Twist of Fate

by Witek, Barbara

  His voice went dry. “But you weren’t in love with me.” He paused, and when he stared at her, his glare was like looking into the depths of hell. “You lying little whore!” His glass slammed on the table, amber liquid spilling over its rim. “Are you going to tell this Sam that he has a daughter?”

  “You’re not listening.” Kate forced herself to be strong even though fear worked its way through her body like frost over a window pane. “This has nothing to do with Sam. I don’t feel safe anymore. I thought I could forget Sam, but I can’t. And you still work for Carlo Santini.”

  “Do you still love him?” Dante grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her close, her glass fell from her hand onto the carpet.

  “You’re not--”

  “Answer me.” Dante jerked her hard, making her teeth rattle.

  “Yes.” Her voice cracked, “Yes I love him. But if you let Hope stay with me, then I’ll forget him. For the sake of my child, I’ll do what’s right. I’ll play your game. I’ll do whatever you want.”

  Dante laughed, a deep throaty laugh. “Don’t you mean his child? You could never forget him. She is a constant reminder, and I am no fool.”

  Kate noted the resentment in his voice. She felt like there was no way out. “You’re the only father she’s ever known.” She had to make this work no matter what the cost. She had to protect Hope.

  “Not anymore.”

  “Wh-what are you saying?”

  “Go to him like I know you want to do. Just know if you leave, I cannot guarantee your safety.”

  She saw him bolt for the door. “Where are you going?”

  “What do you care?” He lifted his chin and slammed the door behind him.

  Chapter Twelve

  Dante’s knuckles hurt from gripping the wheel tight as he gained speed along the highway. He needed to see this Sam Hackett for himself, meet the ghost he’d been fighting against all these years, head-on. He’d called in some favors to find out where the good ‘ol boy was working these days. At the rate he was driving, he’d be there before lover boy left for the day.

  He was more than angry. He was looking for a fight.

  When he’d first met Kate, she’d been heartbroken. She was so beautiful, he knew then he wanted her. She’d make the perfect wife, and he would mold her to the image he expected. Years later he’d come to lose not only his wife but his daughter. Now he understood Sam Hackett was to blame. Sam Hackett would pay the price. Dante had learned a lot from watching the other Captains, and he planned on using his newfound knowledge on this poor chump. The guy wouldn’t know what hit him.

  After driving another hour, Dante arrived right when he’d expected to. The black Hummer whipped through the job site in a spray of gravel. He came to a skidding stop right in front of the foreman’s trailer. A scrubby man in a hard hat approached, chewing a mouth full of tobacco.

  “Somethin’ I can do for you?”

  “I’m looking for Sam Hackett.” Dante’s jaw clenched at the thought of being face to face. The older man spit toward Dante’s feet, then motioned with his head.

  “I’ll take care of this, Luke,” came a voice from behind. “Look no further, mister. How can I help you?”

  Dante turned to see the source of his problems. Holding a clipboard in one hand and a cell phone in the other, the man looked pretty harmless. Not the type he’d pictured Kate with at all. Slowly Dante reached into the pocket of his coat. The gun was still there. He wasn’t sure why he’d brought it. He didn’t intend to kill the man, unless of course things went from bad to ugly. He cleared his throat. “I’d like a word with you.”

  “About?” Sam handed the clipboard to the foreman, giving him some signal to leave. When the man was out of sight, Dante leveled his gaze on Sam and spoke.

  “I’m--”

  “Yeah, I know who you are. Did Kate send you?”

  “No.” He took a step forward, keeping his eyes on Sam, who admirably stood his ground.

  “Then why are you here?”

  “This can be hard, or it can be easy.”

  “Listen hot-shot, I’m not up for playing games. Say what you have to say, or get the hell out of here.”

  In one swift motion, Dante grabbed Sam by the shoulders and slammed him against the trailer. With his face only inches from Sam’s, he ground out, “I’ll leave when I’m through with you and not a minute sooner.” He froze for a moment, glaring at the contractor who didn’t seem riled at all.

