by Aliyah Burke
Smacking his hands off her, she stepped back. “Yes. I want you to fire her, of course. What woman wants her husband to be with a stunningly beautiful woman, all the damn time?”
“I would hope a woman who trusts her husband wouldn’t mind.”
“Trust or not, they mind. Even if you fired her, which you can’t do, it’s not going to change this”—she moved her fingers between them—“thing with us. We can’t use Wendy for that. This was there long before she was in the picture.”
He threw his hands up. “Jesus Christ, Tara, what do you want from me? I’m willing to get rid of the woman who you have an issue with, you say no. I say you won’t have to clean or cook at the house and that’s still not good enough for you.”
“I want you to fucking listen to me. I love being a lawyer. I love working. And if and when I have children, I will raise them, not a nanny. I don’t care how many nannies I could have or how much money is just sitting around. I was raised by my parents and I’m not letting another person raise mine as long as I’m there and capable. I don’t want to give everything up.”
“So being with me is giving everything up?”
It was her turn to throw up her hands. “Holy fuck, you’re being deliberately obtuse.” She stomped over to him and shoved a finger into his chest. “I want to work. I want the man I married to understand that while I don’t have to work outside the house, I want to. I want him to see that this isn’t about him controlling every aspect because he wants an image of his family name.”
Andrew stood there and listened to his wife’s words. This time, he listened. He closed his eyes, then snapped them open and picked her up, ignoring her argument, and took them back to the bedroom where he deposited her on the bed. Before she could get up and out of the room, he’d covered her smaller frame with his larger one.
“Listen to me, Tara Coleman.”
She pressed her lips tight, forming a small straight line. Her eyes were a bundle of pain and fury. God, what she did to him, it wasn’t even fair. Maybe not even be legal in some places. All he knew was that he’d die before he allowed himself to lose this woman. He needed her like he did the air to breathe.
When he didn’t immediately speak, wariness crept into her expression. Settling his hand along the side of her face, he brushed his lips over hers before rolling them to the side so they were face to face but he wasn’t on top of her.
Pity, because there wasn’t a place he loved to be more than that.
“I’m sorry.”
She narrowed her eyes and he reached out for her face once again.
“I’m sorry, I wasn’t listening to you. I’m sorry I wanted you to be with me with no apparent thought to what you wanted. No, that’s not correct, I’m sorry I didn’t let you know I was listening, I just didn’t let you know how I had been thinking and listening. I know I didn’t share it with you, but I was thinking of you working when you were here. I was thinking if we could get you into the ICC, then you may consider leaving the States.”
Her lips parted in a silent gasp. He inched closer and draped a leg over hers, using the back of his leg to inch her closer to him, putting less space between them.
“Baby, all I want to do is make you happy. I’m not the best at conveying that to you. I thought money and being able to live here would be enough. Then once you were here we could work on the ICC thing. But I forget you weren’t raised like me. Family is everything to you.”
“You never talk about your family.”
“And that’s because there’s nothing to talk about. I was shipped off to boarding school and raised by the teachers there. My mother is alive and I speak to her maybe once a year. I have a brother and sister who, quite honestly, I have no idea where they are. They’ve attempted to get in touch with me but that’s because they want money.” Closer still. He inhaled sharply and allowed the calming scent of cherry blossom and sandalwood to move over him.
“I’m sorry.”
“No need to be. It is what it is. I forget that my life isn’t how everyone else grew up. And I’ve met your family. Most of them. The love there is enough to allow the blind to see, it shines so bright. That’s what I want, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared about never having it. I want that. I want to be part of it. Want to be able to call your parents Mom and Dad. Have hugs from them and your sisters when we see them. To belong.”
God, this scared the shit out of him, baring himself like this to her. He had to trust she wasn’t going to reach in, rip out his heart and stomp on it while cackling with glee.
It was her turn to touch him and she pushed her fingers through his beard until she caressed his jaw.
“You do belong, Drew. Shai loves you, my parents admire you and I’m sure Eva loves you too—she just doesn’t know you yet.”
“Tell me you love me.”
“I’ve always loved you, but we need more than that.”
“So what do you want me to do? I meant it about Wendy—if you want her gone, I will.”
“No, that’s foolish and stupid of me. I can’t make you do that. I work with guys and you’d have to trust me, so I can’t expect any less from myself in that aspect.”
“Just for the record, I’m not a fan of you working with men either.”
“If you really want to give this a go, are you able to run your work from the States for a while? I mean, could you live with me and still do your job while I see about how we could make this work?”
“I can.” His expression sobered. “I would have to bring Wendy over.”
“I know. She’s not staying with us, though—I draw the line there.”
“God, no, I’ll get her a small place. She would be at yours often, though, if that’s where I am working from.”
He knew that wasn’t sitting well with her by the way she tensed. Her refusal didn’t fall from her lips, though, as he’d expected it to.
“Do what you must.”
