by Ashley Munoz
I had recoiled instantly because my heart was sworn to someone else. There wasn’t a chance in hell I’d sacrifice my chance at having a future with Jace. Now, knowing he was already moving on and doing whatever it was he was doing on top of the fact that he’d harshly dumped me out of nowhere. My fight was gone.
I let Bryan tuck me under his chin, wrap his arms around me, and wordlessly lead me upstairs to his room. He didn’t say anything as he tapped his key fob to the scanner on the door and it blinked green. He didn’t mention the burly security guards standing outside, and I didn’t ask. I knew he was rich; he said he’d developed some tech that caught on quickly and from that built up a nice nest egg. When we entered, there was a soft glow from the desk overlooking Memphis; otherwise the lights were off.
He left me standing in the middle of the room while he went to start the bath. I aimlessly drifted toward the window and watched the lights of the city cast a blue glow for as far as my eyes could see. My heart pinched as I tried to see past the city lights and peek into the darkness, where my past was, where the boy I loved was falling in love with someone else. Bryan stepped behind me, grabbing my hand, he led me to the luxurious bathroom.
White marbled floors expanded beneath my feet, a massive jacuzzi tub rested near the corner, and across the room was a large walk-in shower, all glass and white tile. It was beyond opulent, beyond anything I had ever witnessed in person. So distracted by the pain hollowing out my chest and the beauty surrounding me, I didn’t even notice when Bryan stood in front of me and began slowly peeling off my shirt.
He tugged it above my head, running his warm fingers up and down my arms, and he removed my jeans and shoes next. I kept expecting shame or caution to surface. I kept expecting an objection to leave my tongue or some sound of protest to come out, but nothing came. Once I was naked, he gently led me toward the tub and helped me in.
He was going to leave me, let me have privacy, but as I sank into the delicious heat, I tugged on his hand, silently asking him to join me.
He gave me a heady look, arousal clear in the way his eyes dipped to my chest. He slowly discarded his clothes. He was all hard edges and smooth skin, no hair, and perfectly tanned with zero awkward tan lines. He looked like one of my Ken dolls from when I was little. A different kind of heat began to unfurl within me as he crawled in behind me. He tugged me to his chest, still not asking any questions.
It was there in the rapture of his embrace, when he whispered “Stay with me” in my ear that I nodded my agreement and sealed my fate. I had muddled through almost five months of heartbreak and I wasn’t healed or ready for another relationship, but I was ready to put the Jace chapter behind me once and for all. Maybe with enough time, I could grow to love Bryan the way he deserved. I could love him in a different way, maybe a more powerful way.
I just knew I wasn’t going back to Jace Walker.
Nineteen
“You in the mood for some lunch or what?” Seth leaned forward and scanned the thin, plastic menu in front of him. We were in Memphis, settling in at the hotel restaurant. Seth wanted to get me out of the city, get my mind off what I’d explained to him. I wanted to get wasted, to forget the fact that Faith wasn’t single, forget she was still very much married.
A UFC fight was scheduled here, so later tonight, we’d go watch two grown men beat each other senseless. I’d spend that time imagining it was Bryan in the ring, getting his face pummeled.
Seeing Bryan Vanderson in person, touching, kissing Faith three days ago was too much. I blanched as humiliation swam through me, thinking back to that day, how it had felt like Faith was about to kiss me…how she’d asked me in, how down deep I knew what I felt, how that look had crept into her eye when she took a step back when she saw her husband. Still, I’d left because that look wasn’t any of my business. She wasn’t any of my business. Not anymore.
It was all the reminder I needed to stay as far away from her as possible, and maybe this weekend, I could find someone to fill that space in my heart that had always belonged to her. It was a long shot, but I’d take it.
“Yeah, any ideas on what’s good here?” I eyed the double bacon cheeseburger and aimlessly looked over beer options. I wasn’t really in the mood for beer. I liked to indulge at night if I was relaxing, but otherwise I was a water or iced tea kinda guy. Seth took a few more seconds to look over the menu, and while he did, I let my gaze wander to the large television over the bar.
