“Are you trying to sound like you’re better than Cara? That she is no good for me?” I study her reaction. Her body is stiff. Eyes are cold, but full of tears.
“Yes.” Well, fuck me.
“You really are something, Niki. You’re right about Cara.” I watch her smile. “Not right about you being better for me than Cara. More right words, but wrong order. Cara is ten times better than you Niki. She is perfect for me and I’m not good enough for her.” Her face saddens and when she blinks the tears fall.
“I will never be good enough for Cara. I made her a promise, and I will spend every day of my life keeping that promise. Spend every day proving to her that I deserve her, that I’m man enough to be loved by her. Then and only then will I really be good enough for her.” I climb into my truck and leave Niki standing there.
I don’t want to repeat myself anymore. I check my phone and have no reply from Cara. That’s odd. Maybe she’s busy. I decide to call her, and I get her voicemail. Okay. I check my messages again to see if I missed something from earlier.
For some reason, I remember what Cara told me to tell her if this went differently. To tell her we’re done. I double check what I sent her in my rush. I’m done. Fuck! Fuck!
I grip the steering wheel until my knuckles turn white. I was so eager to leave that I fucked up. Damn it, Niki, for distracting me. I fucked up big time. Fuck! I may not be able to fix this. I pick up speed and drive to Nate’s.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
“Nate, I need to talk to Cara.” I tried calling Cara, but I got voice mail again. Damn it.
“Sorry, I can’t let you Jordan. You made a mess here dude. Cara broke, Jordan. I mean she got Butler’s attention, and that’s something I’ve never seen. Go home.” What? He isn’t serious there’s no way I’m going home.
“I’m five minutes away you better let me in.” I give him a warning. I have no problems laying him out to get to Cara. I fucked up, and I need to now own up.
Nate meets me outside with Butler barking on a leash. That is new. I jump out of my truck.
“I need to talk to her.” Why does he look pissed at me? “Nate I fucked up, let me fix this. Isabella is not mine.”
“You have to deal with Jessica. You ready for that. She wants to kill you. I’ve never seen someone break like that Jordan. I don’t ever want to see that again. Do you understand?” We head inside. Nate puts Butler downstairs.
If this is as bad as I expect, Jessica might punch me. Would I blame her? Fuck no. I might really need it. When we round the corner to their guest room, I hear Jessica. Her voice is soothing.
That’s Jessica she knows how to handle these situations. She trained for these. She wanted to be able to help Nate. I’m so thankful I brought Cara here. Nate walks into the room ahead of me and gets Jessica’s attention.
Her eyes focus on me. I’m a walking dead man. She lets go of Cara. “Jessica I fucked up bad I know that.” She storms right up to me and slaps me. Fuck that hurt.
When Cara hit me, both times stung. Jessica knows how to make a slap burn. I knew she would assault me.
“What are you doing here?” She almost whispers.
“I fucked up Jessica. I need to fix this. Let me talk to her.” I made sure Cara could hear me. She looked over at me and then shoved her back against the wall on the other side of the room. Cara placed her hand over her heart and clutched her shirt. Then she slid down the wall where I could hardly see her.
Fuck. I can hear her crying. Jessica better move or I will move her. I never meant to hurt Cara. I just didn’t think first.
“Jordan, go home. I just calmed her down, and now, she’s a mess again. You didn’t see what happened after she read your text.”
“Jessica, please. I fucked up. I get that. I will not be leaving without her. Let me in.” I heard the first hiccup from Cara. “Jess.” I don’t beg, but I might have to. Jessica slides to the side, and I walk into the room.
CARA
He’s here. Why? He made his choice. He wants his new family. Ouch! My chest hurts so bad. I jumped when I heard his voice. When I clutched my chest to try and ease the pain my knees gave out. Why do I hurt when I breathe?
I start crying again. I can’t make out what Jordan is saying to Jessica. My ears feel full of water. Ow. I have the hiccups. They are making the pain in my chest hurt more. I want him to go away. I don’t want anyone. Everyone lies.
“Cara.” No. Why did she let him in the room? Jordan is kneeling in front of me. “Cara Mia?”
