“It’s nothing,” I tell Kira, handing her back the iPad. “I came here to ask you about Cain.”
She nods and her face flushes. “I didn’t plan what happened with him. He just…”
She shrugs, and I realise she’s done talking.
So, something really did happen between them. I stroke her arm and the light rushes into her. I can feel her love for Cain. It’s like an endless well of pure, bright energy. She’s been in love with him for as long as Sky. Shit. This is going to get messy.
“Is he around?” I have to see what his take is on this. Does he love Kira back? My stomach is squirming. I don’t know what I’m going to do about Sky’s problem if Cain is in love with someone else now. And I have to do something. There’s no getting around that.
She flushes even brighter at my question before she answers. “He’s in the bedroom. We were up late last night.”
“Okay.” I realise I have more important issues right now. Sky doesn’t have a proper bodyguard. “Can you remind him he’s working for me this week when he wakes up?”
She nods quickly, and I move towards the door.
“Eden?”
I turn.
“Do you think she’ll ever forgive us?”
“Give her time.” It’s all I can say. Then I realise it’s not. Kira spent so many years watching Sky torture Cain instead of loving him. The guy she was head over heels for. That had to be awful. It might be bad news for my best friend, but Kira deserves this. “I’m happy for you, Kira.”
I hug her, and she sighs on my shoulder. “Thank you, Eden.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Logan
Returning to the scene of the crime fucked me over. I should have expected this. Well, maybe not this, exactly. I work on freeing my wrists of the handcuffs, but I know I’ll have to break a window to get out of the back of this car. I’m not sure what the hell the Sheriff’s doing right now, but he’s not far enough away to make me think I’ll be able to climb out of the window and fuck off before he can catch me. Of course, I could kill him, but it wouldn’t exactly go unnoticed, and that is the key to getting away with murder after all.
I free my wrists and keep my hands behind my back. I wait for him to come back. Doesn’t take long.
He gets into the driver’s seat and clears his throat. “Do you want to explain to me what you were doing in that house?”
I frown at him. I’m not going to answer that.
He sighs and starts the car. “Fair enough. You can talk when we get to the station.”
“I get a phone call when we get to the station.”
“Oh, you think?” He starts to drive. “You’ll be taken to one of our interrogation rooms first. That’s kind of what we do with murder suspects.”
Wait, did he just say...
“It’s pretty suspicious that Asher Reynolds was telling his sister about a break in that might have had something to do with a former bodyguard of his girlfriend’s, right before his sister reports finding his body in his basement. Then who do I find in his house? That’s a mother of a coincidence right there.”
The car speeds up and I wince as it slows suddenly and I smack my head off the partition between the backseat and the front. I quit pretending my hands are still bound to smack them off that damned partition. This guy is fucking nuts, but I knew that already. I investigated the local cops before I came back to Rapture. I know this one got away with a vicious murder. I wonder what his game is here. He doesn’t seem like the vigilante type, but I’m not going to bet on that.
“You’re going to regret it if you don’t let me go.”
He stops the car and turns off the engine. I consider reaching for the gun strapped to my ankle. I hesitate. Any way I look at it, it’s still bad news to kill a cop. Even one as psycho-crazy as Eli Ramirez.
“You have a day. Twenty-four-hours.” He gets out and opens the back door. “If you’re still in town, I’m coming back for you, and you’d better believe me when I say you’ll regret it if you don’t leave.”
I get out of the car, thoughts still whirring. I can’t work out his angle. He thinks I killed a guy, and he wants me out of town? What the fuck? I narrow my eyes at him. “I’m going nowhere.”
He shakes his head at me. “Why did I just know you were going to say that?”
“Why the fuck are you letting me go?”
“I know why you killed him. You want her all to yourself.” His mocking tone stirs my rage.
Screw it. I get my gun out and point it at him.
He holds up his hands, but there isn’t the slightest hint of fear in his eyes. What the hell is going on here?
He smiles at me. “Thanks, Logan.”
“Thanks?” For what?
He draws his gun and the punch to the guts I take from the bullet makes me cough up blood. Shit! I fucking knew he was crazy. I take the safety off my back up piece, but my finger feels too slack to pull the trigger. I slide to the ground, clutching at my wound.
He crouches down and plucks the gun from my hand.
“See that garage over there?” He nods back lightly. “Security camera just caught this whole exchange. If I ask for the tape they’ll hand it over. It’ll show you pulled your weapon first. It’ll show I tried to reason with you before I decided the threat was too great to let you live.”
He sighs as he looks me over. I want to attack him but I feel weak. My senses are swirling in and out of consciousness. I don’t have long before I pass out. I glare at him. “You can’t possibly give this much of a shit about that fucking writer.”
“Asher’s a good guy, Logan. He didn’t deserve what you did to him. But you’re right, this isn’t about him. It’s about Eden. You’re a threat to her life and everyone in it. She’s not yours. She belongs to Asher, and she belongs to Nick, and she belongs to me.”
