Everyone, including Tanner.
Tanner
Operation: Charlotte was under way. Merritt planned a girls’ night, and Charlotte had taken the bait. TJ and Derek were on board with pretending like we had no idea the girls would be here. All that was left to do was convince Charlotte to dance with me.
I thought giving her space would make her miss me and see that we needed to be together. After a week of working in close quarters at the shop, I realized that being around me was chipping away at her resolve. People had it all wrong: Absence didn’t make the heart grow fonder; undeniable sexual tension did.
“Merritt’s bringing her over now,” TJ said.
Merritt practically dragged Charlotte through the crowded dance floor by her wrist. Way to be subtle, Merritt.
“Hey, little brother.” Merritt slapped me on the shoulder.
“Hi.” I looked into Charlotte’s eyes, trying to read past the smile on her face. Was she happy to see me or just being polite?
TJ acknowledged the girls and then turned to Shelly. “How’s your night going, Red?”
Shelly’s cheeks turned as red as her hair. “It’s good. We’re having a girls’ night.”
“Well, we were.” Tina nodded in my direction. She is such an asshole.
“Nice ink.” TJ gestured to Tina’s colorful arm. “When are you getting yours, Merritt?”
“You’re getting a tattoo?” Tina shouted. “You tell me nothing!”
Merritt rolled her eyes. “I haven’t decided yet. Calm your tits.”
TJ and the girls continued to talk about tattoos. I didn’t care to listen. Charlotte was here, and I needed to be close to her. I needed to remind her what she was missing.
“Wanna dance?”
“Uh …” Charlotte looked at Merritt. “It’s a girls’ night. I don’t want to break the rules.”
Merritt gave her a nudge. “We can make an exception.”
Charlotte’s face lit up as her attention returned to me. “Okay. Lead the way.”
We spent the remainder of the night wrapped in each other’s arms on the dance floor. We didn’t talk. We didn’t need to. All that needed to be said was conveyed through our eyes as we gazed at one another.
Every now and again, I’d run my fingers through Charlotte’s hair, or touch my fingers to her cheek. As much as it killed me to be this close and not kiss her, I had to pull out all the stops. I had to get her back.
Charlotte
I walked through the garage door to hand Merritt and Tanner their lunches. It had become my favorite part of each day. We’d order lunch, and I’d bring it to them when it got delivered. I’d bring Merritt her food first, just so I could sneak a peek at Tanner for longer. Actually, it was much more than a peek. It was open gawking, but I couldn’t help myself. The way the muscles in his arm moved and stretched as he cranked the wrench. The way he bit his bottom lip in concentration. The greasy black streaks along his sweaty skin. God, he’s beautiful.
I walked toward him, gripping the container in my hands. The memory of dancing with Tanner the night before replayed in my mind. We didn’t kiss. We didn’t talk. Our bodies did the talking.
Every molecule inside me burned with desire. All I had to do was tell Tanner the truth about my past. It seemed so simple. My resolve was wearing thin.
“Is that for me?” he asked.
My body? Yes. Take it. Please. “Yup. Lunch is served.”
“You okay?”
Oh, you know. Just daydreaming about you naked. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
His eyebrow arched as he stepped closer. “Are you sure?”
I nodded. “Enjoy your lunch!” I backed up, right into his toolbox—cringing as the handle dug into my back. I spun on my heels and walked out of the garage.
Smooth, Char. Real smooth.
I buried myself in work until it was time to leave. Before I knew it, Beverly was flipping the sign to Closed.
She waved. “See you Monday.”
“’Bye. Have a good night.” I slung my purse over my shoulder and took my keys off the hook on the pegboard. Merritt had already left. She and Tanner usually left together, but he was still in the garage. I peeked through the door to find him underneath the car he was working on.
I walked over to where he was and leaned against his toolbox. “It’s closing time, you know.”
Tanner jumped at the sound of my voice, banging his head on the metal underneath the car. “Fuck!”
“Oh, God!” I knelt down as he sat up.
