David had made the only choice he could — take the lead on bringing down Mercier — and that meant Harry’s family got pushed away. He didn’t regret it, couldn’t regret it, because those years with his dad were all he had left of him. But... if he were really honest with himself, he couldn’t deny that Harry had always been more of a father than his actual dad ever was after his mom died.
As he sat at the table, thinking over everything Harry and his family had done for him, and everything the man was offering now, he finished the first beer and nodded at Harry when he replaced it without another mention of the couch. Being able to sit in silence with Harry had always been the most comforting thing about being in the house. Shannon had always treated him like just another one of her kids, and Tommy and Liam had harassed him just as much as each other, and they’d all picked on Sean for years because he was always following them around the neighborhood. But late at night, when David couldn’t sleep, Harry would get him something to drink, let him eat another plate of food if he was still hungry, and they would sit just like this. In silence, sometimes only by the light from the kitchen window, and Harry never pushed him. Never asked him what was wrong.
He was just always there.
The realization felt both freeing and heavy at once. It gave him a tiny bit of breathing room inside the chaos of possibly losing Lianna to the Faures, but it also meant that he had to do better with the McConnells. He couldn’t keep using Harry to save his ass again and again without being there for the family in return. From showing up to work, to actually spending time with Liam, Tommy, and even Sean. That was a heavy responsibility to accept when he was still trying to figure out how to live a normal life, or if a normal life would ever be possible with Lianna Mercier, heiress to the Faure crime family, prior focus of all his hate and stalking obsession, and current focus of his... everything.
Then again, he kept saying he wanted to be a better man, and his dad wasn’t exactly the right example to follow. If he wanted to actually do that, he didn’t have to look any further than the other side of the kitchen table. Harry McConnell who was still married to his first wife, who had raised three functional human beings who didn’t kidnap and torture women — as far as he knew anyway — and who had done what he could to take care of a boy who had never really showed him any kind of gratitude.
Just a fuck of a lot of rage.
He was trying to figure out how to say any of the shit in his head to Harry when the phone buzzed, rattling against the wood, and he lunged for it. Harry snapped it up from the table though, looking at him steadily. “I know what you’re waiting on, boy, but this is still my phone.”
Answering it, Harry put the cellphone to his ear, and David had to physically hold onto the edge of the table to keep from ripping it out of his hands.
“Hello?” The old man paused, smiling a little as he nodded. “Well, we’re glad to hear from you. David’s right here.”
“Lianna?” he half-shouted into the phone as soon as Harry handed it over, relief warring with the renewed panic that everything could be falling apart.
“Are you okay?” she asked, and her absolutely perfect fucking voice made his lungs seize for a moment. Lianna was actually asking about him. She still cared whether he was okay even after he’d been such an asshole.
“I’m fine.” He finally managed to force the words out, swallowing in a suddenly dry throat. “I’m at Harry’s. Are you okay?”
“I’m pissed. I’m on my way to the airport now, and I’m coming home.”
Standing up from the table, he was almost too shocked to ask, “You are?”
“Of course I am!” she snapped, but he could tell her anger wasn’t directed at him. A frustrated groan came across the line just before she launched into a loud rant. “I can’t fucking believe Jean-Luc kicked you out! Had his thugs throw you out, as if he has any fucking right to make decisions for me. And then he put you on a fucking airplane in handcuffs? It’s fucking ridiculous!”
Back to pacing across the linoleum floor, he nodded as she carried on. “I told you, that family is evil!”
Harry cleared his throat loudly, eyeing him, and David rolled his eyes.
“But none of that matters as long as you’re coming home, and I know you’re safe, angel,” he added, and Harry lifted his beer in a silent salute as he leaned back in his chair.
“He had no right to do that!” Lianna continued. “I don’t give a fuck what he thinks he knows.”
“What did he tell you?” he asked, and she stayed silent for a long moment. “Lianna?”
Lianna
Looking at the guard in the driver’s seat, Lianna couldn’t help but second-guess the rant she’d just gone on about Jean-Luc, but she doubted that he would allow any of his men to hurt her. He’d still been begging her to stay and talk to him when she was getting in the SUV to head into Nice.
However, it probably wasn’t a great idea to share all of her dirty secrets within earshot of someone who was definitely loyal to the Faures.
“Lianna?” David sounded worried, and she took a deep breath.
“Apparently he knows about…. us,” she finally answered, trying to stay vague. “All the shit from before, but he absolutely doesn’t know me, and he doesn’t have any right to dictate who is in my life.”
“God, I love you,” he said, and she couldn’t help but smile.
“I love you too, and I’m getting on the first plane I can to New York.” Shaking her head, she leaned against the window, gazing at the remnants of the sunset over Provence. It was breathtaking, one of the most beautiful sights she could remember... but she couldn’t even enjoy it. Rubbing her eyes, she lowered her voice. “I still can’t believe he would do this.”
