Where Truth Lies (Love vs. Loyalty Book 2)

by Nia Arthurs

  “Keep your eyes to yourself, Velasquez,” Trenton warned, only partly joking.

  “Speaking of your wife, where’s Breana?” Landon asked, looking around.

  “She went to the kitchen a few minutes ago,” Trenton said, peering past the mass of people in the living room. “I wonder what’s taking her so long?”

  “Look at that,” Landon chuckled at Trenton’s searching gaze. “He’s so whipped.”

  “Idiot. He’s in love. If your women actually stuck around, maybe you could experience the same thing.”

  “Lay off, Michael.” Landon threw back his drink. “I’ll never tie myself down to one woman. I don’t know how you guys do it. Feels like I’m sentencing myself to prison…”

  The words faded into oblivion as Trenton drowned out his friends. Every fiber of his body was focused on locating Breana. She wasn’t around the huddle of her friends from work or in the kitchen.

  He leaned back and peered through the French doors to the patio. She wasn’t in the backyard either. The twinkling lights Melissa had strung along the porch outlined a few figures, but none of them fit his wife.

  Where on earth had she gone?

  “I’ll be right back,” Trenton shouted to be heard above his friends’ boisterous laughter. “I’m going to go find Breana.”

  The men made kissy noises and slapped him on the shoulder, but he ignored them and headed to the bathroom. Wondering if Breana was feeling unwell, he knocked on the door.

  “Just a minute!” A female voice called before the door burst open. “Oh, Trenton!” Melissa said, staring at him in surprise. “Did you need to use in there?”

  “Have you seen Breana?” he asked.

  “I saw her ten minutes ago,” Melissa said. “She was talking to the hot guy who stopped by our office last Wednesday.”

  Jealousy flared like a roaring flame, but he tamped it down. The guy could be Breana’s cousin or something.

  Besides, he shouldn’t judge without getting all the facts first. From everything he’d observed of Melissa’s behavior, she didn’t discriminate when it came to the men she found attractive.

  “What was his name again?” The woman tapped her chin and looked up at the ceiling. “I don’t remember, but he was ripped beneath his white shirt. I remember that.”

  “Thanks for the information, Melissa,” he said, ready to brush past her.

  “Hey, Trenton?”

  “Yes?” He whirled back, unable to shield the impatience from his expression.

  “I’ve been meaning to thank you.”

  Her words gave him pause. “For what?”

  “I’ve worked with Breana for over two years. I’ve seen her walking around like an empty shell, going through the motions just to get by. Everything changed when she met you. I saw a spark in her eyes and real joy in her smile. As her friend, that’s more than I can ask for.”

  “It doesn’t have anything to do with me—”

  “It does,” she said. “Trust me. Breana would rather die than let someone know that she needs them, but I can see how you’ve affected her. You’re taking great care of her. It’s all over her face.”

  Trenton smiled and backed out of the hallway. “Now, I just need to find her.”

  “I’m sure she’s around here somewhere.” Melissa waved. “See yah.”

  His feet hitting the wooden steps in staccato rhythm, Trenton turned and jogged upstairs. Melissa’s words echoed through his mind, a sweet reminder of what he was aiming for.

  This past week, he’d allowed himself to be a little more aggressive with his wife—their nightly cheek kisses, their lunch date on Thursday afternoon, and even this party was an attempt to get her to see him in a new light.

  Breana was so darn contained, however, that it sometimes felt like he was serenading a rock wall. It was good to hear from others who knew her well that his efforts weren’t falling into the abyss of her carefully controlled heart.

  “Breana?” He opened her room door and peered into the dimness. The neatly spread bed and the spotless dresser top met his gaze.

  Trenton stopped in his room and the bathroom upstairs before heading outside to check more thoroughly. In the lights pulsing from the front window, he saw a couple standing in the shadows on the lawn.

  The woman was small, with shoulder-length curly hair. The grey dress she wore wrapped around her body, perfectly modest in its length and fit, but cold-bloodedly tempting in its display of her curves.

