by K. M. Scott
Smiling, I pulled my hand away as soon as I could. "It's nice to meet you too."
"I'm so sorry to interrupt your little getaway. I just needed to remind Tristan of a deadline. Now that I have, I'll leave you to your evening. I hope you have a wonderful holiday, Nina."
His voice made my skin crawl. It was smarmy and threatening at the same time. Tristan's hand continued to clutch mine tightly, as if he was afraid to let go. I was glad for the feel of him holding me, protecting me from this person. This man he worked with was only in the room for a few moments, but I was left with the surest sense that he held something dark or evil inside him.
As the door closed, Tristan pulled me close to him, wrapping his arms around me. "Nina, you are never to be alone with him. Please don't ask me to explain. Just promise me that if you ever see him again without me, you'll get away."
My ear pressed against his chest, and I heard his heart race wildly. "Tristan, is he the person who calls and ruins your mood every time? I won't ask you to explain, but tell me if that's him."
He was silent for so long I wondered if he'd heard me over the pounding of his heart, but finally, he said, "Yes. I'm sorry."
I squeezed him tighter. "You don't have to be sorry. I just wish you felt like you could tell me what's wrong."
Tristan stroked my hair and back as his heartbeat settled into its normal, slower rhythm. Kissing the top of my head, he said sadly, "Someday when you have your memories back, I'll tell you."
"Okay." Hoping to change the subject to lighten our mood, I looked up at this face etched with a frown and said, "I liked the way you introduced me. Fiancée. I don't know if you said that for some other reason than wanting me to be that again, but I'd like it to be true."
His eyes sparkled as he smiled broadly, looking more gorgeous than I thought I'd ever seen him look. "I'd like nothing more in this world, Nina, than for you to agree to marry me again."
Even as he smiled and told me he wanted more than anything to hear me say I wanted to marry him, his voice was still weighted down with a sadness that made me wish he would tell me whatever was eating him up inside. I so wished I could make him as happy as he made me.
"I'd like to wear the ring again too."
"You don't remember this, but we were supposed to get married on December 14."
"Are you asking me to run off and elope, Mr. Stone?" I said in a playful voice.
"Yes. Marry me. We can leave tomorrow from here and go wherever we want."
I leaned back away from him, shocked that he was serious. "You're not kidding? Can you do that? Don't you have to run a huge company?"
"Nina, I can do what I want. Part of being the CEO. Marry me."
I couldn't say no. Looking down at me, he was so cute I didn't want to say no. "Okay, let's do it! I need to go back to the house, though. I only need a few things and we can leave right after that."
"I can get you whatever you need so we don't have to go back. We'll leave from here tomorrow morning."
"Tristan, it will only take me a few minutes at the house and then we can go wherever we want. I promise I won't be long."
"Okay, but we'll go back and leave tonight."
I stood on my toes and kissed the tip of his nose. "You drive a hard bargain, sir. You have a deal."
"Good. Pack your things and I'll let the pilot know we're leaving."
Tristan headed into the other room to get things ready for us to fly back to New York, and even though things felt like they were moving a hundred miles a minute, I was ready to do it.
I was ready to marry Tristan and begin our life together.
Chapter Twenty
Nina
My hands shook as I gathered up my makeup and dumped it all into my suitcase. I grabbed a few dresses from my closet, folding them hastily, and stopped to take a deep breath. Tristan and I were eloping in the middle of the night like two kids in love. This was really happening.
It's not that I didn't want to marry him or that I wasn't in love with him. I was crazy about him and nothing had ever felt as right as when I said yes to becoming his wife. But my sister's scolding echoed in my mind, sowing the seeds of doubt like they always had. I didn't want to think like that, though. She wasn't me. She'd never fall for someone like Tristan and elope in the middle of the night. It was far too risky for her.
But I wasn't her.
