Forbidden Secrets

by Morgan Kelley

  She loved him.

  So she did the only thing she could do. Nyx pulled it from her finger.

  “What are you doing?” he asked. There was panic in his voice. His heart was pounding in his chest. This was the last thing he wanted to see.

  “I’m giving you what you want. You want to be mad at me, so now you can. I can’t marry you, Beau. I won’t marry a man who won’t support me emotionally.”

  He wouldn’t take it.

  If he did, that would mean he accepted what she was saying, and he wouldn’t.

  “No, Nyx. Don’t do this.”

  What choice did she have? If he couldn’t have her back, they couldn’t build a life together. She loved him more than herself, but if she wasn’t strong, she couldn’t bring anything to their relationship.

  He deserved a woman who respected herself and made her own choices in life. She wasn’t a doormat.

  Even for him, she couldn’t be one. Her life had made her, and she had to accept the journey.

  With…

  Or without him.

  “I suggest we start looking around,” she said, with tears in her eyes. When he wouldn’t take the ring, she placed it on the one table in the room.

  “Don’t do this, Nyx,” he said again. His chest was tightening up, and he might just have a panic attack at any second.

  He was losing his woman.

  What had he done?

  “Do what? Be true to me? I will channel her again, but this time, Beau, I don’t care if I die. The only thing I had to live for is gone.”

  “Nyxie.”

  She started walking away.

  “I’m going to find Evangeline, help Tori fix this, and then I’m going home.”

  “To our apartment?” he asked, praying he could fix this. If she’d stay with him, he’d have the time to make it right.

  “Does it matter, Beau?” she asked. “Do you even care where I go?”

  He did.

  He was just so afraid.

  Before he could speak, she was ready to begin working. It looked like he didn’t have any say in this. She was really giving up on him.

  “Are you here, Trey? I really need your help.” That was an understatement. She needed so much at that moment, but mostly for the man behind her to get it.

  They were a team or they weren’t a couple. She wanted the relationship her parents had before they had been killed. She wanted to go down fighting with Beau, or not even bother showing up for the battle.

  What was the point?

  “Are. You. Okay. Peaches?” he asked.

  She wanted to laugh at the nickname he called her. He hadn’t been able to find ‘Nyx’ on the radio frequencies, so this was his next thing.

  “I’m great. Don’t worry, Trey. I’ll be okay.” She knew it was a lie.

  When she left the room, Beau’s phone chirped to life.

  “You. Are. An. Idiot. Go. After. Her.”

  He didn’t think he could.

  He’d hurt her, and he didn’t know how to even begin to fix this. All he could think about was the ring sitting on the table. It glittered and reminded him of the time she told him to go.

  Now she was gone.

  “Beau. She. Loves. You.”

  It didn’t matter.

  Since she lost her gift, he knew the truth. He’d seen this moment coming for a while. It was only time before she walked away. Nyx was miserable, and he didn’t know how to make her happy anymore.

  It was beyond his scope.

  He picked up the ring and placed it in his pocket. It hurt to watch her take it off.

  His heart ached.

  He loved her.

  “Beau.”

  “Shut up, Trey. Just shut up.”

  So his brother did.

  For now…

  * * * L i t t l e m o o n * * *

  To say he was nervous would be an understatement.

  The Littlemoons were in town, and they were beginning to dig around. He knew what was coming, and it wasn’t going to be good.

  There had to be some way to slow them down.

  He couldn’t let them keep digging for the truth. If they wanted secrets, his weren’t the ones they could have.

  He had to make sure that this didn’t come out.

  Not yet.

  After all, there was still one Easton remaining. Before the truth could come out, he had to get justice.

  He had to find a way to get revenge.

  For him.

  For his family.

  For Evangeline.

  She was missed.

  It was time to up his game, and really throw the Littlemoons for a loop.

  In his mind, there was only one way to do that.

  It wasn’t going to be easy.

  Then again, that didn’t matter.

  None of it did.

  If he didn’t pay them back, he was going to have to live with this for the rest of his life.

  That was a burden he couldn’t bear.

  He was over all of this.

  It looked like it was time to add to the body count.

  Again.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Friday Noon

  Tori was indeed ravenous. She not only ate her food, but she plowed through most of Julian’s. He didn’t even stop her. Instead, he let her have whatever she wanted—which was mostly his fries.

  Really, he didn’t mind.

  He was feeding his wife and child.

  “Still hungry?” he asked. “I can get you some more fries if you want?”

  Tori smiled at him. “I love you.”

  “For my fries?”

  “For your ass in those jeans, but the fries come in second,” she teased.

  Julian winked at her. “Thank God for these jeans.”

  “Yeah, that’s my line.”

  Julian snorted. “You’re getting out of control. You’d better stop. I might get accustomed to this side of you and ask her to stay after the baby is born.”

  She found that amusing.

  “You say that now…”

  She didn’t get to finish. There was someone standing beside their table. Both Tori and Julian looked over at the same time.

