by Elle Kennedy
With tears marring her vision, she studied the luxury town house, with its stately brick facade and colonial-style architecture. She and her mother had moved into the house after the divorce, and Skyler couldn’t have gotten out of there faster. After high school graduation, she’d moved into her college dorm, never to spend another night in Clay’s house. Since her mother’s death, she hadn’t even been back for a visit.
But she got out of the car now and headed for the front door to ring the bell. She swiped her sleeve over her wet eyes as she waited on the stoop. God, what was she doing here? There was still time to go, if she hurried back to her car before—
The door swung open, revealing her stepfather’s shocked face.
“Sky?” His eyes widened when he noticed the tears staining her cheeks. “Are you okay? Come inside, sweetheart. Come in.”
He ushered her into the front hall, closed the door, and pulled her into his bulky arms before she could voice a protest.
Skyler stiffened for a beat before sagging into the embrace. They hadn’t hugged in years, and the hugs they had shared always felt forced and awkward. No matter how hard her mother had begged her to give Clay a chance, Skyler had never been able to warm up to him.
Her father had been gentle and compassionate, but Clay was the complete opposite. Commanding and hardened after years of heading up the organized crime unit in the FBI’s Boston field office. He’d swept into her mother’s life like a movie hero, an exciting man with a dangerous career, and Skyler’s mother had welcomed it. She’d fallen head over heels for him, leaving Skyler’s father in the dust.
“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Clay released her and cupped her cheeks.
“Nothing.” She gulped. “I mean, not nothing. But you don’t have to worry. I’m okay.”
His eyes narrowed. “Why are you crying?”
“I…a friend of mine was…he got hurt last night…and…” She searched Clay’s familiar face, rugged planes, thick dark eyebrows, strong mouth. “I need a favor.”
“Anything.”
The response was so swift it elicited a rush of guilt. The man had tried hard to form a connection with her and she’d fought him every step of the way, and yet when she came to him for help, he gave it so freely she felt like crying again.
“Come on, let’s go to the kitchen. Do you want some coffee? I just brewed a pot.”
A minute later, she settled on a stool at the eat-in breakfast counter, where a steaming mug already sat. Her heart cracked in two when she noticed it was the mug she’d given Clay for his birthday years ago. Her mom had wanted her to pick one with a cheesy phrase on it—I love my stepdaddy had actually been available at the store—but Skyler had ignored the pleas and chosen one with a black-and-white picture of Boston’s harbor instead. Simple, boring.
Impersonal.
The fact that he was drinking from it, all these years later, made her feel like the most dreadful person on the planet.
“Tell me what happened to your friend,” Clay said in his no-nonsense voice. He handed her a cup of coffee, then sat down across from her.
Skyler took a breath. She wasn’t sure if what she was asking was even possible, but she had to try. For Gage. They might have ended it, but that didn’t mean she wanted to see him get hurt again. He deserved to be free of O’Donnell, and if she could help him achieve that, she’d damn well do it.
“Have you ever heard of a man named Mitch O’Donnell? Supposedly he’s a local businessman, but he’s involved in the drug business and probably a bunch of other illegal stuff.”
Clay’s expression turned deadly. “I know all about O’Donnell.” He cursed. “How the hell did you get mixed up with him, Sky? The man has ties to the Irish mafia—my unit has been keeping an eye on him for years.”
She wasn’t at all surprised to hear it. “I thought you’d know him.”
“Tell me what happened.”
After a moment of hesitation, she met her stepfather’s eyes and told him everything. About Gage’s brother, about the deal he’d struck, about the beating. When she finished, Clay looked unhappy, and more than a little worried.
“This friend of yours…is he your boyfriend?”
She shook her head, ignoring the tight vise of pain squeezing her heart. “He’s just a friend. And I want to help him. I want O’Donnell to leave him alone. Can you help? Maybe put some pressure on him, or threaten to arrest him if he goes after Gage again?”
Clay ran a hand through his graying hair, his expression conveying visible reluctance.
