When they were finished bagging Mikayla’s body, they drove over to Seattle General Medical Center where an old college buddy of Liam’s happened to be practicing surgeon. The doctor walked them through empty hallways to a large industrial sized room in the bowels of the hospital. “Biohazard Waste Incinerator” was written on the double doors.
After the garbage bags were deposited into the incinerator, the doctor made small talk with Liam while Colin seemed numb beyond belief. Somehow that night didn’t feel real to him and he began to convince himself this was a terrible nightmare he would awake from any moment.
The dream state ended as they drove back to their condominium building in silence.
Colin said, “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it, bro. You watched my ass when that accident happened and now I am simply watching yours. As far as you know, she left in hurry after you two had an argument about where your relationship was going and you haven’t seen her since. Scrub the floors with a combination of ammonia and Clorox. Wear an industrial strength mask because it’s toxic, but it’s the only thing that destroys blood evidence. After that, air out your apartment, leave a few windows open, and stay in a hotel for the next couple of days.”
“Nah, fuck that. I’m going back to La Jolla. Cassie will take me back in a heartbeat. I’ve had it with this place and there’s no reason for me to stay,” Colin said quietly.
“Well, it’s a damn good cover and you’re safer there anyway. You don’t look guilty. If we are in any luck, those goons she calls family will be looking for her before the police will and by that time, your regular cleaning lady will have been to your condo several times. There will be no trace evidence left.”
“What about their mother? Did the police get there in time?”
“Yep. They arrested a couple of suspicious individuals lurking around. With this in motion, I am going to spring for some security, and so should you. We all should. Something tells me we’ve stepped in the shit and it would be prudent if we were all careful from now on. You did the right thing. She wouldn’t have stopped…the woman was crazy. It was a situation where either you watched people you loved die or she had to go. I wish you hadn’t gotten involved with her in the first place but that’s neither here nor there. Shit happens. Now we just have to move on with our lives.”
Colin agreed with him. It was a life or death situation; he’d done the right thing.
Too bad Deirdre would never know what he had done to keep her safe. If she did, would she still hate him? These were questions that he would forever have to ponder because what happened that night, he swore to himself and God he would take to the grave with him.
Chapter Twenty-One
After several days in Seattle, Drake and I went back to La Jolla. We were planning to talk it over and decide within the next couple of months whether we really wanted to move to Seattle. I didn’t miss the miserable weather once we got back to La Jolla, and the sunshine was quite pleasant after putting up with overcast skies that constantly threatened rain.
After the engagement party, we fell back into our usual pattern. Life passed us by too quickly, and before we knew it, Thanksgiving was a week away and Drake and I had officially been a couple since late August. I’d left Seattle and Colin the third week of July and I was constantly amazed at how everything had worked out, not only between Colin and I when we got together, but also between Drake and me. It was odd both relationships had been back to back and moved along in a relatively expeditious manner.
Then again, we were both adults and neither one of us had time for the usual games people played in their teens. Drake would be thirty-two on his birthday, December fifth. Although I had turned twenty-nine in June, it was the first time I officially felt like an adult now that I owned my own business, made money, and was no longer a professional college student. I was a rare but unfortunate case of my generation; I didn’t really want to grow up and if I continued to study at university, it made me feel youthful and carefree until I woke up and realized I was almost thirty and nothing about my life had changed.
Drake had been on his own since he’d fallen out with his parents at the age of nineteen. He’d also lost most of his inheritance except for a small amount of money they’d given him and he’d made it stretch for as long as he could before he resorted to his illegal activities with the Shevchenko family.
He continued to work at Rouge and we slipped back into our usual schedule of seeing each other in the evenings. Colin and I had finally worked out a shift where I would be responsible from seven in the morning to around one in the afternoon, and he would be around from two in the afternoon until the coffee shop closed in the evenings.
It worked for us. We each had two days off per week and the two most trusted and dependable employees were promoted to manager and co-manager so we at least had help and didn’t feel like we had to watch the business constantly.
“Have you found out anything else about this supposed hit on you?” I asked him several weeks after we returned to California. “Just because we’re back doesn’t mean everything is over.”
“I spoke to Mr. Shevchenko and he didn’t know anything about any hit, although a couple of his low-level hit men were arrested in Seattle snooping around your mother’s home. I don’t know what Mikayla told Colin, but right now she’s gone off on another bender and no one has seen her.” Drake wrapped his arms around me.
I glanced away from Sons of Anarchy and stared at him. “So Colin isn’t dating Mikayla?”
“No. He’s dating that young woman you fired from the coffee shop. She works up the street at Starbucks now. I’ve seen her there a couple of times. He seems happy enough.”
“Her name is Cassie,” I said quietly.
Drake turned toward me. “I have a favor to ask you.”
I turned my own body toward him so I could look him in the eyes. They were pale aquamarine, which meant he was excited yet nervous at the same time. “What is it?”