  “Hey there! Am I bothering you?” asked Deputy Lincoln Brooks.

  Tori sat back. “Not unless you’ve come to arrest us for some reason.”

  “What did you do to get arrested?” he asked.

  When she opened her mouth, Julian gave her the look in warning.

  “Don’t ask,” Julian stated. “Have a seat.”

  The man accepted.

  “I saw your SUV out front, and I wanted to ask how Lennox was doing. Do you think it would be okay if I headed over to the house to see her?”

  “Why don’t you call?” Tori asked.

  “I did. She isn’t answering her phone.”

  Yeah, Tori knew why.

  She was probably…detained.

  “Well, we don’t live there, so you really have to talk to her about that. It’s her home, not ours. I’m sure she won’t mind, but I’ll have her call you when I see her.”

  He smiled. “Thank you.”

  Then he lowered his voice to keep the conversation private. “Did the info help?” he asked.

  Yeah, they wished.

  Instead of telling him it was useless, they went with being polite.

  “Thank you, it did.”

  “I was looking for the first police report for you—the one from Mariah Easton’s death, and I can’t find it anywhere. I think it was misfiled. I saw it was checked out and then back in, but it’s MIA.”

  Julian knew that happened all the time. In fact, on the Rez, he had a few files from Red River. He’d brought them home and they never left.

  Sue him.

  The sheriff, bless his dead soul, was an asshole.

  “Keep looking,” Tori stated.

  “How is Lennox holding up?” he asked. “Rick was a good guy. I know she has an attachment to all the people who work for her. Th
ey are more like family. It’s probably because her family is dead.”

  “She’s keeping herself busy,” Tori stated. “She’s very hands on when it comes to this investigation.”

  Julian started choking.

  They both looked over.

  Tori knew what he was thinking. She gave him the look. While it was true, he should know better. Her husband’s mind was in the gutter—right where she liked it.

  “Well, I’m going off duty. I have some things to do. I’ll wait for Lennox’s call. See you guys later. If you need anything else, let me know,” he said, walking away.

  “I like him,” Tori stated.

  “I don’t trust him,” Julian replied.

  She rolled her eyes. It wasn’t like she was shocked by his statement. “He’s being helpful.”

  “He was checking out your breasts.”

  Tori looked down. They had gotten huge. “In his defense, they are hard to miss. I look like a stick ready to fall over from being top heavy.”

  He laughed.

  She pointed at him.

  “No you don’t, honey. You look beautiful. In fact, you can fall over on me any day.”

  “Your momma trained you right.”

  Yeah, and self-preservation kept him alive.

  “Let’s head back to the estate. I want to see how the team has done, and we can figure out who we are interviewing next. Maybe if we’re lucky, the case will be solved.”

  “Some sexy Native is a tad bit delusional.”

  A man had to have some hopes and dreams. This was one of them.

  The other was that she really would topple over onto him.

  Then he could have some fun.

  * * * L i t t l e m o o n * * *

  Easton Estate

  They’d made love in the shower, his bed, and even half on his bathroom counter and floor. The entire time, he was extremely happy.

  In Hart’s life, that didn’t happen often.

  The last four years had been stressful, and for a change, he was enjoying every second of his life.

  Well, actually, he was enjoying Lennox’s body.

  Now they were lounging on the couch as she was on the phone with Milo Perkins. She was getting an inventory of what she needed for her next show.

  To say that Hart wasn’t happy with the way the man was talking to her would be an understatement. The douchebag was talking to Lennox like he owned her.

  That was far from the truth.

  In fact, he wanted to go over there and…

  “You’re scowling. What has you pissed off now?” she asked as soon as she had hung up the phone.

  “Nothing.”

  “I wish I had a built in lie detector,” she stated.

  He stared at her.

  “No you don’t. You just lied.”

  That made her laugh. She climbed into his lap and nuzzled his cheek with hers.

  Hart couldn’t help but think that she was like a giant cat. He loved having her in his lap.

  In fact, she could stay there forever…

  His mood soured even more.

  Not only did he have to listen to her talking to her stalker, asshole ex, but he had to face reality. When this case was over, he was going home. Granted it was only a short distance away, but he knew what would happen.

  Life.

  Ivy would need him, and after a full day of work, he wasn’t going to be able to blow her off to drive here to see Lennox. Their time together was fleeting.

  “So I had a question,” he offered.

  Lennox was curious.

  “What?”

  “While we were having sex…?”

  He didn’t know if he should go there or not. It was personal, and they were simply bed buddies.

  Right?

  Was that what the hip kids were calling it these days?

  “What?”

  “You said you had your tubes tied. Why? You’re young. I don’t understand that.”

  She didn’t expect this conversation, but she was willing to talk about it if he was.

  “Honestly, I never wanted to get married. I looked at my family and figured this was a bad batch of genes to pass on to the world. Look at all of them. My mother was ice cold. My father was a perv, and so was my uncle. My brother liked fast cars, fast women, and playing dangerous games. Then there was me.”

