by Melody Anne
“The suspense is killing me, so it would be great if someone would start talking,” Nick said.
“You’d better sit down,” Sherman advised.
“I don’t want to sit down,” Nick thundered. “Just spit it out.”
“Okay,” Sherman said. “I’ve been able to speak to your brothers already, but since you’re the one being attacked I began doing some digging since you told us about the allegations against you. You already know your grandfather was a horrible man, but it seems he was even worse than I really knew.”
“What does our grandfather have to do with any of this?” Nick asked. This hadn’t been what Nick was expecting.
“Unfortunately, it has everything to do with what’s happening to you,” Sherman said. “Your grandfather was in the military for a short time in his younger days.”
“So what? We all know that,” Nick said.
“He was in a unit with Robert Williams and Mitch Reynolds.” The bombshell dropped and Nick waited.
“And I’m guessing things didn’t go well?” Nick said.
“Apparently, the three of them committed a crime together, which your grandfather and Robert Williams got off scot-free for, while Mitch Reynolds received a dishonorable discharge. Your grandfather got killed before Reynolds could seek revenge, but he’s been blackmailing Judge Williams ever since, has the man in his pocket.”
“Why come after me?” Nick asked.
“Because the man is filled with hate and vengeance. He tried to go after your father and was never successful, so he set his sights on you. We’ve found enough evidence to meet at Judge Hampton’s chambers. Neither Mr. Reynolds nor Mr. Williams knows what’s about to happen, but your case is getting dismissed. The witness came forward and said he was bribed by Mr. Reynolds to testify against you.”
Nick sat silently for several moments as he processed what Sherman was saying. It was a hell of a lot to take in. He should be feeling joy and relief, but all he felt was an ache that Chloe might have been a part of this conspiracy.
“Nick, your attorney is waiting, but I wanted to be the one to tell you,” Sherman said as he patted his shoulder.
“We better get this over with then, shouldn’t we?” Nick said, his tone devoid of emotion.
“Brother, this is tragic that someone has held a vendetta against us so long, but you’re about to be exonerated of all charges. I would think you’d be a little happier,” Mav said.
No one was smiling. “I think Chloe was a part of all of it,” he finally admitted.
“How?” Cooper asked.
“She’s Reynolds’s daughter.” The words were almost as quiet as the room after they were spoken.
“Damn,” Mav said.
“Yeah,” Nick agreed.
“Have you asked her about it?” Sherman logically asked.
“Not really. I’m afraid of the answer,” Nick admitted.
“Since when have you ever been afraid of anything?” Mav pointed out.
“Since I fell for the girl,” Nick said.
“I think you need to get answers before you make any judgments,” Sherman advised.
“Let’s get this hearing over with, and then I’ll go from there,” Nick said.
“That’s a good idea,” Cooper agreed.
They left the room, sober and silent.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Chloe was waiting in the chairs outside the judge’s chambers when they all walked out. His brothers wore smiles of victory, and Sherman patted his shoulder. They all turned to spot Chloe there, and the smiles fell away. She looked to the ground.
Even though victory was at hand, Nick had a feeling of dread that wouldn’t go away. His brothers, Paul, and Sherman walked away to give them privacy. They were barely around the corner when officers came out with both Judge Williams and Mitch Reynolds handcuffed.
“I bet you enjoy seeing this, don’t you?” Reynolds snapped at Chloe. Her head shot up and she looked at her father with both fear and hope.
“You’ve been arrested?” she said.
“It won’t last,” he thundered as he tugged on the officer. “You’ll all pay.” The officers dragged the two men away. Finally, Nick and Chloe were alone.
“Why did you want me here, Nick?” she asked as she rose to her feet and moved over to him.
“Because I think it’s time you tell me the truth,” he said. One part of him insisted on having the answers he needed, the other part wanted to bury his head in the sand.
Chloe searched his face for several moments before tears filled her eyes. That was the moment he knew everything was about to fall apart.
“I did know what was happening, Nick,” she whispered. He tensed. He was no longer going to be able to deny her involvement in this if she was finally willing to tell him. His heart was aching.
“Explain,” he said, his voice so quiet she had to lean in to hear him.
“My brother, Pat Edmond, was your rescue swimmer.”
“But . . .” He went silent. That hadn’t been what he’d expected her to say at all. It made no sense. He thought he’d already learned everything he was going to learn.
“My brother hated our father. He left when he was eighteen, changed his name. He kept in contact with me, but he didn’t want anything to do with the old man. Or he told me that, but I still think he wanted his approval. I think he even changed his name to our mother’s maiden one to get a reaction. When our father wouldn’t even react to that, Pat joined the Coast Guard and took the most dangerous job he could find. Because of that he lost his life.” She ended on a sob, but Nick watched as she tried pulling herself together.
“I didn’t know,” he finally said.
He took a step closer to her, and she backed away. Anger filled him. He’d been the one lied to, so why was she the one backing up? Maybe it was shame. She should fear that.
