by Morgan James
Windows lined the walls, allowing the natural light to spill in. We wound our way through a sitting room into a large, screened-in lanai full of potted plants and comfortable looking furniture. Pushing open the French doors, Fox allowed me to precede him onto a wide stone terrace. A large, crystal blue pool took up a good portion of the space, complete with a dozen chaise lounges and a small cabana that stood off to the side.
My eyes scanned the beautiful space, dotted with more expensive looking patio furniture, a fire pit, and beautiful flowers, variations of which I'd never seen.
“Just a little farther,” Fox said.
From what I could tell, the only other thing out here was a small building next to the pool where I assumed the pump and other necessary components were housed. Beyond that was a set of steps that led down to the beach. I was starting to get antsy, afraid that, after everything he’d said, he was going to let me down. I wasn’t entirely sure what I was expecting, but this wasn’t it. I didn’t care about a pool or a private beach. I wanted Fox, needed his love and devotion. I wanted to know that he was capable of opening up and inviting me into his world. “I've seen the ocean before,” I said caustically.
Fox wrapped his fingers around my elbow and, using a slight pressure with the pads of his fingertips, turned me so I was facing him. I tipped my head up, shielding the sun from my eyes as he spoke. “I know I withheld information from you, and for that I was wrong. I want you to know everything—about me, about my life. I don't want any more secrets between us.”
I let out an exasperated sigh. Why the elaborate ruse? Why couldn’t he just open up and tell me instead of dragging this out? “You keep saying that, but...”
Motion from the corner of my eye drew my attention, and I trailed off as a figure emerged from the corner of the main house. Fox’s hand dropped from my elbow, slipping lower to settle on my waist as I slowly turned toward the person. A blankness settled over my body as my heart stuttered to a halt.
My mouth opened as if trying to form words, then snapped shut again. Seconds felt like minutes, and I could practically feel the thrum of blood pulsing through my veins as I studied the woman who slowly approached, a tremulous smile on her face. Surely this was a mirage, a figment of my imagination.
I swallowed hard, fighting the tears that had gathered in my eyes. “Elle?”
Chapter Ten
Eva
“Surprise, angel.” Fox whispered from just over my shoulder. He gave my waist a little squeeze, then released me. “Why don’t you go say hello?”
Still frozen, I couldn't even look at him, my gaze still transfixed on my sister. I was dreaming; I had to be. There was no way...
“Eva.”
That single word coming from my sister’s mouth broke the moment, and I sprinted forward and launched myself into her arms. In a tangle of limbs, we held each other tight, and the tears fell unchecked. After what seemed like forever, I finally pulled back and framed her face in my hands. “It’s really you. You’re here. My God, I can't...” I still couldn't quite wrap my mind around the fact that this was real. She was here, alive.
“It's me,” she whispered, tears sparkling in her pretty blue eyes. “I thought I’d never see you again. I missed you so much.”
“I missed you too,” I managed to choke out. “How did you—” My mind spun then slammed to a halt as realization finally sank in. Fox had known about her all along. He’d been responsible for her disappearance, but contrary to what I’d been led to believe, he hadn’t hurt her. I’d asked him once about my sister’s death; all he’d told me was that she’d felt no pain. It was all so obvious now. But... “Why?”
She smiled, but there was a trace of sadness in her eyes. “It's a long story.”
I'd almost forgotten that Fox was there until Elle lifted her gaze to him. She welcomed him with a hug, and I felt a slight twinge in the region of my heart as I watched them together. I could see his discomfort, and I knew how much it cost him to allow even that amount of intimacy from another person. There was so much more to him than met the eye, and I couldn’t begin to reconcile every facet of his personality right now. It was just too much to comprehend.
The dark-eyed driver who’d dropped us off appeared at Elle’s shoulder, and he wrapped one arm around her waist. My gaze bounced between all three of them, and I felt lightheaded as I swayed on my feet. “I think I need to sit down.”