“It doesn’t matter, angel,” David replied, taking control just as she started to feel weak, and she loved that about him. “Just tell me when your plane is landing so I can be there to get you.”
“It’s going to be really early. I haven’t got a flight yet, but I’m going to try and book on my phone as soon as we hang up. I’ve saved Harry’s number so I can call you when I have the info. Where’s your phone anyway?”
“He kept it. Along with the rest of my shit,” he growled, the anger a rumbling undertone to his voice, but she couldn’t blame him this time. Hell, she was pissed too.
“Well, I packed up everything in our room, but I’m pretty sure your wallet and phone weren’t there. Unless you had them tucked away in your backpack already?”
“That sonuvabitch…” David continued cursing under his breath, and she took that as a ‘no.’
“It’s fine, we can replace all of that. It’s annoying, but I’d rather do that than have to deal with them again.” Her rage spiked as she realized how incredibly petty keeping his stuff was. It was just to fuck with David. It didn’t have anything to do with her safety, or whatever bullshit Jean-Luc told himself. It was pure manipulation. Clenching her first, she dug her nails into her palm as she kept her voice low, hoping the driver couldn’t hear her. “I just should have known he’d try to control me, just like my father. Paying for the apartment, getting the FBI to drop the charges… it was all just a tactic. Just Jean-Luc trying to get me to trust him, to come here.”
An awkward silence followed her hushed rant, and she knew David was biting his tongue, she just couldn’t stand to hear the words right now.
“Don’t say it.”
“I wasn’t going to say anything,” he replied, but she let the lie slide because he was just avoiding another argument.
“Right… Anyway, I’m going to hang up so I can try and grab a seat on the next flight out,” she said, talking at normal volume again as she pulled her phone away to check the time. Seven o’clock already. “And I need to hurry. I’ll text Harry’s phone as soon as I have the flight number.”
“Okay, angel. I’m just... I’m so glad you’re coming home.”
“I am too, baby,” she whispered. “I love you. See you soon.”
&nb
sp; “Love you, too,” he said, and she ended the call before she hesitated any longer. She was already cutting it close on a flight, and they were still thirty minutes outside of Nice. Slumping back in the seat, she swiped to an app to start looking for flights, glancing up at the driver in the rear-view mirror. She was sure the man would tell Jean-Luc everything he’d heard, but she didn’t give a shit. The man deserved to hear just how badly he’d fucked up. He deserved to know that he’d burned a bridge that they hadn’t even finished building yet.
But it served her right too. She had been naïve to trust a Faure. Her father should have been warning enough, but she’d wanted to believe the lie Jean-Luc sold her so badly that she’d ignored every warning sign, ignored every roadblock David tried to put in her way.
And she’d gotten hurt. Again.
At least this time, if Jean-Luc took back his gifts and her life fell apart, she knew what to expect. It would be hell, but she had no doubt that David would stand beside her in the fire. He hadn’t blinked once the last time her world crumbled, and if all she had at the end of this nightmare was David Gethen... she’d be okay.
Sixteen
Lianna
Lianna had checked everything except their backpacks on the return flight, and while hauling two backpacks through the airport had been a mess, it was nothing compared to trying to find a luggage cart and load it by herself when she landed at JFK. In the past, she’d always had someone there to help her, but she managed to get everything off the carousel and organized on the cart, wheeling it outside to wait for David and Harry.
They weren’t far away when she called, one benefit of having plenty of time to warn them about when her plane would be landing, but she still felt incredibly alone waiting on the crowded sidewalk where happy couples and families were getting picked up, chattering about their vacations. The only people she seemed to connect with were the weary business travelers who looked as miserable and exhausted as she felt.
“Lianna!” David’s voice caught her attention and she jerked her head up to find him hanging out the window of a truck. Just setting eyes on him lifted some of the heaviness off her soul, and she waved at him so he knew she’d heard.
Before the truck had even pulled to a stop, David jumped out and ran for her, picking her up off the ground and claiming her mouth in a kiss that erased everything else from existence for one perfect moment. For one breath it was just them, his arms locked tight around her as their lips crashed together, and she didn’t feel alone at all. David was there for her. Even after their stupid fight, even after he’d been a complete jackass, even after her uncle had him beaten and sent to another goddamn country — he’d been worried about her. Both of his voicemails had ended the same way, with him begging her to leave, to come home, to him. Because he wanted her safe, and as insane as Jean-Luc thought she was, Lianna felt completely safe in David’s arms.
“Would you two stop making out and get in the damn truck?” Harry’s gruff voice ended their kisses, and David relaxed his hold on her so she slid down his front, but she couldn’t take her arms away from his neck yet.
“I missed you,” she whispered, and he leaned down to press one more kiss to her lips.
“You have no idea how fucking worried I’ve been about you, angel.” David smacked her ass and grinned before tilting his head toward the truck. “Come on. You get in and we’ll get everything loaded in the back.
