by Ella Miles
Axel looks back at me sadly, like I’m a stray puppy without a home or something.
“I’m fine. Don’t look at me that way.”
He shakes his head. “You are anything but fine.”
“Yeah, you’re an idiot,” Sebastian says, taking a seat at the bar across from me.
“Should you be in the bar after just getting finished with your treatment program?” I ask.
“Bars aren’t a trigger for me.”
I frown. “What are your triggers then?”
“Anger, resentment, feeling betrayed, losing focus, and parties. No party, no need to drink.”
“There is a party here tonight. You can’t stay.”
“I don’t plan on staying.”
I roll my eyes. “You just plan on calling me an idiot again and then leaving?’
He shrugs. “Something like that.”
Ugh, I need a drink, but I’m not drinking in front of Sebastian. He’s been sober for two months now. I won’t be the reason he screws that up. Which is also why I’m not letting him hang out in the bar.
“Well, tell me how much of an idiot I am so that we can get on with our lives.”
Sebastian gives a smug smile to Axel, who leans against the bar to join our conversation.
“You’re an idiot because you broke up with Larkyn; filed for divorce even. You need to call her,” Sebastian says.
“No, she made her decision. She doesn’t want to be with me.”
“Just call her,” Sebastian says.
“No, that’s enough. If you just came here to talk about Larkyn, I’m done,” I say, giving Sebastian a warning glance. He may be my brother, and he may be getting his life together, but I’ve slugged him before, I’ll do it again if he pisses me off.
Sebastian nods slowly, his head bobbing several times. “Fair enough. Then, I guess I don’t have anything else to say.” He turns toward Axel. “Can you get me a club soda?”
Axel tightens his lips and then makes a club soda for Sebastian and himself. He slides the drink to Sebastian.
“Have you heard from Larkyn lately? I know she used to love this bar,” Sebastian says, staring at Axel.
“I know what you are doing, and it’s not going to work,” I say, annoyed.
“No, she hasn’t come in lately. How has she been?” Axel asks, both men ignoring me completely.
“She’s doing well. Really well, actually,” Sebastian answers.
“That’s awesome. Where has she been working? Is she still at the yoga studio?” Axel asks.
Sebastian grins. “No, actually, Larkyn and I started a business together. A non-profit. It’s a healing center meant to help people that are struggling. It provides them a place to stay, people to talk to, and connects them with the treatment they may need. Larkyn’s been running it with me. She occasionally helps teach a yoga or fitness class, but she mainly runs it as my business partner.”
I listen to Sebastian. I can’t help it. But then I already knew what she was doing because as much as I should leave her alone, I can’t help but stalk her online.
“Is she seeing anyone?” Axel asks, his eyes cutting to me.
I growl.
Both men smirk. “Not that I’m aware of, but then again, we are only business partners. She doesn’t tell me everything,” Sebastian says.
“Okay, you’ve had your fun. Get out,” I say, annoyed with both my best friend and brother.
Sebastian and Axel laugh. Sebastian stands. “Fine, fine. I’m going.”
Sebastian’s phone buzzes, and he pulls it out of his pocket. “Hey, Larkyn.” He smirks at me as he answers the phone.
My blood is boiling, but I also really want to hear her voice on the other side of the phone, so much that I lean over the bar so that if an opportunity presents itself, I can snatch the phone out of Sebastion’s hands.
“Wait Larkyn, slow down. What do you mean he’s out?”
My heart stops. I don’t know what’s happening, but I hate the way Sebastian’s voice just hiked up several octaves higher.
“No, don’t leave your house. You have a security system, and he shouldn’t be able to find where you live. I’ll be there in five. Lock all the doors, and arm the security system until I get there. And try to relax. He’s not going to come straight for you after getting out of prison. I’ll call my lawyer on the way over and see what’s happening with his case and if he’ll end up back in prison soon,” Sebastian says.
“Nathan got released on bail?” I ask, unable to contain my anger in my voice.
Sebastian nods.
“I have to go,” I say, as I hop over the bar and start running toward my car. I hear Sebastian behind me, but don’t wait for him.
I run and jump into my McLaren in one motion, enter the address I know she’s lives at into my phone, and then take off as the directions appear on my phone. I’ve never driven by Larkyn’s house, but I had my lawyer find her new address for emergencies like this or for when I couldn’t stand to be apart from her for another second.
If Nathan so much as lays a hand on her, I’ll kill him. Larkyn has been through enough. He doesn’t get to touch her. Ever. She’s mine.
He was supposed to stay locked up this time. I reported that he was dealing cocaine again, even though, I didn’t have evidence. Just a hunch. My statement was enough for his parole officer to do a random search. Turns out he was dealing again. He was supposed to be locked up again for years.
It takes me five minutes to get to the address. I park my car, but don’t even bother to turn off the ignition. I need to get to her. Last time Nathan was released, he went straight for her. I won’t let him hurt her again.
I run up the driveway and take in the cute modest house in front of me. It definitely isn’t a million dollar house, but I wasn’t expecting it to be. It looks exactly like Larkyn. Independent, adorable, and perfect.
