Dangerous Redemption: A Single Parent Forbidden Romance Novel (Paths To Love Book 4)

by Grahame Claire

  “Tell me what you need. I can take care of it tonight.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Holly

  I threw my pencil on the desk. It bounced and rolled, hitting my mug that was half full of cold coffee. Miss Jacobs had commissioned me to scour through her balance sheets to see if I could find any discrepancies.

  Some days, there were over a hundred transactions. EXODUS, the program that housed all of Carter Energy’s financials, was supposed to keep up with everything, but somewhere, there was a disconnect. One big enough that Carter Energy had had to sell to Starlight Petroleum Energy, the company I now worked for.

  So far, nothing was off, but I still had Mr. Carter’s reports to go through. I touched my cross necklace. I needed to tell him what I’d done, but he was in Texas with Miss Jacobs making sure Miss Ruby was okay. I shouldn’t have lied by omission, but Drew had put me in a bad position.

  No, you put yourself in a bad position.

  If I found the error Miss Jacobs had tasked me to, maybe that would make up for what I’d done.

  I jumped when the shrill ring of my cell phone pierced the silence. The number at Muriella’s apartment popped up on the screen.

  “Hello?” I gripped the phone, pressing it to my face.

  “Beauty.”

  At the sound of that deep voice, I shifted in my seat.

  “Is Gabriel okay?” The school would’ve called me first if something was wrong, wouldn’t they? I tried to remember if I’d filled out my phone number in the paperwork but couldn’t.

  “He’s fine. I’m hungry and want to take you to lunch.”

  I sagged in my seat as relief swept through me. “It’s ten thirty.” How could only two hours have passed? This day felt like it was never ending.

  “I’ll pick you up in thirty minutes.”

  “I don’t have time—” Three tones sounded in my ear. “Hello?”

  There was no response.

  * * *

  Thirty minutes later, I was outside the SPE building looking for Carlos. I told myself it was because I needed a break from my tedious work and I had to eat, but it was a lie. I’d been asked out since Gabriel had been born, but I’d never once been tempted to say yes. Carlos invited me to lunch, and it was impossible to say no.

  He stood outside the Range Rover in gray slacks and a black sweater that stretched across his muscles with one ankle crossed over the other. Those dark eyes were hawkish as he stared at me. He looked . . . lethal.

  Yet I ignored his dangerous persona and went straight to him.

  “Holly.” He breathed my name like it was the only thing keeping him together. His hands twitched at his sides, but he didn’t reach for me.

  Disappointment streaked across my chest. “Carlos.”

  One corner of his mouth lifted at the curtness of my tone. “Shall we?”

  The car was running, and I wondered why he hadn’t turned it off. Inside, “Love Is a Bitch” by Two Feet played on the speakers. Strangely enough, I didn’t know anything about that.

  He didn’t speak as we drove block after block. His grip on the steering wheel was tight, and he constantly checked our surroundings. I wasn’t sure if he was just being careful, or if he was looking for someone.

  At first, I wracked my brain for something to say and then realized I didn’t need to. When had I ever been comfortable enough around someone to need no words?

  I settled into the leather seat. Although busy and exciting lives were outside all around us, my gaze kept returning to Carlos. Lines of experience and life and hardship creased the cinnamon skin around his eyes. There was already a shadow of stubble on his jaw. His mouth was downturned as if nothing could ever make him smile again . . . and I wanted to.

  When he caught me looking, his expression was indecipherable, but I held my ground, unashamed I’d been studying him.

  “Did you know President John Tyler had fifteen kids?”

  He blinked at me, but his frown morphed into a flat line which I counted as a smile. “No?”

  Gabriel’s constant fun facts about the US Presidents always took me by surprise. It was interesting to see that play out with someone else on the receiving end.

  “It’s true. Eight boys and seven girls. The most children of any president.”

  “Is that how many children you want?”

  My heart rate sped up. He’d turned the tables on me. Why out of all the facts Gabriel had bestowed on me was this the one that had popped in my head? There was one about a dog. Of course that one hadn’t even occurred to me.

  I cleared my throat. “Fifteen? I don’t think so. I used to want a big family.” The last part was a quiet confession, a longing I’d shoved deep down and buried.

  “Used to?”

  “Gabriel is all I need.” And he was. My boy was more of a blessing than I deserved.

  Carlos scowled as he wheeled the car into an empty space by the curb. “Who stole that dream from you?”

  The question was delivered with a look that demanded an answer.

  “Life.”

  Understanding flitted across haunted features. I wanted to escape the car and breathe in the cool air outside. Where we were in our relationship didn’t include deep, dark confessions.

  Carlos glanced in the rearview mirror as he straightened the SUV in front of a deli. He did a double take and adjusted the mirror with such force I thought he’d rip it off.

  “Get out of the car.”

  I grabbed the edge of my seat at the viciousness in his tone. His stare was riveted to the mirror.

  “Carlos?” I kept my tone even and calm.

  “I won’t let him touch you,” he said without looking at me.

  My brows drew together. “Who?” I glanced behind us. There was no one there.