I wanted to take a chance and be daring. I'd never really done anything wild or crazy. I'd been the good daughter, always getting good grades and doing just as my father told me to. Even that hadn't been enough for Kim, though. My artistic side had always made me "flighty," according to her. She didn't understand viewing the world through eyes that wanted to see beauty. All she wanted to see was the bad—bad people, bad situations, and mostly, bad men.
Whatever she thought she knew about Tristan, I knew in my heart he wasn't a bad man. Did I know everything about him? No. But who knew everything about the man or woman they loved? I accepted the reality of his life, and that meant I might never know more than I did now about him. That was okay.
What I knew, I loved. What I didn't know, I'd have to deal with if and when the time came. That was part of what you did when you loved someone.
Zipping my bag, I took one last look at my single girl face in the mirror. Oh my God! I hadn't told Jordan. I grabbed my cell phone and quickly called her, not caring that it was ridiculously late to be calling anyone with a job.
She answered in a groggy voice. "Hello?"
"Jordan, it's Nina. I'm sorry for calling so late, but I wanted to tell you that Tristan and I are eloping. We're leaving in a few minutes for an island in the Caribbean."
I heard her make a noise like she was sitting up in bed. "What? Who calls someone and says something like that? I thought you were still planning on a big ta-do on the island like before your accident."
"He asked me tonight if I'd elope with him, and I said yes. I didn't call anyone else but you. Please don't tell me not to do this. I already know Kim would say that."
"I would never do that, Nina. Tristan is crazy about you, and you're crazy about him. I'm just bummed that I won't get to do the whole island thing."
"Thanks, Jordan. We'll do the island thing another time, I promise. I'm just glad you aren't trying to talk me out of it."
"Oh, honey, I wouldn't do that, and don't let Kim do that to you anymore. You live your life and know that I'm here in good times and bad. Now go get married, you crazy kids, and call me when the honeymoon haze wears off."
I choked up at Jordan's words and swallowed hard. "I love you, Jordan. I wish you were my sister instead of Kim."
"I am in every way that's important. A sister from another mother, like we always said. Now go enjoy yourself and don't give Kim another thought. Got it?"
"Got it. I'll call you soon."
"I love you, Nina. Tell Tristan I said congratulations."
I hung up and told myself Jordan was right. No more thinking of Kim and all her negativity. This was my life, and I was going to live it the way I wanted to.
Dropping my bag off in the entryway, I looked for Tristan in his office and his room but didn't find him. I'd taken longer than I'd promised, but I'd expected he'd be waiting patiently for me at the end of my hallway. When I didn't find him in the kitchen, I began to wonder where he was and why no one else seemed to be around either. Where was Rogers and his popping up out of thin air trick?
A noise that sounded like angry voices hit me as I turned to make my way down to the pool area. Rogers' area of the house was directly to the left of the stairs to the lower level, and I stopped to listen, straining to hear if the voices were someone in the house or on TV. I couldn't decide which, so I slowly walked down Rogers' hallway, uneasy since I'd never felt welcome enough by Tristan's butler to visit him in his private quarters.
"There's only one way Karl would have known I was in Atlanta. You told him, didn't you?"
The rage in Tristan's voice was unmistakable as he accused s
omeone of betraying him. But was it possible he was talking to Rogers, the man who'd been with him since he was a small child?
I listened outside Rogers' door as he denied telling anyone where we'd gone, but I knew guilt when I heard it. He had told that awful man where Tristan and I were. But why? Why would he betray Tristan?
"I've told you that I don't care what you think of Nina. I don't care if you think we should be together or not. I've tolerated your sideways looks when we're together and your opinion on how I should handle my life. I won't tolerate you getting into bed with the man who wants to ruin my happiness. When you put Nina in danger, then I fucking care what you're doing."
"I would never do anything to cause hurt to come to you, Tristan. You know that," Rogers said in his stiff, official style.
"What I know is that I have a traitor in my house. Are you going to tell me why? I deserve to know at least that."
"I've never done anything but protect you."
"By putting the woman I love in danger? How does that protect me? How does that show your loyalty to me?"
