Crown of Lies

by Pepper Winters

  I stiffened then melted as his tongue licked mine sweetly. “The answer is yes. I would’ve been fucking pissed.”

  My face burned. My lips tingled. I couldn’t help my stupid grin. “It was my father.”

  His hand lashed out, dragging my face to his for another messy half-violent, half-tender kiss. I sucked in a breath as the same intoxicating arousal billowed. I bit his bottom lip. He groaned, nipping me back.

  “This is crazy.” I hugged him close.

  “All things worth fighting for are crazy.” He kissed my forehead.

  “But I don’t even know your name—”

  And then we were flying.

  Something heavy and brutal knocked us sideways, tackling us as a flashlight split through our sanctuary of bushes, showing the silhouette of a hulking security guard as he threw us to the ground.

  Twigs sliced through my jacket, pebbles and dirt smeared my hands, and Nameless grunted in agony as another guard landed on top of him.

  My shoulder screamed as I rolled incorrectly. The earlier punch to my temple pounded in sympathy, making the park swim.

  Curse words and limbs flew as Nameless fought. “Get the fuck off us!”

  “Easy, kid.” Another guard appeared, grabbing a flailing foot. “It’s over. Give it up.”

  The man who’d landed on me slowly stood up, towering with smug victory on his chubby face. “Can’t run, girl. You’re surrounded.”

  I glowered, scooting closer in the dirt to Nameless while he punched and fought.

  “Let him go!” I clambered to my knees, whacking the back of some pudgy guy in a high-vis jacket. “Get off him!”

  My arms were pinned behind my back.

  “Give it a rest.” Someone hauled me upright. “Don’t assault a security guard, ma’am, unless you want to add that to your misdemeanors tonight?”

  I tried to spin. But the man who held me gave no leeway. Yanking me backward, he said to Nameless, “Don’t be a hero. You’re outnumbered. Stop wasting time.”

  My eyes connected with the man I’d kissed. He ceased fighting, turning limp rather than scrapping with the security guard. We didn’t look away as a police officer stepped forward and ducked to grab his wrists.

  With a sharp smile, Nameless swung once, twice, then gave up. A last hoorah rather than an attempt at escape. His head didn’t bow as his arms were yanked behind his back like mine, and the sharp click of handcuffs being fastened interrupted the night.

  He breathed hard as the police officer jerked him to his feet, not caring half the garden came with him in a tumble of dried leaves and dirt.

  The security guard who’d launched on him stood too, limping a little but with a cruel sneer on his face at winning.

  We were marched out of the bushes and made to stand on the pathway where joggers and pram-strollers would walk in a few hours when the sun rose. For now, it was a processing place for illegal canoodling.

  My heart thundered as I twisted my wrists in the cold metal imprisoning me. Tearing my gaze from Nameless, I glanced at the police officer lurking close to his captive. “Please, you don’t have to arrest us.”

  Another police officer with graying hair and a heavy artillery belt rubbed his jaw. “See, that’s where you’re wrong. Trespassing is a serious offense. As is indecent exposure. Plenty of crimes committed tonight.”

  “Indecent exposure?” I scoffed. “When?”

  “Making out in a public place.”

  “That’s not illegal.”

  “I saw him feeling you up.” A security guard with a sweaty face grunted. “Who knows how far you would’ve gone if I hadn’t interrupted. Sex on a baseball field? That’s a punishable offense.”

  My cheeks pinked. I didn’t want to discuss anything to do with sex with these idiots. “That’s your word against ours. We would never go that far. We’re not savages.”

  “Speak for yourself.” Nameless chuckled. “You can argue until you pass out, Elle, but you won’t win.” He narrowed his gaze with hate at the guards. “I know the law, and the law doesn’t give a shit about the truth.”

  “Watch your mouth, son.” The cop with the heavy belt pointed in Nameless’s face. “You’re already fucked, so I wouldn’t be adding any more ammunition to your file if I were you.”

  File?

  Wait, he has a file?

