Fight For Me

by Claudia Burgoa

  “Sorry, I can’t think about losing you. Not when we are finding each other and—” he pauses and shakes his head—“Stop torturing yourself and talk to him.”

  “You think I have to?”

  “That’s the only way you’ll find your answers, little moon.”

  Is he right? Will Dad finally tell me what happened? I can’t think, this is all too much.

  “Luna, how can I help you?” Harrison’s concerned voice warms my heart. “We can fix everything—one thing at a time. You have my support. I can listen, suggest, or do whatever you feel is necessary.”

  I know I could get through this by myself, but having him here makes everything so much easier. His heartbeat reminds me that there’s hope. His strength shows me that pain can only break you for so long. Learning the truth about the past isn’t the end of the world. This might be the beginning of something different. But what?

  “He’s been lying to me,” I complain, resting my head on his chest. “Dad, Lucas… I bet Tiago knows too. Why would they hide that?”

  “Say the word, and I can have you in Alexandria tomorrow morning.”

  “Jess will fire me,” I retort, but does it matter. I can find something else later. “But I want to talk to him.”

  “I’ll set it up for tomorrow morning.” I close my eyes, blurt the words and hope he says yes. “Stay with me tonight.”

  “Luna, I can’t. Not yet.”

  “Just hold me, nothing else.” I smile, pretending to be fine with the arrangement. Telling him that I want to be with him might grant me a no, and my emotions are too fragile to handle the rejection, even when his reasons are sweet.

  We are not ready.

  What happened to his cheesy and crass innuendos?

  I’ll be setting you on fire.

  There hasn’t been any fire. The heat between us increases, and I feel like I’m about to combust, all alone.

  “Fuck, give me strength.” He closes his eyes. “We’ll play things by ear.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Luna

  Harrison keeps his promise. The next morning, we fly to Alexandria in a private jet. It’s not even seven thirty when we’re entering a restaurant. All I can think of is coffee and maybe torturing him because I didn’t have any sleep. I don’t consider myself a morning person, nor a night owl. I’m a mix. If I go to bed early, I can wake up early and vice versa. Last night we went to sleep at—well, never. Harrison found millions of ways to avoid my bed. Baking, cleaning the mess we made, eating what we baked, board games, movies. I fell asleep watching a marathon of Transformers, the old cartoon.

  “Everhart,” he says to the hostess who smiles at him. “We have a reservation.”

  “Just the two of you?”

  He looks toward the door then back at her. “There’s one more person joining us.”

  “We’ll make sure to show him to the private room when he arrives,” she says.

  I scowl.

  “What did I do?” He moves to the side and bows slightly, pointing at the inside of a private room. “After you, my lady.”

  I glare at him, moving my head around in an attempt to loosen the muscles in my neck and shoulders.

  “I owe you my stiff neck,” I declare, gently massaging the sore muscles. Falling asleep on his shoulder for the entire flight nearly has me crying in pain.

  He inspects the private room and then the table, which is set only for two people.

  “We’re even.” He clears his throat, walking toward the door and closing it. “I owe you my stiff dick. It’s been like that since we met.”

  “Oh, now you want sex.” I glare at him. “My father is about to arrive, that’s not something I’d like to discuss.” I cross my arms, biting my lip and swallowing the next sentence.

  But we can run to the restroom and take care of each other’s needs.

  “I already apologized about your neck.” He walks toward me. “But in my defense, you didn’t let me buy you a neck pillow for the flight.”

  He reaches over to me, pulling me against his body and pressing my back against his torso. I close my eyes, leaning against him and letting him support my tired body. Two more hours of sleep will fix me, but this will have to do for now. He pushes my hair to one side, kisses my neck, and puts his hands on top of my shoulders beginning to work my knots with the tip of his fingers.

  “Harrison,” I cry in pain after a particularly rough squeeze. “What are you doing?”

  “Sir.”

  I open my eyes to see my father, glaring furiously at Harrison.

  “Hola, Papá,” I say, moving farther from Harrison and closer to him.

  “Luna,” he says gruffly.

  “Mr. Everhart, I see that as always, you didn’t care to follow my instructions.”

  “Sir, as always, it’s a pleasure to see you.” Harrison nods. I glare at him when I catch the humor in his eyes. Ah, this man is going to push every single one of my father’s buttons.

  I stare at my father and shake my head. “You’re going to be nice to him.” Then, I turn to Harrison. “And you too. Do not…I just need you to behave.” I cross my arms.

  “It won’t be hard, because I’m leaving.” Harrison looks at me. “The room is reserved for five hours. I’ll be outside if you need me.”

  “But—”

  “If you want, I can stay. But I think this is something you two have to discuss without a third party.” He takes my hands and kisses them both, then brushes my mouth lightly with his.

  He turns to look at Dad. “I apologize if what I did was against your wishes, but you told me to put her first. And that’s exactly what I did. My plan is to always put her first, even if you don’t approve.”

  “You put her in danger,” Dad says, grinding his teeth.

  “I didn’t, it was done cautiously.” Harrison says calmly.

  “Yet, I learned about it almost immediately.”

