Martin had said the same thing, and Damien has not expounded on it since I mentioned what Martin had said. Then, I forgot about it with everything else we were dealing with.
Before I have a chance to ask, he continues, “We allowed almost anything to go on sexually as long as the other consented. The picture he just sent is of me with multiple women, Cassandra included.”
I want to be sick as my mind tries to conjure up what was on the picture. I try to focus on the facts without getting any visuals.
“So, her sleeping with Martin wasn’t okay because you didn’t agree?” I have no idea why I even just blurted it out. My mind is officially on overload.
How could she have cheated if they had an open relationship? I just want to bleach the words with multiple women from my brain permanently.
He looks wretched from even having to tell me this.
“We had an open relationship, but it was explicit that we had to both be in agreement on sexual partners. I wasn’t informed of him.”
The bottom of my stomach starts to drop, but I get it under control.
This is more than I need to know.
I don’t have the details, but I knew he’d had a wild past. And I don’t want to know the nitty-gritty. No way. He’s right. We’ve given the crazy stalker more power than he’s ever deserved.
There’s one thing I need to make sure of though, and then I’m done with the details. “You don’t expect me to have this type of relationship with you eventually, do you?”
I immediately want to kick myself when I see his reaction. This is probably why I hadn’t asked any questions before about his past relationships. I never wanted to see this look on his face. We should have talked about all of this rather than sweeping it under the rug all this time. It doesn’t change my feelings for him, but we still should have talked about it.
“What the fuck? I’m not ever fucking sharing you, Alli! No one will ever touch you. Understand? I about lost my damn mind, knowing what every prick was thinking about you from those fucking photos of us kissing.”
He’s a little stressed out from everything, and I don’t want to escalate matters. He’s so possessive of me. He always has been.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know why I asked that. It’s just a lot to take in. I’m not going to say that it doesn’t make me sick to think of you in a very liberal relationship with someone else or with multiple people. It does. But as long as it truly is in the past and you love only me, I don’t care. I married you, past and all.”
Agitation clearly laces his voice as he responds, “Have I given you any indication that all that shit wasn’t in the past? What the hell do I have to do to convince you?”
I flinch as he finishes his last sentence.
Is he really serious? I cannot believe he’s getting irritated with me. We need to both chill out. Emotions are running way too high right now.
“All I needed was your reassurance, Damien. I wasn’t doubting you. This is just a lot to take in.”
“What the fuck? Are you serious?”
This is going nowhere, and he’s not being reasonable at this point. This reaction is not like him. It’s all the stress we’re dealing with. Before one of us says something we’ll regret, we need to cool off. Once something has been said out loud, it can never truly be forgotten or taken back.
My mother always said, Alli, sometimes the only way to stop an argument is to walk away.
Maybe, while he finishes getting ready, he’ll calm down. If I stay, we will both end up saying things that we don’t mean, and this argument will build into something that it’s not. I grab my platform gold shoes with silver sparkle heels and put them on.
“Where are you going?” He sounds even more irritated.
I’m definitely making the right decision to leave.
I reply in a monotone voice, so I don’t escalate this argument, “To join the party downstairs. I’ll have security stay with me. You’ve been in a foul mood for the last two weeks, and now, you’re trying to start something with me. We are both stressed, and we need to remember what’s important in all this. When you calm down, come join me.”
At this point, I’d rather be in that den of wolves than dealing with his mood.
“Alli…”
His censoring tone only confirms my actions.
Raising my hand, I respond as I walk to the door, “Don’t—not now. We both need to step away before this gets out of control. Just think about all the shit I have had to put up with and then think about how you responded to my statement. If my past kept creeping up into our present, I would imagine something very similar coming from you. In fact, I would imagine a much stronger reaction from you, considering how you react to even talking about a hypothetical partner in my past. I’ll see you downstairs. I will be smiling as if nothing is wrong. I won’t take our problems out in public. We just need a little space.”
I walk out of the room as he calls my name one more time. My heart hurts because I have never walked out on Damien like that. With everything that is going on, we both need some distance right now to get some perspective even if it’s only for five minutes. It’s our first fight since we’ve been married, and it leaves me feeling a little hollow.
When I get to the bottom level of the staircase, I decide to go left versus joining the party to the right. I don’t know where I’m going, but I need a moment to myself to gather my thoughts before I face his parents. Two security guards are right behind me. A waiter swings by me, and I grab a glass of champagne.
My heart is beating so quickly as if it’s humming at what just happened. My insides are all jumpy. I hate that we had to have our first disagreement at his parents’ house of all places.
Making my way to what appears to be a conservatory, I stare out into the night to calm my nerves. It truly is beautiful, looking out at the lit pool and gazebo. I see the pool house off to the left and remember the story Damien told me about the night Rebecca disappeared. From what he’s told me, I don’t think he’s gone back over there since that night.
“Please tell me that you are here alone.”
I turn to look at the man talking to me in a European accent. I am momentarily taken aback by this good-looking stranger with wavy dark brown hair, emerald eyes, tanned skinned, and a very well-built body. I raise my hand and show him I’m married. Security moves within a few feet of me.