It was playing some local station out of Nashville; the clip was labeled breaking news or some shit. I looked around for the bartender or anyone who might take pity on me and turn it to sports highlights, but I couldn’t seem to locate anyone who could help.
I let my eyes wander around the bar for a bit instead of watching the gossip segment—until a familiar name caught my attention.
Faith Vanderson.
I narrowed my eyes and watched intently as the blotchy-faced reporter leaned forward, looking at her tablet. “We’re told someone anonymously leaked these, just moments ago.”
I watched, curious as to what the hell they were talking about.
The reporter nodded to someone off camera then warned, “The photos we’re about to show are disturbing. We encourage anyone with sensitive viewers in the room to be aware.”
My heart nearly gave the fuck up on me.
Images of Faith with a black and blue eye were now blown up on the fifty-five-inch screen. Another image of her ribs was on display; they were a deep purple and yellow, and there were a few more bruises on her arms.
“Now, we know Faith just released her own interview saying the divorce was amicable and they were separating on good terms, but then these were released. The dates of the hospital visit line up with the window of time we all noticed Mr. Vanderson showing up alone attending a few events, and take a look at this footage. This was filmed just a week after her hospital visit.”
Choppy footage of the Truitt’s barbeque was on the screen—someone had recorded a video of my conversation with Faith. It caught my angry glare on her necklace and Faith’s eyes turned down like she was a damn puppy getting in trouble. The face of the person recording appeared in selfie mode, saying, “That was Jace Walker and Faith Morgan’s reunion after their brutal breakup five years ago. Broken heart much?” It was Shania Deegan, an avid hater of Faith from high school.
Guilt settled hard in my stomach. I tightened my fist and breathed through my nose.
I blinked to try to keep it together, but I was itching to get in my truck and find her. She had been trapped in an abusive marriage all this time, had been hospitalized because of it, and I had been nothing but an asshole to her.
Fuck.
I was pretty sure tears were running down my face, but I was too fucking numb to feel them. I peeled out of the parking lot and floored it toward Collierville.
Five years earlier: March
“Mom, can you hear me?” I frantically pushed my mom’s eyelids open, scanning her pupils, pushing my fingers to her throat to check her pulse. My heart was racing as panic and adrenaline shot through me like a piston. With shaky hands, I grabbed my cell phone, dialed 911, and began to spout off details of what was happening. My mother had thyroid cancer, and it was slowly eating away her throat. She did have some medication for it, but her insurance had dropped her a year earlier. She had a fighting chance, except one of the side effects of her medication was that her bones grew weak.
So weak that tripping over the comforter on the floor and landing on her wrist had broken it. She was constantly in pain, which led to an opioid addiction, which then led to withdrawals. As long as I was able to get her the meds, she wouldn’t turn to the harder stuff, but after the blackmail, I had been trying to do right by the system and work for it. I was exhausted and desperate, though. I made shit money, and at the end of every day, it still wasn’t enough.
I’d even found myself trying to flirt with Jessica James a few weeks earlier, just so she’d invite me into her car. My pl
an was, once I was close to her purse, I would rob her blind. Thank fuck I saw Faith pull away from the other side of the street. It brought me out of that bad head space and gave me perspective.
I’d work and get the money the honest way. I’d figure it out. Faith was always like my guiding light, except I had no idea what she’d think of me if she knew I’d stolen medication for my mother. My gut told me she’d understand, but my head whispered little lies that it was too late.
Once we were in the hospital, they set my mother up in a room and connected her to an IV. Her veins were nearly bone dry from dehydration. They had high hopes that she’d be fine once they regulated a few things with her vitals and checked in with the doctor on call. Relieved, I sauntered toward the coffee machine, which was in an open waiting room. A few tables were scattered throughout the vast space, along with a few televisions and snack machines. I grabbed my thin paper cup of caffeine and sank into one of the chairs, tipping my head back to watch the news.