“I called my parents after we got back from Seattle. I don’t know why…probably just seeing you with your mother and how happy she looked to have you around again, even if it was only temporary. Anyway, we spoke, and they both feel it is time to move on and for me to see them again. They invited me for Thanksgiving and I would really love it if you came with me.”
It was a no-brainer really.
My mother was spending Thanksgiving with Liam, Caitlyn, Colin, and Dr. van der Meer. Now that Colin was officially dating Cassie again, I wasn’t sure whether or not he planned to take her home with him but if he did, that certainly would be a huge step and it would emphasize how important their relationship had become.
Although my mother and Caitlyn were my family, I knew I would instinctively feel more comfortable around Drake and his family. It was usually a double celebration held with Drew’s family as well, so I had met Drake’s parents. Drake had never been mentioned because he’d never been talked about in my company. I’d spent most of my Thanksgivings with Drew’s family because while attending Harvard, I usually didn’t go home until Christmas.
“Sure. I mean, I would love to, but why the huge step? We have only known each other for three months and…I’m practically a stranger…”
“You knew Colin for even less time but you were still ready and willing to marry the guy.”
“It was going to be a shotgun wedding,” I said rudely. “Or did you forget I was preggers and not exactly hip enough to just live in the house with my baby daddy?”
He smiled, revealing his perfect white teeth. “You’re such a charmer. The truth of the matter is that I am willing to wait as long as it takes for you to trust me and for you not to consider me a stranger. If that means introducing you to my family, I will do that. I want us to have a future together. Words are easy but actions are hard. I am trying to prove how much you mean to me.”
I glanced into his eyes for a long time before I nodded my head. “I do understand where you are coming from. I want to spend T
hanksgiving with you and I would love to meet your family.”
Drake embraced me and held on tight, his heart thundering against mine, and it was then I realized how scared he’d truly been of what my answer might be. I needed to stop playing games with this man’s heart and truly get real with him and myself.
That long talk I was supposed to have with Colin now officially became overdue.
***
The next day I stayed after my shift ended so I could make sure Colin and I ran into one another. He was early that day since Cassie was with him and they sat outside for a cigarette break.
I’d quit the dreaded habit after I had gotten pregnant and hadn’t bothered to pick it back up post miscarriage, so the smell didn’t really bother me. Besides, when he waltzed inside alone, he didn’t smell like smoke but rather Skulls & Roses Cologne, an Ed Hardy scent I had contemplated buying Drake but I didn’t think the middle notes of lavender would go with his body chemistry. On Colin, it smelled great.
“A gift from your lady friend?” I asked as he sat across from me.
“What are you doing here past your shift? And what are you talking about? Is what a gift from my lady friend?”
“I needed to talk to you, and I was referring to the cologne you’re wearing. I don’t remember you wearing it when we were together.”
“We weren’t together that long so how could you notice much of anything about me?” Colin snapped.
“True. I do believe you’ve officially been with Cassie longer than me…even with the week-long hiatus when you were banging Mikayla Shevchenko.” I paused and played with the case on my Samsung Galaxy Note. “By the way, I haven’t seen her since the engagement party two weeks ago. What happened, if you don’t mind me asking?”
He sat up and sipped casually from his venti caramel Frappuccino from Starbucks of all places. “Why do you ask? I took her to the engagement party hoping to make you jealous and it didn’t work out. She got pissed and called me out on telling you guys about the plot against Drake’s life. It was…ugly…and to be honest, I would rather not talk about it.”
I leaned forward in my seat and placed my arms on the table. “Why not? You and Liam saved my mother’s life. Had the police not been called in time, Caitlyn and I would have had to bury our only remaining parent. We’re extremely grateful for everything you did that night.”
He sat up in his chair and shrugged apathetically. “It didn’t go down as smoothly as you think, and I don’t see how sharing any of the information with you about went really happened that night is going to make your opinion of me any better so I would rather keep it to myself.”
My heart began to pound rhythmically in my chest with a steady precision, and all the pieces began to click in place. Mikayla’s disappearance wasn’t an anomaly at all. Something had taken place in Seattle and Colin was directly responsible. “You were forced to…take care of her permanently, weren’t you? She threatened my family as well as Drake, and you didn’t see any other choice. What did you do with the body?”
Colin’s crystal blue eyes were as cold as the Arctic Ocean. “Liam had to help me. I can’t tell you the details. I don’t just risk my own miserable life, but your sister’s and Liam’s as well. Let’s just say my brother has friends in high places and her body will never be recovered.” His hands wandered through his thick flaxen blond hair nervously. “You weren’t there and you didn’t hear how easily she ordered your mother’s death, your death, and Drake’s death. If you two happened to not be there, your mother was supposed to die anyway to send a message to you. I couldn’t let that happen so I did the only thing I could do.
“Was it just or right or fair? It depends on what your definitions are to these empty words. I wasn’t only covering Drake’s ass, but yours and your mother’s. You’ve both been through enough and I couldn’t justify letting that bitch live when she wanted you dead. If that makes me a horrible human being and a monster then it is what it is.”
