by C. A. Mason
“It’s not like we were doing anything, just talking.” She laughed. “Well, most of the time.”
“I’d never just talked with a girl before. That was a first for me.”
“So why’d you spend so much time ‘just talking’ to me?”
“I wanted to know everything about you.” My grip tightened. God, now that I had her back in my arms, I never wanted to let her go. I wasn’t sure if this was stirring her emotions the way it was mine or if she just needed the comfort of human contact, but I prayed we were starting something more, something real and honest and lasting. “The mundane things made me fall in love with you. It was never about your body or your beauty. It was the little things that made me love you. Your quirkiness.”
She smirked as she turned her head to look at me. “My quirkiness?”
“Yeah, like who the hell hits hard candies with a hammer so they can sprinkle them on their ice cream?”
“Hey, I put them in a Ziploc baggie first!” she said, folding her arms with a pout.
I laughed, squeezing her tight. “God, this feels good.” I breathed deeper than I had in years because I finally felt like the second skin I’d been wearing, the mask, was falling away. I was getting in touch with the best parts of the guy I used to be.
“That’s what scares me,” she said tentatively. “It does feel good. It feels right, but at the same time, it feels wrong.”
“How so?”
“Even if you’re innocent, which I’m beginning to believe you are, I shouldn’t have these feelings for a man who lied to me and used me to further his own cause. I don’t want to fall in love with the wrong man again. I want someone who’ll put me first, who’d rather die than hurt me.”
How could I tell her the guy she’d met just a short time ago in New York was fading fast? I’d spent years becoming Blaise Walsh, a hard-ass business mogul who built an empire one ruthless fighter at a time. But I wasn’t so sure I wanted to be that guy anymore. She made me remember there was more to life than business. Moments like these, just hanging out with her, made me happier than any career success I’d experienced.
“Part of me wishes you’d just go back to New York and leave me alone,” she said.
“Part of you?”
“The other part of me remembers…” She gripped my hand. “Is so grateful I’m getting a chance to reconnect with my first love. I still can’t believe it’s happening. I mean, I saw you on TV dozens of times and thought there was something about you that captivated me. I assumed it was because you were so handsome, but now I know it was more than that.”
“So you think that intangible thing that drew us together all those years ago is still there?”
“Obviously. I never would have cheated on my fiancé if it hadn’t been.” She dropped her head. “God, I still can’t believe I had sex with you the first night we met. You must have thought I was just like all the other women who throw themselves at you.”
“If I’d thought that, I wouldn’t have followed you here and bought your office building and apartment building just to be closer to you.”
She shook her head as though she couldn’t let herself believe I was being sincere. “You came here because getting closer to me was part of your plan. You intended to use me to get information so you could clear your name and reconnect with your parents.”
“I’m not going to lie or try to make excuses, angel.” I held her tighter, afraid she might try to get away before I could tell her what I felt. “That was the plan, but the plan changed after that first night we spent together.”
Maura shifted but didn’t try to pull away. “What do you mean?”
“I felt things with you that I hadn’t felt in years. You made me come alive again. That’s why I came to your room the next morning to give you that bracelet. I wanted you to know you were special, that our time together meant something to me. You weren’t like all the others, and the only thing that mattered to me was seeing you again.”
“You say all the right things, but how do I know I can believe you?”
“You don’t… yet. I’ve broken the trust. I can’t rebuild that overnight. But maybe if you give me a chance, just to be your friend for now, I can prove that I’m not the selfish bastard you think I am. I want to put you first. I intend to put you first, and I think with time, you’ll realize that.” I wanted to be so much more than her friend, but for now, that was the best place to start rebuilding our relationship.
“I don’t know if I can.”
“Fair enough.” I tried not to let my disappointment seep into my voice. Everything worth having was worth working for, and nothing was worth more to me than she was. “You don’t have to decide anything tonight. I’m not going anywhere until we figure this thing out, so you have time to decide how you feel about me.”
“What about your business?”
I smiled. “That’s the beauty of technology and owning a private jet. I can run my business and be where I need to be within a few hours.”
“About that night… the night of the attack.”
“Yes?” I held my breath, almost afraid of what she might say next.
“He kissed me.” Her grip on my forearms tightened. “I hated it. I tried to turn my head, but he forced my mouth open. He even bit me.”
I gently kissed her neck, trying to distract her from the painful memories. “It’s okay, angel. We don’t have to—”
“He tasted like whisky and cigarettes. I always thought that was strange, because you hated whisky and didn’t smoke.”
I felt my heart thumping hard. I wondered if she could feel it too. This was an important moment for us, perhaps a turning point.
“There were so many things that didn’t add up. I don’t know why I didn’t see them then.”
“Because you were being brainwashed into believing what they wanted you to believe, sweetheart. You were traumatized. How could you be expected to make rational decisions when you were still dealing with being raped and brutalized?”
“Then you don’t hate me?” she whispered. “You don’t hate me for believing you were responsible?”
“Angel, I could never hate you.” I love you. “You were the victim in all this.”
“So were you.”
