Freefall (Santa Cruz Skydivers Book 1)

by Joanne Efendi

  Ben looked at me, his eyes reflecting the pain I felt. “Charlize, do you mind if Andi and I have moment alone?”

  She looked at me then Ben. “Sure, no problem. My break is over anyway. See you back in the office, Andi.”

  She left the room, leaving Ben and I alone. I looked everywhere but at his dark brown eyes. “You know Taylor dumped me for him, don’t you?”

  I nodded my head, not trusting my voice. He leaned next to me on the spot vacated by Char.

  “I’ve been thinking. You and I should go on a date.”

  I laughed, a tad manically. “I’m not dating. Now or anytime soon.”

  He plastered on a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Just as friends.”

  “Ben, we’re not even friends. You wouldn’t have looked twice at me before this whole fucked up situation.”

  He crossed his arms over his chest. “How do you know that? I’ve always found you attractive. It’s just before, I had a girlfriend...and now I don’t.”

  “You think I’m attractive?” My eyebrows disappeared into my hairline.

  “I’ve always thought you were pretty.”

  Pretty. Blech! I hated that word. “Is this a revenge thing? Eye for an eye? Because I don’t play games, Ben.” My break was over, and so was this conversation.

  “Andi, let’s just hang out, okay? I’m not looking for revenge, or to replace anyone.” He cast his eyes downward. “I’m hurting, you’re hurting...we can console each other.”

  I sighed. “I’m sorry, Ben, but I don’t want any company. Trust me, you don’t want to be around me.”

  I didn’t give him another chance to try to convince me to see him outside of work. I only had one companion in mind this weekend. And his name was Grey Goose.

  ****

  As soon as I arrived home, I cracked my freshly purchased bottle of vodka and swigged straight from the bottle. The clear liquid hit my empty stomach, instantly warming me. I was on the path to self-destruction, but I didn’t care. Anything to numb my body and brain, and erase all memories of Levi. I grabbed an orange canister from my bedside table drawer, shook a couple of Valium in my hand, and self-medicated. Since the whole Levi and Taylor debacle, my anxiety and depression levels had spiked through the roof. I had upped my dosage, even swiping a bottle of sleeping tablets from my mother’s drawer. It and the vodka were the only things helping me sleep. For the most part, though, I had safely hidden my deep depression from my family. My brothers, especially Tony, were happy my affair was over, and while my parents were sad to see me upset, I secretly suspected they were happy to have things back the way they should be.

  Only Lili and Char knew I was depressed, and even then I didn’t think they knew how much I wish I could throw it all in. To be honest, the only things getting me through my days were the text messages that Levi sent me. Telling me he missed me, and how Taylor had set him up. I still didn’t know whether I should believe him.

  Every time his message came through, my thumb would hover to reply, but I would shut it down before I could act on my impulses. I was at a turning point, a crossroads, and if I didn’t make a decision soon, I knew I would lose him forever. One way or another, I couldn’t continue on this path.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Andi

  Persistent, extremely loud banging at my bedroom door roused me from my drunken slumber.

  “Whosit?” I yelled.

  Damn it. I wasn’t drunk enough. I could still think, and my waking thoughts were always the same. Him doing things to her that I wanted him to do to me. God I hoped her fake boobs exploded and leeched poison into her system.

  “Andi, unlock the door in or I’ll kick it in,” a familiar male voice bellowed from the other side of my locked door.

  Fuck. Tony. What the hell was he doing here? I rolled out of bed a little too fast and ended up on the floor on my ass. I spied and hid a half empty bottle of vodka under my bed with the other empties that had piled up during the week. The dark room was swimming around me as I stood and stumbled my way to the door to unlock it. I barely had time to take a step back before Tony shoved the door open, almost knocking me flying.

  “God damn it, Tony.” Glaring angrily at him, I saw the rest of my brothers standing behind him, and Lili and Scotty behind them. “What the fuck is this? An intervention?”

  “That is exactly what it is,” Tony said, who was dressed in his full police uniform, either on his way to work or on his way home. I didn’t care enough to ask for clarification.

