I acknowledged the other man with a flick of my eyes before returning them to Alvarez. Sampson had a notebook laptop under his arm. Both of them took a seat in the chairs across from me.
“Would you like coffee? Water?” Sampson asked. Ah…now he was the good cop. “I’d offer something stronger, but it’s against procedure.” A practiced smile graced his lips.
“Nothing,” I answered in a clipped tone.
If it affronted him, he showed no sign, simply setting up his laptop. Alvarez placed his phone on the table, pressing the screen a few times.
“You’ve waived the right to have an attorney present. Your statement is being written and recorded,” he said. I glanced at the red light on the camera in the corner of the room and wondered who else was watching on the other side.
I appreciated that Donato had kept me from this side of things, but hated feeling out of my element. I didn’t know what to expect, had no feel for what was coming next…other than a cell.
“Did either of you catch the Yankees game this afternoon? I haven’t seen the score,” Agent Sampson said. I couldn’t tell if he was actually doing anything on his laptop or just pretending to fiddle.
My gut reaction was to scream, but if this was how I had to play it, so be it. “They lost,” I said stoically.
The two men appeared surprised by my answer, though they recovered quickly. “Damn shame.” Sampson made a disgusted face. I simply stared. He cleared his throat. “Ready when you are, Mr. Elliott.”
“I killed my father, Keith Elliott,” I began. My voice didn’t waver. There was no hesitation. It rang of truth. “He phoned me for a visit to his motel. I argued the point, but eventually agreed to see him. We fought. He’s dead.”
Concise. To the point. Enough of a confession without giving too much away.
The questions began, a volley between the agents and myself. Whatever they wanted to know, I answered. In less than an hour, they had enough to hold me, without bond for now.
The clothes they had me change into before taking me to a cell were khaki pants and a shirt, not the orange jumpsuit I expected. The cotton was scratchy and thin. I wondered if they recycled these things. Had someone worn it before me, and did they get out of this place because they’d served their time, or did they eventually die in these clothes?
I took off the shirt. The material made me itch, reminded me of when I had no choice but to wear other people’s clothes. I’d vowed it would never happen again, and yet here I was. The past on spin cycle. Rinse and repeat.
I sat on the thin mattress and almost immediately popped back up to my feet. A restless energy ran through me. I was helpless in here. Yet another thing I’d promised myself I’d never be again.
I paced as my mind took in the reality of what I was in for. Six strides. That’s all it was between the door and the opposite wall. Two strides. The distance between the wall and the bed. Before getting locked up, I’d resigned myself to a life behind bars as what I had to do. Staring it in the face wasn’t so simple. My survival instincts were kicking in and wouldn’t be quiet. I needed out. This wasn’t where I belonged. With Vivian. That was my place in life.
“Fuck!” I punched the gray concrete block wall. Pain radiated from my knuckles up my arm. I stripped off the pants until I was down to the federal issue briefs I was reduced to wearing. In my current mental state, sleep would never come, so I dropped to the floor into the pushup position. With controlled movements, I lowered until I was a centimeter from the linoleum before straightening my arms. I did one hundred and jumped to my feet, counting in my head as I pounded out an equal amount of jumping jacks.
I repeated the routine until sweat poured down my body and my limbs felt like noodles. A thousand of each until I collapsed on the mattress, mentally and physically exhausted. This was it. No amount of fighting would get me out. If I did get out, the man who was truly my father would come here in my place. I couldn’t live with that. No matter what it cost me.
Chapter Thirty-One
Vivian
Eight Years Earlier
Daniel and I fought the Christmas Eve shoppers at the market in Te Anau, bought enough food for a couple of days, and were headed down a dirt road to places unknown. He assured me he knew where he was going, so I hung on for the bumpy ride. When we arrived, it was totally worth it.
