by Dani René
And now, I’m on the run.
My body turns to ice as my mouth falls open in shock. Elian’s dad. Does that mean he knows who I am? I know he mentioned his dad was killed, but he never explained anything more than that, and each time I do ask him anything, he changes the topic. My chest tightens with fear and confusion. If he knows who I am, he could hurt me. But then again, it’s been almost a month since we’ve been intimate, and he hasn’t done anything to make me feel as if I’m in danger.
Nothing makes sense.
My phone buzzes on the nightstand, and from my viewpoint, I can see his name flashing on my screen. My hand hovers over the device, and I consider my options. But in the end, I leave it to ring and pick up my father’s letter once more.
I needed to stay hidden for some time to put everything in place to ensure you’re not going to be pulled into the middle of this. That’s done now. Midge will give you everything when the time is right.
It’s time for me to do the right thing. Once they find me, they will kill me. I will give myself up because I’m guilty, but I needed you to know who I am before I take my final breath.
I’m no hero.
I’m not at all a good father, but I want you to know I love you. I’ve always loved you.
Whatever comes now is something I deserve. But I want you safe. Promise me you’ll stay safe no matter what. Don’t trust easily, because when you allow your heart to fall, your life will only follow along.
Please, Princess, be careful.
All my love,
Dad
My phone vibrates again, this time with a message, but everything is blurry as the tears I’d been holding back for so long rush down my cheeks. I’m about to pick up the device from my nightstand when my bedroom door flings open, and on the threshold is the man who’s toyed with my body, played with my heart, and could most probably kill me because of my father.
“I’ve been trying to contact you,” Elian tells me, his voice rigid, filled with something akin to fear, which makes no sense. Why would he be afraid? “We need to talk.”
“You knew,” I tell him as I push off the bed to stand. “You knew the letter I got is from my father.” Anxious energy skitters through me as he inches forward. We’re alone in the house; I know Aunt Midge isn’t home. “How did you get in here?”
“Are you sure you want an answer to that?” he questions with an arched brow.
Probably not is my silent answer, but then I voice my response, “You knew who I was all this time.” I fist my hands to stop them from shaking and hide them from his gaze, but Elian notices the movement.
“I did.” He takes another step deeper into the bedroom, and I instinctively move back, slamming into the nightstand, which shatters the silence. Even though I’m sure he won’t do anything to me, I still feel anxiety coil in my stomach.
“You haven’t hurt me.”
He shakes his head, dropping his stare to the carpet for a long while as if he’s considering his response. But then he lifts his eyes to meet mine. “I can’t.”
“Why?” It’s probably a stupid question to ask, but I can’t stop myself from voicing it. I need to know what his intentions are because if he is here to kill me, I’d rather he get it over with.
“I wanted revenge for so long,” Elian admits before settling on the small stool at my vanity. “I spent years waiting for the right moment, and when your mother came to me, I made a deal and got you, I thought I could make you hurt as much as your father hurt me.”
“Deal? What deal, Elian?” This time, I’m the one moving toward him. I’m not sure how to feel at his admission. One part of me wants to know, and the other part, that stupid bitch wants to hide all the shit and fall into his arms.
Elian shrugs. “Pandora came to me three months ago, asking for my help to kill your father. Her anger and hatred at his cheating had her contacting me. She found me through your father’s contacts. When she came to me, she asked me to put a bullet between his eyes, but in the interim, Senator Adam Davenport disappeared. My revenge ran deep, Arabella. Your dad killed mine.”
“How could you even know that?”
“Your dad and mine were working together for a long while. But then your father decided to pull out of a deal with my dad. The thing is, my father’s organization doesn’t allow people to just walk away and live to tell the tale. I just didn’t think Adam would fake his own death, send you over the edge, and that’s how you’d get here.”
I know Dad wasn’t the best man in the world and he did things behind closed doors, but his admission has now been confirmed. Dad sat me down not long before his death and told me he wanted me to attend Black Mountain Academy. And that’s what sparked a number of events that led me here.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“What?” Elian chuckles. “That I wanted revenge for your father killing mine? Or perhaps that the moment I fucked you in my bedroom that first night, every thought of revenge went out the fucking window?”
My mouth falls open at his admission. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but that was most definitely not it. Yes, I wanted Elian to tell me why, to explain what’s going on, but I didn’t expect him to talk about us like that.
“This was a game to you.” My voice cracks as the realization hits me right in the gut. All this time, I was falling for a liar. He’s just as bad as my father. The men in my life have acted like heroes. It turns out they’re anything but.
“It was.” Elian nods, pushing to his feet, he stalks to the window close to me. His hands snake into the pockets of his slacks, and it’s only then I realize he looks like he’s dressed for a party. A crisp white button-up, along with the small, black bowtie, and a pair of shiny, black shoes complete his outfit. “I wanted to break you.”
For a long time, I consider his admission. His words, the truth finally spilling free, hits me in the chest. An arrow right to my heart. I swallow past the lump in my throat, and I finally find the words. “You did.”
