Chapter Nine
Darkness fell over the house as Avery dragged herself from the mattress. She’d only managed a few hours’ sleep. Restless and unnerved over her surprise visitor, she couldn’t settle down. How in the hell did Mike find her, or was he telling the truth about accidentally knocking on her door?
Coincidence, he’d said, smiling at her. She didn’t believe in coincidences. Of all the houses on the block, he’d knocked on her door to ask for directions. Even now her stomach clenched and her neck tensed thinking about that. She didn’t know how, but Mike from the plane knew she lived there and didn’t that give her the creeps.
As she strolled down the steps, she rolled their conversation on the plane over and over in her head. She knew at the time something about him didn’t sit right but it wasn’t until she saw him standing at her door that it hit her. She’d never told him her name during the entire flight and yet, he knew it.
Chewing her bottom lip, Avery found her half-full wine bottle and took a sip. Cale had lectured her numerous times about not giving her name to people she didn’t know and it had become a habit. Unless they asked, she didn’t offer and Mike hadn’t asked.
The stewardess could have given it to him when he’d asked her to deliver the drink, she supposed. It wouldn’t take but a second to look on the flight sheet and find it. Maybe, but that didn’t explain him showing up at her door. Still unnerved, Avery went to the door and checked to make sure her alarm was still set. Satisfied her security looked to be in order, she headed to the basement.
After retrieving the thick envelope, she lumbered up the stairs again, grabbed the full bottle of wine from the fridge, rummaged around until she found a candle and an old box of matches and then plunked herself down on the floor in the middle of the living room. Lighting the candle, she positioned it so it wouldn’t fall over and then held what was left of her brother’s life in her hands.
It was just an envelope, simple paper with more paper inside. About as ordinary as it could get, yet opening it held possibilities she wasn’t sure she’d be ready for. Smoothing her hand across the unmarked paper, a tear dribbled from her eye. If Cale were alive and she was mourning a friend, she’d reach out to him for comfort and support, but he wasn’t there. He’d never be there again and the person to whom she could reach out didn’t want her.
Picking up the bottle of wine, Avery took a nice healthy gulp and then pushed Ridge out of her head. No time for the wounded teen act. With trembling fingers, she unsealed the flap, turned the envelope upside down and shook out its contents. Carefully she spread out the smaller envelopes and folded pieces of paper until they lay all around her.
Where to begin and what would she discover when she read? Picking up the first folded group of papers, she opened them and then held them under the candle. After a few moments of reading she squeezed her eyes shut and fought to keep from flinging the papers across the room. At the age of eighteen, Cale had to sign the papers to have their mother committed into the hospital because he could no longer keep her from trying to inflict harm on Avery.
Avery knew what the rest of the documents said. She remembered well the day Cale had called Elizabeth Easton’s doctor and demanded she be put in the hospital as Avery lay bleeding on the floor from another attack brought on by her mother’s delusions. Her mother screamed and cursed at him as he and a paramedic tended the minor cuts on her body.
Cale had never spoke their mother’s name again and when Avery tried to remind him Elizabeth didn’t understand or even know what she was doing, Cale would stop her.
“She knew more than you give her credit for, Avery. Stop defending her. If I hadn’t put her away she’d eventually kill you and I’ll be damned if I allow that.”
Although Avery never understood her mother’s anger toward her, Cale did and refused to enlighten her. Now she’d never know the root to Elizabeth Easton’s mental breakdown. The day Elizabeth took her life in the hospital Cale went out and got drunk. Why he held onto these papers she didn’t know but at this point she saw no reason to keep them. Elizabeth was dead and Cale was gone. Avery slid the papers to the side to be burned as soon as possible.
The next folded group of papers was his contracts with the military. Avery remembered the day he signed them. Another night of heavy drinking and celebrating.
“I’ll be a better man than Dad,” he slurred, falling through the door. “I won’t ever leave you, Av.”
