Redemption (A Dark Romance) (Fragile Ties Book 3)

by Jennifer Bene

  Clenching his teeth tight, David fought the urge to comment. Harry had already made it clear that Jean-Luc didn’t act any differently than Harry would expect any family member to react, and he couldn’t even deny that the man had a right to be angry. He’d done horrible things to Lianna, and that was the only thing Jean-Luc had known about him — courtesy of Michael. Still, he didn’t believe that everything in that family was sunshine and roses. It wasn’t possible.

  Rémi let out a quiet, frustrated groan. “I don’t know what scares me more in this nightmare. That you did it, or that someone else was able to get close enough to our family to do it.”

  “I understand that…” Lianna replied softly. “I’m just asking for more time before you make a judgment call on this. We’re going to do everything we can to get you the proof you want.”

  “I’ll see what I can do, Lianna, but I can’t promise you anything. I have to think of the whole family, the Faure name, not just myself.”

  Of course you do. David focused on the computer screen in front of him so he wouldn’t distract Lianna from the call. She was leaning forward, rubbing her forehead as she nodded.

  “I guess that’s all I can ask of you, Rémi. I’ll be in touch as soon as I can, okay?”

  “You do that,” Rémi said, and a few seconds later the call ended.

  Lianna groaned, dropping her phone onto the coffee table before cradling her head in her hands. “I swear to God, David… if we don’t find something on that hard drive we are so fucked.”

  “I’m well aware,” he mumbled.

  “Any luck yet?” she asked, looking up at him as she angled herself to try and look at his screen.

  “I just opened the drive, Lianna!” he snapped, biting down on his frustration. “Just... go open a bottle of wine, sit down, and let me focus.”

  “Fine.” She rose and headed toward the kitchen, but he could tell that she was stressed out and probably pissed at him for being a dick. Grabbing the remote, he turned the TV on and flipped it to one of the music stations just to fill the silence.

  He needed to focus, because the call with Rémi had only made it clearer that whatever connection Lianna had made with the family wouldn’t be enough to keep her safe. If they couldn’t prove that it was Marc, or at least cast doubt on someone else... they were definitely fucked.

  His eyes were blurring, but David wasn’t going to give up. He’d been looking through files for over eight hours, and as the time in the corner of his screen ticked closer to midnight, he felt like he was watching a doomsday clock. Countdown to disaster.

  Stretching, he cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders, looking over at Lianna who was curled up, asleep, at the other end of the couch. She’d been asleep for about an hour, and judging by the deep, even breaths, she wasn’t waking up anytime soon.

  But that didn’t mean he should do what he was thinking about.

  The files he’d found earlier in the evening weren’t what he should be looking at right now. He was supposed to be finding proof to save both their lives, but every time he clicked back into the main drive, the folder tempted him. Michael had saved all of it, and he should have known he’d eventually run into them on the drive. Every single video he’d sent to her father when he thought she was the key to making him break, along with hours of security footage that he never sent to anyone. Opening the folder, he scrolled through the thumbnails, tilting his screen away from Lianna just in case she woke up.

  I shouldn’t be doing this.

  It was wrong. These videos should have been evidence in his criminal trial, not tempting him to watch them again like his own private porn server. Still, he couldn’t help but wonder how many of them Michael had watched. Did he watch all the way to the end of their time together?

  Swallowing, he scrolled back to the top, and tried to force his hand to click back out of it, to get back on task — but he didn’t. Muting the computer, he clicked on one and it opened in a small window that he quickly maximized. It was from when she was on the floor. On the mattress. Chained wide and so vulnerable. Perfect. He didn’t need the sound because he could remember every sound she made, knew the sounds he could pull from her even now, but there was fear then. Real, honest fear, and when his dick started to get hard, he groaned, closed the laptop, and leaned his head back on the couch.

  Fuck, fuck, fuck.

  He still liked it. Seeing her like that still turned him on, even though he knew the difference between the way he’d fucked her on that mattress and the way he’d fucked her earlier in the day — but both were driven by the same urges. There was something wrong with him, but it wasn’t going anywhere. He knew that he liked to hear the panic and fear in her voice when he made it hurt, he liked it when she fought him just so he could take control.

  But she liked it too.

  Hell, even in the basement she’d surprised him by just how fucking wet she got.

  Scrubbing at his eyes, he tried to get the images out of his head, because no matter how much he wanted to rewatch every one of those videos... he wanted the real thing more. He wanted her, and he wanted the way she smiled at him in the mornings, the way she laughed, the way she whispered that she loved him. Those were the kind of things he could have never forced out of her.

  Moving back to the main drive, he highlighted the folder and felt the pricking of guilt as he deleted it. When the progress bar popped up, he stared at the cancel button, debating whether it was right to destroy the evidence against himself. But in the end, it wasn’t about him — it was about Lianna. No one needed to see those videos again. No one should see her like that. And the videos weren’t necessary anymore, no matter what Michael thought of him... Lianna wouldn’t ever need them. He’d never give her a reason to. The progress bar finished, and he minimized the drive, emptying the recycle bin to erase them completely. David took a deep breath, sitting back against the couch as the reality of what he’d just done settled over him.