I didn’t particularly care about what was going on in the world, but I needed a distraction—except the clip wasn’t a news segment. It was an interview on some talk show.
In the chair across from the host was a businessman, likely richer than God, with some metallic-looking suit, slicked-back blond hair, and a clean-shaven face. I smirked at the loafers on his feet and the lack of socks showing; always thought that looked ridiculous on grown men. The woman next to him was a cliché blonde, holding on to his arm as a megawatt smile graced her pouty red lips—
I sat up quick as lightning as my exhausted eyes took in and finally registered who that woman was. Creamy skin, deep tan from too much Tennessee sun, hair so golden it looked as if she’d plucked rays from the sun and braided them into her hair, and eyes as deep and blue as the ocean.
Fuck.
Why was Faith holding that man’s arm? I stood, pushing the chair back, and stalked closer to the mounted television. My heart thrashed in my chest, aching to be calmed.
“So, this is new for you, Bryan, right?” The host lifted her hand toward Faith and smiled.
Bryan, whoever the fuck he was, turned his head to look down at Faith. “It is…but it’s serious. In fact…we have some news.” He gave the camera a big smile and tugged Faith’s hand free to place it out in the open for everyone to see.
I wasn’t sure why until I realized she had a diamond about the size of my fist on her left hand. Shallow, hollow breaths were coming out of me in small bursts.
What the fuck am I watching? What is happening?
“We’re engaged,” Bryan said excitedly as the host leaned toward the diamond with her mouth open. My eyes moved to Faith’s. Her blue eyes looked dead and didn’t match the smile cresting on her beautiful lips.
“Wow, congratulations. This is very exciting, but some might say it was rather fast—would you agree with that?” the host asked, crossing one leg over the other and sinking back into her chair. Faith resumed holding on to Bryan’s arm.
He shook his head back and forth and looked down at Faith. “Not for us…we just knew. When I know I want something, I don’t wait for it to possibly be snatched up by another man.” His words felt like a punch to my face, like they were aimed directly at me, like he fucking knew I’d let her go.
Maybe he did, but shit…this hurt. It hurt more than…
“So, when’s the big day?”
My eyes snapped back up to see what they were going to say.
Faith smiled again, looked up at the man next to her, and said in her honey-soft voice, “Six months from now. We want a September wedding.”
Tears burned the edges of my eyes, and my hands had gone numb. It didn’t feel real until she spoke, until I heard her voice say she was marrying someone who wasn’t me. She was moving on. Permanently.
If she thought she was marrying that rich prick, she was wrong. I’d fight this. I’d fucking fight for her. There was no chance in hell this was happening.
Just as I tightened my fists and headed toward the main hall, looking for the exit, I saw two officers heading my way. Dressed in black uniforms, one spoke into his walkie, the other moving his hand to his belt as he got closer to me. I stopped, wondering if they needed help finding someone.
“Jace Walker?” asked the officer to the left.
“Yeah, that’s me.” I quirked a confused eyebrow.
The second officer removed a pair of silver cuffs from his back, and then everything moved in slow motion.
“You’re under arrest. Hands behind your head,” one of them barked with authority and a little bit of disgust.
Confused, I just stared at them. I had no idea what the hell was happening, but my hands went up and I did as they said because I didn’t want to get shot. I knew there had to be some kind of mistake, because…
No. No fucking way did he…
He cut me a deal. We made a deal! I wanted to scream it, wanted to shout it and cry it, run and sag away from the cuffs, beg the officers to hear me, but I already knew who had orchestrated this.
I already knew I was condemned and there was nothing I could do. While they cuffed me, they rambled off my Miranda rights, but my eyes went back to the television.
Faith leaned over and kissed Bryan on the lips. He brought his hand to her chin, flashing a watch worth more than my entire existence. My stomach dropped, because I’d lost her regardless of my deal. Regardless of what I did, what I said, I was still losing her, and I was about to lose my mother too.