He took her at her word. Kissing her, he smiled when she purred into his mouth. Rolling them again so she lay beneath him, Andrew decided on making the best of this long flight.
* * * *
Two weeks later, he walked from the car to the front of the apartment building when he froze at the sound of sirens and flashing lights.
What the hell?
A dark blue Crown Vic screeched to a halt near him and the driver’s window lowered. He recognized Detective Savvas.
“Get in,” the man barked, expression grim. “It’s your wife.”
Heart at his feet, he bolted for the back door and slid in. He’d barely closed the door when they were screaming off down the street, weaving in and out of traffic like it was standing still.
“What happened?”
“She was shot.”
“Again?”
“This is a lot worse than before. She’s in surgery right now. I’m not sure of everything. I was sent to pick you up.”
He dug for his phone and pulled it out. It had been silenced so he could do his business meeting with his investors. Sourness churned within him.
Praying as they raced along, he swore when he couldn’t jump out right away but had to wait for the detective to open the door. The men pounded up the halls until they came to a waiting area containing her entire family.
Tears burned his eyes as Tara’s mom hugged him. By the time they got through all of the people there, he wasn’t sure they’d not fallen over and run down his face. Andrew found himself seated between Adalyn and Eva, each woman holding his hand. Tight.
His concern was the fact the doctor in the family didn’t seem to be all that optimistic.
Did I just get her back to now lose her again? Forever?
God, he hoped not.
Chapter Thirteen
“So you finally found the man who shot my wife?”
Drew’s deep voice pushed through the fog surrounding her and she struggled to open her eyes so she could learn who he spoke to.
“We did.”
; That wasn’t a voice she recognized and she fought harder. Everything about her ached. The men speaking faded and when she came to again, the room was quiet. While she was unsure where she was, the one thing she did know, was where she wasn’t. This wasn’t her bed. It didn’t smell of her and it sure didn’t smell of her husband. She loved sleeping surrounded by his scent. It made her feel protected and safe.
All of which brought her around to the question she’d been trying to answer. Where was she, where was he, and what the hell was making her so groggy?
It didn’t matter. Whenever she tried to pull her shit together and fix it so she could get it all straight, she didn’t find the strength and faded.
With a deep breath that hurt, she tried once more. Again nothing but darkness. She couldn’t find it to open her eyes.
Maybe the room I’m in is just dark and that’s why I can’t see anything.
Time and time again, she was lured back by some voices yet still couldn’t bring herself to see anything. Frustration mounted, as did her fear that something horrible had happened.
Forcing herself to remain calm, she went through it all in her mind. That at least worked, even if her eyes didn’t. She took a deep breath and thought back.
The end of the day couldn’t get to her soon enough. There were the days that just flat-out sucked and this was one of them. The judges weren’t on her side and none of the cops she had up on the stand said either what she was hoping for them to say or what she expected them to.
She’d gotten into a shouting match with a few detectives and pretty much threatened their careers if they ever pulled a stunt like they had again. Nothing in the way of endearing herself to those men and women who worked hard to bring perps to justice and help her do the same.
When she’d finally been able to stop for lunch, she’d managed to be a klutz about it and drop the entire thing down the front of her suit, staining the cream blouse with yellow and red sauces. All of which called for an outfit change. She did have a replacement in her office, but it wasn’t really an outfit she liked, more one she’d been meaning to take home to donate.
Now wasn’t the time for that option and she ripped her hose as she shimmied out of one outfit into the other. Dirty clothing in a bag for her to take to the dry cleaners on her way home, she left, hungry, uncomfortable and beyond ready for the day to be over.
It wasn’t to be. There was still time for her to be yelled at, her ability as a lawyer questioned and that was just the beginning of her afternoon from hell. Her one lingering bright spot was her dinner with her sisters.
She dropped off the soiled suit, swung home and changed into something far more comfortable for their night out at a local diner. This was one they didn’t tend to dress up for and she was perfectly happy in her slacks and long-sleeved Henley. Her sisters were dressed in similar fashion.
The camaraderie and laughter were just what she’d needed and she believed her day of shit to be on the upswing. Right up until they left.
She’d just stepped from the front door with her sisters and made it down to the sidewalk when something cold skated up her spine. Were she a person who believed that she could feel when someone walked on ones grave, this was that precise moment.
Fear exploded up within her and she was frantic, trying to pinpoint where it was coming from. She spied all of the cops who were supposed to be watching them and a few people from work.
Then the slugs tore into her chest. Three of them, catapulting her back through the air. She smashed into Eva, knocking her down as well. As her world faded to black, she saw Shai’s mouth moving as others ran into the fading frame.
As it all vanished, she recognized one more person and it all clicked for her then. But it was too late—she couldn’t do anything except submerge herself into unconsciousness.
Tears formed and she knew they fell from her eyes as the wetness on her cheeks couldn’t be ignored.
A familiar touch skimmed over her skin and she struggled to nestle her face into the calloused palm against her cheek.
