For Love

by Jeannette Winters

  He strode away and Chris said, “I’m not sure I understand what just transpired, but you might have done in one night what no one in Runashia couldn’t do for the past few years.”

  Melissa looked up at him and said, “Great, but I still have no idea what that was.”

  Chris smiled at her. “It was our cue to go home.”

  “Rome?” Melissa asked.

  “I was thinking the States.”

  Her eyes shined with joy as though he’d just given her the best gift ever.

  “I’d like that very much. But do you think we can stop someplace first?”

  “Of course. Where would you like to go?” Chris asked as they headed toward the door.

  “Someplace that sells comfortable shoes. My feet are killing me.”

  Chris laughed. “The tops or bottoms?”

  “Both.”

  They climbed into the waiting limo, and Chris directed him to drive to the airport. They weren’t going to take off without David, but there were a lot worse places to be than waiting on a private jet.

  Of course there are a few places better, but I’m not sure us being alone would be a good idea. Not tonight.

  When the time was right, Chris needed to reopen the topic he’d been avoiding. Why are you helping Mac find me?

  Thinking of Mac was like putting a bucket of ice in his pants. No matter how much he wanted Melissa, he needed some answers first.

  Mac, if I don’t like what I hear, you’re going to wish I never was born, but I don’t care if you’re my blood father or not. No one is hurting Melissa. No one!

  Chapter Fourteen

  Melissa had been looking forward to some alone time with Chris, yet when they arrived at the airport, David was already on the jet.

  David said, “You did—”

  “Good?” Melissa asked hopefully.

  With a scowl, David continued, “I was going to say, you didn’t get arrested or killed. Trust me, I was getting worried.”

  Chris added, “I wasn’t going to let either happen.”

  David snapped at him. “You say that like your ass wasn’t going to be behind bars too.”

  “I said I had it under control,” Chris growled.

  Melissa didn’t want them arguing because she screwed up. “I’m sorry if my . . . actions jeopardized the mission.” Her hands trembled as the disappointment was evident on David’s face. She was positive her other brothers were already aware of what she’d done. And all I did was reaffirm their belief.

  Before David could speak, Chris reached out and took hold of her hand. “You didn’t fuck anything up. Hell, your comments may have hit home with the prince.”

  “You really think what she said is going to fix their problems?” David asked.

  Chris shook his head. “Words weren’t what got them hating each other, and I doubt they’ll repair the damage either. But Prince Kalen was put in check by his big brother, and it spoke volumes. The military already have chosen a side. Kalen was exactly where he was before. On the outside.”

  “I agree. There is nothing we can do for Kalen. And our sources say the king may only last a few more days. Stone has already informed Kalen that we are pulling out,” David added.

  Melissa knew they were there to ensure Kalen’s safety. “What will happen to him now? I mean, Prince Kalen still is in danger, right?”

  David shrugged. “When the king passes, Kalen will have no choice but to submit to the authority of his brother. If he doesn’t . . . he’ll be dealt with in a way we cannot interfere with.”

  “Do you mean . . . killed?” Melissa asked.

  “Runashia has its own traditions. Kalen knows them. What he chooses to do will determine the consequences,” Chris said.

  “It just sounds so—”

  “Not our business. We’ve done what we were supposed to do. If we don’t leave now, then we may find ourselves in the same situation as Kalen,” David added. Then he said to the pilot, “Let’s get out of here.”

  “Yes sir.”

  They all buckled up as the jet taxied down the runway. She turned to Chris, who was texting someone. David was on his phone as well, updating Jada with their estimated time of arrival. Everyone seemed to have moved past what had just occurred and worse, what was coming. Was she the only one who felt as though they—she—failed? Looking out the window, she searched for something positive to take away from this endeavor.

  It wasn’t easy after what the guys just told her. Melissa didn’t understand the point of rescuing Prince Kalen a few months ago only to let him get killed now. She looked at Runashia as a country with barbaric undertones the rest of the world didn’t accept. But David and Chris had no issue shrugging it off and not looking back. Had they both become immune to such acts of violence?

  Melissa knew what they had done was dangerous. No one ever told her they’d killed another person, but with what they had done in the military and now after, she assumed they had. If she continued going on assignments with them, would she be able to walk away so easily as well? I don’t want my heart to become stone.

  As though Chris sensed her internal battle, he leaned over and said, “You can’t save everyone. Sometimes they implode from things you can’t control.”

  “When do you know that you’ve tried enough?” Melissa asked.

  “The moment Kalen crossed the line and threatened you, we knew.”

  She didn’t remember the prince doing that. “He never said he’d—”

  “Melissa, you see the best in people. And I think it is amazing that you can. But out here, we need to see what they’re really capable of. Prince Kalen is no angel. He wasn’t asking you, he was demanding. He wasn’t going to stop—”

  “Until his brother made him.” A chill ran through her. “I don’t understand why force has to be used over nothing.”

  “Exactly. The fight between these brothers has always been and always will be.”

  There are some things I can’t change. Guess this is one of them. “I’m ready to go home now.”

  Chris smiled. “Me too.”