  He didn’t get that.

  She was amazing.

  “I’m timid, shy, and I don’t have a lot of friends. I’m a horrible example to myself let alone a child who needs a role model. What do I know about raising a kid? My luck I’d lose the child on day one.”

  He’d thought the same thing. Only, when it was your flesh and blood, you did what you had to do.

  “So, you never want a family?” He was glad she didn’t have his gift. If she did, this would be awkward.

  He wanted a family.

  “It’s not about want. What do I have to offer?” she asked. “I don’t think I’d be any good at it.”

  He looked around. “Oh, I don’t know. I think you might be able to bring culture, art, and a good education to the table.”

  She laughed. “I barely had a mother. How am I supposed to pull that one off? My nanny raised me. I was named after the china, Everhart. That alone should say it all. Hell! My brother and I had two different nannies, and his failed. Mine…it’s yet to be seen.”

  He hated that she didn’t see her value.

  “I couldn’t do what you do, Everhart. I’m not parent material.”

  “I said the same thing.”

  She stared up at him. “We aren’t the same. You’ve got that inborn need to protect and serve. I don’t know how to do anything but grill and paint. No one ever taught me.”

  He felt horrible for her.

  “You do make a mean burger.”

  “Kids can’t eat burgers every day. That I do know.”

  He ran his hands up and down her back. “We eat a lot of eggs and mac and cheese. Ivy seems to be okay with that.”

  “I don’t know how to make those. I have a chef. See my point?”

  “I think you’re being too hard on yourself.”

  She didn’t care. Maybe she deserved it.

  Hart saw the pain in her eyes. What he didn’t get was why he was fighting so hard to convince her that she could be a mother.

  Oh yeah.

  He knew why.

  He came with a child—who needed a mother.

  “Can we stop talking about it?” she asked. “None of it really matters. The decision was made years ago. I won’t be anyone’s mommy.”

  His heart skipped.

  And here was the problem.

  If someone was going to be with him, they had to realize that Hart came with a spare. Ivy was always going to be part of his life. Any woman who was part of his life was part of her life too. This was just one more reason why he didn’t date.

  Women didn’t want the responsibility of someone else’s kids, and it was clear that Lennox didn’t want any of that.

  Period.

  He felt sick.

  He’d finally found a great woman who made him feel, and he was left to choose between her and his child.

  It didn’t matter.

  His heart couldn’t be part of this.

  Ivy needed him, and at the end of the day, he had to protect her. He’d made her. In his error, she was created. Ivy never asked to be here. While she was his joy, she was also his penance.

  “Miss, the Littlemoons have returned,” said the maid. “It’s about time for some tea. Would you care for some?” the woman asked.

  “Sure, Sarah. Hart?”

  “I’m good. Thank you.”

  The woman headed out.

  When he opened his mouth, she cut him off.

  “Please don’t. Don’t ruin today. Wait until tomorrow. Give me one day of happiness. I know I’ll need it when this is all over.”

  Well, that certainly laid the boundaries.

  Kids, to her, ruined the mo
od.

  Now he knew.

  But what was he going to do with it?

  Tori found her brother on the front porch smoking. She found that odd.

  “I thought you gave that up?”

  He reached into his pocket and pulled out his ex-fiancée’s engagement ring.

  “Beau! What the hell did you do?”

  Even his sister knew he’d been to blame.

  “I wasn’t happy about last night, and she handed it back to me. Now I’m trying to end my life one cigarette at a time. I figure since this morning, I’ve lost about half a year.”

  She stared at him. “You better find her and apologize.”

  “About what? How I feel? How she told me to pound sand? What exactly am I supposed to feel horrible about first?”

  The anger was there.

  They could hear it in his voice.

  Julian saw the landmines coming with this one, so he opted to take one for the team. “I’ll handle this. Go in, Victoria.”

  “But…”

  He glanced over at her. “I’ve had this happen to me. If you recall, you and I lived this.”

  She knew he was right.

  Still.

  This was her brother.

  “Okay, Jules.”

  Heading past her brother, he grabbed her arm. Beau looked miserable, and she wanted to weep for him.

  “I need a favor.”

  “What?”

  “No matter what happens, don’t let her go. If one of us has to leave,” Beau offered, “It’ll be me. I’ll leave the agency so she’ll have a place to belong.”

  She wasn’t surprised he’d sacrifice for her. Sometimes, people had fights. It didn’t mean they didn’t love each other.

  “Beau.”

  “Please. Let her stay. I can go back to the military. I can become a cop. She’s burned out her gift. She needs the family to protect her. I have…Mom.”

  Yeah, it sucked saying that.

  It squeezed his heart to the point he thought it would shatter apart.

  Tori hugged him. She rested her head on his shoulder. “Beau, you have to fight for love,” she whispered. At one time, she’d walked away out of stubbornness.

  Tori hoped he wouldn’t make that same mistake. “You can fix this. Do the right thing.”