I snapped out of my daydream when the doors opened. Wesley led me over to a gleaming Maserati, taking my bag and placing it into the trunk, then opened my door for me.
“Buckle up, shy girl.”
I settled on the seat, pulling the seat belt over me. He shut my door, quickly walking over to the driver’s side and climbing in. When I heard the engine roar to life, I looked over at him, trying to read his mood. The only thing I saw in his expression was determination. He was headed somewhere important, and I was just along for the ride. I pushed back the thoughts about whether I’d made the right decision in putting my trust in him and reached for his hand. I guessed I would find out.
Chapter Twelve
Wesley
SHE THOUGHT SHE COULD trust me. Her fingers entwined with mine, her heart unquestioning. Mia offered me the ultimate gift. Forgiveness. But would she forgive if she knew everything? Would she forgive if she knew my involvement in her past? Life was tricky and cruel, the way it teased you with things you could never have. Making love to her. Holding her in my arms. Taking her as many times as I desired. It was all just a tease of something off limits to me.
Not long after Calvin’s text, I’d put things into motion. If Michael had been on my father’s payroll for a while, it meant everything I shared with him was relayed to Stinson. It also meant our previous conversation was a test. When I left the house, I knew my father was up to something, but I never imagined he’d gotten so close to my secrets concerning my loyalty to him. He played it smoothly, giving me a chance to talk myself out of my lies, even the ones I’d slipped up on. He allowed me to think I’d somehow gotten one over on him. I should’ve known he was smarter than that, slowly weaving his way into my life, making it appear like he gave me a choice. The night at my club was his first test, which was followed by several others.
I swallowed, thinking of all the ones I knew I had failed. The ones I was sure Michael had run and told him about, reaping a reward worth far less than our friendship, but he would pay for his treacherous behavior. Especially since it was no longer just me at risk. I had no intention of letting him off easy. My last name was a promise in itself, but what bothered me, what had me on edge, was the reason behind my father’s hesitation. What was he waiting for? And if he had a plan, where did he intend to strike first? I had unknowingly shown him almost all my weak spots.
***
Mia seemed content. Her feet were propped up on the dash, her hand enclosed in mine. We hadn’t spoken much since we left my condo. I still felt like a dick for letting her see that side of me when she asked about my phone. The side I tried to keep hidden. The side that made most people turn away. What made me realize she was different was she didn’t seem scared when our eyes met. Instead, she appeared curious. Curious to find out more. Curious to see the real me. And I almost allowed her a glance.
When my phone began to ring, I squeezed her hand, then grabbed my cell. I had been waiting for the okay from Jarrett concerning the safe house. Even though Michael had betrayed me, I knew Jarrett was a man who took pride in loyalty. It would take more money than any one person had to convince him to turn on me. Not to mention the fact he never took a liking to Stinson. For years, he’d offered to take care of him for me.
“Is everything set?”
I looked over at Mia, noticing her eyes focused on the road, but I knew her ears weren’t. Everything I said was probably being mulled over in her mind. The way she only questioned me on specific things and studied me carefully while I wasn’t looking clarified that. She would look away when I’d glance at her, but just as soon as I focused back on the road, I felt her gaze turn back to me.
“Everything’s set, Wesley,” Jarrett said. “You should be safe for the night, but remember, you’re taking a risk not bringing security. If your father gets a hint of your location, he’ll come after you. You have something he wants…”
I knew he was right. I was aware my decision to withdraw security was foolish, but I had very few trustworthy people around me, and the ones I did have were slowly starting to slip through the cracks. I had to be careful, and the designated safe house was the only place I knew my men weren’t aware of…except Jarrett.
“I’m comfortable with the arrangement we have. If necessary, I’ll make adjustments.”
I glanced back over at Mia as I ended the call. Her gaze didn’t leave mine this time.
“What’s going on, Wesley? Are we in danger?”
Her gaze refused to leave mine. When I focused back on the road, I still felt it. Piercing, distracting.
As I took the exit, I cleared my throat. I kept my attention on the road as I explained just enough to fulfill her curiosity.
“I wouldn’t call it danger, Mia. I would call it more of an…inconvenience.”
She bit her lip. “What kind of inconvenience?” Her stubbornness had started to return. “I’ve been left in the dark too long, Wes. I deserve to know something.”
I took another turn onto the road that led to our destination. I heard her gasp when she glanced out the window. I knew what she saw. Endless acres of land without a house in sight. I’d purchased the property for that exact reason. It was about an hour away from the city and had enough twists and turns to make it difficult to find.
She stared out the window, buying me some time to find another way to steer her around the truth. The reason we were forced to leave the city. The reason I couldn’t allow her to go home.
“It’s beautiful,” she whispered, placing her feet back on the floor to gain a better view. The sun was just starting to set, and the view itself was therapeutic, calming.
“Yes, it is,” I responded, finally catching sight of the cabin. It was small but made a huge impact. The plentiful windows against the dark wood, the rustic, slightly modern architecture, the landscape… It all made it quite the piece of real estate, but I couldn’t bring myself to sell it. I’d obviously kept it for a reason. Our escape. Another place where I could steal some of her time until I had to let her go.
