Unravel You: A Hot Billionaire Romance (Cole Brothers Series Book 1)

by Diana A. Hicks

  He walked a wide circle around me, his dark figure weaving in and out of the trees. The chase was what he wanted. I stayed put to give myself some time to think. To come up with a better plan than running toward the light. I’d been so close to dialing 911. Maybe I could get near him and try for the phone again. The idea of touching him on purpose made me shudder.

  The minutes dragged on as he made yet another round through the greenery, feet shuffling as he went along. Was he humming a song? After a while, he went quiet. The air was so still I thought maybe he’d decided to give up on this insane game.

  “There you are.” His face appeared next to me. “I guess you’re tired of running. Maybe we can try again tomorrow. See how far you get then.”

  “Go to hell.” I threw a punch, but he caught my wrist.

  “Stop hitting me.” He snaked his free arm around my waist and knocked all the oxygen out of me.

  Up ahead, a set of headlights rounded the corner on the street. I kicked him and screamed for help as hard as I could. Alex covered my mouth with his hand. I bucked against him, throwing my legs up high, but he had a dead grip around my body.

  “I said stop it.”

  “No, asshole. You stop it.” Derek’s voice brought instant tears to my eyes. In the same beat, Alex released me and landed several feet away from me, with Derek pummeling his face. After a handful of punches, Derek stumbled back. “Get him out of here. I don’t ever want to see him.”

  From behind me, four men in uniform descended on Alex, blocking him from my view. I stood there staring at the retreating forms. It was over.

  “Jesus Christ, Valentina.” Derek wrapped his arms around me. “Where’s Bridget?”

  I pressed my cheek to his chest, letting his scent soothe me back to life. “What?” I glanced up at him, still trying to understand how it was possible that he was here with me.

  “We found you and Alex after he got back on the grid. We had a trace on it. But now we need to get to Bridget before she realizes we’re on her heels.” He cradled my neck as he talked fast about tracking Alex’s phone but not being able to pinpoint Bridget’s location.

  “She’s maybe half a mile from here. I’m not sure which way.” I strode back to the street with Derek close behind me. When I cleared the trees, I came up to the row of houses where I’d tried to ask for help. In my hurry to get away from Alex, I’d gone the wrong way—effectively gone in a circle. We were closer to the house than I thought.

  “Come on. Let’s get you in the car.” Derek ushered me to the black SUV parked on the cobblestone not too far from where he found me.

  He instructed the driver to head straight. Numb, I watched the row of pretty houses and the empty streets. It all vaguely looked familiar. When we reached the tree stump on the corner, I pointed at it. “Make a right here. It’s that third blue house on the left.”

  Our car pulled over as the guy in the passenger seat, dressed in black fatigues, barked orders into his phone. Derek draped his arm around me as three men barged into the house, looking for Bridget.

  “I want to press charges.” My voice didn’t sound like my own.

  “No need. The ransom note turned the offense into a federal crime. She will be prosecuted no matter what.” Derek’s voice sounded calm, but his heart pounded like a thunderclap under my touch. “You don’t have to worry about them hurting you or Max ever again. It ends here. I’ll make sure they stay away for a very long time.”

  Outside the blue house, men in uniform escorted Bridget to a cop car. She didn’t fight them or say anything. Did she a have a plan to get out of this? Or did she assume her plan would work exactly as she wanted?

  “Where are they taking them?”

  “Savannah PD will hold them until the FBI follows due process. I’ll find out when they get moved and let you know.” He brushed the back of his hand over my cheek, as if he were afraid to hurt me. His kindness made my heart ache to have our lives back to normal and forget Alex existed.

  “No, I don’t need to know. As long as they’re away from us, I don’t care.” I rested my head on his shoulder.

  “We’ll do it your way. Do you want to go home?” He ran a finger over the blood stains on my silk dress.

  The unasked question lingered in the air. Did I need a doctor? How bad did Alex hurt me? “It’s nothing. I’m fine.”

