Billion dollar baby bargain.txt

by Неизвестный

  giving him an unspoken acknowledgment of their connection, a connection that had started seven years

  ago and by some work of miracle was back in full force.

  Making love to her over the past weeks had closed old wounds. But now he was discovering that those

  wounds were self-inflicted due to his belief of Walt’s lies. “Let’s sit and discuss this, please. I’m

  beginning to think we’ve been played.”

  He watched as she took a seat on the sofa, trying not to notice that his shirt hit her mid-thigh, and how

  sexy she looked in it. More than anything, he had to keep his mind on the issues at hand, issues they

  needed to dissect and resolve. After she was seated, instead of sitting beside her on the sofa, he took the

  leather wing chair that sat not far away.

  “To take up the conversation we started in bed, I want you to know, I want you to believe, that at no

  time did I discuss sleeping with you with Walt. There was no bet.”

  He watched her features. She held his gaze as intensely as he was holding hers. He saw in her eyes a

  desire to believe what he said. But…

  “Then how did he know about that night?” she asked. “He knew that you had spent the night over at my

  place.”

  Darius thought about her words. “He must have driven by your apartment and seen my car parked out

  front.”

  He could tell from her expression that she was taking his explanation into consideration, agreeing that it

  was possible. However, there was still lingering doubt in her eyes.

  “Why didn’t you contact me?” she then asked him. “He told me you left town and would be gone for a

  few days, but I never heard from you again. It was like you had scored and put me out of your life.”

  Darius leaned back in his chair. “Did he not tell you why I had to leave immediately or where I had

  gone?”

  “He didn’t go into any details. He just said you’d been called away on police business and would be

  gone a few days.”

  Darius jaw tightened. “The reason I had to leave when I did was because I got a call that Ethan had been

  critically injured in a car accident and was being wheeled into surgery. Since I’m his only family, I had

  to get to Charleston. For a while, I wasn’t sure Ethan was going to make it. I was by his bedside day and

  night and did not have use of my cell phone. And when I did call, I got a message that you had gotten

  your cell number changed.”

  He saw the shock in Summer’s gaze and before she could say anything, he knew she hadn’t known.

  “Walt didn’t tell me that,” she said angrily, getting to her feet. “I didn’t know.”

  Connecting his fingers in a steeple, he placed them under his chin. “When I returned to town almost two

  weeks later, after Ethan’s condition had stabilized, I went straight to your place from the airport, only to

  be told by your landlord that you had moved out a few days earlier, and that an older man in a Mercedes

  had picked you up and that you had left with him.”

  She nodded. “Yes, that was Karl Lindsey.”

  He paused for a second and then said, “Walt is the one who told me why you had left.”

  She shifted in her seat and his gaze was drawn to a flash of her thigh. His attention went back to her face

  when she said, “Yes, Walt just happened to drop by that day Karl was there, and just on the off chance

  you cared enough to ask, I told him that I had taken a job with Karl and would be moving to Florida for

  a year.”

  Darius raised a brow. “A job?”

  “Yes, Karl had been one of my regulars at the restaurant. He’s a writer. He offered me a job as his

  assistant, editing and organizing his notes. He had offered me the same job before but Tyrone had forced

  me to turn it down. When I hadn’t heard anything from you, and after Walt told me what you did, I

  decided to take Mr. Lindsey’s offer and moved to Florida with him and his wife and—”

  “His wife?”

  Summer didn’t say anything for a moment as she studied his expression. Then she said, “Yes, Lola, his

  wife. You sound surprised.”

  Darius stared at her as a deep sharp pain ripped through him. For the first time he was seeing that trust

  on both sides had been shattered because he and Summer had been quick to believe the lies of others. He

  had been so quick to believe the worst of her and she of him. Not because they thought of each other as

  devious people, but because their relationship had been in the early stages, at a very delicate period

  when trust, faith and love was building. He didn’t want to think of how strong their relationship would

  be if it had been given a chance to grow.

  “Darius?”

  He hated telling her what he’d thought, what he’d assumed, but knew that he had to do so. “The message

  Walt gave me, the one he claimed you left, was that you had met this old, rich man and that you couldn’t

  waste your time with someone who was nothing but a college-educated cop with no aspirations of being

  anything else.”

  She stared at him. He saw the hurt and pain in her eyes and knew why. Just like she had believed Walt’s

  lies about him, he had believed the man’s lies about her.

  “Why were we so quick to believe the worst of each other?” she asked in a whisper that he could barely

  hear. “We played right into Walt’s hands,” she added. “That’s sad.”

  As far as he was concerned, it was worse than sad. It was pathetic. Seven years wasted. He then said the

  only thing that he could say at that moment. “I’m sorry.”

  She breathed in deeply. “And I’m sorry, as well.”