  Harrison smirks. “You heard about it last night. It wasn’t a coincidence, sir.” He bows and steps out of the room.

  Dad grips the back of the chair as he watches Harrison leave. His knuckles are turning white, and his lips are pressed together so tight they are barely visible. “I don’t like him, Luna. You have to stay away from him.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me, Papá?”

  He pulls on his tie, trying to loosen it. I can’t believe he came dressed in a suit.

  “I don’t know what you want me to say.” His voice is dry.

  “I want you to tell me everything, or at least explain to me why you hid the truth. The way she died…what happened?” I close my eyes, trying to erase the jarring images from my mind. They broke her before they killed her. “It was brutal, and she didn’t deserve it. No one deserves to die that way, and in front of her daughter? What kind of monster does that?”

  “A heartless man.”

  “What happened with Lucas?”

  “He hid under the seats, between the blankets that she carried in the trunk.” Dad’s shoulders slump, his eyes never leave the white tablecloth. “My brave little boy. He stopped cars asking for help. We were searching desperately. Found you a few hours later but it was too late for her.”

  “Why did it happen?”

  “It was an undercover job. My partner sold me out and I didn’t get to her on time.” His gaze focused on the table.

  “Who is the man behind bars?”

  “My ex-partner,” he answers. “I had everything to incarcerate them. I didn’t have enough information to bring the entire Russian mafia down. They are the ones who killed your mom after they discovered my identity. I could’ve tried to take them down. But that meant entering the witness protection program and leaving everyone and everything behind. I would only be allowed to take my children with me. If Tiago joined me, he wouldn’t be able to see his mother. I couldn’t leave him behind, I couldn’t take him away from her. You and Lucas had lost your mom. You needed my family…I needed them too.”

  “What did y
ou do?”

  “I sold my soul to them.”

  A pang hits me on the center of my chest. Dad. The cleanest agent in the FBI sold his soul. “How?” I mumble, unable to connect a dirty agent with him.

  “They said they’d leave my family alone if I blamed their crimes on my partner, William, and left New York.” His gaze lowers.

  “You let them go or did they pay you?” There’s a difference between the two. I want to know what he did.

  “I failed your mother once. I couldn’t fail her twice by losing our kids. They let my family live in exchange for my silence.” He lifts his gaze. When his eyes find mine, I feel the depth of his pain. His dark brown eyes are red-rimmed and his lips quiver. Dad’s almost crying. The man who tries not to show many emotions is about to lose his composure.

  “My only goal is to keep you safe,” he says.

  “Do you have ties with them?”

  “They are dangerous, and they are connected with the man you’re investigating. Luna, this…” He lowers his gaze. “I sometimes give them some information.”

  A sharp pang of pain hits me hard. How is this happening? My father who has always prided himself on being the best soldier, the best cop…

  I feel sad for the man that lost so much, but angry at the man who hid so much from me.

  I try to swallow my words, but I can’t. “Keeping the truth from me wasn’t keeping me safe. You could’ve told me the basics years ago. I kept blaming Sammie’s dad, and you wouldn’t correct me. I’m not a kid. I had the right to hear this from you.”

  “I was protecting you.” He shakes his head. “No one will care or protect you the way I do, Luna.”

  “Harrison does, and he didn’t hide this from me, even when he knew this would break my heart.”

  “Everhart only cares about himself!” He slams his fist on the table.

  I jolt. My eyes widen as my father’s anger appears with a vengeance and no warning.

  “He only helped you to sleep with you.” He says darkly. “In a couple of weeks, he’ll turn to the next woman.”

  “Why are you trying to hurt me?” I ask, anger burning in my chest. “You just told me that the only reason he would help me is in exchange for sex, Father. That he doesn’t care for me. Why wouldn’t he care?”

  “No, no,” he huffs. “That came out wrong. You don’t understand. What he did might alert them about you, about us and I can’t lose you. You’re almost thirty-one, Luna. It’s time to change careers and do something different before—”

  “Before I die?”

  “Yes—no, I’m not saying that—”

  “You’ve been saying that for years,” I spit. “You keep telling me stuff like, ‘The females in our family don’t live long, Luna.’ Or ‘Be careful, Luna, things happen to women.’ I hate when you say, ‘It happened to your mom, Sammie, and your grandmother.’” I close my eyes for a second. “And ‘You’re next if you’re not careful.’”

  If he’s right, there’s not much time left for me, but does he have to remind me about it all the time? I’ve made peace with it myself, but when that happened Harrison wasn’t part of my life. Now…I’m afraid to die.

  “Hey,” Harrison enters. “This room is private, but not soundproof.”

  He reaches for my hand, taking me in his arms, he whispers, “I got you.”

  “With all due respect, sir, you’re wrong. I helped Luna because she asked me.” He swallows. “I’m not a saint, but with her, I’m different. I like her. I care about Luna. This isn’t just a fling.”

  “She’s not safe with you,” Dad barks.

  “But she is, sir. My company took care of the case you couldn’t close thirty years ago.” Harrison kisses my forehead. “Our people will contact you soon.”

  “What did you do?” my father growls.

  “That’s for me to know, sir. All you need to know is that Luna and your family are safe.”

