“Maybe Kaden should have the right to decide if he’s willing to take the risks. Right now, none of us have enough information to make informed decisions.” Geneva poured another glass of wine for herself and topped off mine and Caro’s. These two were trying to get me drunk. In my current state of mind, doing so wouldn’t be difficult. I welcomed the temporary buzz and blissful numbness.
“And we don’t desert our friends when they need us the most,” Caro added.
My throat closed up, making it hard to swallow, let alone speak, yet I managed another swig of wine. “But you don’t know me.” And they didn’t know those risks might include their life.
“We know enough. We know a good person when we meet one,” Geneva said.
“And we also recognize when that good person could use a friend or two. We’re here.”
“I don’t know what to say, but I can’t put you—”
“At risk? Yeah, we know. We don’t completely understand, but we’re willing to take the risk if you’ll let us.”
“You have no idea what you’re dealing with.” I was tired and a little buzzed and not presenting my arguments in a strong enough manner, not that I needed to argue with them. We’d all be better off if I let them think they were getting their way, even if they weren’t.
“We aren’t exactly powerless. Our guys are professional athletes. That brings its own visibility and power. This guy you’re so afraid of, has he hurt anyone who was high-profile?” Geneva’s direct gaze held no recrimination or pity, only kindness.
Me. He’d hurt me. My dad was a powerful man in DC, and that power hadn’t stopped Darrin from extracting revenge upon those who’d testified against him in court. He’d systematically ridded himself of three out of the five witnesses. I didn’t have any idea if Robert was still alive. I didn’t know if the other three were actually dead or if they’d gone into deeper hiding or a combo of both. Without witnesses, there wouldn’t be a second trial. Darrin would be free to go about his business, but we’d ruined his political aspirations, and we would pay. He’d sworn to that.
“Yes, he has hurt others and threatened many more.”
“Tell us so we can help you,” Caro pleaded.
For the first time since my personal nightmare had begun, I was tempted, so very tempted to share my burden with someone else, even if only for a short while. I was so tired of running, looking over my shoulder constantly, jumping at every noise. Yes, I was tired, but the alternative was to stand and fight. I didn’t know if I had the strength to fight someone as evil as Darrin.
“I—”
The men took that moment to return to the deck, having finished their cigars. They gazed at us questioningly as the conversation stopped. By our sheepish expressions, they knew something was up.
Axel, somewhat the leader of the guys, or so I surmised, spoke. “Did we interrupt something? My ears weren’t burning so I don’t think it was about me. What do you think, guys?” He looked to his buddies for affirmation. They shook their heads.
“Just girl talk.” Geneva smiled sweetly at Axel, and just like that, he was eating out of her hand.
After a glance between them hot enough to light a second cigar, Axel grinned and made a show of yawning. “I guess it’s bedtime.”
“Absolutely.”
They weren’t leaving to sleep, and we all knew it. They said their good nights, and I scrambled to my feet, ready to make my escape. I’d almost told Caro and Geneva my life story, but our interruption happened at the best of times, saving me from a load of regret later. The damn wine had loosened my tongue. I realized belatedly I was a little tipsy and had to grasp the deck railing to steady myself. Embarrassed, I glanced around to see who’d caught my clumsy moment. They all had, of course.
“Kaden, would you help Lanie get home safely?”
All heads swung toward Kaden, even mine. He stared back with deer-in-the-headlights horror.
“I, uh, I have to, uh…”
“I’ll take the car home and all your cooking stuff. You can walk the mile to our cottage,” Steele provided helpfully, earning a glare from Kaden.
“I’m fine. I don’t have far to walk.” I turned toward the deck stairs and stumbled. Kaden caught me. His hands wrapped around my arms and he steadied me. Our gazes met, and the sparks arcing between us set off fireworks of emotions. That damn crazy world of ours stopped its spinning momentarily, and everything stood still while everyone vanished from around us until there was only the two of us. The clock stopped ticking. We existed in a bubble outsiders couldn’t penetrate, and we didn’t want to escape. I leaned into him imperceptibly. Kaden held his ground. I felt his essence, his very soul and energy envelope me in a protective cocoon. It’d always been this way with us. It still was. Only that protective bubble was fictional, and I shook off the trance I’d been pulled into.
He released his grip on my arms, and I skirted around him, stumbling and weaving down the deck stairs and around the side of the house.
Intent on putting distance between us, I ignored the footsteps behind me and focused on my goal—getting home to the relative safety of my private room.
The footsteps moved closer. I tried to hurry, but I tripped and almost fell. I’d have wiped out on the slate pavers if two strong arms hadn’t caught me from behind and wrapped around my waist.
Kaden pulled me against him, holding me there briefly before he released me.
I turned slowly to face him, careful to keep my balance.
“Did you drink a little too much with the girls tonight?”
I nodded. “Guilty as charged.”
“At least it was only wine. Wait until they start doing shots. You’ll be in deep shit.” His smile was contagious, and I smiled back.
“Are you still mad at me?” I asked, because he’d been mad earlier, and now he seemed more laid-back.
