What Makes Us Stronger (A Well Paired Novel Book 3)

by Marianne Rice

  “We barely survived our teen years. There’s no way in hell we could live together again.”

  Relieved she’d been thinking the same thing, Ty thought about her options. The bedrooms at their parents’ house were upstairs. Hope had a nice place, but her spare was upstairs as well. Grace lived with her parents and Jenna lived with an elderly man, and while Ben and Alexis had an office space off the living room, they also had a baby.

  There weren’t many options for Mia.

  “How are you going to get around?”

  “Single people manage all the time. I’ll be fine. Mom and Dad are swinging by in a bit to drive me home. That’s one thing I won’t be able to do until I get this cast off.” She knocked on the plaster. “Looks like you and the girls will be my designated driver for a while.”

  “That’s fine.”

  It’s not like he had anything better to do.

  LILY WOKE TO AN UNFAMILIAR sound. A creak and a light tap of a screen door clapping against the frame. Remembering where she was, she rolled over and stared at the blank wall.

  Ruth and Herb Bergeron’s house. Thorne had all but insisted she stay while he did some investigating into Mia’s accident. He’d been aloof last night. Nothing out of the ordinary for him.

  She reached for her cell on the nightstand and found nothing. Peeking over the side of the bed thinking it had fallen during the night, she didn’t find it on the floor either. Pulling back the covers, Lily sat up, a wave of fear and embarrassment rippling through her body.

  The sweatpants and shirt were Thorne’s. He’d offered them to her last night when they’d arrived soaking wet from the rain. It was better than sleeping in wet jeans, and much better than sleeping naked.

  Thorne didn’t give her the heebie-jeebies, but it was still awkward being in the house alone with him. Especially when Ty had the wrong impression about them. She needed to explain it to him before he lost all hope in her.

  Not caring how her hair or face looked, she padded across the room, opening the door and peering down the stairs. She could hear Thorne’s quiet voice in the distance and hurried to the bathroom.

  A few minutes later, she made her way to the kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee. The screen door creaked open and Thorne stepped inside, dressed in business slacks, a shirt, and tie. He was incongruous to the summer camp setting, looking more out of place than Lily felt.

  “Did you sleep well?”

  After tossing for hours and hours, maybe. “Sure. I need to go to work now. My first client will be there soon.”

  “Annie called and rescheduled your appointments.”

  “What... how... what did you say to her?” Part of her was pissed for him taking over her life, and the other part was grateful. She was too drained, emotionally and physically, to put on a fake smile and make small talk with her clients.

  “Don’t worry about it,” he said calmly. The man could make things happen without raising suspicion. She’d watched him do his job, and do it well, two years ago.

  “Have you seen my cell phone?”

  “Yes.”

  Lily sipped her coffee and waited for him to elaborate. Which he didn’t. He wouldn’t. “Where is it?”

  “I have it.” Thorne poured a cup of coffee for himself and sat at the table in front of his laptop.

  “Can I have it back?”

  Thorne reached in his briefcase and handed her the phone. It felt lighter. Lily powered it on and got nothing.

  “Did you drain my battery?”

  “I took it out,” he said without looking up from the screen.

  “Um, why?” Lily set her coffee down on the table with too much force, not caring as it sloshed over the side.

  “So you can’t be traced.”

  She opened her mouth to argue and then shock set in. Traced. Someone was after her. The same someone who mowed down Mia. Her heart hammered in her chest and the buzzing returned, cramping in her side until her eyes blurred.

  “My friends. Ty,” she whispered, dropping to the chair next to Thorne. “Please tell me they’re safe. You need to... to protect them.”

  “They’re safe.” Thorne closed his laptop and picked up his coffee, appearing all too calm while a tsunami of feelings drowned her insides. Fear. Guilt. Anger. Sadness. Rage.

  “Where are they?”

  “Home. Working. They’re safe.”

  “Do you have people watching them?”

  “I need to ask you a few questions.”

  He wouldn’t give her answers, yet he wanted them from her. It was unfair, yet Lily knew he was only trying to keep her safe.