  “Valentina, you can tell me.”

  It was just as Bridget had said. He’d spent the entire day imagining the worst.

  “Insults, shoving, and petty mind games. That’s his MO. He couldn’t hurt me like before. More than anything I was afraid I’d never get to see Max and you.”

  “I was afraid of that too. And the blood?”

  “I cut my finger trying to rig an alarm system to call for help.” I showed him the slash on my finger. My hands were dirty, but the wound had a nice scab over it already.

  “You’ll have to tell me about that.” He chuckled a sad sound as he held me tighter. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get to you sooner.”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Alex’s note.”

  “We have a lot to talk about. Tomorrow, okay?”

  “I want to go home.” I was surprised to think of Atlanta as such.

  “Of course. The agent in charge wants a few minutes with you. Is that okay?”

  I nodded. Being in his arms like this felt as if I were already home.

  22

  That Will Never Change

  Derek

  “I need something stronger than tea.” I glanced up from my laptop as Mom set down a tray with teacups and biscuits on my library desk.

  “Just drink it.” She sat across from me.

  I shrugged and sipped from the delicate china. The brew was basically bourbon. I chuckled and took another swig. “Thanks.”

  “How is she doing?”

  “Same. She was up when I left the room this morning.”

  Mom let out a breath. “Maybe she’ll feel better when she goes home? Or if she sees Max?”

  “She said no to both.”

  After we’d come back from Savannah, Valentina let me help her with a shower and fresh clothes. She’d climbed into bed and slept for an entire day. She needed space and time to process. I just wished she’d talk to me. God only knew what Bridget and Alex put her through during the twenty-four hours they had her.

  “It’s awful that she’d associate this house with such a terrible thing.” Mom stood and poured herself a tea. “I can see why she wouldn’t want Max to come here now.”

  “Me too.”

  A knock on the door broke our silence. Tyler strolled in and sat on the chair next to Mom. “Got a call from my buddy at the FBI. Charges have been officially filed. Bridget and Alex will be transferred today.”

  “Thanks. Let me know if they need me.”

  “The agent assigned will be in touch.” He exchanged a look with Mom before he turned his attention to me. “How’s Valentina doing?”

  “She got out of bed this morning. Hasn’t left the room though.”

  “Talk to her.”

  I wanted nothing more than to be upstairs with Valentina. But she’d asked for time. We did need to have our talk, though a part of me was afraid of where my conversation with Valentina would lead. Her face showed how much she regretted coming here. We were still in Atlanta because she didn’t have the energy to leave the room, let alone travel.

  “You’re afraid she’ll dump your ass after what Bridget did?” Tyler had always been so perceptive. “Don’t be. She’ll have questions. Just be honest with her.”

  “Honest? About all the shit I’ve done?” I rubbed the side of my face. “Jesus, Bridget went after Valentina because of me.”

  “Valentina doesn’t seem like the type to give up easily.”

  “I wouldn’t blame her if she wanted to call off the wedding.”

  “We all had a hand in that.” Mom pursed her lips. “I’m so sorry I acted the way I did. She has to know that’s not your fault.”


  “Bridget was my fault.” I lowered my gaze to the papers sprawled on my desk.

  If Valentina was upstairs thinking about leaving me for good, it wouldn’t be because of Mom. Her decision would be entirely on me. I was the one who lied to her about the situation brewing with Bridget and later with Alex. She felt she couldn’t trust me because, up until now, I hadn’t done anything to show her I trusted her.

  “Snap out of it, man.” Tyler threw a pen at me. “It’s not over yet. Go talk to her.”

  I nodded and downed the rest of Mom’s tea. “I should bring a tray of this with me.”

  Mom rose to her feet and offered a warm smile. “I’ll send one up.”

  At least she had come around about my relationship with Valentina. I trudged upstairs and knocked on Valentina’s door twice. When I didn’t hear any movement, I turned the metal knob and went in. The room was just as I’d left it this morning, dark and cold.