  “Get your hands off me.” Sam broke his hold and sidestepped.

  Dante pulled the gun from his pocket, while grabbing Sam’s shoulder and spinning him around. He saw a flash of fear in the other man’s eyes at the glint of steel against his throat. He would take pleasure in roughing this guy up a bit. Sam would learn first-hand who he was dealing with. By the time he was through, this country boy would give up any intentions of further pursuing Kate.

  Dante raised the butt of the handgun only to choose his fist instead to slam against the side of Sam’s head. The man stumbled a bit but didn’t fall to the ground. The guy was tougher than Dante had thought.

  Regaining his balance, he took a swing, clocking Dante in the chin. “Is that all you got?”

  “I’ve got more.”

  “Bring it.” Sam coaxed with his fingers, dodging the next two attempts Dante made.

  A strong left hook to the side of the face had Dante stepping back a little himself, shocked the man had actually made contact. Dante wiped a spec of blood from his lower lip. “You’ve ruined my life.”

  “You ruined your own life,” Sam mumbled.

  “Stay away from my wife. She is no longer your concern.” Dante hissed before smashing his fist into Sam’s face. The other hand landed hard into his stomach. When Sam doubled over, Dante raised the butt of the gun a second time ready to hit him in the back.

  Sam straightened, blood dripping from his nose, and uppercut Dante in the jaw. “Kate will always be my concern. She doesn’t belong with you. And last time I checked, she didn’t want to be your wife.”

  Dante stumbled, the gun falling to the ground. He swung blindly while trying to regain his footing. Sam blocked another shot Dante aimed for his face.

  “I’m warning you, Hackett.”

  “Do what makes you feel good, hot-shot. She may have returned to you, but she’ll always be mine.” Sam wiped the blood with the back of his hand.

  Dante winced at the truth in his words. He’d hoped the tone he’d heard in Kate’s voice hadn’t been true. Sam’s words revealed what Dante feared most. Kate was never going to feel for him what she felt so strongly for this man. He rubbed his aching jaw while staring at his opponent. He hated to lose, and he knew he’d lost the two most important things in his life.

  “You may think you’ve won her, my friend,” he spat, “but your biggest battle is yet to come.”

  “We’ll see about that.” The determination in Sam’s voice rang out as he stepped forward.

  “How safe do you think you can keep them? How far will you go to protect the woman you love and your daughter?”

  ***

  “My daughter?” Sam dropped onto the steps of the trailer and mentally calculated six years as Dante’s words rang in his head.

  “You see, we have both found out something tonight my friend. I have not only lost my wife to you, but the daughter I have loved and cherished for the last five years is yours as well.”

  “Liar. Kate would have told me.”

  The two men locked eyes. Dante’s smooth voice cut through the tension as a smug expression crossed his face. “But she didn’t. Do you still think she loves you now?”

  “I think you’re making this up.”

  “Why don’t you ask the little lady? What reason will she give for keeping such a secret all this time?” Dante picked up his gun and, holding his ribs, shuffled to his SUV, leaving Sam silent and bewildered.

  Sam rose to his feet, a bit unsteady, and stormed into the trailer. Grabbing a beer from the
cooler in the corner, he popped the top and downed it in record time. With a curse, he hurled the empty bottle against the trailer door. Ignoring the shattered glass, he reached into the cooler for another.

  “What the hell just happened?” he asked aloud, even more upset when the paper-thin trailer had no response. Taking a swig of beer, he shook his head in disbelief. “I have a daughter.”

  A five-year-old daughter, no less.

  From his beat up office chair, he radioed to his foreman, Luke, to have the crew stop for the day. He needed to do some serious thinking and would sit here all night if he had to in order to figure this out. After all, isn’t that what he’d instructed Kate to do? Polishing off the rest of the twelve-pack was an added bonus.

  By the way cover boy had pulled up in his big SUV and Armani suit, she must have just dropped the bomb. Sam wished she’d said something to him in the coffee shop. Yeah, he’d have been shocked, but then they could have told the suit together.

