Heartbreaker

by Romy Lockhart

  I get the distinct impression I’m making a mistake in coming here to try to catch her in the act about the same time the elevator doors open. The lights are on in the main room, and I can hear someone opening drawers in the bedroom. I hesitate before stepping out of the elevator.

  I’m here now. Might as well get this over with.

  I walk toward the bedroom and I know it when she hears me coming. The noises stop dead, suddenly. I step into the room and find her crouched by my night stand, silky material of something small in her hand and her big dark eyes wider than I’ve ever seen them.

  “Hi, Elise,” I start, hesitating now that I’m actually confronting her. I don’t know how to deal with this. Any other woman, and I’d demand she leave immediately. I’d shout. I’d throw things if it came to it. Anything to trigger a flight reaction. I can’t do that with Elise.

  “Nick! I didn’t... I mean, this is not...” She straightens to stand in front of me, stuffing the panties into the open bag on the bed. “It’s not what it looks like.”

  “What does it look like, exactly?”

  She stares at the ground. “It probably looks like I’m breaking in to steal shit to sell for drugs.”

  Okay. Yeah, I get why she’d say that. Still... “That’s not what it looks like.”

  She swallows before she raises her gaze back to me, never quite focussing on my face. “I’ve been crashing here. I mean, I was. Before.”

  “Why?”

  “Things got hard. I had to leave my boyfriend. It wasn’t safe at his place. Only, I had to go back to get stuff later. That’s when the whole thing with that weird girl who was ordering me around happened and I don’t know how she got me back on that junk. Maybe I’ll never know. I wish I’d never left this apartment once I got here.” She looks right at me. “It was the only safe place I could think of, Nick. I’m sorry. I knew you wouldn’t be here. So I just kind of broke in.”

  Relief floods me that her story has nothing to do with me. “I understand, but you could have called.”

  “I lost your number. My ex sold my phone.”

  “You left rehab to come here.”

  “I’m going right back, I swear.” She sighs. “I’m sorry, Nick, really I am. I should have just come clean when you took me to Tanya. I was still a little out of it then and I couldn’t think straight.”

  It’s all so reasonable. I should just ignore the elephant in the room. That’s what a man with sense would do. Apparently I’m not one of those men, because I can’t let go of the feeling that there’s more to this than she’s letting on. “Why am I listed as your emergency contact?”

  She tenses visibly before pulling on one of those creepy-ass fake smiles that don’t make it all the way to her eyes. Fuck. She’s about to bullshit me.

  “I fell out with Tanya over my ex. She had his number from the start, knew he was nothing but trouble, but stupid me, I didn’t. I’m sorry, Nick. I didn’t expect anyone to ever have to call you.”

  “Then why pretend you’re married to me?”

  Her smile drops away and I know I’ve just picked up a rock and I’m never going to be able to unsee what was under it now. Whatever this girl used to mean to me, she doesn’t any longer. She’s not who I thought she was and damn that hurts to find out.

  “Nick, it’s not...” She shakes her head, but she can’t seem to find the words to keep going.

  “Pack up and I’ll drive you back to rehab.” I walk out of the room, running a hand through my hair.

  She clatters around, gathering the last of her things. I’ll need to have the locks changed, and the elevator that opens up into the club sealed off. I’ll need to have a word with Tanya. Make sure she knows I’ll help however I can, but I can’t ever see Elise again. Not while she’s interested in me. I don’t want to lead her on.

  I don’t understand how this happened. I’ve never given her any indication that I might have been into her in that way. I guess I didn’t have to. That’s not always how these things work.

  I take out my phone and shoot Tanya a quick message. Tell her I found her sister, that she’s fine and I’m taking her back to the rehab centre. She sends back a relieved thank you. I hesitate before asking her to meet me there. She agrees without a second’s hesitation.

  Elise comes out of my bedroom, bag in hand. Her gaze is downcast. “I’m packed.”