  He was free. Not absolved, not forgiven for what he’d done, but the risk of someone like Michael using it to come after him was gone.

  Looking over at Lianna, he let himself actually think about what a future with her would be like. If they made it out the other side of this Faure mess... would she marry him? Would she want a family with him? Could he ever be like Tommy and Liam, a normal husband... a father? There was a slight rush of panic that made him reach for the cup of coffee beside him, but it really wasn’t as terrifying as he thought it would be. Lianna would be an amazing mother, and just the thought of getting her pregnant made his dick twitch.

  Fucking focus, idiot.

  Adjusting himself, he scanned through the folders, getting back on track with where he’d been before he let temptation detour him. It was taking him way longer than he’d ever expected, and part of the issue was that he didn’t completely know what he was looking for. Proof that Marc and her father had been working together, but that could be anything he’d gathered in the last few years. Any of the surveillance he’d done on Lianna and her father could be what they needed, and that meant skimming every single goddamn file that looked like it could be from the right time frame.

  Two hours later, he was debating giving up and grabbing some sleep when he clicked on a file to bring it up and his heart started racing. Sitting up straight, he maximized it, looking over it again and again.

  This has to be enough proof.

  Reaching over, he shook Lianna’s leg. “Wake up. Angel, wake up!”

  “What?” she mumbled, groggy with sleep.

  “I think I found something,” he said, the thrill of it impossible to contain as she shoved herself upright and leaned close. “I mean, it has to be enough. I swear, I’ve looked at thousands of files tonight and this... this has to work. Right?”

  Lianna leaned in, reaching for the track pad on his laptop to control the screen for a moment, and the smile that spread slowly across her lips was completely worth every minute of his search. “We’ve got him.”

&
nbsp; Laughing a little, David rubbed at his face, looking up at the ceiling as he tried to accept the possibility that they might not be completely screwed anymore. There was a chance that they’d be okay, that he’d actually get to have a future with her. Then he remembered what they had to do before that future was possible and he groaned. “Does this mean we have to go back to France?”

  “Yes, David,” she said, patting him on the arm. “We have to go back to France.”

  “Fine, but we’re not leaving tonight. I need sleep.” Closing his laptop, he set it back on the coffee table with the hard drive, and Lianna took its place, straddling his lap.

  “You sure you need to sleep?” she asked, grinding against him with that smile still plastered on her face. “Because I’d really like to say thank you.”

  All it took was one flashback from the videos he’d destroyed earlier in the night, and he pulled her closer, lifting his hips so she could feel the growing hard-on. “How are you going to thank me, angel?”

  “Come to bed, and I’ll show you.” Lianna slid off his lap, walking backward toward the hall, and he had no trouble following her.

  He’d follow her anywhere... even back to Provence.

  Twenty-Two

  Lianna

  Two Days Later

  “Are you sure you don’t want to rent a room somewhere and at least take a nap?” David asked, and she knew he was tired. They both were. There had been too much to think about on the transatlantic flight, but there was no use in waiting. Waiting was just going to drag this out, and they needed to act before Rémi made a decision without all the facts.

  Glancing at the passenger seat, she sighed. “Are you saying I look tired?”

  “I’m not saying anything like that,” he replied, clearly frustrated with her. “But we’re about to confront your family with just about the worst news we could show up with… and I figured you’d like to be well-rested for that.”

  “No.” She shook her head, focusing on the narrow road ahead as they drove away from Nice and into Provence. “I want to get this over with.”

  “Okay…” he said, and she was grateful he’d dropped it. Arguing now wasn’t going to help either of them, and she wasn’t changing her mind.

  The last few miles of their drive to the Faure estate were silent, but they both tensed when the familiar wall bordering their property showed up on the side of the road. Slowing down, Lianna checked the rear-view mirror to make sure no one was behind her, and she waited for the gate to appear.

  There.

  Lianna turned the little car into the drive leading up to the gate. When they’d arrived before, she hadn’t noticed the size of the gate, but its presence now was foreboding. How had she missed these security elements the first time? Too enamored by Jean-Luc and Cécile and the beauty of everything to pay attention to the ugly reality, to all the literal signs warning people from entering the property.

  If only she’d actually listened.

  She rolled down the window, leaned out, and pressed the button on the little call box. When she sat back, waiting for the house to respond, David reached over to take her hand.

  “No matter what happens, I’ve got you,” he whispered, squeezing her hand tighter, and she squeezed back.

  “I love you, baby.”

  “I love you too, angel,” he whispered, but he was cut off by a scratchy voice leaving the intercom in French.

  “Who is it?”

  “I’m here to see Rémi Faure,” she replied, continuing the conversation in French, even though David would have no idea what she was saying.

  “And who are you?” the guard asked.

  “Tell him it’s Lianna.”

  “One moment,” the man replied, and the sudden stiffness in his tone spoke volumes.

  Sighing, she dropped her head against the seat and looked over at David. “He told us to wait… but I’m quite sure he remembers me.”

  “At least they didn’t have to taze you to make you leave.”

  His joke made her laugh, which she wasn’t sure she could actually do as high strung as she felt, but it died fast when the gate suddenly swung open. “Fuck.”