Almost immediately, Fox was there supporting me. “Come on, angel. It’s been a rough couple of days. Let’s go inside.”
“No!” I threw a panicked look at Elle. “I—”
“Don’t worry,” he soothed. “She’s not going anywhere. Let’s get you two settled inside, then you can talk, okay?”
I nodded a little, and he kissed my temple before leading me into the sunroom overlooking the pool. He guided me into a chair, then disappeared inside the house. I watched with a sense of disbelief as Elle and the other man entered the sunroom, and she dropped into the corner of the loveseat adjacent to me. Fox was back a minute later, pressing a bottle of water into my hand. “Drink.”
Gratefully, I twisted off the top and took several healthy swallows. When the world no longer felt like it was spinning, I focused my attention on Elle and shook my head. “I just... God, this doesn’t seem real.”
My sister smiled softly then turned her gaze to the dark-skinned man who stood sentinel next to her. At her brief nod, he kissed the top of her head and moved away. Fox couldn’t be so easily moved, though, and he continued to hover by my side. “You look pale.”
I flicked a wry look his way. “More than normal?”
His teeth flashed in a grin before his expression turned serious once more. “You’re sure you’re feeling all right?”
I opened my mouth to speak, but Elle cut me off. “I’m sure she’ll be fine as soon as the shock wears off.”
Sending one more indecipherable look my way, Fox lifted my hand and squeezed my fingers. “I’ll be right inside if you need anything.”
I nodded, then watched him disappear into the kitchen. His gaze stayed glued to mine until the doors were firmly closed behind him.
“He’s a good man.”
I couldn’t form words, so I just nodded. We sat in silence for a second, neither of us really knowing what to say. It all seemed so... surreal. My gaze roved over my sister. She looked healthy. Happy. I met her gaze. “How have you been?”
“Good.” She smiled. “You look beautiful. How are you?”
Tears pricked my eyes again. “I missed you. So much.”
“I missed you, too.” Elle blinked away tears. She drew in a deep breath then let it out slowly, her blue eyes piercing into mine. “I’m sure you want to know what happened and why I’m here.”
That was an understatement. “I thought... we all thought...” I couldn’t even voice it. The hurt I’d felt at her absence radiated in a dull ache from my chest. I was grateful to see her, of course, but I couldn’t help but feel a tiny stab of resentment that she’d let us all believe she was dead.
“I know, and I’m sorry for that,” she said, her tone drenched with sympathy. “But I had to completely disappear, and this was the best solution.”
“But it’s been months, Ellie,” I argued. “Why didn’t you have Fox at least let us know you were okay?”
“I didn’t know you two”—she gestured toward the house with one hand—“knew each other. Besides, I couldn’t risk Daddy or Spencer finding out.”
Cold settled over me. “Did something happen?”
Her gaze dropped to the floor and stayed there. “Spencer is... charismatic. It’s what makes him so good at his position in the Senate. He draws people in, makes them believe every word. It’s the same thing that happened to me.”
I remained silent, uneasy tingles stirring in my gut as she continued. “It started small, little things that didn’t seem like such a big deal at the time. He wouldn’t let me leave the house, took away all the credit cards. I knew he had
the occasional drink, but then I found out he was using drugs. When I confronted him, he told me it was nothing—just a little something to help him relax. But then it got worse and worse. Hossam worked for him, and he eventually helped me leave.”
“Is that him?” I asked, thinking of the man I’d seen earlier. “Hossam?”
“That’s him, although neither of us technically exist anymore.” Her eyes met mine. “When we left the States, we had to change our names. Legally, Hossam is Miguel Kerik now, and I go by Claire when we’re away from the house.”
I stared at her, feeling cold and numb. “You changed your name?”
“It’s safer this way.” She lifted one shoulder. “It was better to leave everything in the past.”
I gave my head a little shake. This was sounding worse by the minute. “Elle... Exactly how bad was it?”
Her mouth tightened. “It was bad,” she said quietly.