  “I never asked, but is there anyone . . . waiting for you back home?” Melissa didn’t want to ask if he had a wife or girlfriend. She’d hope not with the way he looked at her, but then again, she’d met a few men who weren’t bothered by crossing that line.

  “Beside my parents, no.”

  It was sad, yet it pleased her to hear that. “Would you like to come over for dinner?” Oh that sounds so pathetic. But the words were out of her mouth and she couldn’t take them back. Melissa noticed David pause in his conversation with Jada as though what she had said piqued his interest as well.

  “I promised my mother I’d stop in when I got back to the States.”

  “Oh. I’m sure she’d like to see you.” Had she really thought Chris would say yes? He might not have anyone special waiting for him, but the guy was so sexy he surely had no problem getting a date. Probably has to beat them off. At least she could take no and drop it.

  “It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen my parents.”

  “I’m sure my brothers have kept you busy.”

  He shrugged. “I could rattle off a bunch of reasons, but none would be the truth.”

  She reached over and covered his hand with hers. Softly she asked, “What is the truth?”

  Chris looked out the window and she thought he wasn’t going to tell her. It wasn’t any of her business and probably was rude to ask. But she cared about him and could tell he was struggling with something. She assumed it was with going home.

  “My childhood wasn’t . . . easy. My adoptive parents did everything they could to make up for what my real parents had done. I was young and resented everything and everyone. I was out to prove to the world I didn’t need or want anyone.”

  “If they knew your past, I’m sure they understood.”

  “Melissa, they may have understood, but that doesn’t make my behavior acceptable. I was a tyrant as a kid. Hell, I’m shocked I
didn’t end up in jail or dead.”

  It was hard to believe, because the man who she’d come to know was kind and thoughtful. She watched how Chris was with Sirveo when he thought no one was looking. And how Sirveo spoke of him too. Chris may have had a troubled youth, but he seemed to be one hell of an adult.

  “We all look back and wish we’d done things differently.”

  Chris cocked a brow. “Somehow I think you were always an angel.”

  David coughed at that statement but didn’t say a word. Keep it that way please.

  “I think it’s a daily struggle for all children. I may have made it on the naughty list a time or two.” She wasn’t as innocent as Chris might believe her to be. But with David listening, there was only so much she would admit to. Only Phoebe knew me back then. I wish she was still here with us to rat me out.

  “Well I know what an ass I was. Naughty would’ve been a step up. But my parents are amazing. Somehow they love me despite it all,” Chris said.

  She entwined her fingers with his. “The probably saw in you what I do.”

  Chris stared at her, and she thought he’d ask what that was. Instead he totally caught her off guard.

  “Would you like to come with me?”

  “To your parents’ home?” Melissa asked, stunned.

  “Sorry. You don’t want to go. I mean, you’re looking forward to being home in your beach house. My parents live in New Jersey, and not the cozy part either.”

  “No. I’d love to go. Thank you for asking me.” Melissa wasn’t sure why he had, but she knew it had nothing to do with her being a buffer. Maybe getting to meet his parents would give her more insight into what was troubling him.

  David piped in, “You two seem to want some time alone, so I’m going to go sit with the pilot. But don’t get the wrong impression, Chris. I’ll be back shortly.”

  Melissa rolled her eyes at David’s warning. But she was glad he was giving them some space. There were things she wanted to talk to Chris about.

  Once David was in the cockpit, she turned to Chris and asked, “Are you sure your parents won’t mind me joining you? If it’s been a while, they might be disappointed I’m there.

  “Melissa, you light up a room when you enter, how could they not want you there?”

  She blushed, which was out of character for her. Others had told her such things, but coming from Chris, it touched her differently. Then again, many things about him had that effect.

  “Why don’t you tell me about them so I can be prepared.”

  Chris smiled. “I’m not sure how to describe them. But they adopted me knowing what I had gone through. Put up with all my shit as a teenager. Forgave me for running away more than once. Guess they’re . . .”

  “Parents.”

  He nodded. “I guess so.”

  “You look . . . sad. What’s troubling you, Chris?” Melissa asked. She’d seen that same look briefly at the event. She’d worried she had said something wrong then; could she have done the same now?

  “It’s not you,” Chris said, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

  “Isn’t that the line men use when it totally is the woman?” Melissa asked trying to lighten the mood. Although she wanted to know, she didn’t want to if it meant Chris backing off from her.

  “I’m not like most men.”

  “So I’ve noticed.”

  Chris grinned. “Although I want to know what that means, I think you’re trying to change the subject.”

  “You have me figured out, do you?” Melissa knew that from the first time they had met. She wasn’t sure if he was that good at reading her, or did she just let her guard down to be . . . herself.

  “Melissa, I don’t want to talk about it either, but there is something troubling me. If we don’t discuss it, it will eventually be a wedge between us.”

  That scared the crap out of her. If it was something that serious, she had no clue what it could be. Whatever it is, I’m the one who started it.

  “Then I suggest we discuss it.” Melissa was beginning to believe they were starting something special, but if not, she’d rather know now. Not that she’d consider being with him a waste of time, but if there was any man who could break her heart, she had a feeling it was Chris.