I closed my eyes, relishing the words I never thought I’d hear from her lips. “Thank you for saying that, but I can’t begin to compare what I went through with your experience.”
“You were probably a lot braver than I would have been. I can’t believe you spent all those years in prison for crimes you didn’t commit.”
She trembled, and I reached for the throw at the bottom of the lounger and covered her with it.
“It must have been horrible. I can’t even imagine.”
“It made me who I am.” I kissed her cheek. “Just like loving you made me who I am. There’s no one else like you, Maura. Never has been. Never will be. At least not for me.”
She remained quiet so long, I though she may not respond, but finally she said, “There’s so much for me to process. I spent so many years trying to hate you and hating myself because I couldn’t. Then I met you in New York and fell in love with you only to find out you’d betrayed me in the worst possible way. I don’t know if I can get past that.”
“I understand.” I would have felt the same way in her position.
“I have a headache,” she said, closing her eyes as she leaned her head on my shoulder.
“Just rest now, baby. Close your eyes and let me hold you.”
Chapter Four
By happy coincidence, Maura and I met in the parking lot of our building early the next morning.
“Hey,” I said, grinning as I stopped in front of her car. “Sleep well?”
She smiled. “Surprisingly well. You?”
“Not as well as I would have if you’d been sleeping beside me.”
She blushed and shook her head. “Just stop.”
It felt good to tease her again, for our conversation to fl
ow easily, without anger and hostility. “Busy day today?”
“Yeah, I’m at Magna setting up for an event tonight.”
“Hmmm, think you’ll be able to take a lunch break?”
“Why? What did you have in mind?”
“I’m going to meet with the guys from my old crew this morning,” I said. “I really think one of them could be behind this. I thought I could fill you in on what they had to say over a quick lunch?”
“I think I could swing that.” She set her travel mug on the roof of her car. “Maybe around one?”
“You got it.” I didn’t bother telling her I would rearrange my entire day to accommodate her.
“Um, how will you explain your interest in this to those guys?” she asked. “Won’t they wonder why someone like you would get mixed up in a case like this? Maybe you should just have your private investigator question them.”
“No way,” I said quickly. “This is personal. Besides, I know those guys. I think I’d be able to tell if they were lying.”
“Yeah, but you’re still going to have to give them some reasonable explanation for your interest.”
“I could tell them you’re my girlfriend.”
She licked her lips before her gaze fell. “Why would you do that?”
“I could tell them you’re not sure the right guy went down for it, that you’re afraid the real perpetrator might be out there, and as someone who loves you, I want to make sure you’re safe. Are you okay with that?”
Maura nodded slowly. “I guess that’s the only explanation that would make sense.”
“I think so.” I took her hand and brought it to my lips. “Have a good morning, angel. I’ll see you at one.”
***
I’d already met with the first three guys, all of whom had agreed to meet with me for the right price. They’d said their time was valuable and they couldn’t afford to take time off work without compensation. I knew one of them was unemployed and one was off that day due to rain, but a few thousand bucks was a small price to pay for the answers I needed.
I’d hoped to walk away from those meetings with a sense that one of them knew more than he were letting on about what had happened to Maura, but I didn’t. They all seemed as clueless as I was about that night, but I wasn’t ready to give up hope. I had one more man to see, one more chance before I hit a dead end.
Jim was sitting on the front porch of the same old run-down house I remembered. Of all the guys in the crew, he and I had been the closest. I’d told him things I hadn’t told anyone else, and if he was the one who’d betrayed me, it would cut the deepest.
“Hey,” he said, watching me warily.
I’d kept it casual with faded jeans, a tight black T-shirt, and black boots, but I knew I wasn’t fooling anyone. Jim already knew who I was and what I was, so there was no point in trying to hide my wealth. If he wanted money to spill his guts, I’d give it to him. Then I’d bury him.
“Jim.” It wasn’t a question, but he didn’t seem to notice. “Thanks for meeting with me.”
He smirked. “It’s not like I had anywhere else to be. Work’s hard to come by these days.”
“Sorry to hear that.” I leaned against a pillar covered with dirty, peeling paint.
“Not that you’d know anything about that.” He raised his eyes, narrowing them slightly as though he’d seen something he hadn’t expected to. “Is it true you’re worth a couple of billion?”
I shrugged. He wasn’t the first person with the audacity to ask that question, and I was sure he wouldn’t be the last. “You’d have to ask my accountant. I don’t add it up. I just cash the checks.”
He laughed, revealing chipped, yellowing teeth. “You want a beer?”
“No, thanks.” It wasn’t even noon, but I was pretty certain he’d already had a beer breakfast. No wonder he couldn’t find work. He was probably half in the bag all the time. “I don’t have a lot of time, Jim. Like I said on the phone, I was just hoping to ask you a few questions about Maura.”
“I don’t know what I can tell you about her. I didn’t know her all that well.” He grabbed a pack of cigarettes off a nearby table and offered me one before he extracted one from the pack and lit it, sheltering the lighter’s flame from the wind with his hand. “My crew and I worked on a project for her parents.” He frowned. “A pool house, I think.”
