by Christa Wick
"He hurt you, Alexa," he said, his hand protectively cradling the back of my head. "They both did."
"It's in the past," I sobbed, my face buried against his shoulder as he hugged me more fiercely.
"No, it's here, between us. You carry it with you every day. Until you let it go, it will always be your past, your present and your future."
I knew he was right, but I shook my head in denial. He didn't continue arguing with me, just held me as more people joined the scene. I heard the familiar voices of the Kehoe security guards, then Marjolein and Riona.
Other voices I didn't recognize threw accusations into the air. And then I heard the one voice I dreaded more than any of the others.
Ruth -- the mother who was supposed to protect me as a child, a selfish woman who had wanted to lock me away to keep her husband's dirty little secret and her expensive new lifestyle safe. As unfathomable as it might be to some, Ruth's sin had hurt me far more than Donald's.
"First, you're going to jail," she screamed at Jake, her finger jabbing the air behind my back until it finally landed against my flesh.
Jake tensed, his arms moving to shield me against another poke. Turning, he pushed me toward the safety of Marjolein and Riona, who instantly crowded against me.
"Then, you're going to the poorhouse for what you did to my Donald!"
Horrified, I watched Jake advance on my mother. For each step he took forward, Ruth took one away from him until she butted against the hood of her car and leaned back against it as if she would crawl away.
Jake stopped a foot from her, his voice deadly low as he spoke. "For you, I won't break my rule against touching a woman in anger."
He slid half a foot closer, his body trembling with rage.
"But mark my words, woman. You come near Alexa again or say a word against her, I'll ruin you to the point you're ready to slit your fucking wrists."
He growled the last few words, his palms slamming down against the hood of the car on either side of Ruth. As much fury as crowded Jake's features, my mother's were lit with a righteous indignation.
"There will be protestors with signs outside his work, your home..." Lowering his head until their eyes were level, Jake snapped his teeth at her before finishing. "And your church. Everyone will know what he did and what you tried to cover up."
Ruth's face froze. Her entire body looked as if Jake had just poured cement over her. In a slow drip, I watched her shoulders immobilize and then her chest. Her arms flattened against her sides, the hands motionless.
Jake turned to Riona, his gaze never crossing mine. "Take Alexa inside."
She and Marjolein nodded, their hands wrapping gently around my arms to direct me toward the building. I let them lead me, my brain and body numb. By the time we reached Riona's office, the numbness had disappeared and I was shaking like a leaf in a hurricane.
Marjolein barked an order for someone to brew me a cup of tea. Both women then sat me down on the couch, their bodies embracing me as I dissolved into tears once more.
"He shouldn't have gotten out of the car, I begged him not to," I said, more to myself than the women holding me.
"He did exactly what he should have," Marjolein protested.
"No," Riona disagreed. "He should have pummeled the man into the street and he damn well would have if Mishka hadn't stopped him."
Marjolein murmured her approval, but I kept shaking my head. "He could go to jail."
Riona snorted. "Not happening, honey. You know all the leverage your parents had over you just because you were a kid?"
I nodded, not quite following her line of reasoning.
"Multiply that by ten -- no, by a hundred."
My tears had plastered my hair against my face. Riona delicately brushed the strands aside.
"Jake will have a few discreet words with someone at the top of the police department or the mayor's office. Someone else will have a few discreet words with that asshole and the bitch who was in no way fit to birth you. A fucker like that, he's dirty all over the place. There's bound to be evidence at his home or office--"
"And if there's not," Marjolein answered, "Mishka knows a few people who can make sure there is."
A wicked smile flashed across Riona's face. She leaned closer, her forehead resting against mine. "I know what Jake did might have scared you, but he's a good man. And good men don't go to jail."