I reached out for Colin’s hands and clutched them, squeezing with all my might. “You’re not a monster, Colin. I can’t sit here and judge you for an action you had a split decision to make. I cannot possibly imagine what kind of position she put you in and all of us are all so thankful how you handled a very unfortunate situation. You couldn’t have known her true intentions. She was working under a rogue status and she never got permission from her father to do what she attempted that night.
“Whatever you managed to do with the body, I hope to God it can never be found. Both Drake and I will vouch for you if the time ever comes. You picked up some clothes from your place and you stayed at my sister’s condo with us that night because you didn’t want to run into her after you ditched her at the engagement party. That will be the official story. Be sure to stick to it, all right?”
“Why would you risk your freedom to protect me?”
“Without your help, we could potentially all be dead right now. I don’t know about you, but I sure as hell am not ready to meet my maker and I will do whatever it takes to protect you. Drake will too. If we have to lie and say you two never dated and she merely showed up at your condo in Seattle then we’ll say it. Whatever you need help with just let us know and we’re here for you.”
Colin finally smiled, softening the expression on his face considerably. “That means a lot to me. I didn’t know…I would have preferred you never found out, but now that it is out in the open, I feel a strange sense of relief.”
I stood, reached over, and kissed his cheek. “You’re a good person, Colin. I am so sorry we couldn’t make things work between us, but you will always have my heart. I’m not just saying that because of what went down in Seattle; I’m saying it because it’s the honest to goodness truth.”
“I don’t feel like that great of a person.”
“I forgive you. If you haven’t atoned for all the wrongdoings you did to my family before, then you have now. There is nothing else between us. No hate, no distrust. Only respect, truth, and love. Thank you.”
He looked taken aback as he stood to his feet. I embraced him. “I wish something like this could have happened when we were together. God knows I would have taken you back in a heartbeat. For the time being, make Cassie happy. She may not be me but that doesn’t mean she isn’t deserving of your love and respect. I wish you and Cassie all the luck in the world. I’ll see you soon. Bye for now.”
As we separated, his eyes glistened with unshed tears. He nodded and kissed my lips quickly. “Take care of yourself, Deirdre.”
“I will. You do the same.”
“You know what we have isn’t over…don’t you?”
I had begun to walk away but that froze me in my tracks and I turned to look at him. “Of course I do. No one ever said our life is plotted out and fated beforehand. We’ll never be through with one another but whether we can have a relationship again is not for me to say. We’ll see what happens and take it from there.”
The smile he displayed was so bright, he nearly blinded me. “Then it is only goodbye for now and not forever?”
“It would never be forever.”
I turned and walked out of the coffee shop.
I had left Colin with hope because I desperately needed some hope of my own, and as a woman who now covered her ass like there was no tomorrow, I wouldn’t dare enter another relationship again without a Plan B. It was a selfish and heartless fact to admit, but it wasn’t one I would ever deny myself again.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Thanksgiving with Drake’s family was just like I thought it would be, except it was louder and there were many more people than I anticipated.
Drew and his family were there, along with Aubrey who looked absolutely stunning. We had gone shopping together since she and Drew came down to La Jolla and spent a couple days with Drake and I before we all left for Massachusetts together.
Drake’s and Drew’s parents lived in the Beacon Hill area of Boston, but the O’Connell mansion was slightly bigger than the
Branaugh estate, so Thanksgiving was held there.
I met Drake’s siblings and his mother, who openly wept, while his father looked at his son with a sense of sadness regarding all the time they’d lost. I looked elegant in a pale gray cocktail dress courtesy of Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent Tribute heels, and we made a striking couple.
I said nothing when he talked to his parents and finally broke down.
“I am so sorry. I know you didn’t have to reach out to me but the last thing I wanted was to never see any of you again. These past eleven and a half years have been hell and if I could bring her back, I would.”
His father, ever the stalwart gentleman from German-Irish stock, patted his shoulder. “We know, son. But today isn’t a day for remembering the past, it’s about celebrating the present. Why don’t you introduce Deirdre to us again? We knew her when she was dating Drew, but it looks like they have both moved on.”
Drake walked over and slid his left arm around the small of my back. “Mother…Father, I would like to introduce to you Deirdre Bardot. I haven’t asked her to marry me yet because we have only been seeing each other for less than six months, and she considers it uncouth. Deirdre, this is my mother and father.”
“It’s very nice to see you again Mr. and Mrs. O’Connell,” I replied warmly, embracing first his mother, then his father.
“You too, dear. You look so beautiful today and that Chanel dress fits you like a glove,” Mrs. O’Connell gushed.
“You are breathtaking,” his father said. “We are only too glad to say if Drake had to bring anyone home, he couldn’t have chosen a better woman than you.”
I beamed. “Thank you.” “Why don’t we all get back to the celebration?” Mr. O’Connell suggested. “There is plenty of champagne, wine, and something a bit stronger and I need a drink.”
Only Love (The Atonement Duet Book 2) Page 17