Page 23 of Revived (Lucky Ones #1)

Chapter fifteen

Elena Rossi

I t’s just after eight when Addy, Kenz, and I drag ourselves inside my house.

We’ve worked hard today and my entire body aches, but I didn’t want to be home alone so they came over.

After ordering dinner on DoorDash and getting comfortable on my couches, we turn on the newest installment of our favorite scary movie franchise.

I don’t care what anyone thinks, the Strangers movies are the best scary movies out there.

It isn’t until our Dasher drops off our dinner that I realize there’s a beautiful bouquet of pure white roses on my kitchen island. I set down the bags and pluck out the card set in the middle. Pulling out the card, I read the typed message.

I love you Principessa. See you soon.

My Papa is so cute. He randomly sends me white roses all of the time.

One of the boys must have stopped by and brought them in for me.

I’m supposed to go back to Jersey next month to visit him, but I may just have him come to DC and I’ll come see him there.

Much like all of my best friends, being in Jersey City is too hard now. I’d much prefer him to come to me.

“Ooh, pretty!” Addy exclaims, walking up behind me.

“Who are they from?” Kenz asks, also admiring the flowers.

“My Papa. He sends me flowers randomly.” I smile because he really is the sweetest Papa .

After my sister was taken and my Mama died, it was just the two of us.

He was the most involved and hands on Papa.

He was there for every competition, every school assembly, and every dance.

He had to play the role of both parents, and although I know exactly who my father is outside of our house, I never saw that directed towards me.

My biological sister once made the comment that my Papa’s work came home with him and that I spent my life with a target on my back. One that she no longer had since being rescued from the trafficking ring she was kidnapped and sold into. One that her adopted family erased from her.

She couldn’t be more wrong about that. I didn’t have any more of a target than any of my friends.

I had guards that treated me like I was their own, and a Papa who tried his best to keep his work out of our house.

I didn’t bother explaining that to her, though.

I just asked her not to speculate about what I’d been through, and we moved on.

Little does she know that the man, who in her eyes didn’t protect her enough, put me first in every aspect of his life.

That didn’t stop bad shit from happening.

He’s my Dad not a god. He can’t control it all, but he tried.

He also never stopped trying to find Lee and get her back.

“Your dad is so dreamy.” Addy bats her eyes, causing me to mock gag.

“You’re disgusting, shut up.” I playfully push her away.

“Okay, ladies. Let’s grab our food and get back to the movie. We can discuss Elle’s sexy as sin father later.” She giggles as she dodges my hand that just shot out at her and runs into the room sing-songing, “gotta be quicker than that, Rory.”

“There’s worse things out there than having a hot dad, Elle. Take it as a compliment. Y’all look alike.” Addy smirks as she takes her food and saunters out of the room .

“I look like a hot man?” I call at her back as I grab my dinner and make my way back to the living room, where both girls are laughing uncontrollably now.

“Yes, that’s exactly what we were trying to say.” Kenz says with a dramatic roll of her eyes.

Before I can retort, a loud knock at my door has all of us jumping.

None of the guys knock. Why would they when they all have keys?

I bring my finger carefully up to my lips and keep the movie playing.

Standing on shaky legs, I tiptoe as quietly as I can to the front door.

Looking out the peephole, I see what I’m assuming is a man shadowed by the night.

My only clue that it’s a man is he stands over six feet.

I don’t say a word, but somehow he knows I’m here.

I know he does. The uneasy shiver skates down my spine as his voice startles me.

“Is Tamara home?” A deep gravelly voice that stalls my heart in my chest rings out. That’s my stalker. Mac didn’t kill him at all; he couldn’t have when he’s right on the other side of this door.

He knows what we’re watching. How the hell does he know that…

My blood chills in my veins. He has to have cameras in here.

Of fucking course he does. I’m so stupid for not having someone do a sweep of the house after the car incident.

I grab my phone from the pocket of my shorts and shoot a message to the group chat.