“I’m disappointed, and yeah, a little mad.” He stuck close to me as I started the walk back to my room. I cast my eyes downward, watching every step I made. Kaden turned on his cell phone flashlight to light the way.
“I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“But you did.”
“I know. I had to.”
He made a guttural sound halfway between exasperation and anger. “I’m fucking tired of hearing that. You have someone else, but you’re not with them. Instead you’re running from them. What the fuck is up with that?”
“I told you—”
“You can’t tell me because it’ll put me in danger.” He finished my sentence for me. “Let me tell you something. I’m damn sick and tired of hearing that. Why don’t you level with me and let me be the judge of how much I’m willing to sacrifice?”
“Because…” I hedged, unable to form a coherent response. My brain was fuzzy enough that all my logical arguments didn’t seem logical.
“Come with me.”
When I didn’t argue, Kaden took my elbow and led me around the inn to the lawn. Carefully, we picked our way down to the dock. He put his arm around my waist as we navigated to the end of the dock and sat together on a bench used by fishermen visiting the inn.
“It’s time we had a talk,” he said.
I stared into those deep blue eyes and my resistance disintegrated. My guard was down. The alcohol dulled my sense of self-preservation and discretion.
I was going to tell him everything.
I owed him that much.
Chapter Fourteen
Confessions
~~Kaden~~
* * *
I’d been so angry earlier, I’d been hell-bent on taking my anger out on Lanie, making her hurt like I did. Only now alcohol and a full stomach dulled the anger, while Lanie’s vulnerability brought out my protective instincts.
No matter what she did or I perceived she did, I still loved her. Even if she had someone else, I still loved her. Even as she destroyed the remains of my broken heart, I still loved her. God help me.
I grasped her hand, and she clu
tched my hand like a lifeline and gazed at me with those beautifully expressive eyes of hers. Yeah, she’d had me at hello, and she still had me. There wasn’t a damn fucking thing I could or would do about it.
“Tell me,” I said.
“I—”
“No arguments. No more. Just tell me.”
“Are you sure?”
“One hundred percent. Tell me. Everything. Don’t spare me. I’m a big boy. I can handle it.”
She chewed on her lower lip and studied the water splashing lazily against the piling with the subtle roll of the tide. I said nothing and let her take her time. As far as I was concerned, we had all night and then some. I needed to understand what was going on. If she was truly in love with another man enough that she wouldn’t leave him or if she was afraid to leave him, I had to know. The Lanie I knew wouldn’t have committed adultery, but perhaps I didn’t really know her at all.
An almost-full moon reflected across the water of Fiddler’s Cove, allowing me to see the expression on her face. She swallowed, glanced away, and stared at the water. When she turned back to me, there was a determination in her gaze I hadn’t seen before.
In that moment, I realized she was going to tell me all I wanted to know. I held my breath, not sure I was ready for it, but I’d take it like a man no matter what.
“There isn’t anyone else. I lied to get you to walk away from me.”
I let her words sink in. My bruised spirits soared only to crash to the ground again as the full force of her words hit me. “Why? Why would you lead me to believe you had someone else? Why would you hurt me like that?”
“I never meant to hurt you.”
“But you did.”
Her ragged sigh tugged at my insides, but I held firm.
“Kaden, there’s so much you don’t know. My life is in danger. By association, yours could be, too.”
“Why? Tell me why. What’s going on?” My stubborn resolve matched hers, and she hadn’t seen anything yet until she butted heads with an obstinate hockey player who always played to win. The stakes were way higher than a hockey game, and I wouldn’t give up until the final buzzer.
“My ex-fiancé, he’s dangerous, and he’s out there somewhere.”
“Define dangerous.” I’d known tons of dangerous men, and they didn’t scare me. Not all of them were only dangerous on the ice, and I had a few tricks up my sleeve, too.
“Never-find-the-body dangerous. Is that dangerous enough for you?”
I frowned and digested this piece of information, surprised to find that it changed little in how I felt about her. I was either an overconfident fool or a lovesick one.
“Okay,” I conceded, “that’s dangerous, but I need more details before I make an informed decision.” No way in fucking hell was she getting away with another vague response. I’d had my share of ambiguity where she was concerned.
Her shoulders drooped in resignation, and I gave her hand an encouraging squeeze. I wasn’t able to stay mad at this woman, and I never would be. I’d forgive her anything.
“Fine,” she said, annoyed at me for pushing her to this point.
I smirked in triumph and waited for the rest of the story.
“My real name is Delaney Springfield, but everyone from my old life called me Lanie.” She paused, as if waiting for me to figure something out. The name did sound familiar, but I wasn’t sure why. I nodded to encourage her to keep talking. “I’m the daughter of Senator Joseph Springfield.”
Her last words slammed me in the gut so hard they took the breath out of me. Her disappearance had been a top news story for weeks last year. A guy would have to be living off the grid to not have heard about this case. It’d been all over the news for months, a huge political scandal. I hadn’t followed it closely because I’d been a rookie player on the verge of obscurity or making it in the pros. At the time, not much else permeated my small world.