On the edge of a blue-green lake was a modern cabin, my mountain rising behind it. It was made mostly of glass; in such a spectacular setting, it would have been wasteful to obstruct views from the inside. I was beyond thrilled. The condo in Queenstown I had adored, but this…I was utterly smitten.
Daniel parked the car at the front door, and I jumped out, practically running to the entrance.
“You might need this,” Daniel said, dangling a keyring from his fingers as he caught up to me.
I inserted the key into the lock and threw open the rustic wooden door. On the far side of the large room was a Christmas tree, decorated with colored lights and ornaments. My eyes glassed over. A tree. In a cabin. By my mountain. My heart felt like it was going to burst.
“Daniel,” I whispered, glued to the twinkling colors. “Thank you.”
“Do you like it?” he asked, watching me intently.
“I love it.” I dragged him over to the tree. The scent of pine filled my nose as I examined the ornaments dangling from the branches. These weren’t just generic balls. There were some, but they all looked old. Some of them were homemade. I fingered a Styrofoam star with gold glitter on it. Next to it was a handprint with Christmas 1979 painted on it.
“These are the ornaments we used on the tree when I was growing up. I tried to get some of yours, but your parents never answered or returned my calls. A tree full of new glass ornaments seemed too impersonal.” His hands were in his pockets, a subtle blush on his cheeks as he avoided looking at me. There were good memories on this tree for him. Ones of the vanilla-scented and baked goods variety.
“Is this your handprint?” Daniel nodded shyly, the color staining his cheeks deepening to a crimson. “I can’t believe you did this. It’s…I…”
At a loss for words, I threw my arms around him and buried my head against his chest. He rested his cheek on top of my head and held me close. “We couldn’t have Christmas without a tree.”
I would have loved any old tree, but the fact that he had put so much thought into it brought tears to my eyes.
“You’re up shit creek for the second date,” I told him.
“You haven’t even been on it yet,” he protested. We grinned at each other. “I better go get our groceries.”
“I’ll help.”
We unloaded the car, and he joined me on the back deck.
“I wish Muriella were here. She’s not spending Christmas alone, is she?” I asked.
His answering smile was secretive. “She’ll be here tomorrow. I couldn’t leave her alone for the holidays, but she insisted we have time to ourselves before she arrives.”
“M’s coming here?” I shrieked, relieved she wasn’t going to be by herself.
“I take it you’re okay with that,” he said wryly.
I shoved at him. “Better than okay.”
He pulled me into his arms. “This lake brings out the aquamarine flecks in your eyes. They’re beautiful.”
I didn’t think he’d noticed, but clearly I was wrong. “Thank you. This place is perfect.” The scenery was incredible, but it was Daniel that made it perfect.
“We’re going to stay a few days.”
My face lit up. “I already don’t want to leave.”
“Neither do I.”
I pecked him on the cheek. “Do you think we could have a fire later? I know it’s not that cold, but it would be nice to have hot chocolate while we sit by a fire and wait for Santa.”
“How is he going to find us?” Daniel asked, eyes dancing with mirth.
“He’s Santa. He knows .”
After he’d gone to take a shower, I scurried to the kitchen, digging through
our haul. There were three stockings hung by the fireplace, and I dumped half a bag of miniature Mars bars into one of them. Then I searched through my purse for the gift I had for Daniel and put it under the tree. A box was there that most definitely hadn’t been before. I wrapped up one more thing for him, using the circulars from the grocery store and some twine I found in the kitchen.
After dinner, we sat in front of the fire and drank hot chocolate, snuggling.
Daniel broke the reverie. “I think we’ve had a visitor. Better go check and see what he left.” I looked up at him suspiciously. “Go on.” He indicated toward the tree.
I scampered over, finding a package to me from Santa. I glanced at Daniel, my stomach jittery. He watched me carefully, and I finally blew out a breath, tearing open the paper to reveal a black velvet box. “What is it?” I whispered, frozen.
“Open it and see.” His eyes brightened as that little upward curve of his lips I loved so much appeared.