  Darius could only sit there silently for a moment, wondering how one went about repairing a love that

  had been destroyed by lies. Lies that had been so easy to accept. Inside of him, a voice said, One day at

  a time.

  “Summer, I—”

  “No, Darius, I think we both need time to come to terms with what happened, the lies that were told and

  why we were so quick to believe them. I haven’t been in a relationship with anyone since you, serious or

  otherwise. I’ve grown accustomed to being by myself, not wanting a man to share my life. I don’t trust

  easily anymore. I’m more cautious. I really don’t know if that can change.”

  He could read between the lines. She was letting him know when it was all said and done, regardless of

  the fact that they had lived together for the last few weeks or so, getting along marvelously,

  complementing each other’s personalities, she was not all that certain that she wanted to give them

  another chance because of their lack of faith and trust in each other. From what she was saying, she still

  didn’t want a man in her life. Things had changed. She had changed. In a way, he understood.

  Over the years he had kept most women at bay, being selective about who he wanted to spend his time

  with and not allowing himself to get serious about anyone. But he could see all that changing and

  wondered if she could. Their relationship—and he considered them to be in a relationship—had to

  undergo some serious repairs. Major repairs. But he thought they could do it.

  They had uncovered a lot tonight. But he still had something else to come clean about—his association

  with the TCC.

  “Summer. I—”

  “Will you contact the authorities to see if anyone has seen Tyrone again?” she cut in to ask.

  He knew she was trying to get off the subje
ct. He would let her do so for now since tonight had been

  overwhelming, to say the least, and he wasn’t sure how she would handle the unveiling of another lie.

  One that had been his own, as a way to hurt her. He would tell her another time. Soon. Tomorrow.

  “Yes, I’ll do that.”

  There was no need to tell her that he planned on killing two birds with one stone by driving to Houston

  tomorrow to meet with Tyrone’s parole officer and that he would also be paying a visit to Walt.

  He studied her, wondering if she knew the significance of what she had admitted moments ago. He was

  the last man she had made love with. She hadn’t wanted a man in her life in seven years, yet she had

  shared herself with him.

  At that moment, all he could think about was what they had shared. The heat. The passion.

  “I guess we could sit here and stare at each other all night,” she finally said, “but I prefer going back to

  bed.”

  He rose to his feet, accepting the gravity of the mistakes they’d both made. But he also accepted that she

  needed him now like he needed her. “Then I don’t plan to keep you up any longer.”

  He crossed the room to her. They had a lot left to talk about, still more truths to tell. But at that moment,

  they needed to be together and they both knew it.

  Darius held his hand out to her and she took it. Together, they returned to his bedroom.

  While en route to the shelter the next morning, Darius received a call. “This is Darius.”

  He listened attentively to what the caller was saying and then he said, “That’s good news and I

  appreciate you calling to let me know. I’ll pass the information on to Ms. Martindale.”

  He clicked off the phone and glanced over at Summer. “That was a Texas Ranger friend of mine. He

  was calling to let me know that they picked up Whitman this morning.”

  Darius saw a wave of relief pass through her. “Where?” she asked.

  They had come to a stop at the traffic light and Darius glanced over at her. “Less than a block from your

  house.”

  He hated telling her the next part but knew that he had to. “He had a gun and a rope in his possession.”

  Summer stiffened and Darius understood why. Chances were Whitman had discovered where she lived,

  and a good possibility existed that he had planned on using that information for no good. Since he had

  violated parole in more ways than one, Darius knew he would return to prison and serve his entire

  sentence.

  She didn’t say anything, staring straight ahead, out the windshield.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  She turned to him. “Yes, I’m okay.”

  She might be okay, but he wasn’t. How could he have been so wrong about her? He couldn’t wait to

  confront Walt about the lies he’d told. “I have something to take care of this morning and won’t be back

  in time to join you for lunch.”

  “All right.”

  She didn’t seem to be in a talkative mood and he figured she needed time to digest everything he had

  told her about Whitman.

  “Since Tyrone is in police custody, there’s no reason I can’t return home now, is there?”

  None other than I don’t want you to go. I’ve gotten used to having you around. I’ve fallen in love with

  you all over again. “No, there’s no reason you can’t,” he said.

  He breathed in deeply and at that moment, he knew there was no use denying what he’d known all

  along. He loved her. He had not stopped loving her.

  And all this time he had tried convincing himself that he would seek revenge for what she had done,

  when he knew he couldn’t have gone through with that plan no matter how much he’d thought he

  wanted to hurt her.

  From the first moment she had turned her eyes on him he had been a goner, and although he’d

  convinced himself over the years that he had gotten over her, the simple truth was, he hadn’t. Coming to

  terms with his love for her was a monumental release of the hold he’d placed on his emotions. All the

  built-up tension and anger he’d felt since seeing her again left his body, flowed out of his muscles. It

  strengthened his heart, propelling him to do whatever he had to do to make her his again.

