Undeniable: Dom & Gigi

by Callie Harper

  Sinking my head to my hands, I felt a wave of nausea over what might have happened. If I hadn’t gotten to Gigi, if they’d somehow stolen her away right under my nose, driving away with her to God knows where… It was better not to think about it.

  The two men who’d come for her had carried big-boy weapons, but they’d carried out their mission like children, squabbling loudly and letting Gigi escape twice. I’d spotted her the first time. She’d nearly made it out of the shrubs. The sight of her almost getting out into the clear, then being dragged back into their clutches? I knew I’d be replaying that in my brain on sleepless nights. It had been like a nightmare come to life.

  But now I took her hand, gently, not wanting to wake her. They’d given her something to help her rest and ease her pain while they kept her under observation. When we’d first arrived that morning, they almost hadn’t let me in with her. “Family only.” They’d tried to block my presence.

  “He’s my fiancé,” Gigi had managed, her lip swollen, twigs in her hair. She’d never looked more beautiful. Police finally showed up about an hour ago, asking for a statement. She’d declined to talk, and the nurse had told them they needed to leave her alone so she could rest. They’d eyed me with suspicion. I was sure I looked like their textbook definition of a domestic abuser, the tattoos lacing up and down my pumped up muscles. I didn’t let it bother me. I had bigger things to worry about.

  My phone rang with yet another call from Colt. “She still sleeping?”

  “Yes.” I stepped out of the room so I wouldn’t wake her. “The doctor said it’s good. She needs rest.”

  Colt sounded impatient. “I’ll feel better when she’s back here. With doctors I know.”

  “We’ll fly out tomorrow.” The doctor had said he wanted a night of observation and pain meds. Healing couldn’t be rushed, especially with a concussion. Gigi would be discharged tomorrow, and Colt had already made arrangements for a car to take us directly to a private plane.

  “Keep me posted.” I expected to hear from him again in another twenty minutes.

  While Gigi slept, I made some phone calls, mostly international. It looked like the Columbian government was celebrating quite a victory. Somehow they’d managed to infiltrate the top leadership of one of the country’s deadliest cartels. They’d planned and executed a successful, lethal strike, giving them a nearly unprecedented triumph over one of the most feared and violent drug lords of their time.

  Some guys might want glory, their name on a gold plaque hung on a wall giving them credit for success. I just wanted Gigi and her family safe. Somehow it looked like we’d pulled that off. Things had gotten fucked up stateside, but in Columbia the attack had worked even better than hoped. Guys had shown up for that meeting who hadn’t planned on it. The ambush had taken them all out, picking them off with ruthless precision. I knew something would spring up in their absence. Nature abhorred a vacuum, and human nature was a nasty, brutish force.

  But whatever bad guys took over the operations, they wouldn’t target Gigi. The Columbian government was claiming victory, happy to have a win against a drug cartel in their column. And that meant they’d have to deal with the consequences. With no trail leading to the Kavanaughs, the cartel would not be a problem for them again.

  I also thanked the guys who’d set us up with the safe house. Say what you wanted about MCs, but their members knew loyalty. I was the son of one of their brothers, one who’d fallen in the line of duty—or at least their version of it. They assured me they were happy to help. They saw it as fulfilling a debt. My father had given his life protecting their interests. Now, they’d helped his kid out of a jam. And I was sure the money Colt had paid them helped make it more than worth their while.

  Inside the room, I saw Gigi stir. At her side, I was there holding her hand when she opened her eyes. Despite the bruising forming around her eye and her swollen lip, she smiled up at me.

  “Hey.” Her voice sounded scratchy and broken.

  “Hey.” I sat down, kissing her hand so gently, like she was a bird that might fly away if I scared it. “How you feeling?”

  “Drugged.” She gave a soft laugh, then winced even through the pain meds. It was the cracked rib. I hated to see her hurting.

  “You’re safe now, baby. Completely safe. Everything’s been taken care of.”

