Freefall (Santa Cruz Skydivers Book 1)

by Joanne Efendi

  He was right, but I didn’t want to admit it. All his good work had been undone in less than a minute by my asshole brother, and now I had to stay here and have family dinner with all of them.

  Careful not to catch at the glass in my hands, I folded my arms across my chest and looked away from him, scowling. “Fine.”

  Levi placed his finger under my chin, tilting my head, and gently pressed his lips to mine. My lips parted and I exhaled a contented sigh. Damn him and his stupid curse over me.

  “Stay the night? At mine?”

  I nodded.

  “I’ll be waiting.” He brushed his lips lightly against mine.

  My brothers finally joined us in the room. Levi raised his voice, still addressing me, but wanted my brothers to hear what he had to say. “Don’t worry about seeing me out. I’ll see you another time.”

  He turned away from me and shoulder bumped Tony on the way past. I held my breath, waiting for Tony to explode. No one did that to him and got away with it. Tony turned toward Levi, raising his fist. But before he could do anything, Bobby latched onto his wrist and shook his head at him.

  “No, bro. Leave it,” he said.

  Tony looked at me, a fire burning behind his eyes. Something was going on, and I would find out one way or another. Heaven help my brother if he was planning on breaking Levi and me up.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Levi

  Well wasn’t that a right royal cock up? I was pretty sure things couldn’t have gone any worse. Guilt seeped into my core from the rift I had created within Andi’s family. Grabbing my jacket from the hook, I let myself out to the sound of Andi hurling abuse at her brother and closed the door softly behind me. As I walked the walk of shame, I shoved my hands into my jeans front pockets and made my way back toward my Harley parked on the street, passing a young family walking hand-in-hand along the sidewalk. I recognized the young family from a photograph on the family wall of fame.

  Andi’s eldest brother stopped to pick up his daughter, letting me pass. In doing so, he not so subtly sized me up. His young daughter, the exact replica image of Andi in mini-me version, looked at me with those big blue eyes.

  “Who dat, Pa-pa?” she asked in her squeaky two-and-a-half-year-old voice as I walked past.

  “I’m not sure, Bella,” her papa replied. “Maybe he’s Uncle Bobby’s friend.”

  “No! He my fwend,” she said, just like she would a toy she wanted.

  I smiled. She was like her aunty in looks and nature.

  “No, Stella, you don’t know him,” the petite blonde walking with them said. “He’s a stranger. It’s dangerous to talk to strangers.”

  My heart dropped. Even though it was a standard warning to a young child, if only she knew how close to the truth she really was. In one sentence, this woman who had never met me, or even knew that I existed, had summed me up. She couldn’t know that I felt the same way. Every day when I woke up and looked in the mirror, I was met by a stranger. I wasn’t the same person I used to be. Being with Andi, though, I had felt a glimmer of my old self returning. But who was I kidding? My choices shaped me. I was deluded thinking I could have a happy life and a loving relationship.

  I deserved every bit of my pain and heartache. I had gone against my own rules and had fallen in love...got in too deep. It was Andi I thought of now. Poor, sweet, innocent, loving Andi, who acted tough, but was soft and insecure on the inside. She was the one who was going to suffer. The world was against us. Her family. My father. As for me, I was used to shit being thrown my way. It appeared the ball was in my court and I was at a crossroads. Should I go left, and take Andi with me down the path that was only sure to hurt her and her family? Or should I go right, and leave her behind? A decision that would hurt us both, but in the long run, would be better for her?

  There was no right answer. This was her family, they loved her. But I needed her. I looked at her house one final time before I jumped on my Harley and rode away. I had no destination or plan other than to let the rumble of the engine engulf me, push away my guilt and concerns about Andi. Even if it was if only for now.

  As I rode, the sound of the bike and the smells of the fresh air washed over me, and I forgot everything. It was just the bike, the elements, and me. I was soaring like an eagle, weaving my way around cars and accelerating hard out of corners. It was an escape from the twisted mess of a life I had created for myself. Too many secrets and lies. The moment I had called in Derek was the greatest mistake of my life, and I had no idea how I could end his control over me. Now Andi was involved.

