What would Max think of me now that he’d met Alex? Max had always wanted a real dad like the rest of his classmates. He was happy to have Derek in his life, but he would always be curious about his bio dad, curious about why he’d left us. The answer was simple, though not easy to explain to a six-year-old.
Alex didn’t want to be tied down to a pregnant nineteen-year-old. One who was stupid enough to get knocked up just to land a marriage proposal. His words, not mine. It had all been an accident. I’d been on the pill, but I got pregnant anyway. I wiped the tears away. As rough as that first year after Alex left had been, I was glad I had Max. That sweet boy deserved a happy life. Why did Alex have to come back to ruin it? How much money would it take to get him out of our lives for good?
I crossed the street again to check the bar on the third corner. On a Saturday night, the intersection was packed with cars, scooters, and bicycles. Not to mention, a ton of drunk people. Where was he? I glanced down at my phone. He was late. I swallowed my tears. What if he’d decided he wanted to keep Max instead? I walked a full circle, waving at Anabelle’s driver when I strolled by the parking lot again.
On my third round past the ice cream parlor, a hand gripped my upper arm and yanked me toward the side of the building behind an AC unit, where it was dark. He slammed me against the wall, covering my mouth with his hand. His dark eyes glared at me with familiar disdain. I tasted bile in the back of my throat. As hard as I tried, I couldn’t help the way he made me feel afraid of him. But I wasn’t here for me. I was here for my son.
“Don’t get any romantic ideas. I had my fill of you a long time ago.” He slid his fingers across my lips and gripped my neck. “Now be good and hand over the money.”
His greedy words sent a wave of calm over me. If all he wanted was money, Max was going to be okay. We’d be home inside of fifteen minutes. I slipped the bag off my shoulder and gave it to him. He counted the money with a toothy grin.
“I told her it’d be a piece of cake. Jesus Christ, if your brain was half the size of your tits, you wouldn’t be this dumb.”
The insults hadn’t changed in six years. For a long time, I believed him, but now I could see how weak he was. How small. It made him feel good to put me down. The verbal abuse I could handle. The punches were a different matter. He grabbed a bunch of my hair. I flinched, gasping for air. Fleeting images of the day I told him I was pregnant with Max flooded my mind. This will be over soon. This will be over soon.
I stayed quiet. Whimpering made him more violent. He dragged me farther into an alley behind the ice cream parlor where it was completely isolated. We reached a sort of warehouse, and he shoved me inside.
“Where’s Max?” My teeth clattered when I hit the wall. The mold and rust rubbed on my palms. “You have your money. Now let us go.”
“You don’t tell me what to do.” He pressed his body against me. I winced at the stench of his breath.
“You miss me, don’t you? I knew you’d run out here as fast as you could just to see me.” He grazed his teeth along my neck as he grabbed a handful of my breast.
I stood very still, fisting my hands. No emotion.
“Come on,” he whispered in my ear. His tone had gone soft. I was officially on the Alex rollercoaster. Cold and cruel one minute, warm and soft the next. “Let me hear you moan for me, like you did for him in the woods.”
“What? You’d been spying on us?” I pushed him off me.
He clutched both my wrists and slammed me against the wall again. “Don’t make me repeat myself.” He kissed my neck and the top of my dress. A million miles of difference separated this pathetic excuse for a man from Derek Cole. I pursed my lips to keep from crying.
“I’d bet he’s fuming right now, knowing you’re with me. He knows you still want me. That’s why he gets so pissed every time he sees me.” He stepped back to meet my gaze. “Did he tell you about that?”
“Tell me what?” I said through gritted teeth.
“I figured he wouldn’t. He’s so insecure. I’d bet he was afraid you’d run out to meet me if you knew I was in town. He was so pissed when he saw me yesterday.” He rubbed his jaw, smiling fondly at the memory.
“Derek knows you’re in town?” That would explain why he was in a strange mood when he came back from his outing with his brothers. He’d run into Alex, and he didn’t tell me. Why? Did he really believe I’d want to see Alex? No, he wouldn’t. I rubbed my temple. I had to stop listening to the vile coming out of Alex’s mouth. Everything he said was meant to hurt me. I knew that now.
