Intertwined (Redemption #2)

by Sasha Brümmer

  Quinn has told us multiple times that she’ll be fine to watch the house on her own, and with her position secured at Lola Marc’s Boutique this morning, I’m thrilled for her. She’s taking the next step in her life, and I’m pleased to be part of it with her.

  After going over the lock codes and the security details of the house, and giving her Eden’s and Wade’s phone numbers just in case, Liam and I left.

  The flight to Sydney was uneventful. I spent half of it sick in the bathroom. Apparently, our little girl is not a fan of eating and flying at the same time. Currently, we’re driving through Sydney toward Liam’s house.

  I watch as he reaches over the console and places his hand on my thigh before sliding his fingers farther down my inner thigh between my legs.

  “Why do you do that?”

  He glances over at me from the road for a second before turning back. “Do what exactly?”

  “You lock your fingers between my thighs whenever you can—or when you can’t touch me in any other way. Especially when I’m sitting with one leg crossed over the other.”

  He glances down at his hand that rests dangerously close to the apex of my thighs before he offers up an answer. “Well, you’re warm here. You’re mine, and I enjoy touching you in this general area as often as I can.”

  I shift in my seat and lean over to bite down on his bicep, which causes him to inhale deeply.

  “All right. I guess that’s a fair reason.”

  “I’ll get you for that, Mrs. Jensen.”

  “As if.” I giggle and place one of my hands on top of his as he drives.

  “Are you comfortable?” His fingers dig into my inner thigh in a short gesture of love as he speaks, and my insides liquefy.

  “I’m fine now that we’re on the ground. I did, however, want to ask you about Adriana. Did you call her back last night?”

  He shakes his head and squeezes my thigh again. “No, baby doll, but if she calls again, then I’ll answer and make sure that she understands that it’s just you.”

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  “I do, Isla. It’s the least I can do to make you feel comfortable.”

  “Love you,” I say as I lean my head against his shoulder and pull my feet up onto the seat so that I’m sitting crisscrossed.

  “I love you, doll.”

  “Oh, and Liam?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Thank you for taking care of Quinn when I was absorbed with the baby and trying to get through things on my own. I know that I still have a long way to go, but I just wanted to thank you for being the man that you are.”

  “You know that I’d do anything for you. You’re welcome, and I’ll be here for the remainder of your recovery. I won’t let you delve into that shitty place that I found you in all of those years ago. Plus, I like the way you make the bed, so I’m going to need you to stick around.”

  “The bed? Are you fucking kidding me?” I laugh and look up at him.

  “Barely.”

  “Well, if it’s any consolation, I love that I can smell you on the sheets when you’re not in bed with me.”

  “Fiend,” he mocks as he pulls into the beach house’s driveway.

  “Duh.”

  We’ve barely slept off our jet lag by the next morning, and now I’m watching Liam pour himself a third mug of black coffee and then continue to pace around the room. He seems to be consumed in an indefinite limbo of thought as he takes his steps, turns, and walks back toward me. Just watching him is making me anxious.

  “This shouldn’t be how our honeymoon starts. I’m sorry, Isla.”

  I shake my head and push my bowl of cereal aside. “You have nothing to apologize for. I enjoy being here, and this is something that neither of us has had to deal with yet, but now it’s staring us in the face, and we’ll quickly get it over with.”

  I can see the festering guilt in him even though he’s managed to keep his inner dialogue to himself. I know that an electrical storm named Liam will surface soon, and I may be prepared to tame him with my mouth at a moment’s notice.

  “Are you ready?” he asks as he stops pacing in front of me. “Did you eat enough?” He casts a glance at my half-eaten breakfast and then back at me. “You don’t need to come with me if you’d rather not be in the same vicinity as the fucker.”

  “I’m fine, dickweed. The only reason that I’m going along with you is to be your support. You’ve been mine for the longest time, and I’m here to show you that I’m yours as well. Now, how about we get this shit over with so I can enjoy this honeymoon? Although, I didn’t think over the fact that I can’t lie out on the beach in this weather.”

