by Ali Parker
Really? He sure seemed capable of killing me back at the run down house.
"I'm going to lie down. I'm exhausted and still messed up from the idea of Pauly being anything but who I thought he was."
My dad reached out and pulled me in for one more hug. "Me too. He was my best friend." He snorted and let out a pathetic sounding sigh. "Hell, he was my only friend."
"That's cause you push everyone else away." I stepped back and glanced up. "Thank you for bringing Ian back."
"He's your bodyguard and mine for the time being, but nothing else, all right? I know you have feelings for him, but until we figure all of this out and the race for the presidency is over, nothing else. I can't handle another scandal and make it out of this race in one piece. We have to win this race."
"Why do we have to win?" I ignored his plea for me and Ian to remain apart. The only thing that would stop us from being together was the truth that he was as much of a monster as Jeremy was. I doubted the thought as it buzzed through my mind, but some part of me wanted to be safe rather than sorry.
"I owe a lot of money to the supporters. More than you can imagine. Neither of us would survive me losing and trying to pay it back."
"Are these good people that you borrowed from?"
He squeezed my shoulder, walked around me and opened the door. "Very few good people have money, Pumpkin. Just help me get through these next few months and you can have your life back at UCLA just as you like, okay? I just need your help."
I nodded, not sure what else there was to say.
Pauly's last real conversation with me had been disturbing on multiple levels. He was being open and honest about being a part of the murders he'd been involved in, and had spoken freely about Jeremy being involved, but there was one more villain in his story.
I just had to figure out how to reconcile all that had happened with the lies pouring from everyone's lips. Who did I believe? The varying stories I'd gotten didn't line up, and every man in my life seemed to have multiple personality disorder.
Pauly said that there were three of them involved in Brant's family's death. Jeremy. Himself. My father.
It was only one of the many puzzles I wanted to work through, but sadly enough it didn't make the top of my list. The biggest question on my mind was one that had haunted me for years.
Who was responsible for my mother's death, and better yet... why?
Chapter 5
Ian
The tow truck came thirty minutes later, and I begged my way into getting the guy to pull into a rental car place before heading back into town. I felt like shit leaving Cole to deal with the truck breaking down, but my brother being the good guy he was wouldn't let me do anything but go.
I rented a small compact car and squeezed my big ass into it, cursing at the situation as I drove up the coast as fast as I could. It took a little over two hours to reach the Senator's neighborhood. I slowed down a little and stifled the need to scowl at the extravagant houses on either side of me.
Where plenty of people make their millions in decent ways, there were still loads of people just like Mitch in the world. It was fucking scary how well he kept hidden in the shadows. Everyone I knew thought of him as a kind, tree-hugging guy from Cali with a big heart and a million good ideas to make America a better place to live.
"What a lie." I pulled up to the gate I'd snuck through a few days before, rolled down my window and pressed the button below the video screen.
An older guy with bushy eyebrows and a scowl on his face appeared. "How can I help you?"
"I'm here to see Chloe Moore."
"Just a minute." The guy's face disappeared for a few minutes.
Did I really think I was just going to waltz into Mitch's mansion and grab Chloe and run? How dumb was I? Leaning back, I pressed my teeth into my bottom lip and tried to remember the reason I was putting myself through all of the drama.
Her. It was all about her. I let the image of her curled up in the bed back at the beach house fill my mind's eye. Lust and love swirled deep inside of me, forcing me to calm down and take a deep breath.
She might not have meant to steal my heart the way she had, but what was done was done. I hated the truth of the matter, but that didn't dim it any. I belonged to her for as long as she'd have me. Maybe one day she'd wake up and realize that I wasn't worth her time and effort, but today wasn't that day.
The gate opened, but the guy never reappeared.
I wasn't sure if I should press the button or drive toward the house. The need to see her left me ignoring the warning signals going off in my head. I pulled forward and parked the car in front of the mansion.
The sound of barking filled the air as I got out, and several guards walked around from the side of the house with the large Dobermans Cole and I had put to sleep on our last visit.