Yeah, that night had been fun. She’d spent hours cleaning him up as he vomited. Thank God she could close the door on their connection for a while or else they both would have had their heads in the toilet.
These documents she would keep for herself as a reminder of their coming of age. Cale going off to be a man and she realizing she had to make a life without him. Avery neatly folded the papers and slid them across the floor.
Over the next few minutes she sifted through medical records, military papers and a few scraps of paper with names jotted down on them. When she picked up a small black notebook, she flipped through it and decided Cale had been a typical man keeping records of his girlfriends. Not wanting to delve into Cale’s personal conquests, Avery pushed it aside.
Grabbing another folded group of papers, she held them under the candle and gasped before physically shuddering. A rush of hot, heavy tears overcame her as she stared through blurry eyes at his life insurance policies. For some reason she’d never even given insurance a thought. Reading down through the document she discovered he’d taken out a six-figure policy and named her as beneficiary.
A wail of grief escaped her throat as her hands shook. As if monetary value could take the place of him. What the hell could he have been thinking? She didn’t want money. She wanted him, here, teasing her, lecturing her and being just Cale. She wanted her brother.
Flipping the page she discovered another policy in a smaller amount with Ridge’s name on it. Why? Why would he do that? Flipping again she found the paperwork that detailed his funeral wishes. Avery quickly crumpled them and tossed them across the room as she screamed her anger and pain. This wasn’t fair. Pounding her fists on the floor she bumped the large envelope. Two personal letters slid out, one with her name on the front and one with Ridge’s.
Avery snatched it up and stared as she sobbed and ran her finger over her name written in his handwriting. Hiccupping and gasping all at the same time, Avery gently opened the letter and removed the paper. Loud sobs echoed around the empty house as she read her brother’s words. The last words she’d ever hear from Cale.
* * * * *
Ridge buffed and polished the frame of his motorcycle under the dim light of a single bulb. The tedious work left him too much time to think. One moment he planned on riding across country and the next he pondered staying put and trying to become the kind of man Avery would be proud to have.
He could get a job and take night classes to learn a trade. Maybe he could get the military to reconsider discharging him and he could take a desk job. Hell, he’d file all damn day if it meant Avery would see him as a whole man.
As he sat in the dirt and rubbed the same spot on the frame for the millionth time, an overwhelming sense of sadness and heartache filled his chest. Tears rushed to his eyes and he found himself blinking them away. Unsure of what was happening, Ridge sat still and quiet as agonizing aloneness and despair filled every molecule of his body.
Rubbing his chest, he swore he heard Avery sobbing and screaming along with a slight buzz, as if he’d downed a six-pack of beer. This wasn’t him. It was her. She was hurting, in pain and half drunk. Gripping the edge of his workbench, he pulled himself to his feet and staggered.
Damn, between his torn leg and her alcoholic buzz, he could barely stand. Still, Avery’s cries ripped through him like a knife through soft butter. Was someone there hurting her? Without thinking he stepped out and stumbled. Catching himself against the wall, he shook his head, trying desperately to clear it.
How the hell was he going to
get to her when he couldn’t even walk? “Avery, what’s going on?” he spoke aloud, hoping it would reach her in some way. He wasn’t sure how this thing worked but if she could feel his anger then she could feel his concern.
“Avery, talk to me, baby. What’s wrong?” Little by little Ridge pulled himself out of the shed and made his way to his truck. He had to get to her. He had to make her pain go away.
Ridge slid behind the wheel, started the truck and then turned on the lights and cursed as the driveway wavered in front of him. For a second he thought about calling Stone and having one of his men check on her but he quickly dismissed that idea. Stone would show up for sure and he didn’t want the man anywhere near her right now.
Focusing, he put the truck in drive and eased out of the driveway. If he couldn’t make it in the truck then he’d damn well walk to her house but he would be there for her this time. She needed him, he knew it all the way down to his toes. She needed him. Not Stone, not the police.