  Shaking my head, determined not to let questions undermine me, I looked at the officer who seemed to be in charge. “Look, we’re sorry. Can we just pay a fine?” I looked at Nameless, suffering such guilt that he’d saved me from being raped, given me one of the best experiences of my life, and now, he would be imprisoned all because I couldn’t run fast enough. “Let us go. I promise we’ll leave and never come back.”

  “No can do, little lady.” The police officer with his heavy belt whispered to a colleague, nodding to something said on the radio clipped to his lapel.

  He smirked at Nameless. “According to reports, you were seen beating up two men earlier tonight. They said they found you about to rob and rape a young woman, and they tried to stop you. For their troubles, you almost broke one of their cheekbones and cracked a rib or two.”

  “Bullshit.” My kisser bared his teeth. “I was the one trying to prevent them from doing that.” He cocked his chin at me. “That’s the girl they were trying to hurt.”

  The officers and security guards all raised an eyebrow. “Is this true, ma’am?”

  I shrunk a little but nodded. “Yes. He saved me.”

  “Saved you?” The officer coughed. “Saved you and then brought you to a closed park to do what?”

  I swallowed. “I’m very aware of how this looks, but he’s right. We met when he saved me. They—they were going to hurt me.”

  “And he would’ve hurt you if we hadn’t appeared.”

  “No, that’s not true.”

  “You don’t know him like we do, miss.”

  A police officer came over to pat me down while another patted my savior’s body. My heart stopped when they found the eighty dollars in his hoodie pocket.

  “Didn’t rob you, huh?”

  “That’s mine, fuck face.” Nameless fought against the handcuffs.

  “Of course, it is,” the lead officer said. “How many times do we need to tell you, lying only makes it worse for you?”

  I froze.

  How many times?

  How many times had he faced situations like this?

  I tried to catch his eye. To apologize. But he kept his glare on the officer who pocketed the eighty dollars. The money that could’ve bought him a better meal and a roof for a night.

  Another person arrived on the scene, his heavy footsteps familiar even before he appeared in the flashlight glow of the security guards. I should’ve known he would turn up. He had a police scanner and had most likely been looking for me ever since I didn’t call for him to drive me home.

  My shoulders rolled, wishing I could melt into the concrete and disappear.

  He flashed his credentials I knew stated him as ex-marine and in the employ of myself and my father. David Santos, my driver, bodyguard, sometimes personal assistant.

  Shit.

  He threw me a quick glance then focused his intense black gaze on the lead officer. His barrel chest, large arms, and black suit that matched his ebony skin soaked up the night. “I’m here for Ms. Charlston. She’s done nothing wrong.”

  The police officer standing beside me argued, “She’s been caught trespassing—”

  “Wait.” The lead agent stepped forward, shining light onto my bodyguard’s identification. He then beamed the flashlight at my face. “What did you say her name was?”

  “Charlston. Noelle Charlston.” David ground his teeth. “Ring any bells?”

  I was grateful he was here, but I didn’t want him to fight the battles I’d lost.

  “David, it’s fine—”

  “Be quiet, Ms. Charlston. Let me handle this.” He stood taller, his gloved hands clenching. “From Belle Elle?”


  The lead officer stiffened. “Wait, Joe’s daughter?”

  “The one and the same.”

  The officer paused.

  A second later, he ordered, “Release her.”

  Instantly, the handcuffs were unlocked, and I was pushed forward. I shot to the side of the man who’d saved me, kissed me, and given me the best birthday night out I could’ve asked for. “What about him?”

  An officer laughed. “Oh, he’s coming with us.”

  “But you—you can’t. He saved me. He did a good thing. Don’t punish him for jumping a fence and enjoying a park.”

  The officer smirked. “Oh, we’re not arresting him because of that.”

  I couldn’t look away from Nameless’ face. My lips ached to kiss him again. His eyes roamed over me, full of the same tender affection and almost awestruck attraction from before. I had to be near him until I figured out what this meant. What this was between us.

  They can’t take him away.

