Winter

by Michelle Love

  Tommaso had congratulated them both, and Inca could see no sadness in his eyes when he hugged her.

  It was strange to think she would never kiss him or make love with him again. He’d rented an apartment in the city and moved there to give them privacy.

  Now, she smiled at her family—they were her family—as they enjoyed the luxury of the Winters’ private jet. “Tyler said he’d be with us by the weekend. I can’t wait to see him.”

  She’d already told Tyler about her and Raffaelo’s engagement and, after he’d asked her if she had chosen the one she really wanted, if she was sure, then he had congratulated her warmly. “As long as you are happy, Bubba.”

  Now they were on their way to Washington and Inca felt optimistic about the future in a way she hadn’t for a long time. The Winter twins had legally separated their lives and businesses from their father, and they hadn’t heard from him since that terrible day.

  There are monsters everywhere, Inca thought to herself now, but also angels. These two men with her now … they had changed her life completely.

  Washington was freezing cold and snowing. Tommaso grumbled—to Raffaelo’s and Inca’s amusement. “Does it ever get warm in this godforsaken place?”

  They went straight to the mansion, which seemed like a place from another time for all of them. Inca was smiling until she saw the bloodstains on the stone steps … Luna’s blood. Someone had obviously tried to clean it, but when it had frozen, the blood had leached into the porous stone and stained it.

  Raffaelo put his arm around her. “We won’t have to see it much longer.”

  They had decided to sell the mansion and move everything back to Italy. Inca was glad. Although she had always loved her home state and her own country, she didn’t feel like she belonged anymore. She didn’t belong anymore.

  Raffaelo touched her cheek. “Let’s get warmed up. Then we can talk about what our plans are.”

  Olly saw the limousine snake up the hill to the Winter mansion and felt his body tremble. She was back. Inca had called him, somewhat nervously, to tell him she was coming to visit, to settle Nancy’s matters, and to say goodbye. She was really leaving for good. Olly couldn’t quite get a handle on it. He’d expressed his sadness, and Inca had cried a little.

  “It’s not like you don’t have a passport,” she had said eventually, a little annoyed, and he’d laughed then.

  “That’s better; now you sound like you.”

  He heard her chuckle. “I miss you, Olly.”

  “I miss you too, Inks.”

  Now she was home, and he was strangely nervous about seeing her. They’d agreed to meet the next day and talk; then, later in the week, Inca asked if they could go and lay some flowers on Luna’s grave.

  “Of course we can,” Olly said softly, letting Inca know he didn’t blame her for what had happened.

  He drove back to the police station and pulled off his coat. He felt as if this visit—Inca’s last visit home, probably—would be one where they would hash out everything. Olly had never forgiven himself for how he’d behaved when she’d met the Winters—his jealousy, he knew now, had made him go crazy for a while, buying the Sakura apartment and not telling Inca, and buying that hideous house in the woods—what the hell had he been thinking?

  Since Luna’s suicide, Olly had been seeing a psychiatrist and taking medication. Both he and Luna had been diagnosed with a personality disorder but had left it untreated all their adult lives. He was sure now that that was why he had dumped Inca in the first place. If they’d both been treated, maybe Luna—and Scarlett—would be alive now.

  God, the things we do to each other …

  “Hey again.” Her voice broke through his reverie and he realized he had been daydreaming. Belinda stood in front of him.

  “Would you like to come to the new coffee shop?”

  He was silent for a moment, then smiled coolly. “No, thank you. Actually, I need to run some errands, so …’” He got up. Belinda looked surprised.

  “Oh … okay, then …Hey, come over for dinner later, to the house, I mean. It’s just an Irish stew, but there’ll be plenty to go around.”

  He inclined his head and smiled. “Thank you, but not tonight. I’ll be seeing you. Belinda.”

  He left quickly, aware he had surprised her, possibly even hurt her feelings. He climbed into his car and sat for a while, watching her walk down the street. Maybe he had been too dismissive.

  “Belinda?” He got out of the car as she turned. “I’m sorry. I was rude. I can’t make dinner, but yes, shall we grab a coffee now?”