  He forcefully grabbed me by the arm and dragged me out into the sitting room.

  “Ow, you’re hurting me,” I complained, even though he wasn’t.

  He didn’t respond verbally to my protests, but loosened his grip slightly. He waited until we were near the single sofa seat then let go of my arm and pointed at the chair behind me.

  “Sit,” he barked at me like he was a dog trainer and I was a disobedient puppy.

  I considered not cooperating, but the look on his face told me it would be a bad idea. I sat down like a good little lap dog, even batting my eyelids, crossing my ankles and folding my hands in my lap. He completely ignored my effort. Either the sarcastic gesture was lost on him, or he was too pissed off at me to register it. Most likely the latter.

  “Lili called us. She told us, other than going to work, you’ve holed yourself up in your room for the past week. You haven’t answered any of our calls...” He leaned over and sniffed me. “And you’re intoxicated.”

  I glared at my so-called best friend for throwing me under the bus. I’d deal with her later.

  I dropped the little miss innocent routine. “It’s Saturday night, of course I’m intoxicated. What do you expect? I do know one thing, though. I clearly haven’t had enough to drink, because I’m not drunk enough to take this shit.”

  “I’m not letting this happen.” He glared at me. “If I have to move in here, I will. You need someone watching over you to make sure you don’t kill yourself.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. Now I was really pissed off. If he thought he was going to babysit me around the clock and tell me what to do, he had a rude shock coming. “I didn’t ask for your help. Just leave me alone.”

  Tony opened his mouth to let blast again, but Bobby stepped in, putting his hand on Tony’s shoulder. “Tony, you’re not helping matters.”

  The boys looked at each other for a second before Tony’s face softened and he nodded at Bobby, silently communicating for him to take over the interrogation. Bobby nodded in reply and knelt down beside me. I looked at him with my eyebrows raised expectantly. Nothing he could say would make this situation any better.

  “We are all just really worried about you.”

  “I’m fine, Bobby.” I tried a new angle. “I don’t know why you all think I need an intervention. Despite what Tony thinks, I’m not about to kill myself.”

  “Bella, we don’t think you’re going to do that,” Bobby said. “This behavior of yours is out of character. Mom and Papa are worried sick...”

  “Bella, Papa isn’t well. It’s his heart,” Mike said, stepping into the room.

  I gasped and slapped my hand over my mouth. “He hasn’t had another heart attack, has he?” I would never forgive myself if he had.

  Mike shook his head. “No, but since Sunday, he’s had a few scares. The doctors are concerned if his stress levels don’t drop, his heart might not cope.”

  “And I’m the cause of it. Okay, I get it now. You’re all here because of Papa.”

  “You’re misunderstanding the situation,” Bobby said. “Of course we are here for Papa...but for you too. You need to get over this guy. He’s bad news. You don’t know anything about him. You think you do, but you don’t. Tony has dug up some dirt on him...”

  Bobby trailed off and looked at Tony to continue.

  “He’s got a few serious priors to his name,” Tony said, tag-teaming with Bobby. “Here and in Australia, but because he was a minor in Australia,
the charges were sealed.”

  “What? Are you talking like murder or something?” I asked with a touch of sarcasm.

  Tony shook his head. “Not murder, no. He is currently on a suspended sentence for aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury. It appears your highflying Aussie boyfriend used to take part in highly illegal LA underground street fights for money. According to sealed documents, things got out of hand one night and he nearly killed a guy. If it weren’t for the fact he had a very good lawyer, he would still be in jail. I’ve been around his type for years. He’s a rich ‘wanna be’ playboy with friends in high places and a wealthy daddy that can bail him out of the shit. One day, it’s some douchebag in a street fight he’s beating up for a paycheck, the next day it’ll be you he’s treating as a punching bag.”

  “Bullshit. So you’re saying he was involved in some Brad Pitt Fight Club crap? I don’t believe you.” I narrowed my eyes at Tony. “That’s pure fiction.”

  “Believe it, Andi. It’s all true. Beginner fighters earn around two hundred bucks a fight, and your boy was one of the best, getting up to a thousand a win.”