  “At the event, you mentioned a patient you were trying to help. What do you know about him?” Chris asked.

  “Mac?” Chris nodded and she asked, “That’s what you want to discuss with me?”

  “It’s important to me,” Chris stated.

  That’s good enough for me. “He was one of my first patients. Mac was . . . pretty much homeless and, for the most part, unable to take care of himself. He was truly a sad sight.”

  Chris grunted. “And?”

  “Are you—?”

  “Yes. Continue,” Chris said flatly.

  “He had been injured while in the service, lost an arm and both legs. I can’t go into what his record states as that is . . . confidential.”

  “I can find that out myself.”

  You mean have my brother Gabe get it for you. Funny, they’ll give you info, but not me. “Then what do you need me for? Just ask yourself.” She didn’t mean to be snippy, but helping Mac wasn’t a game. And no matter how much she cared for Chris, he needed to understand that as well. “Mac is . . . suffering. If you want to know about him just because you’re curious, then this conversation is over. I don’t play with people’s lives. And if—”

  “He’s my father,” Chris snapped.

  * * *

  Chris hadn’t intended telling Melissa about Mac. He only wanted to learn what their connection was. How close they are. The look on her face said she had no clue about the relationship between him and Mac. That meant he’d done a good job at keeping his real name a secret. If it wasn’t for the face he’d been old enough to remember, Chris might not even know it.

  “Chris, I . . . didn’t . . . know. I was only telling you about Mac because—” Melissa stammered.

  “Because your brothers wouldn’t help.” She nodded, but he already knew that was the truth. “I’m not sure I’m glad I know or not.”

  “You mean that your father is looking for you?” Melissa asked.

  “I don’t refer to Mac as my father. Actually the words I use, I’d prefer not to say in front of a lady.”

  “I can only imagine what it was like for you. Mac told me he left and couldn’t bring himself to return after he was injured.”

  “That’s the excuse he’s giving you for . . . ignoring his responsibility?” Chris still was bitter at what Mac had done. It wasn’t just about him. His mother had struggled living as a single parent. And Mac didn’t even come back when she died. Nothing would’ve kept me from my child. Nothing.

  “All I know is what he told me,” Melissa said softly. “I’m sorry. If I’d known you were the son he was looking for then . . . then . . .”

  “Then you wouldn’t have told me and you’d have reported back to that a__, that jerk?” He didn’t want to refer to Mac as an asshole to Melissa. Although he’d thought of Mac in much worse terms over the years.

  “I’m not sure what I would’ve done.”

  He had to give her credit. She didn’t lie. It was another thing he liked about her. That was the problem. The more he knew, the more he liked. Melissa was genuine. That was rare, at least in his experience. Chris was speaking to her as though she had this all planned out and was enjoying how it was fucking with his head. Right now, he was the one being cruel to her. I said no one will ever hurt you, Melissa; that includes me.

  Chris knew she wasn’t the type to pry into someone’s personal life. Even when they were on the farm together, Melissa wasn’t asking him a bunch of questions. She seemed to do more listening than inquiring. That’s probably why Mac spoke to her. You’re easy to talk to. Hell, look at me, spilling my shit and I never do that. “I just need to know why you’re so adamant about helping him.” When you have no idea what that man did to me.

  Melis
sa twisted her hands in her lap and looked totally distraught over the entire situation. But she answered him. “I saw the man he was years ago. His body was broken, but his mind was in worst shape. He was so unreachable back then. I could help him face the loss of his limbs, but the demons he battled inside were too deep. Yet when he showed up and asked me for help, I saw . . . well for the first time I saw something he was willing to fight for.”

  “I don’t know why after all these years he’s looking for me.” And part of me doesn’t care either. As far as Chris was concerned, Mac deserved to be miserable and alone.

  “He said he received a call that you were . . . sick or injured. He couldn’t give me any more information than that.”

  Chris never called him and sure as hell didn’t give anyone permission to. He wasn’t falling for that. Yeah, he’d been in the hospital, but they couldn’t release his information. And I don’t have Mac listed anywhere.

  He reached over and covered her hands with his. “Melissa, I’m glad we talked about this. But I need you to know something. My fa—Mac is a liar. I don’t know how he knew I’d been in the hospital, but it wasn’t on accident. He’s searching for me for a reason. But I don’t want anything to do with him. He signed that paper relinquishing his rights. And I’m not giving them back.”

  “I wouldn’t ask you to.”

  “Good. But I need to ask you to do something for me,” Chris said meeting her gaze.

  “What is it?” Melissa asked.

  “Don’t speak to him again. If he reaches out to you, hang up. If he shows up at your house, call me. I’ll set him straight.”

  “Chris, I can’t be mean to him for no reason.”

  “Melissa, I’m telling you something isn’t right. If you won’t listen to me, then maybe you will listen to your brothers.” He didn’t want to bring them into this, but he didn’t want Mac contacting her again. “Trust me, I’ll handle Mac.”

  “You’re going to talk to him?” Melissa asked.

  Yeah, something like that. “He wants to see me, then he will. But I don’t want you having anything more to do with him. Understood?”