He rubbed his head. “You’re like a ninja. I didn’t even hear you come in.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. Are you okay?”
He smiled. “It’s going to take a lot more than that to stop me.”
I ran my thumb lightly over the knot forming on his forehead. “You should ice it.”
Tanner’s eyes closed as he leaned into my touch. “This feels better than ice.”
Those pesky butterflies flitted around my heart as it thumped in my chest. I allowed my fingers to thread through his hair, gently massaging his scalp.
Tanner’s dark eyes opened, hungry as they locked with mine. He lifted his hand to my face, tracing my bottom lip with his thumb.
Instinctually, my lips parted and a breath escaped. My hand slid to the back of his neck and I pulled him closer. I was no longer in control of my body. The need to kiss Tanner, to touch him, overrode any sense I had.
“Charlotte, I miss you.”
“I miss you, too.” I gripped the collar of his shirt and tried to pull his lips to mine. I had no intention of stopping.
Apparently, Tanner did. “I want to be with you.”
“So then be with me,” I pleaded, pressing myself against him.
He closed his eyes as he let out a low groan. “You know what I mean.”
My shoulders slumped and I rested my head on his shoulder. I did know what he meant. I just couldn’t give him what he wanted.
“I don’t know why it’s so hard for you to just tell me the truth.” Tanner lifted my head, taking it into his hands to look me in the eyes. “Whatever happened, whatever you did, none of it matters. All that matters is who you are right now, and that we are together.”
“If it doesn’t matter, then why do I need to tell you?”
“It matters that you feel like you can’t tell me. I want you to give me every part of you. Even the parts you don’t like. I want to show you that my love for you is unconditional. I don’t know what you’re so scared of.”
“What happened in my past has nothing to do with the way I feel about you. I made a new life here, and this is it. You are it. I have given you all of me. My heart. My body. You consume my mind. I love you, Tanner. I love you so much. All I want is to forget about every bad thing that has ever happened to me, and just look ahead to the good things that are coming. I want to look ahead with you.”
The torture in his eyes killed me. I was doing this to him. My secrets. My lies.
“It hurts that you won’t tell me.” Tanner stood, quietly cleaning up his tools.
I searched for the right thing to say to make this better. I searched as Tanner turned his back and walked away. I searched as he stepped through the garage door and left. I searched as I drove back to my apartment. I searched for the rest of the night, as I showered, as I lay in my bed, as I tried to fall asleep. I searched into the late hours of the night … until the only answer I was left with was the one thing I swore I would never do.
Me: I’m ready to tell you everything.
Twenty-two
Tanner
Tonight was going to be special. I was taking Charlotte out to dinner, and she was going to tell me the truth about her past. I was surprised when she’d texted me late last night. I hadn’t expected her to give in. The wall she kept between us was finally going to come down.
I stopped at the florist to pick up the giant bouquet of Gerbera daisies I’d ordered, and then texted Charlotte that I was on my wa
y to her apartment. I pulled up to her place several minutes later, listening to the sound of my rapid heartbeat. I couldn’t wait to see her.
Charlotte emerged from her building looking like the angel she was. The curled ends of her hair bounced as she walked toward me in her floral dress.
I left my car running and got out with her flowers in hand. I was so fixated on Charlotte’s stunning beauty, I didn’t notice the man walking briskly toward her. The rest of the world always faded away whenever she was around. Her eyes left mine and became glued to the suited man as he approached her. It wasn’t until I saw Charlotte’s face morph from happiness to horror that I realized what was happening.
I dropped the flowers onto the pavement, and ran across the parking lot as fast as my legs would carry me. As I ran, I watched Charlotte scramble to get her purse off her shoulder. The gun.
The man got to Charlotte before she could get what she was looking for. He covered her head with a black sack, and I heard her scream as he tossed her over his shoulder.
“Hey!” I bellowed across the lawn. “Put her down!”
The man turned around, revealing horrific scars covering the entire right side of his face. His eyes locked with mine, and he grinned.
That gruesome face was the last thing I saw before it all went dark.
