“Well then don’t let it!” Garret pleaded, also looking to his son. “You can stop this, Zave, I am your father!”
“Shut up, old man,” Hunter growled, butting the gun against Garret’s shoulder. “You have never been a father to Zave or done anything for me!”
“Zave, look at what you’re doing,” Dylan called out, gesturing at Garret who was grimacing in pain. “That is your father. He may not have always been the best father but he the man who has raised you.”
“He hasn’t raised me!” Zave screamed. “He has done nothing but put me down my whole life! No one has raised me up but Hunter!”
“Zave, calm down,” Hunter instructed. “And you, Dylan, shut your stupid mouth. If you hadn’t shown up, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”
“Why because all your other attempts were so successful? When are you going to learn to quit, Hunter? You suck at this game.”
“Dylan!” Garret hissed, his face pale as he stared at her.
Dylan ignored him, continuing to look imploringly at the younger Elgin.
“Zave, listen to me. Hunter is not with you because he loves you. He is with you because he hates your father and wants him destroyed.”
“That’s not true,” Zave replied flatly. “We have been in love since I was a teenager.”
“No, Zave,” Dylan whispered. “He has been conditioning you since you were a child. He has planned this since the moment he found out you were gay.”
“Shut up, you dumb bitch. You don’t know anything about my relationship with Zave. We’re married.”
Hunter followed his proclamation with a slap to Dylan’s face and with that action, she knew she struck a nerve.
Much hunch is right. This man is hellbent on destroying Garret. Zave is collateral damage.
“Zave, think about it!” Dylan cried. “Think about how many times you looked for Hunter, and he wasn’t there!”
Dylan had no idea if that was true but she was grasping at straws. She only needed Hunter to look away for one minute, and she would have him exactly where she wanted him.
“Oh my God,” Garret muttered suddenly, looking up at his assistant. “You…you and Gaspar.”
Everyone in the room turned to stare at the CEO of Elgin Inc.
“What?” Zave choked. “What the hell are you going on about?”
Garret shook his head as if in a daze.
“I saw you…with Gaspar…” Garret whispered, pointing at Hunter. “Two nights ago. You were coming from his room, doing up your shirt. I brushed it off…maybe blocked it out but it’s true. I saw you!”
Dylan wondered if Garret had concocted the story to get a rise out of his son, but the look on Garret’s face was a genuine shock as if he had never seen things more clearly.
Suddenly, Zave released a ferocious howl and reached for his husband.
“You told me there was nothing between you and Gaspar!” Zave screamed, batting his fists against Hunter’s chest wildly. Hunter whirled to face him.
“There is nothing! Can’t you see he’s just trying to distract you?” Hunter snapped. “Calm yourself now. You are acting irrationally!”
“You must think I’m a fool,” Zave hissed, approaching his husband. He slapped Hunter’s face with an open palm and Dylan could see the clear hand mark against his face.
Dylan silently cheered him on despite the weirdness of the circumstance.
Atta boy, Zave. Stand up for yourself for once in your life.
“I have seen the way you too make eyes at each other. Have I been a pawn in this game all along? Did you ever care about me?”
Hunter grabbed his cheek and stared at Zave furiously.
“How could I love a sniveling little shit like you? All you do is cry about how your daddy doesn’t love you. I gave you an out and look what you’re doing? You’re blowing it!”
“I would say you’ve done a fine job of that yourself, Hunter,” Dylan remarked, pulling her firearm from behind her back. “Put the gun down.”
Hunter whirled, his smirk dying on his face as he saw the weapon in Dylan’s hand.
“I told you she’d have a gun!” Zave cried, collapsing into a blubbering mess on the floor. “You screwed this up! Now we’re both going to jail.”
“How could you do this?” Garret asked sadly. “Zave, you have wanted for nothing your whole life.”
Dylan disarmed Hunter who howled furiously.
“You pompous ass!” he screamed. “You ruin everything you put your greedy hands upon! You don’t deserve your company! You don’t deserve anything at all!”
“Get up,” Dylan snapped, placing handcuffs on him. “Be grateful I didn’t shoot you. You’re only going to prison, not the morgue.”
“I’ve been dead since the day I started working for this asshole!” Hunter cried. “I may as well be going to the morgue.”
“Keep talking, and I can arrange for that,” Dylan shot back, shoving him out the door into the hallway of the villa.
“Where are you taking him?” Zave asked, his voice choked with emotion. “Don’t hurt him!”
Dylan shook her head. After all that Hunter had put him through, Zave still loved him.
“You’re coming too,” she replied. “Let’s go.”
“No,” Garret called out. “Leave him here with me.”
She turned, her hands still firm on Hunter’s shoulder and cuffed hands.
“Are you sure?” she asked, and Garret nodded.
“Yes. I want to talk to my son.”
As Dylan walked the still raving assistant down the hall, she felt a wave of sadness wash over her.
Despite everything Zave has put him through, Garret still loves him also.
Slowly, Dylan continued through the spacious house.
I wonder how he feels about me.
Chapter Nine
The Elgin men stared at one another silently for a long moment until Zave looked away.