"I know," I whispered. Hell, before I had gathered up the courage to go to my mother, I had fantasized about setting Donald on fire. I had even gone out to the garage and siphoned some gasoline into a tall glass. If what Jake had done made him a monster, I was even worse. I had just been too much of a chicken at fourteen about going to jail for most of my life and being subjected to more abuse that I wouldn't be able to run away from.
Riona patted my leg then stood up. "I'm going to dip out for a status check. I'll make sure a guard is just outside this door before I go."
"Thank you," I said and buried my face in my hands. I waited until Riona was gone and then I lifted my head and looked at Marjolein. "Why did he do it? We've barely talked for the last three weeks. Our living together is just business now."
She shook her head. "If he's been silent, I can't tell you why. Everybody reacts in their own way. But I promise that Jake is crazy about you. He threatened to spank me if I used the 'L' word around him again."
Neither her smile nor her proof convinced me.
"He said that because it's not true."
Frowning, she pulled back, her eyes momentarily surfing upward in frustration. "Did you ever think he's being quiet because he's worried that anything he says will push you away? He's a patient man. He isn't just thinking about how the ball is in motion at any given time. He's focused on the end game -- on winning."
"Maybe," I said without actually conceding anything. "But you think he wants to win me when he really wants to control the public's perception about the business and his role in it."
Her eyes went as wide as saucers and then she slapped her hands against her cheeks. "Jake doesn't give a shit about what the public thinks! Would he have broken a man's nose in front of a news camera if everything he's done these past few weeks was for the company?"
"I know you're very fond of him--" I started.
Grabbing my wrists, she tugged me closer. "Just like I'm very fond of you."
Releasing me, she rubbed at my hands and forearms. "You think you're not worth it because those people..."
Her hand left me for a second to gesture angrily at the office door.
"Because those ridiculous excuses for human beings convinced you that you're a burden, a waste, ugly -- too ugly for a pedophile to pick you over your mother. Those were lies pounded into you to hide their crimes."
I didn't answer. I wanted to believe her. Certainly there were bad parents out there and I knew Ruth and Donald were far from being the good kind. But, my whole life before I ran away, everyone had treated me as if I were somehow marked. My supposed birth father and his family had shunned me, as had Ruth's. School wasn't any better, not with the adults or the other students. Guys wanted me for sex. My agent had appeared friendly and caring, but as soon as I dragged my feet on the contract with Jake's company, I had quickly learned my true value to her.
I didn't doubt Marjolein's affection was genuine and deep, but she was damn close to being some kind of modern day saint.
Her hands moved up to seize my shoulders and give me a mild shaking. "They were wrong, Alexa. And I'm begging you to give Jake more time so you can see that he loves you."
Before I could tell her that I had no more time to give, that my staying would only drag Jake and everyone around me into the mud, the door handle turned. I looked up to see Jake step into the room.
"A moment, Jo-Jo," he said, his eyes stuck on me.
"Certainly." She rose then pushed up on her tiptoes to plant a kiss on Jake's cheek, her hand lightly patting his chest. "Handle with care, Romeo. She's pretty broken up right now."
<
br /> Leaving the room, she closed the door behind her.
"I've postponed the meeting with the attorney for a few days and arranged for different accommodations."
I offered a slight nod and a question. "Where are you sending me?"
"Us," he countered. "To a guesthouse on a private, gated estate. Two lane road and no houses around for miles, so it will be obvious if anyone tries to follow."
He pulled me gently to my feet, explaining that we needed to leave before more of the media got wind of what had happened and began staking out the side streets. Compliant, I let him lead me from the room. Marjolein waited in the exterior office, her hand buried in her purse. She pulled out her key ring and unthreaded the fob for her black Ford Fusion.
When Jake handed her the keys to Riona's Audi, a blush crept across Jo-Jo's rounded cheeks. "As much as I wish we could re-start the day, is it bad that I'm excited to drive the R8?"
"You're only human," Jake chuckled. "Christ himself couldn't resist that car."