“Go (hiccup)…away (hiccup).” I bring my hands up to my face to wipe away the many tears.
“Cara Mia, I fucked up. My text was meant to tell you that dinner was over. Please talk to me.” No matter where I turned my face, Jordan followed.
“Please (hiccup)…go (hiccup).” I took a few calming breaths like Jessica told me. “You said what you (hiccup) meant Jordan. Please (hiccup) go away.” I stood up, and Jordan slammed his hands on the wall beside me. I jumped and let out a tiny scream. The hiccups come back strong.
“Pretty girl, I fucked up.” He took my left hand in his. Jordan began turning my promise ring. I tried to pull my hand back.
“You can’t have it back. You promised me.” He now had my undivided attention.
“I don’t want the ring. I did make you a promise that I will keep until my dying day. Isabella is not my daughter.” My chest swelled painfully. Breathing still hurt more.
“I want you Cara. I was pissed off with Niki and wasn’t using my fucking brain. Then she followed me to try to argue her point. She wanted me. Niki thought I would still want her, still love her.” His beautiful blue eyes looked glossed over.
“Do you?” I clapped my hand over my mouth. I intended to think that not say it. Jordan leaned in close to me. Our noses and foreheads were touching.
“No! I have no feelings for Niki. I told her that. She decided to say she was better for me than you.” I don’t like where this is going. “Cara Mia, I told her you’re the one thats too good. I don’t deserve you.” What? That’s not true.
“I don’t deserve you to love me.” He brings my scarred fingers to his mouth and kisses them. “I will spend every day trying to prove that I do deserve your love, pretty girl. You got hurt because of me. You shouldn’t love me, but you do. You’re so fucking important to me Cara Mia.” I wiped away more tears.
We were still very close. I move slightly, and my lips lightly brushed his. He brings his hand to my cheek to brush away my falling tears. There’s something being told in this kiss.
When he breathes, I inhale. When I breathe, he draws the air in. Our tongues have not touched. Only our lips. Our eyes stay locked. I let out a whispered moan. This kiss feels deeper, like we are more connected. I can’t help but close my eyes.
The moment my eyes close Jordan deepens the kiss. My head starts to spin. I feel high. Jordan’s tongue massages mine and I’m completely breathless. I can’t seem to breathe without him helping me. He pauses and lets out a very sexy moan. I suck in needed air. Jordan kisses me one more time.
My lips feel swollen, and I press them together. How can a kiss feel so intimate? We have kissed many times before. This time something changed.
“Does that mean you are mine.” He lets out a laugh.
“Always pretty girl, promise.”
“I love you.”
“I know.” What? That’s rude. Jordan lets out a deep laugh and kisses my forehead. “You’re cute when you pout pretty girl, I love you too. “
We sit in the room a few minutes. Jordan just holds me. He tells me he’s sorry again.
“Why did your phone go straight to voice mail.” Oops, I never picked up my phone.
“Um…I dropped my phone and the battery popped out.” Jordan just shakes his head. I giggle. “Well, I’m not perfect. I was stunned by your text.”
“I don’t blame you. I was pretty pissed when I finally realized I fucked up. You ready to go home.”
“Yes.”
We walk out of the room. I’m waiting for Jessica to be mad. Nate is sitting on the couch with Butler. Jessica told me that Butler went in to do his job for me. I walk over to the beautiful dog and pet him. I say thank you to Nate. I see Jessica in the kitchen.
“Jordan.” Yep. She’s still mad. “You fix your shit?” She has a Tupperware container in her hands but gives me a smile.
“Yes, he fixed his shit, Jessica. He told me everything. Do you know where my phone is?” Jordan taps my butt.
“In your purse.” Jessica leaves the kitchen and hands me the Tupperware. “I split the cookies up. You have the majority of the snickerdoodles.”
I give Jessica a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you, Jessica. Has anyone told you how awesome you are?” Her face lights up.
“Nate tells me all the time Cara. I’m glad you think so too. Next time maybe we can work on oatmeal cookies.” I can do that.
“Dude, did your girl just kiss my wife.” Nate laughs. Holy shit. I have never heard him laugh. The sound is odd. I like his laugh.
