by M. S. Parker
I snorted. “Hell, my parents excel at using people. Maybe I should celebrate that they got used for once.” I rubbed my burning eyes and swallowed around the knot in my throat. I would feel better if I could just cry, but the tears refused to come. I was so angry. Angry and hurt. I wanted to cry, and I wanted to scream, and I wanted to throw things. But that wouldn’t solve anything either.
“Why couldn’t he just wait?” I asked, my voice cracking.
“Oh, honey…” Astra got up and came around the table, wrapping her arms around me. “There’s no answer to that.”
A tear finally managed to break free of my burning eyes, and it rolled down my cheek, followed by another, then another. As the dam started to break, I wrapped my arms around Astra and rested my head on her shoulder. “Why couldn’t he just wait?” I asked again.
“Maybe it’s better that he didn’t,” she said gently. “If you’re hurting this bad already, think about how much worse it would have been the longer you two were together. This was never meant to last anyway.”
“But I think I wanted it to,” I said as I started to cry harder. Astra nodded, and we sat there, her rocking me while I cried.
It wasn’t supposed to be real. But it sure did hurt like it was.
Twenty-Four
Kaleb
“Piece of shit bastard,” I muttered, fuming. I disconnected the call and slammed the phone down although it didn’t do anything to cool the temper burning inside me.
I’d called Stefano so many times, I’d already lost track.
The same could be said for Camry.
Neither of them bothered to call back or even send a text. That was only one of the things that had me in a foul mood.
Piety had called numerous times that first night and left several messages. But since then, she had only called twice, and each call had been late. At least late for the eastern part of the United States. She hadn’t left a message, and she hadn’t texted anything either. I almost answered each call. I almost called her back.
But what the hell would I tell her? That I’d accepted the money from her parents so I could help my sister? And it was driving me crazy to sit in Philly while doing nothing while she worked?
Would I tell her that the prick lawyer had been right in that there was really nothing else I could have done? He was right, even as much as he was a prick. Maybe he didn’t know why I needed the money, but I had needed the money. And I needed it bad enough to do something desperate, something that would hurt her. That had mattered more than anything.
Maybe it wasn’t fair to compare my sister’s life to the feelings of a woman I barely knew – even a woman I wanted more than I’d ever wanted anybody. But that’s how it was. My baby sister needed me and I’d already failed her too many times.
That thought had me reaching for the phone again, but when I went to check my messages, Piety’s name fill my vision. I read the last message she’d sent me over and over even though I’d already committed it to memory.
Where are you? Is everything okay? I’ve got some cool news, and I can’t wait to tell you. But I want to tell you in person. Call me back, please?
Cool news. I had no idea what she planned to tell me, but that message had come through while I’d been speeding across the country on a first-class ticket paid for by her parents.
Even now the thought turned my stomach.
I went to delete the message, just as I had told myself to do a thousand times over the past couple of days. But before I could, the phone rang.
“Finally,” I muttered under my breath. There was no name attached to the phone number, but I knew who it was none the less.
I answered with a short, “About time you called, damn it.”
“Easy, easy,” Stefano said. “Why are you so hot under the collar? I would have thought you’d be happy that I was giving you time to get all that cash together.”
“I want to talk to my sister.”
“She’s sleeping. You know how these junkies are.” He sounded amused with himself.
I wanted to punch my fist through the phone, grab him by his thick neck, and strangle him.
“When can we meet? I want to get this taken care of. I want it over with.” I sounded calm. Maybe I should consider an acting career.
“Yeah, well, me too. But I’ve been busy. I’m a businessman, you know. Your sister isn’t the only fish in the sea, and I’ve got other…fish to take care of. Although she is my favorite. I’m going to miss her when she’s gone.” Then his voice went sly. “Assuming she doesn’t come crawling back for more. You know, I can be hard to resist.”
“Huh. Fuck you. Look, can we just set up a time to meet or what?”
“You’re in such a hurry. But fine…no small talk.” Stefano laughed and named a place.
I had no doubt it would be just as sleazy as the last place, but it didn’t matter. Camry was all that mattered. “What time?”
“I’ll be there around three. You be there.”
He hung up, and I stood there staring at the phone. I had a bad feeling about this entire thing. But what else was I supposed to do?
Three o’clock came and went. It was coming up on four-thirty when he finally came in…alone.
Camry wasn’t with him.
That alone made me furious.
I came out of my seat, hands closing into fists.
He had an easy smile on his face when he saw me, and I wanted to knock that smile off his face and his teeth down his throat.
“Hey there, Kaleb. How’s it going? You got my money?”
He looked so damn pleased with himself. The arrogant bastard always looked happy.
“Where is my sister?” Anger was a huge ugly knot in my gut, but I managed to keep my voice level.
“That ain’t how this works.” He clicked his tongue and shook his head, looking almost pained as he said it. “See, you gotta pay me what you owe me and then she’s free to do what she wants. But until you pay me…”
“I want to see my sister.”
