Harbour of Refuge

by Aliyah Burke

  “But not half as fun,” she said, winking at him.

  “Ain’t that the truth.” He winked back. “Wasn’t going to tell him that, however.”

  Her lower lip caught in her teeth as she watched him. He knew exactly where her mind went. Same place as his migrated. Earlier in the week they’d used the book he’d given her, with the tickets in it. She’d given him the one which had them watching each other get off. It had been one of the most erotic nights he’d ever spent.

  “No, don’t suppose you would.”

  She licked a drop of coffee from her lower lip and he wanted to taste it from her mouth. Shifting in his seat, he willed his unruly cock to behave.

  “I’m just glad he remembered me telling him there were some questions you shouldn’t ask in public, and he can ask me anything at home.”

  “Guess it would make for some pretty lively dinner conversation out with family or something like that.”

  He laughed. “You have no idea.”

  Her smile filled him with such joy. After pushing to his feet, he went and stood over her. “I know you have to get to work so I’ll let you do that. See you tonight?”

  “It’s going to be a late night for me, but I can stop by on my way home.”

  He stroked her cheek with his knuckle. “I’d like that.”

  “Wonderful.” She hooked her finger in one of his belt loops. “I have the booklet with me.” Her touch moved lower, over his aching shaft. “Maybe I could find something to turn in.”

  He bucked against her and growled low in his throat. It was going to be one hell of a long day for him. “Temptress.”

  She scraped her nails along him as she got to her feet. “Don’t ever forget it. I’ll see you tonight.” A light kiss and she left him in the back with a hard-on he could pound stakes with and the remainder of his coffee.

  His day passed slowly—he continually watched the timepiece on his wrist and the clock on the wall. Even during dinner he was distracted, but he managed to hold a bit of a conversation with Liev. His son was in bed when the doorbell rang. A grin on his face, he went to the door and pulled it open.

  “Been waiting for you.”

  “You fucking bastard!” Halyn seethed. “You rotten, no-good asshole.”

  “What the hell happened, Halyn? What are you talking about?”

  “Don’t play coy with me. I can’t believe you. I told you that in confidence. Confidence! I thought you were different, shows what I know.” She threw something at him and he caught it when it bounced from his chest. The book he’d given her. “Take this back, stay away from me, stay away from my store. I never want to see you again.”

  She wheeled around and he lunged forward, grabbing her. “What are you talking about, Halyn?” What the fuck had happened since he’d seen her at the store?

  “You and your big mouth talking to Amber.”

  Shit. That was what he’d forgotten to tell her. He shook his head. “I didn’t—”

  “Shut it, Enzo. I don’t want to hear it. I’m done with your lies. I told one person other than Mila. You. She knows. I’m supposed to believe the knowledge just fell from the sky like a gift and flitted to her ears? It’s all over the town, all over the school. I-I have nothing left to say to you. Go to her, have a great life. Do us both a favour and stay away from me.”

  The devastation in her expression was like a blade cutting him from neck to gut.

  “Halyn, talk to me.”

  “There’s nothing to say.” She gently removed his hand from hers and walked away, shoulders stooped as if she carried the weight of the world on them.

  He wanted to run after her but he couldn’t leave his son alone. It felt like he was being torn apart from the inside.

  “Halyn.” The word tore from the depths of his chest.

  * * * *

  “Can I get you anything else?”

  Halyn shook her head without pulling it from the blanket. Mila touched her before sitting beside her on the couch and drawing her close.

  “Sweetie, I’m so sorry. I hadn’t guessed he would be the type of man to say something like that.”

  Neither had she. Sniffing, she stared blankly out across the living room, not truly seeing anything. Mila had come up immediately when she’d called.

  “You don’t have to stay, Mila,” she said.

  “Like I’d be anywhere else during this time. I’m your friend, honey. It’s what we do.”

  Her cell rang and she ignored it. The house phone was unplugged—she had no intention of talking to him.

  “Tell me what happened.”