  For the next couple of hours, I rode hard and fast along all of my favorite roads until the final rays of the sun disappeared. Everything needed to be perfect for her tonight—that was if she still came. After parking my Harley in the underground parking lot and using my secure electronic key, I rode the elevator direct to the penthouse apartment. The doors opened directly into the foyer, and I walked inside. Only I wasn’t alone.

  “Taylor. How the fuck did you get in here?”

  “Derek thought it best if we meet in a more private setting,” she purred. “Thought it best we be alone and discuss our future.”

  She was sitting on my favorite couch, in a micro mini dress, tits all but hanging out. If she thought she was turning me on, she had another thing coming. She looked me dead in the eyes and adjusted her crossed legs, ala Sharon Stone, wearing the same amount of underwear.

  Her move angered me. “There is no future to discuss. We are through... We were through the moment you cheated on me with your director.”

  She stood, pulled down her skirt so it barely covered her ass, and walked over to me. “LJ, what happened to your face?” she asked, and reached up to brush her fingers across my cut.

  “Your ex-boyfriend decided to come looking for me last night and let me know what he thought.” I grabbed her wrist, pushing it away before she could touch me.

  “And you let him beat you up?” she asked, mocking me. “What’s happened to you?”

  “I don’t fight anymore, Taylor. Ben’s my friend. He was upset and drunk.” I gritted my teeth, determined to not let her get under my skin.

  “The Levi James I knew would never back down from a fight, drunk friend or not. You’ve changed. Don’t you remember the parties in LA, the good times? Oh man, you were wild.”

  “I remember LA all too well. The drugs and the sex...”

  She cut me off. Her eyes undressed me, starting at my face and ending up on my cock. “The sex was the best. Us, high on cocaine, fucking for days on end. LJ, you can’t deny our connection. You have always been the one for me.”

  “Well, perhaps you should have thought of that before you broke us up?”

  “You left me, remember? I didn’t ask you go.”

  “You gave me no other choice!” I was near yelling now.

  “Oh please, Levi, calm down.” She rolled her eyes. “The affair meant nothing. It was publicity for the movie. I told you that.”

  “You can’t justify cheating, Taylor. I was hurt and humiliated. Photos of you sticking your tongue down that douchebag’s throat, with your hands down his pants, were plastered all over the Internet and tabloids. Bottom line is, you cheated, and you probably have a sex tape of it, too.”

  Her face was pure ice queen. “I’ll never do that. Sex tapes are for reality stars.”

  “Oh, forgive me. Didn’t realize you had a standard.”

  “This is getting us nowhere, LJ. That is all in our past. Derek wants us to consider his proposal. Just try it on for size. You never know, it might grow on you. We are made for each other.”

  “There is nothing you can say or do that will make me want to take you back in my life,” I told her. “I’m with someone else now. She makes me feel like you never did.”

  “Who?”

  “Not that it’s any of your business. But it’s Andi.” A wave of warmth washed over me at the mention of her name.

  “The check-out chick? You fucked t
he check-out chick?” Taylor’s eyes narrowed into slits. “Derek will never allow you to shack up with some cheap ass whore that works at Costco.”

  “That’s the last time you say that about Andi.” I pointed my finger at her, inches from her face. “And I couldn’t give a flying fuck what Derek says. He has no say in my life. He can’t dictate to me what I can and can’t do.”

  She pushed my hand away, raising her voice, completely pissed off at me. “I know what happened to you, LJ, after you left me. I know about the underground fights and how you almost killed that guy. And I know that Derek bailed your ass out...”

  I grabbed her roughly by the upper arm, my fingers digging into her flesh. My anger boiled over. “Shut the fuck up. Leave. Now. Before I do something I’m going to regret.”

  “You’re hurting me,” she whimpered.

  I relaxed my grip, but still didn’t let go. “Those records have been sealed. No one knows about it. Did Derek tell you?”