I drove around the back of the cabin and parked. Mia looked around, intrigued. I blew out a relieved breath that I didn’t spot anyone trailing us. I had sent Michael away to deal with the body, and before he could head back, I had Calvin make a few phone calls, adding distractions to delay him from returning, buying time to get Mia out. I expected others to follow, prepared to deal with the issues as they presented themselves, but no one made a move, which meant Michael was riding solo for the time being…at least until my father’s offer started to spread.
Cutting the ignition, I leaned back in the seat, looking over at Mia. Even with her lack of makeup, she still blew me away. I was a man who’d dated a lot of beautiful woman, but none of them came close to her.
“We’re going to crash here for the night,” I explained, pulling her gaze back to me. “You can relax and get some rest. First thing in the morning, we have to head out. The jet will be waiting…”
She stared at me. “How long until they catch up to us? How far ahead are we?”
I hesitated before answering. Her questions knocked me off track. I was a man accustomed to trickery. A man accustomed to camouflaging various situations. I was suddenly at a loss for words, struggling to regain my balance.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mia. We aren’t… I told you—”
She unbuckled her seat belt and crawled onto my lap, cupping my face with her delicate hands. Her small frame fit perfectly between the steering wheel and my chest. The look in her eyes conveyed that she was somehow aware of the situation at hand and was willing to withstand it with me. She ran her hands through my hair.
“I know someone’s after us, Wesley, or at least me. I felt it the moment you held me against you on the couch, like it might be our last day together. I saw it just a second ago when you couldn’t even look at me.” Her eyes softened. No longer curious, but grateful. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I feel like I can trust you. At the end of the day, I kn
ow you’ll do whatever it takes to protect me, regardless of the repercussions that come with it.”
I reclined the seat, allowing her to lay flat against my chest. Our lips crashed together. I gripped her waist, my hands eventually sliding into the back of her jeans. I held her tightly, giving her no choice but to lean against me, grinding herself against my growing erection. I thought about taking her in the car…until I considered our surroundings.
I released her, and she pressed her hands against my chest for support. I met her gaze as I helped her back into her seat.
“We need to get into the house,” I said. “We’ll have time for this when we get settled in.” My playful decoy didn’t stop her concerned response.
“How far ahead are we, Wesley?”
I sighed, giving her my first honest answer. “It depends on how many people have turned against me and how many of my men are truly loyal.”
***
It started to pour the moment we stepped out of the car. Mia ran toward the back door, while I gathered our things from the trunk of the car. Her hair was damp, her sleeveless white tank top sticking to her and hinting at the black lace bra underneath. I walked up and opened the door, reminding myself our visit wasn’t for pleasure. Still, I couldn’t complain about the time it bought us. She stepped over the threshold, stopping short when she caught sight of the interior. I ran into the back of her. I quickly recovered, shutting the door and locking it.
“This doesn’t seem like your type of scene,” she said, stepping farther inside, looking up at the loft area and back down at the massive fireplace. There were a few large pillows and blankets on the floor in front of it, along with a coffee table set up with two glasses and a bottle of champagne.
I shrugged. “I bought it because, at the time, it was steal, but I haven’t had a chance to look into remodeling. I just have someone come in and clean it every week.” I placed our bags to the side. “If I don’t decide on selling it, it will be quite the project since it’s fairly old and, like you mentioned earlier, not my type of scene.”
She shook her head. “I believe it has character and history, Wesley. If you remodel it, you’ll strip all that away. Then it will just be another piece of luxurious property.”
I made my way over to her and pushed her flowing hair behind her ear. Most women didn’t care about character and history, just what other people expected of them. Mia’s thought process was deeper than that. She didn’t allow the latest trends to define her. When she wasn’t being ruled by her husband, she was her own person, the complete opposite of who she appeared to be.
“Well, I will definitely take your suggestion into consideration.”
She softly gripped my wrist, leaning into my hand. “Good. Now, can we get back to where we left off in the car? I can see you’re becoming quite the addiction for me. I think it’s time for my fix.”
She grasped my other hand, placing it underneath her shirt. I swallowed, cupping her breast as she kissed my palm.
“Mia…,” I warned, gripping her breast tighter, then trailing my hand underneath her bra. Her nipple was hard, and she moaned when I twirled it between my fingers. “I need to make some phone calls.”
She ignored me, pressing up onto her tiptoes. I felt her tongue trail all the way from my neck to my earlobe. I continued to fondle her nipple while my other hand ventured toward the waist of her jeans. I had finally reached my destination, my hand diving inside and cupping her pussy, when my phone started to ring.
“I have to take this,” I groaned, pulling away, the distance allowing me time to compose myself.
I grabbed my cell, seeing my father’s name on the screen. The ringing stopped, then immediately started again. I walked into the office and answered.
“Do you really want to play this game with me, son?”
The venom in his voice would’ve frightened most people, but it only intrigued me, confirmed his trickery.
“I wasn’t aware we were playing a game, Stinson.”