Elle: Call 9-1-1 to my house now. Do not come over here until the cops come. I love you guys.

“I know you’re right on the other side of the door, Principessa. Just let me in. We could have so much fun together.” He laughs darkly.

I don’t say a single word, and aside from the movie playing and the sniffles from the girls in the other room, it’s silent. That is until heavy thuds of a fist on wood scare me enough that a shriek fights its way out of me.

“Gotcha. See you soon, little gymnast.”

I work up the strength to check the peephole again, but when I do, the porch is empty.

It’s like he was never there. My throat burns with acid that’s stuck in my esophagus.

The next thing I know my vision tunnels, and I know what’s coming before it happens.

My legs give out, and I’m surrounded by darkness.

***

The steady beep…beep…beep… has me aware that I’m in a hospital before I even open my eyes. My next clue is the people whisper talking around me, but the voice that I pick out above all of them has me fighting to open my eyes.

“How long until she wakes up?” Sully’s panicked voice rings throughout the space.

I blink my eyes open to realize how wrong I was.

I’m on a stretcher in my entryway. The beeping is the monitors the paramedics have me attached to, and the whispering voices actually aren’t whispering at all.

Sully’s pacing the length of the entryway while pulling at the short strands of his hair.

His eyes snap to mine like he can feel me looking at him.

He lets out a shaky exhale while two words pass his lips, “baby girl.” He’s at my side in the next second and his hand wraps around mine. “Dammit Elle, you scared the fuck out of me.”

I look around, confused for only a few seconds before it all comes rushing back.

My stalker at the front door.

The movie reference.

Cameras, there have to be cameras.

Texting the guys.

Addy and Kenz…

Fuck, where are Addy and Kenz? Are they okay?

Frantically I begin looking around for them. “Where are they? Are Addy and Kenz okay?”

Sully grips my hand just a little tighter, “Calm down. They’re okay. They’re talking to the police in the other room. Your blood sugar tanked, and they’re thinking you passed out from that and being so scared. What the hell happened?”

I thread my fingers through his and hold on like he’s my only lifeline.

He’s here, so I know nothing bad can or will happen.

Terror grips my throat, and it takes longer than I’d like to admit to get the words out.

Once I take a few deep breaths, I manage to run through the events of the night, making sure to leave nothing out.

By the time I’m done, Sully’s face is stone cold and unreadable.

He looks above my head, and only then do I realize that Xavier and a police officer that I remember from the bar are standing there.

I think his name was River? I can’t be too sure with my head still swimmy.

“She’s had this stalker since we were in high school.

He went underground our senior year, and I guess he’s now decided to pop his head out.

He wasn’t like this, though. Just love letters, some gifts, and knowing things he shouldn’t.

He was never violent before.” Sully shakes his head like he can’t believe the escalation. Only he doesn’t know the truth .

“Uh… Actually he was violent before. Once, right before he went underground. ” I look at River and only at River, ignoring X and Sully burning holes into my head.

“Elena, I don’t know if you remember me or not, but we met at The Den once. I’m Detective Brooks. Can you tell me about that?” Detective Brooks probes.

I nod as I shut my eyes and allow myself to go back to that time.

***

Seventeen years old

I swipe mascara over my lashes to make them impossibly longer as Harry Styles blasts from the sound system in my room.

After making sure my makeup looks perfect, I move from my vanity to the full length mirror attached to the back of my bedroom door.

My room is white and lavender, even down to my bedroom furniture.

It’s way larger than I’d ever need it to be, but our house is also way larger than it needs to be for just my Papa and I.

Looking at my outfit, I smile. Sully loves these denim shorts.

I mean, he hasn’t said that, but the way he watches me a little closer when I wear them tells me he does.

My cropped white shirt and bright red chucks finish off the look.

Grabbing my phone after checking myself over one more time, I race down the stairs towards my Papa’s office.

After telling him where I’ll be and promising him that Sullivan will be there so I don’t need security, I head out.