  He would recognize that shape anywhere, but who was the man standing in the dark with his wife?

  Trenton strode confidently forward, not bothering to hide his approach. Despite the noise his sneakers made as they crunched the grass, Breana and the stranger didn’t even glance up.

  When he drew near, the muttered conversation that had been indistinguishable to his ears grew in clarity. Curious, Trenton decided to hold off for a bit and spy on their conversation.

  “I don’t know how else to tell you this, Denzel. I’m married to Trenton. The least you could do is respect that.”

  Atta girl. Trenton grinned and slipped his hands into his pockets, watching as Breana defended their relationship. He had very little worries when it came to his wife and her ex.

  A few days ago, Breana had quietly discarded Denzel’s necklace. She hadn’t made a big deal of it, so Trenton pretended not to notice, but he claimed the move as a personal victory.

  That beautiful neck of hers was territory of Trenton Fitzgerald Lorde. Boom.

  “I saw the divorce papers, Breana. You can’t hide from me. I know you. I’ve always known you.”

  Trenton snorted. The only thing keeping him from charging in and thrusting Denzel away was his confidence in Breana. She could handle things, and the second her ex stepped out of line, Trenton would be there to show him the door.

  “That’s none of your business, Denzel,” Breana hissed. “I didn’t ask you to come back and make things complicated for me. You dumped me, remember?”

  “I know,” Denzel cooed. “And I regret that everyday.”

  The man reached out to clutch Breana’s hand. Trenton stepped forward, his ire rose at the sight, but Breana shook Denzel’s grip and stuffed her hands into the pockets of her dress.

  “I don’t regret anything,” Breana said. “Please leave.”

  “I’ll leave,” Denzel replied and Trenton breathed in relief… until the lawyer continued. “As soon as you tell me why you still had the necklace.”

  Trenton held his breath as Breana’s silence lengthened. He wanted to hear her answer as well. Had she kept the necklace because it represented the feelings she’d nursed for her ex? Was she so cold to him because her heart had already been claimed?

  “I’m right, aren’t I?” Denzel stepped closer and Trenton did too, his muscles coiling.

  If Denzel made one wrong move…

  “You still feel something for me, don’t you,” he whispered. “Remember that house in Joy Avenue that you always wanted? That future we would talk for hours about? We can have that now, Breana. We can have it together.”

  Trenton’s anger pushed him to break the Casanova’s spell. As his feet thumped the ground to get to his wife’s side, he landed on a twig and the snap reverberated into the shadows where Breana huddled with Denzel.

  The lawyer glanced up and in the split second of recognition, Trenton saw in Denzel’s eyes that he had no intentions of backing off.

  Instead, Denzel grabbed Breana’s arms to keep her from turning around and shook her urgently.

  “Remember! Remember… this?”

  Denzel’s head came crashing down and he pressed his lips against Breana’s. White, hot rage gave Trenton superhuman strength and a roar rushed past his throat as he dived in between them.

  Denzel dared to touch his woman, and for that, he would pay.

  Chapter 13

  ₪₪₪₪₪₪

  Breana battled her mounting frustration. She’d been out here running around and around in circle
s trying to convince Denzel to leave quietly. Trenton was having such a good time inside; she would hate to spoil it by announcing the arrival of her ex.

  Denzel, however, seemed determined to speak his piece, and if she had to write a term paper on the conversation, she would title it—‘Memories’.

  The man wanted to browbeat the ‘good times’, but all Breana remembered was hiding the existence of her mother in fear that he would leave her when he found out.

  All she remembered was watching him walk away under the guise of ‘focusing on getting a scholarship’—a perfectly logical excuse if it hadn’t followed on the heels of his introduction to Merna.

  All she remembered was promising to wait for him, to change for him, to never bring her embarrassing mother anywhere near him again, and getting months of loneliness and heartbreak as he dated other girls in return.