“No, I’m here with my husband.”
I turn back to gaze into the backyard, hoping to be left alone while praying he’s not here because of The Kiss. That would be like the icing on the cake to how my night is going. One signal of my hand, and security will escort this guy out of here.
“Well, he should never leave you alone.”
His accent is like a caress, and I just want to hear him speak more. I’m not necessarily attracted to him like that, but he does have a beautiful voice.
I need to stop this before he goes any further.
When I go to speak, he cuts me off, “Allison, I have a message for you, and it’s time-sensitive.”
My eyes immediately snap to his.
“Shake my hand, like we are meeting and exchanging names.”
I do as I am told.
He smiles at me and continues, “Be in the pool house within five minutes. Alone. Someone has a message for you.”
Smiling, I say, “Thank you. It was nice meeting you.”
When the air changes and zings to life, I know my love is near. I’m still irritated with him, but I’m glad he’s arrived.
Immediately, Damien’s hand possessively goes around my waist as he secures me to him. “Chris, I see you’ve met my wife, Allison.”
Chris eyes Damien coolly as he sips his champagne. “Wales, it’s been a while. Yes, I did. She’s quite enchanting. You’re a lucky bastard. I was giving her a message from a mutual friend.”
Damien immediately stiffens and pulls me closer at Chris’s words, knowing that it’s Martin reaching out to me.
Chris w
alks off, and I start to pull away, needing to go to the pool house. I’m about to let him know about my plans when he pulls my back to his front.
He speaks low, almost a growl, in my ear, “Where the hell are you going?”
We are both still strung so tight from our earlier disagreement.
“To the pool house. I have less than five minutes to get out there.”
He grabs my waist and starts to usher me out the door.
“Damien, I have to go alone.”
“Alli, you’re not going there alone. There’s a chance that the bastard after you is here, and there’s no way in hell you are going into a building that isn’t secured before you enter it. I understand you’re upset with me, but stop being unreasonable.”
Unreasonable? Me? Really?
Our tempers are both flaring. He has a point. I know he does. I take a deep breath as he escorts me quickly around the pool in the shadows. If anyone sees us, they’ll probably think we are headed off for a little quickie. When Damien reaches for the door, I see only a moment of hesitation before he opens it, and we enter the room. The house is dark.
Damien goes to reach for the light switch when a familiar voice sounds from the dark.
Martin says, “Leave it off. Let’s go to the back laundry room, and we’ll turn on the lights.”
Immediately, I move closer to Damien, not caring how irritated I am at him currently. He’s still my safe place. I follow quietly as I grip Damien’s arm for dear life. We make our way through the room, and I hit a table with my hip.
“Ouch!”
Before I know it, I’m being picked up in Damien’s arms, and he carries me through the house in total darkness to the back. Just being in his arms again has me regretting us getting so mad at each other.
The door closes, and the light flicks on, which temporarily blinds me after being in the total dark. Damien sets me down and places me behind his body. I grab on to the back of his shirt because I need the contact.
We are in the laundry room. It’s small and cramped, and I just want to get this over with.
Oh geez, this could go either way.
Last time Damien saw Martin, he had a gun to my head. Both men seem stressed and on edge, standing erect and ready to react.
Taking a deep breath, Martin braces himself near the back door. He looks somewhat relaxed, but his hand on the back doorknob tells me he could bolt at any time. He always seems to have a backup plan. He’s changed his hair to a coal black this time, and it doesn’t go with his complexion.
“Allison was supposed to come alone.”
Damien changes his stance to almost obscure me entirely from Martin’s view. “Cut the shit, Martin. I couldn’t let her come out here like that. The motherfucker is probably here. He sent Alli another envelope this evening. I’m not taking that chance with her, especially on such an impromptu meeting where I cannot be absolutely certain she’ll be safe.”
They both stand there in a standoff for a moment.
Finally, Martin nods. “I wouldn’t put her in harms way. Fine. Wales, I’m warning you—do not try anything.”
Damien puts up his hands. “Martin, I just want to find this guy and protect Alli.”
He examines Damien and nods again.
I guess with their long history it’s easy to call bullshit on each other.
Martin relaxes his hold on the handle. “I assume Allison has told you everything we have discussed, and you found out about Rebecca being pregnant.”
I can hear the hurt in Martin’s voice, and I think Damien notices it, too, because his position relaxes some.
“Yes, and I also discovered how my parents paid off the father of the baby, who is probably the killer. Bane was able to find all this after getting into town.”
I flinch a little bit at the venom he uses as he restates what we found out since arriving in North Carolina.
Martin blanches for a second. “I never liked your asshole parents.”
I step partway from behind Damien until my progress is halted with his hand. I guess he doesn’t trust Martin yet. And Martin loves to agitate Damien about me.
Martin takes advantage of the situation by saying, “Oh, darling, you look dashing as ever. I wish your husband had decided to stay outside, so we could have had some alone time, like last time we were together.”
Damien goes to move, and I grab his waist.
