tread from there.

  They were a few paces from the house, so he decided to wait for her as she walked toward them with hurried steps. Seth saw the male appreciation in his brother’s eyes and almost smiled. If he wasn’t so worried about Sandy, he would have teased Malcolm mercilessly about his obvious attraction to Jules. Maybe he could do so after he sorted things out with Sandy.

  Although it was selfish of him, he wished that Sandy had driven off for another reason other than the obvious. It would buy him time to talk to her about what caused her accident and about who he truly was.

  It would be sheer bad luck that just when he was about to open up to her was when she regained her memory.

  Seth and Malcolm climbed up the porch steps just as the door swung open and Haley came out of the house with a bright smile across her face.

  “Hello darling. I’ve been waiting for you.”

  Seth froze as all the color drained from his face.

  This can’t be happening.

  He inwardly acknowledged that it was sheer misfortune on his side for Haley to have showed up at the ranch just when he was about to confess everything to Sandy.

  “Oh, no,” he groaned, realizing what must have happened.

  Haley would waste no time in telling Sandy everything. In fact, she would take delight in it. Haley had developed a mean streak that completely astounded him.

  Two years ago, he had met and fallen in love with a sweet, loving, caring and unpretentious woman. But now, the woman standing in front of him was a complete stranger.

  Maybe you had simply seen what you wanted to see.

  That was definitely what had happened. He had been lonely, he reasoned. He had met Haley at a fashion show for charity. Although he hadn’t fallen in love with her straight away, he had been attracted to her. It had started with just sex before love developed. But after hearing the conversation she had with her friend, he knew now that she had simply been pretending.

  Shaking himself out of his stunned state, he walked to her with a frown on his face.

  “What are you doing here, Haley? What did you tell Sandy?”

  Haley placed her hands on her lips, and giving him a hurt look, said, “Is that how to talk to the woman who’s carrying your baby?”

  “What?”

  Seth whirled around at the sound of Jules’s voice. In his shocked state, he had totally forgotten about her.

  “You bastard! You really cheated on Sandy!” Jules shrieked at him before he could say anything.

  “Now wait a minute,” Malcolm shot in coldly. “Don’t you go throwing accusations when you know nothing.”

  Jules turned to him with fire in her eyes, her face flushed with anger. “Know nothing?” She pointed at Haley. “Isn’t it obvious what’s going on? Your bastard of a brother cheated on my best friend and got another woman pregnant.” She turned to Seth with accusing eyes. “How could you have done such a thing to Sandy? She loves you very much.”

  Malcolm gritted his teeth. “You know, you talk too much. Why don’t you keep quiet and listen for once?”

  Jules turned to him and stabbed a finger in the air at him. “Don’t you dare tell me to keep quiet. I bet you’re just like your brother—bunch of cheaters and heartbreakers.”

  Malcolm let out a humorless laugh. “Look who is talking.” His gaze raked her from head to feet.

  Jules folded her arms across her chest. Her mouth twisted in a snarl. “And what is that supposed to mean?”

  He snorted. “Just exactly what it means. You have no right accusing my brother of anything without knowing what’s going on.”

  “Dammit! I know what’s going on. Isn’t she the woman Sandy painted earlier? The same woman Sandy said she didn’t know who she was but she kept on seeing in her mind’s eye. What does that tell you?” She dropped her hands and whirled around to fix angry eyes on Seth. “She caught you with her, didn’t she? That’s why she got hit by a car when she was leaving, right? And you dirty bastard, you took advantage of the fact that she lost her memory to carry on as if nothing happened. How could you betr
ay Sandy like that? You’re her first real boyfriend, dammit!”

  “Oh, shut up, woman! I repeat, you don’t know anything.”

  Seth had taken every verbal blow Jules threw at him without saying a word, but when she and Malcolm engaged in a full-blown quarrel, he simply took Haley’s hand and pulled her into the house.

  He took her to the kitchen where they could talk without hearing his brother and Sandy’s best friend yelling at each other.

  “What did you tell Sandy?” he said between clenched teeth.

  Haley shrugged. “The truth.” Seemingly impervious to the blazing anger in his eyes, she added, “I didn’t even have to tell her about the baby because she remembered.”

  A thick frown marked his forehead. “She did?”

  Haley simply nodded. Seth surmised that Sandy probably gained her memory upon sighting Haley.

  He hissed and turned away, trying to bring control to his anger. If only Haley hadn’t showed up, he would have told Sandy everything and they would have found a way to sort things out between them.

  He whirled around with barely restrained anger. “Why are you here? Why did you come? Didn’t I repeatedly tell you to wait for me to come to New York?”

  Haley flared up, too. “I got tired of waiting, Seth. How could you have abandoned me there and remain here enjoying yourself with your girlfriend?”

  “Because she was in the hospital thanks to you.”

  “You can’t blame me for that! No one told her to go rushing off like that just the way she did a few minutes ago. What an impulsive person she is.”

  “I will not have you talk about Sandy in that disdainful manner. You don’t know anything about her, so shut up!”

  Flipping back her hair, she said with haughtiness, “Well, I won’t. I came here to be with you and I’m not going to leave until I give birth to your baby.”

  “You must be joking,” he snapped at her.

  She folded her arms across her chest and presented him with a smug smile. “I am not.”

  Seth realized then that he was wasting his time with her. He should have gone in search of Sandy. He was a little relieved that he now knew why she drove off the ranch like that. It was going to be a herculean task getting her to listen to him and accept that he wanted to be with her, not Haley, but he would do it.