  “I’ll take you somewhere else, doll—just name the place. Yeah, I think that I’m ready or as ready as I’ll be. Let’s get going.”

  With that, we leave the sound of the waves that we’re able to hear inside of the house and make our way to where the security team at RW is holding a tremendously impatient Grady Kent captive.

  The thirty-minute drive goes by before I’m able to inhale or blink. As we’re walking into a warehouse, my heart screams in my chest, and it’s like my entire body knows that I’m going to be close to the man who almost ruined my life.

  Neither Liam nor I say anything aside from minor greetings to the men around us as we’re led through the large empty rooms.

  “Liam?”

  His motions are almost robotic as he turns to me and captures my face between his hands.

  “You don’t have to go farther, Isla. I won’t be long, but I need to do this. I need him to suffer in a way that I did. I need to know why he fucked me over. I just need to understand this cruel fucking joke.”

  “All right,” I say as his lips come down to mine, and I realize only now that Liam trusted Grady as a brother. They were so close, but the entire relationship was a lie. Liam might not have anything to prove to the stupid fucker, but he needs to heal, and this is the first time that I’ve been able to acknowledge that need. I don’t know how I haven’t put two and two together before, but now that I have, I completely understand why he’s been on edge, aside from the obvious reasons.

  “Stay here. I won’t be long.”

  “Be careful.”

  “Always, baby doll, always,” he says against my lips and then I’m watching his back retreat from me. His broad shoulders move with each step that he takes, and just watching him take on something like this makes me fall in love with the asshole all over again. My hands automatically go to my midsection to protect our little girl while Liam goes to get his slice of peace that has yet to be granted to him.

  Shit always seems impossible to do until it’s done. I’m done limiting myself when it comes to what I ultimately want. Right now, I need to cross a boundary that’s been in place for a while, and I’m walking into this fucking room with a loaded gun and the idea of hurting this fucker in any which way possible. I refuse to allow another woman to live in fear of him finding her again. This bullshit that surrounds him ends now.

  Naturally, my phone goes off as I’m about to step into the bare room that contains the man whose life I’d do anything to end. I dig the phone out of my pocket, hoping that it’s not Isla asking me to return to her because I’m unsure that I’ll be able to. I sag in relief seeing that it’s just Adriana Hugh again. Two fucking birds with one stone, huh?

  Without any preconceived notions, I answer the call. “Adriana, this is not a good time. Let me call you back.”

  “Hey you, I’m sorry. I’ve been trying to reach you for days now.”

  “Yeah, I know. I’ve seen all of your missed calls, but I have yet to understand why you keep calling when you know what my life entails right now.”

  “Liam, quit being a jerk for one minute and let me talk, okay?”

  “I don’t have much time. Spit it out.”

  She sighs into the phone before speaking again. “Listen, I was just calling to say congratulations on the wedding, on the baby, and on finding someone
who will help you disconnect from what you’ve been through. You seem to have made peace with who you became and who you are now. I know that without having to even speak to you about it that it’s finally happened. The man who I used to mess around with would have never gotten married to his best friend, let alone be having a child so soon. He was too consumed by his own grief to give a shit about anyone else.”

  I remain quiet as she takes a slight pause from her little speech.

  “I’m just proud of you for pulling through after all of this time. Gratitude seems to have taught you a thing or two. You have a heart of gold, Liam, and I’ve always seen it, but you’ve finally found it on your own. I don’t think that you’re holding yourself back anymore, and regardless of where we stand, I’m happy for you. Truly, I am.”

  I clear my throat as I run a hand down my face, my lips parting to reply to her. “I wasn’t expecting any of that. I figured that you had more to say regarding the fact that I’m with Isla.”

