Caroline ignored the sudden surge of guilt. “I want you to do something I haven’t found the nerve to do. I want you to talk to Chester about security.”
“Hmmm. I wasn’t expecting that.” She tucked her stocking feet under her thigh. “What aren’t you satisfied with? Too strict? Too lenient?”
“Strict? It’s practically non-existent. They’re supposed to document all unescorted guests and half the time, they just smile and wave. I shouldn’t have to worry that there’s some psychopath hiding in my hallway.”
“I’ve lived in this building for two years. There’s never been one incident of assault. Not even a reported theft.”
“It doesn’t matter. I bought this condo with the assumption I would be protected.” And she was sick of jumping out of her skin every time she heard footsteps in the hall. “If you could please talk to him, then you’re welcome to hide here any time you wish, and I won’t say a word.”
“Done.” Simple, concise.
“That’s it? You have no problem approaching Chester?”
“Do I seem like the type to avoid confrontation?”
Caroline nearly reminded her that she was currently hiding in her living room but thought better of it. If April was willing to go into battle for her, then she was certainly willing to be a resting place in return.
Who knows, when all was said and done, maybe they’d actually end up as friends.
Chapter 9
Sean turned the key to his new apartment, the aftermath of seeing April weighing on his heart. He wouldn’t call the morning a complete disaster, but he wouldn’t call it a victory either.
He tossed a huge duffle on his bed, the first of the stuff he planned to bring up from New Braunfels. Not that he had a whole lot to haul. The apartment he’d rented over the last year was furnished, and April had kept most of their things after the break up. In truth, he’d kept himself transient, always knowing he’d be back in Bentwood and they’d find a way to make it work again.
He now had six months to convince her before he was once again, cast out of the building. Six months to convince the most bull headed girl in the world to see his side.
Dropping his keys on the duvet, he surveyed the master bedroom. Mr. Trapp had been more than generous with his furnishings. A king bed lay in the middle of the room, the frame made of sharp angles and thick dark wood. Two subtle paintings were hung on the wall, abstract and masculine in both color and design. The dresser was also a dark chest of drawers, each one deep and lined with rich red felt.
He should love it, the balance of warmth and sturdiness, but like everything he’d experienced over the last several months, it only made him miss her more.
As far as I’m concerned, we’re strangers. Nothing more.
He shook the words from his head, reminding himself that this was April. She lashed out when she felt weak or panicked. Her defenses were up and if there was one thing he excelled at, it was ripping them down, piece by piece.
A soft knock pulled him from his thoughts.
“Sean?” Journey’s voice echoed through the space.
“I’m here. Come in.” He hurried through his new home and made his way to the door. She was already across the threshold, closing it behind her.
“So this is it?” She’d discarded her dress from earlier and was now in shorts and flip flops, her wild hair a mane around her head. “I always wondered how Mr. Trapp furnished his condo. The man is more myth than reality.”
“A romantic myth, I guess, because it wasn’t until I spilled my sad story over a two page email that he finally agreed.”
“I’m glad. It’s nice having you close again.” She stepped lightly, taking in the space without touching a thing. “So are you here for good?”
“No. I owe my old school two weeks. I’m heading back as soon as I talk to her.” Sean didn’t want things to turn awkward, but he also couldn’t let the elephant sit in the middle of his new living room. “Did she finally come home?”
“Yeah. She walked in, ignored me completely and walked out, dressed in her running clothes. I imagine she’s stepping onto the treadmill right now.”
He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and squeezed. “She’ll eventually forgive you. You know you mean the world to her.”
“I know,” she sighed. “This is just how she functions lately.” She punched him lightly in the chest but he could see the distress. “So hurry up and win her back. I miss my friend.”
“I’m on it.” He swallowed his rising emotion and turned to grab his key card. If he was lucky, they’d be the only ones in the fitness center.
“Sean, before you go, I need you to tell me what happened.” Her words were soft but forceful. “I want to help you, and obviously I’ve already chosen a side, but she’s my best friend, and I need to know the extent of what I’m dealing with.”
“April really never told you why we broke up?” He hated how his voice cracked. Hated his part in this entire mess.
“No. I’ve asked a million times and she refuses to talk about it.” She eased down on the leather couch. “Beck slipped once and implied you betrayed her, but I knew that couldn’t be true.”
“No. At least that’s not how I see it.” He followed her lead and took the other side of the couch. “It all started when Bradley got me a job at his foundation.”
She nodded. “I remember. April thought it was a turning point. That his hiring you meant her parents were beginning to accept your relationship.”
“Her parents were never going to accept me.” Bitterness laced every word. “But I thought her uncle did. So I took the job and for the first month or so, I truly thought I’d found the perfect vocation.”
The foundation had multiple functions with many employees, but there was one small non-profit that was only run by family. Bradley’s grandfather had served two years in jail for theft when he was only twenty-one. A changed man, he vowed to help those who were like him, men who’d returned to society, but had nothing to go back to but the situation that put them on the streets to begin with.
