“Are you telling me you didn’t know it was stolen?” Ella asked, ignoring the policeman beside her. “What about after I was mugged? You didn’t think to tell me then? Or when my room was ransacked and I called you first chance I got? Or what about when I offered to give it back to you?” Ella asked, stepping into Angie’s personal space. “How could you make me a target?” she asked, horrified when tears popped into her eyes.
For the first time since she’d known her, Angie was speechless. “Ma’am? Let’s go.” Her cop tugged on her arm, pulling her away from Ella.
She exhaled a long breath, not feeling particularly satisfied as, of course, Angie hadn’t incriminated herself.
And then, just as she turned to go home, she heard a man’s voice. “That’s her!”
Ella pivoted. The guy with dark hair who’d been watching her when she was shopping in Miami stood, handcuffed and accompanied by an officer. But he was looking at Angie. “That’s the original buyer.”
And somehow, Ella had her confirmation. She’d been set up by a woman she’d trusted.
The other uniformed cop led a silent, stone-faced Angie away, while the guy who’d stalked her had already been removed from the room.
“Come on, sweet girl. Let’s go home.” Tyler urged her toward the door with a hand around her waist.
“Wait. Officer DeCarlo?” She turned toward him.
“Yes?” he asked.
“Will she go to jail?” Ella asked.
He ran a hand through his cropped hair and shrugged. “To be frank? It’s a clusterfuck. We’ve got the guy on attempted robbery and a few other things here, but your boss? The theft took place outside the U.S. We’ll call in the Feds. Sorry I can’t be more helpful.”
Ella shook her head. “You told me what I needed to know. Thank you.”
“There’s an officer waiting outside to follow you home for the necklace,” he said.
She nodded. “I’m ready,” she said to Tyler.
As he escorted her out of the police station, she thought back to this morning, when she’d believed her life was already complicated. Now? She had all those things plus she now had no job.
Chapter Twelve
Tyler woke up at his usual time, ready for work. He expected to find Ella fast asleep, since he usually needed to wake her up. She wasn’t a morning person, and it’d taken awhile, but eventually he’d discovered the best way to rouse her was with sensual, slow kisses all over her body. He looked forward to those wake-ups and was surprised, after yesterday’s excitement, that she’d woken up on her own.
He rolled over, climbed out of bed, and made his way to the kitchen, hoping to find her there. He discovered her sitting at the table, drinking a cup of coffee … with her packed suitcase waiting against the wall.
His stomach dropped at the unexpected sight. “Going somewhere?” he asked, barely recognizing his own voice.
He understood the threat against her was over, but after all they’d been through together, he’d figured she’d at least talk to him first. Instead, she’d sucker-punched him, and he deserved better.
“I just thought, since whoever was after me has been arrested, that it was time to go home.” She placed her mug on the table and rose to her feet.
With her dressed in jeans and a tee shirt and him in his boxer-briefs, he felt at a distinct disadvantage during this conversation. Or, he thought, maybe it was an advantage.
He wasn’t going to let her go without a fight and met her halfway across the room. “Ella—”
Before he could gather his thoughts, she spoke. “I don’t want to go, Tyler. I have to,” she said, looking up at him with sad eyes.
His finger drifted down her cheek. “Explain. Because I didn’t ask you to leave.” He didn’t want her to go.
She bit down on her trembling lower lip before she drew a deep breath and began to explain. “You said you loved me and—”
“It scared you.” He cursed himself for letting that slip, jumping the gun on admitting his feelings.
“No. It was everything I ever wanted to hear, but…”
His heart beat faster with her initial words, then slowed to a stop with that one damned word. “But what?”
“I’m not ready.” She stepped away from him, as if she needed space, and he respected her wishes, remaining in place.
Even though she was shattering his heart with every word. “What will make you ready?” he asked, grabbing on to the back of the nearest chair.