Blushing, she finally turned to Harry and waved. “Hey, Harry. Thank you for coming to pick me up.”
“Not a problem,” he said, lifting one of the suitcases to toss it in the bed of the truck. “You two can sit in the back.”
“Thanks.” Lianna opened the cab’s rear door, climbed up, and scooted over to give David room. He joined her a few minutes later, immediately putting an arm around her to squeeze her into his side. Harry shut the doors before walking around to get back into the driver’s seat.
As they pulled into the slow river of cars, David leaned closer to breathe in her hair, picking up the little heart necklace she hadn’t taken off since he gave it to her. When he hugged her just a bit tighter, she smiled, taking his hand and intertwining their fingers so she could hold on to him. After a couple of minutes, he leaned back enough for her to see him.
“Are you okay? Did you eat?” he asked, and she laughed a little.
“Not really. The food on the plane wasn’t exactly... edible?” she finished lamely. Rolling her neck, she tried to get rid of the stiffness, but it wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. “Honestly, I forgot how terrible flying in coach is. How the hell do people do that? A transatlantic flight with no leg room, and you can’t even lay back?”
“I’ve never even been to Europe,” Harry said from the front seat.
“Most people haven’t,” David added, and she felt the heat flood her cheeks again.
“Oh… right. Sorry.” Way to be ungrateful, Lianna. “Well, it wasn’t that bad. I mean sleeping at the airport sucked when I couldn’t get a flight out last night, and there was no real food on the plane, but it wasn’t so bad. I’m just glad I’m home. That being said, I’m definitely starving. Can we pick something up?”
“Sure, what do you want?” Harry asked as he turned around to check his blind spot before changing lanes.
“We can get anything you want.” David ran his fingers up and down her arm, pulling her closer as he kissed her hair. “I think if I actually see you eat something, I might be able to think straight.”
Laughing a little, she shrugged, trying to think of something close enough to the apartment that wouldn’t be impossible to park near. “How about Engelmann’s Deli?”
“That works.” David kissed her again before he turned toward the front of the truck. “I’ll tell you how to get there, Harry.”
Traffic in New York was always a nightmare, but it didn’t really faze her as she asked David about the bruise on his temple, feeling even angrier when he couldn’t tell her exactly how it happened. That meant they’d either hit him when he was still out from the taser, or they’d hit him so hard he couldn’t even remember them doing it. Either option was completely ridiculous, and she was sure David was hiding other injuries just so she wouldn’t worry — but she’d see them later.
Then she’d decide just how furious she needed to be, and how much she’d need to yell about the bullshit Jean-Luc had pulled.
Unfortunately, by the time they got to the deli, it was a little after noon, and it took so long to get the food that her stomach was growling by the time Harry pulled up to her building, which had David in overprotective mode.
“You need to eat,” he grumbled in her ear, and she nodded as he moved to help Harry unload the bed of the truck. When they’d gathered the suitcases, her doorman was already on the way out with a cart to help.
“Harry, why don’t you come up and eat with us?” she offered, smiling at the man. “It’s the least I can do since you got me and David from the airport two days in a row.”
He pulled off his baseball cap for a second, shaking it out before he tugged it back on. “Nah, you two should catch up.”
“Come on, old man,” David said, wrapping an arm around her waist again as the doorman loaded their bags. “I thought we were supposed to be family?”
Grumbling for a second, Harry looked over at the doorman. “Where can I park the truck?”
“If you’ll leave the keys with me, I’ll have it moved to our garage, sir.”
“All right. Thank you,” he replied with a nod, and even though he didn’t look happy about it, he handed over his keys and looked up at the towering building. “Let’s go eat then.”
When they finally made it upstairs, she unlocked the door and led the way in, holding it open for the doorman to wheel in the cart and remove her bags. Harry followed the man in, glancing around for a few seconds before he looked at her. “This is a nice place.”
“Thanks.” She smiled as she scanned the apartment that looked a lot more like a home since t
hey’d been living together. “David has actually been helping me redecorate a little.”
“David has been decorating?” Harry asked, a slow grin spreading over his lips as turned toward him.
“I hang things that she tells me to hang.”
“He’s lying,” Lianna said as David glared at her with an expression she knew was a warning, but she was so glad to see it again, she didn’t stop talking. “He actually helped me pick the color for the new drapes.”
“Who knew he was so domesticated?” Harry laughed, and David let out a low groan as he moved toward the doorman.
“It’s a good thing I’m at least slightly domestic or Lianna might have starved to death by now,” he snapped before opening the door and thanking the man as he took the cart and left.
Lianna started unpacking the bag of food when her stomach growled again. “That’s true, he can cook. I’m assuming you taught him that?”
“That would be Shannon, my wife,” Harry answered, heading into the kitchen to wash his hands. “I can’t take credit for David knowing how to cook since I burn water. Although I do know how to grill.”
Redemption Page 14