I ignored them and walked toward the front door. There was no fucking way I was letting anyone see, smell or feel fear on me. With all the trauma I'd been through on the streets when Cole and I were trying to survive, everything else was child's play.
The door opened as I lifted my hand to knock on it. Daniel. Chloe's new bodyguard.
"Right this way." He moved back, turned and walked down the long hall toward Mitch's office.
I closed the door behind me and followed the guy. Did he know what Mitch was up to? Was he involved with it? Did it really matter?
He knocked and opened the door to the Senator's office. "Right in here."
I nodded and walked in, closing the door behind me as Mitch turned from looking out the window.
"I figured you'd head this way." He crossed his arms over his chest.
"I'm glad I'm that readable."
He snorted. "A man in love will follow closely after the woman that warms his heart."
"Very poetic." I slipped my hands into my pockets. "Where's Chloe?"
"She's asleep in her room. She's had a hard day, but I think between the two of us, we should be able to pull her through this." His expression softened, making him look more like the man I'd come to respect over the years and less like the bastard I really knew him to be.
"I'm not saying a goddamn thing to her about all of this. You've forced me into a corner, and I've said all I'm saying. I don't know what the hell happened between you and Pauly, but that's for you to fix with her." I shrugged.
"You're smarter than that, Ian." He chuckled. "She saw you holding the gun that killed Pauly. She's going to dig as much as she can. I tried to help you out a little today by planting seeds with her."
"You didn't help me out, old man. You helped your damned self out." I rolled my shoulders and glanced around. "She's a smart girl though. She's going to figure this out on her own."
"Yes, well, let's hope for her sake that she doesn't." He moved toward his desk and sat down. "She thinks that Jeremy is Pauly's son."
"Is he?" I moved to stand in front of him, not entirely comfortable with whatever the fuck he was up to.
"Heaven's no." He snorted. "It's a good story though. Jeremy was my campaign manager years ago and he went out of his way to try and make things work out for us, but in the end, we needed a scapegoat. Pauly helped me push everything onto the kid, and he's never let us live it down."
"I wouldn't either." I pulled my hands from my pockets and gripped the chair in front of me. "You're going to have to arrest him or Chloe is going to continue to be in danger."
"He's not going to hurt her. He's interested in one thing." Mitch sat back. "The zip drive you gave me."
"Then this is your problem. Let me take Chloe back to San Diego and I'll protect her until she goes back to school. I can even do it there too in L.A."
"No. You're both coming with me to Maryland later this week. We have one more big showing in the Northeast." He dropped his hands into his lap and gave me a tight smile. "We'll take care of Jeremy, or you will, really. He's got to be put down. It's that simple."
"No. I'm not killing anyone for you."
"So
you're all of a sudden one of the good guys?" Mitch laughed loudly. "That's rich, Ian. Your rap sheet goes on for miles, but there are parts of it missing."
"No clue what you're talking about. I'm not Pauly. I'm not your fucking puppet. I'll walk."
"Will you? You'll just steal my daughter's heart, fuck up her life and leave her for dead?" He lifted his eyebrow and smirked. I hadn't realized until that moment how much I hated the bastard in front of me. "Just like Amanda Polluck, right?"
Mandy. How the hell did he know about Mandy?
"Fuck you," I grumbled and gripped the chair tighter. "You don't know shit."
"I know enough. This isn't just about Chloe's life being at stake, though any man that really loved her would say that was enough. It's about you finally getting what you deserve for killing the poor girl. The cold case has to haunt her parents, wouldn't you say?"
"I'm not discussing this with you. You're a bastard for bringing it up."
"Maybe, but I think you'll find that you're more than willing to do anything I need you to. Chloe's life, your freedom and your brother's reputation are all tied to it."
Anger burned through me as my muscles locked and teeth clenched. "Don't you dare bring Cole into this. He's a good man."
"Yep. I would agree with that. Any man willing to lose his freedom to help his brother bury a few bodies is a good man." He chuckled. "We're going to Maryland and when I tell you to go after Jeremy, you'll nod and do as you’re told. It's nothing personal, son. Pauly was my smoking gun, and now you will be. Just remember the rules and we'll be just fine. I'll take care of you just like I took care of him."