I said nothing, just wrapped my arms around her in a hug, doubtful that I would ever see her again. When I pulled away, my cheeks were still so wet that I left traces of my makeup on her face. I reached up and smoothed the mark away, but remained silent.
We didn't leave the building on foot. One of the company's supply vans had been pulled into the loading bay. Jake hustled me in. I recognized the back of Mishka's head where he sat in the driver's seat wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap. I would have laughed at all the subterfuge if I hadn't already had a big dose, especially today, of the lengths to which the media would go to satisfy their more sordid audience members. And, damn me, but it didn't get more sordid than the day's events. I could just imagine the evening news feed.
Billionaire brutalizes his fat playmate's step-dad...
With the van intended solely for deliveries, there were no seats in the back. Jake sat on the floor and pulled me into his lap. I was too numb to consider resisting his attempt to make me comfortable.
"Mishka's taking us to a nearby parking garage," he explained as the van turned out of the parking lot.
The boxes were strapped down but we weren't. Jake braced his legs against one of the stacks and wrapped his arms tightly around my chest so we didn't slide. "I had Jo-Jo's car moved there earlier."
"Sounds good," I responded softly.
"I've arranged for some clothes and toiletries to be sent ahead," he continued, his arms still tightly embracing me even though the van was driving in a straight line. "It will be a few days before we can safely bring in your personal effects."
No matter how numb I felt, I couldn't stop analyzing the situation, especially his words. He had talked about my personal effects, not ours. Did that mean he was only staying long enough to make sure I was settled then moving on to separate accommodations?
The thought overtook me until I was lightly struggling against his hold on me.
"Shh, Alexa," he said, his lips against my ear. "It's just a few more minutes and we'll be in Jo-Jo's car. I know you don't want me holding you, but I have to."
My face began to compress. My eyes scrunched tight and my lips flattened against one another. I wanted him to hold me, wanted it too much. I just didn't want his reason for holding me to be some utilitarian need to keep my face from colliding with the side wall of the delivery van.
I stopped moving, my body remaining mostly limp until Mishka turned into the parking garage and the van started to wind its way up the structure in tight, narrow circles. Gravity twisted our bodies until we were chest to chest, Jake's arms still around me. My hands gripped the side bars and my legs were off his lap and pointed toward the back of the van.
Not wanting to look at him, I pressed my face against his shoulder. Heat flared through me. Three weeks had passed since we had been in such intimate contact. His scent and warmth threatened to overwhelm me. I wanted to kiss the flesh beneath my lips, take a small, soft bite to quell my hunger after so much time out of his arms.
The van came to a stop before temptation could cheat me of my dignity. Using the side rails for leverage, I pushed away from Jake and carefully regained a standing position. He stood as Mishka opened the van's rear door.
Jake exited first, his hands out to help me down. I grabbed the edges of the door instead. Something flashed across Jake's face too fast for me to have a chance at reading his emotions. Not that I would have understood his expression. The last three weeks had shown me that I truly knew nothing about Jake's feelings.
Sure, I could tell when he had wanted to fuck me. Before Ruth and Donald's appearance, that desire had seemed ever present. Now that it was gone, I realized just how much we were strangers to one another despite all the intimate contact.
"Shut it down, Alexa," Jake said as he folded me into the car. Turning to Mishka, he shook the man's hand then came around to the Fusion's driver's side. He crawled into the cab, locked the doors then adjusted the driver's seat to account for the rather large discrepancy between his height and Marjolein's.
Finally, as the van pulled away, Jake turned toward me. His hand slid across the center console to rest atop my arm. He gave a short squeeze before speaking again. "I promised I would protect you from the fallout, Alexa. But every time those gears start spinning in your lovely little head, I can see you giving yourself another reason to leave."
His hand slowly tensed around my arm. "Either shut it down or talk to me because I can't argue with the whispers in your head."
I pulled my arm from his grip and twisted until I could stare out the tinted window at the surrounding cars in the garage. "I'm not going anywhere."