  She nodded her head, finally knowing she had pushed me too far. “Yes.”

  My mouth clenched hard in anger at the game my father was playing. I pushed her away. “Get out.”

  I saw straight through his thinly veiled plan. This was outright blackmail. Taylor was only a pawn in his little chess game to control me, but I also didn’t doubt her own motivations. Taylor only loved one person—Taylor. She would have a reason behind this.

  She gathered her belongings from the couch. I followed her to the elevator, punched the ground button, and held the doors open to deliver my warning.

  “You and my father can both go to hell. Go back to LA, Taylor, and don’t come back. Next time, I may not be so hospitable.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Andi

  I parked my Jeep on the street not far from the front of Levi’s building. On street parking was going to cost me, but it was worth every penny to get to spend the night with him. Family dinner night was...well...a colossal fuck up. Tony wasn’t talking to me, and vice versa. Bobby and Mike wisely decided to stay well out of it. Mom was in tears for most of the night, Papa went to bed early, and if it weren’t for cute little Stella, I would have left after Levi. I’d had enough of this family trying to micromanage and control my life. They didn’t understand the repercussions of their behaviors on my emotions. I was at rock bottom. Having not taken my meds for the past two days was perhaps not such as great idea, especially being around them. The meds always numbed me, but when I was with Levi, I didn’t need them. He made me want to exist.

  After putting some money in the parking meter, I approached his building. Nervous as all hell, I pulled out my cell phone to call him and let him know I had arrived. What if he had changed his mind about us after the fiasco of meeting my family? I tried not to entertain that thought, although that was always going to be a possibility.

  A doorman waited at the front of the luxury condo complex. Too nervous to go inside, I paced the sidewalk and kept back near the road, waiting for him to answer. After five rings, it went to voicemail.

  “Hey, this is Levi. Leave a message.”

  Shit, now what? I shot him a text and tried his number again. Still no answer.

  My chest tightened and my hands started shaking. My anxiety level was rising, and without medication, I was unsure of how I would end up. I didn’t like how this was going down. This wasn’t in my plans for this evening. Time to man up and take action.

  I swallowed hard and looked to the doorman, wondering if he could call up to Levi. That’s what these guys did, wasn’t it? Before I had even taken a step, behind him, Taylor strutted her way out the building, dressed scantily in a piece of material that was so revealing her enhanced boobs were busting out and her vagina was barely covered. It screamed slut. It suited her perfectly.

  Why was she even here? Unable to control the shake in my hands, I shoved them into my pockets. I tried to force myself to go back to the security of the Jeep, only my legs couldn’t move. They had grown roots. She smiled at the doorman, giving him a well-rehearsed public face, a look dripping in sugar sweet. As she passed him, she flicked her long blonde hair over her shoulder and gave him another look that I swear would have made him come in his pants. Then, as luck would have it, she walked, hips swinging, to the exact spot where I happened to be rooted to the ground in fear, and turned her sickly sweet smile onto me. Bitch. I hated her with a passion.

  “You’re Andi, aren’t you?” Her accent was as fake as her boobs. “LJ told me all about you.”

  “Yes, I’m Andi,” I said, displaying bravado I didn’t feel. “May I ask what Levi has been saying about me?” You know the saying about the curious cat? I shouldn’t have asked.

  She laughed. “Oh, just silly stuff. He told me about the little crush you have on him.”

  Bravado was officially thrown out the window. “He, umm, he said that?”

  She patted my forearm. “LJ and I have history that you and he will never have or understand. We go way back.”

  “I know you were a couple, but he told me you guys we through. He told me you hurt him.”

  Her eyes watered. “Yes, I did, and I will never forgive myself for that. But, he and I have been talking, and we’ve decided to give ‘us’ another chance.”

  “You’re back together? But, I thought he and I were...”

  “A couple? Oh, you poor thing. I can’t believe he led you on like that. Did you think one round in the sack with him meant you were exclusive?”

  “I...he...we,” I stuttered.