“Oh yes, Wesley, we are, and it’s gotten a lot more serious since you failed the third test.” He attempted to calm down, his breathing evening out, his voice lowered. “If you bring the girl back to me, I’ll pretend this never happened. I’m a forgiving man, and considering you’re my own flesh and blood, I’m willing—”
“And if I don’t?” I interrupted, not the least bit interested in his bargain. I couldn’t believe a word he said. He was ruthless, relentless, and the best con artist I knew.
“If you don’t, son,” he said slowly, “consider this. Your resources are my resources. Your men are my men. Every luxury, every property, every purchase you’ve made is because of me. If necessary, I will take you down.”
I took in his words…the good, the bad, the threat tied tightly around my throat…and did the one thing I’d never done to my father before. I hung up. When he called right back, I didn’t answer.
Chapter Thirteen
Mia
I FELT THE SHOCK travel through my body as the words sank in. I had been making my way around the beautiful cabin, taking in everything I could, when I paused near the room Wesley had disappeared into, hearing the angry whispers. He was turned away from the door, the phone to his ear, his free hand brushing over the stubble on his chin.
“I wasn’t aware we were playing a game, Stinson.”
The name brought up the image of the last night I had seen my father. The same aggravation, the same dismay had been displayed on his face. This man who made proud men uncomfortable was on the phone with Wesley, and the burning question was why? That was partially answered when Wesley spoke again. The words on the other end of the phone clearly upset him. Maybe Stinson was the root of all our problems. I knew he was at least a part of mine.
“And if I don’t?” Wesley seethed into the phone, his hand tightening around it. I saw the veins in his neck strain. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. I couldn’t hear the answer on the other end of the phone, but I knew it was upsetting because Wesley simply hung up, ignoring it when it rang again. The angry expression on his face couldn’t mask the hurt underneath.
I didn’t have enough time to back away from the door before he looked at me. His anger slowly began to fade when our eyes met. I let out the breath I had been holding, relieved I had that kind of effect on him. The alternative didn’t actually scare me. It made me sad, concerned for a man I knew fought his own demons. Demons that were clearly starting to get ahead of him.
I guessed we had more in common than I thought. I knew how it felt to mask your own emotions, covering something up that started eating you alive, only to realize it was a losing battle. How could you win when the outcome was inevitable? That knowledge scared me more than anything else because no matter how hard I tried to fight it, I couldn’t help but feel like I was being used. Not only by the man I vowed to love for the rest of my life, but also by the man I called my father. The man who abandoned me, yet still somehow had a hold on me. It was disappointing and intensified an emotion I’d felt in many instances–helplessness. Now that I knew those feelings were real and my father was lurking out there somewhere, I was scared for the moment I would have to face him.
“I was just looking around. I wasn’t—” I started, stopping when he waved his hand through the air dismissively. His anger remained at bay as he watched me, studying me the same way he had the night we met. It hadn’t concerned me at the time, but with everything I had learned, it made me curious about him. When I’d questioned him about his staring before, he claimed he was just looking at me, but what I didn’t consider was why. With all the chaos and destruction now around us, I had started growing even more curious about his motives.
I had been kidnapped. He was my captor. My husband was nearly killed in broad daylight.
I began to think. My desire for this man frightened me, with all the puzzle pieces constantly shifting and being rearranged. I thought back to our conversation. His words were clean and smooth.
“I t
hink you’ve gotten me all wrong, Mia. I just find myself constantly staring at you. It might sound like a lame pick-up line, but you fascinate me.”
Those words… The smoothness to them seemed innocent, but now they seemed to carry so much more weight. Why hadn’t I noticed it before? The signs. The clues right in front of me. The transparency. It appeared sexual desire could cloud your mind to the point you didn’t think clearly, making excuses for something that should never have been overlooked.
I tried not to display the suspicion on my face, but when you figured something out, it was easy to forget you were being watched, and he was still studying me.
He stood in front of me, his closeness distracting. I couldn’t think straight, and I started to question myself all over again. What ulterior motive could he have? Maybe he was the break I needed, my knight in shining armor. The person who was sent to save me from my unworthy husband and the chaos connected to my family. My father, whom I still had yet to see in the flesh. I knew he watched me. He was just keeping his distance.
“Mia, baby, are you okay?” Wesley’s hand brushed a loose strand of hair behind my ear. His eyes were still focused on me, but he couldn’t get into my head. I was too smart for that. I would only allow him to see what was necessary. What would give him a slight amount of comfort. I had spent years perfecting it. A slight nod of the head. A practiced smile. That was all it took for him not to see through the wall I had built to protect myself.
He moved closer. The curiosity and seriousness fell from his face as he pressed his forehead against mine. “This is us, Mia. Even with everything we have against us, I can’t resist you. You’re my weakness, and I’ve realized nothing will change those feelings. They’re written in stone.”
I took in his words, his sincerity. My first thought was this man would be the person my former self would’ve been with. Not Mia. Not the woman I had succumbed to, accepted as a permanent replacement. This man would’ve been perfect for me before I learned the only way I could seek justice for my mother’s death was by mingling with the crowd I’d grown to loathe. I knew what lay beneath all of it. The pain. The misery. The heartache. The unfairness of what people’s wealth could buy them.
The Illicit Revealed (The Illicit Series Book 2) Page 10