Peter tried to kiss the agony away but I stiffened in his arms as I caressed her cheeks.
“How could he do that?” I asked, my voice sounding desperate even as I felt the security of his arms. “I’m his daughter.”
I choked on a sob, and I wished that he had never shown me my mother’s bracelet in the first place. I pushed away from him and twisted my hair over my neck.
“Caroline?”
“No more,” I said. “He’s already taken too much from me.”
I stepped from the bed and lowered the robe. I could feel Peter’s eyes watching as I stepped closer to the light and I knew he would be examining my bruises. I turned back to face him as he held his breath and waited for me to speak.
“Pick up the bracelet,” I said.
Peter did as he was told and brought the gold squares back to my wrist, right where they belonged.
“That’s what my mother would like,” I muttered. “And…”
“Finish it,” he said. “What were you going to say?”
“I… I think she’d have liked you, too,” I smiled.
Peter looked at me with love in his eyes and he nodded his head before covering my mouth with a kiss.
“Same goes here,” Peter said. “Would have loved to have known her.”
“She…she would have wanted me to call him on this shit,” I said. “I didn’t think I could ever have done that. Not all on my own. But… but now…”
I could say no more and Peter held me close. I basked in the feel of his arms and glanced over his shoulder at the lake rippling just beyond our room.
But now…
“Listen to me,” he whispered.
I offered no resistance as we sat on the edge of the bed and he ran his fingers around my wrist, around the bracelet. As he gazed up at me, he vowed that he would move heaven and earth to keep me safe.
“And if that son of a bitch thinks he’s going to have even one more chance to make you cry, I’ll cook him alive, too. And this time I’ll stay to watch the smoke billow into the sky.”
“I’m really okay, Peter,” I promised. “Just… just having you on my side is enough.”
“But I can do more, Gypsy,” Peter said.
“You don’t have to spend the rest of your life rescuing me.”
“Can’t think of a better use of my time,” he grinned.
“Really?” I teased.
“Danny should paint you looking like this,” Peter said. “Your playful smile is a sight worthy of an entire exhibit courtesy of Danny’s brush. What man wouldn’t fall in love with you if he could capture your strong spirit on his canvas.”
Peter drew me into his lap as he cradled my face in his hands.
“But I’d have to buy it so that no other man could own it,” he laughed.
“But think about it,” he said his face suddenly serious. “Think of all the places we could go. We never did make it to Aruba.”
“You just want to get me in a bikini on the beach.”
“Guilty as charged,” he said as he ran his hand down my back and pressed his lips to my breasts. “But why stop there? I’ll take you to Europe, Asia, wherever you want to go.”
“I just want to be with you, Peter,” I said tenderly touching his cheek.
“So what’s stopping us?” he asked. “Let’s just run and never look back.”
I could see the possibilities reflected in Peter’s eyes. And I thought about what he had said. Bikini, parka, covered head to toe or in nothing at all. All we had to do was keep moving, to never look back.
“Run?” I asked. “Like run away.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Peter said with a sigh.
“Yes you did,” I said. “It’s sweet. And all kinds of tempting.”
“So say yes, Gypsy,” he whispered. “Let’s just see where the breeze blows us.”
But with a great sigh, I simply shook my head.
“Maybe after,” I said. “But I’m going to… I need to look my father in the eye first and make him admit what he did to me.”
Peter’s face blanched.
“I… I don’t think I want you in the same room with him,” he said.
I tightened my lips and grazed my nails against his arms.
“Can’t say it will be a happy family reunion,” I said darkly. “But I want him to know that my eyes are finally open. I want him to know that I can bring him down whenever I want to.”
“You want to bring charges?” Peter asked. “Or… or do you want me to handle it?”
“No,” I said as I shook my head. “He’s not worth trouble. But let him be scared. Let him feel dirty.”
Peter averted his eyes but I forced his eyes to mine and he gently kissed my brow.
“Hate to ask,” I said. “After all that you’ve done for me. But can you… will you help me do this one thing?”
I could see from Peter’s face that the idea of just having to hear my father’s voice turned his stomach, but I was sure about this and I raised my brow questioningly.
“You don’t have to ask,” he finally said. “Say the word, and we’ll… you’ll get it done.”
Chapter Twelve
“Ready to go, Gypsy?” Peter called.
I finished tying my hair behind my neck in a tight braid. Whipping the twined hair over my shoulder, I watched him tip a driver who was decidedly not Morgan, and a small part of me hated the fact that I had allowed myself to be conned. Not that I could have or should have known any better, but looking back, the man’s complete ineptitude when it came to the crashing plane should have set off some kind of a warning sign. There was no way he wouldn’t have been trained to handle some variation on that possibility if he was a good pilot.
“Everything packed?” I asked as I stepped to his side and wrapped my arms around his waist.
“All your presents are on their way home,” he said as he kissed my brow. “But my gift sticks close to me.”
“You sure you’re okay with this?” I asked with a wicked grin. “Slumming in a commercial fight with anyone who can afford the price of a ticket?”