“He does know. He even chased me down the street.”
“I see you weren’t man enough to face him.”
He struck me across the face. I covered my cheek, clenching my teeth. “I’m trying to share something with you.” He touched his fingers to my chin to assess the damage.
Just a handprint. I knew that already. He’d have to hit me way harder than that to leave a mark or a scar. This had to be a nightmare, one of the many bad dreams I’ve had about him for years. I should have known he’d want to have some fun before letting me go. Putting me down always made him feel like a big man.
A flash illuminated the warehouse and all the junk cars around us. We were in some sort of mechanic shop.
“Smile.” His chuckle sent a spasm down my spinal cord.
“Got it.” Bridget stalked over to me. “You guys make a cute couple.” She showed me the picture she’d just taken of Alex slobbering all over me.
My face showed how repugnant I found him. Please don’t send it to Derek. If I knew they’d take pity on me, I would have begged. Derek would never think that picture was real, but it would cut him just the same. Derek, I’m sorry.
If he didn’t hate me for getting involved with someone like Alex by now, maybe this would finally do the trick. I’d hated myself over it for years, until I met Derek and he showed me I deserved a second chance, that Max and I deserved a home.
“Where’s Max?”
Both Bridget and Alex tittered, as if I’d made some joke. “You really haven’t figured it out yet?” she asked.
“I told you it would work.” Alex beamed proudly at Bridget.
I should’ve known Bridget would be behind Alex’s note. She’d used him before to put all kinds of crazy ideas in Derek’s head, ideas that’d painted me as a gold digger. Now here he was again, playing her little minion.
“He’s not here.” Tears streamed down my face in relief. They didn’t have Max. He was safe. I pushed off the wall and stomped toward the door. “You two make me sick. Keep the money.”
Alex gripped my hair again and rammed me against a car. “Get in.”
“You have your five thousand dollars. Let me go.”
Bridget’s cold laugh echoed in the warehouse. “You think five thousand dollars is enough? Derek has truckloads of cash just laying around. If he wants you back, he’ll have to pay up. Real cash this time, not the meager millions he tossed my way after the divorce. If he doesn’t, this will be your consolation prize.” She shoved the picture in my face. I looked away in disgust.
“Let’s go. We’ve wasted enough time. By now, I’m sure Derek is turning the Cole Estate upside down looking for you.” She opened the car door and gestured for me to go in.
Shit. Their entire plan had been to get me, not Max. And I’d been stupid enough to fall for it. Bridget climbed in next to me, while Alex sat at the wheel. He drove off into the dark alley, away from all the people partying on the other side of the warehouse, and away from Anabelle’s driver.
“Your phone.” Bridget put out her hand, wiggling her fingers at me. When I blinked at her, she laughed. A cold laugh that I’d hoped I’d never hear again. “Awww…did you think we were going to let you keep it so your driver could come find you?” She gave me a fake frown.
I glanced at my phone and quickly dialed 911. Before I could press Send, Bridget pressed a handgun to my temple. All the blood rushed to my feet, leaving my hands numb.
I did as she asked.
“Toss it out the window.”
I did that too.
18
She's with Him
Derek
“Mr. Cole, we found the guard.” The head of security gave me a quick nod.
“Where was he?”
“In the gardens, near the Copenhaver property line. He was knocked out.”
“Is he okay?”
“He’s still unconscious, sir.”
The blood rushed through me hot and fast. “Do we have a breach?” How could we even know with so many people prancing around the gardens and the house?
“We’ll know more when he wakes up.” The guard shook his head, half apologizing, half answering my question.
“Fine. See if the Copenhaver guards saw anything.” That was sure to be a dead end. Ana’s security was minimal. She hated having strangers roaming around her house. The few bodyguards she had were there because Wesley insisted—more like made her keep them. I was glad he had. They might be of help to us tonight. “Stay alert and be careful. We may be dealing with a sociopath.”
