by Sylvia Day
“Daddy!” I yelled, waving.
His face lit up when he saw me, and a wide smile curved his mouth.
“There’s my girl.” He picked me up in a hug that had my feet dangling above the floor. “I’ve missed you like crazy.”
I started crying. I couldn’t help it. Being with him again was the last emotional straw.
“Hey.” He rocked me. “What’s with the tears?”
I wrapped my arms tighter around his neck, so grateful to have him with me, knowing all the other troubles in my life would fade into the background while he was around.
“I missed you like crazy, too,” I said, sniffling.
We took a cab back to my place. On the ride over, my dad asked me the same sort of investigative questions about Cary’s attack as the detectives had asked Cary in the hospital. I tried to keep him distracted with that discussion when we pulled up outside my building, but it didn’t do any good.
My dad’s eagle eyes took in the modern glass overhang attached to the brick façade of the building. He stared at the doorman, Paul, who touched the brim of his hat and opened the door for us. He studied the front desk and concierge, and rocked back on his heels as we waited for the elevator.
He didn’t say anything and kept his poker face on, but I knew he was thinking about how much my digs must cost in a city like New York. When I showed him into my apartment, his sweeping gaze took in the size of the place. The massive windows had a stunning view of the city, and the flat-screen television mounted on the wall was just one of the many top-of-the-line electronics on display.
He knew I couldn’t afford the place on my own. He knew my mother’s husband was providing for me in ways he would never be able to. And I wondered if he thought about my mother, and how what she needed was also beyond his means.
“The security here is really tight,” I told him by way of explanation. “It’s impossible to get past the front desk if you’re not on the list and a resident can’t be reached to vouch for you.”
My dad exhaled in a rush. “That’s good.”
“Yeah. I don’t think Mom could sleep at night otherwise.”
That made some of the tension leave his shoulders.
“Let me show you to your room.” I led him down the hallway to the guest room suite. It had its own bathroom and mini-bar with fridge. I saw him noting those things before he dropped his duffel on the king-size bed. “Are you tired?”
He looked at me. “I know you are. And you have to work today, don’t you? Why don’t we nap for a bit before you have to get up?”
I stifled a yawn and nodded, knowing I could use the couple of hours of shut-eye. “Sounds good.”
“Wake me when you’re up,” he said, rolling his shoulders back. “I’ll make the coffee while you’re getting ready.”
“Awesome.” My voice came husky with suppressed tears. Gideon almost always had coffee waiting for me on days when he’d spent the night, because he got up before me. I missed that little ritual of ours.
Somehow, I’d have to learn to live without it.
Pushing up onto my tiptoes, I kissed my dad’s cheek. “I’m so glad you’re here, Daddy.”
I closed my eyes and clung tightly when he hugged me.
* * *
I stepped out of the small market with my bags of grocery ingredients for dinner and frowned at finding Angus idling at the curb. I’d refused a ride in the morning and again when I’d left the Crossfire, and he was still following and shadowing. It was ridiculous. I couldn’t help but wonder if Gideon didn’t want me as a girlfriend anymore, but his neurotic lust for my body meant that he didn’t want anyone else to have me—namely Brett.
As I walked home, I entertained thoughts of having Brett over for dinner instead, imagining Angus having to make that call to Gideon when Brett came strolling up to my place. It was just a quick vengeful fantasy, since I wouldn’t lead Brett on that way and he was in Florida anyway, but it did the trick. My step lightened and when I entered my apartment, I was in my first really good mood in days.
I dumped all the dinner stuff off in the kitchen, then went to find my dad. He was hanging out in Cary’s room playing a video game. Cary worked a nunchuk one-handed, since his other hand was in a cast.
“Woo!” my dad shouted. “Spanked.”
“You should be ashamed of yourself,” Cary shot back, “taking advantage of an invalid.”
“I’m crying a river here.”
Cary looked at me in the doorway and winked. I loved him so much in that moment I couldn’t stop myself from crossing over to him and pressing a kiss to his bruised forehead.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
“Thank me with dinner. I’m starving.”
I straightened. “I got the goods to make enchiladas.”
My dad looked at me, smiling, knowing I’d need his help. “Yeah?”
“When you’re ready,” I told him. “I’m going to grab a shower.”
Forty-five minutes later, my dad and I were in the kitchen rolling cheese and store-bought rotisserie chicken—my little cheat to save time—into lard-soaked white corn tortillas. In the living room, the CD changer slipped in the next disk and Van Morrison’s soulful voice piped through the surround sound speakers.
“Oh yeah,” my dad said, reaching for my hand and tugging me away from the counter. “Hum-de-rum, hum-de-rum, moondance,” he sang in his deep baritone, twirling me.
I laughed, delighted.
Using the back of his hand against my spine to keep his greasy fingers off me, he swept me into a dance around the island, both of us singing the song and laughing. We were making our second revolution when I noticed the two people standing at the breakfast bar.
My smile fled and I stumbled, forcing my dad to catch me.
“You got two left feet?” he teased, his eyes only on me.
“Eva’s a wonderful dancer,” Gideon interjected, his face arrested in that implacable mask I detested.
My dad turned, his smile fading, too.