  “It’s been two days since Savannah.” I strode to the window and pulled back the curtains to let the midmorning sunrays shine through.

  Valentina lay on the bed, still in her white tank top and shorts. Her hair was wet. That was a good sign. Even if she stayed in her sleep clothes, she’d at least had the enthusiasm to shower. I sat on the edge of the mattress and regarded her face. The bruises on her neck had turned a lighter shade of purple and red. What about the wounds I couldn’t see? How long before the Savannah episode became a faraway memory?

  “I know.” Her voice sounded small.

  I pushed wet strands away from her cheek, letting the back of my fingers linger on her soft skin. My pulse spiked. I wanted to hold her, but she’d kept her distance for the past two days for a reason. She needed space.

  “I’m here. For whatever you need. I’m here.”

  She glanced at me. “I know that.”

  “What do you need?”

  “I don’t know.” She gripped my fingers and slid my hand down until it rested on her lap.

  “I love you.”

  Her gaze snapped up at me. Tears brimmed her eyes, and my heart twisted. “I punched him.”

  “What?”

  She sucked in air, as if the words she wanted to say had lodged themself in the back of her throat. “Alex. He struck me, and I hit him back. I did that.” She touched her neck, shaking her head. “He was so surprised. Like he never thought I’d have the nerve to do that.”

  “I’m proud of you for standing up to him.”

  “I feel so light. I keep playing that scene in my head. It makes me happy.” A crease appeared between her brows. “Seeing him hurting. It made me feel good.”

  “That doesn’t make you like him. You know that, right? He pushed you to the limit. You had no choice.”

  She met my gaze, then nodded. “I only wish I’d had the guts to do it before now. I wasted so many years of my life being afraid. It isn’t fair.”

  “No, that’s not fair. But at least he’ll go to jail for a long time, even if it isn’t for the way he treated you before. He’ll still get what he deserves.”

  She puffed out air, and her tight hold on my fingers loosened. “Thank you. Whether he’s in jail or not, now I know he can’t hurt me anymore. In a weird way, I’m glad about what happened in Savannah.”

  “Well, I wished you’d find closure with him in a different way. But this works too.” I scooted closer to her on the bed. The strained muscles on my body relaxed for the first time since I found out she’d been taken.

  “What a stupid thing to do, huh?”

  “Going after Alex on your own wasn’t stupid. It was brave.”

  “I think maybe deep down I wanted to see him.” She swallowed. Her unfocused gaze fell on the comforter tangled around her legs. “Not see him. I just always wondered if I would react the same the second time around.”

  “You’re free of him now.”

  “I am free.” She offered me a genuine smile. “How did you know where I was?”

  I shifted my weight. We said no more secrets. “After Alex came to sign the custody papers, I sort of bugged his phone. Not while he was at the house. Later.” I glanced down and adjusted my watch. “I wanted to know if he tried to reach out to you.”

  Her mouth fell open, forming an O, but no words came out.

  “I know this looks like I didn’t trust you, but it wasn’t about that. I just wanted you to be safe. He went dark before he left Arizona a few days ago. I should’ve said something to you that same day, when we lost track of him. I never thought he’d tried something like this. I feel stupid for not seeing it coming. I thought he just wanted to mess with me to make sure he got the rest of his custody money.”

  “That’s why his phone was off.” She stared at her hands, not really seeing.

  How many times had she replayed what happened in her head? Over and over, trying to make sense of it all. When I found her, something had switched on inside her. She’d been in survival mode, fighting Alex’s hold on her.

  “When you turned it on, he showed up on our radar right away. We were in the city center a few miles away based on a hunch, if you can believe that. My team spotted their car at the gas station where they bought the phone.”

  “Did you track Bridget too?” She glanced up at me.

  Bridget was the last piece in her puzzle. “No.”