  “I will admit that it took me some time getting used to it once Wade got back from England, but as your friend, Liam, I couldn’t be happier for you. You deserve a life full of love that you have continually denied yourself. As much as I didn’t like it at the time, I believe that she’s what you needed. I’m just glad that you have her. I think that she’s good for you in more ways than one.”

  “She always has been. Listen, I know that I haven’t always been decent to you over the years, but please know that you had an enormous impact on my finding myself. I appreciate all that you’ve done from day one.”

  “I wouldn’t have done it any other way. Now get back to your pregnant wife, and once she’s ready to speak to me and feels comfortable enough doing so, I’d like to get to know her some more. I just know her as Mr. Brass’s full-of-shit best friend, but I know that she’s more than that. I’ll talk to you soon, all right?”

  “Yeah. That sounds good. Hey Addy?”

  “Yes?”

  “Thank you. Honestly.”

  “Of course. I need to get going. Call me if you need a babysitter, all right? Goodbye, Liam.”

  “See ya around, Addy.”

  We hang up and I stand there for a moment to collect myself as one of the security guys watches me from the door that contains the sickest motherfucker who I’ve ever crossed paths with.

  “Open up.”

  Satan has a message for Grady and it’s coming through me. The amount of physical violence that I want to unleash on him is almost degrading to myself. I know that regardless of what he says, I need to keep myself in check while I’m in there. I cannot allow him to take control of this situation, but I will permit myself to do what feels right at the time of the encounter.

  I take sturdy and powerful strides into the room to where he’s seated in the middle of a dusty warehouse, gagged, handcuffed, and tied down to a steel chair. He looks well-worn with patches of his clothing a darker color than the rest, stained by what appears to be dried blood.

  His eyes open and he glares up at me as I approach his pitiful presence.

  “You’re fucking pathetic, Grady, my brother.”

  He tries to speak against the cloth that is gagging him, but I can’t hear a damn thing. I kneel down in front of him and rip the duct tape off of his face and then remove the cloth from his dried-out mouth.

  “What was that? You missed seeing me?”

  “I said,” he repeats, clearing his throat before continuing, “how’s that pretty pink pussy doing? Is she enough to keep you sated or does she not want to be touched anymore?”

  The palm of my hand cracks against his cheek, snapping his head back with the force of the blow. I turn around from him and force myself to count to ten, but it doesn’t help for a fucking second. I glance at him as a deep chuckle escapes me. “I didn’t come in here to get violent with you, but once more wouldn’t hurt.”

  On my eight count, I use the full weight of my body to throw a punch at his dirty, smug face, which causes him to spill over and the chair to lose its balance. I step over him, rubbing my knuckles as his clammy face contorts with the throbbing discomfort, courtesy of my fist.

  “Tell me why you did what you did, cocksucker.”

  He spits blood up at me, but it lands a few feet away.

  “You don’t know shit, Jensen.”

  “I’m going to guess that I’m about to be enlightened by your pathetic ass.”

  He ignores my retort and stares just over my shoulder and up at steel beams that soar across the high ceiling of the abandoned warehouse. He seems to be a million miles away when he starts to speak again.

  “Do you remember that cute little thing that was taken from you all of those years ago? Chloe Madden?” His sick chuckles echo against the vast walls of the warehouse before he continues. “Mmm, I bought her ass out before I ate it out, and fuck, she tasted good. She was what got me started in this beautiful world of buying and selling cunts. She was my first purchase—did you know that? She was also my last official toy, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Jesus, she was just as fucked up as I was because she was the one who encouraged me to purchase my first compound. She thrived in this world, and the greedy little bitch always wanted more.”

  My fingers go rigid as I curl them into fists at my sides. The words that he’s saying are not making sense because I knew Chloe too well for any of this bullshit to be true.