  He was surprised how grateful she looked and felt better. There was no need for any unpleasantness. After all, he needed all the friends he could around here.

  Tommaso excused himself at ten p.m., and Inca and Raffaelo walked slowly up to their room. A good meal, two bottles of a superb red, and Inca was feeling very chilled out. Raffaelo grinned at her.

  “You are drunk, Ms. Sardee …”

  She giggled and wound her arms around him before, suddenly, her face dropped. Frowning, Raffaelo looked in her eyes.

  “What is it?”

  “Oh God …”

  “What?”

  “My name will be … Inca Winter.”

  Raffaelo burst out laughing, half with relief. “God, you scared me. I thought something was really wrong.”

  “It is! My name will be Inca Winter!’ she moaned, but, seeing her lover collapsed with laughter, she started giggling too. “Stop laughing, you with your sexy sexy name. Think of your wife’s humiliation.”

  He pulled her down on top of him, rolling her onto her back on the bed. “If it bothers you that much, keep your name. Or I’ll take your name.”

  She stopped, looking in amazement at him. “You would do that?”

  Raffaelo nodded. “Of course. I would be happy to give up the last thing that my father gave me. How does Raffaelo Sardee sound?”

  She grinned. “Italian … and sexy as all hell.”

  “Then it’s decided.” He kissed her, his lips moving against hers slowly. “Now we just have to decide when to get married.”

  “Hmm, let’s talk about that, but not now … not while I can’t concentrate on anything else but your face, or your eyes, or …”

  Raffaelo grinned, his hands already pushing her dress up. “I need to taste you, mio caro; it’s been too many hours.” He moved down the bed and buried his face in her sex, his tongue lashing around her clit then plunging deep inside her.

  “God, Raff … yes … yes …”

  Inca let herself relax into the heady sensation of his mouth on her. Then, as her arousal grew, she smiled down at him. “Baby, let me taste you while you’re … busy …”

  Soon they were both naked, and Inca took his cock into her mouth as he continued to lick and taste her swollen, quivering cunt.

  Her fingernails dug deep into his buttocks as she brought him to a climax, then swallowed his seed as he came in her mouth. Her own orgasm ripped through her, then Raffaelo moved and his cock ploughed into her, hard, pushing her legs apart further and further to sink deeper into her. Inca loved it when he got all riled up like this, fucking her hard, dominating her body, his hands pinning hers above her head, his mouth rough on hers.

  His teeth nipped at her lower lip; he growled her name again and again; and then, when he came, he came so hard that the bed shook with the force of it.

  “My God. My God,” Inca breathed, her body vibrating with pleasure as they panted for air. “It just gets better and better with you. Were you holding back before? I mean when we were with …”

  Raffaelo nodded. “A little, I admit. Some of Tommaso’s kinkier things … like when he used to watch us, I didn’t mind him doing so. I even found it weirdly erotic, but I didn’t feel as if I could ever fully really let myself go. Even that time we were alone at the villa—I felt his presence in our bedroom. That’s not true anymore.”

  Inca stroked his face. “What a strange beginning
we had. But I wouldn’t change a thing.”

  He brushed his lips against hers. “Me neither, my love.” He traced a line from her throat down to her navel. “God, you’re beautiful … I’m going to keep telling you that every day.”

  She grinned through tear-filled eyes. “Raffaelo Winter, you are the love of my life.”

  And they began again where they had left off.

  She was back. In the States, in Washington, in Willowbrook, and this time, he would make sure she would never leave again. Not alive. God, it was so close now; he could taste it, taste her, smell the blood she would shed for him. But first … a little ‘welcome home’ present …

  He grinned to himself. Before Inca died, she would suffer another devastating loss.

  Inca was surprisingly edgy as Raffaelo dropped her off in front of the restaurant. “This is silly,” she said. “Olly’s my oldest friend, my ex-boyfriend. Why am I so nervous?”

  “Think of everything you’ve been through—of course it’s natural to feel like that. Look, if it gets difficult, I’m a phone call away.”

  Inca walked into the restaurant and saw Olly already sitting at a table. He stood to kiss her cheek, then they both laughed and hugged each other, hard.