  Ten

  A few hours later, Summer slipped into her walking shoes to go to the café for lunch, reflecting that

  this was the first time in quite a while that she would be doing so without Darius by her side.

  She drew in a huge breath of profound relief, knowing what could have been another nightmare with

  Tyrone was now over. She shivered when she thought of the items that had been in his possession. There

  was no doubt in her mind he intended to do her harm, and she was grateful yet again to Darius for

  keeping her out of harm’s way.

  Darius. The man she still loved.

  She wondered if she’d sounded convincing when she told him that she didn’t want a man in her life. A

  part of her did want to belong to him, totally and completely, but was afraid to get her hopes up again.

  Even though she knew the truth now, it couldn’t erase the pain she had felt for seven years.

  Besides, there was nothing Darius had said to make her think that he wanted to renew what they’d once

  shared. When she’d mentioned returning to her place now that the threat with Tyrone was over, he

  hadn’t said anything to talk her out of it, he hadn’t said that he didn’t want her to leave.

  He had apologized for believing the lies Walt had told him. And she had apologized to him, as well.

  Later, they had made love but no promises had been made. There had been no discussion of a future

  together. Although he hadn’t said as much, she had a feeling that he didn’t want a woman in his life.

  That left her with the same life she’d been living since leaving Houston. The kind of life she had gotten

  used to. It was somewhat lonely but safe. She would continue to live it without the man she loved.

  The anger within Darius told him to strike out the moment he saw Walt walking toward him. But he

  fought to hold his rage in check. There was only one thing he wanted from the man and that was for him

  to explain why he’d done what he did.

  Without telling Walt why, he had called and requested to meet with him in Laverne Square, a newly

  developed area of Houston near the Madaris Office Park. He rose from the bench when he saw the

  curious look in Walt’s eyes.

  “Darius, didn’t you get my message that the guy you wanted me to check out was clean? I left it on your

  voice mail last week.”

  “That’s not why I asked you to meet with me,” Darius answered, trying to keep the bitterness out of his

  voice.

  Walt lifted a brow. “Oh. Then what’s up?”

  Darius looked directly into his eyes. “I’m here about the lie you told me about Summer Martindale.”

  Walt held his gaze for an instant before shifting his eyes to look out over the pond in the square. Time

  stretched on and for a moment, Darius wondered if he was going to say anything. Then Walt turned his

  gaze to Darius.

  “She came with a lot of baggage and was trouble with that crazy boyfriend of hers. You didn’t need her.”

  His words, spoken as if he’d had a right to make that decision, slithered down Darius’s spine. “You were

  wrong, Walt. She wasn’t trouble and you knew how I felt about her. I not only needed her but I loved

  her.”

  “You have a lot to learn about women, Darius. You can never let o
ne get under your skin, and you can

  never admit to loving one.”

  Darius stared at him for a moment. “Actually,” he said in a deep, cutting tone, “there’s a lot that you

  need to learn about them, and recognizing a good one when you meet her is at the top of the list.”

  A deep frown settled on Walt’s face. “There aren’t any good ones.”

  Walt had extreme issues, but Darius couldn’t concern himself with that right now. As far as he was

  concerned, what Walt had done was unforgivable. When he thought about all those wasted years when

  he and Summer could have been together, years when he had loathed her very name, he practically

  wanted to kill the man. It was all for nothing. All for lies.

  Filled with total disgust and having nothing else to say, Darius started to leave.

  “Hey, wait, man, we’re okay, aren’t we? We’re still friends?” Walt asked in a lighthearted tone.

  Darius stopped walking and looked over his shoulder. Their gazes locked. The message he was certain

  Walt saw in his eyes was blatantly clear.

  “No. Our friendship died the day you lied to me. I loved her, but because I thought you were my friend, I

  believed you. A true friend would not have done what you did.”

  Without saying anything else, he walked off, leaving Walt standing there.

  Summer was just about to go to the café when one of the security guards escorted a very well dressed,

  distinguished-looking older man through the entrance. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out from

  the way the man was carrying himself that he was someone of authority, someone of importance, which

  could only mean he was a member of the TCC. Kevin Novak had given her a heads-up that over the next

  few months, members of the TCC would probably be dropping by to check out the shelter since he had

  asked them for more money.

  Putting on her brightest smile, Summer crossed the lobby to greet the man. “Welcome to Helping

  Hands,” she said, extending her hand to him. “I’m Summer Martindale, a social worker here.”

  The man took her hand and looked at her. “So, you’re the young woman who’s been causing so much

  excitement.”

  Summer forced her smile to remain intact when she recognized his voice. He was the person she had