Except now I knew the truth about how he truly felt.
And I honestly didn’t know if it was better knowing or not knowing.
I moved from the bed quickly, dragging my suitcase from the closet and gathering all my things. My hands shook as I threw everything into my suitcase. Fuck wrinkles and designer labels right now. I had one central focus—getting the hell out of here as fast as I could.
If I could focus on that goal, I would get out of here without breaking down, hopefully without seeing anyone on my way out either. I sure as hell wouldn’t give anyone the satisfaction of seeing me broken—especially Zane—not after last night. I fought back the lump in my throat as I thought about how he had made love to me. He was so…different. Sweet. Dare I say loving. We were different.
Was that seriously just last night?
I glared down at the bed, like it was the problem, not the man that had just ripped the rug out from underneath me with a few words to his friend that I wasn’t meant to hear. I wanted to tear the sheets off the mattress, throw them on the ground in frustration, but instead of giving in to all the hurt and anger, I channeled that energy into throwing things in my bag.
Internally, I scolded myself for ever trusting Zane. I should have known better than to fall for him. Not to mention, I’d been warned. Several times. Maybe those nurses were right and I should have played him, but it was too late now. There was no way I could go on while my heart was involved and in a million tiny little pieces.
Within minutes I was ready to go and my cab was set to get here any second. At this point I didn’t care if I left anything behind. The only thing that mattered was leaving before Zane made it back to our room. He was expecting me to come downstairs, so maybe I’d be able to sneak out without him even knowing.
Almost as if my thoughts conjured him, the doorknob turned. He walked into the room, his steps sure and steady, like we were still on even footing. It was almost comical watching him walk in with his self-assured crooked grin and perfect teeth while I wanted to punch him in the face.
Stupid asshole.
“Hey baby, I wanted to catch a quick shower,” he said as he sat his wallet on the table by the door. “I thought I might have a few minutes since you hadn’t come downstairs yet. Kade wants to go down to the falls if you’re okay with that.” When he finally looked up at me, he frowned. “What’s going on? Why are your bags packed?”
I shook my head. “Does it even matter?”
My voice was flat. Unfeeling. Unwilling to let him in again.
He crossed the room in three strides, but I held up my hands to stop him from touching me. If he touched me, I might lose whatever sense of control over my emotions I’d convinced myself I had. Confusion and concern etched his face and it just made me even more livid.
He tried to reach for me again, but stopped himself as I took two steps away from him. “Of course it matters. What the hell is going on?”
“I mean does it matter since I’m only a piece of ass that you were keeping around so you would have a date to your brother’s wedding? You know, especially since you planned on ending it after the article is done anyway.”
His breath caught in his throat. “Baby, I didn’t—”
“Didn’t what? Mean for me to hear that?” I hissed. “If you haven’t picked up on it yet, whatever this was between us—this game—is over Zane. I’m done.”
“There’s a reason I said those things, none of it is true. Just let me explain—”
“No thanks,” I said shaking my head. “I really don’t give a fuck what you think and I don’t want to listen to any more of your lies. I get that you were a player, that you really didn’t want a relationship, but you were the one to push for this, not me. I wanted it just to be sex, and that wasn’t enough for you. Thanks for that by the way.” I grabbed my bags and narrowed my eyes. “Tell me this, was it always just a game to you?”
He took another step for me and I shoved past him.
“God no—”
“You know what? Don’t answer that because I really don’t want to know, Zane. None of it fucking matters anyway.”
I couldn’t believe how calm I was, angry yes, but still incredibly calm. As much as I wanted to scream and yell and throttle him, I wasn’t.
He moved between me and the door. I made myself look up at him, but I made sure to mask my face before meeting his eyes.
“Dillon, will you just let me tell you what’s going on. Please,” he begged. He took a step closer and I took two back, shaking my head. Would he really never get it? I was done.
“Talking is overrated, remember Zane? You taught me that.” I brushed past him and rested my hand on the doorknob for a second. “I honestly thought I was different to you, but now I know how stupid I was to think that.”
He didn’t turn to face me, but I saw the resigned slump of his shoulders before turning away. Good. Maybe he would actually feel some guilt for whatever screwed up form of entertainment he got from all this bullshit.
I was tired; tired of being lied to and led on for his amusement.
“Please don’t leave,” he whispered.
“I’m already gone, Zane,” I said as I closed the door behind me. It clicked into place behind me and I slumped back against the door, fighting back the growing lump in my throat. My heart and my head hurt like hell, but I couldn’t start dissecting where things went wrong right now. The only thing I needed to focus on now was making it to the airport in time to make my flight. I would make it home without losing my mind, and I needed to put one foot in front of the other to make that happen. Fuck Zane Turner and all his manipulation and lies.
I was going home.
Chapter 21
Zane
Maybe I should have gone after Dillon, but I couldn’t. Not yet. Not until I had everything I needed to put my bastard stepfather behind bars and keep her safe. There was no way in hell I was putting her in the middle of this. I had to finish what she’d started, not just to save my ass, but to show her that I believed in her.