  “She fucking loved what I could do to her, and she would come just watching me sink into another woman who was unable to escape. She’d get so fucking wet watching me have my way with a slave or two—so much so that when I was done with a slave, she begged me to keep the bitch for her own purposes. She allowed me to do whatever the fuck I wanted to do with the both of them. She was one fucked-up little bitch, and I don’t think that you would have ever been able to appease her the way I did.”

  Confusion by what he’s saying fills my head because Chloe would never sink to his level of sick and demented actions against others.

  “You’re a damn good liar, Kent. You’re the one who fucking killed her; don’t spew this bullshit at me.”

  He coughs and tries to adjust himself on the floor while still secured to the chair. “Why would I kill a woman who satisfied my cock like no other? Huh, mate? The one woman who seemed to get pleasure out of the same twisted shit that I did? I didn’t fucking kill her, Jensen. I fucked her until she was raw every night or until she begged me for more. She didn’t belong to you, and despite my payment, she did not belong to me either. She was my fucking girl, though, until she was stolen from one of my compounds when I had a sale. That’s the one and only time that I took your digging seriously.”

  I glare at him and search his face for any type of hidden agenda, but all that I’m able to see is the deep and unwanted truth in his eyes. “You’re full of shit. She wouldn’t hurt another woman.”

  “No? I’ve got pictures and video recordings of her doing just that. She wasn’t who you thought she was, Jensen. She was my fucking queen, and she ran those goddamn compounds. She was the one who would push me to open a new one in a different country after she got bored.”

  “You motherfucker. She wouldn’t have done any of this shit. You had a fucking wife and kids. What the hell happened to them?”

  He chuckles and glares at me. “All of that was a façade, brother. None of it ever existed.”

  I stare at him in silence before he starts to speak again.

  “She had the option to go back to you, ya know, but she didn’t because she did not want to. She chose to stay with me and never once tried to contact your sorry ass. I guess that she knew you’d always had something going on for her sister. When I refused to stop working for you, she’s the one who insisted that I help you on some level, but what’s the fun in that when you enjoy ruining what I live for?”

  “You stole women, you fucker. You watched them fucking drain of life just as Chloe’s life was drained from her body. All of this shit is because of you.”

&nbs
p; He seemingly ignores me as he continues his pathetic little tale. “Once we found her body, I had to get my fucking revenge on your oblivious happiness, as well as the dirt wipes that did what they did to her. Fuck, I was the one to find her body, Jensen. I was there. I smelt her. I touched her cold skin. I was the one who carried what was left of her back to the fucking vehicle and held onto her rotting corpse while we transported her to your goddamned jet. I’m the one that killed those fuckers with my bare hands, and she would have loved to watch.”

  He chuckles before adding, “She would have blown me while I did it.”

  I’m unsure if he’s giving me the truth, but I cannot help but feel fucking sick with the knowledge. I won’t let him see me cower from his detailed story, so I change the subject. I take a few steps away before turning on him again.

  “So you thought that Isla would be your round two? You thought that you’d see if she was like her sister? To see if she liked it the way you wanted her to?”

  “It might have been genetic,” he says through a fit of coughs. “I wasn’t sure until I saw her pull away from the dick with the gun inside of her and then I knew she wasn’t what I wanted. She’s fucking feisty, I’ll give you that, but she’s no Chloe.”

  “Fuck you.”

  “Chloe did. Plenty.”

  Jesus. I want to fucking strangle him with my bare hands right now and watch him leave this world the way he took those other lives. I want to watch as the life leaves his frantic eyes and his pulse stops beating underneath my grip, but I won’t put myself in that situation. I won’t reduce myself to a piece of shit when I cannot turn back time to find out if any of this is true.

  I won’t risk my life when I have a wife and a healthy baby girl on the way. I might not be the one to break him, but the knowledge that he also suffered the loss of Chloe settles something perverse within me.

  “You expect me to believe all of this shit?”

  “No, not even for a fucking second, which is why you’ll find an amusing little video in the central office of RW. Consider it a little parting gift from Chloe and me.”