“Yes, sir. The guys have a picture of the suspect.” The guard took off with a quick nod.
My first instinct was to grab Valentina and hide her in her room until I knew for sure Alex wasn’t responsible for the disappearance of the guard. I wished I could put him behind bars now. But no one had ever gone to jail for showing up at a pub and smirking at his ex-girlfriend’s fiancée. Fuck.
Even now, I had no proof. Alex was the one who knocked out one of my guys. Why would he do that? To get in the house? And then do what? Getting in was one thing, but how would he get Valentina out of the house without anyone noticing? Especially when every single person at the house was dying to get a few minutes of face time with the bride-to-be.
Alex Maio put me on edge every time he came near my family. Every time he took a breath, if I had to be honest. Something about the guy wasn’t right. The grin, the sociopathic way he talked about Valentina, as if she were a trinket that belonged to him.
I should have sent him to jail for extortion when I had the chance, but at the time, all I could think of was getting him as far away from Valentina and Max as I could. I never wanted them to have to deal with him, see him, or even be near him. A trial would have made Valentina relive all the shit she went through the short time she was with him when she was only nineteen years old. That would have been her worst nightmare. I didn’t want that for her.
As it turned out, fifteen hundred miles of distance were not enough. What did he want? Money? Again? I couldn’t spend the rest of our lives paying him to let Valentina be. He’d made a mistake coming to Atlanta and showing up at the pub. What was his plan? To taunt me so I would lose my mind again and bend to his will in exchange for peace of mind? Not this time, asshole.
So many fucking questions and not a single concrete answer. For now, all I could do was stay close to Valentina and make sure she was safe. I stomped through the gardens back to the drawing room, where I’d left her earlier. She needed to know Alex was in town. I should have told her when I had the chance, but I didn’t want to ruin this party for her over some hunch of mine.
She was nervous as it was; adding Alex to the mix would have been too much for her. The abuse she took from that guy for years when she was so young was something I would never wish on anyone. I didn’t want her reliving all that. Seeing Alex would have done that. No time for regrets or should’ves. I scoured the sea of faces in the dim-lit rooms, covering every inch of the house. She was gone. On my way back to the gardens, Wesley stopped me on the patio deck.
“The hell is going on?”
“Have you seen Valentina?” My pulse had been pounding in my ears since the head of security came to tell me one of our men had disappeared. This feeling wasn’t going to let up until we figured out what the fuck was going on.
“Yeah, I saw her. It was a while back, though. In the basement. She seemed, I don’t know, flustered. She was barefoot and covered in mud.”
“What?” My heart pumped hot blood through me. “Why didn’t you stop her? Was she hurt?”
“She didn’t look hurt. No, wait. I saw her in the drawing room after that.” He pursed his lips. “When Anabelle played the piano. She was with you.”
“Help me find her. I’m going to check our room. Could you check with Ana? Maybe they went to her place?”
“Yeah, man. I’ll take care of that.” He slapped my shoulder and took off toward Ana’s house.
People stopped me to chat about the wedding plans and a bunch of other crap that at this moment didn’t matter. None of this mattered if Valentina wasn’t with me. I nodded and smiled as I continued to work my way toward the grand staircase. No one needed to know about Valentina’s crazy ex.
Our bedroom was empty, but Valentina had definitely been in here after Wesley saw her. I picked up one of her muddy heels. The strap on it had been broken. A million images ran through my mind until I settled on the one where she fought with Alex and barely got away. But if she got away, why wasn’t she here? She left her shoes behind but not her dress.
On the vanity dresser, a crumpled note with wet spots stood out amid her makeup brushes and lipsticks. My hands trembled as I read it, trying to imagine how she felt. How every word, every line was designed to make her afraid and remind her how capable he was of hurting her. A part of me wished Valentina had learned in our time together that she could trust me. That I would do anything to protect her from this asshole. How the hell did Alex get in our room?
