A Sweet Life-kindle

by Andre, Bella

  She closed her eyes, unable to stand being this close to him and unable to believe she’d ever considered selling something so precious to her.

  That’s when her fight instinct kicked in, and she kneed him in the groin hard. She didn’t have enough leverage to take him down, but the element of surprise along with the initial pain had him rearing back in shock.

  “You stupid bitch.”

  She expected him to slap her again and braced, ready to duck, but he grabbed for the necklace instead and yanked hard, breaking the chain.

  He held up his prize. “This oughta net me a nice sum. Don’t think I’m done with you either.” He turned and headed out of the alley and back onto the street.

  “Oh hell no,” she muttered, having had enough. Not just for today but for a lifetime.

  She started after him and slammed into him with the full force of her body, taking him down. He rolled, flipping over, and she ended up on top of him, her hands around his throat, and she began to squeeze…

  Her mother’s face flashed in front of her eyes, and she tightened her grip. “I hate you,” she screamed at him as his body bucked and he clawed at her in an attempt to dislodge her.

  “Riley!”

  She heard her name at the same time sirens sounded. Hands gripped her by the shoulders, pulling her off him, but she was too hysterical to focus on who’d come to her rescue or what had happened to the man who’d never been a real father.

  ***

  Ian pulled up to the pawnshop just after Alex. It took mere seconds for him to process the scene. Riley’s hands around a man’s throat, Alex pulling at her shoulders. Her father began to rise, coughing and sputtering but clearly intending to run. Ian slammed the man back to the ground just as a police car screeched to a halt, and the cop approached the scene.

  “She attacked me,” her father sputtered at the uniformed cop.

  The coward, Ian thought.

  “Shut the hell up.” Ian shoved his foot on her father’s chest so he couldn’t move until a cop showed up and took over.

  The officer pulled the older man to his feet. Before he could ask questions, a middle-aged man walked out of the pawnshop and headed for the cop.

  “He attacked her in the street,” the shop owner said, gesturing to Riley’s father.

  “You’re the one who called it in?” the cop asked.

  The other man nodded.

  With a grim expression, the cop pulled her father’s hands behind his back and cuffed him while reading him his rights. Then he turned to the guy from the store. “Wait here. We’ll need to take your statement.”

  With her father subdued, Ian turned to focus on Riley. He saw her on the ground, Alex holding her in his arms.

  He gritted his teeth and walked over to them. “She okay?” he asked.

  Alex met his gaze, a warning look in the other man’s eyes.

  Right. Like Ian was going to start a fight with her now. Thanks for the faith, he thought with disgust.

  One of the cops came up beside Ian.

  “Ri?” Alex eased her away from him. “The police are here.”

  “Does this belong to you?” The cop held out the necklace Ian had given her. “He had it clutched in his hand.”

  She nodded then groaned and grabbed her head. “Yes,” she said, not meeting Ian’s gaze.

  “It’s evidence for now, but you’ll get it back when the case is over. Did you hit your head?” the officer asked.

  “He slapped me, and I slammed into the wall in the alley,” Riley said, her voice hoarse from screaming.

  Ian winced and wished he’d done more than restrained the son of a bitch for the police.

  “An ambulance is on its way. You’re going to need to be checked for a concussion.”

  “But—”

  “No arguing,” Alex said, helping her rise to her feet.

  She raised her tear-stained face to Ian’s for the first time. “Stay with me?” she asked him.

  He couldn’t say no.

  Didn’t want to.

  But the pain over her putting herself through this when she could have turned to him devastated him. He’d asked her for one thing if they were going to go forward, and at the most crucial moment, she hadn’t kept her promise.

  An hour later, he and Alex sat in the hospital waiting room while Riley was taken in for tests.

  “You’ll take her home from here?” Alex asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

  Ian shifted in his seat. “Actually I was going to ask you to do it.”

  The other man narrowed his gaze. “I don’t get it.”

  Ian studied his hands, trying to figure out how to explain his most personal feelings to a guy he barely knew. “After the fundraiser, I thought Riley and I had come to an understanding.”

  You either trust me or you don’t. You either instinctively come to me first or there is no us. On that, I can’t compromise, he’d told her.

  “Yet at the first sign of trouble, she went off on her own,” Ian said.

  Alex shrugged. “Told you from the get-go she was independent.”

  “Yeah. But I thought we were working on how to compromise. Hell, I compromised on you,” Ian said, because he knew the other man could take it.

  Alex burst out laughing. “I hear you. The thing is, you just saw firsthand why she doesn’t trust. She didn’t call me either.”

  Ian nodded. He’d give her that. That might have sent him completely over the edge.

  “I’m still not sure we can go forward from here.” And that was about all he wanted to say on the subject to his half brother. “I just need to know you’ll be there for her.” Because he knew she shouldn’t be alone.

  It would kill him to leave her, but he had no choice. He’d made his needs clear—and he didn’t think he was being unreasonable. He’d done everything he could to give her the space she needed to be independent, backing off from his possessiveness at work, not pushing on the unsafe apartment issue…well, not much.