I knock on the door, pounding loudly with everything I have while I beg her to answer. She can hate me, but I need to see that she is alright.
The door creeps open the tiniest crack so that I can only see her head as she peers around the door.
“What are you doing here?” she asks.
“What are you doing answering the door when there is a known criminal on the loose?”
She frowns. “I saw you on my security camera Sebastian helped me install.” She nods toward the corner of her porch. I see the tiny camera staring right at me.
“Let me in. I want to stay with you until Nathan goes back to prison.”
She shakes her head. “I don’t think that is a good idea. Sebastian will be here any minute to help. And I’ve already spoken with the police. There is nothing we can do until his next trial date later this month. He’s out on bail.”
“Please, let me stay. I won’t be able to breathe if I don’t know you are safe,” I say, looking deep into her eyes and I can see her caving. She wants me here as much as I want to be here.
I put my hand on the door, gently pushing it open, hoping that once it’s open, she will invite me in.
We both stop breathing as the door swings open, and I get a full view of her. She’s beautiful, but there is something different about her I can’t place. She’s happier than she was with me, maybe that’s it. I can’t keep my eyes off her body. I scan her body up and down. Over her tight jeans and stomach that is protruding the tiniest bit over her jeans.
I narrow my eyes and look again. There’s a bump. Not a huge bump, but definitely a bump. One that is very noticeable on her usually smooth, rock hard stomach.
My eyes meet Larkyn’s, and her eyes glisten with moisture. She’s about to cry.
“You’re pregnant?” I ask.
She nods, swallowing hard.
“It’s mine, isn’t it?”
She nods.
“Larkyn, I’m so sorry, I was an ass.” A smile creeps up on my face as I realize I’m going to be a dad, and the woman I love is going to be the mother. This is my chance to change things, to mak
e things right.
“No,” she says, as I move toward her.
I stop. “Please let me fix this. We are having a baby together. Let me fix things.”
Her lip trembles, but she doesn’t back down. “There is no together. No us. I’m having a baby, and you can be in this baby’s life or not. I’m not looking for money, or child support, or inheritance. I would love for my child to have a father, so if you would like to be in my baby’s life, then we can get our lawyers together to discuss a custody arrangement. Otherwise, I don’t want to see you again.”
“Larkyn, please let me explain—”
Her eyes aren’t looking at me anymore; they are looking past me.
I glance behind me and see Sebastian standing on the foot of the porch.
“I can go if you two need more time to talk. I’ll do whatever you want me to do, Larkyn,” Sebastian says, ignoring me.
“Come in,” she says, and Sebastian steps inside her home. A man she once hated for almost running her over; she now welcomes in so easily. But me, a man who loves her, she views as a betrayer. I still don’t know what sparked her to fight with me the night she left, but it was clear she wanted out, that’s why she said what she did.
“Please,” I beg, as I bend down on one knee, like that will somehow convince her.
“I’m sorry,” she says, closing the door.
And then I’m alone on her porch.
So instead, I say what I need to say to her, to her front door, and hope she’s listening. “It was all fake. The reason we aren’t together. The fighting. All fake. I love you, Larkyn. I was an ass because that’s what you needed. I would do anything for you, and I thought I was doing the right thing by pushing us away from each other. But I was wrong. We belong together.
“I know you are upset about how I kept pressuring you about what you did with the money. But I’ve known all along what you did with the money. I’ve always known. You didn’t use it to buy this house. And I love you more for it.”
No answer. Not that I was expecting one. I let my hand rest against the door for a second, needing to be as close to her as possible.
And then I walk over to the bench on her porch and sit down on it. I’m not moving from this spot until I see Larkyn again. She needs to know I’m here for her and our baby no matter what. And that starts with actions, then maybe she’ll listen to my words.
19
Larkyn
“Kade is sleeping on your front porch,” Sebastian says, peering through my blinds.
“So?”
Sebastian drops the blind he had lifted up and walks over to the small white couch to sit next to me. I found this couch at a thrift store, and I love it.
“So, don’t you think you should give him another chance?”
“No.”
“You gave me another chance and look how that turned out,” he says, wiggling his eyebrows to try to make me laugh. It’s not going to work.
I sip my tea. “No.”
Sebastian sighs. “You have to talk to him at some point. He is your baby’s father.”
“That’s what I have lawyers for.” I tuck my feet underneath me as I rest my teacup on my leg.
Sebastian reaches out and touches my leg lovingly. “I’m meeting with a few people this morning to work on the building construction. I can cancel if you want me to stay here.”
“No, I’m fine. Besides, I have my trusty guard outside.”
Sebastian gives me a weak smile. “You two had better have talked to each other and made up by the time I return.”
“Don’t count on it,” I say, returning to my tea.
Sebastian gets up and walks out my front door. I peak around to see if Kade will try to sneak in before Sebastian has a chance to lock it, but I see no signs of Kade. Maybe he went home?
I finish my tea, and it’s mid-morning, but I’m already exhausted. I don’t have any meetings today, but I do have a lot of emails to go through. First, I need a nap; then I’ll get to the emails.