“Fuck you.” Those are the last words I hear before it goes dark, but his are the ones that follow me down. Eden isn’t mine. She never will be.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Eden
Sky ignored my calls and wouldn’t answer her door, so I head back to Nick’s place after text messaging him. He calls back to tell me he’s in his office in the club so that’s where I head when we get back. When I open the door he looks up from his desk. I leave Todd outside and Nick immediately gets up to thrust paper at me. He has a desperate look about him, and his hair is standing up in places like he’s been pulling at it. This decision must be driving him mad.
“Which of these guys seems less like he’ll rip off my business?”
I laugh as I take the paper from him. “Nick, are you serious?”
He groans. “I’m never going to find someone to replace that asshole.”
“You will.” It’s strange to see him like this. Nothing ever really winds him up. He’s so easy-going. I know how much this club means to him so I get it. I just wish there was a way to help him.
He shakes his head and pulls at his hair. “Not in the next day or two. I want to go back to Rapture with you, Eden. I like it better there than here. I just need to figure out who to leave in charge.”
“Okay. Let me look at these.” I tell him, looking the resumes over. They both feel bland, boring. I have no idea which is the better choice. “Didn’t you tell me there are a couple of girls already working here who might be perfect?” It seems like it would be better to leave people who already know the club in charge since then he wouldn’t need to train anyone.
He groans. “Yeah, but they both have college. Neither of them can do full time.”
“So don’t make them.” It seems simple, but maybe I’m missing something.
He stares at me. “Don’t make them.”
“Maybe split the job between them?”
He grins suddenly. “You’re a freaking genius.”
I hold back a smile. “Hardly. You’re just tired from working too hard, Nick. I want to go back to Rapture too. Maybe we can fly back tomorrow?”
He nod
s. “I’ll call them in. Fingers crossed they both say yes. This could be the answer.”
He makes the phone calls and I look around the office. It’s kind of small. I’d barely glanced around the first time I was in this room. My attentions were fully engaged by the man I was embracing.
“You look happy tonight,” he said as he passed me my drink.
The VIP room was kind of overcrowded. We were surrounded by Sky’s band and her start up act.
I took a drink and smiled. I’d barely broken up with Hunter, but I already felt lighter, like I’d been set free. “I am, I guess.”
He smiled, and I noticed the hazel flecks in his green eyes for the first time. “It’s good to see you like this, Eden. Whatever it is that’s making you happy, I’m glad.”
I took another long, slow drink. If he knew what was making me feel so good, I knew his smile would only brighten. My heart hammered, but I hesitated to tell him. It felt too soon. He’d been a friend for such a long time, someone I could lean on when I was hurting. He always knew how to make me feel better, and he never seemed to expect anything in return.
His reputation wasn’t exactly squeaky clean. He was known for playing the field, though I knew he hadn’t been with anyone in a while and he’d told me himself he was done with that lifestyle. He could be exactly what I needed.
“I broke up with Hunter,” I told him, before I could chicken out. I watched his face carefully.
His smile faded. “You did?”
I nodded. “He was cheating.”
“That fucking bastard,” he said, putting his drink down. “Eden, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s fine. I’m over it. Things weren’t right between us for a long time.”
“Fucking bastard,” he murmured, shaking his head. Then he took my free hand in both of his. “He was making you miserable. I’m sorry for what he did, but you deserve to be happy.”
His gaze became more intense. I put my glass down.
“Is there somewhere less public we could go to talk?”
He nodded and got up, keeping my hand in his as he walked me out of the VIP room. No one even noticed we were leaving. Sky was too busy laughing at her drummer’s screwball antics, and the other girls were dancing in the corner which was pretty much diverting the attention of every other man in the room.
I followed Nick into his office. A lamp was lit on the desk, so he didn’t bother switching on the lights. I turned to him as he closed the door. His gaze drifted to me as he locked it.
“Eden, I’m not going to lie. I know a thing or two about keeping a woman happy, and I would kill to have the chance to be the one to keep a smile on that gorgeous face. But if all you want is a shoulder to cry on, I’m here for that too.”
“I didn’t really want to talk.” I was probably too drunk to be making this call, but I couldn’t seem to stop myself. Everything he’d just said only made me want him more. I had to be crazy. My feelings were all over the place lately. Having strong emotional attachments to two men was just asking for trouble. I knew with Logan I was in love with someone who’d never let me down. Nick was so unpredictable. Falling in love with him should have been a mistake, but it didn’t feel like it was. He’d shown he cared about me, time and time again.
He moves closer. “Are you sure?”
Desire rose in me as he leaned in and cupped my face in his hands. The intensity of his gaze held such promise I felt my knees weaken. If I fall, I know he’ll catch me.
I smiled. “Make me happy, Nick.”
“Done,” he tells me, putting his phone back into his pocket. His gaze drifts over me curiously. “What are you thinking?”
“I was just remembering the last time we were in here.”
He smiles, and reaches out to take my hands in his. “It took a while to finish what we started that night.”
“You definitely made me happy,” I remind him.
“The trick is in keeping you happy,” he tells me, pulling me in close as he leans against his desk. His hand tilts my chin to let his gaze linger over my face. “I don’t think I’ve been doing a good enough job of that.”