“I didn’t kill your brother, Chloe. I’m sorry you lost him,” Nick said as he took another step toward her. This time she didn’t move.
“It doesn’t matter, Nick. I lied to you, and you have your own secrets. I never should have taken the job, never should have agreed with my father. If you think hurting me will help you get revenge on him, you’d be wrong. He hated my brother, and he hates me even more. Both of us have been a disappointment to him our entire lives. He expects perfection, and we never could live up to what that meant in his eyes.”
She spoke in a monotone. He could see this wasn’t a great revelation. It was just simple truth. It didn’t really matter in the end because there would be no winners. Her father would go to jail, Pat still had lost his life, and Nick and Chloe would go on with their lives, likely separately.
Nick’s emotions were flowing through him. He felt pain and betrayal. But he’d known it was coming so it wasn’t a shock. He almost hated her for admitting the truth. That made no sense whatsoever.
Even with all he’d already known, Nick was still thunderstruck as he gazed at Chloe. After all they’d been through together, he couldn’t believe she’d been working for the enemy―that she’d been trying to take him down the entire time he’d thought she cared about him.
To her credit, Chloe stood there, tears streaking down her cheeks as she faced him. Her shoulders were back and she refused to look away. She wasn’t going to hide from him anymore. Still, nothing could make this right―not in his book.
“I didn’t know you when this began. All I knew was who I’d been told you were. By the time I figured out you weren’t that person, it was too late, I was in too deep,” she said, her voice hitching.
Rage filtered through him.
“So honesty and ethics mean nothing to you?” he thundered as he got his bearings. She winced at the fury of his tone. He felt a bit of guilt when he saw the look of pain cross her face, but he reminded himself she’d been putting him through hell with no remorse.
“I was doing what I thought was right, Nick,” she told him. Finally, she reached out for him, and this time he was t
he one who took a step away. If she touched him he might lose it.
“I want you gone from my house within the hour. By the time I get home, I don’t want a single trace of you left behind.”
Her tears fell even harder at his words. Her hand slid to her side, and her shoulders slumped. She was defeated and she knew it. Nick wasn’t sure if he wanted her to fight for them or not. There was too much anger raging through him.
“Nick, please understand . . .” She trailed off. What could she say, he thought snidely.
“I should have your credentials revoked,” he snapped.
Her eyes widened and a new fear entered her eyes. He knew what her career meant to her, knew how much time and effort she’d put into it. It was a low blow, but he was pissed.
“Please don’t do that. I never once tried to impede your care,” she told him.
“What about my mental health? Does that mean nothing to you?” he growled. He took a threatening step toward her. She stood her ground and took the lashing almost as if she felt she deserved it. Maybe she did―maybe she didn’t. He couldn’t think clearly enough to know the difference.
“Yes, of course. But I didn’t know. I was hurting, too. It was my brother on that helicopter with you,” she said with a hiccup.
“And don’t you think I question myself every single day?” he yelled. “Don’t you think I miss my crew? I would have gladly sacrificed my life if it would have meant bringing back my team.”
“I know that now. But at the time I didn’t,” she sobbed.
“You could have asked me. You could have taken the time to talk to me, instead of making your damn assumptions. Now, we all lose and the memories of my crew were drug through the damn mud because of your family vendetta.”
He took a step back, afraid he was going to reach out and shake her. He shouldn’t even be thinking about this anymore. The past week had put him through the ringer, and he was done with it all.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Just go, Chloe. Get the hell out of my life.”
He turned and walked away, her sobs almost in tune with his steps. When he made it around the corner, he punched the wall, blood instantly leaking out of his knuckles from the force of his hit.
“That’s not going to help.”
The quiet voice made him spin around. His thunderous expression did nothing to intimidate his uncle, who was looking at him with bemusement.
“This isn’t the right time to talk to me, Sherman,” he snapped.
“Don’t you dare talk to me like that, boy,” Sherman told him, steel running through his voice.
Nick instantly backed down. He loved his uncle, and no matter how angry he was, he wouldn’t take it out on him. Not after everything Sherman had done for him and his brothers.
“I’m sorry,” he said, some of his anger draining. He could feel blood dripping from his fingers. He didn’t care. He’d rather feel physical pain than the suffocating pressure pinching his heart. “I just thought she was different. I actually thought she might be the one,” he admitted.
“I think she is,” Sherman told him.
Nick looked up in shock. “How can you say that after what her family did to me―after what she did to me?” he asked.
Sherman smiled at him, that secret smile that showed a wisdom that could only come to a person through time and patience. He stepped closer to Nick and patted his shoulder.
“Have you ever made a mistake, Nick?” he asked, raising his brows.
Nick wanted to say, hell no, but he nodded his head. “Of course I’ve made mistakes, but I haven’t made ones so epic that I dragged a person’s name through the mud, a person who I professed to care about,” he said.
“Chloe didn’t know you, didn’t know our family. All she knew was that your grandfather was an evil man who put her family through hell. Then she lost her brother while you were flying the helicopter. She didn’t know her father had talked that man into lying. She thought he was speaking the truth. What if it had been one of your brothers who had died, and to your knowledge a person’s reckless actions were responsible?” Sherman pointed out. “Would you rest until the guilty paid?”