“I guess you’re expecting an apology from me,” Zave muttered.
“No,” Garret responded. “I am not.”
Zave turned to look at his father, his misery apparent and a deep shame flooded through Garret.
It is my fault that he is the way he is. I have driven him to such drastic measures. He would not have behaved this way if not for me pushing him so hard.
“I am going to give you an apology,” he told his son. “One that is long overdue.”
Zave stared at him disbelievingly.
“Are you sorry you have such a pathetic son?” he asked bitterly. “Are you sorry I’m gay?”
Garret moved toward the boy, his face wrought with sadness.
“I am sorry that I wasn’t a better father to you,” he answered evenly. “And I am sorry that you felt you could not talk to me. I have only ever wanted the best for you, Zave.”
“You have only ever wanted someone to take care of your company,” he snapped back. “You never cared about me. You only ever cared about Yvette and the damned company.”
“That’s not true,” Garret sighed, but he understood from where Zave gleaned such a perception. “You are my first born, Zave. Do you know what I told your mother when you were born?”
Reluctantly, the younger Elgin swallowed and shook his head.
“I told her ‘make sure that he does not end up like me.’ Because even then I knew that you deserved something better than what I had to offer the world. You are kind and gentle. I am greedy and power driven.”
The words seemed to cause Zave great confusion, and he backed away from his father.
“You’re trying to trick me,” he told his father. “You don’t believe any of that. You are always lecturing me about being a man.”
Garret stepped toward his son, extending his hand.
“I am not trying to trick you, Zave. I see something in myself which I didn’t see before because of you.”
Father and son locked gazes.
“What are you going to do with me now?” Zave sobbed, and Garret reac
hed out for his son.
“Nothing. I will protect you,” he whispered quietly. “We both know that this was entirely Hunter’s doing. You and I will turn over a new leaf.”
Zave began to tremble, and Garret pulled him into a hug, his heart breaking as his adult son melted into a puddle of devastation in his arms.
“Why would you protect me after everything I’ve done?” he bawled. “I tried to have you killed.”
“Because love is stronger than hate, Zave and I will always love you.”
As Zave struggled to collect himself, he thought of the woman who had saved his life and brought the truth to light.
I can’t let her walk out of here.
It was time to go.
The police had finally made their way from the mainland to claim Hunter, taking their statements and leaving the caye with the would-be killer. The rain was pelting relentlessly against the black waters of the sea, but they returned to the station anyway, wanting to beat the storm.
Dylan had not wanted them to go, taking her time answering questions, despite the policia’s clear desire to move on.
Don’t rush it, she told them quietly. If you go, I have to go too.
Dylan slowly climbed the stairs to her suite, her legs like leaden weights.
Why are you so depressed? You caught the guy responsible. You aren’t stuck on an island in the middle of hurricane season, and you can go home to Colonial Beach to drink with Jasmin. Maybe it’s time to call in my retirement now. You have more than enough money put aside to buy that house in Colonial Beach and watch the world go by like you thought you wanted.
Dylan knew she did not want to do any of those things now. It seemed like years ago that she had that dream.
How can so much change in three days? She asked herself. You can’t possibly think this way already.
What she wanted was impossible.
Your work here is done, she told herself firmly. If the storm lets up by tomorrow, you can be on the first boat back to the mainland and home by noon.
She opened the door to her quarters, silently walking toward the bedroom, swallowing the lump in her throat. She had wanted something different to happen as they stood at the back entrance watching Hunter being led away into the darkness.
Instead, Garret had turned and disappeared without a glance, without a word.
What were you expecting to happen? Some last-minute confession of love? That was for Zave, not for you. He does not want you – he wants the idea of you.
Dylan froze between the double French doors, her mouth parting in shock.
“Come here,” Garret said quietly.
Dylan stared warily at him sprawled on the king-sized bed, covered only by a sheet. His broad shoulders are rippling even in the slight movement he made sitting up to stare at her with piercing blue eyes.
“I don’t think – “
“I don’t want you to think,” he replied, sliding toward the edge of the crisp sheets. “I don’t want either of us to think anymore. I want us to act on our feelings for one another.”
She swallowed quickly and lowered her jade eyes, a slow heat creeping up the back of her neck. She could not deny the desire she was experiencing, the yearning to be back in his arms again.
Slowly, she walked toward his naked form, her hands tentatively outstretched. She was uncharacteristically nervous as forearms encircled her waist. He brought her down to the bed, his lips meeting hers and a jolt of static whipped through their parted mouths. He tasted salty and smelled musky, the combination creating a euphoric haze over her.
Her resolve began to melt away as she fell into his embrace, eagerly accepting his kisses. His mouth moved deliberately down her throat, casting aside her long, strawberry blonde tresses. A path of hot breath made its way toward the top of her shirt, and suddenly, her arms were over her head as he pulled the fabric over her head.
Tighter she was pulled to his bear-like body, her own hands roaming against the smooth skin of his back. She could feel the tight hardness of his center, and as if she was drawn to him magnetically, she pushed her hips against him.