“I kissed her cheek. What’s wrong with that?” Nate’s face is light red.
“Nothing wrong with that Cara. You’re such a good girl. I just thought I would harass you. Jordan, she’s always welcome here.” Jordan shakes his head and laughs too. I’m in awe of these two men.
Jessica walks in front of me. When she faces me she has a washcloth in her hand. “Hold still. You have tear stains on your face. Jordan she didn’t eat much.” Perfect timing for my stomach to make a noise.
“Good I’m starved. I couldn’t eat with Niki. Her voice makes my skin crawl.” Jordan shivers like he’s cold.
“Fucking A man. Do you know how many times all us guys tried to tell you that? There’s something with her that is weird dude.” Nate’s words sound repeated.
“I hear you now Nate. I do. I’m glad this mess is over.”
We leave after Jessica swears my face looks back to normal. She told Jordan that we should probably grab food. My eyes were all red and puffy. Nice to know she cares enough to point out my flaws. Jordan stops for burgers, fries and a large chocolate shake.
I see nothing out of place when we pull into the driveway. I get out of Jordan’s truck and grab my purse. Jordan has the food and drink. I’m happy about my stash of cookies.
Right in front of the door is a large box. The box is rectangular in shape and says my name. My full name Cara Mia. The box is black, and my name is in a blood red. Jordan looks around. I follow his eyes. The camera by the door has a red light on.
“Do not touch the box.” Jordan tugs my arm and walks back to his truck. He places the food in the truck Then he opens the garage door and reaches under his seat. Jordan pulls out a pistol. “Stay in the truck. I will lock the door three times. When I do no one can get in or out until I call Amber, do you understand me? I will be locking you in my truck.”
“Yes.” I climb in the back and sit in the middle. Jordan shuts the door and I hear the locks go down then there is a loud clipping sound. Jordan gets on his phone then heads into the house.
I figure since I can’t leave. I start eating.
JORDAN
“Tyler get your ass to my place. Travis left a nice big present for Cara.” The light for the camera is supposed to be green not red. Motherfucker shut down my system.
“Did you open the box?” He knows I’m not that fucking stupid.
“No, you’re better at opening presents. That’s why I called you dumb ass. Also, call Amber. I will need her on standby. I locked Cara in my truck. I’m searching my house now.” I have cleared the bottom half of the house and headed up the stairs.
“Why are you searching the house Jordan?”
“He turned my fucking alarm off.” All the rooms are empty and then I walk into the library. Fuck! There are dark red roses all over the room.
“He’s been inside,” I growl out my words.
“I’m on my way.” Time stops when I hear a high-pitched scream. Cara!
“Son of a bitch. Tyler. He’s here.” I jump the stairs taking two at a time. I run out the garage door. Cara is still in the truck, but from what I can see she looks to have seen a ghost. I circle the truck and look around the block. Nothing. Her scream must have scared him off. My phone rings.
“Amber?”
“Jordan, I’m not your sister. I just called you back. Tyler said Travis was in the house.” Ryan spoke.
“Fucker have my sister unlock my truck. Between you and her and the shit you did to it, you saved Cara. That fucker was here.” I hear the hard locks disengage. Cara is panicking when I get to her, and there are fries all over the back seat. We can clean that later.
“He was here Jordan. He (hiccup)…tried (hiccup)…to (hiccup)...” I wrap her in my arms.
“Shh you’re okay. I have bullet-proof glass. There was no way he could get you.” She begins to shake in my arms. Fuck he tried to get her. I hear a noise. Oh shit my phone. I really need to use my Bluetooth more often.
“What the hell do you mean he was there? Jordan is she okay.” Amber sounds frantic. She must have taken the phone from Ryan. Cara seems to shift uncomfortably in my arms, and when I let go, she runs inside.
“Bye Amber,” I say urgently as I run after Cara. She runs into the half bathroom and then I hear her lose the contents of her stomach.
“Cara.” I walk over to her and hold her hair back. She continues to be sick until it seems she has nothing left. Then she falls apart.
“I’m sorry.”
“Hello?” Tyler yells.