“We were always going somewhere,” he said. “Checking on the houses that were getting built, meeting the guys who were set to move in.”
“You and Bradley were building houses?”
“No. The foundation was. They had a small segment set aside to help ex-cons transition back into society.”
Journey startled. “I didn’t know that.”
“It’s not hidden, but it’s not advertised either. Most people like their donations to go to nobler causes, like children or animals, but for every dollar donated, five cents went to this fund. It has a separate account, separate oversight, and Bradley was solely responsible for its continuance. It was from this account that he embezzled the money.”
Her forehead furrowed as if he’d confused her. “I don’t understand what this has to do with you and April. The break up happened months before he was ever indicted.”
“I know. It happened the night he was arrested. The family kept it quiet, because, you know, that’s what they do.” Sean rubbed his hands together. “I’m the one who turned him in. I’d been working with the local DA for months collecting evidence.”
Journey’s intake of air was sharp enough to hurt.
He continued, not looking at her. “I discovered it by accident. Bradley had become despondent, irritable. I’d try to get him to get out of the office like we used to, but he’d either be jumpy or asleep at his desk. Ironically, that kept me stuck in the office, left me more time to scrutinize the things that went across my desk.” He blew out a breath, trying to steady his pulse. “It was just one invoice that didn’t make sense. A drywall shipment twice the size it should have been. I called the company to inquire and discovered it didn’t exist. It was the first of many fake companies I would find. Luckily, the convict housing funds never crossed State lines. If it had, the case would have gone to the federal courts, and I’d never have gotten him the help he needed.” Sean finally raised his hea
d and looked at her. “Bradley’s an addict. Now that I look back at his behavior, I don’t think I got the job by accident. I think he hired me because he thought I’d keep it a secret.”
“Or that April would,” she said, her voice as shaky as his.
“I kept the investigation to myself.” He dragged his fingers through his hair. “But I was going to warn her before it became public. I didn’t get a chance to. They arrested him without my knowledge and… the rest you know.”
Journey stood, looking half dazed, and walked across the room. “I have no idea how to process this.” She sucked in a breath like it hurt her to talk. “It would have been easier if you’d cheated.”
“Hey!” His indignation fueled him upward. “You know it would have killed her to know the truth. I kept her from having to choose between Bradley and her integrity.”
Journey tunneled both hands through her thick hair, and gripped her head. “My gosh, all this time, she’s been dealing with this alone?”
The judgment in her words ate at him. “There was no good scenario. Either way, she was going to be hurt.”
“But now you’re the bad guy.” Journey dropped her hands, defeated. “You’re the one who took her family away.”
“They walked away! They abandoned her.” He slammed a hand against his chest. “I didn’t.” He stepped closer, pleading. He needed Journey to agree with him, to hold onto the same hope he did. “She lashed out at me, and I left, too angry and hurt to do anything else. But I’m clear headed now, and I know we can fight our way out of this.”
But Journey’s eyes had filled with unshed tears. “This is April we’re talking about. Her family will always come first.”
“I’m her family. I’m the one who’s loved her without condition my entire life.” Anger curled within his muscles and his jaw twitched. This insanity was the very thing he’d been fighting for years. “And she loves me. Try as they might to destroy it, that fact will never change.”
“I really hope you’re right.” But nothing in her tone implied she believed him.
“I am. I just need to get her to listen.” Months ago, he hadn’t been prepared for the lengths she would go to in order to remove him from her life. He let her catch him off guard; let her call the shots. This time, he had the element of surprise. He may be hardheaded, impulsive and reckless, but he learned from his mistakes and tried to never make the same one twice.
Journey eyed the key card clutched in his hand. “Then you better go. By my calculation, you have ten more minutes before she leaves the gym.”
Chapter 10
Sean stepped onto the elevator filled with an insecurity he wasn’t used to feeling. He’d thought Journey would support his decision. That like Andrew, she would see that he had no other recourse. But her words ripped against an old wound, the stitches strained and red.
Her family will always come first.
No. Not this time.
He mashed the button for the seventh floor where all the condo’s amenities were located—gym, sauna, and a community room that led to an outdoor terrace.
He and April had found this place together, gone through the model unit, picked out every one of the finishes, and stupidly thought it was the beginning of their life together. He’d known, even back then, that her parents didn’t support the engagement. The Duncans fed off control, and Sean was a direct threat to the influence they held over their daughter. This was never clearer than the night her father had flat out refused to give Sean his blessing when he’d approached him.
“You’re not a match,” the man had said.
“With all due respect, sir, we’ve been together happily for over two years.”
“Only because she’s been in law school. Just wait until the real challenges start. When she’s working seventy-hour weeks to make partner. You hold her back. You always have. So no, I won’t give my blessing.” Her father had left him in the study, stunned and offended.
Sean had asked anyway. That very night at dinner, in front of all her family and guests. And when she’d said yes, he glared at his soon to be father-in-law in obstinacy and defiance, something the man had never experienced from his dutiful daughter.
