“No, you need me, and I want to be there for you,” she yelled back through the door. Akayie tried the doorknob and found the door was locked. “Please, baby, open this door. I don’t like hearing you like this. You need me right now. Let me be there for you.”
“Akayie, go away and leave me alone.”
Pressing her hand against the door, Akayie dropped her head against the wood, praying that Rowan would open it. She could hear the pain in his voice and she knew that he needed her, but he was so used to doing things on his own that he wasn’t ready to admit it.
“Rowan…”
“Stop,” Morgan said, touching her on the shoulder. “Maybe we should leave him alone for a few minutes and then come back. He might be in a better mood if we give him a little bit of a break. Anyways, there is something I need to talk to you about since Rowan is too drunk to listen.”
Akayie looked back over her shoulder. “I just can’t leave him like this. He needs me.”
“I promise you that it will be okay. Come upstairs with me. I need to talk to you about something and it is very important.”
“We can’t talk about it later?”
Morgan shook his head. “No, I think it will be better if we were alone when I tell you about this. We can use my old bedroom for privacy. I swear it won’t take too long and then you can come right back down here to Rowan.”
Taking her hand off the door, Akayie looked at Morgan. She noticed the serious look on his face and it made her wonder what was so important that they couldn’t talk about it downstairs. Well, she guessed there was only one way to find out.
“Okay, let’s go, but I don’t want to be gone longer than twenty minutes. “
“Twenty minutes is all that I need.” Morgan turned on his heel and she followed behind him, hoping whatever he had to tell was important as he was making it out to be.
Neither Akayie nor Morgan realized when they were halfway to the staircase that the door slowly opened behind them and a pair of bloodshot eyes followed them as they made their way up the stairs.
* * * *
Akayie paced around Morgan’s old bedroom, wanting Rowan’s brother to get to the reason he bought her up here in the first place. She could be downstairs in Rowan’s office comforting him. He was the man she was in love with.
“Why am I up here with you?” she asked, facing Morgan.
“I had a conversation with Rowan this morning and he wanted me to help him do something for you.”
“I’m confused. I don’t need help with anything, so I don’t why he asked for your help.”
“Rowan wanted me to check and see if any of my colleagues might be able to assist with removing more of the scars off your back.”
Shock flew through her. She took a quick breath of utter astonishment. “He told you about my back,” she stammered. “He told me that they didn’t bother him. He lied to me.” She blinked back sudden tears as they filled her eyes.
“No, that isn’t true.” Morgan rushed up to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. “Rowan had heard the disappointment in voice when you tried to get one final surgery and doctors kept turning you down. Since I’m a plastic surgeon, my brother thought I might know someone who would take on your case, and I did find someone.”
“Who?” Akayie asked, taking a step back from Morgan.
“Dr. Roman in Los Angeles,” he answered. “I relayed the story that Rowan told me to him and he is interested in helping.”
She shook her head. “No, I tried for over two years to get into his office and I kept getting turned down. Why is he so interested in seeing me now?”
“I can’t lie. He’s doing it as a favor to me. We were in medical school together and I helped him propose to his wife. He owes me a favor and I’m cashing it in with you.”
Hope started to build up in Akayie but she quickly banked it. She knew what would happen when she got there. Dr. Roman would take one look at her back and tell her the same thing she had already heard time and time again.
“Thanks for doing this for me, Morgan, but I’m going to have to turn it down. I won’t go there and have another doctor tell me no to my face,” she answered. “I honestly can’t take any more rejection when it comes to my back.”
Morgan smiled at her. “I thought you might tell me something like that, so I got Dean to agree to accept pictures in an email. After he gets them, he will look over them and see what could be done to help you. Do you trust me enough to take some pictures of your back with my cell phone and email them to him? I know this isn’t the best time to ask, but the sooner I can get them to Dean the sooner he will be able to look and them and determine if he can help you.”