I opened the lid. A choker of large black diamonds surrounded by smaller aquamarine stones glittered up at me. I gasped. This was no doubt the most exquisite piece of jewelry I’d ever laid eyes on.
“Daniel,” I breathed. “It’s too much. I-I can’t.” My eyes glassed over, and I blinked the moisture away.
“You don’t like it?” he asked.
“It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. I love it. But I can’t accept it.”
His eyes were sweet as they stared at me. “You can,” he encouraged.
My gaze dropped back down to the necklace, and I filled with longing. I didn’t want it because I loved the jewelry. I wanted it because it was from him. I knew if I put it on, it would be like him touching me, even if we weren’t in the same place.
I noticed a key in the center of the box with ‘Yale’ stamped on it. I was pretty sure that was just a generic brand. It appeared ordinary enough, strikingly similar to the gold one that went to my apartment.
“What’s this for?” I asked, still refusing to touch the contents of the box. If I did, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to let it go.
“One day you’ll find out,” he said, taking the box out of my hand.
“You’re not going to give me a clue?” There were a billion locks in the world this key could fit.
“When the time is right, you’ll know,” he replied enigmatically.
“It’s not to your apartment, is it?” I asked, sounding appalled, even though I didn’t mean it that way.
Daniel frowned, appearing wounded. “No.”
“What else could it be?”
Daniel patted the sofa beside him. Once I sat, he positioned my back to him and gently pulled my hair to one side before placing the choker around my neck. Then he turned my shoulders so he could see the jewelry. “Perfect,” he said.
“When? How?” I asked, still unable to touch the cool stones resting against my skin.
“I saw a similar design in the window of a jewelry shop a few days after we met. It reminded me of your eyes, so I went inside and asked if they could make something like it with aquamarine surrounding the black stones instead of plain old diamonds. Turns out the shop specializes in rare custom-made jewelry. I picked out the stones myself.”
“A few days after we met?” I asked incredulously, and he nodded.
“I was in Paris. I can’t really explain it, I just felt compelled, like I had to go in that shop.”
“Daniel…” I searched his face, trying to come up with adequate words. “I love it, but I can’t keep it. It’s too expensive. And you’ve already done all of this .” I reached for the clasp to take off the necklace.
“Don’t,” Daniel said. “Wear it. What’s the harm?” His tone was indifferent, but his eyes were not. I couldn’t say no to him.
Daniel put his arm around my shoulders. I leaned my head on his and let out a contented sigh. Then I turned my head so my chin rested on his shoulder and gazed up at him.
He looked back at me with an expression I could only interpret as love. “Keep the necklace please. For me.”
“I don’t want you to buy me expensive things,” I said quietly. “All I want is right here.”
He swallowed thickly, but held me close. “Me too.”
I glanced past him at the twinkling lights. “Can we sleep by the tree?” I asked. “I always wanted to do that.”
Daniel tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear. “I’ll make us a pallet.”
I grinned at him. “I’m going to change into my pajamas.”
I raced to the bedroom and put on Daniel’s old T-shirt and pajama bottoms. I took off my socks, but put the ballet slippers back on.
The kitchen, living, and dining area were open plan, and when I arrived back, the only light was from the fire and the glow of the Christmas tree. Daniel had made a bed on the floor beside the tree and was sitting on top of the blankets in his lounge pants and a gray T-shirt. His eyes went straight to my feet, rounding when he looked up at me. He’d said on the subway how sweet it would be when he finally got to take them off. It was time.
He held out his hand, and when I took it, warmth surged through me. I sat beside him, tucking my legs under me, making sure my feet were on the hardwood floors, not our covers, so that I didn’t get them dirty.
“Why?” he asked.
“Because you listened to me. You never gave up. You’ve proved that getting to know me is more important than sleeping with me.” I touched his face, because I couldn’t not touch him. “You’re in this with me, even if it isn’t easy or comfortable for you. I have never felt more wanted in my life. You are more than worthy, D.”