“Hey, if something goes wrong this time, maybe someone else will step into the breach.”
“No way,” I teased. “If you don’t raise your hand, I’ll lift it for you.”
“Now why would you do that?” he asked as he arched his eyebrow. “Trying to put me in harm’s way?”
“Not at all,” I said. “It’s just… I only trust my body in your hands.”
He lifted me off the ground and spun me in his arms. God he felt good, and I almost asked him if we could extend our stay for just one more day. I wasn’t running away anymore. But hiding out for a few more hours certainly held its own special appeal.
“I can switch the flight, Gypsy,” he purred, his body pressing into mine as he twirled my braid around his finger.
“You reading my mind?” I asked.
“Every chance I get. Are we on the same page?” he asked.
“Yes and no,” I confessed as I slid down the length of his lean body, stopping only to kiss his lips and curl my hand around his neck. “I… I want us to get back to this. I really do. But…”
“But you have to take care of some bad business first,” he said with a sigh.
“Now we’re on the same page, Peter.”
Leaving the B&B, I caught sight of Nellie out of the corner of my eye polishing a stainless steel letter opener.
“Careful,” Peter said. “Maybe I should warn any man with a mean mind to just keep walking.”
“I’m too quick,” Nellie said with a chuckle. “Bashed that fella over the head before he knew what hit him.”
Peter laughed, and I joined in the joke. As terrifying as the surrounding circumstances would always be, I still would have paid good money to see her put Swanson in that most uncomfortable of places.
“Thank you again,” I said as I reached over the desk for her hand. “We’d never have gotten out of this without you.”
&
nbsp; “Only hope you crazy kids come back,” she said as she patted my arm.
I meant it when I told her that we would and pulled her neck into a warm embrace. In time, I would follow Peter’s lead, and we would go wherever we wanted to, and despite the darkness, I wanted to come back and really fall in love with him here all over again.
“If not, one for the road,” she said as she handed us a slim bag with a bow obviously containing a bottle of bubbly, unchilled.
“Now this one you two need to drink together,” she said. “See that it doesn’t break en route.”
“We’ll take our lead from you if we need a weapon in short order,” Peter said. “Keep a light burning in the window, Nellie, I’m sure our paths will cross again.”
We were barely in the taxi to the airport when I nudged his ribs.
“Ow!” he cried in a tone of mock distress. “What’s that for?”
“Stay out of my head,” I cautioned with a wink.
“Would much rather get inside other parts of you,” he said with a sly grin.
The driver tried to keep his eyes on the road as Peter pressed my body into the leather behind his back. Not that we doing anything indecent, but he still trailed his hand up my skirt and gently stroked the silk between my thighs. I smacked my lips against his and giggled as he nestled my hair with his nose.
“Did I tell you how beautiful you look this morning?” he asked.
“Only twice. You’re slipping,” I laughed.
“Let’s say stunning then,” he said. “That get me back on your good side?”
“Probation,” I said. “But with privileges.”
“I like the sound of that. I’ll take it.”
Our lips were still locked as we pulled up at the first major airport two towns over from Harrison, and Peter made a point to tip the flushed driver handsomely before putting his arm around my shoulders. I rested my head against his chest and kept it there until we boarded the plane.
“Nellie’s bottle got me thinking,” he started. “You down for a drink?”
“Please. I thought you’d never ask!”
As we floated through the air and toasted the future with vodka on the rocks, I sipped slowly. What would have happened if the plane had taken him away and given Morgan an excuse to show his true colors before I was even out of the woods? No doubt I would be dead by now. Or at least beyond broken.
“Caroline?” Peter broke into my thoughts.
“It’s okay,” I said as I kissed his hand and leaned forward to meet his lips. “I know you have my back.”
“No matter what comes next,” he promised.
I passed the rest of the flight in his arms and only started to tremble when a car came into view. The time was at hand and…
“Mr. Barton!” Brett doffed his cap bowed before us.
Grateful for the familiar face, I stretched to my toes and kissed his cheeks.
“Long time no see,” I said.
“Long and short. I… Miss?”
He gasped at the sight of my face.
“But you… you weren’t that badly beaten up when I…”
“It hardly hurts, Brett,” I assured him. “How are things with you and Penny?”
He told me that there were no worries even as kept his eyes on mine and shook his head.
“Sure you’re okay, Miss?” he asked.
“Better than I look. Winters and Lowe, please.” I whispered. “Hurry if you can.”
Our bodies were jostled in the seat, and I pressed my palm to the window, holding my breath as we turned a sharp corner.
“Easy there!” Peter barked at Brett. “We want to get there in one piece.”
“I already feel as though I’m in a million pieces, Peter,” I whispered.
“You can still change your mind,” he said. “We can head back to my place. Grab a bite or something if you think that it will help.”
But it wouldn’t; putting it off would only prolong the inevitable, and I gripped his hand tighter and finally sighed.
“After,” I said. “We can do all of it after.”