  “I was at the grocery store, picking up some things for making a sample of your cake. Right there in the aisle while I was deciding between some sugar decorations and making my own when up walked that bitch Amber Watkins in her too-small outfit reeking of her whore perfume.”

  Wiping her nose, Halyn sat up, the blanket still wrapped tight around her. Mila didn’t say anything, just waited.

  “She said how sorry she was to hear that Enzo and I were no longer together. I asked her what she was talking about and she said since I wasn’t able to have children and how it must be difficult knowing that Enzo wanted more and we were no longer a couple.”

  “You don’t know that,” Mila interrupted. “He may be fine with one.”

  “I didn’t care about whether or not Enzo wanted more. I cared about the fact he’d told her I couldn’t.” Angry tears burned her gaze and she ignored them, allowing them to fall when they wanted. “I told him that as something between us and he…” She took big gulps of air. “He told that one without any regard for how it would make me feel.”

  “Are you sure he told?”

  “Well, it was either him or you. The two of you are the only ones who know about that other than myself. I know I didn’t tell her. Did you tell?”

  “Hell no, you know I wouldn’t do that and even if I had wanted to tell someone because you pissed me off, I still wouldn’t tell that hoochie. I’d be more inclined to run her ass over.”

  “Then it had to be him.” She shook her head, unable to slow the rise of desolation within her.

  Mila drew her in close. Comforted by her embrace, Halyn allowed the tears to stream free. Hours ticked past. At one point they fell asleep, only to wake later and fix some food, then they went back to sleep, curled up on her bed as they had done growing up. Sleepovers where they’d shared the bed in order to stay up late and talk quietly.

  Halyn woke first and stumbled from bed to splash water on her face. Mila remained sleeping when she re-entered her bedroom. Eyes blurry, she walked to the kitchen and pulled out the items she needed to make the cake. It was in the oven cooking when Mila made an appearance.

  “Morning, sweetie,” she said, giving her a one-armed hug. “How are you feeling?”

  “Like there’s a big hole in my chest. Or like I’m not even in my body anymore. Betrayal unlike anything I’ve experienced. Not even with Chris. He was an ass and a drunk but when he did his thing, it wasn’t this painful.”

  “You love Enzo.”

  She shook her head. “Loved.”

  Mila poured some juice for each of them and slid a glass before her. “Drink up.” Sitting on the seat next to her, she spun her ring as she drank. “So, what are we going to do about this? Do you want me to take him off the guest list?”

  Joe had wanted Enzo to come and wanted an invitation specifically to go to him. Halyn shook her head and shrugged. “Don’t do that.”

  “I don’t want him there if it’s going to be hard for you.”

  “It’s Joe’s day as well, Mila. He really wants him to be there, fine. Besides, I’ll be up with you so it’s not like I’ll have to be seated beside him in a row.”

  “Your call, sweetie, but you know I will yank his ass in a second.”

  Her smile was sad. She knew Mila would in a heartbeat. “You’re the best friend anyone could ever have. I’ll be okay. Besides, if he’s living here from time to time when
not racing, I’m bound to run into him.”

  “But you’re putting so much of your time into making the day so perfect, I want you to have fun as well.”

  She squeezed Mila’s hand. “I love you asked me to do this and I’m honoured. This day is going to be about you and Joe. I’ll be fine. I just…last night it was too much.”

  “I wish I could make things better.”

  “I know you do and would if you could. I was tempted to just hop in my car and drive back to Elave.”

  “What stopped you?”

  “Mama said I had to stop running when I went home last time.”

  “So you’re going to stay.”

  She pulled the cakes from the oven and placed them on waiting hot pads. “I ran from Chris after what he did. I ran from Enzo earlier and we worked that out. This… I won’t run, damn it! This is my home. I deserve to be able to live here. I’ll hold my head up high and to hell with them.”

  “That’s my girl.”

  Ding dong. Ding dong.

  She froze at the sound of her doorbell pealing through her house. Frantic she looked at Mila, who calmly slid off the stool.

  “I got it. You don’t have to talk to him.”