Gideon rounded the bar and entered the kitchen. He’d dressed for the occasion in jeans and a Yankees T-shirt. It was a suitably casual choice and a conversation starter, since my dad was a die-hard Padres fan.
“I hadn’t realized she was such a good singer, as well. Gideon Cross,” he introduced himself, holding out his hand.
“Victor Reyes.” My dad waved his shiny fingers. “I’m a bit messy.”
“I don’t mind.”
Shrugging, my dad took his hand and sized him up.
I tossed the dish towel to the guys and made my way over to Ireland, who was positively glowing. Her blue eyes were bright, her cheeks flushed with pleasure.
“I’m so glad you could make it,” I said, hugging her carefully. “You look gorgeous!”
“So do you!”
It was a fib, but I appreciated it anyway. I hadn’t done anything to my face or hair after my shower, because I knew my dad wouldn’t care and I hadn’t expected Gideon to show up. After all, the last time I’d heard from him had been when he’d said he would meet me at Dr. Petersen’s office.
She looked over at the counter where I’d dumped everything. “Can I help?”
“Sure. Just don’t count calories in your head—it’ll explode.” I introduced her to my dad, who was much warmer to her than he was to Gideon, and then I led her to the sink, where she washed up.
In short order, I had her helping to roll the last few enchiladas, while my dad put the already chilled Dos Equis Gideon had brought into the fridge. I didn’t even bother to wonder how Gideon knew I was serving Mexican food for dinner. I only wondered why he’d invest the time to find out when it was very clear he other things to do—like ditch his appointments.
My dad went to his room to wash up. Gideon came up behind me and put his hands on my waist, his lips brushing over my temple. “Eva.”
I tensed against the nearly irresistible urge to lean into him. “Don’t,” I whispered. “I’d rather we didn’t preten
d.”
His breath left him in a rush that ruffled my hair. His fingers tightened on my hips, kneading for a moment. Then I felt his phone vibrate and he released me, backing away to look at the screen.
“Excuse me,” he said gruffly, leaving the kitchen before answering.
Ireland sidled over and whispered, “Thank you. I know you made him bring me along.”
I managed a smile for her. “Nobody can make Gideon do anything he doesn’t want to.”
“You could.” She tossed her head, throwing her sleek waist-length black hair over her shoulder. “You didn’t see him watching you dance with your dad. His eyes got all shiny. I thought he was going to cry. And on the way up here, in the elevator, he tried to play it off, but I could totally tell he was nervous.”
I stared down at the can of enchilada sauce in my hands, feeling my heart break a little more.
“You’re mad at him, aren’t you?” Ireland asked.
I cleared my throat. “Some people are just better off as friends.”
“But you said you love him.”
“That’s not always enough.” I turned around to reach the can opener and found Gideon standing at the other end of the island, staring at me. I froze.
A muscle in his jaw twitched before he unclenched it. “Would you like a beer?” he asked gruffly.
I nodded. I could’ve used a shot, too. Maybe a few.
“Want a glass?”
“No.”
He looked at Ireland. “You thirsty? There’s soda, water, milk.”
“How about one of those beers?” she shot back, flashing a winsome smile.
“Try again,” he said wryly.
I watched Ireland, noting how she sparkled when Gideon focused on her. I couldn’t believe he didn’t see how she loved him. Maybe right now it was based on superficial things, but it was there and it would grow with a little encouragement. I hoped he’d work on that.
When Gideon handed me the chilled beer, his fingers brushed mine. He held on for a minute, looking into my eyes. I knew he was thinking about the other night.
It seemed like a dream now, as if his visit never really happened. I could almost believe that I’d made it up in a desperate delusion, so hungry for his touch and his love that I couldn’t go another minute without giving my mind relief from the madness of wanting and craving. If it weren’t for the lingering soreness deep inside me, I wouldn’t know what was real and what was nothing but false hope.
I pulled the beer out of his grasp and turned away. I didn’t want to say we were done and over, but it was certain now that we needed a break from each other. Gideon needed to figure out what he was doing, what he was looking for, and whether I had any meaningful place in his life. Because this roller-coaster ride we were on was going to break me, and I couldn’t let that happen. I wouldn’t.
“Can I help with anything?” he asked.
I answered without looking at him, because doing so was too painful. “Can you see if we can get Cary out here? He’s got a wheelchair.”
“All right.”
He left the room, and I could suddenly breathe deeply again.
Ireland hurried over. “What happened to Cary?”
“I’ll tell you about it while we set the table.”
* * *
I was surprised I could eat. I think I was too fascinated by the silent showdown between my dad and Gideon to notice that I was stuffing food into my mouth. At one end of the table, Cary was charming Ireland into peals of laughter that kept making me smile. At the other end, my dad sat at the head of the table, with Gideon on his left and me on his right.
They were talking. The conversation had opened with baseball, as I’d expected, then migrated into golf. On the surface, both men seemed relaxed, but the air around them was highly charged. I noticed that Gideon wasn’t wearing his expensive watch. He’d planned carefully to appear as “normal” as possible.
