Then later, when the doctor came to see her, she admitted she was twenty-eight, Devon's age.
Last night, the final piece fit into place. He'd walked into the bedroom, ready to make love to her. Needing solace and support. For what ever reason, something … maybe his subconscious since his conscious mind sure as shit hadn't been working right … told him to turn on the light. When he'd been deep inside her, he looked down, and there were her eyes … Devon's eyes. He'd stared at pictures of them for seven years. He knew them better than he knew his own.
He had waited to say anything to her. Waited to see just how far she would go with her lies. The fake file she'd given him told him—she had gone all the way.
Now the question was, what was he going to do about it? She had committed no crime that he knew of. She'd just deceived and lied to him as easily as some people walk across the street. Lying was her job. She'd been a liar seven years ago. Nothing had changed except that she'd gotten much better at it.
He could just leave, take the flight back tonight as he planned. He didn't owe LCR a thing. In fact, Noah owed him … several thousand dollars, in fact.
Jordan poured another drink. The more he drank, the angrier he became. It was one thing to be lied to once, but to do it again … for months? Why? For what purpose? Revenge? The sheer fun of fucking someone over?
Well, there was only one way to find out. He slammed his drink down on the table, grabbed his keys, and the file of lies from the floor.
This time, no matter what he had to do, he would get the truth.
twenty-two
Sweat poured from every pore as Eden increased the speed of the treadmill, raising the incline to its highest level. She couldn't outrun her demons, but was going to do her damnedest. With every pound of her foot, liar throbbed inside her head. She'd lied about everything. That's all she was … all she was good for … lying.
Why couldn't she have just said the words? She'd had no problems last night blurting out that Devon was dead. Truth should be even more simple. But it wasn't. Once Jordan knew everything, he would hate her. The respect and affection she'd seen in his eyes would disappear.
When had she become such a coward?
Gasping and heaving with exertion, she looked at the display board. Seventy-five minutes at full speed. If she didn't stop now, she would pass out. Not that she would really mind … Oblivion sounded like heaven. But as much as she would have liked that, she refused to even allow herself that sweet, temporary release.
Her trembling hand punched the stop button. The treadmill made an abrupt halt, almost knocking her off her feet. Weak legs wobbling, she grabbed the handle to steady herself.
Stepping from treadmill, she turned to the bar, where she'd put her water bottle. Her pounding heart jumped toward her throat. A small, shocked scream left her mouth. Jordan stood beside the bar, holding the water in one hand … Devon's file in the other.
“You startled me. I didn't hear you come in. I—”
“Hard workout?”
Alarm flashed through her. A dangerous light burned in his eyes. His face held a dark mercilessness she'd never seen in him before. Heart pounding with an uneasy fear, she held out her hand for her water bottle. After such an intensive workout she was dehydrated, desperate for water.
Without changing his expression, Jordan held the bottle over his head, out of her reach.
“What are you doing? I'm dying of thirst.”
“Oh, I don't think so. In fact, I'd call that a lie. Wouldn't you?”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“I think you know.” Without a hint of warning, Jordan lunged, twisted her around, and slammed her down on the mat.
In the past few weeks, she and Jordan had wrestled several times, practicing self-defense moves or just in sexual play. He had never intentionally hurt her. Now, with him pressing down hard, her cheek flat against the mat, what breath she'd been able to catch completely left her body.
When he heard her choking, he eased up slightly. “Breathe. I don't want this to be over so soon.” His tone sounded flat, bored, as if he really didn't care if she died … but would rather not be bothered by the inconvenience.
He knew … of course he knew. When he'd left this afternoon, she'd seen something in his eyes. She tried to tell herself there was no way he could have figured it out, but deep down, she'd known.
Wheezing like an asthmatic, Eden gratefully drew in deep breaths. She'd depleted most of her energy with her workout. Her arms and legs felt like wet noodles, but she was a trained professional. She'd been in tighter spots before. She could handle Jordan.