His head drops, and from this angle, he looks like a broken man. He doesn’t look like the strong, foreboding teacher who rules his classroom with authority. He also doesn’t look like the man who made my body sing under his touch and tremble beneath his control.
“I want to mend you,” he admits after a long silence. “I want to put you back together, mold you for me. I’ve craved you since the first taste, since the moment I laid eyes on you.” He turns his head toward me, blue locking on gray. “I’ve ached for you every night we haven’t been together. You were made for me, Arabella.”
I shake my head slowly. “This can never work.” I can’t be with a man who did what he did. He lied to me, hid his demons from me when he drew mine out into the light. He knew everything about me while he kept his sordid secrets. “What else is there? Are you still hiding something?”
“I met with your mother last night, well … I met with the man who’d been watching you.” I drop into the chair at the window where I’m standing because my knees can no longer hold me. “I hired him to scare you, and I thought perhaps he would push you closer to calling your father. I didn’t know you thought your father was really dead.”
“My rapist. You had the man who violated me when I was younger stalk me?” My voice cracks, the pain of his admission breaking through my strength, and I can’t pull in breaths.
“I didn’t know he’d done that. Of course, he didn’t admit it until last night when I killed him. It turns out your mother had told him to kick things up a notch. Which led to your underwear drawer being violated.” Elian moves closer to me, his cologne engulfing me as he crouches down in front of me. His hands on either arm of the chair, but he doesn’t touch me. He’s close enough, but he doesn’t make contact, which I’m thankful for. “I never meant to hurt you in that way.” The raw honesty in his voice, in his eyes, steals my words.
The moment I blink, tears trickle down my cheeks. “You … I was just a deal to you. Nothing … Everything we’ve done. All this b
ullshit was all lies!” I shove at him, causing him to stumble backward. But Elian straightens, standing to his full height as I push off the chair and my small fists slam into his chest. “Fuck you! Fuck you!”
Tears stream down my cheeks as my heart breaks, and my throat closes from screaming so loudly. My vision is dimming around me, and all I see are those fucking blue eyes.
“We’re done! Do you hear me? We are done!”
“My little deviant,” he says, the corner of his mouth tilting into a sardonic smirk as he allows me to punch him in the chest. “You think you can walk away from me…” Elian shakes his head. “There’s no escaping what we are.”
“It’s as easy as saying it’s over now,” I insist, but even as I utter the words, I don’t believe them. I push away from him, standing at the window, leaning against the cool glass, but nothing can calm my erratic, shattering heart.
Elian stares at me. With seemingly controlled steps, he eats up the distance between us and stops a hair’s breadth away from me. He’s so close I can feel his heat. I can smell the masculine scent I’ve come to love, and he leans in so his mouth is feathering along mine.
“Nothing between us can ever be over. You might think it is, but I don’t lose.”
“This time, you did,” I bite out, trying to fight off the need to fall into his arms. The thought of my father sending out an order to have Elian’s dad murdered breaks my heart. But Elian could’ve told me the truth.
“I’m not giving up, Arabella. Ever.” He presses his lips against mine for just a second before he pulls away and stalks off, leaving me shivering from the cold of his absence.
35
Ahren
He’s going to be fucking angry when he walks in here. I settle into the wingback chair and wait. My ankle resting on the opposite knee, I sip the bourbon from one of his finest tumblers and think about everything he told me.
Killing Arabella’s mother won’t go down well, but I have a feeling she’s going to hate him because he didn’t tell her the truth. She wasn’t close to her mother, that was apparent. But the fact that my brother didn’t consult me on his little plan doesn’t sit well with me.
I should wait to give him shit about it, but I can’t. I’ve kept my own secrets he won’t like, so I can’t blame him. The buzzer sounds, which has me on my feet. Confusion settles when I make my way to the door to find her at the entrance. The girl I had bouncing on my dick for months before Elian and I took her to my room one night. I’d filmed her while my brother watched from the corner like a voyeur.
“What are you doing here?”
Big hazel eyes lock on mine. Regan’s grin turns sinister when she pushes by me, stalking into Elian’s house. When he arrives, he’s going to lose his shit. I follow her into the living room where she perches her ass on the sofa.
“You have to leave,” I bite out.
“I’m not going anywhere until he gives me the video.” She looks like she’s about to set out demands when she pulls a phone from her pocket and slides it across the table toward me. “I have something to barter with.”
Picking it up, I take in the photo, still unsure where she’s going with this. I recognize the man immediately, but I’m not sure why she’s got a photo of Adam Davenport on her phone.
“Elian’s not going to give a shit about your lies.” I toss the phone at Regan, and it bounces on the cushions beside her.
She sits back, her smile only broader as she regards me. “You were always more fun than your brother,” she informs me. “What happened to you, Ahren?”
Folding my arms across my chest, I narrow my eyes, wondering what she’s playing at, but I respond anyway. “I grew up. Now leave.”
“Like I said, I’m not going anywhere without that video.”
“What’s going on?” Elian’s voice comes from behind me, and I find him standing at the threshold of the room. The moment I step aside, his gaze turns to rage. “What the fuck are you doing in my house?”
“I want the video.”