I stomped to the safe in the library, not wanting to confirm what I already knew. Valentina didn’t think I loved Max enough to risk my own life for him. She thought she had to deal with this herself, on her own, just as Alex had asked her to do. What else would he ask of her?
I dialed my phone again and called the head of Max’s security detail. I winced when I realized that I hadn’t included Valentina in any of my plans to keep Max safe. If she tried to call the house or Em and got no answer, she would not have known who else to call. This was all my fault. “Where’s Max?”
“Home, sir.”
“I need visual confirmation.” I rubbed my temple, taking deep breaths to calm the fuck down and chase away the image of Alex and Valentina.
“Of course.” The phone went silent. After a few minutes, he returned. “He’s in bed reading, sir. Em is with him.”
“Thank you.” I ended the call.
I punched the code on the keypad and swung it open. All the cash was gone. Valentina had fallen for Alex’s bluff. Why the deception? What did he want with her? My mind conjured a myriad of scenarios. Some of those Alex had put in my head himself the first time he came to my house in Arizona looking for her. Back then, he’d insinuated Valentina was only after my money, and I believed him.
He spoke of her as if she went around fucking guys for money. He’d known exactly which buttons to push that day. That was his MO. By the time he’d asked for money, I was more than ready to pay up just to get him the hell away from my family. I knew enough of her now to know she only wanted me. She never cared about the money.
His infuriating smirk and Valentina’s ashen-face every time she spoke of him flooded my thoughts. I braced my hands on my knees and cleared my mind because none of this helped Valentina.
She was with him.
I fished my phone out of my pocket and called the guard. “Track Valentina’s phone. She left the house.”
Thinking of them together made me want to punch something. Valentina didn’t care about him, but the fact that this messed-up note got her to leave the house alone and without telling me spoke of how much influence he still had over her. Whether she’d left because she feared Alex or because she was afraid for Max, it didn’t matter. How far was she willing to go to save Max? For Christ’s sake, this was the asshole who made her swear off men for six years. I gripped her sandal in my hand and threw it against the mirror
.
The head of the security team knocked once and then entered the library with Tyler on his heels.
“Do you have visual of Valentina leaving the house? Where the fuck is she? What about the guard? Is he awake yet?”
“Calm down.” Tyler came to stand by me. “Let the man answer the question.”
“Mrs. Cole did leave the property about an hour ago. We tracked her phone, but we lost the signal near the BeltLine. The guard says he was knocked out by a woman. It was dark, but he believes it was Ms. Bridget. We checked the cameras. She was never inside the house.”
Even if I didn’t like the news he had, he was making an effort to deliver it quickly. “Then how the hell was this note left on Valentina’s vanity? We need to go get her now.” I let out a puff of air. Jesus.
Of course, Bridget was in on this. She was helping Alex, or rather Alex was helping her, just as he’d done a few months ago. When Bridget first found out about my relationship with Valentina, she dug up the asshole who left Valentina after he got her. He’d done a bang-up job for her. With a few well-chosen words, he’d created enough doubt in my mind to punch a chasm between Valentina and me. I was over that, but this was something new. Valentina went to him of her own accord.
Tyler gripped my arm. “Yes, we can do that. But first we need a plan. We can’t just go out there and start throwing things at the wall to see what sticks.” He took the note from my hand. Unlike me, he didn’t stand there analyzing every line, trying to figure out Valentina’s reasoning.
He read it quickly and gave it to the guard. “Did she have access to five Gs? Tyler asked.
“She went to him.” I spat the words.
“Does he even know Bridget?”
“He does. It makes sense now. When Bridget couldn’t get what she wanted, she went back to the one guy she knew could get under my skin. Bridget brought him here. No doubt Alex was more than happy to oblige just to mess with Valentina again.”
“Okay. Is she really that strapped for money?”
“I doubt it. She walked away from the divorce with five million dollars. And that was after I paid off all her debts. There’s no way she gambled all that in a month.”
Unravel You: A Hot Billionaire Romance (Cole Brothers Series Book 1) Page 17