He drank in my words, though they didn’t seem easy for him to believe. “I have never wanted anything as much as I want you. And that’s a problem. It gives you the upper hand.”
“I already have the upper hand.” Daniel could only laugh. “You walked right into that one, Princess.”
“I did.” His expression sobered. He sat up and took my chin in his strong hand, his eyes flashing as he spoke. “I want you, Vivian. All of you. Not just that gorgeous body, but your heart and your mind.”
“Then it’s yours.” He looked stunned when I said this, like he wasn’t expecting that I would offer it so easily.
“When you walked away from me at that charity auction, I should have let you go. I couldn’t. It was a selfish thing to do, chasing after you like a goddamn puppy.” He stopped and shook his head, as if he couldn’t believe his behavior. “No matter how much I want to keep you, I’m afraid I won’t be able to.”
I searched his face for any kind of clue as to where this was coming from, what the hell he even meant. “I’ll take however long we have then.” Mentally, I crossed my fingers. There was no way in hell I was ever giving him up.
“You never do what I think you will,” he said.
“Daniel?”
“What?”
“I need you to make me a promise.”
“I don’t know if I can, but I’ll try.”
“No matter what, you will fight for me. For us. I can’t be with someone who won’t do that.”
He cupped my face, his solemn eyes looking deep into mine. “That’s a promise I can easily make.”
“Then let’s do this like there’s no tomorrow,” I said and he smiled, infinitely more relaxed.
“I’m in.”
Now it was my turn to smile, and he maneuvered me so I was on my back with his body covering mine. As he kissed the tip of my nose, I realized he looked as happy as I’d ever seen him, and a deep satisfaction came over me, knowing I had something to do with that.
“I’d like to be kissed again, please,” I requested.
“Is that all you want?” he asked, chastely brushing his lips across mine.
“No.”
“What else?” He licked my neck and blew his hot breath on the spot, making a shudder roll through me. I closed my eyes, savoring the feel of his teeth nipping at the sensitive skin. “I asked you a question, Vivi
an,” he reminded. I hummed, rolling my head to the side to give him easier access.
“What was the question?” He laughed against my ear, the sound tickling me as warmth spread throughout my body. Black diamond eyes looked at me, and my breath caught in my throat. He had me exactly where he wanted me, and I didn’t care one bit.
“What else do you want, Vivian?” He was using that voice on purpose, deep and throaty, and my stomach muscles tightened as my ache intensified.
“You.” Getting that one syllable out was a major accomplishment, especially when he was back working on my neck with that lethal mouth.
“You’re going to have to be more specific,” he taunted, and I groaned, lifting my hips. “With words.”
I gripped his hair and tugged. “I want you to do things to me that I never imagined, to do everything .”
His eyes danced, full of desire and longing. “I’m glad we’re on the same page, because I will do anything and everything I please to this body, which is mine . You’ve forfeited your last opportunity to get out.”
“I don’t want to get out. And by the way, you’re not going anywhere either.”
“I couldn’t even if I wanted to.” It made me inordinately happy that he would so readily admit that.
“I hope you brought protection,” I said, and a little burst of laughter escaped from him.
“It’s funny you should mention that. Hang on a sec.” He was gone before I could protest, and I flipped over on my stomach, watching him disappear. He returned a second later with an industrial sized box of condoms.
“Expecting much?” I asked, grinning.
“I found this in my suitcase. Apparently Muriella went to Costco.”
“I wish I could have seen her buy those. That tiny little devil with a box bigger than she is.”
He smirked and placed the open package under the tree. Excitement buzzed through me. I wondered now how I’d ever waited all this time for him. He oozed sensuality, those damn three-piece suits like foreplay. But my patience was fresh out. I wanted him to touch me more than I wanted to draw my next breath, so I put my slippered feet in front of him, to move him along.
It's Not Over Page 22