  She breathed more easily and stepped back out of the line of sight, on the off chance he craned his neck around.

  “I need to see her, Mila.” Enzo’s deep voice filled the air.

  “She doesn’t want to see you.”

  “Don’t make me move you.” His tone dangerous.

  “Don’t make me kick you in the balls. You’re not getting in here. You’ve done enough. Leave her alone, go back to your bitch and leave my friend alone.” Mila was no less threatening than he had been and Halyn knew she meant every word of it. If push came to shove, Mila would fight dirty. If that meant wedging her foot between a guy’s thighs to get her point across, she would do so without batting an eye.

  “Halyn!” he called out. “I need to talk to you.”

  “Leave.” Mila’s voice was icy cold. “And don’t show up at her shop. Leave her be, Enzo.” Something exchanged between them, too low for Halyn to hear, then Mila said, “She’s my best friend and I’ll protect her with my life. Go away, she’s not coming to talk to you.”

  The click of the door echoed and Halyn wiped away more of those damn tears. Licking her lips, she went back to her cakes. She poured the batter for the next one in the pan and slid it in the oven, then set her timer.

  Mila walked into view and shook her head, eyes overflowing with sympathy and protectiveness. “He will most likely be back. But you have a reprieve for a while.”

  “Thank you.”

  Christ, was that her voice, so small and defeated? Yes, it seemed it was. She just didn’t have anything in her right now. She wanted to head back to bed and draw the covers over her, to hide from the world.

  “Let me just call Joe.”

  Her heart lurched as her friend called her fiancé. Not that she and Enzo had been engaged but they had been a couple and she thought maybe she’d had that closeness with Enzo. Shaking her head, she blew out a breath and returned her attention to the first two cakes, which she freed from their pans onto a cooling rack.

  “What can I do?” Mila asked.

  “Nothing. Sit and keep me company so I don’t fall to tears.”

  “Sweetie, if you want to fall apart then do so. The betrayal is fresh and still painful. Do what you need to for you.”

  She needed to hide and shore up her walls in the anonymity of her own, dark room. Mila knew her well enough to know that were she not here, she’d do exactly that. Sit in the dark and cry. It wasn’t healthy for her and, while she wanted to do it, her friend wasn’t about to let that happen. There was no way Mila would let her stop living.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Enzo stared at the beer in his hand, not drinking it. How the hell had things got so bad, so fast? He’d thought things had been bad when he’d said the stupid-ass things he’d said before. That, while seemingly insurmountable at the time, was nothing compared to this.

  “What are you going to do?”

  Barely looking to his brother who sat beside him on another stool, bar side, Enzo shook his head. “What can I do? She wants absolutely nothing to do with me. She’s made that perfectly clear in more ways than one. Some of her suggestions, in anatomically impossible ways, although I honestly believe she’d still try to pull them off.”

  “How did Amber find out?”

  A surge of fresh anger rushed over him. “Beats the fuck out of me, but I’m going to find out. I never said anything to her.”

  “I know, man. You wouldn’t.”

  A derisive snort. “Try telling Halyn that.”

  “Of the people here, you said she’s told Mila and you. Mila’s been her friend for almost all her life. Why would she think her friend would spill? Not to mention, from what you tell me, Mila isn’t an Amber fan anyways.”

  He took a long drink of the beer and tried loosening his shoulders to alleviate the tension roiling there. It didn’t work. Nothing worked. Hell had been his home for the past week. He’d tried numerous times to talk to Halyn and she’d refused.

  “I need to kidnap her and take her away somewhere.”

  “You think that’s wise, given what she wants to do to you?”

  “If I don’t, Gio, I am losing the best thing in my life other than my son. I love her. I’ve loved Halyn for a long time now.”

  “You sure it’s not just you wanting it because you can’t have it?”

  He glared at his brother through narrowed eyes. “Say something like that again and I’ll put your ass in the hospital so fast you won’t know what hit you.”

  Gio didn’t look at all concerned by his admission. In fact his expression leaned more towards amusement than anything. “Whatever, little brother. You have to admit, it’s a fair statement. You’ve wanted things more when you were told no.”