“Please,” she begged. “I…” She took a breath. “I know I haven’t been the best stepdaughter on the planet, but I promise I’ll make more of an effort. It’s just…”
His eyes went sad. “You blame me for your parents splitting up.”
She managed a shaky nod. “I know it’s not entirely your fault, and I know my dad’s heart attack didn’t have to do with the divorce, but…I’m trying, Clay. I really am trying to see past what you and my mom did.”
“I know. That’s why I’ve never pushed you. You’re a good person, Sky, and you’ve got such a big heart.” His voice cracked. “I know eventually you’ll open that heart to me, and I’m willing to wait as long as it takes. I loved your mother, I hope you believe that, but I love you too. I don’t have any other kids. You’re my daughter, whether you like me or not.” He offered a faint grin. “I’m afraid you’re stuck with me, kid.”
His words triggered another spurt of tears. God. It suddenly occurred to her that he was right. She’d lost both of her parents, didn’t have any other family. Clay was all she had.
“I’ll try harder,” she vowed. “And not because I need your help. Even if you said no right now, I’d still try.” Squaring her jaw, she gestured to the carton of eggs sitting on the other counter. “In fact, why don’t we start with breakfast?”
“I like the sound of that.” Smiling, Clay rose from the stool. “Do you still like your eggs scrambled?”
She smiled. “Yep.”
As he headed for the counter, his demeanor turned serious again. “As for our little O’Donnell problem, you don’t have to worry, Sky. I’ll take care of it.”
Relief spiraled through her. “Thank you.”
And then she stood up and went to help her stepfather prepare breakfast.
Chapter Fourteen
Two weeks later
“Oh Jesus, don’t tell me you’re going to fight in that tourney!” Reed’s outraged voice blared from the doorway, right as Gage’s fist slammed into the center of the punching bag hanging in the corner of his office.
He pulled his arm back and glanced over, forehead wrinkling in bewilderment. “Of course not.”
Reed strode inside. “Yeah? Because it sure as hell looks like you’re training for something. You’ve been beating the crap out of that bag every evening before we open.”
Gage grabbed the towel on the desk chair and mopped up the sweat rolling down his bare chest. “I’m not training. I’m just letting off steam.”
Ha. Letting off steam. That was a nice way to phrase it. Truth was, he was spiraling. Free-falling without a parachute and trying to grab on to anything to ground him.
He missed Skyler so much it hurt. He figured pounding a bag of sand was better than walking around like a dead man.
He hadn’t realized how big of a part she’d come to play in his life until she was gone. The phone calls. The movie marathons. Teaching her to cook. Talking. Fucking.
Lord, he felt empty without her, but he was forcing himself not to second-guess his decision to end it. Although Mitch and his men hadn’t come after him again, Gage knew it was only a matter of time. Which was just another reason to stay in shape—the next time they made a move, he’d be ready for it.
Except he wouldn’t wait for them to come to him this time. He’d decided that this morning, when he’d yet again woken up alone in a bed that still smelled like Skyler because he refused to change the sheets. He wanted to hold
on to her sweet fragrance for as long as he could, to cling to the memory of how much he’d loved holding her, kissing her, moving inside her.
“Then you still haven’t heard from Mitch?” Reed asked.
Gage tossed the towel aside. He ignored the lingering ache in his rib cage as he pulled on a T-shirt. “Nope. But he’s about to hear from me.”
AJ drifted into the office at that moment, his expression hardening as he caught Gage’s remark. “Wait, what? Did you just say you’re going after O’Donnell?”
“I want to set up a meeting.” He shrugged. “Make it clear that he isn’t in control of my life. I’m not his puppet, and I won’t fight on command.”
“You really think he’ll just happily agree to back off?” Reed gestured to Gage’s face. “Bro, you’re still sporting the bruises from your last meeting with his crew.”
“They can rough me up as much as they want. Mitch needs to know I won’t play ball, no matter how much he pushes.” Setting his shoulders, Gage went over to the desk and searched for his phone.
