Did I want Asher tagging along? Fuck no. But I was willing to do anything if it meant her coming back.
“I can’t miss football, or they’ll bench me for the first three games,” Asher said, guilt clear on his face.
“It’s fine,” she replied. “I don’t expect you to do that.”
My head whipped back and forth between the two of them. Watching them was like a stab to the heart. They looked like a couple. I’d already lost her before I had the chance to even get back in the ring.
“I’ll go get my bag,” she said, slowly. She didn’t look at me once before turning around and walking into another room, what I assumed was the bedroom.
“You’ll probably want to put some clothes on, too,” I yelled after her. “And it seems like you’re pissed at me. Good thing we have an entire flight to catch up.”
Her head poked out of the doorframe. “Good thing I’ll be purchasing noise canceling headphones,” she fired back, giving me a dirty look and disappearing back into the room.
CHAPTER FOUR
GABBY
“You’re not ignoring me the entire flight,” Dalton said, making himself comfortable in the seat next to me. “It’s not going to happen.”
“It sure is,” I answered.
As difficult as it was, I had to stick to my word. I knew letting him back in would be a big mistake.
Dalton booked our seats right next to each other. I’d asked to be moved, to trade my ticket in for another flight, anything, but they wouldn’t let me. It was a full flight, and the attendant was too busy listening to Dalton telling her it wasn’t necessary to hear my argument.
I stared over at him and wanted to slap myself for thinking how good he looked. Even after hurting me, I was still attracted to him. Just sitting there next to me, he still turned me on. His hair was swept back and messy, which was my favorite look on him. His gorgeous blue eyes would glance over at me every few seconds, and his t-shirt showed off the muscles in his arms. God, trying not to look at him was going to be one of the hardest things during this flight.
I rummaged through the bag sitting in my lap until I found my Kindle and the headphones I’d bought at one of the terminal shops. They cost me double what I could’ve bought them for online, but anything was worth avoiding conversation.
I jerked forward when the headphones were ripped from my hand.
“You’re not getting these back until we talk,” he warned, his baby blues shining down on me. I grunted when he shoved them into his pocket. Asshole. The man always liked to take charge and get his way.
I crossed my arms. “Fine, Dalton. What do you want to talk about? Would you like my input on what type of flowers you should have at your wedding? Tulips? Lilies?” Oh, and do I get a plus one?” I threw my hands up, my voice getting louder. “Hell, am I even invited?”
My ranting got me even more worked up. Everything he’d done, the way he hurt me, the lies he told, were all coming back and smacking me in the face. Did I want an invite to the wedding? Hell no. I was steering clear of any future events thrown by the Douglas family. Better yet, I was staying away from them, period.
“Or,” I went on, because I couldn’t stop myself. “Should we talk about how you were the first guy, the first damn guy, I ever let in, and you fed me lies.” His mouth opened, most likely to spit out some bullshit apology, but I kept going. “Or should we talk about how your family has messed up my life so bad that I might be an accessory to a murder now?”
I didn’t realize how loud I was being until I finally looked up to see that every eye in first class was on us. Well shit. Dalton slammed his hand against the back of the chair in front of us, causing them all to jump back and pretend to be preoccupied with something else.
“I know you’re pissed at me,” he said, his voice low. “I know what I did was wrong, and stupid, and betraying. Trust me, I fucking know. I take full accountability for my fuck-ups. I hurt you. I hurt us. That’s the biggest mistake of my life. Something I never wanted to do. I didn’t tell you about my engagement because I was trying to break it off, which I did.” I stared down at my lap. This was too much for me. “I haven’t touched her. I haven’t touched anyone, thought about anyone, but you. You’re it for me, Gabby.”
I sucked in a breath at his words, but tried to keep my face cold, which was difficult.
You’re it for me.
I wanted to believe his words. I really did. But I couldn’t. Too much had happened. Too many lies had been told.
“As for this Ivy disaster,” he went on. “I give you my word that I will protect you from any harm or trouble. I will do anything for you. I promise. I love you. I told you I did then, and I wasn’t lying. You’re the love of my life.” He tapped my leg while I stared at him, speechless. “Now that we have that covered, don’t act like you’re Little Miss Innocent, either. Bed hopper.”
“Excuse me?” I shrieked, drawing the attention of the people again. He’d gone from warming my heart to sending a knife through it. The man knew how to turn me hot and then cold.
“You heard me. We break up, and you run straight to Asher’s bed. You were in a damn towel when I walked into his apartment.”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about.” It looked bad. I couldn’t deny that. I needed to tell him I couldn’t give Asher anything because he’d drained everything from me, but I didn’t. I wanted him to be tortured thinking that I no longer belonged to him. Maybe if he thought that, he’d stay away.
I hadn’t even had the chance to talk to Asher since our incident last night. He never came back to the bedroom, instead crashing on the couch. I wanted to crawl out of his bed and apologize, but I was too scared. I didn’t want to hurt him anymore. It was refreshing to get away from him, to think. I only wished my rescuer were someone else.