“In the bathroom off of the kitchen,” I yell back.
“Hey, that’s a big box at your door. Do you want me to open it?” He looks to Cara with sympathy.
“No, give me a minute.” I help Cara up and walk her into the master bathroom. Where she gets sick again.
“Hello?” Jessica hollers. What the hell is Jessica doing here?
“Jordan, I figured we might need the help, and the best help for her might be Jess. I called Nate after you hung up on me.” I swear my men know how to handle trouble better than anyone else.
“In the master bathroom Jess. I need your help.” Jessica and Nate walk in. Jessica looks at me like I’m in a world of trouble.
“Stress Jessica, Travis was still here, and he scared her.” My voice is sympathetic. I know half of Cara’s issues lie on my shoulders.
“I can take care of her from here. You have a lot to make up for because I won’t always be here to calm her.” I just nod because she is right.
Nate, Tyler, and I walk out of the room and into the kitchen. I tell Nate and Tyler that after we open the box we need to quickly remove the flowers from the library. We talk about how my security system needs to be turned back on, and I agree. The only issue is, how the fuck did he shut it off?
The three of us walk back out to the garage and over to the box. Tyler puts his ear up against the side. “There is no ticking from the box which is a good thing.”
“Why would the box be ticking? If that came from Travis, then there would be no ticking. He’s semi color blind.” My skin crawls when my sister walks up to me.
“Why are you here?” I ask angrily without meaning too.
“Because dear brother, you need me here. Plus, there was nothing more for us to do. We don’t know where he’s staying, and he times things perfectly.” Why does she have to remind me?
Tyler pulls out his knife and cuts into the sides of the box. My eyes are fixed on the contents when the outside is removed. Black and when I say black I mean really dark black, fully bloomed roses. They sit in a tall deep red vase with a burnt card sticking out of the roses.
“Are those spent 9mm casings. I don’t understand why, he’s a fucking idiot.” I train my attention to what Amber sees. Sure enough, the bottom of the vase is full of shell casings. A hidden message maybe?
I don’t even want to touch the card. I just give Amber the okay. She takes the card and reads over the words and I
see the color drain from her face. I snatch the card out of her hand.
The edges are burnt, and the background is a picture of Cara on my lap in my office. This had to be taken a couple weeks ago. Cara said she was hot as she rode me. I peeled her shirt off to give her some comfort. The picture shows her side, her naked side. The words on the card are even more disturbing than the picture.
You seem to like having fun Cara. I wonder if you would like to have the same amount of fun with me. I wonder what you would feel like. Would you ride me like Jordan? Would you be willing to give me your beautiful body in order to save your life? I will find out soon. You’re a good girl and I’m not all that bad. I have been kind to bring you flowers. I’m watching you. Travis
“Get rid of everything. I want there to be no trace of this stuff. The library upstairs is littered with roses. I don’t want Cara to see anything.” Amber is over by Ryan’s truck I can hear them talking quietly. I ignore them for the moment.
“I will start upstairs,” Nate mentions as he walks off. Tyler is taking the roses to his truck.
“What are you fucking doing?” I ask him.
“Keeping anything we might need and then destroying the rest. Look I don’t think you want this shit in your trash can because Cara might find it.” Now I feel like a dumb ass. He’s right.
I turn my attention back to my sister. She is working franticly on her laptop. “I almost have the system cleaned and reset. I need to encrypt the password and verify there is not a virus.” Shit, I forgot about my security system.
I leave her to do her job and walk inside. I see Cara curled up on the couch asleep. “She just fell asleep. Jordan, she has had a rough day, be careful with her.”
“I know Jess. I will finish upstairs. Stay with her please.” I head back to the library. I like how Cara named the room just because of the bookshelves. She’s very proud to have her own library. I’m proud to be able to give the room to her.
When I enter the room, it’s practically done. Nate seems to have removed some books from a box and placed all the flowers inside. “He must be using some special shop to be collecting all these flowers. I mean I did a quick Google search and black roses are hard to come by.” Tyler mentions as he holds half a dozen roses.
Forget Cinderella (True Loves Fairytale Book 1) Page 30