  “Everything?” Head on the pillow, she gave me a look. Did I mean what she thought I meant?

  “Everything,” I assured her. “For good.”

  A tear slipped down her cheek. “I was worried they’d hurt you.”

  “Me? You were worried about me?” I couldn’t believe this woman. They’d brutalized her and nearly kidnapped her and it was me she’d worried about?

  “You rescued me.” She looked at me like she always did, as if I were her hero, her knight in shining armor. It made my heart swell like a balloon, so full it ached.

  “You were so brave. You fought so hard.” I’d seen her kicking and fighting her way out of their reach like a champion. “A lot of people would have frozen up.”

  “I knew I couldn’t let them get me into a car.” A shudder traveled through her, and I saw her wince again in pain.

  “Shh.” I smoothed back her hair, ran my thumb over her forehead. “You should sleep some more. The nurse’ll be in to check on you again soon. And I’m staying right here.”

  “Don’t go,” she murmured as she closed her eyes again. I held her hand, keeping my word.

  * * *

  §

  * * *

  We flew back to New York the next day, just Gigi and me on a private plane. The doctor had given specific instructions about making sure she rested as much as possible, but if she slept I needed to wake her every three hours. It seemed to me that she might do well with another 24 hours under medical observation, but they assured me she’d be all right.

  I couldn’t 100 percent trust my instincts, anyway. There in Arizona, I had Gigi all to myself. Once we got back to New York, she’d be engulfed by family and friends all eager to see her. Colt had told everyone she’d gone on a cruise to a remote, isolated location. I bet most of them interpreted that as rehab. Gigi seemed squeaky clean, but disappearing for a couple of weeks with no phone contact and only one close family member knowing your whereabouts? Hello Betty Ford.

  I might want to keep Gigi all to myself, but it was time to return her to her loved ones. Colt and Caroline were waiting for us with a limo when we landed. All four of us settled on the L-shaped leather seating inside, Colt on one side of Gigi, Caroline on the other. I told myself they hadn’t intentionally buffered her from me. Colt had been nothing but grateful to me since day one. Whether he suspected anything had gone on between his sister and me, I did not know. All I knew was I already felt her slipping away.

  “Are you sure you’re up for going back to your apartment?” Colt asked, the doting older brother.

  “You’re welcome to stay with us as long as you’d like. We’d love to have you.” It looked like Caroline had jumped right into the older sister role, too.

  “No, I’ll be fine.” Gigi sounded weary. She needed rest, and I worried all the well-meaning attention wouldn’t let her get it.

  “I have appointments set up for you with my doctors first thing tomorrow morning,” Colt explained.

  “I don’t really need to see them. All I need is rest. And I’ve got pain meds if I need them.” She shook the small bag of medication we’d picked up after leaving the hospital.

  “I’ll feel better if you go anyway,” Colt insisted. Then he studied her, exhaustion, bruises and all. “You’re sure about heading to your apartment? Some people might be there.”

  “Who?” she asked.

  “Penny and her boyfriend.”

  “Oh, that’s fine. I’m sure Penny’s been worried sick.”

  Colt assured Gigi that he’d told Penny time and again she was just off on a cruise. A very long cruise with limited to no cell phone reception. I doubted Penny had boug
ht it.

  Back at her apartment, Penny and her boyfriend Zander were there, plus another uptight fancyboy I dimly recognized from four summers ago.

  “Gigi! Penny rushed at her with fervor—too much for a broken rib.

  I stepped between them. “Go easy on her. She’s got some injuries.”

  “Oh my God!” Tears came to Penny’s eyes as she saw Gigi in the light, taking in the bruises and scratches. “What happened to you?”

  “She’s too tired to talk right now.” Colt took Gigi under his wing and led her to the bedroom. “She’s all right, but she needs to rest.”

  Too many of us walked with her to her bedroom, Colt, Caroline, Penny, plus that guy in a pink Oxford who looked like he should be wearing a bow tie and drinking a mint julep. I was the caboose, tagging along, not even able to see Gigi at the front.

