by Jewel, Bella
He runs a hand through his hair. “I don’t know what I believe anymore.”
“Well, you can believe that because it’s the truth. I was never unfaithful.”
“That seems hard to believe when you moved on so quickly.”
I take a calming breath as I try to find a way to explain this without lying . . . too much. “He’s a friend.”
“Then why did Heather see you leaving your parents’ house with him last night, holding hands?”
“We are just friends; I don’t need to give you more of an explanation.”
“I beg to differ,” he snaps.
I close my eyes for a second. “Come on, Gerard. We’re better than this. Can’t we just . . . try? You loved me once. I loved you. We got along. Why can’t we just attempt to do this properly?”
“You loved me so much you moved on in a matter of weeks.”
I say nothing, because he’s right, and I have to accept that one.
“I don’t want this to be messy,” I say, changing the subject.
“I didn’t either, but I want a full investigation before anything proceeds. Infidelity will change everything.”
He can’t be serious. “I didn’t cheat on you,” I try to say it calmly, but my voice comes out clipped.
“How come you suddenly got pregnant?”
Oh my god. No. Not that. Anything but that.
“I don’t know how you expect me to explain that. It was lucky, but it was yours.”
“We tried to for so long, with not even a glimpse of a baby, then suddenly you’re pregnant.”
Stay calm.
Stay calm.
“That baby was yours,” I bite out.
“And this mystery man that just happened to break up our marriage?”
Oh my god. “No, Gerard, we broke up our marriage. Me because I hung onto something that wasn’t”—I swallow, hating that I have to say it—“real. And you because you didn’t believe in me, and you didn’t stick by me. It had nothing to do with some underlying plan to get away from you to run off with my lover!”
“So you’re admitting you have a lover.”
Sweet Jesus. She’s corrupted him.
“You know what?” I hiss, standing up. “This is the last time I try and do this the right way. If you wish to sit and listen to your sister fill your head with lies, then you go ahead and investigate me. I’ve done nothing wrong, and I won’t be punished for being stuck in the wrong place at the wrong time and living the worst moments of my life while you worked!” I’m screaming by the end of it.
Calm down.
Breathe.
“Hey.”
The voice comes from behind me, and I recognize it as Sheldon’s. I jerk when his hands close around my upper arms. “Time to go.”
“Is this him?” Gerard growls, leaping up.
“Look, man, don’t know who you think I am, but I’m just here helping out a friend.”
“I’ll figure out what you two have been doing behind my back!” Gerard roars as Sheldon leads me down the sidewalk, all eyes on us.
“Thank you,” I whisper when we get out of sight.
“Heath sent me.”
“So you’ve been the one following me,” I murmur, reaching my car and unlocking it.
“An interesting life you lead, Miss Lucy.”
I smile weakly at him.
He returns it.
It doesn’t make me feel better.
Chapter Eighteen
L – Your bodyguard returned me home safe and sound.
H – I know, he told me. You okay?
L – My husband thinks I had an affair and made you up to get out of the marriage, so no. He’s also investigating me.
H – He’s what?
L – Yup. He wants to prove I did something wrong.
H – Shit. I’ll call in ten, okay?
L – Okay.
I curl up on the couch, my phone beside me, and wish in that moment that I had some friends around to talk to. I never realized, but in his own quiet, little way, Gerard made sure I never had them. We were always too busy, and if I made a potential friend, every time they’d ask me to go out something would conveniently come up. It’s sad the things we realize only after we exit a relationship. Things that were toxic to us—we just didn’t know it.
My phone rings ten minutes later, as promised, and I answer it without hesitation.
“Hey,” I say softly.
“Hey, honey, how you doin’?”
God, his voice. Him. Just. Yes. “I’m getting there.”
“Sheldon told me it was getting a bit heated and that’s why he stepped in. You okay?”
“Honestly, I’m glad he did. I was losing my shit with him, and for good reason. I can’t believe, even for a second, that he’d think I would do that to him. I might be a lot of things, but I was a good and loyal wife.”
“No doubt, baby,” he says, his voice soft and calming.
“You know a lot about the law. Do they have a leg to stand on?”
“No, because you did nothing. They can’t find something that isn’t there.”
“They could find you . . .”
“I know every private investigator in this town. Already made the call and found out who they’re using.”
I blink. “You can do that?”
“I have contacts everywhere. I’ve specifically told him that there is nothing to find, and he’ll report that. He was happy to. He said he didn’t like the way that woman spoke to him anyway.”
My throat goes tight, and for a few minutes I can’t speak. “You did that for me?”
“Do anything for you, baby. Fuckin’ anything.”
“I think I’m going to cry.”
He chuckles. “Don’t, honey.”
“Am I going to see you tonight?”
He sighs. “Can’t. I’ve got to go out. I’ll try and see you tomorrow night, though.”
“Can I go and hang out with the guys then?”
He laughs. “No, baby.”
I huff. “I have no friends. Does that make me tragic?”
“Not at all, but you definitely need to get some.”
I cross my legs. “How do you suppose I do that?”