“You have your life all figured out. Your professional life as well as your personal one. You confronted your demons when you dealt with your father, and I haven’t done the same thing. I don’t know how to give you what you deserve when I’m distrustful of anything good and lasting in my life.”
He stepped forward, breaching the distance between them, and grabbed her around the waist. If there ever was a time to use any advantage, this was it. He pulled her against him, aligning their bodies, allowing her to feel how much he desired her and always would.
“What makes you so sure seeing your father again will fix whatever you think is lacking inside you?”
She lifted her hands, let them hover in the air before finally letting them rest on his chest, her cool touch branding his skin. “I don’t know that it will,” she admitted, fitting herself against him, and he pulled her into a tight embrace.
His heart beat heavily against his chest, the fear of losing her winding its way through his veins until he grew cold. Panicked.
But if there was one thing he knew, he couldn’t force her to stay. He had to hope she came to terms with her demons and returned to him on her own.
He kissed the top of her head and released her.
She stumbled back, surprised. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m doing what you asked,” he said, forcing the words out from the darkest part of his soul. “I’m letting you go.”
He prayed he wasn’t making the biggest mistake of his life. But he wanted all of Ella, unconditionally, and the only way she could give him that was to make peace with her own past—even though it killed him to let her walk out his door.
* * *
Word spread among the Dare siblings that Tyler needed a guys’ night out. He had no doubt Avery was the source of the rumor. Who else would know that Ella had returned home and informed the rest of the clan?
So despite his mood, he found himself at Emilio’s with his brothers, staring at delicious-smelling Italian food at Ian’s favorite restaurant. His brothers ate like they hadn’t been fed in a year, inhaling pasta and chicken parmigiana, while Tyler focused on his third scotch of the evening.
Tyler merely watched the two of them with some level of amusement. Not much considering his mood.
“I can’t believe you finished the chicken,” Ian said to Scott, who was reaching for the utensils to give himself more pasta.
“Touch that ziti and I’ll stab you with my fork,” Ian said. “Leave some for me.”
Scott scowled at him, not moving his hand. “You already ate double what I ate.”
“How do your wives put up with you?” Tyler asked.
At that, Ian focused on Tyler and pinned him with a glare. “Riley loves me.”
And while Ian was looking at Tyler, Scott stole what was left of the dish, stabbing the vegetable with his fork and landing it on his plate.
“Fuck,” Ian muttered and gestured for the waiter, ordering another main course of chicken parm. “That’s for you,” he said, pointing to Tyler. “You need to eat,” he said, acting like the head of the family he’d been for years.
“He’s right,” Scott said. “Starving won’t bring Ella back.”
It was Tyler’s turn to scowl. “We’re not discussing her.”
Ian cocked his head to one side. “We wouldn’t have to if you’d done what I told Alex once.”
“What would that be?” Tyler was sorry he asked before he even finished the sentence.
With a shrug, Ian said, “A little bondag
e wouldn’t hurt. Tie her to the bed until she accepts who’s boss.” A smirk lifted the corners of his brother’s mouth just as Tyler and Scott both let out a loud chuckle.
“What’s so funny?”
“You might have been in charge once upon a time, but we all know Riley wears the pants in the family,” Tyler said through laughter he hadn’t thought he was capable of minutes earlier.
Damn, but he loved his family. They’d left their spouses to make sure he was okay and took his mind off his problems.
“The day you tie Riley up and tell her what to do, I’ll—”
“I’d cool it if I were you. You do not want to discuss my sex life,” Ian said.
Tyler rolled his eyes. “I sure as hell don’t.” Not when he wasn’t getting any and wouldn’t for who knew how long.
“Me neither.”
“Well, then. That’s settled.” Ian placed his fork onto the table and took a long sip of his own drink, which matched Tyler’s. “How about we discuss the fact that you let your woman walk out the door?”
A slow-building throb began in Tyler’s temple. “Really? We’re going there?”
“Well, she went to visit her father in prison, so would you like to begin there instead?” Scott asked.