  “Who are you?” Tall and slender, the guy I couldn’t quite place stopped at the doorway as if to block it. That was funny.

  “Who are you?” I had an inch of height on him and a hell of a lot of brawn. I gave him a look that let him know I wasn’t afraid to use it.

  He sniffed. “I’m Trevor, Gigi’s fiancé.”

  Like hell he was. Behind him, I caught a glimpse of Caroline helping Gigi into bed. She looked half-asleep already. Now wasn’t the time to go toe-to-toe with this ass-hat.

  “She needs to rest,” I told everyone in the room.

  Colt looked over at me and nodded in agreement. “OK, everybody out.” He started shooing us all out of Gigi’s bedroom.

  “Dom,” Gigi called out softly, her eyelids fluttering shut as she nestled into the pillows. “Thank you.”

  “Get some sleep,” I replied.

  “I’ll make sure she’s settled.” Colt walked me out. Once we were in the hallway, he shook my hand. “I owe you more than I can ever repay.”

  “No.” I shook my head. The last thing I wanted was the guy to write me a fat check. “I’m just glad everything worked out.”

  “Thanks to you.” He rested a hand on my shoulder. “You’re like family to me, Dom. I mean that. Now, go get some rest yourself. I’ll make sure Gigi’s taken care of. And I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  I nodded and headed out on my way. Looked like there was no need for me anymore.

  §

  * * *

  I hung around New York for a few days, staying at my mother’s empty apartment, rattling about like a ghost. I roamed the streets in the sleet and snow, unable to sleep. I had to report back to base in a couple days and then ship out to Afghanistan for the last six months of my tour.

  I called Gigi every day, twice a day, but I avoided seeing her. I told her she needed to rest and spend time with her family and friends. I told her I was busy, too, so she wouldn’t feel guilty. I could hear the sadness in her voice, but I could also always hear other people in the background. She was with the people who loved her, her grandmother, her brothers and sisters-in-law, her friends. I’d gotten her back safe and taken care of the problem. That was what mattered.

  Before Colt could order up a private plane for me, I booked myself a flight back down to North Carolina. Two nights before I left, I walked over to Gigi’s apartment. Standing below, I could see the lights and the movement of people inside. She was back up in her tower. I was back down on the street.

  I bet Trevor was up there with her, pink Oxford and all. I knew he wasn’t actually her fiancé, just an asshole who wanted to be. But I also knew how easily he’d fit into the glittering circle of her life. If she were my woman, I’d drag her away from everything she knew. She’d be ejected from her comfort zone for the rest of her life. I wasn’t cut out to be a New York society guy. She was the original New York “it” girl, with a mix of parties, friends and admiring men swirling around her at all times. No, Trevor wasn’t her fiancé, but he was the type of guy who should be.

  Gigi might have become infatuated with me, but where would that lead in the long run? With all that adrenaline and danger as an aphrodisiac, not to mention the fact that I had her trapped alone with me for days on end, the combustion between us had been inevitable. Going up in flames for a week was one thing. It wouldn’t be good for her over a lifetime.

  I had something I liked to believe about myself—that deep inside I was a good guy. I might have been born into a life of crime and played the heavy from there on out, working security, and now a fully armed military badass infiltrating and striking as needed. But I wanted to be more than that. I wanted to be the standup guy who quietly, selflessly, did the right thing. Even if it hurt like hell.

  * * *

  §

  * * *

  The night before I left, I finally let Gigi convince me to come to her apartment. When I arrived, nobody was there but her.

  “Oh my God I’ve missed you.” She melted into my arms, pressing her cheek to my chest. It felt so good to hold her again. “Why haven’t you come by to see me?”

  “You’ve needed to rest.” I kissed her head and led her over to the couch so she could sit. “How are you feeling?”