  Yet when the ultimate shit came down, she’d gone it alone.

  “I’ll be here,” Alex said. “I always am.”

  Ian nodded. He knew better than to thank the other man.

  So he’d wait for news she was okay. Then he’d leave, ripping out his heart…along with hers. Because after her choices, what kind of partnership did they have? He might not be an expert on relationships, but he knew for sure without trust, they had nothing.

  ***

  Riley had a concussion and mild bruising. The doctor told her she could go home as long as someone was there to make sure to check her every hour. He also advised her to watch for more severe symptoms—headache getting worse, vomiting, and extreme dizziness. Since she knew Ian wouldn’t let her out of his sight, she promised the doctor she’d follow his instructions. He left her to inform Ian and Alex of her condition and to send them in to see her.

  She lay with her eyes closed, her head pounding, moving only when she heard the rustling of the curtain in her small cubicle. She opened her eyes in time to see Alex enter, and she immediately looked beyond him for Ian.

  He wasn’t there.

  “Where’s Ian?”

  Alex settled into a chair beside the makeshift bed. “I’m sorry…he left.”

  “Work emergency? Or is he that mad at me?” she asked.

  Alex groaned. “I’ve seen him angry, and I wouldn’t say that now. He’s…hurt. Really hurt. What the hell were you thinking?”

  “My father wanted cash. I was thinking that I’d pawn the necklace and buy myself some time to figure out what to do. Otherwise, he threatened to show up at places like the fundraiser and embarrass Ian. I didn’t want to put him or his family through that.”

  He shook his head. “That’s bullshit.”

  She raised her gaze. “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me. You ran scared. The man told you to come to him with anything, and the first chance you had to do that, you took off on your own. To pawn the necklace he gave you to pay
that lowlife son of a bitch.”

  “I didn’t go through with it!” she said, raising her voice.

  “That’s not the point!” he shouted back. “That moron I call a half brother is the best thing that ever happened to you, and you lost him, and why? Because you’re afraid to trust, that’s why. Everything has to be on your terms. You won’t accept help from the people who love you, including me. I know how that makes me feel, so I can only imagine how Ian’s suffering.”

  Tears filled her eyes. “You’re taking his side?”

  He grasped her hand. “I’m taking your side, Ri. Always. And I know that you love him.”

  She blinked. “I never said that.”

  “You didn’t have to.” He shook his head, his expression thoughtful. “Honest to God, if you had to fall for a guy, why did it have to be him?”

  She managed a smile. “I don’t see how it matters. He’s gone.”

  “Only because you won’t give him what he needs. Look, I’m the last guy to talk about relationships, but even I can see he’s changed for you. So why can’t you do the same thing for him?”

  She glanced down. “I’m scared,” she whispered. “What if I rely on him and he’s not there?”

  “Listen to me. Kids are born, and they’re supposed to know their parents will be there for them, to keep them safe, to love them. You never had that, so you learned early to count on you. Then later, you found it in yourself to trust me.”

  She swallowed, and it physically hurt. “Because you were always by my side.”

  “I don’t see Ian going anywhere if you open yourself up to him.”

  “I told him I would…and I didn’t.”

  “Can you? In the future?”

  Riley searched her heart. She wanted to. She did…but she just didn’t know, if pushed again, if she’d turn inward like she always did.

  “Ms. Taylor?” A woman dressed in a skirt and blouse, her blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, walked into the room. “I’m Madison Evans, but you can call me Madison. I’m a social worker.”

  Riley’s head whipped up. “I don’t need—”

  “Good to meet you,” Alex said, rising from his chair, nearly stumbling over his feet in an effort to say hello. “I’m Alex Dare, a friend of Riley’s.”

  The pretty woman appeared to be about Riley’s age. She smiled and shook his hand, no sense of recognition in her expression.

  “Nice to meet you too,” she said, dismissing him by turning back to Riley.

  Alex’s mouth opened in disbelief.

  Riley did her best not to laugh. Poor Alex wasn’t used to not being fawned over by women.

  “I appreciate you coming by, but honestly, I don’t need a social worker,” Riley told the woman.

  “Don’t listen to her. She protests too much. Finish what you were going to say.” Alex shot Riley a pointed look.

  Madison glanced back and forth between them before again focusing on Riley. “I was just going to tell you that I speak to all domestic abuse victims who come through the hospital.”

  Riley wrinkled her nose. “But I’m not—”

  “You are.” Alex came to stand by her side, placing a calming hand on her shoulder.

  Madison stepped closer to the bed. “The reports say you were injured when you were attacked by your father?” she asked gently.

  Riley met her gaze. “Yes.”

  “If you’d like to set up an appointment for counseling, it might help to talk to someone.”

  “It definitely might,” Alex said.

  “I get the point.” Riley accepted the woman’s business card, doubtful she’d be using it. “Thank you.”

  “That’s my job, and I’m good at it, if you don’t mind me saying so. I’d like the chance to help you work through whatever issues might have arisen from this experience.”

  Riley nodded. “Okay.”