How had we not known? “When did it start?”
Her lashes fluttered as she seemingly drew back to that moment in time. “Almost two years ago now.”
I was floored. Judging from what Elle said, he must have flipped a switch right after they got married. A sick feeling took up residence in my stomach as she continued.
“You know what’s crazy? I didn’t even object to him making me stay at home unless he was with me. He told me it was for my safety, and I just... trusted him. Looking back, it was all so obvious.” She gave her head a little shake, lost in thought. “He came home drunk one night, and we got into an argument over something stupid. I don’t even remember what. He hit me, and afterward, he apologized over and over. I thought that was the end of it.” She let out a breath. “Turns out, it was just the beginning. The second time was even worse, and Hossam... helped me.”
My stomach clenched. “Is that when you left?”
“I’d like to say yes, but...” She gave a sad little shake of her head. “Hossam wanted to take me to the hospital that night, but I couldn’t risk Spencer finding out. That would have only made it worse. I didn’t know what to do, and I didn’t have anywhere else to go.”
I swallowed down the emotion clogging my throat. “What happened?”
“There wasn’t much Hossam could do, but he checked in with me later—asked if there was anything he could do to help. Nothing was ever supposed to happen between Hossam and me,” she said. “But things with Spencer progressively got worse, and I didn’t know who else to go to. Hossam helped me escape, made it look like I was killed. Fox used his contacts to brush any evidence under the rug, then helped us get new identities and put us up here.”
God. I shook my head. I never would have pictured Spencer as a user, let alone abusive. But people surprised me all the time—our own father included. Which reminded me—Elle more than likely didn’t know that story, either. “Daddy is in serious debt. He sold me to Fox.”
Elle’s eyes flashed with fire. “Are you kidding me?” Outrage poured from her. “What did mom have to say?”
“I haven’t spoken with her.” This was all so messed up. “Did you even want to marry Spencer?”
She shrugged. “He didn’t seem so bad at first. Besides, he was friends with Daddy. How bad could he be?”
A shiver rolled down my spine. He’d fooled every single one of us—except Fox. Elle’s words from a few minutes earlier came back to me. He wouldn’t let me leave the house, took away all the credit cards. He told me it was for my safety, and I just... trusted him. That was hauntingly familiar to what had happened between Fox and me, and I couldn’t help the doubt creeping into the back of my mind, making me waver.
But then I met my sister’s gaze, saw the glow in her eyes that had been missing for the past few years. Whatever had happened between her and Spencer was lightyears from what Fox and I had. I would never let him control me that way—never again.
Chapter Eleven
Fox
The women chattered on through dinner, catching up and sharing stories. Seeing them side by side was almost eerie. They looked so much alike I couldn’t believe I didn’t see the resemblance immediately. Eva’s eyes were the color of evergreens, while her sister’s were blue. Elle’s hair was a few shades darker, more of a rich honey than the pale gold of Eva’s locks. Still, they shared the same nose, the same dark brows and high cheekbones.
I couldn’t help but smile at Eva, her sweet laughter filling the air as she and Elle reminisced on some of their childhood antics.
“And the tree!” Eva said between giggles.
“Oh, my gosh... the tree!” Elle covered her smile with one hand.
Eva caught my questioning smile and explained, “When we were young, our mother bought this tree for the backyard. It was some special variation, and she paid, like, some crazy amount of money for it. Anyway, one day Elle and I were outside playing, climbing on the branches”—she cut off again as she started to laugh—“and we snapped the top off the damn tree.”
Hossam grinned at Elle, and she leaned into him, chuckling at the memory.
I draped an arm over the back of Eva’s chair and lightly traced a pattern of circles on her shoulder. “What did you do?”
