Page 9 of A Monster's Obsession

SASHA

It shocked the hell out of me when Sawyer burst into my office. His face was red, his large hands were shaking, and his green eyes were filled with rage. I thought he was going to choke the shit out of Patrick Abbott. I had no idea how the two men knew each other, but it was obvious that there was bad blood between them.

I wanted to calm the situation down, but every time I opened my mouth, Sawyer looked like he was going to shoot fire at my head. He had never treated me like this. He was always so sweet and tender with me, but now everything had changed, and it was my fault. I could accept it, but it was still a hard pill to swallow. And although he was obviously angry with me, and his high-handed attitude made me angry, I was grateful for him being here. I can admit that I’m in over my head.

When I couldn’t get a traditional loan, I went to see a guy my cousin Joe knew. Joe told me that Patrick Abbott could get me the money I needed to buy the building from Mr. Todd. I knew what a loan shark was, and I knew that they would charge an extraordinary amount of interest. I was prepared for all of those things, but I wasn’t prepared for Patrick to go back on his word. He told me that I would have a year to pay back the loan. He lied.

It had only been a few months, and here he was knocking on my door for his money. It wasn’t like I could pay him back. I didn’t have another show scheduled for another few weeks, and it still wouldn’t garner the type of money for me to be able to pay off the entire loan.

I panicked, trying to come up with an excuse to hold Patrick off when Sawyer came in. I know that I shouldn’t have felt a wave of relief wash over me at the sight of him, but I would be lying if I said it didn’t. To see Sawyer’s tall, muscular body taking up the doorway at the exact time that I needed him, calmed me completely.

However, this was not his problem to deal with; it was mine. It wasn’t his business which I had dealings with, and I couldn’t involve him. He couldn’t save me, and I wasn’t some damsel in distress. I was a big girl, and I needed to figure this shit out. I just needed a little more time. Even though I was glad Sawyer showed up, I couldn’t rely on him to save me.

“Sasha, you need to let me handle this.” Sawyer was trying to once again handle business that wasn’t his.

“Sawyer! I appreciate you being her, but can you let me finish up with Mr. Abbott?” Patrick Abbott was a snake, but he was a snake that I chose to do business with. So, it was up to me to clean up my own self-made mess.

“Fuck, no!” The anger dripped from Sawyer’s words, but I didn’t have time to figure out why Sawyer was so upset. I learned two years ago that Sawyer kept a lot of secrets, and this was just one more.

“Nash, you heardyour woman. We have business to finish. And I’m not leaving until I get my money, or…” Patrick let his words trail off as he looked at me and licked his thin pink lips. The action made me want to vomit.

Patrick Abbott could qualify as handsome if he never opened his mouth. His brown hair was almost the same color as Sawyer’s, but it didn’t have that luster and shine that made you want to run your hands through it, like Sawyer’s did. Patrick’s eyes weren’t bright, either. However, his eyes did hold the same dangerous glint as Sawyer’s. It was something that I’d noticed when I’d first met him. He had a straight nose and a thick dark beard that surrounded his forever smirking mouth. Patrick was always dressed in a tailored suit that showed off his body, but he still would never measure up to how Sawyer looked in a suit.

However, I didn’t like Patrick’s threats. I didn’t have the money and I was hopeful that he wouldn’t kill me. I knew that Patrick owned some bars and gentlemen’s clubs, and I hope he didn’t think I was about to be shaking my ass or selling it to his money.

“How much does she owe you?” Sawyer’s question broke through my frantic thoughts, and I frowned.

“Half a million.” Patrick leaned back in his chair and crossed one long leg over the other. The number upset me all over again. I borrowed two-hundred-seventy-thousand and not a penny more. Now, I owed a loan shark five-hundred-thousand. I knew the risks, and I knew about the high-interest rates. I knew that I couldn’t call the police. I knew I was completely fucked.

“You’ll have it by the end of the day,” Sawyer said, shocking the shit out of Patrick and me.

“Sawyer, you can’t do…” I didn’t finish my sentence because Patrick had jumped out of his chair and got in Sawyer’s face.

If they were going to fight, there wouldn’t be anything I could do about it. Both men were over six-feet tall with solid muscular bodies. My little one-hundred and thirty-five-pound five-foot-three frame surely wouldn’t be able to pull them apart, and I will be damned if I tried.

“You’re always sticking your nose in my business. This has nothing to do with you.” Patrick growled menacingly.

“That’s where you’re wrong. Sashaismy business. And you’ll have your money, so stay the fuck away from her.”

“Hey, hey, fellas. Let’s all relax and calm down.” I tried to interject, but neither man was listening to me.

“You have no jurisdiction here, Nash. You can’t order me to do shit!” Patrick sneered at Sawyer. I’m not an idiot by any means, but I couldn’t follow their conversation. It was like they were speaking in code or something.What did he mean by jurisdiction? I know Sawyer wasn’t some kind of law enforcement? How exactly did they know each other?

“You’re right, and I don’t have any jurisdiction here. But Sasha’s my wife, so that makes her off-limits, or did you conveniently forget about that rule.”

“Wife!” Patrick and I exclaimed at the same time. I knew Sawyer was crazy, but this man needed to be in an institution. I don’t care how sexy his ass was; he needed to be in a straight-jacket. Pronto!

“She’s not your wife! It wasn’t on the check,” Patrick was shaking his head with his fists balled up. I don’t know why he kept mentioning a check. At first, I thought it was about the loan, but the more he keeps saying it, the more I think he’s referring to a different type of check.

“Sasha will be my wife in a few days. We wanted to keep it under wraps for now, but since she didn’t tell me about this deal with you,” Sawyer looked at me with a stay quiet expression when I went to interrupt. I could see he was trying to help me, so for now, I would stay quiet. Clearly, there were things that I didn’t know about Patrick AbbottandSawyer Nash.

“I have to tell you about our union. This makes Sasha as well as the gallery off-limits to the Abbott family.” Sawyer finished his little speech, and I was still confused.

“If you’re not married by the end of the week, I’m going to the council about this.” Patrick stormed out of the office, and I was left with a million questions and a new fiancé.

***

“Okay! What the hell is going on?” I yelled the question at Sawyer as soon as Patrick was gone. I was standing in the same room as the two men, and it was like they were speaking in riddles. I couldn’t follow their asinine conversation, and it made me mad.