Stefano’s eyes went cold and hard. With a shake of his head, he shouldered past me. “You don’t get to make demands here. I own her.”
“Did they forget to tell you that slavery ended a long time ago?”
He laughed. “You’re so naïve. Where. Is. My. Money?” He enunciated each word, the cold, ugly threat coming through with every syllable.
I’d heard it from the very first word, but this time, I knew I couldn’t ignore him. I wasn’t worried about me, but my sister? Yes.
I turned on my heel and went back to the table where I’d been waiting. I sat down and reached for the envelope I’d left on the seat. As he sat down across from me, I slammed it on the table. “There. Now, where is she?”
“See, that wasn’t so hard.” Stefano shoved the envelope into his coat pocket and leaned back in the seat. He dropped his fingers on the top of the table and looked around, looking pleased with himself. “So…here’s what happens now. I’ll let her know that her debt is paid in full. She’s free to do whatever she wants.”
“If she was free to do what she wants,” I said, struggling to keep my temper under control, “then she could have left whenever she wanted.”
“Hey, man…” He held up his hands, looking wounded. “She owed me money. What was I supposed to do? Just let her walk out and leave me hanging?”
“Yeah. You’re the injured party here.” I curled my lip at him, so disgusted I could barely stand to be in the same room.
“Hey, she came to me. Remember that. I didn’t snatch her or something like that. I’m legit.” He hitched up a shoulder and tipped an imaginary hat in a salute before sliding out of the booth. “Nice doing business with you, Kaleb.”
I almost told him to shove his business up his ass.
Instead, I shrugged easily. “Tell Camry I’ll be waiting for her call. I want to know where to pick her up.”
“Hey, I’m sure she’ll be in touch…soon.”
As he turned and
slouched out of the club, I fought the uneasy feeling settling over me. More than anything else, that last comment set me off.
I’ve been leery of this whole mess from the get go, but now I was left to wonder if I hadn’t just been played.
Twenty-Five
Piety
“So you see, this client last week…”
Across from me, one Windsor Kiperman droned on and on. He was a good-looking enough guy, dark brown hair, streaked through with gold, and amazing hazel eyes. But he was so hung up on work, it was amazing he hadn’t choked on it.
I nodded politely, trying my best to look like I was interested.
Really, I should be.
He was good looking and well off, and our fathers were very good friends. His father was also one of my dad’s biggest campaign contributors.
In the eyes of my family, it was probably a match made in heaven.
In my eyes, it was a match made in the doldrums. I had never been so bored in my entire life. It wasn’t that Windsor was a bad guy or anything. He wasn’t. He opened doors, he’d called up and asked if I had an opinion on where we should go to eat, he was polite, attentive during the drive over.
And he was so perfectly…boring.
Finally – finally – he wrapped up his conversation about the client, and I leaned forward, smiling. “What was the last movie you saw?”
If he kept talking about work, I just might cry.
He stared at me with a blank expression.
“I absolutely loved the Avengers movie that came out last spring. Did you see it?” I continued to smile as I reached for my wine, wondering if my face would hurt from that fake, plastic smile.
“Hmmm. No. Those movies don’t appeal to me.” His comment wasn’t rude. It was just a statement – a polite, boring statement. “I seldom have time for movies. I’m rather surprised, I heard you do…charity work?”
He left the statement hanging, as though it was a question.
“My charity work?”
“Yes, I understand you’re involved in some philanthropic sort of business.” He sliced a precise cut off his steak and popped it in his mouth.
I hadn’t been able to stop from noticing that he cut his food in an obsessively neat way. It was like he practically measured how wide of a bite to cut, how long.
You’re obsessing, Piety!
“Ah, yes. I suppose you could call it a philanthropy sort of thing.” I shrugged. “I’m a social worker. I work at a homeless shelter.”
“You work there?” Windsor arched his brows. Now, instead of slicing off another perfect bite of steak, he laid his fork down and leaned forward. Puzzlement stamped all over his features, he studied me.
“Yes. It’s a home for battered women and their children.” I expected his eyes to glaze over, but he nodded, looking almost interested.
“I didn’t realize you actually worked there. I assume you get a paycheck?”
I rolled my eyes. “Barely. Their budget isn’t much, but I love my job, and it’s an important one.”
Windsor nodded slowly. “I imagine it is. I’ve been attempting to convince my father into getting the company more involved in philanthropy, and perhaps getting the employees to jump on board, but he’s…slow to see the benefits.”
“The benefits are helping people out.”
“Yes, of course. That’s always a positive thing.” He shrugged, his eyes sliding away. “But that’s not an argument that would work with him. You know, this is interesting. I didn’t know you actually worked at this facility. Fascinating.”
I’d heard too many similar comments, most of them with more than a tinge of superiority, to be insulted. At least Windsor seemed to mean it when he said it sounded fascinating.
