by Anna Blakely
Despite the man’s sudden turn of heart, Matt glared back at him. “I want the fucking pictures, Thomas. Now.” His gut was screaming the man still had them.
Sure enough, he watched as Marsh walked over to a picture on the wall. Sliding the heavy frame aside, Marsh entered a digital code into the safe concealed behind it. Pulling a large envelope from between a small stack of other papers, he secured the metal door and righted the frame before walking over and handing Matt the envelope.
“I know you and I will probably never be close.”
You fuckin’ think?
“But I want you to know I truly am sorry for the way I handled things. You have my word, I will never do anything to stand between you and my daughter, ever again.”
Still fuming, Matt unwound the twine wrapped around the envelope’s enclosure and began to pull its contents out.
As if he’d been transported back in time, Matt stared down at one of several pictures of him and Kat making love in the boathouse. At the time, these images could have easily been seen as nothing more than evidence. Proof that Marsh’s allegations would have been accurate.
Looking at them now, however, all Matt saw was proof of their love.
“Those are the only copies,” Marsh’s voice broke through. “My investigator was too concerned about being charged with child pornography to keep pictures such as those.”
“But you weren’t?” Matt’s brow rose.
“Frankly, no. My lawyer would’ve argued parental concern, and he would’ve won.” The arrogant son of a bitch went on. “At first, I held onto them as leverage. I kept them after the statute of limitations ran out because I think…”The man cleared his crackling throat. “I think deep down, I was hoping this day would come.”
Matt’s guarded gaze rose to his, but he remained silent.
“I’ve wanted to have this moment to talk to you. To explain my reason for forcing you two apart.” The man’s shoulders fell, and suddenly Marsh looked much older than when he’d first opened that door. “Truth be told, I wanted to look you in the eye, man to man, and tell you I was sorry.”
Too little too late. “I’m not the one you should apologize to.”
“I know. Katherine and I…” Marsh swallowed hard. “She hasn’t looked at me the same since that day. I’m hoping, now that you two are back together”—he gave Matt a look—“you are back together, aren’t you?”
“Yes.” Matt nodded. He didn’t consider it a lie, since he planned to make that clear the second he walked back into Kole’s cabin.
Kat’s father nodded. “Good. I’m hoping that will be the first in a long list of steps I know will be required for my daughter and I to make amends.”
“I hope so, too. For Katherine’s sake.” Matt made himself clear. “But don’t think that means I will ever trust you or your motives.”
“Understood.”
Turning for the door, Matt was about to open it when he thought of one final thing that needed to be said. He faced Marsh again. “You’re not the only one with a fierce need to protect Katherine. You hurt her again, in any way, I’ll fucking kill you.”
Having laid everything out on the table, he opened the office door and walked out. As soon as he saw them, Matt let Gabe and Trevor know he was ready to go. More than ready, actually.
A sudden urgency raced through him. He needed to get back to the cabin. Needed to look Kat in the eye and tell her he was wrong. About everything.
Matt just prayed she’d find a way to forgive him. Because if she didn’t, he didn’t know what he was going to do.
Chapter 10
Kat rubbed her throbbing temple as she stared at the moon through the small, bedroom window. Wrapping her arms around her center, she thought of Matt and wondered how she’d let things get so messed up.
Through the years, she’d imagined having that same conversation with him. Over and over, she’d pictured what it would be like—how he would react—if she ever got the chance to tell him the truth.
She would explain everything, and when he realized she’d broken his heart in order to protect him, her mind’s eye always created a scene like that from a movie. One where the man forgave the woman’s mistakes and went rushing back into her arms.
In Kat’s fantasies, they always ended up living happily ever after…forever.
But it never lasted. Reality had a way of seeping back in, and eventually the pointless fantasies stopped. Now she knew why.
Matt hadn’t run to her. He’d run away from her. As fast and as far as he possibly could. The disgusted look in his eyes still played behind her own. God, he couldn’t even stand to look at her anymore, let alone be locked away with her.
Thankfully Zade had given her the time and space she desperately needed. Other than to ask if she was hungry or bring her some ibuprofen for the splitting headache she’d woken with earlier this morning, he’d allowed her to hide away in here. Alone with her torturous thoughts.
For a good while after Matt left, she’d cried. And cried…and cried. Then, she’d slept.
Long and hard, her body and mind had finally shut down for several hours. She hadn’t even dreamed, thank God.
Instead, she’d cried herself to sleep only to wake up with the beginnings of a painful migraine. The aching had eased some now, but it was still present. Hovering in the background, along with her guilt and shame.
She shouldn’t have yelled at Matt like that. Couldn’t believe she’d actually blamed him for any of it.
Sure, it would’ve been nice for him to at least try and fight a little bit, but he was right. It wouldn’t have changed anything.
In fact, if he had continued to stand there on the pier that day, had begged her to stay with him like part of her wished he had, she very well may have crumbled. If that had happened, she would’ve broken down and told him everything.
If that were the case, he may still be in prison to this day.