“I’m coming, baby. I’m coming. Hold on,” he told her out loud. The harder he focused, the less intoxicated and more buzzed he felt. Ridge rushed down the road and prayed Stone didn’t have anyone watching him.
The last thing he needed was to get pulled over and delayed. The closer he got to Avery’s house the more intense the grief and need became. “I’m almost there. I’m coming for you.”
Her street came into view and Ridge slowed. Down the road taillights of a cruiser disappeared around the corner and Ridge knew it was a shift change. He had a few minutes before the next cruiser showed. Across the street from her house he found a vacant parking space. He pulled in, slammed the truck into park and crawled from the seat. His leg wasn’t working properly, stiff from the position he sat in on the ground but he pushed forward, the torn limb dragging behind him. Reaching her door, he pounded his fist against the wood.
“Avery!” he shouted, unable to hear her through the door but still acutely aware of drowning in misery. “Avery, it’s Ridge. Open the door.”
Another wave of heartbreak assaulted him. He brought her more sadness. Tears filled his eyes at the knowledge that he could make her feel so unwanted. Ridge pounded on the door again.
“Please, Avery,” he said, laying his head against the door. “Let me in, baby. Let me help you.” As if being pummeled by an ocean wave he sagged under the weight of her despair. “Please,” he spoke in a husky voice. “God, please let me in, Avery.”
The locks on the door clicked and it opened slowly. There she stood, her hair rumpled, her eyes puffy and dark red and the tip of her nose pink. She held a letter in her hand and Ridge instantly knew.
“You shouldn’t have read that alone,” he croaked. The family letter. A letter they’d all written before being shipped off to war.
Avery shook her head as tears flowed in streams down her cheeks. “Who else would be here for me?” she sobbed, dropping to her knees and holding her letter out. “I have no one now.”
Ridge burst through door and slammed it behind him. White hot pain seared through his leg as he crouched in front of her and wrapped her shaking body in his arms. “I’m here for you. I’ll always be here for you.” And he knew deep down in his heart he would never be able to leave her no matter how many times he tried to convince himself otherwise.
Avery pushed away from him, her pretty, splotchy face snarling like a rabid animal. “You lie!” she accused. “Everything is a lie!”
She waved the letter in front of him like a weapon. Confused, Ridge reached out only to have his hands smacked away. She’d finally come to her tipping point. All the grief, the events of the last week, it boiled over and he didn’t have a clue how to help her.
“I’ve never lied to you, Avery.”
Again she shook the letter in his face. “You knew all of it. He never told me but you knew. You both lied to me. How could you both lie to me?”
Ridge frowned. What the hell had Cale written in that letter to set her off like this? “Let me see that, babe. Let me see what Cale wrote.” There were so many things she could be talking about and he needed to be sure which ones they were.
“No!” Avery tried to scramble to her feet but flopped back down on her butt.
When he reached for her again, Avery slapped him across the face. The sting on his freshly scarred flesh let loose his anger. His or hers or both, he couldn’t be sure. Lunging forward, Ridge caught her in his arms and before he could wrestle her to the floor, she head-butted him and broke free, scrambling across the hard wood.
A fire sparked inside his gut. A fire he didn’t think he’d ever experience again. Adrenaline seeped into his veins, making him come alive. Ridge caught Avery by the ankle and dragged her back toward him.
She kicked, catching him in the arm and face, but he held on. “Damn it, Avery! Settle down!” Oh, she was a fighter, a real spunky hellion and damned if he didn’t love it.
“Don’t touch me,” she growled, flipping over onto her back and kicking for his face. “You knew!”
Still not sure what he was supposed to know, Ridge gripped her kicking ankle and pinned her feet to the floor. He’d have a few bruises shortly. “Okay, if you won’t let me read the letter then tell me what I’m supposed to know.”
Avery sat up and gripped him around the throat, sinking her fingers around his trachea and basically cutting off his air.