  His nose flared as he fought to hold on to his emotions. Punching his brother wouldn’t be wise, especially when two off-duty cops sat halfway down the bar from them.

  “What about at the wedding?”

  He blinked. “What?”

  Gio rolled his eyes. “The wedding. You asked us to keep Liev for the day while you attended Mila and Joe’s wedding. Think you could grab… I mean, talk to her there?”

  He’d forgotten all about the upcoming wedding. With this insanity about Amber blabbing what she did and Halyn completely shutting him out, the invitation to the wedding had ceased to even be a blip on his radar. It was in two days.

  “I forgot about that.” He shoved to his feet, dug in his pocket for money, then slapped it on the smooth bar top. “Thanks, man. I gotta jet.”

  Gio waved a hand as Enzo headed for the door, his long strides eating up the distance. He had things to do before then. But, first things first. He got in his SUV.

  At his destination, he got out and knocked on the front door to the sprawling white house. He’d just readjusted the brim of his hat when it swung open and he found himself face to face with the woman who might have shot his relationship with Halyn dead. Amber Watkins.

  Clad in a short, white skirt and a turquoise, spaghetti-strap tank top, she screamed desperation. Her nails were painted the same colour as her shirt and she tottered in her stiletto shoes. A wide smile crossed her face as she immediately adopted a pose that, he supposed, was to be attractive and enticing.

  “Enzo,” she purred. “Such a thrill to finally have you at my house. Would you like to come inside? We can have some drinks and talk.”

  “Who told you about Halyn?” He strove to keep his voice calm.

  Her eyes widened slightly, the only indication she knew what he spoke of, and she licked her lips. “About Halyn?”

  His patience snapped like a thread holding a ton weight. He hadn’t the inclination to play this game with her. Narrowing his gaze, he stepped closer to her. “Enough of your games, woman. Who. Told. You?”

  �
��I don’t know what you’re talking about?”

  “I’m talking about you telling my son that as long I’m with Halyn he’ll be an only child because Halyn is broken.”

  Her perfectly painted face paled. “Oh, that.”

  He scowled. “Yes, that.”

  “I didn’t mean it like that.”

  “I don’t give a damn how you meant it. You had no right to say it. And I want to know who told you.” Defiance flared in her eyes but he shook his head. “I am not someone to fuck with, Amber. You screwed with the woman I love and I want to know how you know such things about her.”

  He barely recognised his own voice, it was so deep and angry. He clenched his hands, lowered his face to hers, ensuring she got the message he wasn’t screwing around.

  She held her ground for all of thirty seconds before she could no longer hold his gaze. “Ernest Macklin.”

  The fucking bastard! “Stay away from me. Stay away from my son.”

  Spinning on his heels, he then headed for his vehicle. As he drove to the newspaper, he focused on keeping calm. It wouldn’t do him any good to get locked up. Although it would be worth it. After parking, he strode towards the building and walked into the elevator.

  It was a surprise when the person he sought stood there in the elevator with him. They recognised each other at the same time and Enzo slammed his fist over the ‘Stop’ button, jerking the lift to a standstill. In the next second, he had shoved Ernest Macklin into the corner, his forearm across his neck.

  “This is assault,” Ernest gasped.

  “You don’t stay away from Halyn and I’ll show you what true assault is. Stop digging into her past, leave her and her family alone. And if you feel the need to spread shit around town, especially to someone like Amber Watkins, tell them this, how I promised to kick your ass if you don’t leave us alone. Although maybe it should be more of a ‘I did kick your ass’ as opposed to a promise.”

  “I’m a reporter.”

  “That’s your excuse for your piss-poor behaviour? You’re a reporter? Tell me, exactly what gain do you have spreading that about my Halyn? What does it benefit? You didn’t report it, you blabbed it to a widow who is looking to score a rich husband. You’re no reporter, you’re a pathetic excuse for a man and I’m taking your job from you.” He pressed harder and Ernest slid to the floor, gasping for breath.