Unstoppable: Haven Falls (Book 7)

by Sheridan Anne

  “Yeah, you’re right. She’ll eat you alive.”

  “Come on, Spitfire,” Noah says, grabbing Henley and throwing her over his shoulder. He spanks her ass before spinning around and marching off back towards the party. “The only thing getting eaten alive tonight is you. Now, is the bar still open?”

  Henley looks up at me as she dangles off her husband's shoulder. She rolls her eyes and shakes her head but the joy is as clear as day. “I’ll be back in two seconds.”

  “Meet me in the parking lot.”

  The door falls closed behind them and I start making my way around the building, not wanting to walk her straight through the party for the world to see the mascara all over her face and give them something to talk about.

  By the time I get to the parking lot, Henley is busting out the front door with a little purse that matches Tully’s golden dress. She hands it over and looks at her best friend with a tight smile. “Is she going to be ok?”

  “I fucking hope so,” I tell her as she balances the purse on Tully’s stomach.

  “Just…make sure you put water and pain-killers on her bedside table because she’ll need them in the morning, and check the doors are locked, and…and maybe put a bucket beside her bed in case she gets sick.”

  I grin at my little sister, still unable to actually believe that’s what she is to me. “I’ve got it,” I tell her. “This isn’t my first rodeo with Tully. I’ve been dragging her drunken ass home and putting her to bed since we were teenagers.”

  “I know, but…”

  “I’ll take good care of her. I’ll even be a perfect gentleman.”

  Henley rolls her eyes and I sense the smartass comment on the tip of her tongue, only Noah’s booming voice by the entrance of the manor cuts her off. “Spitfire, get that fine ass back up here.”

  She grins up at me. “Got to go.”

  “Use protection,” I laugh. “You wouldn’t want to pro-create with that thing.”

  Henley skips away and the sound of her scolding her new husband is the only sound I hear through the darkness. It’s got to be close to two in the morning, but I really couldn’t be sure. I’ve been so caught up with Tully that time could have stood still and I wouldn’t have known.

  I search through the cars for the black one Tully was driving earlier in the day and make my way towards it. It doesn’t slip my mind that the last time I was driving with Tully on the passenger’s side, she was almost killed.

  I try to put it out of my head, but it’s hard. It’s something that’s woken me at least once every week since it happened. With all the shit I’ve been involved in and the crap I’ve suffered through while being deployed, that’s the moment that has always stuck in my nightmares, always there and ready to come back and haunt me right when I least expect it.

  I fish her keys out of her purse before unlocking the car and placing Tully down in it. I can’t help but look over the car, once again wondering why the hell she would have gotten rid of her Jeep. But I guess it doesn’t really matter. That thing was getting old anyway, though I don’t doubt that she misses it. She used to love that thing.

  After sliding the driver’s seat back as far as it will go, I get myself in and start the engine. This car is way too small for me. I feel like a fucking mammoth in here. My knees are practically squished up against the dash and I have to bend forward to be able to see clearly out the windshield.

  I let out a sigh. I guess now that I’m back, it’s time to get my Firebird fixed, but then that could take a while. Maybe I should be buying a new car and fixing up the old one on the side.

  I back out of the parking spot and get Tully home. With no traffic on the roads, I get us there in less than twenty minutes and scoop Tully out of the car, thankful that Eddison hears me and opens the door.

  He gives me a tight smile as I make my way past him while Violet hurries ahead and opens Tully’s bedroom door. She bursts in and prepares her bed before slipping her purse off her stomach and leaving me to deal with the rest.

  I place her down on her bed and start taking off her heels. It doesn’t go unnoticed that her bedroom is exactly the same as it was four years ago. It’s still filled with all her things, but there have been no changes. There’s nothing here that tells me what her life is like now. There’s nothing to give any hints about her life with Spencer and no business degree up on the wall.

  Maybe she doesn’t live here anymore, but that’s a question that can be answered later. For now, I need to get her into bed.