Yet...
Satisfied, at least temporarily, Jake started the car. The rest of the drive passed in silence, just like most of the last three weeks. I watched the city fade to suburbs and then watched the suburbs yield to farmland. Once we were about ninety minutes out, we turned down a narrow, two-lane road. Half a mile on, Jake turned into a drive with a gate and no house in sight.
A man whose size and military bearing reminded me of Mishka came into view. He pulled a small remote from his pants pocket and clicked once. The gate opened and Jake pulled forward, stopping once we cleared the gate. Clicking the remote again, the man walked over to the car as the gate closed.
Jake rolled down the window while the man stared at the Ford with one brow lifted.
"It's borrowed," Jake laughed as he held out his hand for the gate's remote. "I think Lorne will forgive me for bringing a hybrid onto his land."
The man offered a doubtful smile but dropped the clicker onto Jake's open palm.
Pulling away, Jake offered me an explanation. "Lorne is a third generation oilman."
"Of course," I murmured as the main house came into view. A massive estate in Texas usually meant wealth built on oil, just like Seattle meant tech money and Hollywood meant the place was owned by a director, A-list celebrity or studio executive.
Passing the main house, the drive disappeared into a line of trees. A quarter mile in, we came upon a small lake with a home beside it. The place had to be at least three thousand square feet, but I was certain the owners coyly referred to it as "the cabin."
The car pulled to a stop. The doors automatically unlocked. I got out before Jake could come around to assist me. Without a glance in his direction, I walked all the way onto the front porch and waited. Even though I wasn't looking at him directly, I couldn't avoid his reflection in the house's glass door as he approached.
His hips and shoulders were rocking that adversarial prowl he had when facing an opponent. It was the same walk I had seen that first night in the Chicago club. He had been stalking me then, figuring out how to bend me to his will once we were onstage, cleverly twisting the scene from a modeling audition to a sex act that left me drained and panting for more.
Hearing him step onto the wooden porch, I moved to the side so he could unlock the door. He did so, pushing the door inward before waiting for me to enter first.
&n
bsp; Daylight from the many floor to ceiling windows flooded the interior.
"The clothes and such should be here by morning, but I'm certain Lorne has the place well stocked with anything we might need in the meantime."
"Of course," I said, repeating my earlier reply before I realized those were the only two words to leave my mouth in the last two hours. "Where is my room?"
Moving past me, Jake placed the keys and gate clicker on the long, tiled breakfast bar that separated the kitchen from the living room.
"Pick whichever one you want." His hand pushed gently at my back as he steered me toward the leather couch opposite the picture window that looked out on the lake. "After we talk."
My eyes scanned the area for the hall or door that would lead me to the bedrooms instead of the couch. "I need to think--"
"You had all the time I'm giving you on the ride here." Unhooking the purse I had hanging on my arm, Jake placed it on the side table. Turning back to me, he wound his fingers through my hair, our bodies drawing closer together. "If you prefer to discuss things standing, in those heels, when you could be sitting on what I am sure is a very comfortable couch with a tranquil view of the lake, I'm fine with that, too."
I blinked once, signaling my defeat. He released his hold on my hair and guided me onto the closest end of the couch. He claimed the spot directly next to me, leaving no room between our bodies. Intent on making sure I not only stayed put but looked at him, as well, he rewrapped his hand in my hair.
"Are you afraid of me after what I did to that cowardly son of a bitch?"
His voice remained smooth and even, but anger lit his gaze. Oddly, I didn't worry that he was angry with me. Or maybe it wasn't so odd. I had seen Jake with Marjolein and, for a shorter period, Riona. I had heard his side of numerous conversations with both women. I had been with him when he flew to Boston to ensure Marjolein's safety after her panicked flight from Dylan.
Floggers aside, Jake was a protector. He didn't raise his hand against women in violence, not even Ruth despite the fury that had made his body shake on the street that morning.