  Yet one of his hands white knuckled the steering wheel. The other snaked behind his back. His dark eyes flashed with such hate to whatever he saw in the mirror that it took my breath away.

  I touched his arm. He flinched, still glued to the mirror. “Stay. Away.”

  At the harsh words, my instinct was to yank my hand away from him. Instead, I slid it up his forearm and pried each finger off the steering wheel.

  He blinked at me, his expression one of confusion. “Beauty. I swear I won’t let him touch you.”

  I squeezed and some of his tightness eased. “Tell me who.” He glanced back at the mirror, and his lip curled in anger. “Look at me, Carlos.”

  He dragged his eyes back to me. Behind the anger, there was fear.

  “He’s dead,” he whispered. “He’s dead. Dead. Dead.” But his gaze went back to the rearview mirror as if it were magnetic.

  I turned his face to mine and held it in place so he couldn’t look away. “What do you see?”

  His throat bobbed when he swallowed. “Him.”

  “Who?”

  “I don’t want to look like him.” He almost sounded as if he was begging me to change his appearance. “I don’t want to see him anymore.”

  My heart twisted. To see this strong man struggle was gut-wrenching. I needed to help him through this.

  I rubbed my thumb across his cheek. “What do you see?” I asked again.

  He shuddered when he released his breath. “You.”

  “What else?”

  Clarity returned to his dark pools. “Just you.”

  “Does this happen a lot?” With every touch, he seemed to come back to reality.

  “Just once since . . .” He shook his head as he trailed off. The hand that was behind his back covered my hand on his cheek. “He’s not coming back.”

  The resolve in his tone was a complete turnabout and much more in line with the man I knew.

  “Have you talked to someone about this?” I asked with quiet concern. What if I hadn’t been here? Who would bring him back when he went to this place?

  “My sister.”

  While I was relieved he didn’t carry this on his own, I wasn’t sure that was enough.

&nb
sp; “It might help.” He opened his mouth to argue, but I put my thumb over his lips. “But I’m here.”

  He sagged against the seat, his grip on my hand tightening. “You’re here.”

  “I’m here,” I repeated.

  “He’s not.”

  “No.” I hadn’t figured out exactly who he was referring to, but I guessed it was his father.

  “You’re here.” The way he looked at me touched me to my deepest depths. Like I had rescued him. “I’m not wasting another second.”

  His hand snaked around my neck until he cradled the back of my head. Then those tantalizing lips were on mine and all coherent thought evaporated. I leaned forward, desperate to reach him. He claimed my mouth like he needed me more than he’d ever needed anything. I got lost in how good his touch felt. How nice it was to be wanted.

  And when he pulled away, I was dizzy with the loss. I realized my hand was still firmly clasped in his. Somehow that felt more intimate than the kiss we shared.

  “You’re definitely here,” he said with much more confidence than before.

  “Whenever you need.” Those were big words, but ones I meant. “Are you okay?”

  “More than I have been in a long time.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Carlos

  “Eduardo Sandoval is missing.”

  I dropped my arm and pressed the phone to my ear. I’d been about to knock on Gabriel and Holly’s door to collect them for the morning.

  “How long?”

  “The property was empty from the time my men arrived,” Donato said. “Their words: ‘it’s like a ghost town.’”

  I shuddered. He had no idea how accurate that description was. Eduardo was trained to defend himself, so that he’d vanished without a trace was disturbing.

  “Did your team stay?”

  “They have the property surrounded but are invisible.” Donato’s confirmation did little to reassure me.

  Eduardo had sacrificed to help me further my agenda. I’d seen my share of unfairness in the world and had stopped seeing things in those terms a long time ago. Shit happened. But if there was a chance he was still alive, I had to help him.

  “I can be on a plane in two hours.”

  Gabriel’s giggle floated through the door, and I rubbed my forehead. They were depending on me too.

  “Don’t be foolish. He’s likely dead or will be used to draw you out of the shadows.”

  I appreciated his candor, yet that didn’t make his words any easier to digest.

  “I can’t allow any more people to die on my watch.” Images of the job I’d completed for Donato a few nights before assaulted me. Blood. Broken bones. Lifelessness. “Innocent people,” I corrected.

  “I can’t make this any clearer. If it’s discovered you are alive, you put your sister at grave risk, and anyone else you care about in your circle of friends.”

  What he left unspoken was he wouldn’t let me do that. Donato’s loyalty was strictly with Daniel. Daniel’s loyalty was to Muriella. They would kill me before I did something stupid. And I respected them all the more for it. But I was also fearful for the two people I’d come to care for on the other side of this door.

  “Nothing comes above her protection,” I said through bared teeth. “But Eduardo has a wife and two children.”

  “I have eyes on them. They will not be harmed.”

  “You said that about Eduardo too.” Now wasn’t the time to throw blame at the only ally I might have, but guilt was pulling me in all different directions. Muriella. Holly. Gabriel. Eduardo.

  “Blend in. Stay out of sight. And whatever you do, don’t try to contact Eduardo. Let us handle it.”

  The line went dead. The front door flew open, and Gabriel barreled into me, throwing his tiny arms around my waist, dangerously close to the gun I had tucked away behind my back.