  Harrison looks at the table, then at me. “Do you want breakfast?”

  I shake my head. Then, I look at my father. “I love you Dad, but at the moment, I don’t like you.”

  “Luna, I—I am sorry.” He wipes his forehead with the back of his hand. “Can we talk about this?”

  “Not today, I’ll come back another day. She died years ago, and you died along with her. Or maybe you’ve always been dry, but instead of saying the right words, you like to scare us into doing what you want.” I shrug. “Or insult us. Harrison and I haven’t slept together, and you just assumed things and judged the two of us. That’s wrong in many ways. I want you to think about it. Consider the way you’ve behaved toward your sons too.”

  “Luna,” he sighs, his gaze dropping.

  “Dad, we are the only thing you have left. You sold yourself to keep us alive, but you keep yourself away from us.”

  “When are you coming back, mijita?” His voice is almost desperate.

  “I don’t know. Soon?”

  “We have to talk. I’d hate to leave things this way.”

  “I want to enjoy whatever time I have left.” I squeeze Harrison’s hand. “With him. Maybe you’ll have to come and visit me.”

  I give him a kiss and a hug. I pray that this isn’t the last time I see him, but I’m prepared if it has to be in order for him to change his attitude, towards me and my brothers.

  “Luna,” Harrison says, stopping me when we’re out of the restaurant. “I don’t just care about you. I’m falling for you.”

  My breath hitches at the boldness of his words. He doesn’t hide his feelings. We are both falling. This man stripped me of my armor, exposing my heart to his, making me vulnerable to him. He doesn’t understand that he’s setting us up and risking facing the biggest heartache. I couldn’t leave this world in peace knowing I’m leaving him behind.

  What will happen when I leave?

  Am I going to die like my father predicts?

  Harrison is a good guy, and he deserves everything. He doesn’t deserve the fate of being lonely and losing someone he loves. I will never forgive myself if I cause him any pain. I don’t want to die. I pray that my father is wrong. I want to spend more time with Harrison. I want to memorize the rhythm of his heart. To learn every mark on his skin and every secret inside his adventurous mind. But what if my father is right?

  I shake my head.

  “No, you can’t. You shouldn’t, Harry. I don’t want you to end up like him. You…no. This is casual, remember? We said only casual,” I repeat for his sake, for my safety. Because I care too much, I love him too much. “You said it. You said there wouldn’t be emotions. You can’t fall for me.”

  “What are you talking about?” He pulls the valet parking ticket. “Let’s go home. We need to cool down.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Harrison

  I hate messy shit—chaos, noise.

  I like everything to be straightforward and nothing complicated. Yet, the woman in my apartment is the opposite of what I want in my life, the antithesis of my ideal woman. And somehow, my heart is bonded to hers. How the fuck she managed to do it is beyond me. I did everything I could to keep it casual. I am the master of casual. Instead, I gave into the chaotic pandemonium inside my head.

  During our flight to New York, we’re both quiet. I can’t help but feel angry at the way she disregarded my feelings. Casual? We were past casual when she managed to steal my heart. Her disdain hurt me, enraged me.

  How can she propose something casual?

  Nothing changes during the ride from the airport to the penthouse. The first time I speak is to Carl, the doorman. “Hey, Carl.”

  “Mr. Everhart,” he answers, tipping his hat.

  We enter the building, step into the elevator, and still don’t say a word.

  Pushing the button, I step back as the doors of the elevator slide closed. She didn’t say a word during our trip either. I don’t know what her deal is, but I can feel myself choking under the fear that she’ll tell me to get out of her life.


  “Don’t have sex,” Hazel advised. “You’re doing great. She’s falling. I’ve never seen two people falling so hard. You two are so sweet.”

  Fucking Hazel, I swear I’m going to make her pay for this and her stupid ideas. If it hadn’t been for her, I’d be a happy man and Luna would be so high on pleasure she wouldn’t care that I’m in love with her.

  Once the elevator doors open into the foyer I say, “I’m going to pick up some food. I’ll be right back.”

  She steps out and I close the doors. I can’t talk to her. I need some time with my own thoughts. I have no fucking idea what’s happening. There’s no logical explanation for what and how I feel for her. In fact, I should be going to my shrink to get my head checked. I can’t make any sense of what’s been happening to me for the past few weeks.

  I pick up a couple of sandwiches and head back in almost record time. I still don’t know what I’m going to tell her, how I’m going to convince her to give us a chance. I’ve never been so attracted to someone.

  When I arrive back at the penthouse, my heart drops to my stomach. Luna in the foyer. Her hair is damp. She wears a pair of dark leggings and one of my shirts. She’s wearing shoes and her purse is strapped on her shoulder.

  “You’re leaving.”

  I take a step back as the reality of what she’s doing hits me like a blow to the chest. I feel like I can barely keep my legs up under me.

  “How much do I owe you for the trip?” She reaches for her purse.

  “Nothing, Luna. What the fuck is going on?” I yell, tossing my hands up in the air. “I said that I’m falling for you, and it feels like you’ve tossed my heart to the floor, smashed it and then handed it back.” I sigh, setting the bag of greasy food on the pool table.