I give Martin a warning look. “Martin, stop it. We don’t have much time. We have more important things to focus on than you trying to goad my husband about me. You and I both know that this is an act.”
I’m calling his bluff as he looks at me, amused.
Bingo. I am right.
It’s time to get us back on track. I’m tired of all this grade-school drama between them.
“So, what happens after we read the diary?” I ask.
“Did you find the diary yet?” Martin asks.
Damien is beginning to relax again. “No, Bane hasn’t been able to search her room with the party going on.”
Martin nods and continues on, “She wrote in it all the time toward the end. I think you’ll find it very enlightening.”
“How did you know she was pregnant and about the diary?”
The room grows solemn as the two men reflect on Damien’s question.
Martin replies without an ounce of hostility in him, “When we were talking one night, she told me that she had gotten drunk about a month before and had made a terrible decision. When I tried to get more out of her, she said that she would tell me when she figured out everything, but her journaling was helping her work through it.” His eyes flash to Damien. “She would’ve talked to you if you hadn’t been so self-absorbed with your own problems.”
The fight leaves Damien as he responds, “Martin, for what it’s worth, I’m sorry I wasn’t there when I should have been. I know Becky deserved better from her brother.”
I look at Damien. I’m a little shocked. That was unexpected.
Martin’s taken aback by Damien’s statement also. He responds, “For what it’s worth, me, too.” Martin runs his hand through his hair, obviously uncomfortable with where this conversation has gone.
Guys and expressing their feelings.
Refocusing on the task at hand, Martin looks at me. “You’re going to need her diary and her yearbook to piece this next part together. Allison, you need to be very careful.” Martin turns his eyes to Damien. “You’re about to find out the truth when you piece this last bit together. Allison is about to be in more danger than she’s been in yet. The killer is about to get desperate, Wales. He has his eyes set on her, like he did with Rebecca.”
A shiver runs down me at his warning.
Damien briefly looks at me before returning his attention back to Martin. “Martin, can you just tell me who the fuck it is? I need to keep Alli safe.”
“Wales, I wish I could. If I tell you now, we won’t have anything to hold him with. I’ll take the fall, and he will more than likely end up hurting Allison. He’s got to lose control enough to get out in the open and get caught. Allison will be in danger for the rest of her life if we don’t do this right. He’s getting more and more careless. I’ve been keeping tabs on him. He’s been watching you since you arrived. If he knew you were getting as close as you are, he would probably go ahead and put whatever plan he has into action. I don’t know what he has planned, except he wants your wife. I think he still thinks he’s in the clear with all the heat on me.”
My head hurts from thinking that the killer has been watching our every move all along. I want to go home.
Speaking up, I ask, “Why me?” My voice cracks at the end. I am so tired of being scared.
Damien instinctively wraps his arms around me.
I can hear the sympathy in Martin’s voice when he responds, “Allison, I honestly don’t know how it all started.”
Damien asks, “What do you think the reason is?”
Martin turns his attention back to Damien, but I
can tell he’s about to deliver another blow.
He continues to speak to me, “The only explanation I can think of for why he started targeting Alli is because she’s the most like Rebecca out of all the women you’ve fucked through the years.”
I flinch at his words, and I can feel Damien tense as he holds me. This is so not the night to bring up that subject again. Hoping to calm Damien, I put my hand on his arm that’s wrapped around my waist.
I decide to intercede because I do not want a blowup between these two. My nerves cannot take it right now. “Please, Martin, not now. It’s been a long day.”
He looks at me long and hard for one second and nods. Then, Martin turns back to Damien. “Do you understand what I’m saying you need to do? I need to get going.”
Rubbing his forehead with his free arm, Damien answers, “Yes.”
Martin says, “You’re going to have to get him desperate for Allison. The moment he feels like he’s lost her, he will come after her. Keep your security on her tighter than before. Oh, and you better look a little mussed-up for the cameras when you leave this place. Photographers should be out at the pool in five for this little tip-off as proof to him that you were here in the heat of the moment.”
I groan in irritation at Martin, and he smiles at me.
Bastard.
“Oh, Allison, your football field kiss got you much more publicity than my doctor stunt. You’re quite the exhibitionist in the thralls of passion.”
I hear a growl emit from Damien, and I want to die of embarrassment. Before we have a chance to say anything, Martin slips a ball cap on, turns off the light, and slips out of the door.
As soon as the door is closed, Damien turns on the light again. We both give each other some space, our earlier irritation from the conversation in his childhood bedroom coming back.
“Alli, you should never walk out on us, like you did.”
“Damien, I was giving us space. Security was with me, so I was safe. You were not thinking clearly. You’ve been on edge, and the photo sent by the crazy person had you overreacting to everything. I shouldn’t have asked if you expected that from me. I knew the answer. My question just came bubbling to the surface, and I had to ask. I also know you are out of the past, and I didn’t mean to come across as thinking that you weren’t. All I said is that it doesn’t matter if it is truly in the past because I married you, knowing you had one.”
Love Me (Trust Series #2) Page 21