RUIN - Part Three (The RUIN Series Book 3)

by Deborah Bladon

  RUIN

  Part Three

  New York Times & USA Today Bestselling Author

  Deborah Bladon

  Copyright

  First Original Edition, October 2014

  Copyright © 2014 by Deborah Bladon

  ISBN: 9781926440095

  Cover Design by Wolf & Eagle Media

  This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is entirely coincidental. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and situations either are the product of the author's imagination or are used factiously.

  All rights reserved. No parts of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without written consent from the author.

  Also by Deborah Bladon

  The Obsessed Series

  The Exposed Series

  The Pulse Series

  The VAIN Series

  IMPULSE

  SOLO

  Coming Soon

  FUSE

  The GONE Series

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Epilogue

  Surprise for Readers

  GONE Preview

  Thank You

  Subscribe to Deborah’s Mailing List

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  His arms are around me before I have time to react. I'd imagined this moment the way women do when their hearts crave to be with the man they once loved. In my dreams, Parker would race through the lobby of my building in New York City, sprint up the stairs and pour his heart out to me the second I opened my apartment door. He'd fall to his knees and tell me that life without me has no meaning and is empty. Now, feeling Parker's strong arms circling my waist, all I feel is numb.

  "Kayla." I can sense the smile in his voice, even though his face is buried in my hair. "I can't believe you're here."

  "Don't." I push against him, mustering any lingering strength I can find. "Let me go."

  "What are you doing here?" His lips press against my temple. "Did you miss me?"

  "I heard what you said." I try again, in vain, to shove him away. "I heard you and Ben talking."

  He pulls back so harshly I almost lose my footing. "You heard us?"

  I turn towards Ben. His face is void of any expression. I can't tell if he's surprised to see me or not. There's no way he could have known that I'd be listening in on his conversation with Parker. He didn't expect me to be here. He thought I was tucked away quietly in New York, planning my best friend's wedding to his brother.

  "I can explain what you heard." Parker's hand is on my chin, trying to turn my face towards his. His voice is the same as it's always been, joyous and oblivious to the tribulations that dot other people's lives. Even now, weeks after he'd broken my heart and moments after he inadvertently confessed to taking money from Ben in exchange for avoiding me, he's positive. His tone is a clear indicator that he still believes that everything will be fine, as long as he sees it through rose colored glasses. He expects the pieces of his life to fall into place, regardless of how much pain he causes others to get there.

  I can't look at him. I won't make eye contact with him. How is it even possible that these two know each other? "You took his money."

  He nods loosely before his eyes flash to Ben and then back to me. "I want you to marry me."

  Whoever said that timing is everything couldn't have known how ironic the words can be. "Marry you?" I mimic them back just to hear how utterly ridiculous they sound coming from my own mouth.

  "I love you so much. I realize that now." Parker's voice is breaking as he tilts his chin down towards my palm. "I've missed you."

  "Shut up," I bark at him, not just because I can't absorb what he's telling me, but also because I feel my stomach lurching with each of his romantic pronouncements. I don't want Parker to love me. I don't want him to tell me he wants to marry me. I wanted that. I ached for that but it's different now.

  I twist my head back around to look at Ben. "You gave him money to stay away from me?"

  "Kayla." His voice is low, calm and controlled. "We need to go somewhere alone. I need to talk to you in private without Parker."

  "No." I shake my head. "We're not going anywhere. You're going to tell me what's going on right here. I want to know right now."

  "Baby, you came back to be with me, didn't you?" Parker ignores everything I just said to Ben. "You still love me, right?"

  "No." I take a heavy step away from him. "I came here to talk to Ben."

  "Ben?" His hand shoots past me, his index finger flying in Ben's direction. "You came to our apartment to talk to Ben?"

  "I came to Boston to talk to him," I correct. "I'm not here because of you."

  "You're in our apartment, Kayla." There's no disguising the confusion in his tone. "Why are you in our apartment?"

  My mind skips back trying to retrace its path. How did I end up here? Why am I standing in the same apartment I shared with Parker mere weeks ago, holding an engagement ring? I pull my hand over my face, glancing down at the small box in my other palm. "I wanted my damage deposit back."

  "You what?" His eyes narrow. "You're in our apartment because of the damage deposit?"

  It's such a meaningless point right now. I had no idea when I used my key to get back into the home I shared with Parker that my life would splinter into a million pieces inside these walls. "The super said you moved out so I came to clear out your things."

  His eyes float down to the box. "You found the engagement ring when you were going through my things?"

  I nod, my hand extending out to him. "Take it back. I don't want it."

  His blue eyes darken. They look the same as they did the night he left me. "It's your ring, Kayla. It's the one you wanted. I bought it for you."

  "No," I whisper so softly that I'm not sure I even said the word. "I don't want it."

  He rubs his hands over his face. "I made a mistake when I walked out. I didn't realize how much I loved you then. Give me another chance."

