Not just the Beta (Oriana and Slade) novel Chapter 124

Peirce

Peirce now sat, after all his searching out, on Slade Southerland. Thinking about Ana being Oriana Vale, and thought about the relationship he had with her. Before he had royally screwed it up; and he now knew that he had done just that. He’d been stupidly seduced by his ex-wife.

He’d seen her be soft and gentle like she’d once been when they had first gotten together, she’d smiled at him, gotten along with him, told him she didn’t want to fight with him anymore about anything. That she wanted to prove to him that she wasn’t that mean person anymore.

Had offered to move up here with the girls, so that he could see them every day, that once she moved here, she would see to getting their custody agreement changed, so he could have them after school and on one day of each weekend. She knew just where to hit him: with their children. She’d even managed to convince the girls that she was going to move up here so they could see him all the time.

She’d stopped antagonizing him at every turn, and smiled at him, and told him she wanted to get along. It had seemed to him that, that was exactly what had been going on. He’d not believed it at first but that act

she’d been putting on now for a solid month, but when the girls had gotten all excited about moving here, he’d actually believed her.

Then he’d come out of the bathroom one day, and she’d been in his bedroom. He’d known she was coming to drop the girls off but hadn’t expected her to be in his bedroom. She’d smiled at him and then, before he knew it, was knelt down before him, giving him a head-job. Something she was actually really good at, and he’d stupidly not shoved her away, had let her, had grabbed her head and pulled her hard to him, pushed himself deeper into her.

Then they’d just been having sex all hot and heavy, and things had gotten out of hand, and before he knew it, he was a cheating asshole. She’d told him he needed to break up withAna, that she wouldn’t tell the girl what they’d done, so she wouldn’t feel hurt. But he just hadn’t been able to, had too much guilt, and he had become the thing he hated the most.

He thought he was getting his wife and kids back, under the same roof, only to have Ana find out before he could tell her, and he’d tried to turn it on her, make it out that it was her fault when it was not. The minute Ana had left the house and run off into the woods, Felicity had gotten out of her car.

Smiled at him and stated, “It’s finally over between the two of you.”

He’d nodded because it was, had sighed a little at the way it had ended, and then muttered he’d better go after her, she’d come here in a taxi like always, because she was sleeping over, and he’d drop her at the café on the way to work in the morning.

Felicity had laughed “Oh she’s not coming back, now she knows you I have been fucking. She’s gone, Peirce, and it serves you right.”

He’d stared at her, and she’d sneered at him “I’ll never let you be happy with anyone else.” Then she had turned and walked away from him, called over her shoulder “Thanks for the fuck, it’s been awhile.” her only goal, it appeared had to be to ruin him and Ana, and she’d managed it.

She had left town the very next day and taken the kids with her. She hadn’t even picked up the phone when he called her. Become that vindictive person he’d been dealing with for years. He’d been so damned stupid as to let her put hands on him. She’d been his college sweetheart, the first woman he’d ever loved, and he’d been sucked in by the memories of how they had used to be.

He had fallen right into her honey trap, and now his life was ruined once more, managed to get his reputation as a good honest guy, ruined too, everything was down the drain. This was a small town where everyone knew everyone.

Ana’s sisters were very loyal to her and had torn strips off him, in front of everyone in the café. He’d gone in there that morning to see if Ana would talk to him. Let him explain and apologize, tell her it was not her fault, and that he was sorry, that he’d tried to make her believe it was her fault.

She’d not even come into town since they’d broken up though. She was hurt by him and he knew it. Maybe she had loved him, and just couldn’t say it out loud, for her own personal reasons. Likely that man here hunting her was the very reason. He’d probably hurt her himself, and it had made Ana run away, change her name and be very uncertain where men were concerned.

He did know that she’d never once dated anyone since coming to this town, had heard that from a few of the folk here. Maddie herself had told him Ana wasn’t the type to date. The only thing in her life that mattered to her, was that her daughter was truly happy.

He’d pursued her relentlessly, because she was not only beautiful but a good mother, the people here liked her, she could take care of herself, and she, he didn’t think would ever stray. Wouldn’t even date so choosing him after years of being on her own. She would not be out there looking for anyone on the side.

She never even argued with him, didn’t need to, they both led full lives, and she understood the constraints of his job, getting called in at all hours, working long hard hours. Just accepted it as part of who he was. Something that his wife had stated drove her to have an affair, because he worked too much, and was hardly ever home, she felt unloved by him.

He thought about Ana or Oriana now, in a new light, and wondered if she’d chosen him for a reason, because he was the Sheriff and could offer her an added layer of protection if she needed it. Now here it was, people looking for her, she likely needed him and his help, and he’d screwed it all up.

He knew she wasn’t likely going to come to him for help, if that man found her, not after his monumental fuck up, “Peirce.” Ross interrupted his thoughts from his office doorway, he had left him alone for the past few hours while he had researched Slade Southerland and Oriana Vale. Who was now Ana Forester.

He pulled his phone out and wondered if Ana would even respond to him messaging her, or if she had blocked him and deleted his number. All things that were completely possible. Though he still had hers in his phone, he wasn’t likely to get passed her so-called sisters to be able to speak with her.

His chest still ached where she’d kicked him, so full of rage, and completely unexpected he’d been sent flying back across the room, she’d fractured two of his ribs. X-rays confirmed that. He still had yellowish bruising from her assault on him. He didn’t blame her for it, but he also hadn’t seen it coming, she was too placid for him to think that she would ever attack anyone.

“I’ll deal with it, Ross.” He stated as he scrolled through his contact list, her picture popped up next to her name, one he’d taken himself of her smiling up at him, she was never going to forgive him. He sent her a short message.

“Oriana Vale?” just two simple words, and waited to see what she would do. Those two words would speak volumes to her. No one here in town knew her by that name. Only those from her old life. She would understand that her old life was knocking on the police station door, asking questions, and had shown him a picture of her.

He got nothing back, but he did see that she read it, got that little tick next to his message. He didn’t actually expect her to confirm or deny it. It was just his way of letting her know he now knew who she really was.

He stared at her picture and the messages that had once gone between them, deleted them, deleted all the photos on his phone of her, had quite a few from over the years, and not just of her and him, but of her and Ocean, of her and his girls even.

He changed her name in the phone to Sister Annie, because he had a feeling that things in his town were about to become not so quiet. And if Mr Southerland decided to jump him and go through his phone, all he would see was there was no Oriana or Ana in his phone.

Maddie, Zara and Londyn were all still here in town, so she’d not bolted away at this point. Was likely laying low, in the hope those men would find nothing, and move on from Greenville after a few weeks.

It was probably the best option for her as well. If she and those sisters of hers all suddenly disappeared out of the blue, it would be the talk of the town. Which would lead that man to know he’d found her. What the other women around her looked like, making it even harder for her to hide.

Hiding one person was easier to do than hiding five. It was now just a game of hide and seek on her part, and he could only hope Ana and her sisters were going to win it.