“I’m right here, baby. I’m not going anywhere. I need you to come back to me, Tara Lynne.” His breath fanned out along her face. “You don’t get to tell me you love me then not fight to come back to me. To us.”
Drew’s voice was shaky, not like the confidence she was used to hearing from him. That alone had her fighting, pushing that tiny bit harder—she needed to reassure him that she was still there. She was fighting. Even though she’d come back to the States, she loved him and always would.
This fighting with him wasn’t worth it. They could figure something out. All of it had flashed before her and she didn’t want to lose him again. She damn near had. Right now, she wanted to be able to stare and drown in his amazing blue eyes.
Her body wasn’t letting her do anything except lie there like a fucking lump on a log.
What the hell is wrong with me? Why can’t I open my eyes? Why can’t I move? I’m pretty sure I’m not dead. I swear I’m feeling pain. My heart is ripping in two.
She lost the struggle and her world once more faded into nothing.
“Being here isn’t doing her a damn bit of good, Shai. We need to get her home. We can afford to have home care for her. This isn’t working. She’s there but we need her around family and love.”
“I think she needs to wake up right now because she’s acting like a fucking spoiled brat.”
The light hurt her eyes as if a thousand daggers were being shoved into her retinas, but she welcomed it, because as the pain faded and the vision before her cleared, she spied her sisters Eva and Shai standing there by the foot of the bed, staring at each other. Neither of them paid attention to her. Eva held a clipboard in her hand and looked exhausted while Shai—well, she looked a lot like she always did.
“Bitch,” she muttered. “How I hate how you look so good no matter what is going on around us.”
Both siblings whipped around to face her, mouths open, perfect for fly catching, eyes as big as orbs.
“Tara!”
One on each side of the bed, they hurtled toward her and hugged her. The pain was excruciating but she wouldn’t give it up for anything at all. Such a shame she couldn’t hug them back.
“You scared the fuck out of us.” Eva’s words were hard.
“Sorry?”
“We should get the doctor and let Andrew know.” Shai kissed her cheek once more and pulled out her phone. “I’ll call Drew and send in the doc.” She stood, tears in her eyes as she looked down at Tara, gave her another kiss, then strode to the door.
Eva wrapped her tight in her arms and smothered her face with kisses. “I thought we lost you, Tara.”
“You saved me, didn’t you?”
Her sister had curved partially around her and had her chin resting on Tara’s head.
“I did what I could until the paramedics arrived.”
“That’s a yes.” She closed her eyes and welcomed the warmth from her sister. There was no doubt that soon she would be swarmed by many and she wanted to enjoy this. Shai returned with the doctor and both siblings stood back while he performed his necessary tests. As soon as he jotted something on the board, Drew came flying into the room.
His long-sleeved shirt was untucked from his pants, his hair ruffled by what looked like nervous passes from his hands.
“Tara,” he gasped, pushing his way to her side.
He cupped her cheeks and kissed her. She closed her eyes once more and allowed his heat to push through her this time. When she opened them again, she found they were alone.
“Hi,” she whispered. “I missed you.”
His impossibly long lashes rested against his cheekbones for a moment before his gaze locked onto her with the intensity of a missile.
“I can’t do this anymore, Tara. I can’t lose you like this.”
“To be fair, I wasn’t planning on getting shot.” Her throat was dry and she smacked her lips.
He gave her a small cup and held it w
hile she took a few sips, then he set it away, keeping himself as close as he could to her. Not that she minded—that was something she quite enjoyed.
“I want to yell at you, but I can’t.”
“I know.” She deserved it all and then some, but it would have to wait because her parents came bustling in, and with a final lingering kiss, Drew stepped back to let them in close.
* * * *
Andrew stood on the balcony overlooking the city while Wendy bustled around her new place behind him. He rubbed the back of his neck and shifted his stance. They were working—well, it was more like a break at the moment—but he wanted to leave. Wanted the day to be over so he could head back to Tara.
Not that she was home right now anyway—she was at her physical therapy appointment. He wanted to be there with her, regardless of where she was.
He still woke with night sweats about her being shot and almost taken from him. Tara had withdrawn somewhat and he didn’t like it. But he did understand.
She’d come very close to death this time. Much closer than the previous time she’d been shot. Exhaling sharply, he spun on his heels and stepped back inside, where it was warm. Winter had lingered and he was ready for something a bit warmer, were he honest.
“All good here, boss.”
Forcing a smile, he nodded at Wendy. Not that he didn’t want to smile around her, but he had other things on his mind. She looked so much better now that she’d been over here for a while. The bruising and cuts on her face had faded, she’d put on weight, not looking so anorexic, and the exhaustion was gone from her eyes.
“Thanks, Wendy. Now, you are coming tonight for dinner, right? I’ll have a car here to pick you up at seven.” He moved through her place toward the front door, not really waiting for an answer.
“Of course. Thank you for inviting me.”
There was a slight shiver at the end of her statement that slowed his exit. With a pivot, he returned to her side and gripped her arms.