  I push the ring into his hand. "I don't want this. I don't want you."

  Parker heaves a sigh before the box slips from his hand and drops to the floor. "You can't mean that, baby. You've loved me forever. "

  I have. He's right. It felt like he was my forever when I boarded that plane that took me to my new life in New York City a few weeks ago. When Ben had sat down next to me everything changed. The entire course of my life's path had shifted and I'd been swept up in something unfamiliar and exciting. Now, I can't tell if any of that was real or not.

  "When did you plan this?" I twist quickly on my heel and face Ben. I take a deep breath, trying to halt a sob. "How long have you known Parker?"

  "Forget about him." Parker's breath breezes over my neck as his hands grip my shoulders. "I can explain everything to you."

  He can't. He thinks he can but there's no way in hell that Parker can make sense of this riddle that I'm standing in the middle of. "When did you meet Parker? Did you pay him to break up with me, Ben?"

  Ben heaves a deep sigh. "I wouldn't do that. I didn't do that. It's not what you think."

  "Tell me what it is," I pause long enough to pull myself away from Parker's grasp. "Tell me how thi
s isn't about you paying my boyfriend to stay away from me."

  He crosses his arms over his chest. "I'm not discussing this in front of Parker."

  "Why not?" I throw the words at him. "You had no trouble discussing me with him a few minutes ago. I heard it all. You're using me to get back in your brother's life."

  He shakes his head slightly. "No. I'm not using you to get back Noah."

  I feel so deflated. I know what I heard. Ben has been following me. Every time I've met with Noah he was there, somewhere in the background lurking behind the veil of a lie about being busy so he could spy on his brother and me. I need to talk to Noah. I need to tell him that he was right about his brother all along. Ben is manipulative and calculating. He paid Parker to stay away from me and he told him he could have me back as soon as Noah embraced him as family again.

  "Kayla." Parker's in front of me now, concern washing over his face. "Please talk to me. Please."

  "When did this start?" I look past him to Ben trying to keep my lower lip from trembling. "Tell me when you met Parker."

  Ben's gaze narrows on my face as his hand flies to my forearm, pulling it into his grasp. "I need to talk to you in private, Kayla. There are things you need to know."

  "Baby, please listen to me." Parker reaches for my other arm, grabbing tightly to my elbow. "I made a mistake when I left you. Let me make it up to you now."

  I'm being pulled apart by the two men who have been at the center of my life for the past few months. I can literally feel the energy pouring off each of them. "I just want answers. Someone needs to tell me now what the hell is going on."

  "Once Ben leaves I'll explain this all to you." Parker's hand tightens. "This is about us."

  It stopped being about us when I went to that hotel room with Ben. "No. This isn't about us, Parker. It's more than that."

  "No, it's not." He pulls me towards him. "I fucked up when I left you. I see that now. Let me show you how much I love you."

  My eyes flit over Ben's stoic face before they settle on Parker's. "Unless you tell me what the hell is going on between you and Ben, I'm walking out of here."

  "I need time alone with her." Parker looks at Ben. "She came here. I didn't ask her to."

  I feel my shoulders slump forward with the words. I've become a third party in their game of deceit. Parker's talking about me as if I'm not in the room. Slow tears slide down my cheeks. "Don't do that. Please don't talk about me like I'm not here."

  "It's up to Kayla," Ben says with a low growl. "She needs answers. She wants honest answers, Parker. If she wants them from you, so be it."

  I follow the line of Parker's sight to Ben's face. He's giving up that easily? He's going to actually walk away and let Parker be my guide through the maze of confusion I'm lost in? That action alone speaks volumes to me.

  "I want them from anyone who can give them to me," I interject before Parker has a chance to speak. I push my hand into my lips to quiet the sobs.

  "I'm leaving. I don't want you more upset." Ben's hand slides from my forearm to my shoulder. "There are two sides to this, Kayla. I want to explain my side. I'm here until tomorrow for the conference."

  "The conference?" I parrot back as I pull free of Parker. I walk towards the door of the apartment with every hope that my knees won't buckle beneath the weight of my emotions. "There is no conference. I was at the hotel you said you'd be at and there was nothing. No one knew about any conference." The righteous indignation in my tone is unmistakable. I admit I'm taking pleasure in pushing Ben into a corner with his lies.

  "It's informal. I'm meeting several other doctors in that hotel. You can find me there until five today. It's on the sixth floor in room nineteen." His voice doesn't waver as he offers the pointed details. "After that, I'll be at my condo for the night. I'll text you the address."

  "I already have it," I snap back through a muted cry as I turn to face him.

  "I'll be waiting to hear from you." His voice is soft as his lips graze my ear. "I know this looks bad, Kayla, but everything I've done is for you."

  I swipe at a wayward tear falling down my cheek. This is all so much. Trying to absorb everything that's happened in the last thirty minutes is impossible. "Everything you've done is so you could get Noah back into your life."