“I’m not an idiot, Gabby,” he said. “If you hadn’t hooked up with him yet, it was coming. You and I both know that.”
“I don’t fuck people for fun.”
“And neither do I. You’re the only girl who’s been in my bed. In my heart. Can I say the same for you?” He raised a brow.
I leaned over and snagged the headphones from his pocket swiftly before he had the chance to stop me. I plugged them into my phone and turned the volume on high. I didn’t have the patience to have that conversation.
***
I recognized the guy waiting for us at the airport when we walked out of baggage claim. Murphy. He worked in the IT department. I didn’t know him, had never had a conversation with him, but he seemed to be the head chief around there. Asher said he was the best at what they did. He was probably the one who ratted me out to Dalton for being in Florida.
My headphones stayed on during the entire flight. I put my heartbreak playlist on repeat, a way to remind myself to stay pissed at the man sitting next to me. That still didn’t stop him from trying to torture me, though. The light brushes against my arm, his hand resting on my thigh. Every single touch from him sent electricity shooting up my spine.
“Hey guys,” Murphy greeted. He took a step forward and grabbed my bag from me.
I shot him a friendly smile in return. He turned around, popped the trunk, and tossed my bag in. Dalton didn’t have any bags. He knew he wasn’t going to be staying long. I tightened my purse on my shoulder and dipped into the backseat.
I let out a groan and pointed to the front of the car when Dalton slid in next to me. “The empty front seat has your name on it.” I scooted to the edge of my seat, my shoulder smacking into the door.
“The only thing with my name on it is you,” he said. He slammed the door shut and scooted in closer to me. I shivered when his lips brushed against my ear, and his voice lowered to a whisper. “And my favorite is when you’re moaning it.”
I shoved him away from me. “You’re an asshole, you know that? That is never happening again. As soon as I tell the police I have nothing to do with this, I’m staying far away from all of you.”
“Where are we h
eaded?” Murphy asked, looking back at us from the rearview mirror. His unsurprised behavior confirmed he was definitely the one who had tracked me down.
“The office,” Dalton answered.
“And then if you’ll please drop me off at my friend, Cora’s,” I instructed, shooting Dalton a glare. “I’ll give you the directions after we drop him off.”
I flinched when Dalton stretched his arm out along the backseat. “You can’t run away from this, Gabby,” he said. “We have to go to the office and talk to my dad right now. It’s imperative. After that, I’ll drop you off wherever you want, but this has to happen whether you like it or not.”
“I’m not stepping foot in that asshole’s office,” I hissed. “You can go talk to him and then relay any important information to me later with a phone call.” I’d have to unblock him. Unfortunately. “There’s no way in hell I can look at him without wanting to plunge out his eyes with my fingernails.”
Torture twisted on his face. He felt bad for making me do this. “Give him five minutes. If he insults you, if he says one wrong thing, we’ll leave.” He angled himself towards me, his eyes locking with mine. “My biggest priority is to keep you safe. If that means we have to face him for a few minutes, then that’s what we have to do. But I can promise you that I wouldn’t have you do this if there was an easier way.”
I nodded in response, not bothering to say anything else. Even if I did attempt to argue, it wouldn’t have changed anything. We were almost to the office, and unless I planned on jumping out of the car, I was screwed.
I opened up my purse and grabbed my phone. I texted Asher to tell him I’d landed. My next text went to Cora, asking if I could crash at her place for a few days. She immediately texted me back with a yes.
I sat back and listened to them discuss Ivy’s death. They’d been digging into her phone, credit, and browser history. Nothing so far. Apparently, it looked like someone had erased any trace of where she’d been and what she’d been up to.
“What’s John saying about her death?” I asked. Or my father. I still hadn’t come to the acceptance of who he was to me. “How does he feel about his mistress getting murdered? Or is he the one who did it?”
It felt so strange being out of the loop since I’d been so involved in the case before everything happened. I’d questioned Ivy with Dalton. I’d helped blackmail and threaten her. Shoot, I’d even wanted to strangle her myself.
“John is innocent,” Dalton said.
I looked over at him. “And you know this how? The guy doesn’t have the best track record of being honest and forthcoming.”
“John might not be a good person, but he’s not a homicidal maniac. I saw the picture of Ivy’s body, what they’d done to her, and there’s no way he could’ve done something that gruesome.”
“There’s also no way he’d sacrifice everything to kill her,” Murphy said, cutting in. “John’s been on my radar. The media is right about him going missing for a few days, but I tracked his every move. He stayed at a cabin he owns in Chattanooga the entire time. His phone can be tracked to that location as well. There’s no way he could’ve done it.”
“So then who did?” I asked. Maybe John didn’t have blood on his hands, but he could’ve still been involved. My obsession with Dateline taught me that murder for hire was popular for cowards.
“That’s what we have to figure out,” Dalton answered.
“We? Don’t you mean the police? I know you guys are lawyers who fix shit or whatever, but I highly doubt you’re qualified enough to solve a freaking murder.”
“We’re good at doing investigation work,” Dalton said.
“The best,” Murphy added.