So no, she shouldn’t have put any of the blame on him. This was all her doing. Hers and her father’s. And here she was, ten years later, dealing with the consequences all over again.
Suck it up, Marsh. Time to put your big girl panties on.
Deciding to take a shower to help wash away her sorrows, she was standing under the warm water when she realized that tiny voice was right.
Kat had made her bed a long damn time ago. Or rather, her father had. Regardless, she wasn’t the only one in the world to have been dealt a shitty hand, and she needed to get over it already.
As she rinsed the conditioner from her hair and the soapy suds from her body, Kat finally acknowledged that which she couldn’t change. Apparently, this was the way things were supposed to be, and it was high time she accepted Matthew Turner was not the man for her.
Committed to making her heart believe that, she was about to shut off the water when the shower door swung open. Gasping from the unexpected intrusion, Kat didn’t even have time to react before Matt stepped over the metal threshold, joining her in the small, wet space.
“Matt? W-what are y—”
He kissed her.
With his hands framing her face, he paid no attention to the water pouring down over them both—or the fact that he was still fully dressed, boots and all—as he pressed the tip of his tongue against the tight seam of her lips.
All thoughts of forgetting this sexy, confusing man vanished the second his mouth took hers. Kat opened herself up to him in every way possible. Because in that exact moment, she knew…
I’ll give this man anything he wants.
Ending the rough, possessive kiss too soon, Matt pulled himself away enough to look into her eyes. Blinking against the falling water, his eyes darkened with a level of determination far exceeding her own.
“I’m sorry, baby. So. Fucking. Sorry.”
“I-I…I don’t…”
“I know.” He smiled again. “But you will. I promise, I will do whatever it takes to make you understand.”
Kat’s head was sp
inning. “Understand what?”
“That you’re mine.” He rested his forehead against hers. “You belong to me, Katherine. You always have.”
She gasped, her breath hitching from confusion and surprise. From hope. God, she felt more hope than she had in so very long.
Please don’t be messing with me.
“I can see those brilliant wheels of yours turning. You’re probably wondering what the hell I’m doing in here with you. Trust me, we’ll get to that in a minute. I can also see the hesitation behind those mesmerizing eyes of yours, and I don’t blame you. But I swear with everything I have, this is not some sort of ruse to get close to you in order to dig up more intel. This is me, standing here, telling you I love you.”
Kat’s knees gave out, but Matt was ready to catch her.
“Easy, sweetheart.” His strong arms held her naked form securely. “I’ve got you.”
“Y-you…love me?”
She had to hear it again. Needed to look him in the eyes and see his mouth form those precious words again. Otherwise, she’d convince herself this was all a dream.
“Look at me, sweetheart.” Keeping an arm around her waist, Matt used his thumb and forefinger to tip her chin upward.
She knew he was doing it so she’d look up at him but he didn’t have to. There wasn’t a force strong enough to make her tear her eyes from his.
“I’m listening,” she assured him.
“Good.” A corner of his mouth rose in the same sideways smirk he used to wear, her chest filling with wild palpitations. “I need you to really hear me this time.” Dark eyes reached into her soul, his words like gentle tendrils wrapping themselves around her heart as he repeated, “I love you, Katherine. I never stopped. Even when I thought I hated you, I still loved you.”
Tears mixed with water as Kat became so emotionally overwhelmed she had to fight against the dizzying effects to keep from passing out.
For years, she’d dreamed of hearing him say those same words, yet…
“The things you said.” She swallowed hard. “I know I hurt you, Matt, but you hurt me, too. Those things you said…knowing you thought I could ever be that cruel to anyone, let alone you…”
“I know I fucked up.” Shame filled his expression. “And I’ll never forgive myself for the way I’ve treated you. But I swear, Katherine. If you’ll just give me a chance, I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”
She wanted to believe him so badly.
“I know I’ve been a Grade-A prick, but please, baby.” His voice cracked. “I’m not me without you. You make me better. You make me the man I want to be.” Twin tears fell down his cheeks. “I love you so much, Katherine. So much.”
“I love you, too,” she heard herself whisper back. Barely keeping herself together, she added, “I love you so much it hurts.”
Through his tears, Matt smiled wide. An honest to goodness, light-up-his-face smile. He looked instantly younger, more like the boy she used to know. The sight was absolutely breathtaking.
“Thank Christ.” He kissed her forehead before leaning his against hers once more. “I know I don’t deserve it. I don’t deserve you. But I swear to God, I will do everything I can from here on out to prove myself worthy of you.”
She understood his previous words and actions toward her were merely his defense mechanism. A way to protect his damaged heart.
Justified or not, it was a heart she’d damaged, yet here he was…offering it to her again. How could she say no?
Kat lost the battle, then. Hot tears poured from the corner of her eyes as she attempted to say, “Y-you already a-are, Matt. Always h-have b-been.”
“I’m so sorry, baby.” He pulled her against his chest. “I never should’ve doubted you.”
“I’m sorry…too.” Kat’s words spurted out with hiccuping breaths as she fisted the back of his soaked shirt. “F-for every…thing.”