“That video is to ensure you didn’t come back. Seems like I need to post it all over the fucking internet since you broke the agreement.” His words are cold, drenched in anger as he stops beside me.
“I’ve brought something for you though. In exchange for the video, I can give you something you’ve wanted for a long while,” Regan says, pushing to her feet as she stalks toward Elian.
“What could you have that I would possibly want?” He sounds as doubtful as I felt, but after seeing the photo, I have a feeling Regan knew what she was doing. I also have an inclination that she’s about to throw Elian off his usual control streak.
“You know, I’ve watched you with women,” she says as she watches him with amusement. “In the darkness, I hid away, watching how you fucked them, and even though I had Ahren,” she tells him, her gaze flicking to mine before she looks back at Elian. “You were always my goal.”
“That’s not going to happen. Ever. So, get your fairytale dreams out of that psychotic head of yours.”
“Oh, that’s okay, because I’ve seen you with her. Even with Tommy following her around, she still ran to you.”
This time, Elian’s rage shudders through the room. It’s as if it is its own entity because he’s in front of her in seconds, his hand wrapped around her neck, practically lifting her onto her tiptoes, but Regan laughs.
“What the fuck did you just say?”
“Oh, I met Tommy when I went to Miami to find out what it is you needed this girl for,” Regan tells him, and I have a feeling if she continues, he will end her life. “He and I had fun toying with your little schoolgirl.”
“You’re a sick bitch,” Elian growls, the feral sound reverberating through his throat. I’m beside him within two steps, my hand on his arm, which he attempts to shake off, but I’m not allowing my brother to do this.
“Listen to me, if you do this, you’re only going to lose Arabella for good.”
“There’s no fucking point. She hates me,” he grits out, sending shock flowing through me. “She told me she doesn’t want me.”
“And your anger needs to calm the fuck down, brother,” I tell him. “Look at me.” My voice is calm, but internally, I’m panicking. Elian’s temper hasn’t always been his strong suit, and losing Arabella could send him over the edge. “Regan has information on Adam Davenport,” I tell him, hoping it will calm him the fuck down.
And it works.
He releases the girl and glares down at her. “I want everything, and you’ll get your fucking video.” I always knew Regan was in love with my brother. She was convinced he’d see her as a woman one day, but I know Elian, and he would never have gone for her. She’s not his type, besides the fact that she’s crazy.
My brother glances at me, offering me a nod to make the call we promised we’d do if she ever returned. I leave them to talk and head into the kitchen to call the hospital. Regan needs therapy. I’m not sure what kind, but I explain that she’s a danger, and they confirm they’re on their way.
When I get back to the living room, I witness the exchange. Regan’s given Elian the details for Adam Davenport, while she’s holding onto a flash drive I’m almost certain is empty. But she doesn’t know it, and she’s not asked to check it. Maybe she knows there’s no video on there. Perhaps she’s only here to see Elian.
A few moments of silence is as heavy as an anvil dropping on a wooden table. When the buzzer goes once more, I know who it is. As the men walk into the living room to get Regan, we’re witness to expletives and cursing coming from her mouth that make me think of the goddamned Exorcist movie.
“You really know how to pick them,” I tell Elian as he shuts the door, leaving us alone. He doesn’t smile, but I don’t expect him to. Losing Arabella must’ve hurt him a lot more than I have ever seen him.
“When we were back in Miami and Lacey cheated, I moved on. I was convinced I’d never love again,” he tells me as he pours us both a drink. We settle in, and when Elian
sets the bottle of bourbon on the table, I realize we’re in for a late night.
“You love Arabella?”
He looks up at my question, his gaze locked on mine before he nods. “I didn’t think it was possible. Now that I have Adam’s location, I wonder if I should go to her with the details and see if she wants to talk to him.”
“What did she say to you when you went to explain everything?” I ask before swallowing back a mouthful of amber liquid.
“Basically, she was angrier that I didn’t tell her about my deal with her mother. It seems as if she knew about her dad’s illegal dealings.” He sits back, resting his head on the back of the couch, and I watch as he closes his eyes.
“Do you love her?” I ask again because I want to hear his words. I know my brother, and he’s probably just avoiding the question because he does in fact love her, but he needs to admit it. If he can’t, then it’s pointless.
Silence hangs in the air amongst us. The tension radiating from him is stifling. I want so much to see him happy. He deserves it, but with his stubborn personality and Arabella being hurt by his actions, it seems almost impossible.
“I want so badly to bend her over my desk and fuck her senseless,” he tells me, but he doesn’t look up. I can’t help but grin at him. One thing I’ve learned over the years about Elian Donati is that he uses sex as his way to communicate. “I made love to her, at the cabin.”
“What?” This has me sitting up in my seat, shock rattling through me.
This time, he does look at me, a small smirk playing on his mouth. “Yeah,” he says before swallowing his drink and reaching for the bottle to pour another one. “I fucking love her. As stupid as it sounds, I do.”
“It’s not stupid.”
“It is. It’s too soon, and now there may not even be a chance.” He shakes his head as he pours before setting the open bottle down, nudging it toward me in offering. “I love her.”