  That wasn’t the Levi I knew. He wouldn’t even hit back to defend himself.

  “Look, I get it okay? None of this really matters anyway. Are you all forgetting he dumped me for his ex-girlfriend? He doesn’t want me!”

  “So you say. But we’ve heard that you are still in contact with him,” Tony quipped.

  I glared at Lili, who gave me innocent eyes.

  “I don’t know where you would have heard that.” I paused, thinking of how to get rid of them. “It’s untrue anyway. I haven’t spoken to him since Monday night. If I say I’m over him, will you all leave?”

  “As long as you promise to come to family dinner tomorrow night,” Bobby said with a smile, attempting to diffuse the tense situation between Tony and me.

  “Fine, I’m over him,” I said to Bobby, forcing out a smile. “See, I’m happy, and of course I’ll be there tomorrow night. I’ve never missed a Sunday night.”

  My brothers all looked at each other, silently communicating with some freakish male brotherly blood bond.

  “I can see you don’t believe us about him, Andi, but we’ll go anyway,” said Tony. “On one condition. Tomorrow afternoon, I’ll come and pick you up and drop you home.”

  “Deal,” I replied, holding out my hand for Tony. “Thanks for stopping by, see you tomorrow.”

  “I’ve got to get to work anyway,” Tony mumbled, his eyes quickly flicking over at Lili and Scotty, then shook my hand, sealing the deal.

  Bobby gave me a hug. “See you tomorrow, squirt,” he said with a cheeky, dimpled grin. He ruffled my hair then disappeared with Tony out the door.

  Mike waited until they left and knelt on the floor next to me. Out of all my brothers, he was the one that looked and behaved like me the most. Same blue eyes, same hair color, and same sense of humor. In a way, I should have been expecting him to have the final say.

  “Bella, please stay away from him. I need you to promise me that you won’t contact him or take his calls. We love you, little sis, and we don’t know what we would do if anything happened to you.”

  My eyes started watering. Damn it. Mike really knew how to hit home. I wondered if this had all been choreographed. Good cop-bad cop.

  “Mike, please, I can’t promise that. You don’t understand, none of you do.” He didn’t know what he was making me promise. He didn’t know that, even though I was the one that broke it off with Levi, I was only living for those moments when Levi would reach out to me. It was all I had.

  “Just twenty-four hours. That’s all I ask,” he said.

  “Okay, one day,” I agreed, holding up one finger so we were both clear on the deal. I was only just barely managing to hold my shit together.

  “One day,” he agreed, nodding and smiling at me. I couldn’t smile, so I frowned.

  “Fine. But as of...” I looked at the wall clock. “Eight o’clock tomorrow night, my freewill will be reinstated and I will do whatever I want.”

  He ruffled the top of my head like I was ten. “You probably will before then anyway. But it makes me feel better.”

  “Glad I can help ease your conscience.”

  “I’ll see you tomorrow, Bella. Stella can’t wait to see you.” He hugged me farewell and left me alone with Lili and Scotty.

  “Thanks for throwing me under the bus, Lili.” My fingers twitched as I took a step toward her and Scotty.

  “Calm down, Andi. She was just looking out for your well-being,” Scotty said as he stepped between us and placed his hands on top of my shoulders.

  I shrugged his hands away. “How many times do I have to say it? I don’t want anyone’s help.”

  Lili wrapped her arm around his waist and stared me down. “Well that’s too bad then, isn’t it? Because whether you like it or not, we’re all looking out for you. So you better get used to it.”

  Crossing my arms defensively over my chest, I let her think she had the last say on that matter. “So what do you both think about these allegations of Tony’s?” I asked, changing topic. “No way Levi could have been involved in underground street fighting. He doesn’t have that inside of him. It’s total bullshit.”

  “I don’t think your brothers would make up a story like that just to keep you away from some guy.”

  “Lili, you don’t know half of what Tony is capable of. He’s hated Levi from the word go. He knows I have no way of checking up on Levi’s details to validate his story. Except for calling Levi, that is.”

  “Don’t you dare contact him!” she snapped, and looked at Scotty for help.

