Impossible Promise

by Sybil Bartel

  I couldn’t wait all day. “Just tell me now.”

  “Can’t.”

  What? “Why not?”

  “I made Blaze a promise. He wants to be there. Now, c’mon, I need you to get up.”

  I smoothed my hands over my hair self-consciously. “I look like shit.” I felt like shit.

  “Don’t do that,” Talon said angrily.

  Confused, I dropped my hands. “Do what?”

  Talon abruptly stood up. “You’re perfect, just how you are. Don’t change that about yourself. You never put on airs, nothing more beautiful than that.”

  I didn’t know what to say.

  “Now c’mon, we’re gonna make an early exit. We got places to be.” Talon walked into the bathroom, picking up Buck’s duffel as he went. “What do you need in here?”

  I followed him into the bathroom, instantly uneasy. “What’s going on?”

  “I’ll tell you in the car, we don’t have much time.” Talon swept the contents on the bathroom counter into the bag then stepped around me as he headed back into the bedroom.

  I turned on a light as Talon opened the dresser drawers and shoved everything into the bag, including my tampon box.

  I got more nervous. “Am I coming back?”

  Talon stopped what he was doing and turned around.

  When I saw his face I gasped. “What happened?” His left eye was half surrounded in a sickening shade of purple, there was bruising along his right jaw bone and his bottom lip was split. I grabbed his face in my hands so I could take a closer look.

  “I’m fine.” He pulled away from me.

  “Did this happen because of me? Because of last night?” I was swimming in guilt. “You need ice.” I touched his jaw but he didn’t flinch.

  “Way past that—it’s a day old. And no, this wasn’t about last night. Quit your worryin’. Right now, we need to get goin’,” he said, all business as he glanced at my arm. “Wound okay? You taking the antibiotics?”

  I looked at my arm. Bruised, scabbed, a little oozy, a little red and a lot gross, I’d seen worse. “Yeah, I’m good.”

  He did a quick scan of my body. “Throw some clothes on and I’ll pack the rest.”

  I looked down. I was in a tank top and panties. I grabbed some pants and a sweater and stepped into the bathroom to change. One of the drawers in the bathroom had my hairbrush and elastics. I brushed my hair out, twisted it up and went back to the bedroom, dumping the brush into the duffel.

  “All set?” Talon looked at me wearily.

  I wanted to ask where we were going but I didn’t want to deal with the answer. I looked around the room, committing it to memory. Inhaling deep, I let my breath out slow. “Ready.”

  “Let’s roll.” Talon took my hand.

  Neil was in his truck, engine idling when we went out to Talon’s Challenger. Talon threw the duffel in an already packed back seat and we hit the road with Neil on our tail before the sun even crested the horizon.

  Talon sped northeast on the state road that cut through the Ocala forest. I leaned back in the seat, trying to calm my growing panic. It was no use. The danger of Miami, seeing Buck, whatever happened to Talon down south, thinking that was following us, all of it melded together and I was a mess.

  Talon reached over and took my hand. “I’m not gonna let anything happen to you.”

  I appreciated the sentiment but after last night, I knew Miami wanted blood. It was only a matter of time. No point in saying anything. I nodded.

  “Talk to me,” he said gently, squeezing my hand.

  “Where are we going?” I may as well get it over with.

  Talon looked at me for a second then back at the road. “A funeral.”

  I hadn’t thought things could get worse but I was wrong. Desperation seized me and my breath started coming in quick, too little gasps of air. I leaned forward, clutching my stomach. “I don’t do funerals.” Sweat broke out across my forehead.

  “I can’t leave you alone,” he said apologetically.

  I rocked in my seat. No, no no no. I didn’t do funerals. I couldn’t. “Just leave me somewhere, anywhere, it doesn’t matter. I don’t care.” The panic was worse than the thought of facing Miami. Fucked-up, twisted psychological bullshit, I know, but I wouldn’t go to another funeral, I couldn’t.

  Talon squeezed my hand. “Hey.”

  The image of my parents’ coffins going into the ground filled my brain, and my vision tunneled.

  “Look at me, damn it!”

  My hand jerked, hard, and I looked up.

  “Hey.”