“And you’re sure this is what you want?” he asked.
“It’s what I have to do,” I said and was surprised to hear the tremor in my voice.
I stayed close to his side as the elevator ascended to the penthouse suite, and I clung to his arm as we stepped through the swinging glass doors bearing my father’s name. A pert red head with a bob cut glanced up from the receiving desk and plastered an obligatory smile on her face even as her eyes seemed concerned.
“How can I… are you… are you okay?” the redhead said.
My face still bore traces of Morgan’s marks. My back was better, and Peter’s touch there was soft. I lengthened up his body and nodded my head.
“Caroline Winters,” I said. “I’m here to see my father.”
“Oh! Oh I had no idea that he was expecting you…”
“He isn’t,” I said. “Would you be so kind as to announce me?”
The redhead claimed that his line was busy, and I felt as if I might burst through my skin when Peter eased me towards the waiting area and sat me down gently.
“As soon as he’s available, you tell him that she’s here,” he said over his shoulder to the redhead.
“Yes, sir. I will.”
I tapped my toes against the ground and twisted my tongue around my teeth. I had to do this, had to tell him that it wasn’t a secret anymore and that I was going to live through it without him and be better off.
But it didn’t mean that the thought of seeing him still didn’t scare the hell out of me.
“I’m right here,” Peter soothed as he kissed my cheek. “And you know what I can do if he gets out of line.”
“Don’t burn the place down, Peter,” I said with a small laugh.
“If you say so.”
The redhead finally whispered something that sounded like my name into the receiver, and as soon as she hung up, she beckoned us forward.
“Well?” I asked.
“Your father will see you now.”
Chapter Thirteen
His office was just the way I remembered it. The windows stretched from the floor to the ceiling, and every spare space of wall was covered in a strange array of abstract colors. I was never able to make any sense of the sunlight hitting the rainbow swirls. I used to just think that there was something artistic to spilled paint if it was properly framed. Like what Danny could do.
But now, as I stepped away from Peter and looked closer, I had the distinct impression that the swirls were flesh and limbs. One body holding another down as a gaping black space sat open in a silent cry of anguish.
“I never got it,” I muttered.
“Never got what, Gypsy?” he asked.
“That this was who he was,” I continued. “What he is.”
Peter turned me back to face him, and I suddenly found it a challenge to meet his eyes.
“But he wouldn’t have been like that with my mom, right?” I asked.
“Caroline, I…”
“Because she never would have been with him if she… if she knew that this was what he was.”
When Peter was slow to answer, I looked up into his face and saw his uncertain eyes.
“Peter?”
“Of course not,” he finally said. “She didn’t know. She would have run off screaming if she had.”
A part of me almost felt like I should do that right now, take the first flight to Harrison or Aruba or any place that meant millions of miles away from this spot.
“We can still go, Gypsy,” Peter said reading my thoughts.
I was about to take him up on his offer when the door to the private restroom pushed open.
“Well look who’s here,” my father said nastily.
My father wiped his hands with a linen towel and tossed it into the waste basket just because he could. Was it a power play? I hated the fact that it made me shiver where I stood, but Peter pulled me closer to his side a
nd stared at him hard as he waited for me to speak.
“In the flesh, Daddy,” I said. “Are you… you must be happy to see me.”
“Don’t be so sure,” he said with a laugh as he moved towards his private bar.
I watched the scotch flow into the glass and wanted a taste when he tossed the tumbler-full back and gritted his teeth in my direction.
“This the trash you ran off with?” he asked.
“I…”
“He have the balls to hit me with his own fists?”
I remembered Brett’s blows and how he had saved me.
“You have no idea what Peter can do.”
“Peter?” my father asked. “Does he pay you extra to let you call him that?”
I had no answer when Peter pushed me behind his back and glared at my father.
“Come again?” Peter asked.
My father laughed as he poured out another drink and downed it just as fast.
“Good girls stick close to home,” he said. “Step into their late mother’s shoes.”
“You bastard!”
He seemed stunned that the words escaped my lips and not Peter’s, but he laughed as he drank.
“I thought that Adam sort of slapping you around would be more than enough,” he continued. “But look at you now!”
“Peter didn’t do this to me,” I said emphatically.
“And she lies, you little…” my father spat.
“Peter never hurt me!”
I left Peter’s side and grabbed my father’s collar. His half-empty glass crashed to the floor, but I stopped short of lifting the sharpest shard in a bid to maim him and just kept talking.
“I remembered,” I spat.
“What are you talking about?” he said, looking faintly uncomfortable.
“All of it,” I said. “Every horrible thing that you ever did to me.”
He trembled for all of a second before pushing me back and cracking his knuckles before his chest.
“Caroline,” he said, a tone of sickening sweetness lacing his tone. “I never hurt you. How can you even think that?”
The way he approached me now… this was how he made his way to my bed. Like a lost dog looking for a bone. But this was a different kind of beast. I knew him now for what he was.
The Corrupt Billionaire COMPLETE Box Set Page 30