  Problem was, she didn’t tell him, and that really threw him in another dimension.

  By the tenth beer, he still didn’t have any answers. Maybe he should do what Mr. GQ said, and take it up with the lady. Yeah, he had quite a bit to say to Miss High-And-Mighty. A soft knock on the trailer door had him scrambling upright from the tilted chair. He’d told everyone to leave about two hours ago.

  Kate’s unmistakable voice was muffled through the aluminum door. “Sam? I see the light on. Are you still there?”

  He whipped open the door, towering above her. His voice came out brusquer than he’d intended. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “I came to talk to you.” Her eyes widened once she got a good look at his face. “Oh my, what happened?”

  “You should see the other guy. Matter of fact, you know him.” He raised the empty bottle before he turned to the cooler. Kate was right behind him.

  “Are you drunk?”

  “Not yet. But well on my way thanks to Mr. GQ.” He bowed slightly at the waist, saluting again with the bottle.

  “Who?”

  The words were like venom when he forced them out. “Your loving husband, fiancé, or whatever the hell he is to you these days.”

  She spun toward the open door. “Dante was here?”

  “Was, being the operative word. He’s gone. No need to worry your pretty little head.”

  She placed a hand gently on his cheek. “He did this to you?”

  Sam knocked it away, almost losing his grip on his bottle. Her touch did things to him, and he wasn’t in the mood.

  “Have no fear princess, your noble knight can take care of himself. ‘GQ’ got to fly out of here with a memento or two of his own.”

  “You are drunk. You’re not making any sense.”

  He placed his hand under her chin, forcing her to look at him while he spoke. He didn’t intend to be this harsh, but the alcohol was doing its job and the words that needed to be said spilled forth.

  “I only wish I were drunk.” He held her fast so she couldn’t move away. “Maybe then I could convince myself I was dreaming.” He leaned closer when he spoke again, and she turned her face. “Then I would know without a shadow of a doubt this was all a lie.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She broke free when he loosened his hold. “I can’t talk to you when you’re like this. I’ll come back tomorrow. Paulie can take me to a hotel in town.”

  Sam made the door in two large strides, closing it in front of her. “You’re not going to any hotel. We’ll talk now.”

  “Why are you acting like this? What did Dante say to you?”

  “What you never did. Cover Boy opened my eyes, princess.” Sam saw the scared expression overpower her face and wished he could take his previous actions back, but he couldn’t. He was still hurting from a betrayal he’d never saw coming. Putting himself between her and the door, he wasn’t going to let her go until he heard the truth from her sweet lips. “Why the hell did you keep her from me?”

  “What?”

  “Don’t play dumb, Kate. You’ve kept our daughter from me for five years.”

  Her hand flew to cover her mouth. “Sam, I--”

  “Don’t say you’re sorry. You had plenty of opportunity.”

  Her eyes seemed to glass over as she spoke. “It, it wasn’t that easy. You were with Robin.”

  “You still should have told me.” His voice echoed within the thin walls of the trailer.

  “I couldn’t!” she yelled back. “I wasn’t completely sure. You know I’d been late before. I wanted us to work things out.” She paused, stepping over broken glass to cross the tiny room.

  “I’ve already told you I wanted to work things out. Robin was fully aware of how I felt about the situation and about you.”

  “But I didn’t know that at the time. When I came to your apartment to tell you I’d decided not to go to Italy, Robin came to the door and you were right behind her. It was apparent what you two had been doing.”

  Sam groaned as the memory of that fateful morning returned full force. He’d purposely hung all over Robin to make Kate jealous. He thought it had worked when she’d run off crying. Looking at her now, he felt like the biggest idiot alive. Glass crunched under his boots as he stepped behind her.

  “I wish I’d known.”

  She didn’t turn around. “Yeah, me too.”

  “So we both admit there was a huge misunderstanding. That still doesn’t explain the fact you never told me about the baby.”