  I find an old shirt and pull it over her head before letting it fall around her thighs. I slip my hands under the fabric and pull down the zip for her dress before shimmying it down her body while trying my hardest to keep my word and be a perfect gentleman.

  I throw the dress over the desk chair, not wanting it to get ruined from spending the night crumpled on the floor. After all, it’s highly likely that Tully will wake up in the middle of the night and hurl chunks over the side of her bed.

  After pulling the blanket up over her and making sure she has a bucket, water, and pain-killers, I take a step back, once again wondering where the hell her boyfriend is and why he isn’t around to take care of her.

  I go to walk out of her room when the voice of an angel pulls me right back in. “Don’t go,” Tully murmurs.

  I look back to find her peering at me through slitted, sleepy eyes.

  I walk back towards her and bend down, pressing a kiss to her cheek and wishing I could do so much more. “I’d do anything to be able to stay right here, but I can’t,” I tell her. “I have to go.”

  “Just stay tonight,” she murmurs. “Please. I don’t want you to go.”

  “I have to, Tullz. You might want this now, but come morning you won’t and I don’t want you hating me more than you already do.”

  “Please,” she whispers.

  Unable to keep myself away, I lay down on her bed beside her, instantly pulling her into my arms while remaining on top of the blanket, knowing that if I slide under the sheets with her, I won’t be able to resist. “I’ll stay until you sleep.”

  Tully nods and snuggles into my side, the same way she used to and I hold her a little tighter. She instantly falls back asleep but I find myself laying here much longer than necessary. It’s not until I hear Eddison and Violet’s murmured conversation in the living room that I decide it time to go.

  I get up and make sure she’s alright before walking out of her room and making sure to leave the door wide open. I find her parents, both giving me sad smiles from the living room. “How is she?” Violet questions, taking off her heels and rubbing her sore feet.

  “She’ll be alright,” I tell them. “She drank a bit though so maybe keep her door open through the night. You know…just in case.”

  Violet nods and gets up off the couch before walking forward and placing a hand on my shoulder. “Thank you,” she says. “Do you want to stay? You can use Noah’s old bed.”

  “No, thanks,” I tell her, shaking my head. “I think I’ll head home. I haven’t been there in a while and I guess I could use the walk to clear my head.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” Eddison says, reaching into the bowl by the front door and pulling out a set of keys. “Take my car and bring it back tomorrow. I don’t want you walking in the middle of the night. You don’t know what kind of people are out there in the middle of the night.”

  I thank him and take the keys while finding it amusing that it wasn’t that long ago that I was the person out in the middle of the night that good parents like Violet and Eddison would have been wary of.

  I get out of the house before it all becomes too much and take myself home. By the time I pull up in my drive, I’m staring up at the house in wonder.

  “What the fuck is this?” I grumble, taking in all the changes. There are blinds up on the uncracked windows, fresh paint on the door, a new mailbox, and flowers in a garden.

  Did someone move into my fucking house?

  I wa
s coming home and expecting to find it ransacked. Maybe kids had been using the abandoned house as somewhere to fuck around. I was expecting a broken window, boarded up door, hell maybe even some police tape. But to find it looking better than when mom was the one looking after it was something I wouldn’t have expected in a million years.

  I get out of the car and as I walk forward, sensor lights spring to life, showcasing the house just that bit more. I notice a blue tarpaulin covering something in the carport and decide to check it out later, for now, I need to make sure no one is living in my home.

  I go up to the front door, a little annoyed that I can no longer peek in through the window. My key slides straight into the lock and my brows furrow in confusion. If I was going to squat in someone’s house, I’d sure as hell change the locks.

  The door creaks open with the same familiar sound and I switch on a light. The place looks fucking good. There are new carpets, new furniture, even a vase in the middle of the dining table with fresh flowers.

  I creep through the kitchen and towards the bedrooms. It’s only a two-bedroom home and seeing as though my room was filled with my belongings, I check the master room first.