Nick hung his head as a whole new rage flew through him. “If someone were responsible for the death of one of my brothers, I would tear them apart with my own hands,” he said through clenched teeth.
“So with the information Chloe had, don’t you think she acted accordingly?” he asked.
The rage instantly died as Nick felt hopelessness filling him. He didn’t know how to respond to that question.
“I don’t think I can forgive her,” Nick admitted.
“Do you love her?” Sherman asked him.
Nick looked into his uncle’s eyes before he turned away. His memories flashed over the past six weeks, over the laughter and tears, over the moments of just the two of them, over his need to be with her, noticing her smile, her laugh, wanting to bring those two things out more in her.
“I really thought I was falling in love with her,” he said.
Sherman was quiet for several moments. People passed them, but no one said a word, they just went on their way. Nick was grateful for that. He wasn’t in the mood to make polite conversation or be congratulated on his hearing.
“There are people out there who think I was drunk, who think I killed my crew. Even if I was developing feelings for her, she tried to ruin me,” he said.
“Oh, posh,” Sherman said with the wave of his hand.
Nick looked at him with confusion. “It’s not something to brush off,” Nick insisted.
“No one believes you did anything wrong. They know what happened. They know a grieving family was trying to find a reason they would never see their boy again. Over time, this will all go away. As for the girl . . . she will go away, too. You have to figure out what you feel, because if you don’t stop this, she will be gone forever, and the love of the right woman doesn’t come around too often.”
“I can’t forgive her,” Nick said again.
“Then maybe you don’t deserve her,” Sherman told him.
Nick’s fury rose inside him again, but Sherman simply shook his head and walked away. Nick wanted to chase after his uncle, demand he take those words back. It was Chloe who had proven she didn’t deserve him, not the other way around. Why would Sherman say such a thing?
Nick decided he couldn’t be in the courthouse any longer. He had to get out of there, had to go somewhere, anywhere where he could think without interruptions. As he rounded a corner, he saw Mav and Cooper speaking by the front door. They were probably waiting for him.
He slipped out the side door. He’d had enough advice from family for the day. It was time for him to hide away and figure out what he was feeling. Sherman’s words wouldn’t quit spinning around inside his head.
Damn the old man.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
“What in the heck is wrong with people that they would choose to go through this multiple times? I mean really? How do they bear it?” Chloe asked. There were no more tears left for her to cry, nothing else she could say, but somehow she was still managing to speak. It had been a month since Nick had pushed her from his life, and that month had been the slowest she’d ever felt time move.
She’d decided to make a stand with him, had waited at the house overnight, but he hadn’t shown. That’s when it had truly sunk in that he was finished with her. He’d been there for her when her father had punched her, had held her while she’d fought those demons, but knowing she’d been partly responsible for charges being filed against him had been too much. She didn’t blame him. She just hurt that she’d lost him.
Since her crying jags had stopped, numbness had settled over her. She didn’t hurt quite as badly on a daily basis, but she also wasn’t able to feel joy or much of anything really. She went about doing her job, and she existed from hour to hour. She couldn’t figure out why anyone would choose to fall
in love. There was too much risk that it would all fall apart, leaving a person feeling the way she did right then.
“I know you feel like crap now, but I swear to you that the pain will go away,” Dakota said. “It’s either going to all work out and he’ll coming running back to you, begging for you to forgive him for being such a blind fool, or you will find someone much better than him. Because if he doesn’t figure out his life is meaningless without you, he’s a fool and doesn’t deserve your love.”
“Nope. I’m done with the whole love thing. I gave it a shot, and it didn’t work out. I refuse to ever fall in love again,” Chloe told her with conviction.
“Ah, sweetie, don’t give up on love. That’s what life is all about. It sucks when it ends, but I don’t believe there’s a greater goal in life than falling in love and feeling that emotion that only one other can make you feel. It’s too incredible,” Dakota told her.
“The pain is so much worse than the feeling of love,” Chloe emphasized.
“It feels that way now because you’re focused on the pain. But we’re not meant to be alone. We are supposed to be with someone who cherishes us. Too many times, people settle because they don’t want to be alone, but being with the wrong person is just as bad as having no one at all because you’ll always ache for something more. Don’t give up on love, but don’t give up on Nick, either. We need a champion in our corner, and I think he is yours. He’s already proven that. He was hurt, and justifiably so, but he will get his head together. However, if he takes too long, I can go kick his ass if you want,” Dakota suggested.
“I love you so much, Dakota,” Chloe told her. “And even though these are all things you must say to maintain the best-friend code of honor, it’s still very nice to hear them anyway.”
“Take your time to feel better about you. You can’t be with him because you feel it’s the only option. But know it’s his honor to be with you, not the other way around. You are so special and amazing, and just because you went through hell, you feel that you need to hide yourself, but don’t do it anymore. Realize your own strength and relish in it.”