“You knew about my father and mother. He told you about my mother. Is that why I’m not good enough for you? You think I’m a tramp, too?” she snarled in his face.
At least her tears had stopped, he thought, trying to gasp for air. Releasing one of her ankles, Ridge pried her fingers loose and held her by the wrist. “He told me about your mother but I never once thought of you as anything but a lady,” he gasped. Damn, his throat felt like sandpaper. Where the hell had she learned to fight?
“Why did he tell you and not me?” she growled, kicking with her free leg and nailing him in the knee. “I suppose you knew he was Special Forces, too.”
White light filled his vision as the pain from his injured leg overtook him. She’d made a direct hit and debilitated him. Lunging forward again he let the weight of his body fall onto her and pin her to the floor.
“Get off me! Let me alone!” Avery squirmed underneath him.
The thrill of a good fight and her soft, sexy body beneath his had his body exploding with adrenaline and testosterone. His cock thickened and pulsed beneath his jeans. Positioning himself on top of her, he ground his throbbing organ between her legs and kissed her neck.
God, she was so warm and soft. He couldn’t get enough. She was like a drug. The more she fought, the hotter he got. “Keep fighting, baby,” he snarled, nipping and licking the flesh over her shoulder. Ridge lifted her hands and pinned them to the floor.
Days, weeks, months, years of wanting her came to a head and her feisty nature added to his need. He liked her like this. Avery wasn’t a docile creature like he’d thought. She was spunky, tough and demanding, and he needed more.
“Don’t make me hurt you,” she huffed, turning her head to give him better access.
“Aw, Avery,” he growled against her flesh. “Hurt me, please.”
He felt her shudder and gasp. With his free hand he unsnapped her shorts and slid his hand between her soft mound and panties. Her silky flesh against his thick fingers had him groaning. Dipping his finger between her lips, he cursed.
“Fuck, Avery. So. Wet.” She was like thick, warm syrup beckoning to him, begging to be tasted and he knew one taste would never be enough. He’d had a taste already and since then he’d been going through withdrawals.
“Ridge,” she moaned, bucking her hips against his hand.
“Yeah, baby?” Her temper disappeared and now he had a hot, wanton woman beneath him.
Avery moved, just a slight motion and the next thing he knew she sank her teeth into the underside of his arm holding her hands. Instantly he released her and she gripped his shoulders, rolled and stradd
led him. Her wet pussy positioned over the hard bulge of his cock.
“You knew,” she accused, glaring down at him. “What he did to me.”
Ridge ground his molars together and ran his hands up her arms. “I knew.” And it made him sick to think about it. “I thought you did, too.”
Her pretty face contorted into a mask of disbelief and anguish. She truly hadn’t known how her sick father had snuck into her room. If Cale hadn’t found him, Ridge couldn’t bear thinking what it would have progressed to.
“Why didn’t Cale tell me?”
This would be a struggle for her. She idolized her brother and now she was finding out things that could tarnish his golden halo. “I’m going to go out on a limb here, baby, but I’m guessing it was to protect you.”
“From what?” she snapped. “I would have at least known why my mother wanted to hurt me so fucking bad.”
Cale had told him one night as they drank a case of beer that Elizabeth blamed Avery, not her husband. The shock and strain of her husband’s actions and then him leaving had eaten away at her mind. As time passed, her animosity toward Avery became violent.
Ridge didn’t know what to tell her. He’d always assumed she knew, that she’d been aware of what took place in her room late at night. Ridge didn’t know if it was a blessing or not that the man had done it while she slept so soundly.
“That’s why you always ignored me, isn’t it?” Again her face twisted and her eyes filled with tears. “You couldn’t stand the thought of being with…”
“No!” Ridge rolled, hoping to pin her back underneath him once again. Avery had other ideas.
She brought her knee up and with enough force to knock the wind from his lungs, jabbed. Wheezing for air, he caught her by the wrists as she slipped on the wood floor. On his knees, he pulled her against his body.
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