  She shook her head and pouted her lips. “No. No you’re not. You honestly think he would choose you over me?”

  I couldn’t talk. I knew the answer to that question. Deep down, I had always known. I was nothing.

  “Well?” she asked, her eyes narrowing.

  “You’re right,” I said, defeated. I needed to leave before I lost my shit. “Listen, if he asks about me, tell him I said thanks for the weekend. Tell him I had a great time.”

  “If he asks... But I don’t think he will.” She flicked back that fucking blonde mane of hers. “We’ve got more important things to do than talk about you.”

  Again, she was right. He wouldn’t talk about me. Why would he even give me another thought?

  With nothing more to say, I turned on my heel and walked away, just as my heart shattered into a million pieces. My chest literally caved inwards in pain and tears started to stream down my face. There was no way I wanted that bitch to see how hurt I was. I wouldn’t give her that satisfaction.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Levi

  “Answer the damn phone.” I paced the condo back and forth, wearing a path in the thick shag pile carpet.

  “Hi, it’s Andi. You know the drill, leave a message after the tone. Ciao.” Beep.

  “Andi, call me.” I pressed the red end call button and opened up the text message folder on my smart phone.

  Andi, call me.

  Green button, and send. The message went off with a swoosh. I scrolled through the other five messages I had just sent to her, checking in case a message had come through. Nope. All me.

  Fuck. I was starting to get worried. It had been half an hour since I missed her call, and I hadn’t managed to get in touch with her. Again, I pressed the redial button, waited, but again, she didn’t pick up.

  Voicemail. Beep.

  “Andi, it’s Levi. Sorry I missed your call, something unavoidable came up. Please call me. I’m getting worried. Bye.”

  I sent another text.

  Andi, it’s Levi. Please call me. I’m getting worried. xx

  I waited and paced. Nothing. Paced some more. Five minutes later...redial.

  Voicemail. Beep.

  “Fuck, Andi, I’m wigging out here. Call me.”

  Time for action. Text.

  Andi. RU OK? I’m coming over.

  I waited... Blue dots. Blue dots were good.

  Don’t come.

  Why? Is everything ok with ur fam?

  Y
es.

  Then what? Tell me. I don’t understand what’s going on.

  Taylor. That’s what.

  Fuck. Redial. Voicemail. Beep. Red button. Text.

  Talk to me. Please.

  I can’t.

  I’m coming over.

  Like a Christmas miracle in September, my phone rang. Andi’s number came up on the screen. Immediately, I pressed the green button.

  “Andi...”

  “It’s not Andi, you lying douchebag, it’s Lili. She doesn’t want to talk to you.”

  My gut was churning. “Why?”

  “As if you don’t know. She saw her, you fucking creep. Andi came to your apartment after she ditched her family to be with you. She saw that bitch Taylor leave your apartment, looking like a fucking a hooker.”

  I felt like hitting something. “Let me talk to Andi. It’s not what it looks like.”

  “Well, genius, there’s more...and here’s the deal breaker. The slut told Andi you two are back on.”

  I exploded. “She what? I’m coming over.”

  “Don’t bother, princess. She’s just left. She’s gone to her parents’ for the night. And if I were you, I’d stay the fuck away from there. Tony already has it in for you. Andi told me everything. Your life won’t be worth living if you go there again.”

  Without Andi, it wasn’t. “Taylor is lying. Look, it’s a long story, but if Andi won’t talk to me, I’ll tell you. Taylor wants me back, and I said no. She was already at my condo when I got home...and I literally threw her out. I can only assume she saw Andi outside and told her a pack of bullshit lies to break us up.”

  There was silence. “Is this true?”

  “Why would I lie? Think about it, Lili. If I wanted to be with Taylor, why would I string along Andi?”

  “I don’t know. As a back up?”

  “Is that the best explanation you can come up with? Lili, please, I’m begging you, if I can’t go to see her, get her to call me.”

  “Okay, I’ll call her at her parents’. Don’t call her number again. She’s left her cell with me, and I won’t answer,” she said with finality, and hung up.