“I don’t know. Do you like exercise?”
“If you call the act of sticking my hand in and out of a bag of chips exercise, then yes.”
His laugh gets deeper, heartier, and I decide in that moment it’s my favorite sound in the world. “There has to be something you like, something you could find a group and join.”
“I like to read . . .”
“Don’t they have those book clubs down at the libraries?”
“They do.”
“Try one out; it’s a great place to start meeting people.”
My heart swells with hope and I smile. “I’ll go and talk to the library tomorrow. Thanks, Heath.”
“Anytime. Listen, I have to cut this short. Text me if you need, yeah?”
I smile. “Yeah.”
“Night, baby.”
“Night, handsome.”
I hang up, and my heart feels a little lighter. He has a way of doing that to me. He makes everything feel okay again.
* * *
I join a local book club the next night, and I bound out of the library feeling good. Really good. The first meeting is tomorrow evening and I can’t wait. I’m so desperate to meet people that I’m willing to try just about anything to start the road to changing my life. I walk down the sidewalk with a spring in my step and lightness in my heart, until I round the corner and see three men standing by my car.
I freeze.
There are moments in life that warn you of danger—this moment is one of them. I feel it from my toes to my head, a tingly, prickly sensation that alerts me that something is wrong. That these men aren’t good people. My inner alert system is screaming danger. I stop, taking them in. I recognize the older man as the one who prevented me from talking with Hayley in the mall.
; My heart feels as though it stutters to a stop.
“What do you want?” I say, reaching into my purse and pulling out my phone.
“You won’t be needing that,” a man says, stepping forward.
I study him, and something about him is familiar—really, really familiar. He’s got light hair, but it almost seems as though it’s been colored. It’s in a braid down his back, and it accentuates his light blue eyes and chiseled features. He looks . . . well . . . holy. He also terrifies me. This man is danger; he’s creepy; he is not good at all. He’s wearing a white button-down shirt and a pair of jeans. To an outsider, he would most likely look normal; to me, he represents fear.
He has a cross hanging around his neck. I want to rip it off.
“Do I know you?” I say, my voice far weaker than I’d like.
“No,” he says, his voice smooth. “And you won’t if you tell me what I need to know.”
“I don’t know what I could possibly tell you.”
He smiles, and it makes me want to turn and run.
He steps closer. I step back. He waves a hand, and the two men with him circle around me, cutting me off from my escape route. Fear clogs my throat, but I try not to let it show.
“Do you know Heath Walker?”
I don’t flinch, but it takes everything inside me not to. I didn’t know Heath’s last name until this very moment. I school my features. “I have no idea who that is.”
The man studies me. “I think you’re lying.”
“I’m not lying,” I say calmly. “I don’t know that name. I’ve never heard it before in my life.”
He narrows his eyes, studying me far too closely. “You caused a scene at the mall. Why?”
I can barely breathe my heart is pounding so hard. “Because I was at that stadium. I saw what you . . . you monsters did.”
His jaw tics. “The only monsters here are people living outside of God’s wishes.”
My gosh. He’s delusional. “You killed people!”
“I didn’t do anything. Now, I ask again—do you know a Heath Walker?”
“No,” I snap. “I’ve already told you that. I was only trying to show the rest of the world what a bunch of creeps you are in the mall. Whoever this Heath is, you need to keep him and yourselves away from me. I want nothing to do with you.”
This seems to work, because the man looks a little disappointed. He quickly covers it and steps forward, reaching out and cupping my face. I flinch and try to pull back, but his two men close in on me. “Such fire, such rage. I could help you.”
“By forcing me into a life I would never want? Like the rest of those girls?” I growl.
His eyes flash. “Such a troubled soul.”
“Get your hands off me,” I hiss.
He doesn’t. “I’d suggest you stop interfering with my program, with my people, with my life. If you don’t, you’ll find yourself in a rather . . . troubled situation.”
“Are you threatening me?” I snap.
His fingers tighten so hard against my cheek that I wince, but don’t pull back. I don’t want the creeps behind me putting their hands on me, too.
“I don’t make threats. Perhaps if you wish to change your tune, you can come and find me. I like a challenge. If not, I recommend you carry on with your life or I’ll be forced to take some rather drastic measures. You’ve seen what I do when people stand in my way and in the way of God.”
“God.” I laugh bitterly. “God doesn’t kill people.”
He looks disgusted, as if I’m an imbecile he has to explain such a simple truth to. “God sacrifices for the greater good.”
“Do you even hear yourself?”
He drops his hand, and his eyes, those familiar eyes, find mine, and he grins. “Good day, Lucy.”
He knows my name.
That sends a cold shiver up my spine as he turns, and he and his men leave.
Who the hell was that man? And why do I feel like I know him?
Chapter Nineteen
I don’t drive out to the warehouse, just in case those men are following me. Instead, I drive home as calmly as I can, get out, and enter my house. I check every room and lock every door before pulling out my phone and calling Heath. He answers on the second ring, and I start rambling before he has the chance to speak.