Jordan twisted her arms behind her back. “Get up. You smell like a dead cat.”
A bitter smile twisted her lips. “Sorry. If you'd warned me you were going to attack, I would have showered first.”
Jordan chuckled as he pulled her to her feet, her arms still held in a tight, harsh grip. Eden stooped low and bucked up to throw him off, but he wouldn't budge. His hands pulled tighter. She bit back a cry. God, would he actually break her arm?
“Okay, I'm up. What is it you want?”
“Just a nice chat. That's all. Come on over here and sit where I can see you.”
He pushed her toward a chair against the wall. Thinking he would let her go so she could sit down, he surprised her when she heard the click of handcuffs.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Just making sure I have your undivided attention. You did say you wanted to talk to me earlier, didn't you? Well, here I am.” He shoved her to the chair, turned her around, and pushed her down in it.
Hands shackled behind her, she jumped to her feet and rushed him. With the insulting effortlessness of the truly fit, Jordan shoved her back down. Once again surprising her, he pulled plastic ties from his back pocket and bound her legs to the chair.
“There darling … all comfy?”
“Jordan, please … you don't have to do this. I'll talk to you. I want to talk to you.”
“Really?” He pulled up another chair, straddled it, and leaned his forearms on the top. Dark eyes glittering with pure fury, his mouth twisted in a sneer. “Then let's chat. What was it you wanted to talk about?”
Eden struggled against her restraints. She couldn't believe it had come to this. After all her agonizing about telling him the truth, and her decision to do just that, Jordan had literally tied her up and was making her talk. If not so close to breaking down, she would be laughing.
He raised a mocking hand to his ear. “I don't hear anything.”
Eden drew a shuddering breath, determined to keep it together. “I'm sorry. I was going to tell you … really I was. But …”
“But what? Did it slip your mind? Were you waiting till you got tired of screwing me? Was this just a sick joke you and Noah cooked up?”
“No! It wasn't anything like that. Noah didn't … He said …”
God, how could she explain? Eden blinked as Jordan's features blurred. Her heart pounded hard against her chest, roaring sounded in her head. She was losing control again, just like before. Only this time, it was worse … so much worse. Because not only did she deserve his censure and wrath—she loved him a thousand times more.
“Jordan … please believe me. I didn't mean to—”
“What Eden? Oops. Now that the cat's out of the bag, shouldn't I just call you Devon?” He shook his head slowly as a humorless laugh burst from him. “You know, you are quite the piece of work. It wasn't enough you lied seven years ago. Disappear for years, not caring that hundreds of people are looking for you, spending enormous amounts of time and money to find you. You obviously landed on your feet since you were able to achieve an entirely new face. Though I do think that's carrying lying just a bit too far.
“But Eden—oops, I mean Devon—the sheer beauty of it all is, you landed in a job tailor-made for you. You lie for a living. How fucking great is that? Alise would be proud she raised a lying, deceitful bitch in her own image
.”
Trussed up like a game animal, she had no control over her body as it began to shake. “Shut up … just shut up. You don't know anything. You know nothing about—”
“You got that right. I don't know anything. Because you were too busy enjoying your lies. But this …” He raised the file in his hand. “Gotta hand it to you, babe. This is priceless. You really ought to write fiction for a living. I especially loved the dramatic climax when Devon jumped in front of a bullet to protect a pregnant mother. Such a sad end for a scheming little liar.”
She closed her eyes. That actually happened to her a few years back. How stupid to put truth in fiction.
“I'm only glad Henry is dead so he can't see what you've become.”
Oh God … Henry. It took every ounce of willpower not to just topple over. She'd never kept tabs on her mother or Henry after she'd recovered. That one run-in with her mother had been enough to convince her to leave everything behind. Even the man she loved as a father. And now she would never get the chance to tell him how grateful she was, how much she'd loved him for protecting her, loving her as a real father.
“How … how did Henry die?”
“Don't pretend you care, Devon. You haven't cared for seven years.”