Kade knew what I was doing when I said all those things about my relationship with Dillon, and he’d called me out on my bullshit, but I never meant what I said, or expected her to overhear any of it.
Anger at the injustice of everything boiled just under the surface. I wanted to punch something. Anything. Mainly my asshole stepfather, but I would settle for a wall right now.
How did I go from an uncaring asshole to this in a matter of weeks? Dillon meant everything to me and I couldn’t wait to tell her. If she’d pick up her damn phone I would start. Last night had scared the shit out of me because I wanted so much more. It was the first time I could see myself opening up to someone. Now I wanted everything. Kade was right, I was pushing her away without even realizing it.
Now she was gone.
And I didn’t know if I would ever get her to listen to me again. I grabbed my cell phone out my pocket again and sent a text to the only person that might be able to help me. As I waited, I laid back on the bed and tried not to breathe deeper to take in more of Dillon’s floral scent that still clung to the sheets. It was too much. I couldn’t stay lying there, wishing she was coming back. I knew she wasn’t.
There was a knock on my door a few minutes later. Savannah peeked her head in and closed the door behind her when she saw me on the edge of the bed with my head hanging in my hands. I was such a fucking mess right now and as much as I didn’t want anyone to see me like this, I needed the help more. She walked to the bed and sat down next to me.
“Why did she leave?” she asked softly.
It surprised me, because I expected tough love, not this side of her. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.
“It’s a long story.”
“We’ve got time.” She took my hand in hers and squeezed once. Giving me the courage I needed.
So I told her the whole sordid story. I explained how Dillon had started an investigation into ESEC and how all fingers pointed back to me, but w
hen she dug deeper things weren’t exactly what they seemed. And how Dillon had finally confided in me about what was going on and I’d reacted like a fucking idiot. Then I told Savannah that I was in love with Dillon. I opened up about making love with her and that I was finally ready to admit that I wanted more than just sex and having some brainless bimbo on my arm week after week. And finally, I laughed humorlessly as I explained the conversation with Kade and what Dillon had overheard was my last ditch attempt at self preservation.
Savannah was quiet when I finished. I didn’t blame her. It was a lot to digest, but I needed some kind of response. Good or bad it didn’t matter. I just needed her to help me, give me some kind of hope for the future.
“Zane, if you love her why didn’t you stop her? You could have tried harder to make her listen to you.”
I winced. “I wanted to. God I wanted to, but I just…couldn’t.”
“You’re scared.”
“Terrified,” I whispered. “Among other things, but yeah, I’m scared as hell that I’m going to lose her.” I sucked in a breath. “And now I’ve ruined your honeymoon. This was supposed to be your perfect wedding and I’ve fucked it all up with my drama. Justin is going to be pissed.”
She waved me off. “I left Justin in a sex dazed coma. He’ll be fine for the next few hours while we talk about this. Zane, you haven’t fucked anything up. We’ve been friends for how long?”
“Ten years.”
“Ten long years and I’ve never once seen you look at anyone the way you look at Dillon. If you didn’t come to me with this I would’ve been pissed at you.” She was quiet for a minute. “I get that you’re scared, but sometimes there’s some pretty damn good payoff when you get over that fear. You and your brother are more alike than you know.”
She stared down at the rings on her left hand. My brother had been terrified of commitment and marriage, but somehow Savannah had helped him realize how stupid he was being and what he’d be giving up if he let her go.
“There’s no way to fix this is there?” I asked.
She pulled me into a side hug. “There is, we just have to figure it out. Do you have proof that David is setting you up?”
I shook my head. I knew where it was though and damn it I was going to get it. When it was all turned over to the police I wasn’t sure how that particular situation would go since it wasn’t exactly legal how I planned to get it, but first I had to get Dillon listen to me.
Savannah tapped her lips with her nails. “Dillon needs to write this story, and it has to go national. It can’t be some little article that’s swept under the rug with local news and politicians that can be bought off. We can’t risk you going down for any of David’s shit.”
“I wanted to tell her that I knew where to look to get what she needed once the weekend was over. I wanted this time for us. That was obviously a mistake,” I muttered.
She arched a brow and narrowed her lips. “Don’t beat yourself up over this. She has some trust issues of her own—not that I blame her for leaving after what she heard—but you’ve both made mistakes.” She patted my arm again. “Truth or dare?”
Now I was the one giving her a funny look. “Dare.”
“I dare you to go tell Dillon you love her.”
* * *
Six hours later I was standing in front of her door, knocking loudly and waiting for her neighbors to start calling the cops on me. I called out her name again and my head thunked against the hard wood as I waited for someone—anyone—to answer the door. She either wasn’t home, or she was avoiding me. I didn’t blame her for that. Hell, I would avoid me too if I could.
I never should have let her leave without explaining things, I thought for the millionth time that day.
“Baby, if you’re here, please open the door.”
The door wrenched open, causing me to trip inside the apartment. Hands gripped my shoulders tugging me back up to my feet. Instead of Dillon staring me down with her adorable mad face it was Jake.
And he looked fucking pissed.