“Heath. Three men stopped me today. From that cult. I . . . they were asking about you. I don’t know what to do. I don’t—”
“Hey, slow down,” he says, his voice tight. “Start from the beginning.”
“They were waiting at my car after I went to the library. The old man from the mall and two others. One had blond hair and was all creepy and asked me about you. Then he threatened me and—”
“I’m sending Tank past to get you right now.”
I open my mouth, then close it again. “What?”
“He’s the closest. He’ll be there soon.”
“But—”
“Lucy, you need to come here.”
Fear tightens my chest and I whisper, “Heath . . .”
“Baby, it’s okay. Just trust me. Tank will be there soon.”
He hangs up before I get the chance to argue that Tank scares the hell out of me and I’d rather not spend twenty minutes in a car with him. It doesn’t look like I’m getting much choice though, so I grab a small bag of essentials and a coat and wait by the door. Ten minutes later the rumbling sound of a truck can be heard outside the door. Here goes nothing.
I walk out, locking the door behind me, and make my way towards the truck. Tank doesn’t get out and when I open the door, he’s staring straight ahead. This isn’t weird.
“Hey,” I murmur, climbing in.
He throws the truck into drive and speeds off without answering me.
For ten minutes we drive in silence. Finally, it gets the better of me, and I turn to him. “What did I do to make you hate me so much?”
He doesn’t answer.
“Seriously? You could at least have the decency to tell me.”
His fists clench in irritation. “You know nothing about me or my brothers.”
“I never claimed that I did,” I snap.
“You shouldn’t be here. He shouldn’t be risking everything for you,” he spits.
“I hardly asked for it.”
“He told you to leave him alone. It doesn’t get much clearer than that.”
I clamp my mouth closed, furious and not wanting to explode at him. He’s not even giving me a chance; he’s not even trying. When we arrive at the warehouse, I jump out of the truck before it’s even come to a complete stop.
Heath is waiting at the front door, and the second he sees me, he comes rushing over. I throw myself into his arms, pressing my face to his chest. “Did he hurt you?”
“No,” I whisper.
“Come inside. We have to talk.”
We move inside the warehouse and all the guys sit around a table. Heath turns to me and looks down, studying my face, then his jaw clenches. He reaches up and strokes a finger over my cheek. “You have a bruise.”
“I do?” I say, touching my cheek.
“Did he do that?”
“I . . . yeah.”
“Sit. We need you to tell us everything he said and leave nothing out. Can you do that?”
I nod and move to the table, avoiding all eyes as I take a seat. Heath sits beside me and Tank stands near Johnny, still glaring in my direction. I look down at my hands. “I was just coming out of the library when I saw them at my car. Three of them—the older man I saw that day in the mall and two others. I didn’t pay much attention to the second one, but the third one was blond, I’d guess fake blond, and he had this long hair braided over his shoulder. He was awful.”
“Fuck,” Johnny hisses.
“What did he say?” Sheldon asks.
“He asked me if I knew of a Heath Walker. I told him I had no idea who he was talking about. He asked me why I went off in the mall, and I may or may not have goaded him and got cross. I
told him it was because he was a creep. He asked about you again, and I told him I had no idea who the hell you were but if you were anything like him to stay away. He seemed to believe that. Then he grabbed me and told me to stay out of it, or I’d suffer. He also tried to get me to accept his help. He was awful, but I could swear he seemed familiar.”
All the men look at each other.
“What’s going on?” I ask, concern swelling in my chest.
“It’s nothing for you to worry about,” Heath says, his voice clipped. “I just need all the information I can get.”
“When are you going to tell her, man?” Blake mutters.
Heath glares at him.
“Tell me what?” I prompt.
“Nothing, baby,” Heath murmurs, leaning over and wrapping an arm around my shoulder.
“Heath . . .”
“Lucy, trust me, okay?”
“That man threatened me,” I snap. “I’m tired of being kept in the dark. I’m not going to say a damned word, but I’m not going to walk around wondering when he’s going to come back, either.”
“Don’t,” Tank warns, his eyes slicing to Heath.
“Tell her, bro,” Johnny says. “Even I think she needs to know.”
“You fuckin’ tell her, I’m out,” Tank growls.
“Fuck,” Heath barks. “All of you stop.”
I look over to him, narrowing my eyes. “Heath?”
He looks to his brothers, then to his friends, then to me. “No.”
That hurts.
It fucking hurts.
He doesn’t trust me and I hate that. Maybe I deserve it, but I hate it.
I shake my head and shove out of his arms. “I’m going home.”
“Lucy,” he growls, grabbing my wrist.
“Let me go,” I say quietly. “I know I screwed up in the beginning, but I didn’t know. Now I know and you still don’t trust me.”
“It isn’t about trust.”
“Yes,” I yell, pulling my arm from his grips. “It is.”
“Luc . . .”
“Later.”
I walk towards the door and stop when I realize I have no way home. I turn and glance at Blake and then Sheldon. “Can one of you give me a ride?”
They look to Heath. He scowls, but he nods briskly.