I threw an envelope stuffed with bills on the table beside him. “Maybe this’ll help jog your memory.”
He tipped his head as he looked from me to the money and back again. “Why’s some big-shot like you wasting your time on this? You bangin’ her or what?”
I crossed my arms, trying to keep my temper in check. “Maura’s my girlfriend.” It felt so good, so right to say that. If only it were true. “She told me what happened to her, said the guy who went down for it is on the run.”
Jim chuckled. “Yeah, Matt Cooper. He always was a sly son of a bitch. I’m not surprised he’s been out-smarting the law all these years.”
“You knew this guy pretty well?”
“Matt?” He tipped his head back to blow a smoke ring into the air. “Yeah, we were real tight back in the day. He was a good guy.”
“Hmmm.” It was so strange to talk about myself with someone I used to know, someone who knew the old me better than most. “You think they got the right man?”
“You don’t?”
“I don’t know.” I was trying to play it cool, but it was more difficult than I’d expected. “Maura’s said some things that made me wonder if they got the wrong guy. Either way, the guy who did that shit to her is still out there, and that doesn’t sit well with me.”
“I can understand that.”
“You said you and this Matt guy were tight. Has he tried to contact you?”
“Nope.” He took a long drag off his cigarette. “Not a word.”
“When he went down for it, were you surprised? I mean, did you think he was capable of something like that?”
“No way.” He shook his head. “Not Coop. He wasn’t the type. Sure, he liked to fight, and he messed around with a lot of girls before he met Maura, but I can’t imagine him forcing himself on any of ‘em.” He chuckled. “Not that he had to. The girls loved him.”
I braced my elbow on the post and watched Jim carefully. “How about the other guys on your crew? Do you think any of them could have done it?”
He frowned at me. “Hell no. Why would you ask me that?”
“I’m assuming, if Matt didn’t do it, maybe someone set him up, someone close to him who might have had an axe to grind. That would narrow it down to his co-workers, friends, and the guys he fought against.” I couldn’t tell him I knew it was one of the guys on the crew because those were the only ones I’d confided in about what Maura and I did in the bedroom. “So you’re sure none of them could have been responsible? No one acted strange or said anything to you about Maura’s attack after Matt was arrested?”
The way he shifted in his seat and his eyes darted down the street told me he was hiding something. I wasn’t leaving until I found out what it was.
“No, uh, no one on my crew said anything to me.”
“But?”
He swiped a hand over his face before scratching his chin. “Shit, I don’t know if I should say anything about this. I could be way off base, but I’ve always felt like shit knowing Coop may have gone down because I couldn’t keep my big mouth shut.”
My heart raced, but I had to maintain my composure. Thankfully, the Aviator sunglasses shielded my eyes. I’d gone there praying to catch a break, but I wasn’t sure if it would really happen.
“What happened, Jim?”
“My neighbor dated Maura before she hooked up with Coop.”
Maura had told me about all of her exes, and only one came to mind as a possible suspect. “Your neighbor?” I looked up and down the street, wondering which house he may have lived in and whether he was still here. “Who?”
“Ben Lang.”
<
br /> That was the name I’d expected to hear, and it still made my blood boil. He was Maura’s first, the man she’d been dancing with at the bar. “Yeah, Maura mentioned him. What was your take on the guy?”
“He was a little weasel.” Jim looked disgusted as he crushed his cigarette butt in a tin tray. “He thought he was all that ‘cause he was goin’ to an Ivy League school on a scholarship and dating one of the richest girls in town. ‘Course when Maura dumped his sorry ass for cheating on her, that all changed. I think he really thought she was gonna marry him and he’d have access to her daddy’s fortune.”
“He told you that?” I asked, clenching my jaw. “That he was using Maura for her family’s money?”
“Not in so many words, but the way he bragged about having an in with the old man told me all I needed to know.”
Maura had told me her parents liked Ben, that they approved of the relationship because even though Ben didn’t come from a wealthy family, they believed he was trying to better himself, improve his lot in life. They’d respected him for that. “Was he pissed when Maura dumped him?”
“Oh yeah.” He laughed. “He was madder than hell. The night it happened, he pulled into the driveway screeching his tires and got into a fistfight with his kid brother. The cops even showed up, but they didn’t haul either of them in.”
“Huh.” So the kid had a temper. Interesting. “How’d you know that was the night Maura broke up with him?”
“He told me the next day.”
“So y’all were close?”
“No. Like I said, I couldn’t stand him. But I sat out here a lot ‘cause the old lady wouldn’t let me smoke in the house. He wandered over sometimes, mostly to brag and rub it in that I was stuck in a dead-end job.”
“Sounds like an asshole.” I watched Jim light up another cigarette. “Did Matt know you lived across the street from Maura’s ex?”
“No, I didn’t think I should mention that to him.”
“Why not?”
“Like I said, Coop was a hot-head. He was real jealous about Maura. I figured if he knew where her ex lived, he might come ‘round here makin’ trouble. I didn’t want to get caught in the middle of that shit.”