“No.” He pulled back, his hands steady on her bare shoulders as he shook his head fiercely. “You don’t ever apologize again. Not for that. You hear me?”
“B-but—”
“No buts. You did nothing wrong. If anyone needs to apologize, it’s me. Jesus, the things I said to you. The way I treated you…”
“But I l-lied.”
“To protect me. I get that now, so you need to let that shit go.”
Kat nodded. “We both do.”
The corner of his eye twitched from her comment, and she knew a part of this man would carry that burden for the rest of his life.
“I can’t believe this is really happening.” She stared up at him in awe.
“Believe it, baby. From now on, you’re stuck with me.” A flash of vulnerability shone behind his confident eyes. “As long as that’s what you want.”
“Oh, it’s what I want.” Kat raised up on her tip toes and pressed her lips to his. “It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
She’d worry about the what and why of it all later. For now, all she wanted to do was relish in the miracle that was currently in her arms.
Matt must have felt the same way because in less than a second, he’d stripped off his sopping clothes and began showing her how much he truly did love her.
Hours later, after a second—and third—round of mind-blowing sex, Kat found herself lying in the comfort of Matt’s arms. Nothing in the world felt better than that.
“I’m assuming you sent Zade home?” she finally thought to ask. They hadn’t had much time to actually talk since he came back. Not that she was complaining.
“The second I walked back through that door.”
His deep voice rumbled through her ear as she traced a finger across his chest and down the valley separating his well-defined six-pack.
“You think he knows why?”
Matt chuckled, the sound reverberating through his chest. “Oh, yeah. I’d say my intentions were pretty clear.”
Kat felt her cheeks become flush, but she really couldn’t bring herself to care.
“Hey.” He shifted to his side in order to face her. Tucking some hair behind her ear—a gesture she’d come to cherish dearly—he grinned. “For the record, those guys were rooting for us from the start.”
Kat’s brows rose. “Those guys?”
He shrugged one of his broad, bare shoulders. “Zade and Gabe. Oh, and Jake and Trevor. Hell, I’m sure Kole and Derek have been, too. They just didn’t say it.”
“Your boss was hoping this would happen?” She lifted herself onto an elbow. “Wait, who’s Trevor?” She would have remembered the name had she heard it before now.
Matt simply smiled. “He’s a member of Alpha Team. And yes, my boss was hoping this would happen. He tried to play it off as sympathy hormones from his pregnant wife, but in truth, the guy’s as romantic as they come.”
“So that’s why he assigned you to me.”
“In part.”
“Oh.” Her shoulders fell slightly.
Picking up on her unspoken concern, Matt said, “Don’t worry. He and the others know you’re in the clear as far as the explosion and all that goes.”
She let out a breath. “That’s good, but how?”
“Shit.” Sitting up, Matt adjusted his pillow behind him and leaned his back against the headboard. Running a hand over his handsome face, he shook his head. “I was so focused on…you…I forgot to tell you.”
Scooting up to join him, Kat listened as Matt filled her in on what they’d found out about Todd. Fresh tears formed from both the realization that he’d been in on the scheme to steal the formula and from finding out about his wife’s illness.
“I had no idea.”
“He never said anything?”
She shook her head. “Todd was a very private person. He never really talked about anything in regards to his personal life. None of us did, really.”
With his arm holding her snuggly against him, Matt kissed the top of her head before resting his cheek there. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
�
�Thanks.” She waited a beat before talking again. “I take it Derek hasn’t found the person who paid him off?”
“Not yet. He did call me while I was on my way back here to say they’d recovered some of the text messages from Todd’s damaged work phone. There were a handful back and forth between him and whoever it was. Unfortunately, they were from a number D traced back to a burner. Records show it bouncing off several different towers in and around Dallas. Whoever it was used a program to ghost it, which means Derek couldn’t pinpoint a specific location from where the texts originated.”
“This is all so crazy.”
Matt’s chest rose and fell with a deep breath. “There’s more.”
Great.
“I, uh…I went to see your father yesterday.”
This bit of news had Kat sitting straight up. “You went to Long Beach?”
“I needed to confront him.”
Kat blinked quickly, both loving and hating the fact that Matt had called her father out.
“So…what happened?”
“We talked.”
“About?”
He gave her a look. “What do you think?”
Okay, so yeah. That was a stupid question. “I meant, what did you say? What did he say?”
“In short, I let him know what he did to us was a total dick move. That I would have done anything to give you a good and happy life.”
Kat’s heart swelled, even as she bit her bottom lip nervously. “And, Dad? What did he say to that?”
“Surprisingly, your father admitted blackmailing you to keep you away from me was a mistake. One he’d never make again. Said he was only trying to give you the best the world had to offer. At the time, he believed that meant financial security.”
“Meaning, I needed to marry rich.”
“Pretty much.”
She thought for a moment. “So how did you two end things?”
“I made sure he knew it was in his best interest to never even think of hurting you like that again. And if he did, it wouldn’t end well for him.” Matt shrugged again. “He swore he wouldn’t.”
Kat was stunned. “Do you think he was telling the truth?”