  “God, I’ve missed you.” Her voice was muffled as her face was buried in his shoulder, and when she looked at him, there were tears in her eyes. He captured one that escaped down her cheek with his finger.

  “And I’ve missed you, Inks. Come on. Let’s sit and get some food going. That’s a guaranteed way to break the ice.”

  She chuckled, shrugging out of her coat. “You know me so well.”

  They chatted easily for a time, then Inca put down her fork. “Olly … I can’t begin to tell you how sorry I am about Luna. I don’t understand why she was so angry with me, but I wish I did know, had known, so that I could have found a way to …”

  “Inca … Luna was ill. You knew about the breakdown she had, but what you didn’t know was that she was much sicker than we thought.” He sighed and looked down. “We both were. When we were teenagers, we were both diagnosed with a personality disorder. We were on medication, but by the time we were in our twenties, neither of us took it seriously.”

  He took her hand. “Inca … if we had, Luna would still be here. Scarlett would still be here. None of it was your fault. And I need to apologize for scaring you that time in the woods, with that dumb house. And for wrecking your plans with the Sakura apartment. I really don’t know what I was thinking.”

  Inca was crying quietly as he spoke. Then, when he finished, she got up and came around the table to wrap her arms around him. “I’m sorry, Olly, I’m so sorry.”

  They held each other for a while, ignoring the stares of the other diners. Later, over coffee, she told him about her engagement.

  “Raffaelo, hey?”

  She nodded, giving him a curious smile. “You don’t sound surprised.”

  Olly met her gaze and grinned, and she reddened. “Oh my God. Does everyone know?”

  Olly chuckled at her embarrassment. “No, of course not. Don’t worry. I found out by, um, accident. During a crazy moment.”

  Inca put her burning face in her hands. “We really need to invest in drapes.”

  Olly laughed. “That might be a good idea.”

  “Well,” she said, sighing, “it’s irrelevant now. I’m marrying Raffaelo.”

  “How’s Tommaso about that?” Olly shrugged when she gave him a meaningful glance. “I just know what it’s like to lose you, is all.”

  “No one is losing anyone anymore,” she said determinedly.

  She had no idea just how wrong she was …

  Tyler Sardee arrived back at SeaTac and hailed a cab, eager now to see his daughter. And her fiancé, he thought to himself with a smile. Maybe things were finally going to be good. He hadn’t called ahead, wanting to surprise them. It was already late, and he wondered if he should get a hotel room for the night. He decided he would and went into the city first, before heading out to see if he could grab something quick to eat.

  He wandered down to the waterfront and ate some hot chowder. Afterwards he wandered along the piers until it got very late. He was about to walk back to his hotel, when he saw a familiar face.

  “Hey … hey, how are you doing?” His smile spread across his face.

  He was still smiling when his throat was slashed open and he was pushed into the dark, freezing waters of Elliott Bay.

  Inca hugged Olly goodbye; she saw her friend give Raffaelo a friendly wave as she got into the car.

  “How was it?” Raffaelo kissed her softly.

  “Great. Really great. He sent you congratulations—and, he said, the dumbass, commiserations, because he knows how much trouble I am,” she chuckled. And Raffaelo laughed.

  “You’re glowing,” he said, smiling, and she nodded.

  “I’m with you,” she said simply.

  At home, the house was quiet and they went straight to their room. Desire pulsed through Inca’s body and Raffaelo took her hand and led her to the bed. He slid his hands under her T-shirt and pulled it off, kissing from her neck down to her belly. Inca gasped under his touch, waves of pleasure shuddering through her. She kissed him, her longing for him all consuming.

  Inca pulled her phone out to call Tyler—but when someone else answered, her heart froze as she listened to them and realized the nightmare wasn’t over.

  Olly’s eyes widened in horror as Inca burst through the door of the police station, breathless, tears pouring down her face.

  “What the hell?”

  Inca interrupted him. “Tyler is missing. He’s been missing for days. He didn’t tell anyone he was coming to see me in Seattle so they didn’t know to inform Missing Persons here. Olly … oh my God …”

  She was shaking badly, her distress making Olly’s chest hurt. He made her sit down, calmed her, and took her trembling hands in his.

