“Do you have any idea who did it?”
“I’m not at liberty to say,” he replied sympathetically.
I nodded, swallowing around the lump in my throat. “Thank you for letting me know.” I hurried around to the driver’s side of my car, slipping inside and cutting off whatever he had started to say.
CHAPTER SEVEN
NOVA
Sooner or later, we are all forced to dine at a banquet of consequences. Our actions catch up to us.
Some people call this karma.
I call it the result of poor decisions.
In the empty confines of my home, I pondered what Dean’s news meant for me. Martin Reedsy was my dad’s business lawyer, and just before his tragic ending he keyed me in on what exactly that vocation was. Suffice to say, dad was not the jeweler I, and everyone else in town knew him to be.
The red brick building that sat on a prominent strip of real estate, my Granddad’s surname on a large sign above it, had become nothing but a front. A generations old business now barred and chained. Partially because I knew nothing about running a company. The bigger reason, I wasn’t sure what to do with it.
This was yet another thing on the list of dad’s betrayals. Even more unforgiveable than the others. He’d made me complicit in his schemes by telling me way more than I wanted to know, but still not nearly enough.
I’d been freefalling down a rabbit hole ever since with no end in sight. Passed a torch of deceit and danger and expected to keep it burning. I thought I’d have more time to figure all of this out, get some sort of an understanding of what the hell was going on so that I stood a fighting chance at saving my families business and what was salvageable of our reputation.
Regardless of how angry I was, my dad was still my dad and I was still a Morkav.
With this new development I could only conclude that whoever went to see Martin would eventually be coming to see me. Sweeping a hand through my hair, I expelled a deep breath, clenching and unclenching my hands. My life could be moments away from ending and here I was, painting.
I stared at the image on my easel, still not finished. I’d added the blood late last night, the sky just now. I never knew where my creativity would take me, I just let it flow. Sometimes the vision in my mind formed so fast I couldn’t swirl the colors across the canvas quick enough. Other times my paintings came to me in fragments of nightmares, broken daydreams, or twisted fantasies.
The sound of a raw, powerful engine coming down the road had me rising from my stool and going out into the hall.
Peering through the window at the end of the hallway, I watched as a sleek Hellcat pulled up in front of my house. Rhett’s immaculately tamed head of dark hair popped out a second later, a pair of shades covering his eyes. He paused at the end of my walkway and looked right up at where I was standing.
A few different thoughts shot through my mind. Like, how the hell did he know where I lived? And more importantly, why is he here?
He motioned for me to come down. I held up a finger signaling for him to hold on and went to grab my cell. By the time I emerged through the door on the side of the garage he was already back inside his car. His gorgeous, shiny muscle car.
I walked right up to the passenger window and leaned down, bracing my hands on the windowsill just to feel the powerful vibrations. “What are you doing here?”
“What does it look like? Get in.”
“Why would I do that?”
He turned his head and looked at me. The lens covering his eyes not strong enough to trap the intensity of his stare.
I bit the inside of my lower lip, refusing to look away. Rhett didn’t intimidate or scare me. He intrigued and excited me, which was worse. And then there was the dangerous butterfly dilemma. Forget the fact that I hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol aside from the shot I’d taken when I got back from Pete’s. Usually I was procuring a second and third bottle by now.
“You said you weren’t going to run.”
My brows slanted. I had no clue what he was talking about. “I didn’t.”
“You’re right, you more or less vanished from the parking lot before I could get outside.”
This guy had a lot nerve. That had nothing to do with him.
I hadn’t even been thinking about him when I peeled out of there. “I’m sorry to be the one to break it to you, but the world doesn’t revolve around you Rhett.”
“Yours does.”
“Oh, my god!” I laughed. “You can’t be serious.”
He rolled his shoulders and returned to staring out the windshield. “What else do you have going on besides sitting in that house with nothing but your thoughts for company? And after the way you left Pete’s, I’m going to assume those aren’t too good right now.”
There wasn’t any refutable remark for any of that. He was right on target. I debated the idea of going with him for a second longer before giving in to what I really wanted. “Let me grab my bag, k?”
“You’ve got five minutes.”
“Just for that you’ll be waiting ten.” I walked away feeling his eyes on me the entire way back to the garage.
Once inside, I grabbed my purse and in a petty act of rebellion made him wait twelve minutes before returning to his car. I knew Mrs. Richardson was devouring this whole scene, probably taking notes so she could relay everything down to the T.
When I got back to the car Rhett leaned over and pushed my door open for me. I barely had time to buckle my seatbelt before he hit the gas. My body smacked the leather seat, vibrations erupting beneath my ass as the car gained speed, rumbling through my neighborhood sounding like Satan’s pissed off feline.
He tore around a corner so fast I grabbed the door handle to brace myself. It hit me then that I knew nothing about this guy other than his first name, and now I was alone with him.
But, the more that realization sink in the more I relaxed. Everyone in Legacy Falls knew everyone. I’d spent the past few weeks ignoring whispers and standing in the face of judgement. I witnessed people who my parents had considered friends turn and go the other way on the extremely rare occasion we crossed paths, keeping their distance as if the tragedy bestowed upon me was contagious.