In hindsight, her father had been right in some ways. Her first year as an associate was difficult: long hours of separation and exhaustion when she finally did come home. Ironically, her dedication to work had been the very thing that led him to find the paper trail on her uncle. When she worked, Sean worked. And the more he dug, the further the lies began to layer in on themselves, until one day he shoved aside his loyalty and walked into Detective Collin’s office.
The elevator opened and spilled into a receiving area. He quickly swiped his card, passed through the shelves of clean towels and entered the large gym space.
It covered half the floor, with a free weight area, cardio center and private workout rooms for those who employed personal trainers. Unlike the field houses he’d trained in, where the dank smell of sweat and rubber assaulted every sense, the condo’s facility smelled of citrus Lysol, a testament not only to the scale of workout performed here but also to the full-time janitor who kept the equipment cleaned and sanitized.
He spotted April without much effort; she used the same machine every time. The one on the very end, tucked against the wall. She’d said it gave her the illusion of privacy.
Sean knew she liked illusions a little too much.
The whirl of the treadmill belt marked time with her pounding shoes. She was too lost in the rhythm to notice him approach from behind. He kept his eyes glued to the mirror, to the determined crease on her forehead, to the red flush against her cheeks. Something solid in his chest shifted, shooting a warning tremor through his system. He’d conceded at brunch, hadn’t been prepared for the way seeing her tore at his fractured heart. This time, he would not let her walk away.
As if she could feel his resolve, her gaze caught his reflection.
Lips pressed together, she viciously tapped the control panel until the treadmill slowed to a light walk. More buttons mashed and she hopped off and tugged her ear buds out. “How did you get in here?”
He raised the key card. “Same way you did.”
She didn’t ask how he’d gotten a copy of one, nor would he have told her if she did ask. Remaining one step ahead was the only way he’d ever really get a sense of her feelings. The only way he’d ever come out of this war victorious.
Their eyes locked on one another’s, they stood there silently for a span of seconds. Enough time that his eyes could linger on the drip of perspiration down her cheek, the damp hair only partially secured in a wayward ponytail.
April was striking in her poised beauty, a porcelain doll with hard edges and artistic features. But Sean had always preferred this version. The tousled hair, the natural glow she’d get when all her defenses were shot. The heat in her gaze when he’d push her out of her comfort zone, only to catch her moments later. It was in these moments that the real April emerged. The woman he’d fallen in love with. The person only a small few had ever known.
It was that girl he came to fight for. Not just because his life had been an empty shell without her, but also because he feared if he didn’t, she would disappear forever.
“You’re wasting both our time,” she said defiantly. “We said all that needed to be said at brunch.”
Like hell they had. “Not even close.”
April tore her eyes away from his and made an attempt to pass.
He blocked her just as quickly. “Listen, Jelly Bean, the way I see it, you have two options. One, we have it out right here in earshot of the five people I passed on the way in. Or two, we take advantage of one of those empty rooms and have a civilized discussion—the same one we should have had months ago.”
She crossed her arms and lifted her chin. It was amusing how she could still feign superiority when he towered over her by more than a foot. “And if I don’t like either of those options?”
“Then I’ll f
ind you again. Maybe at your office next time.” He mimicked her stance. “I’m not going away. You may as well deal with me now.”
He was probably the only person on this earth more stubborn than her and she knew it, which was no doubt why she finally stormed toward the open workout room.
Inside lay two mats, an abdominal ball, two jumping blocks, and a few scattered ten pound dumbbells.
The door clicked shut behind him, offering them a small measure of privacy, despite one of the walls being solid glass.
“Okay, you have me here.” She spread her arms and dropped them. “Please tell me what monumental excuse you had for turning in my uncle.”
Sean took a deep breath, willing his heart to stop its furious pounding. This was his moment, the one he’d wanted for ten months. And the one he dreaded most, because April would not want to hear the truth.
“It was the only way I could help him. Bradley is like your mom in a lot of ways. He can put on a perfect front. The difference is that he’s not hard like her. He’s vulnerable and soft and inside that man was dying. I could not sit back and watch it happen.” The words spilled out in a comforting whisper, but she didn’t recoil at the news as he’d expected. She didn’t seem surprised at all. His brows pinched together as he moved a step closer. “You knew about his addiction?”
“Not at the time, but afterwards, yes. I was able to get a copy of your deposition.”
Of course she had. “Reading a testimony is not the same thing as talking about it.” The anger came again and he had to fight to keep his voice steady. “You should have come to me. Let me explain.”
“Why? You certainly didn’t come to me,” she said, this time with a hint of emotion in her voice. “When you first discovered what he’d done, when you made the decision to go to the authorities… that was all done without my input.” Her lip trembled, and he clung to the gesture, small as it was. “I simply gave you the same courtesy you gave me.”
The Truth Between Us (Bentwood Book 2) Page 7