  “I don’t know anything.”

  “How much have you told Ty?”

  “Nothing.” Lily pushed back her chair and paced the small space. “I’ve told him nothing, and he thinks I’m a cheating whore. I want my phone battery, and I want to see Ty. I need to tell him. He needs to be careful, to be on the lookout for danger.”

  “He doesn’t know about Gervais?”

  “Of course not!”

  “Does he know Veronica Stewart?”

  “No. You’re ruining my life making me keep things from him.” Lily swiped at the tears with the back of her hand and sniffed. “I don’t want to lie to the man I love. I deserve a nice life. A quiet life filled with love and family and friends. And you’re taking it away from me. I hate you for that.”

  It hurt like hell keeping secrets. She hated the double life. Hated the secrets. Hated not being with Ty. “I’m telling him. Today. You can’t stop me.” Lily marched out of the kitchen, finding no satisfaction when the screen door slammed behind her. The grass was wet under her bare feet, and the sun reflected so brightly off the lake blinding her as she made her way down to the dock.

  She sat on the dock not caring that it was still slightly damp from yesterday’s rain. The start of an engine had her lifting her head and turning around. Thorne was leaving. She was trapped at the cabin with no phone, no car, and none of her belongings.

  A blue kayak sat tied to a tree not far from her. She could paddle her way to freedom, if she knew which way to go. Lily had no idea how much time passed as she sat, deep in her thoughts.

  When she heard Thorne’s car again, she shot up and stormed into the house. She was already yelling at him before the front door opened all the way.

  “Don’t you ever leave me again—”

  Broad shoulders filled the doorway covered in a navy t-shirt, and a just as confused expression played on Ty’s face.

  “What’s going on here?” He looked back over his shoulder where Lily spotted Thorne.

  “You two can talk.” Thorne turned away and got back into his sleek car.

  “What the hell?” Ty placed angry hands on his hips as he looked from the black car already halfway down the driveway to Lily. “I don’t want any part of this. Where the hell is your suit going?”

  Conflicted between wanting to jump into Ty’s arms and wanting to slap him for ever believing she’d cheat on him, she clenched her teeth and bit back her words until she figured out what to say. Or at least, how to start.

  Ty cursed and took out his cell.

  “No. Don’t.” Lily reached out and placed her hand over his, stopping him from texting or dialing.

  “I don’t want to be part of this.”

  “You are whether you want to be or not.”

  “If you’re having a lover’s spat, you can figure it out with your suit on your own.”

  “My lover’s spat is with you, you big idiot. Thorne is not and has never been my lover.”

  “Thorne? What a fitting name.” Ty walked out the front door and stood in the driveway turning in a three-sixty, most likely looking for a way out. Lily had done the same thing earlier.

  “Ty, we need to talk. Will you come inside?”

  “I’m not stepping foot in a place where you’ve been with another man.”

  “I told you—”

  “You’re wearing his clothes. I’d say you’r
e more than a casual acquaintance.”

  Lily looked down at her attire and grimaced. It looked bad. She needed to put herself in Ty’s shoes. Yeah, she’d be pretty pissed if she stepped into a similar situation. The best approach here would be the band-aid way. Fast.

  Stepping outside, she took a deep breath and looked straight into his eyes. “My name is Veronica Stewart. I’m in the witness protection program, and Agent Thorne is responsible for my safety.”

  “You.” Ty cocked his head and studied her. “What?”

  “My ex-husband is in jail for espionage, grand theft, and murder. And my father, being his right-hand man is dead. Either as a result of my husband—my ex-husband—or his own hand. I don’t know and I don’t care. Damian thinks I know more about their business than I really do.”

  Ty opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He closed it again and closed his eyes. Lily waited, giving him time to process. When he opened his eyes, they were distant and unresponsive as he looked past her toward the lake. Without glancing at her he walked away toward the water.