“If you’re serious about meeting with him, then we’re coming with you,” AJ said firmly.
His friend’s don’t-even-think-of-arguing tone surprised him. AJ had been a professional fighter, just like Gage and Reed, but the man lacked the violent streak that ran freely through his two friends. With his dark blond hair and twinkling green eyes, AJ was the easygoing, boy-next-door type. Too damn nice for his own good, which was why Gage had been surprised to run into him on the fighting circuit—until he’d seen him in the cage and realized just how deadly AJ Walsh could be. Still, although AJ craved the adrenaline high he got in the cage, once he left it he reverted back to Mr. Nice Guy.
“Damn right we are,” Reed agreed. “We’re not letting you anywhere near that psycho without backup.”
“I’m not arguing with you.” Gage gave his friends a wry grin. “I was already planning on recruiting you to come along.” He found his phone under a stack of time sheets, the grin fading as he pulled up Mitch’s number.
A few seconds later, O’Donnell answered with an angry, “What the fuck do you want, Holt?”
Gage was taken aback by the curt tone. “Mitch. I figured it was time the two of us had a little chat.”
A derisive snort echoed in his ear. “Don’t worry, I got the message loud and clear.”
His confusion intensified. “Message?”
“Yeah, you know, when you sicced your own private Fed on me? Special Agent Rivers made it clear what would happen if I didn’t back off. And you know me, I’m all about self-preservation. I can’t have the organized crime unit putting a spotlight on me, so slap yourself on the back, asshole. Looks like we’re out of each other’s lives for good.”
Although he had no clue what O’Donnell was blabbing about, Gage couldn’t help but voice a stern caveat. “That includes Denny. You leave him alone, too.”
“The two of you could rot in hell for all I care. Have a good life, Holt.”
Click.
He stared at the phone, his brain working overtime to make sense of the conversation, until finally it dawned on him. Special Agent Rivers. As in Clay Rivers. The same name Gage had glimpsed on Skyler’s phone numerous times before, when she was ignoring another one of her stepfather’s texts.
“Son of a bitch,” he breathed.
“What is it?” Reed appeared in front of him, wariness etched on his chiseled face.
“Skyler.” He drew in a breath. “She…”
She’d gone to bat for him. He remembered her trying to tell him where her stepfather worked, but he’d cut her off, and now it was painfully apparent. Clay Rivers was a federal agent.
And Skyler had gotten him to help Gage.
The startling truth achieved an impossible feat inside him—his heart was unbelievably full and desolately empty at the same damn time.
“Her stepfather’s in the FBI,” Gage told his friends, hearing the note of awe in his voice. “Somehow he convinced O’Donnell to back off. Probably threatened him with something.”
Because of Skyler.
Skyler.
His brain refused to let go of that tidbit. The sheer gravity of what she’d done for him wasn’t lost, either. She’d reached out to a man she was estranged from just to help Gage.
You can’t ever accept help, can you? Would it kill you to let someone help you?
Her words came back to him now, slamming into his head with the force of a freight train. Even after Gage had broken up with her, she’d put her own pain and issues aside to ask her stepfather for help.
“I need to see her,” he mumbled. “I need to get her back.”
A soft chuckle left Reed’s lips. “No kidding.”
Christ. He was such an idiot. Skyler was the best thing that had ever happened to him. She’d been open with him from the start, unafraid to show him every part of herself, even the parts she thought were bad. She’d shared everything with him. She never hid anything.
And now it was time for him to stop hiding, too.
…
Skyler’s pen flew over her notepad as she scribbled down drink orders for a table of recently graduated high schoolers celebrating the start of college. School would be starting up again in a couple weeks, but not for her. She’d be working in the field now, treating actual patients at the North End women’s center where the university had placed her. Sure, she’d be working under the supervision of another therapist, but the thought of talking to real people and helping them with their problems still thrilled her.