  “We have to go now, angel,” David said gently, but it still took her a moment take her foot off the brake and get the car in motion.

  “I know…” she whispered, trying to talk her heart into slowing down just a little, because it felt like it might explode inside her chest at any moment. A spontaneous heart attack wasn’t going to endear her to the relatives who were convinced she’d killed the patriarch of the Faure family. The drive wasn’t near long enough for her to feel better though, and as she pulled to a stop near the front door, she saw one the guards open it and step out to hold it wide.

  Oh shit. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Are we really doing this?

  “I’m going to be right by your side the whole time, okay?” David tugged at her hand until she finally looked at him, and the level of concern in his face told her all she needed to know about how panicked she looked.

  “Good. Don’t leave me.” Nodding, she tried to pull it together, to calm down, or at least fake it before she walked into the house. “You have it, right?”

  “Of course I have it,” he answered, squeezing her hand once more before he released it and opened his door. “Let’s go.”

  Climbing out of the car, she swallowed hard, and waited for David to join her before they ascended the steps side by side. Instead of letting them inside, the guard raised his hand to stop them, moving forward to pat them down in rough swipes of his hands. He started with David, and she thought David was going to punch him when he reached for her.

  “This isn’t necessary, we’re not armed,” she called into the house.

  “Let them in.” The command floated out of the house in French, and she was pretty sure it came from Rémi. Whoever it was, the guard stopped instantly, moving aside to let them into the large foyer, but it didn’t feel as big as usual since it was packed with all of the relatives she’d been smiling and laughing with a little over a week ago. Jean-Luc’s entire family, including Amanda and the twins, and she was surprised to see Marc and his wife and kids standing off to the side as well. No one was smiling now, though. Their faces were a mix of anger and sadness, betrayal and distrust. All of it directed at her and David.

  “You have a lot of nerve showing your faces here, but this just makes it easier to avenge my brother,” Marc said, snapping his fingers before he pointed at them. “Phillipe, Adam, take them—

  “Wait,” Rémi interrupted, raising a hand, and the guards who had been in the process of drawing their weapons froze in place. For the first time since they’d found the proof, Lianna actually wondered if it would matter. Raising her hands, she let them hang in the air beside her shoulders, and she saw David do the same in her peripheral vision.

  “I told you I was going to get you proof, Rémi.” Lianna tried to sound calm and confident, even though she felt neither. “That’s why I’m here.”

  “This is ridiculous!” Marc snapped. “She’d say anything to save her life.”

  “Please, Rémi,” she begged, looking only at him as she ignored Marc’s ranting. “It will only take ten minutes and you’ll see that I never lied to you.”

  “Rémi, don’t let this girl—”

  “They flew here from the US, the least I can do is give her ten minutes,” Rémi said, cutting his uncle off in a serious tone before he looked at her. “What do you have?”

  “It’s in my pocket,” David answered, pointing down at his jeans without moving his hands. “Just don’t shoot me. I’ve already taken a bullet for her once, and I really don’t want to do it again.”

  “Everyone put your weapons away. My children are here,” Rémi snapped in French, and the guards slid them back into their holsters, hiding them once again beneath their suit jackets. Turning to David, he nodded, continuing in English. “Go ahead, show me what you have.”

  “I’m going to get it out of my pocket, okay?” Da
vid said, looking around the room as he slowly lowered a hand, reaching into his pocket to pull out a small, black flash drive. “Here, Rémi.”

  “What is this?” he asked, approaching David to take it from him.

  “It’s a flash drive.” Lianna answered, but judging by the look Rémi gave her, that was not the question he was asking. “The proof is on it. You just need to see it for yourself.”

  Marc huffed before raising his voice, speaking French directly to Rémi. “You can’t be taking this show seriously. They’re making a fool of you in front of your family!”

  “I will see what she brought me,” Rémi replied sharply, glancing at his uncle before turning to the family and switching to English. “Amanda, I want you to go upstairs with the children. Emilie, take Zoé from Maman, and go with her.”

  “I want to stay here!” Emilie whined.

  “Now, Emilie!” Rémi replied in kind, and his tone made it clear that she wasn’t allowed to argue. It was surprising how quickly he’d stepped into the role as head of the family. No more laughing and joking — not that this was the time for it anyway — but he still looked different. Carried himself differently than he had less than two weeks before.

  Amanda shifted Gabriel on her hip and beckoned Emilie. “Come with me, Em. You can help me keep them happy.”

  Sighing, Emilie took Zoé from Cécile and reluctantly followed Amanda up the stairs. Everyone waited in silence until they disappeared down the hall, and it was Rémi who acted first. Turning to one of the guards, he spoke in quiet French. “Phillipe, bring my laptop from my office.”

  “You don’t even know this woman,” Marc said, stepping closer to Rémi, and she knew he was only speaking French to keep David out of it. Or, perhaps he’d never realized just how much French she spoke. He hadn’t exactly spent much time around her when she was here before. “She’s an American, and just because she shares some of our blood, doesn’t make her family. We don’t know what Alain taught her when he kept her away from us.”