“Well,” she threw a look my way before glancing across the table at Elle again. “We were terrified of what our mother would say, so Elle and I panicked. We had to fix the tree before she got home. So we ran into the house and grabbed some tape—like the kind you wrap packages with. We taped the top of the tree back on and everything was fine—for a couple weeks.” Laughter bubbled up again, and she fought to control it. “Naturally, the part we broke off died, so while the rest of the tree was all green and full, the top was just this dead brown stick.”
We all laughed, and Elle’s face turned an even brighter red as she nearly doubled over.
“Did your mother figure out what you’d done?” Hossam asked.
Elle shook her head, a huge grin on her face. “To this day, she has no idea.”
I laughed. “How did you hide it from her?”
Eva leaned slightly into me. “She demanded the gardener go up and find out what was wrong. Of course, he knew right away what had happened.” She grinned. “But he kept our secret and told my mother it must have been damage from a storm. He rearranged some of the branches at the top to hide the bald spot, and we never got caught.”
I loved seeing her like this, so open and uninhibited. I hadn’t yet had a chance to talk with her as she’d spent all afternoon with Elle, but I loved that this had put a smile on her face. Even if she decided not to come back to Chicago with me, I would have brought her here a thousand times over just to see that look of pure elation.
For the next hour, Eva and Elle laughed and sipped wine until their cheeks were pink, their eyes sparkling. Elle leaned into Hossam, and he kissed her forehead. Eva watched them, a yearning expression on her face. Part of me wished she was comfortable enough to do the same with me. I wanted to pull her into my arms, prove to her that I could be her shoulder to lean on. Instead, I sat silently. I would have to wait for her to come to me. I’d pushed her enough over the past few days. Although she’d decided to come with me, she could still choose to walk away at any time. Now that she knew her sister was alive and well, she truly had no reason to need me anymore. She’d come to me to avenge her sister’s death. Without that driving her, what would she do?
She’d told me before that she was with me because she wanted to be. But then she’d run without having all the facts. Would she do so again? I knew I was getting ahead of myself; I needed to give Eva some time to adjust and feel her way through it. I still hadn’t told her everything—something I would have to do soon. I wasn’t looking forward to that conversation, but I’d promised there would be no secrets between us.
Elle yawned. “Sorry. I’m exhausted.”
The sun had dipped below the horizon hours ago, and it had to be nearing midnight. I was hoping Eva was ready for bed, too, because I desperately wanted some time alone with her.
“I
t is getting late,” Eva conceded, obviously disappointed. Instead of sulking, though, she stood and began to gather the dishes. I reached for my own, but she waved me off. “I’ve got it.”
I watched Eva go, head dipped together with Elle’s as they made their way toward the house.
“She’s a wonderful girl.”
I turned to face Hossam. “She is. Much like her sister.”
He grinned. “Same temper, certainly.”
At that, I laughed and lifted my glass in a mock toast. “Very true.”
Hossam’s eyes followed Elle, a soft look on his face. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
I knew exactly what he meant. I was so fucking thankful that Eva was back in my life. The months without her had felt like an eternity. I knew we still had unresolved issues to work through, but I was willing to do whatever it took as long as we could be together. I’d rather fight with her every day for the rest of my life than live without her. “Me, too.”
For several moments we sat in comfortable silence, enjoying the cool night as the breeze swept over the ocean. Below us waves crashed softly against the shore, tossing the moonlight across the rippling surface.
“How have you been? No trouble, I presume?”
Hossam shook his head. “Everything has been quiet.”
“Good.”
“I owe you a thank you,” he said quietly. “Without your help—”
I held up a hand. “You owe me nothing. I would do it again, given the choice. Besides”—I bared my teeth in a feral smile—“you know how much I enjoy fucking with Masterson.”
“That, I do.” Hossam’s expression turned deadly. “I should have killed him.”
I’d asked him at the time what he wanted to do, leaving Masterson’s fate up to Hossam. Because Spencer was fairly high profile, we’d decided it was in everyone’s best interest to let him live. But what he’d done to Elle was inexcusable, and if Hossam wanted the man gone, I would find a way to make it happen. “Is that what you want?”