  Lily watched as his normally strong shoulders sagged, his head hunched forward, and his gait tired. The pang in her chest grew stronger as she hurt for him. For them. She gave him a minute of alone time down by the water and then followed his path, stopping at his side, keeping a solid five feet of space between them.

  “Agent Thorne was assigned to me when I returned to the States.”

  “Returned?” Ty asked, still keeping his focus out on the water.

  “I lived in Europe with...” She hated saying his name but Ty needed to hear it all, and she needed to tell him. “Damian Gervais. We moved there after we married.”

  Lily poured out the whole story from the marriage of convenience to discovering her husband’s illegal business activity, and his and her father’s illegal activities and even murders.

  “Is there any truth in you at all, or have I been sleeping with a fake person for the past month?”

  “I’m not fake, Ty. You have to understand the danger I am in. I couldn’t tell you who I was.”

  “Why?” He turned and peered down at her, the wall of tension thick between them.

  “I started over. A new life. I don’t want anything to do with my past life. Can’t you understand that?” Tears of frustration streamed down her cheeks.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I couldn’t. I couldn’t tell anyone. I don’t know if Damian has men out there trying to find me. ”

  “And you thought I could be one of them?” His eyes darkened and went from peering to icy cold. All emotion washed away from Ty as he watched her with a face as still as stone.

  “No.”

  “Yes.”

  “I didn’t tell anyone. I don’t want to live in the past. Can’t you see?” Lily balled her hands into fists and clenched her jaw. “I don’t want to be Veronica Stewart-Gervais, the socialite and heiress. I want to be Lily Novak who owns a small town spa and falls in love with a kindhearted man.”

  “You can’t change who you are, no matter how hard you try. You’ll always be... you.” Ty ticked his jaw. “And I’m not a kindhearted man.”

  “So this is it? You’re ending something special between us because I didn’t tell you about my dangerous past? I know your ex-fiancée hurt you, but don’t clump me in the same category as her. I never cheated on you. You need to get your head out of your ass and think about someone besides yourself.”

  Ty’s shoulders stiffened, but he didn’t respond.

  “Mia’s accident was no accident. My identity may have been discovered by the wrong people, and now they’re trying to scare me by hurting my friends. You could be next, Ty. And Hope. And Grace and Jenna. Damian’s people are dangerous. Forget your male pride for a second and think about those around you. I didn’t tell anyone who I really was because I wanted to keep you safe.”

  His eyes grew wide with a new emotion Lily couldn’t read. The sound of a car pulling in had them both looking up toward the driveway. Thorne appeared looking casual and out of his element next to the house.

  “Your suit better know his shit. I won’t allow Hope or anyone else to be hurt.” He marched off up the slope toward Thorne and grabbed his shoulder, forcing him around the corner of the house.

  Thorne may not have the muscle packed on like Ty, but Lily doubted he’d let himself be pushed around if he didn’t want to be. The agent was smart and must have known now was not a good time to mess with Ty.

  Instead of getting involved in the alpha verbal war she was sure was happening inside the house, Lily sat in one of the Adirondack chairs and wished the breeze could blow away her troubles.

  The ripples in the water ended once they hit the sandy shore and more followed behind in a never-ending gentle current. Lily longed for those nights when the water was still and flat as glass. Nothing moving or breaking the tranquility and inner peace.

  Instead, the world was crashing down on her like waves before a storm.

  The storm. Mia. Hell. She’d been so caught up in Ty and wanting him to believe in her again that she’d forgotten about her friend. Lily shot out of her chair and jogged to the house. As the screen door closed behind her, she heard the start of an engine. Running to the front, she whipped the front door open and watched Thorne drive away. The silhouette in the passenger seat belonged to Ty.

  It was one thing to learn the man you married was a murderer and wanted you dead. It was another to learn the man you gave your heart and soul to no longer wanted you.

  Her throat tightened, burning with tears she couldn’t shed. His lack of understanding and sympathy shattered her already fragile heart into a million pieces. No new identity could replace that.