  “Then why?” I demanded, living in daydreams of taking him home, giving him the guestroom to shower and rest, cooking him blueberry pancakes, and introducing him to Dad in the morning. “He hasn’t done anything.”

  The officer’s laughed as if all in on a joke I hadn’t heard. “He’s done plenty.”

  “He has multiple outstanding warrants. Tonight is our lucky night.” Jerking Nameless to his side, the lead officer added, “He’s going away for a long time.”

  Nameless merely hung his head, his jaw working with a violent edge.

  “You can’t do that.”

  The cop’s face drew with annoyance. “I think you’ll find we can, Ms. Charlston. Now, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll go home with your guard here and forget all about this one.”

  He shook Nameless. “Say goodbye because I doubt you’ll be seeing him again.”

  I moved forward—to do what I didn’t know. To kiss him, run away with him—somehow fix this, so it didn’t end this way.

  He smiled sadly. “Do what he says, Elle. Go home.”

  “I can’t go. Not without you.”

  “You know the way now. You don’t need a guide to walk you.”

  I shook my head. “That isn’t what I meant, and you know it.”

  He chuckled. “You said it yourself. It was too crazy to be true.”

  I ached to grab his hand, to hug him, but with so many pairs of judging eyes on us, I froze. That would be one of my biggest regrets in life. That I didn’t reach out when he needed me the most. “Please...tell me your name. I’ll get a lawyer. We’ll fight these stupid claims.”

  “All right, time’s up.” An officer marched forward, grabbing Nameless around the elbow and dragging him away.

  Tears sprang to my eyes. Uncertainty and fear spiraled at the thought of never seeing him again. “Please! What’s your name?”

  Nameless stumbled from another shove, his gaze never leaving mine. He looked sad and pissed and lost and resigned. So many emotions all at once. “It was fun while it lasted.”

  “Tell me!”

  But he merely gave me a harsh smile, trying to mask the grief on his face. “I really enjoyed kissing you, Elle.”

  And then the officer turned him away and marched him into the darkness.

  Chapter Ten

  THE DRIVE HOME was one of the hardest things I’d ever lived through.

  David didn’t say a word; he merely drove with iron concentration and astute silence. He didn’t ask questions. He didn’t ask for a report from the police. He just escorted me from the park as if I’d come out of Belle Elle like a normal evening after work.

  He didn’t comment about how I’d been caught with a man. He didn’t speak at all apart from to tell me to be careful climbing into the backseat of the Range Rover Sport.

  Pulling up to the brownstone where I lived, he cut the engine and jumped out. A moment later, he pulled open the door for me and nodded in the darkness. “Have a good night, Ms. Charlston.”

  “Thank you, David. You too.”

  I didn’t ask if he’d keep this to himself. My father would know. I wouldn’t be able to keep my night-time wanderings a secret. But at least neither of them would know about the alley and how I’d met Nameless.

  He nodded again and hopped back into the Range Rover.

  I kept my chin high even though my heart sputtered at the thought of what would happen to Nameless. Was he in prison now? Would he go to trial? What sort of warrants did they have?

  My questions would have to wait because the second I climbed the steps and entered the home I was raised in, my father grabbed me in a boa constrictor hug.

  “Oh, holy hell, Elle. Where the bells have you been?”

  I couldn’t even rib him for his weird expressions tonight. I squeezed him back, drained and confused, lost and sad. “I’m okay, Dad.”

  “You ran away!” He pulled back, disappointment and hurt bright in his eyes. “Why would you do such a thing? And on your birthday, no less.”

  I shrugged out of his embrace. “I didn’t run away.” I kicked off my sneakers and padded into the living room where hints of my mother still existed everywhere. From the pristine cream linen couches to the white gauze draped around the window bay. A baby grand piano sat in the corner next to the ornate fireplace while knickknacks from my parents’ travels littered side tables and coffee tables in a cluttered but designer way.

  My piano lessons flittered into my head as my fingers played an imaginary chord, giving me something to focus on when all I wanted to do was burst into tears.