  Her brown eyes were deep pools that made me ache for her. The question I wanted to ask siphoned all the oxygen out of the room. Valentina was free of Alex. Where did that leave us? In the time since we got engaged, she had gotten to see a side of me I’d wished didn’t exist. Success, the top, was a lonely place for a reason.

  “Bridget thinks you used her. Used her, then tossed her to the curb.” She moved away from me.

  I fought the urge to reach for her, to pull her closer to me. “I can see why she would think that. And I wish I could say she was the only one who felt that way about me. I’m not a saint, Valentina. I never said I was.”

  “I know that. I never expected you to be one.”

  “I’ve spent the last seven years of my life working toward a single goal. To make my company what it is today. Bridget wasn’t the only person I trampled over to get here. Not even Mom was exempt from that.”

  “She’s in love with you.”

  “I’m in love with you. This thing with Bridget. Our relationship. It was convenient.”

  “Do you think if Bridget had stayed the faithful wife, you’d still be conveniently married?”

  Of all the things I thought she’d be mad and disappointed about, I never would have guessed my previous marriage would make the list. “The truth? Maybe. I don’t know. What I do know is that when I’m with you, I’m a better version of myself. Before you, I didn’t care what went on around me because all I wanted to do was work, win. With you, I want to live. My life is one sunny summer day when you’re in it.”

  She drew her knees up to her face. “I didn’t know who you were when I accepted the job offer at your company. It would have been crazy to meet you there instead of at the coffee shop. To see you every day as the boss and not be able to have you.”

  This would be a good time to have Tyler in here with me to explain what she was going through as she tried to sort through the kidnapping and where it left her. “Now we’re going into the realm of alternate realities. It’s impossible for us to know what would’ve been or could’ve been.”

  “I know. I’m trying to figure it all out. Bridget was in pain.”

  I cupped her face with both hands to make her look me in the eyes. “I am sorry for what happened between Bridget and me. I promise you that won’t be us. But after all you’ve seen, after all I’ve put you through here, if you want to postpone the wedding…indefinitely…I’ll understand.”

  The idea of letting her go cut me. In a flash, I could see my life spent in boardrooms, going from one business deal to the next without real purpose, going home to an empty house. Surrounded by so many people and yet alone. She deserved to be happy.
If she didn’t think I could do that for her, it would be unfair to keep her here.

  Tears streamed down her cheeks. “I don’t want that. I want to be with you. That will never change.”

  “Then marry me.”

  She laughed and kicked the covers off. “Are you proposing or breaking up with me?”

  That sweet sound hit me square in the chest. “How ’bout this? I’m confirming the engagement.”

  “So we don’t have to rush off and get married in a few weeks?” She cocked an eyebrow.

  “A week, a year, a lifetime. I will wait for you as long as you need me to.”

  She tucked her legs under her butt, leaning toward me. Her hand snaked around my neck and fisted a bunch of my hair. “The wedding cake is almost as tall as me. We can’t send it back.”

  “That’s a lot of cake.”

  She nodded, her cheeks red and her eyes still wet from crying. The air shifted in the room, charged with a raw energy. The same energy that had been there between us since the day we met at the coffee shop at the edge of campus. How we felt about each other was separate from everything else in our lives. Our love would never change.

  “We can’t let that go to waste.”

  “You’d marry me just to save a cake?” I pulled her onto my lap, and she let me.

  “That. And also, I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

  “I love you.”

  “I love you too.” She pressed her mouth to mine. Her salty kiss was soft and tentative. When her skin grew hot under my touch, she tightened her grip on my hair and slipped her tongue past my lips.

  I pulled back, hot blood already rushing through me. “Are you sure?”

  “I need you.” She pulled my T-Shirt over my head, and I got a great view of her see-through camisole.

  “I miss us. Let’s go home tomorrow.” I picked her up by the waist and lay her on the bed. She was out of her shorts in two beats, then sat up to help me with my pants.

  “I’d like that.”