Everything stilled. Hearing about Henry damaged something inside her … maybe even killed it for good. Maybe she realized this was it. After taking blow after blow, she just couldn't hurt any more than this. At some point, the pain just stopped. Nothing remained but a mindless, numbing void, impervious to any kind of feeling. Yes, this was much better.
“Come on, Devon, you can do better than that. Let me hear how you loved Henry, how you missed him. Let me hear that every second you were lying to your family, you hated it.
“Devon?” She felt a small slap on her face, but it couldn't penetrate the numbness. “Come on, Devon… Snap out of it. You said you wanted to talk. Let's talk.”
Though she knew Jordan's words continued, she stopped listening. She knew he taunted her for a few minutes and then, as if he knew she was at her limit, she felt the loosening of the restraints on her legs … then he unlocked the cuffs on her hands.
She remained seated, staring at nothing. Jordan stood in front of her, but for some reason she didn't really see him. What an odd, dreamy, almost pleasant feeling. The water bottle pressed against her lips. She took a small sip, and then another.
“Okay, Devon. You've convinced me you didn't know about Henry. Now, let's cut the crap and get to the rest of the story. Where did you go? Did you even care—”
“Shut up.” Eden surged to her feet, knocking the chair out of the way. She backed up against the wall, her fingers pressed against the surface so hard, they went numb. On the verge of everything within her collapsing at his feet, she had just enough fire left to convince him to leave. Then she would fall apart … but not before then. By God, Jordan Montgomery had seen the very worst of her for the last time.
And he had seen her for the last time.
Jordan chuckled as if he'd been expecting her response. “That's my girl. Now—”
“Leave. There's nothing else to say to you. You know who I am. You know Devon's not dead. What more do you need to know?”
“How about why?”
Her mouth moved up into a bitter, twisted smile. He wanted to believe she was a cold, heartless bitch who cared about no one but herself and could lie without any kind of remorse? That's exactly what he was going to get.
“Because I could, Jordan. I'm a good liar and I've made a boatload of money doing it. So there's your truth. Happy now?”
“That's all you are … all you've ever been … a liar. Getting paid for it just makes you a whore.”
Refusing to utter another word, in her defense or otherwise, she pushed off the wall and forced her wobbly legs to walk around him. Head high, she marched through her apartment into her bedroom and closed the door. A few seconds later, she heard a door slam. He was gone.
Cold shivers attacked. Shock, probably. She blinked in confusion. What did you do for shock? Should know the answer … warmth. She needed to get warm. Shaking so hard she could barely function, she ripped and tore at her clothes. Nude, she stumbled to the bathroom, turned the shower to the hottest setting, sat down on the shower floor, and allowed herself hot, steamy comfort and oblivion.
Sometime later, she awoke, still on the floor of the shower, and found herself looking up into Noah's furious face.
“What happened?”
“What are you doing here?” She winced at the rough, raspy sound of her voice.
“You're soaking wet. You're going to catch pneumonia.”
Using curse words she didn't even know he knew, Noah wrapped a thick towel around her and carried her to the bed. He sat her down and, while Eden sat shivering, dried her hair and body. In another life, another time, she'd be at least a little embarrassed. As long as she and Noah had known each other, he had never seen her nude. Now she really didn't care. Nothing mattered. Nothing. No one.
She must have fallen asleep, because Noah was shaking her again. “Eden. Dammit … Wake up and tell me what the hell happened.”
She blinked up at Noah. “You really need to stop cursing.” Then she collapsed in his arms.
Noah held her as harsh, dry sobs tore through her body with the force of a cyclone. He whispered soothing words she didn't really hear but found comfort in anyway. Finally, when she was exhausted and unable to move a muscle from fatigue, Noah pulled back the covers and put her in bed.
When she felt an unexpected kiss to her forehead, her eyes flickered open. What she saw frightened her. His eyes raging with a dark purpose, he stood and started for the door.
“Leave him alone, Noah. It's not his fault.”