  “Okay, sweetheart, just breathe. Knox?”

  His deputy had come in to see what the commotion was. Olly quickly filled him in. Knox nodded. “I’ll get on it … Inca, you okay?”

  She nodded, unable to speak. Olly hugged her as she calmed down.

  “Please not my dad, Olly. Not my dad.”

  “It’s okay, darlin’. We’ll check it out. It may be nothing. He may be just …” He faltered when he saw the disbelief on her face. “Yeah, okay.”

  Knox came back into the room. “Tyler got off a plane at Sea-Tac the evening of the fifth that’s the day you and Olly had dinner, right?”

  Inca nodded, her face drawn. “Yes. God, Knox. Olly …”

  She was trembling so violently that Olly put his arms around her and nodded to Knox, mouthing something at him.

  He left the room and Inca sighed. “Olly, if anything has happened to him, I don’t think I can handle it. I can’t handle …”

  “Ssh, ssh, ssh.” Olly held her as she sobbed.

  After a few minutes, Inca dried her eyes. “Who is doing this, Olly? Who hates me so much?”

  “I don’t know, sweetheart, but we don’t know what ‘this’ is yet, so let’s be positive.”

  Exhausted, Inca leaned against him. “I don’t know. I just … hope he’s still alive, still okay. I couldn’t bear it if another person died because of me.” But she couldn’t finish. Olly wrapped his arms around her, but his face was serious.

  “Listen to me, Inca Sardee. You listen good now. You are not responsible for everyone. You can’t save everyone. People make their own decisions. Your mom did when she killed your dad. Luna shot Scarlett and you—that was her decision. Tyler, wherever he is, made the decision to fly here. You are only responsible for the choices you make. I know it will take time, but you need to start now, today.”

  “Start what?”

  “Stop blaming yourself for everything.” They both turned to see both Raffaelo and Tommaso in the doorway and Inca realized Knox must have called them. Olly released her and she went into Raffaelo’s a
rms.

  The police search for Tyler went on for days. They found his luggage in the hotel in Seattle and traced his credit card to a waterfront restaurant. Blood was found at one end of one of the piers. Inca let the police into her parents’ home and waited while they went over it with a fine-tooth comb.

  Raffaelo was with her, his presence comforting, but when the police were finished, she turned to him.

  “Baby … can I ask a favor?”

  He touched her face. “Anything.”

  She drew in a deep breath. “In my heart … I know he’s gone. I know it. And I’d like to … be alone with them for a while. Do you mind?”

  “Of course not. Just promise me you’ll stay locked inside? Call me when you want me to come pick you up?”

  “I promise.”

  Inca watched Raffaelo drive away and now she was alone for the first time in … she didn’t know how long. She had thought it would good to have the house to herself, to breathe, to think.

  She walked through the house now, lingering in each room, trying to find the peace she craved. It didn’t come.

  Ghosts of the living and of the dead hung about the rooms. Inca realized that it hadn’t ever been her home, it had been their home, hers and Nancy and Tyler’s. And now that they were gone, and any connection she felt to it was broken.

  She went into the kitchen to fix herself some tea, splashing her face with cold water while she waited for the water to boil. She reached for the towel to wipe her face, her fingers knocking against the chalkboard that hung next to it on the wall. She scrubbed her face dry as the kettle began to whistle. She turned to fill her cup, then froze. Her breath caught in her throat.

  A photograph she’d never seen before dropped from behind the chalkboard. Nancy, Tyler, and herself—it must have been on her birthday last year. Scarlett had photobombed them, and Luna and Olly were at the edges of the group.

  A year. Just a year.

  Inca took the photo and sat on the floor of her parent’s kitchen. Once again, she went over and over everything that had happened, looking for a clue that might tell her why. It was a weird sort of comfort that she could take some responsibility for Kevin’s attempt on her life, at least. But Nancy had been murdered after he had already been arrested. Luna, having admitted killing Scarlett, couldn’t have done it. So, who? Who hated her that much?