Twenty
It was the perfect day to officially move into my new place.
The apartment was a two-bedroom open floor plan on the fourth floor of a building in downtown Collierville. It had a doorman and keycard access only, so I felt safe. I felt free and, for the first time ever, I felt like me.
My dad helped me haul my things up, even though there wasn’t much. I unpacked my duffle into my new closet and made up my new bed with new sheets, but otherwise my apartment was empty.
I needed to drive to IKEA and pick up an entire apartment’s worth of stuff this weekend. I would have gone today, but my Rover was still at the mechanic. I’d called and had a different shop pick it up and look it over to ensure there wouldn’t be any more surprises. I couldn’t handle Jace having to pick me up again.
So, with nothing left to unpack, I walked aimlessly around my empty apartment, set up my laptop, and decided to sit on my new bed and watch a few episodes of Superstore.
One episode turned into four, my Chinese food came, and I ate alone then eventually fell asleep, but I woke a while later to a sharp knock on my door.
I jumped, my heart racing.
My first thought was that it was Bryan, but I had shown my doorman a picture of him and told him under no circumstances was he ever allowed into my building. I’d even tested him to see if he could be bought, but he was an older man, said he had daughters and granddaughters and would be honored to watch out for me. So, I believed him.
I jumped off my bed, ran to the door on my tiptoes, and carefully, cautiously peeked through the glass in the tiny hole.
A flustered, angry-looking Jace stood on the other side. How the hell did he find me?
Confused, I slowly opened the door and stuck my head out. “What do you want?” I used my serious tone, showing I meant business, because after him leaving me with my abuser the other day, I wasn’t sure what to feel. Sure, he didn’t know Bryan was abusive, but still. He had just left me—again.
His blue eyes were frantic, searching my face back and forth, his lips thinned into a frown and his jaw covered in day-old scruff. He was handsome as always, but my attraction was tempered by his abandonment.
“Can I come in?” Husky darkness swam through me as I processed his words.
I hesitated, and apparently that was all he needed. He pushed the door open, lightly forcing me back, and walked in. He secured the door and stared at me from his spot in front of it.
“What are you doing here, Jace? How the hell did you—” He
cut me off, stepping forward. My words caught in my throat as he knelt before me, gripped my shirt, and shoved it up. My stomach was on display, revealing my light grey sports bra and my still faintly yellow ribs.
He ran his oil-stained finger down my fading bruise and swallowed. His Adam’s apple moved, and I nearly touched it in fascination. I concentrated instead on his eyes as they scanned my torso. His muttered “Motherfucker” made angry goose bumps erupt along my arms.
How did he know?
My body was thrumming with need at his closeness, at how his finger kept skimming my skin. But his actions from the other day—from every encounter—came back, crashing through the walls of my heart, reminding me.
I shoved my shirt down and stepped back.
“H-he hurt you—why didn’t you tell me?” Jace sputtered, standing…staring. Misty eyes met mine, and it nearly made my heart wilt.
“I tried, but you left.” I lifted a shoulder, hating the weight of his stare on me.
He winced and pulled his hands through his hair. “Fuck.”
“How did you find out?” I asked, curious and embarrassed.
“It’s been leaked. I saw it while I was in Memphis, blasted across the television.”
My stomach clenched. “What?”
No…no, this can’t be happening.
I ran to my laptop, punching my name into Google, and sure enough, the images were there, picked up by various gossip and media outlets. I clicked on a YouTube video of a news clip and saw it already had thousands of views.
“Oh my god…I’m going to be sick.”
Jace was next to me in a flash, his long arms coming around me. I inhaled his motor oil, spicy-clean scent and held back the tears that wanted to fall. Someone had leaked private photos, images that had been taken by police officers and filed away for if and when I decided to press charges. How was this possible? How could this have happened?