  "No," he says tightly as he reaches for the doorknob. "This is not about Noah. All I care about is you."

  "I'm going to tell him." I glance over my shoulder to where Parker is still standing a few feet away from us. I suddenly wonder how much he knows about the fractured relationship between Ben and his brother. "I'm here in Boston because Noah asked me to talk to you. I have to tell him about this."

  His face is impassive as he leans down to brush his lips over my forehead. "Do what you need to do, Kayla. I want you to come out of this in one piece. Do whatever it takes to make that happen. Nothing else matters to me."

  Chapter 2

  "I think I knew." I reach to grab the arm of the chair before I lower myself down onto the cushion. "It was the only thing that made sense to me, Parker."

  He settles on the edge of the matching chair across from me. "I wasn't man enough to tell you at the time. It's not important anymore."

  I study his face, soaking in the strong line of his jaw and the curve of his nose. He hasn't changed much since we first met in high school, seven years ago when he was only seventeen. The boyish glint that was always ever present in his eyes is fleeting now. It's lost completely in this moment, replaced by something that mirrors regret. Maybe it's shame or guilt.

  I wipe away the last of my tears with the tissue Parker had brought back with him when he went to get me a bottle of water from the kitchen. We'd stood in silence after Ben had left both of us cautiously uncertain of how to begin talking about our failed relationship and what our futures hold.

  "Who is she?" It's a question that has been poised at the edge of my tongue since the night he left. Back then, I didn't want to voice my belief that he was leaving me for someone else. He'd worked tirelessly to get me back into his bed in Boston. The notion that he'd throw all of that to the wayside to pursue someone else didn't fit. Now, looking back, I can't be certain that it wasn't just my self-esteem quieting my better judgment. The sensible parts of my heart knew there was someone else. He was too careless with me for it to be anything but that.

  "Kayla." He throws his head back with a groan. "Does it even matter anymore? It's over."

  He doesn't want it to matter but his decision to leave me for another woman changed my life completely. "I want to know."

  "I met her at work." It's a start and judging by the endless pause that follows the words, it's where he wants this discussion to end.

  "When?" I ask the question with no emotion. When I was sitting at the gate at the airport weeks ago waiting to board the flight that took me back to New York, I would have given anything for an honest answer to that question. They say that a woman's intuition is never wrong and mine knew, even if I chose to ignore it, that Parker was racing from the bed he shared with me into someone else's.

  He scratches the back of his head, his eyes jumping from my face to the wall behind me. "It was before you moved back to Boston."

  The words slice through me like a razor sharp edge. "You met her before I came back?"

  "Baby," he begins before he leans forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "I was really mixed up back then."

  "Did you want her when you begged me to move back to Boston to be with you?" I ask because my mind wants the answer, even if my heart doesn't feel anything when the question leaves my mouth.

  He closes his eyes briefly and I see the answer there, in the silent pause. "She had a boyfriend back then."

  "You wanted me back because you couldn't have her?" I don't want the question to sound as pathetic as it does. Everything that was scattered and mismatched within my mind for the past few months is now falling into place. "Did you beg me to come back here, Parker, because you were in love with someone you couldn't
have?"

  "I don't know if I loved her, Kayla," he qualifies. "I liked her and she told me she was involved with another guy."

  The weight of his words rolls through me. "You told me you couldn't live without me. You said we were meant to be together."

  "We are." He drops swiftly to his knees, his hands darting to my thighs. "I told you I made a mistake. When she broke up with her boyfriend I jumped at the chance to be with her. I thought she really loved me but we fought a lot. She was nothing like you."

  He left me for another woman and once he realized she wasn't all fun and frolic, he decided he wanted me back? Is he really confessing that to me right now? "You want me back now because you don't want her?" It's the simplest way to express one of the most complicated questions I've ever asked him.

  "Kayla." His chest expands beneath the blue t-shirt he's wearing as he draws a heavy, steady breath. "I chose the wrong woman weeks ago. I should have picked you."

  How gracious of him to admit that now. "You left me for her, Parker. Why would I want you back?"

  "You loved me the night I left." His eyes sprint over my face. "I saw it when you were crying. You begged me to stay with you."

  I'll never forgive myself for that. It's been my deepest regret and I haven't shared it with anyone, not even Alexa. Admitting that I dropped to my knees and literally pulled at the leg of his jeans to get him to stay with me, is something I look back on now with disgust and pain. I never wanted to be that woman. I never wanted my life to be defined by any man and that night I tried desperately to make Parker stay with me. He had shaken me off like a bad habit and hadn't looked back before he slammed the door of this apartment and walked away.

  "I wish I could go back to that night," I say the words softly, not wanting to give him any sense of power over me. "I wish I could change the way I acted."

  "You acted from your heart." His index finger pats against my hand. "I'll never forget how you looked, Kayla. I've thought about it every day since then."