Charlotte
All I could do was cry. The man I thought I’d left to die inside the burning bakery in Florida was very much alive—and he had come back for revenge. Part of me always knew my past would catch up to me. After what I’d done? People didn’t get to start a new life somewhere else and actually be happy. How foolish I was.
The worst part was that Tanner had gotten caught in the crossfire. The last thing I saw was Tommy running behind Tanner, a metal bat in his hands. Then, John slammed a sack over my head and carried me away. I heard a hollow cracking sound that pierced through me like a bullet. I prayed that it was the sound of Tommy’s skull being struck with the bat, and not Tanner’s.
My hands were now zip-tied behind my back as I lay across the back seat of the moving vehicle. My guess was that it was the same black SUV that had been following me. I should’ve known. I should’ve left when I had the chance.
Amidst the panic of being kidnapped, and the terror of not knowing if Tanner was okay, an odd sense of relief consumed me: I am not a murderer. Although, it might not matter anymore. I wasn’t sure if I’d be alive for much longer.
I felt the vehicle stop. John and Tommy were silent as they opened their doors and pulled me out. I was yanked out by my ankles and hoisted over someone’s shoulders again.
“What should I do with him?” I heard Tommy ask.
My heart thumped hard against my chest. Tanner was with us.
“Bring him in. We can’t chance him waking up and escaping.”
“I don’t think he’ll be waking up,” Tommy said with an amused tone.
“Please,” I pleaded. “Leave him out of this. He has nothing to do with any of this.”
“Shut up, blondie,” John snapped. “You did this to him. This is on you now.”
I said nothing because I knew he was right. If I wasn’t a murderer before, I would be now. Tanner’s blood would be on my hands. His family would be torn apart all over again. My heart shattered in my chest as the tears spilled over.
A door creaked open. It was not much warmer inside wherever we were. We’d only been driving a short while, so we had to still be on Staten Island. I shook with fear, wondering what was going to happen next.
John sat me in a cold metal chair and zip-tied my ankles tightly to the legs. He then ripped the sack off my head. I frantically searched the darkened room for Tanner while my eyes strained to see where we’d been taken. The familiar sweet smell confirmed where we were.
Dad’s bakery.
When I spotted the red gasoline jug by the door, John’s plan unfolded in my mind without needing further explanation.
John sat another chair directly in front of me, and Tommy sank Tanner’s lifeless body down onto it, tying his wrists and ankles like mine. His head hung forward, and I let out a loud sob when I saw the stream of blood down the side of his face and neck.
Tommy slapped Tanner’s cheek several times in an attempt to wake him. Tanner’s eyelids fluttered, and he slowly lifted his head. I was filled with mixed emotions, thankful he was alive, but panic-stricken for what he was about to endure. Guilt filled every inch of my body. I’d gotten him into this, and I wasn’t going to be able to get him out.
Tanner
“Aww, look. Blondie is crying. Let me wipe those tears for you.” The man with the scarred face swiftly backhanded Charlotte, sending lava shooting through my veins. I tried to stand, but my arms and legs wouldn’t budge. I looked down in confusion and saw that I was bound to the chair. What the fuck was going on?
“Easy, tiger,” the second man said. He was undoubtedly the fucker who’d knocked me out from behind. The immense throbbing in my head paled in comparison to the seething rage inside me.
“You’re going to wish I was a tiger when I get my hands on you,” I growled.
Both of the men burst into laughter, only spiking my anger. I yanked my limbs as hard as I could, trying to break free from the zip ties.
“Please,” Charlotte whimpered. Her cheek was bright red where the man had struck her. “Please let him go. He’s innocent in all of this. You have me. You can let him go.”
That was the moment I realized that Charlotte knew exactly who these men were. Looking around the room, the pieces of the puzzle began to fit into their respective places. These men were from Charlotte’s past; they were the men she and her father had run from; they were the reason she carried a gun; and, judging by the gas can, they definitely had something to do with the fire in her old bakery.