What did he mean by danger? Karl had made me uneasy, but was I truly in danger from him? My mind raced as I jumped to conclusions. Had my car accident been something else and were Karl and Rogers to blame? Bursting into the room, I pointed at Rogers. "He's never liked me, Tristan. Did you cause my accident, Rogers?"
"Nina, wait outside. I don't want you around this," Tristan ordered.
"No. I want to hear from him why he hates me—why he wants me out of your life. And I want to know if he tried to hurt me already."
We stood there staring at each other in Rogers' plain white room, and I saw Tristan consider what I'd just accused his butler of. His expression morphed from one full of rage to one of hurt as he looked over at Rogers.
"Answer her. Was her accident something else?"
"Karl is only looking out for your welfare, Tristan, as I am."
His lack of denial sent a chill up my spine. Was he saying he'd intentionally set out to hurt me or worse, kill me?
"You've been like a father to me. How could you do this to someone I love? I trusted you!"
Rogers tilted his chin up in a gesture of defiance. "I'm proud to say that as much as you're a Stone, Tristan, you've been like a son to me. I've watched over you, protecting you for years. When your father chose Taylor over you, as he always did, I was there to watch your football games and hockey matches. It was I who was there with your mother to cheer you on, to take pictures of you with your trophies. Never your father. When you got into trouble, I cleaned it up for you. I cared for you. I'm doing that now. This is no different."
His mention of Tristan's trophies hit me like a slap to the face. Suddenly, I had a memory of me looking at pictures of him as a child. Everything around me faded away as I struggled to place where and when I'd seen the pictures. I could see in my mind Tristan as a young boy holding a trophy high above his head, smiling as his mother stood nearby gazing at him in adoration for his accomplishment. But none of the pictures in the house were of him as a child, so where had I seen this image?
I was torn from my memories as Tristan's voice grew increasingly louder at Rogers' continued denials of doing anything wrong. "Answer the question Nina asked you. Did you have any part in her accident?"
"I would never physically hurt her, Tristan."
"Did Karl do something to the car with your help?" he barked at the older man. "Tell me!"
"Her accident was not due to anything I had any part in. What Karl did is something you need to ask him."
Tristan lunged at Rogers, grabbing him around the neck as he yelled, "I trusted you! You know how much she means to me! You know!"
Rogers clawed at his forearms to pull him off him, but he was no match for Tristan, who was much younger and stronger. The strangled cries of the butler filled the room as he was slowly being choked to death. As much as I hated Rogers for what he'd done to me and Tristan, I couldn't let the man I love kill someone.
Pulling on his arm, I struggled to tear Tristan away, but I was no match for him either. The more I tore at his arms to make him release him, the more he fought to hurt him. I watched in horror as Rogers' face began to turn blue.
"Tristan, don't! Let him go! Don't do this!"
He stilled, and I was sure that the old man was next to death. Tristan slowly raised his hands up and backed away, his face covered in revulsion at what he'd almost done to the man who'd been closer to him than anyone else in his life.
Rogers fell to the floor clutching his throat and coughing. He sat there with tears streaming down his cheeks as the blood began to flow back to his face. Slowly, the bluish tint faded and he looked like himself again. Unable to talk, he simply looked up in shock at the man he thought of like a son.
"Get out! Take whatever you think you need and get out," Tristan growled down at him.
A gurgling sound came out of Rogers' mouth as he tried to protest the order, but Tristan merely repeated himself with even more viciousness. He was cold and distant, scaring me when he spoke.
"Leave and never come back. You're dead to me now."
Rogers' eyes grew wide at the sound of those words. He stood on shaky legs and slowly walked past us into his bathroom, still hunched over from the attack. I remained there stunned at what I'd just witnessed, unsure what to say. Gently, I touched Tristan's arm, but even that slightest contact made him spin around to face me, his dark eyes flashing the fury that hadn't subsided inside him yet.