But nothing Gideon did on the outside could change who he was on the inside. It was impossible to hide what he was—a dominant male, a captain of industry, a man of privilege. It was in every gesture he made, every word he spoke, every look he gave.
So he and my father were in the position of struggling to find who would be the alpha, and I suspected I hung in the balance. As if anyone were in control of my life but me.
Still, I understood that my father had only really been allowed to be a dad in the last four years, and he wasn’t ready to give it up. Gideon, however, was jockeying for a position I was no longer prepared to give him.
But he was wearing the ring I’d given him. I tried not to read anything into it, but I wanted to hope. I wanted to believe.
We’d all finished the main course and I was pushing to my feet to clear the table for dessert when the intercom buzzed. I answered.
“Eva? NYPD detectives Graves and Michna are here,” the gal at the front desk said.
I glanced at Cary, wondering if the detectives had found out who’d attacked him. I gave the go-ahead for them to come up and hurried back to the dining table.
Cary looked at me with raised brows, curious.
“It’s the detectives,” I explained. “Maybe they have news.”
My dad’s focus immediately shifted. Honed. “I’ll let them in.”
Ireland helped me clear up. We’d just dumped the cups into the sink when the doorbell rang. I wiped my hands with a dish towel and went out to the living room.
The two detectives who entered weren’t the ones I expected, because they weren’t the ones who’d questioned Cary at the hospital on Monday.
Gideon appeared out of the hallway, shoving his phone into his pocket.
I wondered who’d been calling him all night.
“Eva Tramell,” the female detective said, stepping deeper into my apartment. She was a thin woman with a severe face and sharply intelligent blue eyes, which were her best feature. Her hair was brown and curly, her face clean of makeup. She wore slacks over dark flats, a poplin shirt, and a lightweight jacket that didn’t hide the badge and gun clipped to her belt. “I’m Detective Shelley Graves of the NYPD. This is my partner Detective Richard Michna. We’re sorry to disturb you on a Friday night.”
Michna was older, taller, and portly. His hair was graying at the temples and receding at the top, but he had a strong face and dark eyes that raked the room while Graves focused on me.
“Hello,” I greeted them.
My father shut the door, and something about the way he moved or carried himself caught Michna’s attention. “You on the job?”
“In California,” my dad confirmed. “I’m visiting Eva, my daughter. What’s this about?”
“We’d just like to ask you a few questions, Miss Tramell,” Graves said. She looked at Gideon. “And you, too, Mr. Cross.”
“Does this have something to do with the attack on Cary?” I asked.
She glanced at him. “Why don’t we sit down.”
We all moved into the living room, but only Ireland and I ended up taking a seat. Everyone else remained on their feet, with my dad pushing Cary’s wheelchair.
“Nice place you’ve got here,” Michna said.
“Thank you.” I looked at Cary, wondering what the hell was going on.
“How long are you in town?” the detective asked my dad.
“Just for the weekend.”
Graves smiled at me. “You go out to California a lot to see your dad?”
“I just moved from there a couple months ago.”
“I went to Disneyland once when I was a kid,” she said. “That was a while ago, obviously. I’ve been meaning to get back out there.”
I frowned, not understanding why we were making small talk.
“We just need to ask you a couple of questions,” Michna said, pulling a notepad out of the interior pocket of his jacket. “We don’t want to hold you up any longer than we have to.”
Graves nodded, her eyes still on me. “Can you tell us if you’re familiar with a man named Nat
han Barker, Miss Tramell?”
The room spun. Cary cursed and pushed unsteadily to his feet, taking the few steps to reach the seat beside me. He caught up my hand.
“Miss Tramell?” Graves took a seat on the other end of the sectional.
“He’s her former stepbrother,” Cary snapped. “What’s this about?”
“When’s the last time you saw Barker?” Michna asked.
In a courtroom . . . I tried to swallow, but my mouth was dry as sawdust. “Eight years ago,” I said hoarsely.
“Did you know he was here in New York?”
Oh God. I shook my head violently.
“Where’s this going?” my dad asked.
I looked helplessly at Cary, then at Gideon. My dad didn’t know about Nathan. I didn’t want him to know.
Cary squeezed my hand. Gideon wouldn’t even look at me.
“Mr. Cross,” Graves said. “What about you?”
“What about me?”
“Do you know Nathan Barker?”
My eyes pleaded with Gideon not to say anything in front of my dad, but he never once glanced my way.
“You wouldn’t be asking that question,” he answered, “if you didn’t already know the answer.”
My stomach dropped. A violent shiver moved through me. Still, Gideon wouldn’t look at me. My brain was trying to process what was happening . . . what it meant . . . what was going on . . .
“Is there a point to these questions?” my father asked.
The blood was roaring in my ears. My heart was pounding with something like terror. The mere thought of Nathan being so close was enough to send me into a panic. I was panting. The room was swimming before my eyes. I thought I might pass out.
Graves was watching me like a hawk. “Can you just tell us where you were yesterday, Miss Tramell?”
“Where I was?” I repeated. “Yesterday?”
“Don’t answer that,” my dad ordered. “This interview isn’t going any further until we know what this is about.”
Michna nodded, as if he’d expected the interruption. “Nathan Barker was found dead this morning.”