His fingers found the buttons of her hip hugging jeans, yanking them lower as his face buried into her perky B-cups. Dylan gasped, feeling a gentle bite on her taut nipples and in seconds, she was also naked, propped on her knees, her hands entwined in his hair.
Suddenly, he pulled her back, landing her on her back, his breath coming out in short gasps, his tongue teasing her belly button.
Dylan moaned quietly, throwing her head back, raising her hips. She was ready for him, but he was not finished with his slow, erotic seduction.
He paused then to look at her, his eyes emblazoned with desire.
“I have wanted you from the moment I first saw you,” he told her, his voice husky with salacity. “I just didn’t know I would fall in love with you.”
“Then take me,” she urged, propping herself up to watch him, relishing the waves of hot and cold coursing through her.
He smiled at her, his eyes glowing and he shook his head.
“Not before I taste you.”
Without warning, he plunged his face into her, pulling her thighs apart, his tongue delving deeply.
She gasped at the unexpected action, her elbows buckling underneath her.
His palms grasped her rear firmly, inhaling her sweetness, his laps taking frantic proportions.
Her hands curled into the sheets, her fingers becoming a fist of linen and sweat as her calves tensed.
Faster he licked, sucking on her throbbing nub until Dylan could take no more, exploding in a stream of ecstasy over his relentless chin.
Crying out, a second orgasm followed, but before she could finish, Garret pulled back and flipped her over with ease. Before she could catch her bearings, he was inside her.
Dylan was sure she had never experienced such pleasure in her life, his member filling every available inch of her core.
“Oh, God you’re so tight,” he growled, plunging himself deeper, grabbing her sylphlike hips for leverage. “You feel so good.”
Garret’s words and his probing shaft were a dangerous combination for the fervid redhead, and she pushed back against him, feeling his sack slap against her aching nub.
Once more, she felt the explosion building, reaching out for balance as he went wild on her, his pounding reaching a feverish speed.
A hard slap christened her tiny but perfect rear, and it was all Dylan needed to erupt.
Screaming out among the incessant ramming, she lowered her face into the wrinkled sheets, a blubbering mess of fluid and as she trembled, he lost control of his own. Scalding streaks spilled into her and down her legs as she tried to regain her composure she was not going anywhere. He fell onto her, pinning her to the bed in a quivering pile.
Dylan dared not move, her breath escaping in short, quick pants. She did not want to upset the complete feeling of euphoria which had overtaken her body. She just wanted to lay there for eternity.
“Are you alright?” Garret asked quietly, propping himself up to look at her and she nodded quickly, shifting her eyes away so he would not see the pain.
“Look at me, Dylan,” he pleaded. “Don’t look away.”
Reluctantly, she gazed at him, a lump forming in her throat.
“What happens now?” she heard herself ask, but she wished she could take the words back. She didn’t want to know the answer.
“As far as anyone knows, Hunter is responsible for everything. I will have the marriage terminated between him and Zave,” Garret told her. “No one needs to know his part in this.”
“How will you ever be able to trust him again after this?” she demanded. “How do you know he won’t try again?”
“He won’t because I won’t give him a reason to. I have been so blind for so long,” Garret told her solemnly. “I devoted my entire life to my business, and my children have suffered for it.”
“What about Yvette?” she asked quietly. “What are you goin
g to do about her?”
“I will send her to rehab but not before she and I sit down and talk for a long, long time. I don’t think I’ve ever spent time actually listening to my kids, you know?”
Dylan stared at him, wondering if he truly was able to make such a change, but there was something in his eyes which told her he would sincerely try.
“I am glad it all worked out for you,” she said shortly, pulling out of his embrace. “I wish you all the best.”
“Dylan,” he said, and she paused, her back to him as she sat on the edge of the bed. “I would not have seen any of this if not for you. I’m ashamed to say it, but it’s true.”
She raised her shoulders, letting them fall as she rose to her feet.
Don’t make a scene. You had your fun with him and now it’s time to go home. What else could happen? You give up your life of being shot at and live reclusively on an island for the rest of your days? Where’s the fun in that?
“Just doing my job,” she answered.
“Was falling in love with me a part of the job?” Garret asked, and she whirled around to look at him.
“Who says I am in love with you?” she challenged.
“Your eyes say it all,” he told her. She gave him a mirthless smile.
“You are a poor judge of character, remember?” she shot back but inside her guts were quivering madly.
“Dylan, please don’t go,” he said. “I have only known you a short time, and I can already tell that you have so much to offer me in my life.”
“I can’t offer you anything,” she told him, blinking tears from her eyes. “You already have everything.”
“I don’t have you,” he replied, rising from the bed. “Please say you’ll stay with me.”
Fleetingly, Dylan thought of Ollie.
Ollie would want you to carry on with your life. He would hate seeing you walk away from a chance for happiness with another man as a shrine to him.
Garret approached her and stared deeply into her eyes.
His eyes are so much like Ollie’s. Is that a sign? Is the fact that there is love in this house when there once was none a sign?
Lightening crashed again, and Dylan tilted her head upward.
“Why do you want me to stay?” she asked, her mind racing.
The Lost Seal: A Seal Romance Page 17