  Ever.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  TY ROUNDED THE CORNER of Hemlock Drive and changed gears as he pedaled up the hill. He’d passed the twenty-five-mile mark and had yet to burn off the hostile steam that had built up inside his chest and head.

  When the suit had shown up at his jobsite a few hours ago, Ty was ready to punch him in the gut, or at least do something to mess up his stiffly ironed shirt and pants. Ty wasn’t a violent guy, and the urge to hurt the man was unsettling in his stomach.

  “You need to come with me,” the suit had said, holding open the passenger side of his slick car.

  “Not a chance in hell.”

  “Lily needs to talk to you.”

  Ty gritted his teeth and practically growled. “I don’t want to hear it.” He’d turned and the suit reached out, grabbing Ty’s forearm. Ty stiffened then yanked his arm away, nearly knocked the man on his ass. “Keep your hands off me.”

  “It’s about your sister.”

  “What the hell do you know about my sister?” The suit didn’t flinch, still holding the open passenger side door.

  Was that why he was at the hospital last night? Did he have something to do with Mia’s hit and run? Or was he there to comfort Lily? But why would she need comforting? She hadn’t even stopped in to see Mia.

  Too many questions that needed answering. Ty unbuckled his tool belt and tossed it in the back of his truck. “I’ll follow you.”

  “That won’t work.”

  Ty grabbed on to his hair in frustration and tugged. “Who the hell are you?” He didn’t move, didn’t quirk his lips, and his eyes were unreadable behind his dark sunglasses. Hell, if it hadn’t been about his sister he wouldn’t have even thought about getting in the car with the asshole.

  He hadn’t been ready for the reaction his body had when Lily had opened the door to the camp. Her face was void of any makeup and her hair had seen better days, pulled back into a mess of a bun. Ty loved her like that. Fresh and rumpled.

  And then he’d noticed her outfit. Men’s clothes. And not his.

  For the second time in less than an hour hostile rage had fed on his body.

  Ty stood up on his pedals and leaned forward as he neared the peak of the hill. After the next bend he’d be abl
e to coast the last three miles to his house. In the meantime, he needed the pain, the sweat, the escape.

  But the exercise hadn’t taken his mind off Lily or the revelation she’d dropped on him. Witness protection? An ex? A murderer? And shit, her father tried to kill her?

  He was a hot mess of guilt and shame for the way he’d reacted to the bombshell. Lily was frightened, not only of her ex but of what he could do to her friends. To him. And instead of comforting her as she’d cried and admitted to her lying, he’d clammed up and ran off like a coward.

  If she refused to have anything to do with him again, he wouldn’t blame her. His dammed freaking ego got in the way, blinded him from seeing, blocked his ears from hearing and feeling what Lily had experienced.

  He changed gears and sat back on his seat as he coasted, the wind cooling the sweat that clung to his body.

  He needed a do-over in the worst way. Instead of caring about Lily, he’d only thought about himself. A selfish asshole.

  Thorne had assured him on the drive back to the worksite that Mia’s accident was completely unrelated. The geriatric man had a stroke and his wife had yanked the wheel, missing hitting Mia full on and only nicking her. They were as shaken up as Mia and the rest of them.

  What Thorne couldn’t assure him of, however, was Lily’s safety. He’d explained in short sentences why she was at his grandparents’ lake house and that he could find no evidence that her life was currently in danger. He’d be leaving for New York in the morning and asked Ty to keep an eye on her.

  The man was either really good at his job or sucked ass. Ty hoped it wasn’t the latter. Either way, he had Thorne’s business card in the glove box of his truck and prayed he’d never have to use it.

  In the meantime, he needed to check in on Mia, make sure she was settled in okay, and then grovel at Lily’s feet.

  Even if she didn’t accept his apology, he’d spend the rest of his life looking out for her, keeping her safe from her asshole ex-husband.

  He looked over his shoulder for traffic before crossing the road and pedaling down his driveway. His legs shook when he got off his bike. It had been too long since he took his mountain bike on a good ride. Unbuckling his helmet, he hung it on his handlebars and grabbed his water bottle, chugging it down before going inside.