“We’re also good at saving our asses.”
“You better be,” I mumbled. I wasn’t going to take the blame for this, and I didn’t care who the hell I had to take down to make sure of it.
***
I wanted to make a run for it when Murphy pulled into the parking garage. I remembered how nervous I’d been my first day of working at Wilson PR, but now the thought of going in there made me sick to my stomach.
“I can do all of the talking,” Dalton said, getting out of the car. “Although you have free reign to tell him how big of an asshole he is. He needs something from you, so he’s not going to act out.”
My palms grew sweaty as I got out and followed him into the building. “That’s exactly what I want to do, but I’m not going to waste my breath. I’m going in there, listening to whatever he has to say, and then I’m leaving.”
“I’m heading to the control center,” Murphy muttered behind us when the elevator doors opened. He gave us a salute and walked away.
I held my purse tight to my side and followed Dalton towards Wilson’s office. Summer’s mouth fell open when she noticed us, and I shot her a wave.
“Dalton,” she said, scrunching her blonde brows together. “And Gabby … this is a surprise.”
“A temporary surprise,” I told her. “You won’t be seeing my face here again.”
She frowned. “That’s too bad.”
Dalton looked between the two of us. We hadn’t exactly been the best of friends, but after she told me about her affair with Wilson, we had a silent bond. I didn’t see her as the stuck-up woman or my enemy who’d been trying to sleep with Dalton. We were allies, two women who shared the same experience. We both had our hearts broken by men who would never be ours.
“Is he in there?” Dalton asked her.
“He sure is,” she replied. “And he’s not in the best mood.”
“Well, that’s not surprising,” I muttered.
“Don’t piss him off anymore if that’s possible. I don’t want to have to deal with him,” she added.
“We’ll try, but I can’t promise that’ll happen,” I told her, with a smile. I needed to find a nice guy to set her up with. She needed to leave Wilson’s greedy ass.
Wilson stood up and walked from behind his desk at our arrival. “Dalton,” he greeted. His eyes moved to me, and I shit you not, a smile formed on his face. Asshole. “And Gabrielle, thank you for coming.” He didn’t seem surprised to see me, so Dalton must’ve given him a heads up. He threw out his arm towards the two free chairs. “Have a seat.”
I walked into the room slowly, sending him a smug smile before taking my chair, and hoped he could see the fuck you etched along my lips. He walked back around his desk and plopped down in the large chair.
I looked at him in disgust. I barely knew the man, yet he’d caused me so much pain. He hated me and made it his personal mission to destroy any happiness that came my way if it involved his family. He’d forced Dalton to lie to me for business gain and then embarrassed me in front of all of them.
I looked over at Dalton and briefly felt sorry for him. He’d been pimped out by his dad and used as a pawn in a game of hierarchy. Any man who sold out his children for money or personal gain was a coward. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he was the one responsible for Ivy’s murder. The man was ruthless.
Wilson cleared his throat before speaking. “Gabrielle, I’m not sure if you’re aware of this or not, but Ivy is dead.”
“I know,” I answered, proud of myself for how strong my voice sounded.
“The police have ruled it a homicide. They’ve questioned Dalton, and we don’t know if they’re going to bring you in. If they do, you tell them nothing, you hear me?”
I’d decided on the way there that I would agree to whatever Wilson wanted. Then I’d do whatever the hell I wanted. I wasn’t taking orders from him anymore.
“Okay, I’ll be sure to let them know I had nothing to do with it.”
One of his dark brows arched toward the ceiling, and he looked at me skeptically. “That’s the thing, I don’t want you talking to them at all. Everyone obviously knows about John’s affair with Ivy, but they don’t know he hired us to cover it up. They don’t need to know that, either. If they bring you in, tell them you won’t say a word withou
t your lawyer.”
“But I don’t have a lawyer. And I’m definitely not going to be paying for one.”
“I’ll take care of that. This firm is filled with lawyers, myself included. I’ll make sure you have one there the minute you arrive.”
“Why are they even questioning us?” I asked. I twisted in my chair to look at Dalton. “Why would they think we did it?”
“They saw the video of you and me leaving Ivy’s apartment,” Dalton answered, not looking away from me.
“Got it,” I drew out. I whipped around to look at Wilson. “Am I free to go now?”
“You can, but one more thing,” Dalton said, getting up from his chair. His face turned serious as he glared at Wilson. “Dad.”
Wilson drew out a breath. “I apologize for any harm I may have caused you, Gabrielle. I never meant for you to get hurt. I care about you being my brother’s stepdaughter. I never want you to feel disrespected.”
His words were sincere, but his tone and his eyes said something different. Wilson Douglas wanted me to become his newest pawn. That wasn’t fucking happening.
“Thank you, I appreciate it,” I replied, turning around and leaving the room. The apology wasn’t accepted. It never would be, but I needed to move on.
I pulled my phone out of my purse while Dalton pushed the elevator button to the first floor. “Cora is coming to get me, so I need to get my bag from the car.”
“I can give you a ride there if you don’t want to wait,” he said.
Breaking Karma Page 4