Biting her bottom lip, Akayie fought the inner turmoil inside her head. With everything in her she wanted to agree to the pictures, but what if she did it and Dr. Roman turned her down? However, he could look at them and give her the yes she had been wanting for years to hear.
“Okay, I’ll do it,” she agreed, tossing her fears to the side.
“Wonderful,” Morgan said, pulling his cell phone of his pocket. “Can you turn around and remove your shirt and bra? I will make this as fast as possible for you. I don’t want you make you uncomfortable in any way.”
“Alright.” Akayie unbuttoned her shirt and handed it to Morgan over her shoulder. She watched him toss it on the foot of the bed. She unsnapped the back of her bra and as was about to slide the straps down her arms when an angry voice interrupted them.
“I knew I shouldn’t have trusted the two of you. Did you think I was a fucking idiot? I knew something was going on when you left almost right behind Morgan. You didn’t think I saw you, but I did. Damn, I’m glad I waited for a few minutes and then followed you up here.”
Gasping, Akayie spun around and moved a few steps, grabbing her shirt off the bed. She held it against her chest, staring at a drunken Rowan. He was standing in the open doorway of Morgan’s room with a glass of whiskey in his hand. She knew how this looked, but he was wrong. “Rowan, listen to me,” she said, slipping her shirt back on. “It’s not like it looks, baby.”
“No, I don’t want to hear a word from you. I should have known you and Morgan had something going on behind my back. You’ve been all over him since the very first day you arrived at the ranch. Was I just a stand-in until you finally made him want a taste of you?” Rowan snapped before taking a drink of his liquor.
“Rowan, stop it,” Morgan shouted. “You don’t want to say something you can’t take back later. Listen to Akayie and let her tell you why you found her in my bedroom.”
“Shut up.” Rowan stumbled further into the room, glaring at his little brother. “I don’t want to hear a word from your lying mouth either. You’re my brother, my blood. I thought we were getting close again like brothers should be. I should have been able to trust you, especially around someone like Akayie. I mean, she’s nowhere near the level of the women who you usually date.”
The insult didn’t go over Akayie’s head. She was used to hearing them, but coming from Rowan’s mouth, it stunned her. Maybe it was the liquor talking. He had been locked up since Hercules’ accident. She had to find out what was going on with her man.
“What are you talking about?” she asked, slipping her arms through her shirt and buttoning it.
Rowan laughed, and it sounded hollow in the room. “Come on, Akayie. Don’t act so surprised. We both know the reason you’re behind the camera instead in front of the lens.”
“No, I don’t,” she answered softly. “You’re hurting over Hercules. Sweetheart, let me help you. Come on back downstairs. We can go into your office and talk about what happened.”
“No, I’m not going anywhere with you. Are you trying to get me away from Morgan, so he won’t find out the truth about you? Well, it’s about time he hears the truth.
“You aren’t pretty or beautiful enough to be in front of it,” Rowan snapped at her. He took a sip of his drink before waving the glass in her direction. “Your
body isn’t a work of art anyone wants to see. Hell, I’m a pretty tough guy, but I had to toss back a few of these after I had sex with you so I wouldn’t be reminded how your back looks like that villain’s face from those teenage horror movies.”
Her heart caught inside the middle of her chest. Tears blurred Akayie’s eyes as Rowan’s true feelings about her burns came out. None of the words he whispered to her when they were together were the truth. He found her disgusting and ugly. She tried to keep the hot tears from falling, but she couldn’t. Her heart shattered into a million pieces.
“You son a bitch,” Morgan shouted, brushing past her. “How dare you say something so cruel to Akayie? She loves you. God knows why, but she does. If you haven’t already, you are going to lose the best thing that has ever happened to you. “Shut your damn mouth and leave. Do it now!”
“I don’t want her and I never have.”
“Stop it now. Damn it. What in the hell is wrong with you? I know you’re hurt by what happened to Hercules, but it shouldn’t cause you to lash out at Akayie,” Morgan said. “She is the best thing that has ever happened to you. You aren’t thinking straight. Just leave and we can discuss what you saw here in the morning when you have a clearer head.”