But not as much as the sight of Gage walking into the restaurant. As always, she’d sensed his presence, swiveling her head in time for their gazes to collide from across the room.
It was unbelievably unfair that he could still evoke such a visceral response in her. Make her heart pound and her palms tingle from his mere proximity.
They hadn’t seen or spoken to each other in two weeks, and she hadn’t realized just how badly she’d missed him until this very moment. She wanted to drop her order pad and sprint over to him, throw her arms around his neck, and kiss the living daylights out of him.
But she couldn’t. Nope, because he’d broken up with her.
Jerk.
Skyler forced herself to concentrate on her customers, but the second she’d finished taking their order, she hurried over to the drink station and latched her hand on Megan’s arm.
“Do you mind bringing these drinks over to table five?” she asked the other waitress, thrusting out the order pad. “I need to take a five-minute break.”
“No prob, hon.” Megan’s gaze drifted toward the hostess stand, a smile forming on her lips. “Take ten, if you need it.”
“Thanks. I owe you one.” A moment later, she hurriedly crossed the busy room toward Gage. “What are you doing here?” she asked when she reached him.
His gray eyes held a serious gleam. “I needed to talk to you.”
She managed a nod. “All right. Let’s go somewhere private.”
“No. I don’t care who hears this.”
Skyler raised a brow. Okay, that was weird. A word-stingy, private man like Gage wanting to talk in earshot of everyone? And there were a lot of ears in their vicinity. Like the ones belonging to Rita, the restaurant’s nosy hostess. Or the six frat boys in the booth directly to their left, who were making no effort to hide their curious stares.
“I…” Gage cleared his throat. “I wanted to thank you. I know what you did, asking your stepfather to deal with O’Donnell, and…well, thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” When he fell silent, she lifted her eyebrows again. “Is that all you wanted?”
He shook his head. “I also wanted to say…uh…” Something flashed in his eyes. Determination. Maybe fortitude. Whatever it was, it seemed to push him to keep going. “Sky…I have issues.”
An unwitting grin sprang to her lips. “No kidding.”
He sighed. “Don’t be a brat. I’m being serious.”
“Sorry. Go on.” But her lips continued to twitch.
“Look, my childhood sucked, okay? I’m not whining about it—it is what it is. But I can’t deny that it screwed with my head.” His voice contained that gruff note she loved so much. “I’ve taken care of myself for so long I don’t know how to ask for help. I’ve never counted on anyone before. I’ve never needed anyone before.” His throat bobbed as he swallowed. “It’s hard for me to lean on anyone, because nobody has ever been there for me to lean on. And the people who were there? I couldn’t trust them.”
When he stopped and bit his lip, it was so damn adorable she almost dived into his arms, but she forced herself to wait for him to finish.
“But I trust you,” he said huskily. “I trust you, baby. And I need you.”
Her heart soared. “You do?”
He nodded, then stepped closer and stroked her cheek with his callused thumb. His gaze was earnest as it fixed on hers. “I love you, Skyler. I love every goddamn thing about you, and I promise you, if you give me another chance, I’ll show you what I was too afraid to show you before. Me.”
Aw, hell. Her eyes were leaking. She was actually going to cry in the middle of her place of business.
“Dude,” a male voice cracked, “this is some real Jerry Maguire shit over here.”
Gage jabbed a thumb in the direction of the frat booth. “Shut it. I’m trying to win back my girl.”
His girl. God, Skyler didn’t think she’d ever heard more beautiful words.
“Is it working?” Gage asked, turning back to her.
His sheepish expression, combined with the love shining in his eyes, melted away all the hurt and anger and longing she’d been plagued with these past two weeks.
Grinning, she grasped his chin between her hands and said, “You had me at hello.”
A round of groans erupted from the booth, along with several loud remarks all featuring the word “cheesy,” but Skyler was too focused on Gage to care.
The smile that filled his face stole the breath right out of her lungs, and then he was kissing her, those incredible lips brushing over hers before disappearing much too soon.