  She spun around, and for a second she seemed startled at how close he was. “I needed to know you really loved me, that you’d want to be with me whether I was pregnant or not. I didn’t think you cared enough.”

  “I told you, I did care. I--”

  “Not at the time, Sam.” Her eyes looked to the floor. “By the time I felt comfortable enough to tell you my suspicions, I’d heard Robin was going to have your baby. I didn’t know how to handle it, so I left. I had to. I loved you too much to stay.”

  “So you found someone in Italy to be the baby’s father. That’s disgusting and so unlike you. Then again, maybe your true colors were coming out. You know, like father like daughter.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?” she spat, her eyes blazing. “You have no right to accuse me of something you know nothing about!”

  “Don’t be so naïve. You flew straight into the arms of some wealthy hot-shot who had more to offer, which is exactly what your father wanted.”

  “That’s not true. That’s not how it happened at all.” Kate’s eyes softened, and for a moment Sam wondered if she didn’t actually feel something for the Italian hot-shot after all.

  “I can’t believe you don’t see the part your father played in all of this. Then again, you are his little ‘princess.’ He must still walk on water to you.”

  “Daddy didn’t do anything. How dare you blame him?”

  “Open your eyes, Kate. He knew we had a major fight. He hated me from day one. Why do you think he never told you I kept calling? Why do you think he persuaded you to leave early? He probably blew a gasket when you told him I was the baby’s father.”

  “He didn’t know.”

  “Beautiful. All the better for him, huh? You not only saved yourself, but you saved dear daddy’s reputation, too. Quite noble of you.” Sam forced another salute with the now empty bottle.

  “Stop it.”

  “So let me get this straight,” he stroked his chin, “both Darling Daddy and GQ never knew the baby was mine.”

  Kate paced in front of him. “Dante was my roommate Francesca’s brother. We started out as friends and then it became more. He knew I was trying to get over ‘someone.’ He just didn’t know it was you. Knowing you and Robin were having a baby, I was devastated and knew we were over. I had to move on with my life, Sam. I was under so much stress I didn’t realize how late I really was. By the time I stopped denying it and confirmed it with a test, I’d been seriously seeing a bit of Dante, and w
e’d made love. I did tell him about the baby, but at that time I honestly didn’t know if it was yours or his. It was a moment of weakness, and I was scared.”

  “Please, I don’t need to know the sordid details.” Sam popped another beer, his eyes boring into hers. “You’d tell a total stranger about the baby before you’d tell the actual father. Amazing.”

  “I had to.” She stopped pacing. “I didn’t think I could do it on my own.”

  “Bull.” He drained the liquid quickly, heaving it to join its friends in pieces on the floor.

  Her voice trembled. “You don’t understand.”

  “You’re right, I don’t. Funny thing is...you were so angry with me for keeping you from her. Wasn’t it you who screamed about trust and how you could never trust me again? At least I never deceived you like this, Kate. I was protecting your health.”

  He grabbed the last beer from the cooler. He never thought he’d be having it out like this with her. Lucky for him all the beer made it possible to say the things he normally wouldn’t. “Sure, after you’d been at the house a while, I hoped you’d never want to leave. So yeah, maybe I had some hidden intentions. But looking out for you was always my number one.”

  “That was different.”

  “You weren’t doing it for me, Kate. That’s what’s different. You were doing it for yourself. And now my daughter’s life could be in danger, all because of the man who you chose to be her father.”

  “Dante has been nothing but a wonderful father to her. I needed security for my baby. I did what I had to do at that time, what any woman would have done. In truth, isn’t that what Robin did to you?” He glared at her, and she flinched. “I’m sorry.”

  “So am I. We could have been something.”

  Her voice sounded hopeful. “We still can.”

  “Security comes at a price for you, Kate. Are you ready to pay the cost with our daughter?” He waited while she stared blankly at him. “I didn’t think so.”

  “What are you saying?” The words left her full lips in a quiver.

  His voice took on a deep commanding tone. “I want her.”