  I blinked. Then I blinked again. Talon’s profile swam into focus and my lungs sucked in a breath.

  “Can you hear me?”

  I nodded.

  “I fucking care, Layna. I’m not leaving you, you understand me?” Talon glared at me and turned back to the road. “I fucking care,” he muttered.

  I wished his words made it better but they didn’t. They made it worse. He didn’t need to care. He needed to be free of me. I was poison. I sunk low in my seat and stared out the window.

  It was close to eight when Talon threaded through morning traffic in Gainesville, heading toward Buck’s mother’s house.

  “I have nothing to wear.” It was the first I’d spoken in an hour.

  Talon spared me a glance. “Got it covered.”

  I tried another tactic. “Buck won’t want to see me.” Not after last night. And now that I knew he’d come to rescue me despite everything he had going on, I felt sick with guilt.

  “He’s already at the funeral home.”

  “This isn’t my business, I shouldn’t be here.”

  Talon pulled into the driveway and shut the engine. He turned in his seat. “Do you care about Blaze?”

  I nodded.

  “Then you belong here. This shit isn’t for the dead because they’re gone. Funerals, life, they’re for the living. We’re gonna pay our respects and let Blaze say his goodbyes. Then we’re gonna take care of Miami.”

  “Everything is so simple to you.” It wasn’t an insult. If anything, I admired Talon.

  A smile that didn’t touch his eyes turned his lips up. “Life’s only as difficult as you make it. C’mon, let’s get you prettied up, you got places to be.”

  Talon hauled everything out of the car, refusing to let me help. Neil followed with his own bag. Talon used a key and undid the alarm. Dumping his bag in the front hall, Talon walked across the still house toward the bedroom Buck had gone into the one time I’d been here.

  “Follow me, Sugar.”

  As Talon put Buck’s duffel on the bed, I stood in the doorway, and a faint whiff of Buck’s scent tortured my senses. Talon hung something in plastic in the closet and turned to me. “Shower’s across the hall, dress is in the closet, I’ll grab your shoes from my bag.” He glanced at a watch I’d never seen him wear before. “You got forty-five minutes. We have to be at the church at nine.”

  “I can’t use this room. This is Buck’s room.”

  Talon put his hands on his hips. “Well, you sure as shit don’t want to bunk with Neil. And you and I? We’ve been down that road, sweetheart. Safest bet is here.”

  Shit. “Can I just put my stuff in your room?” Then I’d sleep on the couch.

  Talon laughed. “Sorry, Sugar, I’m not about to explain that to Deer Hunter.”

  I wanted to whimper.

  Talon watched my face then softened his expression. “Look, clean up, we’ll worry about it later. It’s a long time between now and bedtime.” With that, he winked and walked off.

  I took my toiletries and scant makeup items to the bathroom. Twenty minutes later I emerged with shiny straight hair, lots of eyeliner, some blush and lip gloss. I padded across the hallway to the bedroom, feeling almost human until I saw the shoes on the floor in front of the closet. They were five-inch black heels with only two thin straps to hold them on. I groaned.

  Reluctantly, I took the dress out of the plastic. “Shit.�
�� Fuck, fuck, fuck. I couldn’t wear this. Everyone would stare at me. I hated Talon right now more than I’d ever hated anyone.

  The dress, if you could call it that, was sheer black lace. Under the lace was a nude layer so the dress would give the impression you had nothing on underneath. If I was lucky, it would go almost my knees.

  I looked at the shoes again. It wasn’t that I couldn’t walk in them, shit—I’d grown up in Miami. If you couldn’t walk in heels by the time you were fifteen, you learned. It’s that I chose not to. Big difference. I picked one up and recognized the designer label. Unfortunately, they were my size.

  Out of time, I shimmied into the dress. I tugged like hell but the hem was firmly staying six inches above my knees. Screw it. I slipped on the shoes, glad I’d painted my toenails a few days ago, and went to look in the bathroom.

  Seriously? Seriously? The dress was so tight I had to take my underwear off. Motherfucker. Not only did I look like a hooker, I was commando. I was gonna kill Talon.