The pounding in Tyler’s head turned into a full-fledged stabbing pain. Somehow, between her shocking him with the announcement that she was leaving and dealing with letting her go, he’d forgotten she’d had that letter to deal with.
“When? And how the fuck do you know?” he asked, glaring at Scott. Even if he was grateful, no need to let the smug bastard know it.
He shrugged. “Avery called Meg to ask how her nephew is doing, and she mentioned it. She left tonight so she could stay over at a motel and be there first thing in the morning.”
“Where?” Tyler barked out.
“Sorry, man. I don’t know and neither does Meg.” Scott gave him a sympathetic look as he answered. “And before you kill me, I found out on the way over here when she called me and told me. It’s a done deal. You’ll have to wait until she gets back to talk to her.”
Tyler rubbed at his temples, his emotions close to bubbling over.
“How is Cole?” Ian asked Scott, correctly guessing Tyler did not want to continue the conversation about Ella in any way.
He had too much to think about on his own. And as his brothers discussed Meg’s breastfeeding, baby Cole’s diapers, and Ian’s daughter’s tantrums, somehow, Tyler formulated a plan.
He wasn’t sure if Ella would appreciate it, but he couldn’t live with himself if he didn’t execute it with the precision of a well-run operation worthy of his days in the Army.
* * *
Ella thought back on how things with Tyler had ended. He’d let her go much more easily than she’d thought he would … and Ella wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Grateful that he’d respected her wishes? Hurt that he hadn’t argued? Surprised? All of the above, she thought, but she was unable to deny he’d given her what she’d said she needed. And something told her he always would.
Which didn’t change the fact that she was alone in her apartment just as she’d wanted—and miserable without Tyler. It had hurt to leave him, but if they were going to make it as a couple over the long term, she had to take the necessary steps to get her life together and put her past behind her.
She slept alone in her double bed, rolling over, reaching for Tyler in the middle of the night, only to wake up in a dark room on the wrong side of her small mattress. His bedroom had a roomy king, not that they’d used it. They’d usually slept wrapped around one another in the middle of his bed. She didn’t even mind the body heat he’d generated because he’d been there, by her side.
He’d taken care of her, looked out for her, and she liked to think she’d done the same for him. Or at least she’d tried to be there when he’d needed her, when Olivia was in distress and when he’d had to deal with his father’s unexpected appearance. She hoped it was enough for him to know how much she cared, even if she couldn’t be with him now.
The following morning arrived, leaving her exhausted from very little sleep. And when she attempted to eat breakfast, she remembered her refrigerator was empty, which meant she’d visit the supermarket, a chore she hated, but which hadn’t been so awful when she’d gone with Tyler. She had plenty of time to browse the aisles … seeing as how she was unemployed.
Another thing she did over the few days, calling around to contacts in the business and putting out feelers indicating she was looking for employment. She didn’t have any immediate luck in the job search, but the Miami fashion industry was small, and she let the right people know she was interested. She just didn’t know how long it would take to find a new job.
Good thing she had a nest egg in her savings account, she thought. She wasn’t a big spender, her childhood having taught her the value of being careful with her money.
She also counted her blessings that the police had merely confiscated the necklace Angie had given her to hold, instead of arresting her for possession of stolen property. Thanks to the man they’d arrested recognizing Angie and the resulting confession when her boss had broken down in custody, the cops had all the evidence they needed. Officer DeCarlo had called her early this morning to fill her in and thank her for her willingness to cooperate.
To her surprise, he’d asked her out. She couldn’t believe it. One minute he was telling her not to leave town, and the next, he was asking her on a date. But she wasn’t a free agent, no matter that she’d left Tyler behind. She was a woman in need of freeing herself.
Her cell phone rang, and the name of the prison showed on the screen. She answered and was informed she was approved for expedited visitation, and the person told her she should come soon, indicating, without saying as much, her father didn’t have much time left.
Her throat filled, and her eyes watered at the finality of it all. She grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down the hours again, just to be sure she didn’t forget.