“My dad had an aide with political aspirations, Darrin Locklear. Darrin was young and ambitious, and my father helped him win an election to a House seat. I worked for Darrin in communications. Eventually, we began to date, even got engaged. A few years into Darrin’s term, one of his interns disappeared. The DC investigators discovered through various staff and colleagues of Darrin that he’d been having an affair with her. A week later, they found her body washed ashore with one bullet hole through her head. While they had no DNA evidence against Darrin, it was obvious he was their prime suspect. My father stood behind Darrin, not believing he was capable of murder. He asked me to alibi Darrin for the evening the intern disappeared. I did because my father believed him, and so did I. Darrin was persuasive and manipulative. My father is a man of high morals, but Darrin even managed to compromise him.”
I nodded and said nothing. I was still coming to terms with who she was.
“The night the murder happened, Darrin had claimed a headache, and I’d stayed in my apartment. I didn’t have any contact with him for hours. He didn’t answer my texts. I was willing to be his alibi because, without me, an innocent man might be falsely convicted. The investigation moved on after that.”
She stopped and gathered her thoughts. I remained quiet, letting her tell her story before I commented.
“Then I started noticing things. He had a gun, but it was conspicuously gone. I found items belonging to an unknown female in his condo. He admitted to a brief one-night stand with the intern. There were other things, stuff he said, weird feelings I got from him, not to mention warnings from his staff. They all added up to a man who was guilty. As much as I tried to deny the truth, eventually I couldn’t. He’d killed her, and I knew it. I followed my conscience. I spoke first with my father about my suspicions, but he was in a bigger state of denial than I was. I’d get no support from him. I contacted the detective and admitted Darrin hadn’t been with me that fateful night. I was the last nail in his coffin. They arrested him the next day. He was convicted of murder and sent to prison. The five of us who testified against him feared for our lives. We had good reason to do so. At the urging of one of the other witnesses, who was a dear friend, I left everything and everyone behind and went underground, changed my name, and started over. I never contacted my family for fear he’d use them to get even with me or that they might slip up and reveal where I was. I moved to Seattle last fall, and that’s when you met me.”
“You were in the same city I was in? I thought you were living in Portland?” Why I fixated on this fact more than her other revelations was beyond me. Perhaps it was easier that way.
“Yes, I didn’t want you tracking me down, which you would’ve done if you’d thought I was in Seattle.”
I couldn’t disagree with her on that topic. I would’ve moved heaven and earth to find her.
“There’s more, the reason I left you without a goodbye. Months later, Darrin was released when the judge declared a mistrial. After two of the five witnesses disappeared, and my friend Robert warned me to run, I did. No witnesses, no new trial. I haven’t been in contact with anyone from my other life since I left Seattle. For all I know, the other witnesses might be dead.”
“Or they might all be hiding just like you are.”
“Possibly. I don’t know. I don’t dare investigate for fear I’ll call attention to myself.” She turned away from me, casting her gaze downward, and didn’t speak for a long while. I stayed still, waiting for her to continue, but she didn’t.
“You regret telling me,” I said, certain that’s what she was grappling with.
“Yes.” She kept her gaze averted. “I had no business dragging you into this. I’d like to blame the alcohol for playing a part, but I’m buzzed, not drunk. I knew what I was doing.”
“I’m glad you told me. No regrets, okay?” I pressed my cheek against hers and briefly closed my eyes, luxuriating in the softness of her and shutting out all the awful things for a short moment. I lifted my head. She met my gaze and searched my face, but I don’t think she found whatever she was looking for.
<
br /> “Big regrets. Huge. Putting you in danger is selfish of me.”
“I’m not in danger.” I fought hard to keep the amusement out of my tone, even as I wanted to laugh. Perhaps I was stupid and naïve, but I wasn’t worried. This dumb shit might be without a conscience, but he had to know there were limits as to what he would get away with. Knocking off witnesses one by one, if that was what he was doing, would eventually cause him to make a crucial mistake or someone to talk. There were most likely others involved, unsavory people who weren’t trustworthy. Guys like Darrin rarely did their own dirty work.
“You’re awfully sure of yourself.”
“Confident but not careless. I’ll be fine, and I’ll make sure you are.”
Her pretty mouth turned downward, and skepticism clouded her delicate features. “You have no idea what you’re taking on. Darrin is a formidable foe with political clout and friends in high places.”
“Former friends in high places. You know politicians better than I do, but I bet they distanced themselves at the first sign of trouble. He’s a disgraced congressman. They don’t want any part of that.”
“You’re saying he no longer has the power or connections I give him credit for?”
“Yes.”
“That sounds like wishful thinking.”
“Maybe. What if I’m right? What if all this running and hiding isn’t necessary?”
She didn’t answer me. Merely stared at the water in the cove, her expression wistful.
Tonight, she was mine; tomorrow, we’d work things out. I was certain of it.
Chapter Fifteen
Aching
~~Delaney~~
* * *
I pondered Kaden’s words. Was it possible I was running from a threat that no longer existed? That I’d given up the best thing that ever happened to me and left my family behind because of a myth of my own creation? That wasn’t possible, was it? I didn’t know if the thought was encouraging or frightening.
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