  Madison smiled. “Okay.”

  She strode out of the room, Alex’s stare never leaving her retreating form.

  Riley narrowed her gaze, but she had no chance to ask about his obvious interest in a woman who looked nothing like his usual bimbo type.

  “She’s right,” Alex immediately said.

  “You think I need help.” Riley glanced down at the blanket covering her.

  “I don’t think talking can hurt.”

  “Look at you, being all diplomatic.” She pursed her lips and studied the woman’s card in her hand.

  “I just want you to be happy, and you were happy with Ian. He was good for you.”

  Riley grinned. “Don’t sound like you’re choking on those words.”

  Alex laughed. “Give me a break. I called him with information on your father, and I thought that was being generous. Now I’m singing his praises.” He shook his head. “I’m not sure how much more I can handle in one day.”

  “Alex?”

  “Yeah?”

  “What if Ian’s gone for good?” She voiced her biggest fear. “He doesn’t let people in easily either. What if I pushed him so far he’ll never come back?”

  “Then he’s the idiot I always thought he was.”

  “You’re so bad,” she said, laughing through her tears.

  “And you’re so good. Get the help you need. It’s important for you, whether or not Ian is in your life.”

  FIFTEEN

  A few days after the incident with her father, Riley left the comfort of Alex’s house and headed home to her apartment. On doctor’s orders, she’d taken the rest of the week off from work and used the time to rest and heal, and to think.

  Her mother had been gone well over a decade. Riley had been out of her father’s house for ten years. All this time, she thought she had survived her past unscathed. She looked at the box of her things Ian had sent over, and her eyes filled with tears. Apparently she hadn’t emerged as unscathed as she thought.

  She glanced at the clock. Melissa would be here soon, and Alex was coming to take her for dinner. Not only were they the extent of her family, they were the extent of her friends too. She’d been kidding herself thinking that the co-workers she used to have an after-work drink with were real friends. She didn’t let anyone close enough to have any friends.

  She ducked her head, only now accepting that she had trust issues that just might rival Ian’s. Except he’d been making an effort to change, up until the point when he’d abandoned her at the hospital. Of course, she knew the obvious reasons for his disappearance from her life. She’d disappointed him by handling things with her father herself and not turning to him like she’d promised. She also knew his bailing on her had to do with his insecurities, just like her actions had been dictated by her own issues.

  None of which mattered when she hurt so badly she wondered if she’d ever recover. Her heart was well and truly broken for the first time. She couldn’t do anything about that, but she could work on her problems and fix her life as best she could.

  Heading for her purse, she pulled out the social worker’s card, hoping to make an appointment for early next week.

  She needed help for herself.

  And if she happened to convince Ian she not only loved him but was trying to get beyond her fears, well, her future was definitely bright. If he was finished with her regardless? She brushed at her wet cheeks. Well, she’d just have that much more to discuss in therapy.

  ***

  Sending Riley’s things back to her had nearly destroyed him. Still, he’d done what he had to do, ridding himself of all reminders, going back to the solitary way he’d lived before. Her scented items no longer sat in his bathroom surrounding his razor and toothbrush. Her clothes no longer hung in his closet. He now had an empty drawer where her sexy underwear used to be. No, she hadn’t been with him long, but she’d made her mark.

  He’d made room. Let her into his life.

  And he missed her.

  It’d been two weeks since the episode with her father, and staying away from her at work was giving him an ulcer. He was a nasty
bastard with his sisters, his brothers steered clear, and his mother liked to berate him often about letting Riley slip through his fingers. Olivia had a big mouth.

  “Shit.” He never used to brood about women.

  He had a breakfast date with his mother this morning, and if he could keep their conversation off Riley, he just might survive this day.

  He strode into the restaurant his mother had chosen, but instead of finding her waiting at a table, he found his father.

  “Oh hell no.” Ian spun around, turning to go.

  “Ian. Don’t walk out on me.”

  He clenched his fists as he pivoted back and strode to the table where his father now stood. “But you had no trouble doing the same to me. To us.”

  “That’s right. I did it. Now sit down and listen to my side for once.”

  Ian reared back, both at the admission of guilt and the fact that his father demanded to be heard. He hesitated a brief moment.

  “I suggest you sit and talk to me. Unless you want to spend the rest of your life not only resenting me but giving up on the woman you love.”

  “My mother sent you here.”

  “Yes.”

  “To set me straight.”

  “Right again.”

  In other words, if he didn’t have this talk, his mother would make sure she sat him down and did it herself. But for some reason, she’d decided to ask him to do it instead.

  “Let’s get this over with.” Ian pulled out a chair and sat down.

  His father did the same.

  “I have no excuse for what I did. Your mother and I had an arrangement. I not only violated the sanctity of marriage by cheating, but I was a shitty father.”

  “To some of us,” Ian muttered.

  Robert braced his arms on the table. “To all of you. Savannah knew about your mother. I’m not sure which of the kids knew too, but trust me when I say, they didn’t like me not being married to their mother, and when I told them about all of you—they resented being the illegitimate ones.”