  “Andi, you might not have the resources, but I do. I’ll check it out tomorrow for you with my press clearance. It’s amazing the things I can get my hands on. We can get access to all types of files. It’s kinda awesome actually.”

  “Baby, you are so clever,” Lili purred seductively, and kissed him on the cheek, trying, no doubt, to continue to win him back.

  I was pretty sure they hadn’t had sex since they got back together, not that I would know anyway. With the help of my meds, I had drunk myself into a stupor every night this week. Scotty held her in an embrace and looked longingly at her, his hands running up and down her back.

  “Let’s go to the room, baby.” He growled in her ear and led her to the bedroom.

  Lili turned, smiling, and mouthed “sorry” before closing the door behind her. She let out a loud squeal as Scotty no doubt grabbed her and threw her on the bed.

  Well, wasn’t that just dandy. Now I had to endure their make-up sex session when all I wanted was Levi in a way that I was forbidden. Screw them all. I walked back into my room, closed my door, and located my bottle of vodka from under bed. Nothing like necking straight from the bottle while reading text messages from your ex-boyfriend. And if I were lucky, I’d pass out before he texted me again. Because I wasn’t sure I could stop myself from replying tonight, promise or not.

  With the bottle of vodka open and in hand, ready to go, I made myself comfortable on my bed and reached for my cell phone beside my bed. Only, it wasn’t there. In its place was a folded note with my name written on the front. I snatched up the note and read it.

  Just in case you decide to break our deal. I’ll give it back to you tomorrow. Mike xx. P.S. took your Jeep keys, too.

  Fuck. I felt like screaming. Angrily, I balled up the note and hurled it at the wall, watching as the paper rebounded off the wall and bounced across the floor. Mike must have taken my stuff when Tony had dragged me from my room. Not only couldn’t I contact Levi, I was also a prisoner in my own apartment. Plus, to further exacerbate the problem, I couldn’t even borrow Lili's cell phone, as she was currently somewhat otherwise indisposed.

  As if on cue, orgasmic male and female grunts and screams started, loud enough to reach me through numerous walls and two closed doors. Without a physical escape from this situation, copious amounts of alcohol was my only
option. My new plan was much like my old one, only without a cell phone involved. It was, and still remained, drink until I passed out. However, the rate and volume Lili and Scotty were at it, I knew vodka alone wasn’t going to drown out their sounds and numb my pain. They would be at it for hours.

  I needed something stronger, something quicker. Opening my underwear drawer, I took out the prescription only sleep tablets I had swiped from my mother, shook some into my hand, and washed it down with the only fluid I had close by—vodka.

  Lili’s screams grew louder and began to reach a fevered pitch. Fuck, these tablets had better kick in soon, or this was going to be one hell of a long night.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Levi

  As I walked toward the exit of the underground parking lot, my Harley keys jingled nosily in my hand, giving off a slight echo in the empty concrete chasm. Phil’s place wasn’t all that bad. It had everything I needed and was close to the beach. My only concern was the lack of lock up security for my bikes. Myself, I could take care of.

  My bikes, at the moment, were the only things that kept my mind preoccupied. I was starting to lose hope on ever reconciling my relationship with Andi. On my ride today, I’d reached a decision. I had decided to give her one more day. If she didn’t reply to my texts tonight, I would just walk away. I wasn’t a quitter, but I couldn’t make her forgive me anymore than I could go back to last weekend and never go to that stupid lunch meeting with my father.

  As I reached the heavy exit door, I failed to notice a six-foot-three, two hundred pound cop waiting for me. He took me by surprise, stepping out in front of me from behind a concrete pillar, blocking my exit. But then again, I’m sure that was his intention.

  “Fuck! Tony.” My heart pounded from the shock, and I didn’t surprise easily. Also, it wasn’t like he was my favorite person.

  He grabbed me by the front of my shirt and slammed me hard up against the concrete wall.

  “Stay away from her, you asshole,” he sneered in my face. “If it wasn’t for the fact I’m on duty right now, I’d smash up that pretty boy face of yours even more.”