“Yes, well, my parents would much rather it be true philanthropy.” I played with the napkin in my lap. “Dad loves how it looks in front of the camera, but that’s the only way it appeals to him.”
It sounded terrible and made me feel even worse than before. I felt awful about how Kaleb had taken them for all that money – that was how I ended up here.
I still didn’t want to believe he had done it. But he hadn’t called, hadn’t texted. Without any sort of explanation, what was I supposed to think?
You’re not supposed to be thinking about him at all.
Desperate to change the subject, I asked, “So if you’re not into movies, what do you do for fun?” No more thinking about Kaleb.
“Well…” He shrugged sheepishly. “To be honest, I really don’t do much for fun. I just don’t have time.”
“Oh, come on…everyone has time for a little bit of fun.” I pushed my hair back from my ear and stopped myself from playing with a strand. “I managed to read for about fifteen minutes a day no matter how busy I am. I go crazy if I don’t get in something to entertain me. Do you work out, go to the gym?”
“I…work…all the time.” He held up a hand. “Sometimes I play golf with a client.”
“But that’s work too.”
He laughed. “True. I’ll be able to slow down later on in life. Right now, I’m still trying to get established and show my dad I can take care of the job. I’ll be the one taking over when he retires, you know.” He cocked his head, that inquisitive, puzzled look on his face. “What about you? Have you ever thought about going into politics? Following in your father’s footsteps?”
“Crap.” I shuddered at the thought. “No.”
He laughed. “You look like you just ate something that tasted really, really bad.”
“I feel like I tasted something really, really bad. There’s no way I would go into politics.” I gave an emphatic shake of my head.
“So what do you plan on doing?” The genuine interest in his voice was…sweet.
But he didn’t get it.
“I’m already doing it.” I shrugged. “I love what I do. Sometimes it breaks my heart. Some of it drains me and leaves me exhausted. But at the end of the day, I’m making a difference. That…matters. It’s enough for me.”
At least it always had been.
I didn’t feel quite so ready to dive into work, although it wasn’t work that was getting to me. I was just finding life in general lacking.
And I knew why.
Kaleb.
There it was again…I was thinking about him.
“What about your father? Don’t you think he’s making a difference? Don’t you think he might want something…more?”
“Do you really think that politics can offer more? More what…headaches?” I laughed a little. “No. I don’t think so.”
Windsor seemed to realize he was about to step in it. “I’m sorry.”
I waved him off. “It’s okay. Not everybody gets it, but they don’t need to. I’m happy with what I do. I’m more than happy. I feel…complete. At the end of the day, I’m satisfied. I make time for myself, and I do things for fun – now – and I don’t feel the need to do anything to prove myself to anybody. I’m good.”
“I think I envy you,” Windsor said softly.
It surprised me.
“Nothing is stopping you from finding what would make you happy – except you.” I held his eyes for a moment.
“True. But my priorities are more important than just being happy.”
Twenty-Six
Piety
The better part of a bottle of wine sat open in front of me. I had just about emptied my glass, and I was ready to top it off.
Drinking in the dark wasn’t exactly the best way to end the night, but I wasn’t ready to go to bed, and I had no interest in reading or watching TV.
The one thing I did want to do wouldn’t happen.
I wanted to talk to Kaleb.
But I sure as hell wasn’t going to call him. Or text him.
I put my phone away just to make sure I didn’t give into the urge or get too drunk and forget the promise I made to myself.
Astra called to check on me, asking if I was okay.
I lied.
Maybe I should just give in to the inevitable.
My parents were just going to keep pushing men like Windsor at me. At least Windsor wasn’t a total ass. I could be Piety Kiperman within a year if I played things right.
Piety Kiperman.
“Please,” I whispered, the very idea making my head hurt.
Life with him would be awful.
I’d be bored within three days, if not less.
But my parents were constantly pushing him at me, and if it wasn’t him, it would be somebody else. Mom had already sent me a text, asking how the date had gone and when we were going out again.
Tears burned my eyes, and I groaned, putting the glass down so I could press the tips of my fingers against my eyes, trying to stem the flow.
“Crying alone in the dark, drinking alone in the dark,” I muttered. “Pathetic.”
I couldn’t help it though. Everything seemed to be imploding around me and all within the span of a few days. I wanted to go back to my nice, normal existence when I’d been content.
Except content wasn’t enough now.
I’d felt what it was like to be happy. I’d only had a taste of it, but it had been enough. I wanted that back. I wanted something my parents had never had – passion. A partner who loved me, not just somebody who shared common interests.
I wanted things my parents wouldn’t even understand…and all they kept doing was pushing Windsor at me.
I wanted a man who loved me so much he was stupid with it. My dad was never stupid about anything.
The thought of him doing something stupid and crazy for my mother was just insane. The thought of my mother doing something stupid and crazy for my father was equally insane.