  I nod, taking the bag from her and heading toward the elevator. “Let’s go.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Asher

  I leave my car parked outside the diner and check my phone on the walk down the street towards the site of the house that woman had lured my parents into. I curse under my breath as I walk. She’d lied to the police before, and she’d lied to me. She’d known exactly where my parents were. And telling someone might have meant they got to go home. Now? Who’s to say what’s happened to them? Years have passed. I realise I’ve slowed my pace, and it’s because as much as I long to know the truth I’m afraid that it might be heinously terrible. If they were still alive, they’d have found a way to contact us. I know they would. It’s been too long. So what does that leave? They’re likely dead. It’s what I’ve believed for years. It seems like the most obvious conclusion, though it may not be the worst one. If they are still alive, they won’t be the people I remember.

  I force myself to keep moving, but my feet stop when I come to the foreboding gates of the house, which is a mansion, really. It looks big enough to be a four storey hotel. The lights are on inside, almost all of them. And the gate isn’t entirely closed.

  It feels like a trap.

  Everything inside of me is screaming “Run!” but I move forward and step through the opening onto the driveway, my thoughts splitting as my body decides for me what the answer is. I’ve come too far now. There’s no walking away. I only hesitate once I get to the porch.

  No-one knows where I am, what I’m doing. What if I vanish like my parents did?

  That last thought is what haunts me. As much as I wanted to keep this quiet, I know this is a dangerous situation I’m about to walk into. I fire out a quick text and send it to Nick, letting him know I’m visiting my parents in case they wonder where I am when they get back to Rapture. He doesn’t know enough to question me, and he’ll likely only tell Eden if she worries over where I am. I don’t want Eden worrying about me unless there’s cause to, and I don’t want Sasha calling me to tell me I’m being an idiot. She probably already left five messages to that effect on my voicemail, without even knowing where I am. This would tip her over the edge.

  Putting my cell back into my pocket, I approach the door. I’m not sure what’s going to happen when I knock, but I decide to stick with the private detective cover. At least until my host reveals what happened to my parents. I can’t really be sure what will happen then.

  My knock sounds too loud in the still, dark night. The tapping seems to echo.

  I step back and wait. A few minutes later, I’m still waiting. I don’t believe no-one’s home. The abundance of light makes it obvious someone is.

  I move down the long porch and look around. There isn’t an obvious path leading to the back of the house, and even if there was, the woods surrounding it are dark and deep enough to make me reconsider that idea.

  The creak of the door snaps my attention back. It pulls open and a pale woman in a dark dress greets me, her gaze blank. The world drops out from under me as I stare at her thin face. My mother was always so full of life, so vibrant. This woman is a shell of what she once was. If there’s such a thing as a soul, I don’t see one here.

  “Can I help you, sir?”

  Even her tone feels flat, empty. What the hell did these people do to my mother?

  “I’m looking for Honor Reynolds. Haven’t see her around, have you?” I pay close attention as I say her name out loud. There’s no flicker of recognition. Her expression remains blank.

  “I can’t say that I have. Would you like to come in? I’m sure the lady of t
he house would be happy to have the company of such a fine gentleman for the evening.”

  She steps back, to let me in, apparently. I enter with caution. I don’t know what happened to her but I’m going to find out. I hold out a hand, and explain when she just looks at it.

  “Thank you for the kind offer.”

  She allows me to take her hand and I use Eden’s light to discover she’s been brainwashed to forget who she was. A dark forces Goddess has been working on her, wearing down any shred of resolve.

  Instinct takes over, and I send more of Eden’s light into her. “Remember who you are.”

  She blinks, and tears fall down her cheeks. I’m bringing her memories back, a little piece at a time. More would be dangerous. All she knows now is that she’s been used, that she doesn’t belong to the Goddess.

  “You’re free of her now.” The words spark raw emotion in her eyes.

  She pulls her hand away. “Who are you?”

  “There’s no time for that. Who else lives here?”