  I hesitated. What had I been thinking bringing these two innocent angels into my world of chaos and destruction? Yet I hugged Gabriel back automatically. Everything that was wrong suddenly became right. I reached for Holly, who came willingly. And then I felt . . . calm. Like at lunch yesterday, she’d read me well enough to know I needed something from her. Without a word, she held me, as if again knowing she was the breath I needed to function. The touch I needed to not feel so alone.

  They were the light that balanced my dark side. And then something else became abundantly clear. I couldn’t give them up.

  * * *

  “We need this.” Gabriel pulled out the powdered sugar from the cabinet. “And this.” Vanilla extract. “And this.” He tottered with a glass dish in his hands.

  I grabbed it before it went crashing to the floor.

  “Gabriel, what are you doing on the counter?” Holly’s horrified voice stopped both of us in our tracks.

  “Getting what we need to make French toast.” He sat down on the granite surface, letting his legs dangle.

  Her laser gaze focused on me, and I actually shifted my stance, a little frightened of her. She’d had to work late and asked if I’d get supper on the table so Gabriel could keep his schedule. Of course, I’d said yes.

  She snapped her fingers and pointed at the floor. Holy shit, she was pissed.

  Gabriel leaped down and landed with a thud, immediately running to her.

  “You can’t climb on the counters, baby.” She stroked his hair, her tone gentle when she spoke.

  “I was helping.”

  “I know, but you scared me. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  “We’re making French toast,” Gabriel said as if that explained everything.

  “Have you done your reading assignment?”

  I put my hands behind my back and cringed.

  “We practiced soccer all afternoon. It was the best.”

  I couldn’t have said it better myself. We’d had a lot of fun. So much that time had slipped away from us. Which was why dinner wasn’t on the table.

  Another unimpressed look landed on me. “I’m going to change clothes, and then we’ll see about dinner.”

  As soon as Holly was gone, I swept into action. “What else do we need?”

  Gabriel blinked at me. “Uh, I forgot what else.”

  I grabbed the tablet on the island, turned on “My Girl” by The Temptations, and did a quick search for recipes. It didn’t look too complicated.

  “When are we gonna research puppies again?”

  I turned on the stove burner and tossed butter in the pan. “Whenever you like.”

  Once the butter melted, I added the toast to the hot skillet.

  “Hey, we need syrup,” Gabriel said, rushing toward another cabinet. He retrieved it, and I took the bottle, using it as a microphone. I leaned close to him so we could both sing along.

  We finished our performance, and he pointed at the black toast in the pan and wrinkled his nose. “That’s burned.” Damn.

  “Is something on fire?” Holly hurried over, waving her hand in front of her face.

  “Dinner,” I said flatly. Instead of trying to cook, I should’ve just used what Muriella already had prepared.

  Holly turned off the burner and peered in the skillet. “It’s not that bad.” She grabbed a couple of plates. “Nothing powdered sugar and syrup can’t fix.”

  I stared at her in disbelief. Gabriel pulled silverware from the drawer and set the table. Holly served our ruined dinner as if it were a five-star meal.

  When we sat down, she cut off a bite of the blackened toast. As she chewed, she tried not to make a face. “I think it needs more syrup.”

  Gabriel giggled and doused his bite in the thick liquid. “Yummy.”

  Hesitantly, I dug into my own meal. I chewed twice and swallowed. It was the worst thing I’d ever eaten. “Powdered sugar. Please.” It wouldn’t help, but if they were kind enough to eat it, I wasn’t going to make a scene.

  As I looked across the table at Holly, I wondered how she’d done it on her own all this time. She was undoubtedly strong and willf
ul, but caring for another person was difficult. In the course of one afternoon, I’d forgotten Gabriel’s homework and made an inedible meal. Yet somehow, I’d been delusional enough to think I was cut out to be a father.

  She touched my arm as Gabriel cleared the dishes. “It takes lots and lots of practice.” Her lips met my ear. “Like other things.”

  I shoved my hands in my pockets so I didn’t do something inappropriate in front of Gabriel. “Other things?”

  “Mmm hmm.”

  Just like that, she made me forget about the mistakes I’d made. I slid an arm around her waist. “You tempt me.”

  “Good.” When we’d made our agreement to keep things casual, I’d never meant it. But I hadn’t expected her to be able to go along with the arrangement so well. Already, I felt addicted to her. It had taken every ounce of self-control I’d possessed not to maul her when I took her to lunch. I’d wanted her bare before me, but it wasn’t the time or the place. Her response to my touch beguiled me, yet she seemed somewhat . . . easy with just touches and orgasms. She seemed to be able to keep her feelings out of things. I was the one who couldn’t.

  The burner phone rang from my pocket, jolting me back to reality. It wasn’t the number I’d hoped.

  “What did you find?” I answered.

  There was a long silence before Donato spoke. “Eduardo Sandoval’s clothes. With blood all over them.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Holly

  “I’m working from home today.”

  Carlos looked at me across the center console. We’d just dropped Gabriel off at school. I was dressed to go into the office, but I hadn’t been able to get the troubled look in his eyes when he’d left last night out of my head.