  I push the door open and switch on the light, prepared to fight off whoever I need to fight off to get my house back, only there’s no one in here.

  I take a quick look around and soon find myself gawking. This is just as I remember it when I was a kid. It’s not the mess it was after my father’s men raided through here, but the beautiful way my mother liked to keep it. There’s even that old photo she took of us on my ninth birthday.

  What the fuck is going on here?

  I back out of the room and dive for the door of my bedroom. I fly through it and stare in wonder. This isn’t a little kid’s room anymore, but it’s still my room. My clothes in the closet, my things on my desk, the photo of me and Tully on my bedside table.

  This is my fucking room. but how? I don’t understand what the hell is going on.

  I pull my phone out of my pocket, not giving a shit that it’s well past three in the morning and bring up Lacey’s name. I hit call and wait impatiently as it rings five times. She finally answers and it’s clear that she was fast asleep. “What the fuck do you want?” she groans, not very happy to be hearing from her favorite cousin at this time of night.

  “What the hell did you do to my house?”

  “Your house? What do you mean your house? Are you home?”

  “Lace. Just answer the question.”

  There’s a slight pause before she lets out a barely audible sigh. “It wasn’t me. well, it was sort of me. I helped, but it was Tully. She fixed it up years ago and now goes back every few days to keep it nice in case you come home.”

  “You know Tully?”

  “Yep. A lot has changed since you went away.”

  I stare at the house in wonder. “Tully did this?”

  “Uh-huh,” she murmurs. “She wanted you to have somewhere nice to call home so you wouldn’t be ashamed. I know she’s with Spencer now, but fuck, Sam, Tully is head over heels, crazy in love with you.”

  Well…shit.

  Chapter 5

  Tully

  “No, no, no, no,” I groan, rolling over in my bed and slapping my hand down on my bedside table. I feel around, searching for my phone only to find a photo frame, a pencil, and a bottle of water.

  What the hell? I don’t remember having this shit on my bedside table. But more importantly…where is my phone? Last night was a disaster and I think it’s time for damage control.

  I reluctantly peel my eyes open and instantly squint into the bright sun pouring through my bedroom window. Crap, this isn’t my bedroom. Well, technically it is, but it’s not my current one. The question is, how the hell did I get here?

  One minute I was fighting with Spencer over…him and the next thing I know, I’m searching for the bottom of a Vodka bottle.

  In fact, I think I can still taste it.

  I think the mystery of how I got from the manor to how I got here is one that will never be solved. Well, more like one that maybe I’m a little too scared to solve. Scrap that! I know exactly how I got here, but I’m cool with acting as though I don’t.

  My arm falls over my face, trying to block out the sun and I lay here for at least ten minutes before deciding that it’s time to get up and start putting my life back together. Too much was said between me and Spencer last night while not enough was said to Rivers.

  I still can’t believe he is here. I’m pretty sure we talked at one stage, but truth be told, the details of last night are a little fuzzy. Actually, I better find my phone and start apologizing to Noah and Henley. I can’t be sure, but it’s possible that I ruined their wedding. Maybe I should double check that one with mom before I go and make a bigger fool of myself.

  I push myself up in bed and the movement has the contents of my stomach churning. Shit. This is not good. I throw myself over the side of my bed while slamming my hand over my mouth. If it was in fact Rivers who brought me here, there’s bound to be a bucket down here somewhere.

  Just as I knew it would, the bucket stares up at me from the floor and I hastily grab it before allowing last night’s mistakes to come pouring out of me.

  Fuck. Fuck. FUCK! What was I thinking?

  Once I’ve thoroughly thrown up as much as humanly possible, I sit on the edge of my bed, wondering how it all went so wrong. I’ve pictured the moment Rivers came back a million times. It’s like a movie that plays on repeat inside my head. I was supposed to shut him down. I was supposed to kick his ass in a big way. I was supposed to show him that he means absolutely nothing to me. He fucked up and he was going to know it. He was going to lose me and he was going to feel it.