  She frowns and shrugs. “I don’t know. There are people I’ve never met in other sections. This is mine.”

  My stomach churns at the thought that there may be more hostages than I’m even aware of. How many people can one Goddess brainwash, anyway?

  “Stay here. I’ll come back for you.”

  “I can’t let you just walk into the lady’s rooms.”

  “Where is she right now?”

  “Dorothea, darling,” a woman’s commanding voice calls out from the top of the marble staircase just behind us. “Who’s my gentleman caller?”

  My mother wipes quickly at her tear-stained face before composing her stance and striding forward to introduce me. “This young man seems to be lost. I offered him shelter.”

  The woman who comes down the stairs is blonde and in her mid-thirties. She’s stunning, with a movie star’s figure and presence. She’s also evil beyond words and I can see the faintest hint of that in her snide smile. I can tell from her appraising glance that I’m less than dirt to her, whoever I am.

  “Adam Miller,” I introduce, not willing to show my hand. If my mother doesn’t recognise me I’m damn well going to use that to my advantage. “I’ve been asking around town about a young girl’s disappearance. I’ve been hired by her family to find out what happened to her.”

  “I know the girl you speak of,” the blonde woman says, not bothering to introduce herself. She smoothes down the purple skirt of her cocktail dress and smiles knowingly when my gaze is drawn to her bejewelled fingers. “She’s trouble, that one. My best guess is she ran off with an out-of-towner. Lots of people pass through this place. Hardly any of them stick around. That girl is long gone.”

  In other words, no one will ever find her. That means this bitch knows what happened. If the girl is dead, it’s by her hand. I need to play this carefully. I could touch her, but she’d know who I was and what I was if I did that. Things would escalate. I don’t want to die tonight. Even if I would come back in the morning. Too much could happen while I was out.

  “Do you mind if I use your bathroom before I hit the road? It’s been rather a long day.”

  She nods. “Of course. It’s just down the hall.”

  She leads the way. I follow, keeping a few steps behind her. Avoiding physical contact might get me through this intact. The bathroom is close by, which kind of sucks. I need to know if my father is here. Rescuing my mother alone would only alert this bitch to what I was up to. I don’t want that. I don’t want her to become Eden’s problem. My Goddess has enough of those.

  “There it is,” the woman says, motioning and gazing me over once more.

  She’s sizing me up now. Wondering what use I could be to her. I see it in her devious eyes. I step into the bathroom and close the door quickly. I’m seriously screwed. If she decides to add me to her collection, she’ll find out I’m not mortal the moment she touches me.

  Worse, she’ll know who I am and why I really came here.

  “Fuck,” I curse, contemplating my next move as I pace around the bathroom.

  There’s nothing else for it. I’m going to have to go back out there and tread carefully. I need to find out who she’s hiding in this house. I need to get them all out of here. And I need to do it alone.

  I flush the toilet and run the tap. There’s nothing I can use as an obvious weapon in the cabinet. Not that I could do her physical harm besides. She can’t control me. That’s the only advantage I have. It had better be enough.

  I step out of the room and find her still standing there. She glances me over and smiles.

  “I think you should stay a while, Mr Miller. In fact, I insist on it.”

  I nod slowly, playing along. “I should stay.”

  “Good boy,” she tells me, as if I’m her pet. “Now come with me.”

  I play the perfect little compelled human, staying back far enough that she can’t reach out to touch me with any sudden movements. I keep my gaze glassy when she stops at a closed door and opens her mouth again.

  “In here,” she tells me. “This is where you live now. I’ll be back in the morning to give you instructions. Go to bed and sleep well.”

  She makes no attempt to touch me as swings open the door to the darkened room. I step inside and she closes me in. No lock, so there’s that. I listen for her leaving before running my hands along the wall to find the light switch.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Nick

  We drive out to the clinic in silence. Elise glances my way a few times, as if she might want to talk, but she never opens her mouth. I don’t think we have anything else to really say to each other.