The man with the yellow teeth and mangled face lowered himself until he was nose to nose with Charlotte. His voice was low. “Look at what you did to my face, you little bitch. Do you really think I’m going to show mercy and let your boyfriend go?”
Charlotte didn’t respond. Her eyes returned to mine, and my gut wrenched. “I’m so sorry, Tanner.”
“Don’t be. We’re going to get out of here. Don’t you worry, my sweet girl.” I didn’t know how, just yet, but I needed to make her feel better somehow. She was shaking, tear-stained, and terrified. I had to get her out of here, away from these men.
“You’re even dumber than you look,” the taller man said, “if you think you’re getting out of here alive.”
I ignored him and continued to pull against the restraints.
“Does he know what you did?” the other man asked Charlotte.
She shook her head, dropping her gaze to the floor.
He laughed once. “Well, then. Let’s fill the boy in, shall we?” He leaned against the stainless steel countertop in the middle of the kitchen and crossed his arms over his chest, wearing a smug expression.
Charlotte didn’t argue with him. She thinks we’re going to die. She’s giving up. I was curious about what she’d been keeping from me all this time, but these were not the circumstances I wanted her to tell me under. “You do not have to tell me anything. I don’t care what you did. I love you, and you don’t owe me any explanation.”
Charlotte took an uneven breath before lifting her eyes to mine. “No. You deserve to know the truth.”
Quiet descended upon the room while we waited for Charlotte to continue.
“My father owed them money,” she began. “He got involved with gambling, and lost a lot of money. They bailed him out, so he owed them. One night when we were closing the old bakery in Florida, John and Tommy showed up looking for the money.” She took another breath as she retrieved the memories from that night. “Tommy broke my wrist, and told Dad that he would be back in a couple days to collect the money he owed them.”
Another puzzle piece snapped into place. Tommy had broken her wrist. I will beat his ass first.
“I knew Dad wouldn’t b
e able to get that kind of money. So, I decided to burn down the bakery. I figured we could disappear before John knew we were gone, and we could collect the insurance money from the fire. We could start over somewhere new.” Charlotte’s shoulders shook as she cried, her eyes now far away. “Dad couldn’t bring himself to burn down my mother’s bakery. It was all we had left of her. So, I had to do it. I doused the kitchen in gasoline. That’s when John showed up.” Charlotte wept even harder.
“Go ahead,” John urged. “Finish the fucking story.”
“He stepped into the kitchen, but he slipped on the wet floor. His head hit, and he was knocked unconscious. I … I left him there, on the floor. I stepped around his body and set the bakery on fire … with him inside it.” Her eyes implored me to understand. “It was the only way. It was the only way we could get away from them!”
“Your sweet little girlfriend isn’t so sweet. She left me there to die!” John exclaimed.
Now, it all made sense. The puzzle was finally complete. Charlotte thought she’d killed John. The guilt must’ve been eating away at her. No wonder she was having panic attacks and carrying a loaded gun. She didn’t want to tell me because she thought I wouldn’t be able to forgive such a crime.
I shook my head. “You almost killed him. I’m so disappointed.”
Charlotte’s face crumpled.
“I’m disappointed that you didn’t succeed in killing this piece of shit when you had the chance.” I swung my head to look at John. “She might have failed, but I can promise you that I won’t.”
“I don’t see you getting out of your chair to come and get me,” John said, snickering. He nodded at Tommy.
Tommy bent down for the gasoline tank sitting at his feet.
I fought to break loose, my wrists and ankles raw from the plastic digging into my skin. We didn’t have much time.
“Please, Tommy!” Charlotte wailed as Tommy dumped gasoline in a circle around our chairs. “Please let Tanner go! Please!”
Tommy smirked and doused Charlotte with the foul-smelling fuel. I fought so hard to break the zip ties that I thought my shoulders were going to pop right out of their sockets. Tommy turned around to dump gasoline on me next. I did the only other thing I could think of, and rammed my head into his midsection while I pushed myself upward with the chair still attached to me. He was caught off guard, and fell backwards.
The Other Brother (The Collision Series) Page 19