“Shut the hell up. You wanted her and now you have her,” Rowan said, pointing at her.
“Please, listen to me. Akayie loves you. Don’t say anything else you can’t take back.”
“No, I’m done listening to your lies about her.” Rowan waved his drink at them, making the ice rattle against the glass while his bloodshot eyes cut into hers.
“You’re wrong. She doesn’t love me, or she wouldn’t be in my brother’s bedroom half naked. She wants to try out another Braden brother, but let me give you a word of warning, little brother. You won’t be able to forget how she looks lying in your bed at night. It will drive you to drink a whole bottle of whiskey, and even then, it may not be enough to make you forget,” he insisted.
Akayie gasped and then jumped to the side a second after Morgan’s fist connected with his brother’s jaw, sending Rowan and his drink flying in two different directions. She watched in shock as Morgan reached down for his brother, but she jumped in front of him, placing her hands on Morgan’s chest.
“Don’t,” she cried, pushing him back. “Stop fighting because of me. He isn’t worth it.”
All she wanted to do was get away from Braden ranch and Rowan. The sight of him was making her physically ill. She would deal with her own stupidity when she was back home, miles away from him and this horrible night.
“No, I need to give him another black eye for the unspeakable way he talked about you, sweetheart. The words that left his mouth were uncalled for. All I can say in his defense is that Rowan doesn’t know what he’s saying. He’s drunk and in pain. I promise when he sobers up he’s going to feel worse than either one of us could ever imagine. You are his world and I swear he doesn’t want to lose you. He loves you so much. He has told me this more than once.”
“The hell I don’t,” his brother shouted as he struggled to get to his feet. “I know what I saw when I came into your bedroom. My woman… ex-woman had her shirt off and she was undoing her bra. The two of you were about to have sex and wouldn’t have told me if I hadn’t caught you in the act.”
“You are a fucking idiot,” Morgan said, trying to move around her, but Akayie placed her hand on his arm.
“Please, stop. I don’t need you to defend me to him anymore. We both know the truth and that is all that matters,”
He shook off her touch. “The hell it is. You aren’t the kind of woman he’s trying to make you out to be. If you won’t stand up for yourself, I’m sure as hell going to do it for you,” Morgan pleaded, staring down into her eyes.
She felt a shudder of humiliation. “No, I won’t stand here and watch you hit Rowan again because of me. If you truly want to help me, let me pack up my things and then drive me to the airport,” Akayie said, brushing the last of her tears away from her eyes. “I can’t…no, I won’t stay here with him.” The knowledge twisted and turned inside of her.
“Leave, I don’t give a damn. Hell, go back home and don’t come back. I don’t need either of you,” Rowan said, coming up to them. “I was fine before you came here and I will go right back to living my life once you’re gone.”
Unable to handle any more, Akayie rushed out of Morgan’s bedroom, down the hallway towards hers. She wasn’t going to let Rowan see her cry. He didn’t deserve her tears. He wanted her gone. Well, she was going to make his wish come true. She didn’t want to give him any more nightmares than he had already experienced by being with her.
“Why is Akayie so upset?” Rowan asked, stumbling up to him. “She should be happy that I let her go to be with you. It’s what she wanted.”
Turning away from the opened door that Akayie disappeared through, Morgan truly looked at his big brother for the very first time and saw the lonely man who had been hiding from the world. Rowan was so out of his mind with jealousy and hurt that he hadn’t realized Akayie was gone from his life forever.
No amount of apologizing was going to get her to set foot on Braden Ranch ever again. Rowan had lost his one shot at true happiness because he hadn’t learned how to think before he spoke.
Shaking his head, he touched his brother on the shoulder. “I feel so sorry for you, Rowan. Your life is ruined and sadly you are too drunk out of your mind to know it.”