  Dad followed, throwing himself into his overstuffed chair that’d long since compacted and wrinkled from his weight. “Where were you, Elle? You say you didn’t run away, but you were found in Central Park. At one a.m! Do you know how dangerous that is?” His eyes cast over me. “And what the hell are you wearing?”

  Damn, David had already told him.

  I looked at the black bomber I couldn’t unzip; otherwise, he’d see my torn top and bruises. My skinny jeans smeared with dirt and chocolate. I was so far removed from the daughter he knew. The daughter who lived in fashion catalogs and had nightmares of Christmas sale stocks being too low. I shouldn’t be daydreaming about a man who tasted like candy or a kiss beneath the stars on a baseball field.

  Had that really happened?

  Was it real?

  I sighed, knowing I had to grovel before I could ask what would happen to Nameless. “I’m sorry, Dad. I—I wanted to see what the world was like for someone who wasn’t an heiress.”

  He sucked in a breath. “Why?”

  “Because I’m nineteen and never explored the city on my own. Because I’m running a billion-dollar company and never been to a party or gossiped with girls or kissed a boy.” I looked up, pleading with him to understand. “I wanted to be normal...just for a few hours.”

  He sighed.

  Silence fell as he reclined heavily into his chair. Whatever anger he had blew itself out.

  That was my dad.

  He rarely exploded, and when he did, it didn’t last long. Guilt sat even worse because now his anger had gone, his second-guessing and regret burrowed through me.

  I inched to the edge of the couch, getting closer to him. “I was coming back. The man who was arrested was walking me home safely.”

  “Arrested?” His head snapped up.

  “Yes. I think he’s homeless and probably has a few crimes of stealing to eat. But tonight, he saved me.” I wouldn’t go into the details with my father—he didn’t need those mental images of me trapped and scared to haunt him, or worse, use them against me if I ever tried to leave on my own again—but I did need to fight for the man who’d fought for me. “He was an utter gentleman, Dad. He was kind and a little rough but overall someone worthy of being given a chance.”

  I linked my fingers, squeezing tight to overcome my nerves and push ahead. It was a trick I used in the boardroom when firing a department head if they were found embezzling or not doing th
eir job.

  I could never show weakness.

  Ever.

  Tonight, I’d shown weakness, and it’d almost gotten me raped and a man locked up.

  “We need to help him.”

  Dad frowned. “Help? How?”

  “We need to hire a lawyer—get him good representation, so he isn’t incarcerated.”

  He scowled. “If he committed the crime, it’s only fair he suffers the consequences.”

  “Doesn’t he deserve someone to fight on his side, though? I don’t know his name but I doubt he has anyone. He saved me. The least I can do is try to do the same.”

  “You were gallivanting around the city with a man, and you didn’t know his name?” He groaned, shaking his head. “What were you thinking?” He stood suddenly, rubbing his face as if in denial. “Elle, you’ve had a long night. I’m going to bed, and I suggest you do the same. Sage is in your room. I collected her from the office when I went to check on you and found you were gone.”

  His guilt trip worked. I slotted myself into his weary arms. “I’m so, so sorry. I should’ve told you.”

  “Yes, you should have.” He hugged me, although reluctantly.

  But if I had, you wouldn’t have let me go.

  He spoke into my hair, no doubt smelling spicy beef burritos and dangerous alleys.

  I was glad my long hair covered the bruise on my temple and whatever other calling cards those thugs had left were hidden beneath my clothes.

  “I know this is my fault, keeping you so sheltered and buried under work, but my God, Elle, I never expected you to go chasing after the first boy who showed interest in you. A boy who was arrested, for goodness’ sake.”

  I smarted with shame. “It’s not like that. He wasn’t just any boy. He was—”

  When I didn’t continue, he sighed sadly. “He was what? A friend? A soul-mate? A teenage crush?” He pinched his nose. “Elle, I will never stand in the way of you finding love. I want you to find love. Not a day goes by that I don’t wish your mother was still alive to teach you how valuable love can be, but I won’t permit you to throw away everything you have with a stupid infatuation over a criminal who doesn’t deserve you.”

  “Dad...don’t—”