I’d been pretending with Rhett since I met him, but I didn’t have to. We were both blank slates. He had no idea who the real Nova was, and for some reason I didn’t feel compelled to hide her.
Not a word was spoken between us until we had gone a decent amount of distance from my housing community. I didn’t mind since I was enjoying the simplicity of the ride, watching the world slip around us. His sudden laughter is what broke the silence.
“What’s funny?” I asked, finally turning away from the window.
“You.”
“Me?”
“Anyone ever tell you that you’ve got an aversion to authority?”
“What makes you say that.” I crossed my arms and stared out the windshield. “Are you talking about me not getting in your car at the snap of your fingers? Because that wasn’t aversion, or whatever.”
“Definitely was.”
“No. That was me refusing to take orders from a giant strange man showing up in front of my house and telling me what to do.”
“I’m not a strange man. I’m your man.”
Now it was my turn to laugh. “I somehow missed that memo. And, you’re the one who drove all the way across town thinking I would just hop in your car.”
“There wasn’t much thinking involved. I knew you were getting in, even if I had to toss your ass inside myself.”
Another laugh spilled from my mouth. What a presumptuous dick. He took a sharp right turn, causing the tires to screech and a whiff of his cologne to smack me in the face. The scent was beginning to grow on me.
“Where are we going?”
“Is that you’re way of deflecting?”
“Um, no. There’s nothing to deflect. You’re not my man. You’re not even my friend. I don’t know anything about you.”
“Yet, you did get in my car.”
“I already text Emery and Annika that I was with you. So, if you planned on taking me in the middle of nowhere to end my life, you might want to reconsider.”
He shook his head and placed his hand on my knee. Wearing my yellow Lolita dress that exposed everything from mid-thigh down, we were skin to skin.
I could have easily shoved him off, but his touch wasn’t unwanted. Long past my safety zone and taunting danger, I had no idea what I was doing. For once, I wasn’t sure if that was a bad thing.
CHAPTER EIGHT
NOVA
He took me to the falls.
I heard the water crashing down, growing louder the closer we got to the top of the peak where a parking area waited. Birds sang their songs happily from somewhere above in the pines.
“Why here?” I asked once he’d parked.
He removed his sunglasses and cut the engine, popping open his door. “I didn’t want us to be interrupted. No one comes up this far, they all drive back through the tunnel.”
I sent a location text to Emery and Annika, and then followed him out of the car.
“You know this from experience?” That wouldn’t have surprised me. Rhett was way too good looking. He probably had pussy flying at him from every direction.
He smirked as if he’d just read my mind. “I don’t need to take a girl to a secret location to fuck her in the back of my car. I could do that on the side of the road. A few people have told me about it. And for the record, You’re the only girl I’ve paid any attention to since moving here.”
That made me way happier than it should’ve, but I’d be damned if I let him know that.
“Come ere.” He tapped his hood, indicating for me to sit.
I left my bag and cell on the passenger seat and went to where he directed. With zero effort he lifted me up and sat me down on the warm metal, positioning himself beside me.
From up this high we could see the lake spread out below us like a glittering piece of glass. The air itself seemed fresher, purer. This was undoubtedly a beautiful place, but it didn’t hold a candle to the gloriously inked man beside me, currently running his eyes up and down my legs. I was glad I kept things shaved.
“You’ve got a thing for butterflies.” A matter-of- fact observation, not a question.
When he said it, I absentmindedly reached for the pendant that I once wore around my neck, but that was gone now.
It was the reason there was a bold red one tattooed on my foot, which had hurt like a sonofabitch, another on my hip, and a third hidden within the large cross inked on my back.
“It’s just a tattoo.” I wiggled my ankle to give the effect of moving wings.
“No tat is just a tat, and you’ve got a charm hanging inside your car.”
“That’s an air freshener.” I crossed my legs and got comfy. “When did you see the inside of my car?”
He adjusted so that we were shoulder to shoulder, though his arm dwarfed mine by three times. “When it was parked in my driveway and outside of the restaurant.”
“Oh. That’s a better answer then you saying you were stalking me. Though you do know where I live somehow.”
“If I admitted to always watching, would you really mind?”
What? I narrowed my eyes and looked over at him. “You’re joking, right?”
He slid off the hood of the car and moved so that he was standing in front of me. “I know you don’t know me, but there’s no denying there’s something here.” He waved his index finger between us. “So, how about this. I ask you two yes or no questions, and you do the same.”
I pondered that. I wasn’t too sure what I could gleam from a yes or no question, and he still hadn’t answered my pervious.
It seemed as if we were determined to dance around one another with words, neither giving too much away.
“That’s not going to tell me your name.”
“Sullivan. My last name,” he clarified.
Rhett Sullivan.
“Morkav,” I retorted. “It’s Ukrainian, my dad’s side of the family.”
“Annika filled me in on what happened so don’t feel compelled to rehash unless you want to. If you do need to talk, I’ll listen.”