  Four years ago, Breana Moore fell head over heels for Denzel Ramirez, but in the time that he’d been away, she’d had more than enough space to reminisce on the less-than-pleasant aspects of their relationship.

  Thanks, but no thanks, Denzel.

  Breana was trying to figure out a way to cut Denzel’s speech short when she heard a snap. She stiffened in guilt and swung to see who had caught them in the shadows.

  To her surprise, Denzel used her distracted and defenseless stance to grab her chin and plant his thick lips on her mouth.

  Breana froze in surprise, but before she could gather her wits and push him off, she heard a roar so primal and raw that it reminded her of an ancient war cry

  She was flung back as Trenton materialized beside them. He spared her a quick, angry glance before he tossed Denzel away and planted himself between them. Flames spilled from his gaze and his nostrils flared in anger.

  “Trenton, calm down,” Breana said, sensing that things were about to escalate.

  “Hello, Rich Boy,” Denzel taunted. “Were you watching that?”

  Breana’s eyes widened and she stepped forward. “You kissed me on purpose?”

  Trenton’s head whipped around to take her in, and she almost withered from his glare. “Upset that you were caught, Breana? Is there anything you want to say to me?”

  “Excuse me?” she gaped. After all the progress they’d made over this past week, Trenton was willing to throw it away at the hint of a scandal with her ex? Didn’t he know her better than that?

  “Just face it,” Denzel yelled, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt, “you lost.”

  “Shut up!” Trenton yelled, spittle flying from his mouth. “Don’t say another word.”

  “Or you’ll what? Call your mommy and complain?”

  “Denzel!” Breana shrieked. He could hurl all the insults he wanted, but he sure as all things bright and beautiful better keep Lorraine’s name out of his mouth.

  “Make a choice, Breana. It’s me or him.”

  Breana scoffed at his ridiculous ultimatum. “Denzel, we are over. How many times do I have to say this?”

  “You heard her,” Trenton said, his chest heaving. “Now do yourself a favor and get off my property.”

  “Who do you think you’re talking to? Huh?” Denzel strode forward and gripped Trenton by his collar. “Little Rich Boy thinks he’s got game ‘cause he has a black woman?”

  “I’m sorry the money in my bank account bothers you so much, Denzel. Tell me what I can do about it to make you feel better.”

  “You smug little—” Denzel finished his statement with his fists and swung at Trenton. Breana’s screams brought the party outside to witness the boys’ wrestling match.

  “Stay away from my wife!” Trenton grunted as he rammed into Denzel’s torso, flinging him to the ground.

  “I saw the divorce papers!” Denzel yelled between punches. “You’re just using her to satisfy your dirty little brown sugar curiosity.”

  The men rolled around on the grass as their fists continued the conversation. The smack of skin against skin, the muttered groans, and the muted curses all swirled into a ball of unrestrained violence until Trenton’s friends pulled them apart.

  Trenton and Denzel fought against their restraints, eager to return to their pointless fight. Breana was beyond mortified and, when Michael and Landon dragged Trenton up the stairs to cool off, she barely managed to keep it together before the men left.

  “Why are you glaring at me like that?” Trenton asked, both eyes black and blue and a cut splitting his lip. “He started it first.”

  “Trenton, my entire office saw you beating up a guy.”

  He groaned and rotated his shoulder. “To be fair, I think it was the other way around.”

  Breana sighed and brought him into the bathroom so she could take out the first aid kit. Bending over to check the cut on his lip, she murmured. “Is your thug side coming out now?”

  “Must be a side effect of living with you.”

  “I don’t think that’s funny.”

  “Sorry.”

  “Please help me understand how beating each other up solved the non-existent problem?”

  “Non-existent?” Trenton frowned. “He kissed you!”

  “If you’d kept still for five more seconds you would have seen me slap him.”

  “He deserved more than that.”

  “Maybe. But if you’d let me handle it, the case would have been closed. Now you just stirred up a hornet’s nest. Denzel is too competitive for his own good, and you just threw down the gauntlet.”

  “Are you saying I should be nervous?”