  Tanya’s already there when we arrive. She must have driven out right after I messaged her. I could have offered to pick her up. There’s a reason I didn’t.

  “Hey,” she says, before going inside with Elise.

  I wait by my car, not willing to go inside. Tanya exits a few minutes later and heads my way, her walk slow. She tries to smile but I can see she’s struggling not to cry. Shit. This whole damn thing was one big mistake.

  “Thank you for finding her.” She clears her throat, putting her hands in her pockets. “I don’t know what we would have done without you, Nick. These last few days...”

  “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” I say, cutting her off short. “Elise has been obsessed with me. She was squatting in my apartment. And the whole thing with her naming me as her emergency contact, that’s fucked, Tanya. I can’t do this anymore.”

  Her eyes glaze over. “You think I can? It’s killing me to see her like this, Nick.”

  I blow out a breath. “Look, I know. I’ll cover any rehab and medical costs, but I can’t see her again, Tanya. It’s not doing her any good.”

  She scowls. “Oh screw you! You see her for five minutes in the last year and you think she’s getting too clingy? She looked up to you like a big brother. You’re an asshole. Keep your money. We don’t need it.”

  She stalks away, gets in her car and speeds off. I get into mine and sit there, lost in thought. She’s right, I’m an asshole. Things get hard, and I walk away. Tell myself it’s for the best. Make an excuse, any excuse. It’s what’s best for Elise? No. I don’t know that that’s true.

  It’s what’s best for me.

  “Fuck,” I curse, knowing I can’t cut Elise out of my life for selfish reasons. That’s the old me. I need to be better than that. Just as soon as I figure out how.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Eden

  Waking up alone is a whole lot less fun than falling asleep in the arms of two incredible men. I stretch and rub at my eyes before sitting up. Light is streaming in through a crack in the shades.

  It can’t be time to fly home yet. Someone would have woken me before now if it was. Still, I guess I should get up and get moving. No rest for Goddesses with tours to prepare for.

  I feel every muscle in my body when I sit up. It makes me groan. I haven’t known tha
t feeling for a while. It’s one of those deep, all over aches. The kind of pain I was used to way back when I was working out like a demon under pressure from my management to stay slim. Getting together with Hunter had put an end to that insanity. I’m grateful for that, even if the thought of him now turns my stomach. He never wanted to be with me. That had been forced on him.

  I grimace as I get to my feet and head for the en-suite shower. The hot water will relax my strained muscles. Nothing erases the new knowledge that Hunter had been planted by a dark forces Goddess. Someone had almost prevented me from finding my true path in life. They’d tried to ruin Hunter’s life as well as my own.

  I’m not mad at him anymore. I don’t think I ever really was. I’d been angry that I’d spent years of my life in a relationship that was never really going anywhere, and I’d been irritated with myself that it had taken Hunter’s infidelity to wake me the hell up. None of those feelings were directed at him.

  It hadn’t been his fault. We’d both been victims of a Goddess of Destruction.

  I exit the shower once my body’s relaxed and I’m cleaned up and smelling of apple shampoo and rose body wash. I look better than I feel when I swipe at the steamed up mirror. I’m still tired, but there are no tell-tale dark circles under my eyes.

  I start to wonder who the hell it was all those years ago. I couldn’t remember anyone having it out for me when I got started. There had been some jealousy from fan girls when I started dating Hunter, I guess, but the Goddess had engineered that relationship. I had to have crossed paths with her before then. Or him, I remind myself.

  Thinking about it might drive me crazy, but I can’t seem to let the idea go.

  I get dressed and packed and head into the lounge. Logan’s working on Nick’s laptop at the coffee table, but I don’t see Eli around.

  “Hey,” I say as I walk in to the room.

  “You’re awake,” Logan says, seeming surprised.

  “You didn’t hear the shower?” It’s not like him to be so oblivious, but I can tell he’s distracted. Something’s playing on his thoughts.