"Tristan, it's okay. It's me. Everything's going to be okay."
He seemed to stare right through me for a moment and then his expression calmed as he pulled me tightly to him. No words came, but I felt the tension and rage begin to fade away as he held me in his arms.
"I'm sorry, Nina. I had no idea. I should have known. I would have sent him away if I'd known."
I looked up into his troubled eyes and cradled his face in my hands. "Are you okay? What's going on? Why would he want to hurt me or want me out of your life?"
Tristan looked back toward the bathroom where Rogers still remained. "I want you to go to my room and stay there. Don't come out until I come get you. Do you understand?"
"Why?"
He bent down and kissed me softly on the lips, whispering, "I promise someday I'll be able to tell you everything, Nina, but for now, please, no more questions. All I can say is that I would never let anyone hurt you. I need you to believe me."
Nodding, I hugged him. "I do. Just promise me you won't get hurt."
Above me, he said, "I'll be fine." He pushed me back from him and cupped my chin. "Now go stay in my room and lock the door. Don't come out until I come get you."
I wanted nothing less than to leave him there to deal with the devastating reality of being betrayed by the person he'd known and trusted longer than anyone else in this world, but I was frightened enough not to fight him on this. Quickly, I ran to his room and locked the door behind me, my hands shaking in fear at everything I'd seen and heard.
Looking around, I remembered the first night I'd come over from my side of the house to pronounce my anger at being held against my will. That Nina had been so ignorant of who Tristan really was. Never a jailer, he was my protector. I trusted him, and now more than ever, I needed to rely on him, even though I didn't know what danger surrounded us.
At that moment, my memory was what could help me the most, but all I had was the recollection of watching a cartoon with my nieces and the fleeting images of looking at pictures of Tristan as a child. I sat on the edge of his bed and closed my eyes, trying to piece together the memory Rogers' mention of sports trophies had caused to become so real in my mind.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't remember where I'd seen those pictures. Had Tristan shown me them before my accident, maybe as we began to learn things about one another when we were first dating? Something about the images in my mind gave me a sense that I hadn't seen them with him, but then how would I have seen pictures of his
childhood?
I opened my eyes and scanned the room around me. Maybe I had seen them in this room. He had said we'd shared this room before my accident, so that would make sense. I knew it might be an invasion of his privacy, but I wanted to know more about why this memory seemed so important, so I began to look through his dresser drawers.
Running my hands over pair after pair of black dress socks and cotton boxer briefs, I found nothing that felt like it would be pictures. I moved through all the drawers and there was nothing but what belonged in them. His desk sat across the room, so I tried there found nothing that made me think I had seen them in this room.
But if not here, where in this house would pictures of Tristan as a child be?
A noise outside in the hallway jarred me out of my thoughts, and I stood frozen in place staring at the bedroom door. I listened for it again, but nothing happened. My fear at a strange noise was replaced with concern for Tristan, so I took a deep breath and opened the door to find him standing there.
"Why did you open the door?"
"I was worried about you. What happened? Are you okay?" I asked as I pulled him into the room.
"I'm fine."
His answer screamed that he was putting up walls to hide how hurt he was. I hated seeing him like this. I wanted to make him smile like he had all those times for me when I laid in that hospital bed all those weeks.
I followed him to the bed and sat down next to him. Taking his hand, I brought it to my mouth and kissed it. "I'm sorry, Tristan. I'm sorry all of this happened because of me."
He shook his head but said nothing.
"I don't know what's going on, but don't shut me out. I don't need to know everything right now, but I need to know we're okay."
Turning to face me, he looked at me with soulful brown eyes full of pain. "Everything I've trusted all my life has been a lie. You're all I have that's honest and true. I need to know we're okay as much as you do, Nina."
I cradled his face in my hands. "I'm here with you. I'm not going anywhere, Tristan. I promise."
"Baby, things are going to get bad. You're going to find out things about me that you're not going to like. I need you to remember when all of it comes out that I love you and never meant any harm."