I slide into my new Audi Q7 and make sure to buckle before pulling out of my long driveway.

I’m meeting the guys at the party since half of us are coming straight from practice, while the other half aren’t.

Almost immediately my low gas light comes on…

Shit. I hate gas stations, especially at night.

Pulling over to a well lit station, I get out and begin pumping my gas.

I’m mid text in the group chat to let them know I stopped when a sharp pain radiates from the back of my head and everything goes black.

My eyes flutter open while pain radiates through the back of my head and my limbs scream in agony.

I’m in the back seat of a vehicle that I don’t recognize, and the driver of the car is humming the song on the radio happily.

A groan works its way past my lips without permission, which causes the man that I don’t know to look at me in the rearview mirror and smile with glee.

“Elena! I’m so glad you’ve woken up. So sorry for the nasty headache, but it was the only way I could get you alone.”

Holy shit. This can’t be the guy who’s been stalking me for years.

There’s no way. A guy has been leaving me gifts and notes, and taking pictures of me from afar for a few years now.

He seemed harmless enough, so I just ignored him.

My Papa was trying to track him down, but apparently he’s slippery as well.

He looks only a couple of years older than me.

His eyes and hair are both dark. His skin is ghostly pale, and his voice causes the worst kind of shivers to slide across my skin.

“I want to go home. Please let me go.” Tears spring to my eyes, and I begin to try to work my ankles and arms from their restraints.

We pull over immediately. The man gets out of the vehicle and flings open the door at my feet.

He rips me out of the car until I crash to the asphalt, my head bouncing off the unforgiving road.

The way he drags my body by my feet causes the rocky street to cut through the rope at my wrists just enough for me to wiggle out of them.

Blood, road rash, and dirt coat my arms along the way.

I bite down on my lip to stave off the scream of agony that I want to let out.

“You know, Elena. I thought this would end better than this. I’ve been in love with you for years, but you just want to go back home?

To what? Your father? Those boys you hang around with?

They don’t love you like I do. Like I can.

I’ll forget this all, and we can get back in the car and run away together, OR I can leave you here in the middle of nowhere with no way back.

Surely you’ll die out here without me. Come on, baby.

Let’s go get back in the car.” He coaxes with what he thinks is a soothing voice but really has me ready to vomit.

My phone’s still in my front pocket. I can feel it.

I just have to get away from him. He spins around on his heels so his back is to me and thrusts his hands through his hair.

This is it, my one shot at getting away.

I quietly untie and kick off the ropes at my feet.

My body screams to stop, but I can’t. At least, I can’t and still make it out of here alive.

I channel everything I’ve learned while growing up with six guy best friends who refuse to treat me like some little princess who can’t keep up and push up to my feet.

My stalker spins on his heels, and I catch him off guard just enough to be able to punch him as hard as I can in the temple.

He stumbles back before regaining his footing and punching me in the ribs.

Fuck, that broke something.

He grabs me, and a memory of Zach teaching me and his girlfriend self defense comes rushing back.

With all of my might, I throw my elbow back into the guy's solar plexus, which knocks all the breath out of his lungs. He obviously wasn’t stalking me close enough if he didn’t expect this.

I take my heel and slam it down on his foot before spinning around and kicking him in the dick as hard as I can.

He bends over and howls in pain, and before he can regain any semblance of his surroundings, I turn and bolt into the woods.

Everything hurts, and I want more than anything to collapse and let the blackness that’s sparkling at the corner of my vision win out.

The problem? I’ll be damned before I let him get near me again.

Thankfully I stop hearing his screams for me and footsteps behind me after about ten minutes.

Also, thankfully the guys have made me train with them for years.

I can run for hours at this point. After about twenty more minutes, when I’m positive I’m no longer being followed, I stop and drop to the ground.

Grabbing my phone from my pocket I press his number and bring the phone to my ear.

“Elena?” Mac answers, concern lacing his tone. “The guys are looking for you.”

“Mac… I need help.”