  “Much better.” She assured me that she was on the mend, resting so much it was starting to drive her crazy, as was the constant revolving door of well-wishing friends and family. “Caroline’s been amazing,” she reflected, telling me how her sister-in-law had played interference, blocking too much activity and skillfully letting people answer their own questions.

  She laughed, and I was pleased to see her only touch her side slightly in awareness, not acute pain. “I’ve never seen anyone better at not giving an answer but getting people to feel that everything’s been explained.” Some seemed to buy the cruise explanation, others seemed to assume rehab. Good makeup and soft lighting had gone a long way to hide the bruising. Using a subtle “less is more” approach, combined with getting people talking about themselves, it seemed Caroline had managed to diffuse the pressure on Gigi. Colt had found himself a great partner.

  “So, when do you have to go?” She looked up at me, her eyes filled with sadness and longing.

  “Tomorrow.”

  She looked down. “For how long?”

  “I’ve got six more months to serve.”

  “Where will you be?”

  “I can’t tell you.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s classified.”

  “Wait…” She eyed me with suspicion. “What type of army are you in?”

  “The U.S. Army.” I knew what she was asking, but it was cute she didn’t know how to ask me. She didn’t seem to know much about the military.

  “You know what I mean.” She smacked me lightly on the arm. “Are you a regular army guy? Or are you the type of guy who jumps out a helicopter and captures Osama Bin Laden?”

  “I’m not a Navy Seal.”

  “You’re something, though.” She continued examining me as if for clues, but she should know me by now. I wasn’t going to break. “But then, after the six months…?”

  “My active duty will be up.”

  She took a deep breath as if marshaling her courage. Then she looked up and I saw it in her eyes, pure devotion and determination. “I’ll be waiting for you when you get back.”

  “Don’t wait for me, Gigi.” I hated to say it, but I forced myself. “Don’t put your life on hold. The time we spent together, that wasn’t real life.”

  “Are you telling me what I feel isn’t real?” She spoke low and serious, in clear disagreement.

  I exhaled. She was making this hard. “I’m saying some space and time will do you good. You need some time to clear your head.” With six months apart, she’d get her head screwed on right and remember what really mattered to her.

  “You’re a stubborn man.” She got that right. “Too bad I’m a stubborn woman.” I shook my head. She really was, and I had to admit I loved it about her.

  Matter of fact, I loved her. Sitting with her there on the couch with her too bruised and battered to do anything more than hold her gently in my arms, I felt it in
my bones. It was easy to feel intense in the heat of passion, watch her glistening and shuddering with an orgasm, or shoot my come into her deep and feel like I’d never get enough with her. But to sit on a sofa with her so fragile, just holding her and talking and know I could do that the rest of my life? That was the real deal.

  “I’ll be waiting for you when you get back.” She sounded so determined. She’d better not be, because if she was I’d never let her go.

  “I’ve got to go, Gigi.” I stood up. I could tell she was trying not to cry. I had to get out of there fast so I didn’t start talking, start telling her how much I’d be thinking about her, longing for her while I was gone. Good guys didn’t try to bind their women to them with guilt. They set them free.

  I held her, smelling her strawberry hair, kissing her sweet, soft lips one last time.

  “I love you,” she murmured, looking into my eyes. I closed mine, holding her in my arms. Then I walked out and didn’t look back.

  23

  Gigi

  Sitting out on my porch, I took a sip of sweet tea. Saturday morning at ten a.m. and it was already getting hot. That was July in Nashville for you.

  “Going to be a hot one today.” My neighbor Jenny gave me a wave as she stepped out to water the potted flowers on her stoop.

  “Supposed to get into the 90s,” I agreed, enjoying the clink of the ice in my glass. I pressed the cool, smooth surface to my face. “Oh, I wanted to ask you something.” I headed over and solicited her advice about azaleas. A guy in a local nursery had warned me that azaleas needed moist, well-drained soil and needed to be sheltered from the hot afternoon sun. Jenny knew everything there was to know about anything that grew, so she gave me some ideas, walking around with me in my yard to decide on the right place.