  But nooo. Instead, I broke the fuck down and panicked like a little bitch. I fell right into his arms and instead of acting like the warrior queen that I’ve so clearly pictured, I acted like a lovesick puppy who has been starved of emotion.

  Poor Spencer. No wonder he lost it. I would have too if the roles were reversed. The whole night he had to sit back and watch me pine over the guy I never even dated. He’s the guy Spencer has tried over and over again to help me forget, but it’s as though the task is impossible. Rivers is engraved on my heart. He’s there for all eternity and that’s something I’ve had to come to terms with time and time again.

  I need to make it right, but first…I need a shower.

  Pushing off my bed, I struggle to keep myself on my feet. My body is begging me to fall back into the warm sheets and try again tomorrow, but too much has happened. I need to deal with this today.

  I find my purse on the end of my bed and hear the familiar beeping of missed calls and texts from inside it. I grab my purse and struggle to open it before quickly realizing that this is going to be my day.

  I eventually get my phone and find three texts from Henley, a missed call from Noah, four missed calls from Spencer, and a voice mail. It’s then I check the time. It’s after three in the afternoon. No wonder my phone has been blowing up.

  I start with the texts.

  Henley – Are you ok? You were a bit of a mess last night.

  Henley – What’s going on? Call me when you’re up.

  Henley – Don’t tell me you’re going to sleep the day away? You better not be ignoring me or I’m going to make you pay, bitch!

  Damn. I quickly hash out a response.

  Tully – I’m fine. Just woke up. I think you and I need to have a chat about last night. Maybe you can fill in all the blanks.

  Henley – How many blanks are there?

  Tully – Basically the whole reception.

  Henley – Shit. Ok, Noah and I will come around for dinner. We can talk before we head out to Italy tomorrow morning.

  Tully – K, but you better bring take out. There’s no way that I’m cooking!

  Henley – Figured!

  Next up; the voicemail.

  Not having the energy to hold my phone up at my
ear, I hit speakerphone and crash down onto my desk chair. Spencer’s voice comes through the line a moment later and the sound crushes me. He’s devastatingly broken.

  “Babe, it’s me. I just…I’m sorry. Look things were said last night and I was drunk, and I…can we talk? Where are you? I went to your apartment, but you weren’t there. Just…shit. Just tell me you’re not with him? Babe, I’m so sorry.”

  Well, that wasn’t exactly fun to listen to.

  Anger pulses through me. How dare he assume I just climbed into bed with Rivers? Surely he knows I have a little more class than that. We’ve been together for three years now and I’ve never once been unfaithful to him. Just because Rivers is back, that doesn’t mean that’s going to change.

  Well, at least I hope it hasn’t already. My night was foggy and I’m sure I said things that I’ll regret the second I remember them. But Rivers is a good guy. He would respect the fact that I’m with Spencer, so if I tried something, I’m sure he would have shut it down. Well, I hope he would have shut it down.

  Over the past three years, I’ve respected what Spencer and I have, but last night he was a possessive, jealous ass, and he’s right; we do need to talk. But not right now. I can’t handle that right now.

  I send him off a quick text so he’s not worrying and to keep him off my back for a while.

  Tully – I slept at mom and dad’s place. I’ll be home in an hour then we can talk. K?

  Spencer – Ok, babe. Glad you’re alright. I love you.

  Tully – Love you too xx

  As I send the last text, something stirs within me. It’s never felt right telling Spencer that I love him when I know deep down that there’s really only one man I’ve ever truly loved, but I’ve had so much pressure from everyone telling me how I should feel about him. Saying that Spencer is the perfect boyfriend and that I’m a fool for not taking things further with him.

  I know it’s not right and it’s not fair to him, but I don’t want to hurt him. He has stood by my side for the past four years and I owe him so much. Don’t get me wrong, I do love him. When I was seeing the world in black and white, he brought a little color back into my life. He gave me life when I was about ready to give up, but the love I feel for him is nothing compared to what I once felt for Rivers, and I think Spencer knows it.