  I put on the only earrings I had, a pair of big hoops covered in rhinestones that I’d snagged from Talon’s shop. Nothing like ten-dollar earrings to go with three-hundred-dollar shoes. I hated to think what the dress had cost. Sighing, I opened the bathroom door and sucked in a shocked breath of air. Talon stood with his fist up like he’d been about to knock.

  As his appearance registered, my eyes went wide and my lungs froze. The sight of Talon stole my breath. Staring at each other, we said nothing.

  Talon recovered first. “Jesus fuckin’ Christ, Sugar,” he said slow and deliberate. “I just died and went to heaven.” His hand went to his chest as his eyes dragged the length of me.

  I was having the same reaction, in reverse. Talon was in a fitted black suit with an exquisite drape, a sharp white shirt and a black silk tie. He’d slicked his hair back, making the planes of his face stand out in swoon-worthy proportions. He had what I’d swear were Ferragamo shoes on his feet, and on closer inspection of the suit... “No fucking way, are you wearing Armani?”

  Staring at my legs, or more precisely, where the hem of the dress met my legs, Talon grinned. “I think I just fell in love.”

  “Fuck you. Armani? Seriously?” He was supposed to be a surfer. Surfers didn’t get to wear Armani. They already looked hot every time they got in the water. It wasn’t fair to take all that muscle-y tan goodness and put another pretty package on it. No stinking way, not fair, simply not fair. And his hair? Did he learn that at a GQ shoot? What the hell?

  “I’m givin’ Kendall a raise the second we get back.” He chuckled, ignoring my Armani comment.

  “Kendall?” Unbelievable. “She did this to me? I’m gonna kill her!”

  Talon threw his head back and howled with laughter. “She didn’t do it to you, she did it to me. I told her to get you somethin’ black and sexy, gave her my credit card. I knew she’d pick somethin’ decent, but... Damn.” He looked me up and down again. “Worth every fuckin’ penny, whatever she spent.”

  Glaring, I put my hands on my hips.

  Talon glanced at my shoes. “Can you walk in those?” he asked curiously.

  Slowly, I sauntered a circle around him then did my best model runway walk up and down the hallway. “And when the bullets start flying, I can even run,” I said bitterly.

  Talon’s face went instantly serious. “You surprise the hell out of me, Sugar. Daily.” He gave his head a quick shake. “Let’s hit it, I don’t want to be late.” He held his hand out. “Ladies first.”

  “You just want to watch my ass as I walk in these shoes.” Asshole.

  Talon tried to hide it but a grin tugged at the corners of his mouth. “That and I’m tryin’ to figure out what you got on underneath that second skin you call a dress.”

  “Pig.” I sneered and headed for the front door.

  Neil, dressed in an impressive black suit, was waiting for us. He looked like Secret Service—but bigger.

  I glanced up at him. “Even in a suit, you scare the hell out of me.” Nervous, pissed, cranky, my mouth had a mind of its own.

  “Even dressed like a lady, you have a foul mouth.”

  It was going to be a long fucking day. The tequila couldn’t come soon enough.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  We took two cars to the church. The lot was already full so Talon waited for Neil to park and walk to the front of the church, then he dropped me off with him. I watched the stream of people filter in for the service. After seeing a few of the women, I wasn’t so upset with my dress anymore. Thank God for college towns. I almost fit in.

  Talon joined us and he and Neil flanked me as we walked inside. My heart started to beat a furious rhythm in expectation of seeing Buck. I had no idea how he would act toward me or if he’d even acknowledge me. I didn’t realize I was wringing my hands until Talon leaned down and whispered in my ear.

  “Relax Sugar, you’re good.” He casually draped his arm around my shoulders and led us to the front of the church. I was anything but good.

  Half a dozen men in uniform were in the front two pews with a few civilians between them. I didn’t see Buck until we were almost to the front. I’d been expecting him in a suit so when I saw him shake Neil’s hand, I almost fainted. In dress blues that fit him like a glove, freshly buzzed hair, the angry scowl from last night missing, he was the most handsome man I’d ever laid eyes on.

  “Thanks for coming,” he said quietly to Neil, not looking at me.

  “Wouldn’t miss it.”