  “I’m saying you shouldn’t have hit him in the first place!”

  Trenton pouted and, even through her irritation, Breana couldn’t get over how handsomely rugged he looked.

  There was no part of her that applauded violence (despite her past behavior to the contrary), but she did feel a bit of pride that, despite his sheltered upbringing, he’d held his own against the much more street-smart Denzel.

  Breana gripped his chin and turned his face to the side to get a better view of the bruise on his jaw. Trenton gazed at her through the corner of his eyes.

  “What?” Breana chuckled.

  “You were really going to slap him?”

  “Of course. I’m a married woman. The only man who’s allowed to kiss me is my husband.”

  “Really?” Trenton’s gaze dipped to her lips. “Can I get that in writing?”

  “Not so fast, Don Juan.” Breana put her hand up against her mouth so that Trenton couldn’t kiss her. “You’re on punishment.”

  “What?” Trenton groaned. “What did I do?”

  Breana counted his offenses off on her fingers. “First, you accused me of being disloyal—”

  “I didn’t…”

  “You asked me if I was upset about being ‘caught’.”

  “Okay, I know how that may sound, but that’s not what I meant.”

  Breana narrowed her eyes at his sloppy explanation. “Second, you embarrassed me in front of all my friends and yours too.”

  “It’s not like I asked you to scream your head off so everyone could come outside.”

  “Are you saying this is my fault?”

  “No ma’am.” Trenton gulped. “I’m afraid to even ask, but what’s the last one?”

  She cradled his face and looked into his eyes. “Third… you got hurt. And you can’t go around getting hurt because,” she swallowed, “well, because—”

  Before she could put her feelings into words, a loud thud shook the house. Breana looked up in fear, but Trenton winced and slapped his hands against his thighs.

  “Aw, come on!” he yelled.

  She grabbed his shoulders. “What was that?”

  “Who cares? You were saying?”

  “Trenton, we should check. I saw people leaving when we were heading up the stairs, so no one should be up here.”

  “Fine,” Trenton mumbled and grudgingly stood to open the bathroom door. He stopped and looked over his shoulder. “But we’re continuing this conversation later.”
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br />   “Go,” she said, pushing him out into the hallway.

  Trenton headed down the stairs, but returned a few minutes later with a quizzical expression.

  “Did something fall?” Breana asked.

  “Everything’s in its rightful place,” he said. “And I just saw the rest of the party out. They were sticking around to help clean up, but I told them I’d hire people for that.”

  “Hire people, my behind,” Breana mumbled. “Why pay for something like that when we can just do it ourselves?”

  Trenton sidled up to her and placed his arms around her waist. “Now about that conversation…”

  Breana yawned, enjoying the look he sent her way when she backed out of his loose embrace. “I’m tired. It’s been a long day.”

  “Wait,” Trenton said as she moved to go to her room. “Don’t I at least get a good night kiss?”

  “You’re on punishment, remember?” she said, sending him a sassy grin. Breana withheld her laughter as she turned around and opened her bedroom door.

  Trenton could be such a big baby sometimes, but he sure was a handsome one.

  Smiling to herself, Breana pressed the light switch. Golden beams flooded her room, illuminating something weird on her bed. A shrill scream blew from her lips, and the person on the bed rose and screamed along with her.

  Chapter 14

  ₪₪₪₪₪₪

  Trenton’s eyes remained on Breana until she disappeared into her room. His wife was a tease. Have mercy! He didn’t know how much longer he could keep the romance Rated G. He needed something. At least a little PG-13 action?

  Before he could decide on storming into her room and kissing her senseless or going to the master and taking an icy shower, Trenton heard Breana’s scream. All other thoughts fled his mind and he raced to her room, throwing the door open.

  His gaze lingered on his wife who stood in front of the bed yelling her head off, and then he looked towards the equally perturbed woman offering her version of a frightened yodel.

  “Melissa?” he croaked. His voice brought the shouting match to an abrupt end and both Breana and her friend blinked hazily at each other.