I grab the grey throw draped over the back of the couch and pull it over me, curling up on the couch. I should be thinking about how I’m going to get the courage to talk to Kade, but all I can focus on right now is sleep.
I feel his hot breath on my neck.
I smile.
Kade.
I don’t care that he snuck into my house. Or that he’s breathing over me. Or that he woke me up from a much-needed nap. I’m just happy he’s fighting to be in my life.
I open my eyes. And jump to my feet when I see the eyes staring back at me. They don’t belong to Kade. These eyes are far too evil.
“Nathan,” I say, stepping backward trying to reach for my phone on the coffee table behind me. But when I reach the coffee table, I feel nothing.
Nathan smirks. “Looking for this?” he asks, holding the phone up.
I take a deep breath and stare at the door behind me. Kade will hear. I need to talk loudly, and he’ll call the police. But when I glance out the window and see it’s dark outside, my confidence fades. How did I sleep the entire day away? Where is Sebastian? And did Kade manage to sleep on my front porch for another night?
“What do you want, Nathan?” I ask, trying to think of what to do next to keep Nathan occupied.
“I’m here for you, of course.”
I nod. Trying to stay calm as I grasp my belly. I won’t let him hurt you, I think.
“You don’t want to do this, Nathan. You are free. You should go live your life.”
He glares at me. “I’m out on bail. I’ll be going back as soon as you testify against me. You’re nothing but a fucking liar.”
I swallow. “I won’t testify to anything. I can’t. What happened between us was a long time ago.”
Nathan steps closer to me, and I freeze, just like before. I can’t save myself. I’m not strong enough.
He reaches out to grab my arm, and finally, I snap awake.
“No,” I cry loudly, not this time. I swat his hand away and run toward the front door.
I grab the doorknob and pull, but the door is locked with three different locks. Why didn’t I think about how to make a quick escape?
I turn the first lock.
Then, the second.
I reach for the third, high up on the door, when Nathan’s hands squeeze my neck.
I cry out as he pulls me away from the door.
“Help!” I scream, finally finding my voice. “Someone help me!”
Glass breaks in the window over the porch, and Kade’s body comes barreling through. He doesn’t stop until he reaches us, knocking us both to the ground as he goes after Nathan. I roll away from the two men as I watch Kade punch Nathan in the face over and over. Blood spews everywhere. And Kade easily wins the fight.
“Call 911,” Kade says, pulling his phone from his pocket and holding down Nathan.
I call, and within minutes we hear the police sirens. Kade gets a few more punches in before the police arrive. They handcuff Nathan and take our statements. They all insist I go to the hospital, but I don’t want to spend the day in the hospital, so instead, I have a medic check me out, and after promising to make a doctor appointment for tomorrow, just in case, we are left alone.
“You’re safe now,” Kade says, stroking my face. “I guess I should go too.” He glances toward my front door.
“No.”
His face lights up, but the sternness of my face dissipates any happiness on his. This isn’t going to be an easy conversation.
“I love you, Larkyn,” Kade says.
I bite my lip. I’ve been waiting months to hear him say those words to me and mean them.
I nod, because I can’t force my lips to say them back. Not until I hear more. Because if I admit I love him, and this doesn’t work out between us, my heart will break worse than when Nathan attacked.
“I know you set up a foundation to help people. That’s what the money went to. I know that money is now being used to start the non-profit with Sebastian to h
elp people heal from whatever pain they are dealing with.”
I nod. I’m sure Sebastian eventually told him the truth.
“What you don’t know is I’ve always known. From the first day you set up an account to use the money for charity, I knew. My lawyer tracked the money and found out for me. You can talk to him if you want. He’d never lie for me. It’s a problem really.” He smiles and sticks his hands in his pockets as his adorable dimples form on his cheeks.
“If you knew, then why did you constantly ask me? Why did you make me feel like a gold-digger for taking the money?”
“Because you asked me to.”
“Huh?”
“Because you asked me to be an ass so you wouldn’t fall in love with me. So I was an ass. I knew that was a sensitive topic for both of us that I could easily play up and piss you off with. That’s all it ever was.”
I think back to all the times he screwed with me, and I know he’s telling the truth. I asked him to make me hate him so that I wouldn’t fall in love. And every time we got close to falling in love, he did something that made me mad.
“I’m not leaving you. Or our baby. Ever.”
I shake my head. His words aren’t enough. “I heard you with Harlow.”
“I told her the truth. There is no way her baby is mine.”
I nod. “I know. I heard you say you never want children. I don’t want to trap you with a baby. This will never work.”
Kade’s eyes narrow, and he walks out of my living room. Then out the front door. While I stand frozen.
I don’t know what he’s doing or if he’s coming back. And I hate that I don’t know if he’s coming back.
A few minutes later he returns with papers in his hand. He thrusts them into mine.
“Read this paragraph,” Kade says, pointing to the third paragraph.
I start reading the page that I realize is the contract I signed a few months ago when we agreed to fake marry. But I don’t believe what I’m reading.
“You added this page. This wasn’t here on the contract I signed.”
He frowns. “This paragraph was included the whole time. You just didn’t read the contract very well.”