Of course, she did. I guaranteed she’d told him where I lived too. There wasn’t anything to add to the last part of his confession. I never willingly discussed my parents. The wound was too raw, too fresh.
When he didn’t say something as stupid as, I’m sorry for your loss, I let out a breath of relief. The astounding number of people that offered me meaningless condolences was mind-blowing. Worse was getting asked if I was okay.
How the fuck could I be alright? They knew my parents were dead, the how and the why. They knew I’d been left completely alone. I understood at twenty-two I was supposed to be grown and independent.
I knew life was full of loss, bad shit happened and there was nothing I could do except move the hell on, but I would never outgrow my mom and dad.
“So, two questions?” I forced some pep into my voice, needing a swift subject change. I uncrossed my legs and re-adjusted how I was sitting.
“Two,” he confirmed, stepping closer.
Thinking of what my life had been like the past few weeks and all the things still coming my way… I needed him to say yes to this even if it was a lie.
“Am I safe with you?”
He placed his hands on my knees, rubbing the skin gently.
As we were now, with sunlight streaming through the trees, I could see the swirls of glittering onyx and tinges of blue at the edge of his eyes, enclosing the metallic silver. It didn’t feel like he was staring at me, but through me, right to my rotting core.
This had likely been his version of an icebreaker, not anything to take too seriously. Or, so I thought. He pulled me towards him, spreading my legs and positioning himself between them. My dress rose up way beyond the point of decency, I didn’t bother trying to fix it.
“Ask me that again.”
I swallowed, rolling my lips to rid them of their dryness. “Am I safe with you?”
“Yes.” There’d been no hesitation that time.
“Do you feel safe?”
“Yes,” I replied honestly, with a quickness that was mildly concerning. No matter, I didn’t feel as if he would hurt me.
He grinned, obviously pleased by my answer. His thumbs continued to draw invisible patterns into my skin, and I began to feel antsy, an ache I hadn’t felt in a long time making a gradual return.
“I need you to think about this next question. If your answer is no, this can end right now. If you say yes, I’m taking you home.”
“O…kay.”
“You want me.”
My brows furrowed, I blinked in confusion. “Is…is that? Wait. That didn’t sound like a question.”
“I just need a yes or no.”
“Are you being serious?”
Again, without hesitation. “Yeah, I am.”
That confirmed it. Rhett Sullivan was insane. I glanced down at the tattoo on his right hand, the dark shading of a wolf contrasting with his tan skin.
I wasn’t stupid. I knew what he was really asking. I had a flashback to that morning when Emery said he’d be my summer rendezvous. That didn’t sound like the end of the world.
“Yes…?” It came out as more of a question, but that was confirmation enough for him.
“Nova,” he said my name with a softness that still conveyed the command beneath it.
I raised my eyes to his, caught off guard when his mouth pressed against mine, tongue sweeping across my lower lip. I was not a huge kisser, but I went with it, granting him the access he was seeking and found myself pleasantly surprised.
His kiss was hard and confidant. I matched his tempo, thinking absurdly if I was doing it right. My hands found their way to his broad shoulders, his body pressing closer to mine, jeans rubbing against my apex.
My chest tightened, nipples hardening. A sm
all moan slipped from my mouth, and he stopped, breaking our connection.
“Not like this,” he stated, his smooth voice sounding almost as normal as usual except for a slight rasp. I pulled my dress back down to hide the rapidly growing arousal that had gathered between my legs.
“I wouldn’t of,” I lied, attempting to be as cool and collected as him.
He clicked his teeth at me. “Nova.” He reached out and pinched my chin, forcing me to look him in the eyes. “I know your pussy is already wetter than it’s ever been. I could fuck you right here and now and when I’m done you won’t even remember your name, but then I couldn’t do half the things I wanted.”
How was I supposed to reply to that? My body was on fire. Good Nova, the me who needed to be sweet and pure was already blushing, telling me to keep my mouth shut.
The real me wanted him to do as he’d just described, and then do it again later.
“I can see you’re thinking too much into it.” He laughed softly and offered me his hand. “Don’t worry, my dicks’ going to fill every fuckable hole you have, but I’m going to feed you first.”
“I’m not sure what to say to that,” I admitted, letting him help me down.
“You don’t have to say anything. Just eat the food and then spread your legs. If you’re able to speak after that, I’m not fucking you the way you deserved to be fucked.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I mumbled, slipping back into the car.
As we descended back down the long road that brought us to the peak, I busied myself by replying to Em and Annika’s text.
“What would you have done if I said no?” I asked.
He reached across the center console and took my hand “I’m not someone who hears that very often.”
My mind raced with all the implications behind his words. I was an observer, a thinker, and then a reactor. Never one to rush into things or be blind-sided, everything about him—us—went against that. This felt somewhat surreal, like the segment of a dream, one I couldn’t determine the nature of.
CHAPTER NINE
NOVA
When Rhett said he’d take me home, he had been being literal.
Sweet Poisons (Pretty Lies, Ugly Truths Duets Book 1) Page 5