  Talon stepped forward and he and Buck shook hands and hugged at the same time. When Talon released him, Buck glanced at me. The dead look in his eyes nearly killed me. I couldn’t stop myself, I had to touch him. I grabbed his hand and stood on tip toe to kiss his cheek. His aftershave and clean soapy smell mingling with the musk scent that was uniquely him almost made me fall apart. He didn’t return my kiss.

  “I’m so sorry,” I whispered. “I hope it’s okay I came.”

  Without making eye contact, Buck gave a curt nod and turned around.

  Talon ushered us to the second pew. From my seat, I had a perfect view of Buck’s profile. It took everything I had not to stare. I focused instead on people giving him their condolences and almost wished I hadn’t. More than half were women, and not a few were carbon copies of Barbie. I was so caught up in my own jealous misery, I barely noticed the curious stares from the other men in uniform.

  Remarkably, I made it through the service. Reliving every second of my mistakes—with Talon, with Buck—I suffered my crushed heart but felt detached from the funeral itself. The six marines in dress blues carried the coffin out, followed by Buck and the people sitting with him in the front pew. The service seemed to be over before it started and people were shuffling out of the church. Talon had discreetly checked his phone several times during the service and right before we got up to leave, he texted someone. As we stood, he leaned over me to whisper to Neil.

  “Heads up, we got company.”

  Neil nodded.

  Shit. I couldn’t bring this to Buck’s mother’s funeral. “Talon, I can’t—”

  Talon gave a sharp shake of his head.

  Damn it.

  Talon stepped out of the pew, nodded at two men in the row behind us then inclined his head. One of the men looked like a younger, blond version of Neil and the other just looked menacing as hell.

  Talon held me back, letting the other people in our row file out. Neil stood at my back and when the two men and the two women with them got up, the women moved forward but the men stayed back.

  Talon put his arm around my shoulders and I looked up at him. “Tell me what’s going on,” I whispered.

  “Nothin’, Sugar.” He turned to the blond man. “Myles, this is Layna. Layna, this is Neil’s nephew, Myles.”

  Myles smiled and held his hand out. Perfectly streaked blond hair, surfer tan, he was too pretty to be a man but the almost six and half feet of muscle begged to differ. “Hey Layna.” The rich velvet sound
of his voice was almost hypnotic—if you liked that sort of thing.

  “Hi.” I shook his hand, suspicious of the twinkle in his eyes. He screamed rock star or actor, I couldn’t decide which.

  Talon turned me to the other man. “Manners dictate I introduce this one too. Graham, Layna, Layna, Graham.”

  Despite the crisp suit, I got the impression Graham was rough around the edges and not someone you wanted to meet in a dark alley.

  Graham didn’t offer his hand but he nodded his shaved head and spared me a glance. “Layna,” he said in a rough voice.

  “Gentlemen, you mind keeping an eye on my friend while I go get my car?” Talon asked casually while we collectively walked out of the church.

  “Friend?” Myles asked, teasing Talon good naturedly.

  Talon brushed a kiss on top of my head. “Yep, just friends. Aren’t we, Sugar?”

  “Friends,” I agreed, feeling like the butt of a joke they were all privy to.

  Myles looked at me curiously. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but friends isn’t something Talon usually does with women.”

  I couldn’t tell if he was warning me or just giving Talon a hard time. “Oh, I’ve noticed.” I might’ve rolled my eyes.

  Talon and Myles laughed and Graham stared at me. Neil didn’t react.

  “Okay, good, just checking. I feel the need to watch out for the female race when Talon’s around.” Myles smiled.

  I made an exaggerated scan of him from head to toe. “I’d venture to say the same goes for you.” He was model beautiful when he flashed his pearly whites.

  Talon grinned down at me. “Did I mention she’s mouthy?” he said proudly.

  Myles laughed and Neil stepped forward.

  “Eyes open, two males, Hispanic.” Neil scanned the vestibule of the church then nodded we should proceed, falling back to his position behind me.

  All the men got quiet, forming a cage around me like they’d done this a hundred times. Myles came to my left, Graham to my right and Talon dropped his arm.

  “Back in a few, Sugar.” He trotted down the steps.

  Only a handful of people were lingering in front of the church, most had gotten into cars and were lined up for the procession to the cemetery. I felt conspicuous surrounded by three males, all of them turned away from me watching the street and parking lot.