The trip would take her five hours there and five back, so she’d have to stay overnight. On her laptop, she then looked into motels in the area and made a reservation, deciding to leave by three p.m. today.
The drive was long and boring, with too much time to think, but the motel wasn’t bad as motels went. And she managed to sleep a few fitful hours.
Come morning, she dressed in a subdued outfit to match her mood. Tan pants and a white collared shirt, buttoned up, little makeup, no jewelry, so she felt comfortable no matter who she ran into at the prison. She pulled her hair into a low ponytail and secured it with a hair tie.
She hadn’t seen her father since she was a teenager, and she wasn’t sure what to expect today, especially since he’d said he had cancer and she’d been encouraged to rush her visit.
How progressed was his illness? How frail and sick did he look? Her stomach flipped with nerves, and she couldn’t manage to eat breakfast. Not even a cup of coffee for courage. Instead, she tossed a protein bar in her purse for later, grabbed her keys, and headed out.
She approached the prison. The barbed wire made her stomach cramp, and she gripped the steering wheel harder. A guard verified her at the gate, and she went through the process, numb as she was scanned and patted down, her small purse emptied out and thoroughly checked.
A little while later, she was escorted down bare, gray cinderblock halls, toward what she was told was an infirmary.
The guard paused outside a locked door with a small window. She glanced inside, catching sight of an inmate lying in a hospital bed. He was bald, his coloring gray, and he was so frail. He turned his head. She knew he couldn’t see her—yet—but she was taken aback. Because although she recognized the man in the bed as her father, after the split second of identification, she realized she didn’t know him at all.
“Ready?” the guard asked.
As she’d ever be, she thought, and nodded. He unlocked the door, the sound of the deadbolt reverberating around an
d inside her. He opened the door and gestured for her to walk inside.
He accompanied her, standing by the wall, his gaze never wavering.
Her father’s gaze, watery and sad, locked with hers, and she walked slowly over to the bed. “Hi,” she said, having a hard time finding her voice. A harder time calling him Dad.
“Hi, princess.”
She flinched at the childhood name she hadn’t heard in … what felt like forever. Not since before he’d remarried.
“Thank you for coming.”
She managed a nod. “I’m sorry you’re sick.”
His lips thinned into a line. “It’s nothing more or less than what I deserve. For what I did, not just for driving drunk and killing that poor man, but for what I did to you.”
Her throat was too full to speak, so she merely shook her head, gathering her composure and ability to talk. She cleared her throat. “You don’t…” She swallowed hard. “I forgive you,” she said, knowing it was true.
And the reason was, this man wasn’t her father. The man who’d married a cold, unlovable woman wasn’t her daddy. Nor was the man who’d begged his ten-year-old to give bone marrow to his wife. And what had come after? That broken shell of a man wasn’t the man who’d loved her so hard or so well.
He’d died the day he’d married Janice in order to forget the pain of losing his wife.
“Ella, I—”
“No. Don’t say anything. Please.” She didn’t want to hear it. Didn’t want to relive anything or remember the past. “Let forgiveness be enough.”
She reached out for his worn, leathery hand. Sadness filled her, but oddly she didn’t feel the loss the way she’d thought she would. She’d already grieved, mourned, lived with the emptiness her entire life.
“Thank you,” he said.
She nodded, not letting go. She sat with him until he fell asleep, then watched him for a while more.
Finally she rose to her feet. And with one last glance, she nodded to the guard and headed home.
* * *
It wasn’t easy for Tyler to sit back and wait for Ella to return from her visit to her father. Everything in him wanted to head to the prison and be there when she faced him in person. Unfortunately, he knew better than to make the trip. He didn’t know where she was staying, and he couldn’t get into the penitentiary, but he had the resources to take care of all those things. But the more rational side of his brain prevailed, reminding him that Ella wouldn’t appreciate his interference.
Dare to Take (Dare to Love #6) Page 16