“Thank God. Do you know where Dillon is? I have to—”
I never saw his fist coming—until I was laid out on the floor of her entryway. Fucker punched hard too. My jaw ached and I wondered if the side of my face was broken. Kade would have to fix me. And shit, wasn’t this guy a cop? He wasn’t supposed to be punching civilians, not that I didn’t deserve it for upsetting his sister.
“Stay the hell away from Dillon.”
I tried to sit up, but the room was still spinning so I laid back down. “I have what she needs to finish her story.”
Jake came into my vision from above me. “What are you talking about?”
Of course he was going to play dumb.
“She told me before we left for Niagara Falls. I brought her some of the things she couldn’t get on her own.”
He ran a hand over his face. “Why do I think there’s more to the story than either one of you have told me?”
“Because there is,” I huffed out. He glared at me, but I ignored him and attempted to sit up again. This time I was able to lean back against the wall. I ran a hand over my jaw. “I know you’re just protecting your sister, but fuck Jake. I’m a neurosurgeon. Do you even realize the damage you can do when someone punches as hard as you do?”
He folded his arms over his chest. “Start talking or I’ll do it again.”
I cracked my jaw and rested my head against the sheetrock behind me. “I’m in love with Dillon. She heard me say some things that weren’t…correct, but I thought would protect me in the long run. I was wrong.”
He offered his hand to help me get up off the floor. “You couldn’t have told her this before she ran out of your house?”
I took the offered hand and drug myself up off the floor. Jake nodded for me to follow him to the kitchen. It took a lot of restraint not to look over at the spot where I’d fucked his sister the night I caught her baking cookies. He really didn’t need to know about that or I would probably be back on the floor.
“She didn’t give me much of a chance.”
He pulled two glasses out of the cabinet and found a bottle of Dillon’s Glenlivit. I took the offered glass and raised it in a silent toast. “It took you a long damn time to get here if you’re so in love with her.”
“It took forever to get a flight out of NFS since it was the middle of the night, not to mention I had to explain to my mom why I was bailing on our family weekend. I came straight here from the airport. Where is Dillon?”
He ignored my question. “So what was your plan genius? Come here and explain everything to D? Expect her to fall in your arms and forgive you for being such a dick?”
“Nothing is ever that easy with your sister,” I muttered. “I hadn’t really come up with a plan. I just wanted to find her and talk to her, try to get her to listen.”
He grinned. “Glad to see she isn’t making it easy on you, Turner.”
“Your sister is the most stubborn, most amazing woman I’ve ever met in my life. She’s impossible, but I’m head over heels in love with her. Please, I’m begging you Jake, tell me where she is.”
He studied me for a few minutes.
“Please, I have to make things right with her.” Apparently I wasn’t above begging for his help either.
Jake took a sip of his whiskey and cocked his head to the side, considering his options. “If you hurt her again I’ll make that last punch look like a kiss on the cheek. Got me?”
I nodded.
“Did Dillon ever tell you about the family cottage in South Carolina?”
“The one on Pawley’s Island?” I asked.
He looked impressed. “That’s the one. She must like you more than she let on. I don’t think she’s mentioned that place since before our mom died.”
“That’s where she is?” I demanded, my impatience getting the best of me.
“Yeah, but I can’t guarantee she’s going to listen to you.”
I glared at him. �
�Look, I know I fucked up, but I’m not Travis.”
He looked at me incredulously. “She really did like you if she told you about him.”
“I just want a chance to talk to her,” I said with less venom this time.
Jake reached over and grabbed a notepad. I watched him write down an address. “That’s where she is, but you might want to give her a day or two to cool off. She’s hurt right now and not thinking straight. She quit her job.”
“Why in the hell did she do that?”
He stared at me for a few seconds. “The way she sees it, she ruined her integrity as an investigative journalist because she fell in love with you.”
I held back the smile that was trying to take over my face.
She loves me.
I didn’t realize how terrified I was that she wouldn’t love me back until Jake admitted to me that she was in love with me. I needed to find a flight out of Georgia.
“Thank you, Jake. I promise I’ll take care of her.”
He smirked. “If she’ll let you.”
I chuckled and swirled the drink around in my glass. “You’re right, if she’ll let me.”
Chapter 22
Dillon
The wind blew harder on the beach than it did on the porch of the beach house. I’d hoped actually being in the sand would help me clear my head because nothing else had helped. Piper and Jake had argued with me when I told them I was planning to quit my job and come out to Pawley’s Island for a while, but they couldn’t make me change my mind.
Will had been upset, then livid, and finally accepting by the time we got off the phone. He wasn’t thrilled, but he was happy that I’d agreed to still write an occasional freelance piece with the understanding that it wouldn’t be anything as heavy hitting as it used to be. There was no way I could ever write like that again and be sure that I would stay objective.
Not for a long time anyway.
The island was the best getaway I could think of. People who lived on the island full time recognized me, but there was enough anonymity to suit me just fine. Luckily in the winter there weren’t as many tourists, so I could walk the beach without being interrupted. It had been a week since I’d first arrived at the house and other than a phone call to Jake to let him know I was here I hadn’t even looked at my phone. It was shoved somewhere in the back of my suitcase, probably with a dead battery and a ton of voicemails.
Coming For You Page 17