“Oh you definitely weren’t lying that night,” I tell him. “You know more than a thing or two about keeping a woman happy.”
He smiles, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Eden, I know I can be full of innuendo, and I will never get enough of this incredible body of yours, but I wasn’t just talking about giving you orgasms.”
Oh, shit. Nick’s getting serious. I’m stunned into silence.
His thumbs stroke the sides of my face as he locks gazes with me. “I know you were trapped before, with Hunter. I never want you to feel like that again. I’m glad you’ve got me and Asher both, but you need to be more honest about what you need so we can keep you happy.”
I want to protest, but he’s right. I might have been honest with Nick, but I hadn’t been with Asher. I’d let fear take hold of me. I couldn’t keep doing that if I wanted this to work.
“This whole thing has been a big change for me,” I say. “I’ll try to be more open with you both.”
“And the new guy,” he reminds me, before his lips meet mine.
The kiss is brief, but I feel light-headed when he breaks away and hugs me in close.
“I can’t wait to get back to Rapture. Could we get a flight tomorrow, maybe?”
I nod, but worry floods me as I remember Diana. I can’t have Nick become a target. As soon as we get back there, I’m going to track her down and I’ll do whatever it takes to stop her. I want Nick in Rapture with me. I need him.
“When are the...” I start to ask when the knocks at the door start up.
He lets me go. “That must be them.”
I move towards the door. “I’ll let them in.”
They’re a few years younger than me, and both of them seem a little apprehensive. One seems shocked when she glances at me and does a double-take. The other’s eyes widen, but she keeps it together. I’m about to leave the room when Nick stops me.
“Eden, you can stay. This is only going to take a sec.”
I close the door and stay near it, crossing my arms.
“If this is about not restocking the top bar last night, that’s my bad,” the brunette who did the double-take blurts. “I was going to get it this afternoon.”
Nick smiles. “It’s not about that, Jaime. I’ve asked you both in because I have a problem I need to solve and I think I have a solution.”
They glance at each other and the blonde smiles nervously.
“As you both know, Pete was up to no good and he had to be let go. That leaves me without a manager, and considering I’m in the process of relocating to another town, I need to get someone on board quickly. Someone who already knows the ropes.”
“We’re both in college,” the blonde says, though she seems pensive.
“That’s why I wondered if you might consider splitting the workload.” He takes two sheets of paper that I can see detail the job description and hands them to either girl. “That’s the salary. You can split the figure in half if each of you can work twenty-four hours a week which you guys are pretty much already doing. You can decide between yourselves which days.”
The brunette gasps audibly.
“I had no idea,” the blonde says slowly, shaking her head.
“You can think about it,” he says, “but the offer’s only good if you’re both on board.”
They glance at each other and nod. The blonde grins. “Sounds good to me.”
“Me too.”
I smile at Nick as relief floods his features. One problem down. Now all I need is for Sky to open her heart, and Diana to leave me alone. There is one more thing, but I’m sure Nick’s right. All I need is to be honest with Asher. I get out my phone and tell him I need to make a call as the girls excitedly begin to ask questions. I leave the room and walk as far away from Todd as he’ll allow. I make a call to the airport, and then I dial Asher’s number to tell him we’re
coming home.
Chapter Forty
Asher
When Eden calls, I’m so glad to hear her voice. It takes me a second to realise I should be talking too.
“It’s so good to speak to you. I’ve missed you so much,” I tell her, wondering how bad it is to be lying to her by omission. I should tell her about Logan, but I want to protect her from that ugliness. If our plan works, Logan should be gone before Eden gets back.
“I miss you too, Asher,” she tells me. “I’m coming home tomorrow afternoon. We both are.”
“What time? I’ll pick you up.”
“I’ve been texted the flight info, I’ll forward it on to you.”
“Are you okay, Eden?” She sounds like she’s holding something back, but I’m not sure what.
“I think things are going to have to come out into the open,” she starts, and I can picture her biting down on her lip when she pauses. “There have been pictures in the press. One of me with you. One with Nick. It’s just the start, but it’s coming.”
“Okay. Eden, we’ll get through this together.”
“There’s something I need to speak to you about once I’m back. I was afraid before, but I know I should have told you.”
“What is it?” I don’t like how cryptic she sounds. Something is definitely wrong, and it’s more than her fear of our secret breaching the world press.
“I have to speak to you in person, Asher. It’s not a bad thing, but you might not love it.”
“Have you met someone else?” It’s the only thing that makes sense. I’d been so mopey about her leaving. No wonder she didn’t want to tell me.
“Sort of,” she says, blowing out a breath. “We can talk about it when I’m back. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“See you soon, Asher.” She hangs up and I’m left wondering what could be so bad she didn’t want to tell me. I can think of nothing that would matter.
Chapter Forty-One
Eli
I used to think life was entirely black and white. Shades of grey were for the spineless, the weak. Those who succumb to temptation too easily. Before I became a deputy, I’d fooled myself into believing that was my reality. I didn’t know how backwards I had it until I was tested.
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