Rowan knocked off his touch. “Hell, I don’t need you to feel sorry for me. I’m good now that she is gone. I –”
“No, I won’t stand here and listen to another word come out of your mouth about Akayie. She was too good for someone like you. She deserves better and it sure as hell isn’t your sorry ass,” Morgan said before brushing past his brother and going out the door, leaving a drunk and confused Rowan staring after him.
* * * *
Akayie rushed around her bedroom, tossing everything she could into her open suitcase on the bed. She had to get out of here before she lost what little self-respect she still had left.
Why had she allowed herself to believe that Rowan would be different? He might have lasted longer than the others and made her actually believe the lies coming out of his mouth. But, she faulted her own stupidity for what happened. No man who looked like Rowan Braden would want to spend a lifetime with a woman like her.
Well, he wanted her gone and she was only minutes away from giving him a night filled with less nightmares. God, what in the hell was she going to tell Danya? She didn’t want to ruin what was happening between her and Lucas. She could see they were moving towards something special and she wouldn’t mess that up.
Closing her suitcase, she picked it up off the bed and hurried towards the bedroom door. Just as she was about to open it, Danya rushed in with a huge smile on her face but it slipped once her eyes landed on the suitcase in her hand.
“What is going on?” she asked. “Where are you going?”
“I have to leave,” Akayie said, holding back tears. “Please move. Morgan is probably outside waiting to take me to the airport.” She tried to move around her best friend, but Danya blocked her path.
“No, you will tell me what is going on. Wait a minute. Why is Morgan taking you to the airport instead of Rowan?”
“I can’t…I can’t… Please, Danya, move out of my way. I need to get… I have to get away from…”
“Rowan,” Danya filled in. “He did something to you, didn’t he? Don’t lie for him. Tell me what it is.”
Akayie shook her head as the tears she had been holding finally poured down her cheeks. “No. Move out of my way.”
“Not until you tell me what that bastard did to you. Did you hurt you?” her friend demanded.
“Not physically, if that is what you mean. I won’t go into it here. I…”
Danya spun around. “Fine, if aren’t going to tell me then I will find Rowan and get the truth from him. You are my best friend and I have n
ever seen you this upset before. Not even when that asshole Matthew dumped you because of your burns.”
Slowly, Danya turned back around and looked at her. Akayie knew instantly that her friend saw the truth written all over her face. “He did the same thing, didn’t he? Rowan acted like they didn’t matter, but they did. Akayie, what did that bastard say to you?”
“I won’t ever repeat the words he said to me…ever!” Akayie said, hurrying around Danya. “But, I need to get out of this house away from him and this entire place. You have to stay here and finish the calendar. I left the list on the table by the bed. You only have one more guy to shoot and then the calendar is done.”
“The hell I will. Are you out of your mind? I won’t do it,” Danya told her.
Akayie knew Danya well enough to hear the truth in her best friend’s words, but she couldn’t let this job not get finished. Placing her suitcase on the floor, she brushed away her tears with the back of her hand. She turned around and walked back up to her assistant.
“We need to complete this contract. Rowan ruined so much for me tonight, but I won’t allow him to take Mathis Photography away from me. The guys here worked so hard to take the most gorgeous pictures they could. They are excited about being a part of this project for Dante and Amara. This involves more than Rowan Braden and his cruel comments towards me. This isn’t the first time a man has made comments about my burns being too much for him to handle, but I promise you this will be the last time. I trusted Rowan with my heart and he shattered it.”
Danya opened her mouth, but Akayie shook her head. “No, I won’t tell you his words, so just let it go and do as I ask. Can you do that for me? It should only take a few days to get everything completed. Keep emailing me the pictures and I will save them to my laptop.”
“You know how much that I hate this, right? I know we have to finish this, but I don’t like it. If it was left up to me, I would leave his ass hanging and let him explain it to his brothers. I don’t even know the whole story, but I’m pissed as hell.”
Rowan Page 19