“Stop protecting him, Eden. Jordan's a big boy. I'm not going to give him anything he doesn't deserve.”
“Don't hurt him.”
Noah shook his head sadly. “You're hopeless.” And with those words he walked out, leaving Eden to wonder what exactly he would do to Jordan. Noah and Jordan were about the same size … well matched in skill also.
Her eyes drifted shut. Noah wouldn't hurt Jordan, and Jordan wouldn't hurt Noah, not really. Other than that, she just couldn't think about it anymore. With a soft sigh, she once again found the sweet oblivion she so desperately wanted.
Feet propped up on Noah's shiny desk, Jordan glared as McCall stormed into the office. “Welcome home,” he growled sarcastically.
McCall shot a glare of fury at him, as though royally pissed. What the hell right did he have to be angry? Jordan was the one who'd been lied to and deceived.
Bypassing him with barely a glance, McCall growled, “Follow me.”
Jordan watched as the other man pushed aside a large potted plant. He pressed a button beneath it and the wall in front of him slid open. When McCall walked inside, Jordan got to his feet and followed him. What was the prick up to now?
Surveying the large room filled with free weights, machines, and exercise mats, Jordan blew out a low whistle. “And I thought Eden or should I say Devon's gym was nice. You don't have as much equipment, but—” He stopped abruptly when he observed that the other man appeared to be stripping. “Uh, you want to tell me why you're taking your shirt off? I don't want to offend your sensitive ego, but you're really not my type. Besides, I think I've been screwed enough by you and Devon for a lifetime.”
“Trust me, that's the last thing I'd want.”
Jordan snorted. “Trust you? Man, you gotta be kidding.”
Jordan stood at the door, his arms crossed in a deceptively nonchalant pose, and watched McCall take off his shirt, then his shoes and socks.
“If you're not feeling amorous … I'm assuming you're stripping for another good reason?”
“I don't want to get your blood on my shirt.”
Jordan straightened slowly. Now that sounded like an enticing proposition. “That's one offer I simply can't refuse.” With those words, Jordan slipped off
his own shoes and socks and removed his shirt.
Noah strode over to the mat and turned toward him. Fury engulfed Jordan at the glint of cold amusement in McCall's eyes. He fully intended to wipe that smug expression off his face and, while he was at it, looked forward to knocking out a few of his perfect teeth.
The men circled each other warily, both looking for weak, vulnerable spots to target first.
Jordan struck first. Catching his opponent off guard, he slammed a hard fist into his jaw. McCall gave a quick shake of his head and grinned. “Now I'm awake.”
On the next punch Jordan threw, Noah blocked him, then shot an upper cut to Jordan's chin. The pain startled him as blood spurted from his mouth. The evil grin on McCall's face forced the pain away as Jordan slammed a fist into his nose.
Over the next fifteen minutes, each man threw blow after blow, kick after kick. The sounds of grunts, curses, and the occasional harsh laugh were the only sounds in the room.
Blood and sweat ran in streams down Jordan's face. He was sure he had a broken nose; one of his eyes was already closed and his mouth was filled with blood.
McCall looked no better, with his lip split in two places, several interesting bruises on his face, two nasty-looking bruises already showing on his rib cage, and, if he wasn't mistaken, a broken nose.
Breathing hard, Jordan circled his opponent warily, looking for the right time and place to land a blow to end this thing. He didn't really care why Noah wanted to fight but couldn't help but be pleased. The release was much needed, and damned if McCall didn't look like he could pass out any minute. In an effort to throw him off, Jordan remarked casually, “So were you and Devon in on this from the beginning or did you jump on later?”
The mean smile Noah flashed him gave Jordan no choice. He had to go for those teeth. He whirled and made a wide sweep with his leg. Noah dodged him at the last second, but Jordan managed to clip him on the temple. A look of stunned surprise crossed McCall's face before he slammed face-first onto the floor.
Rescue Me: A Novel Page 28