"By putting a bullet in my skull?"
"If that's what's required." He glanced down and pulled a folder toward him. "You're going to take Pauly's place as mentioned. You can help guard Chloe, but don't think that's an invitation to my daughter." He glanced up. "It's not. She's far better than you, which I know you're already aware of. Steer clear of her romantically from here on out. Understood?"
I nodded seeing that there was no other course of action for me to take. Sickness pulsed through me at having to play lapdog to the sick bastard, but his time would come. Between me and Cole putting our heads together, I had no doubt that we would figure things out and put Mitch and Jeremy behind bars.
Mitch winked at me. "Good. You're dismissed."
Turning, I swallowed the scream that was racing up my chest and pressing against the back of my throat. I needed Pauly to tell me what to do, how we were going to figure this shit out, but he wasn't there to do it. Cole was two hours behind me at a fucking auto shop and wouldn't be welcomed if he showed up anyway.
For the first time in a long time, all I had was me.
Suddenly it didn't seem like nearly enough.
Daniel glanced up from reading a magazine and moved from his position against the wall in the middle of the hall.
"He informed you that we were heading to Maryland this week?"
"Yes." I walked toward the ugly mother fucker. "Where is she? I want to see her for a minute."
"Not sure that's-"
"So Mitch told me that I've been promoted to Pauly's position. You worked for him, right?"
He pursed his lips, obviously smart enough to see where I was headed.
I winked at him and pointed down the hall. "Right, so which room?"
"Last one on the left," he barked out between clenched teeth.
"Good." I walked past him, letting my shoulder bump into his. He might think himself tough, but I'd have him on the ground with my fist in his throat before he could blink twice.
I knocked on the door and opened it before waiting to hear an invitation. The darkened room was chilly and it took a few minutes for my eyesight to adjust. Chloe was in the middle of the bed, lying on top of the covers. The sweet sound of her breathing softly forced me to relax.
After closing the door behind me, I locked it and moved toward her. Where waking her up and pulling her in my arms would feel so damn good, it was selfish. I knew she had to be emotionally exhausted.
I knelt beside the bed and brushed her long blond hair back as warmth wrapped around my heart. Leaning in, I kissed her cheek and dragged the tip of my nose down the side of her face as I breathed in deeply.
"I'll protect you no matter what. You know that, right?" I tucked my face against the crook of her neck and stifled a moan as she tensed and whispered my name.
I held still and moments later, she fell back to sleep, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
She might hate me before the journey was over, and nothing sounded worse, but protecting her was the key to becoming the man I knew I was capable of being. There was redemption headed my way, I just hoped like hell I'd be willing to reach out and accept it when the time came.
I wasn't quite sure I was worth it.
Chapter 6
Chloe
I slept like a rock the night before, but half-expected Ian to come get me when he got there, but for some reason I found myself alone when I woke up.
As if he would come sleep beside me in my father's house. It was a comical thought at best. I changed into a summer dress, brushed my hair and pulled it into a high ponytail before leaving my room in search of something to eat.
Hope bubbled up inside my chest at the thought of Ian being somewhere in the house. It was odd that my father had shifted from one extreme to the other where Ian was concerned, but his story about Pauly being the villain made perfect sense in my head. It was my heart that refused to accept it.
"How many guards do we need for the trip?" Ian's voice reached me as I turned the corner and walked into the kitchen. The black slacks that hugged his hips weren't ones I'd seen on him before. The white button down shirt stretched across his broad back and left the swell of his arm muscles showing.
My body warmed, my nipples budded. He had a power over me that doubt and fear would have to work hard to stifle.
He turned his head a little, pulling his attention from my father onto me. The question in his dark brown eyes left me wanting to reassure him, but I couldn't. He'd been the one standing over Pauly with a smoking gun. Nothing made sense in the world I'd been thrown into. Nothing.
"Five should work." My father glanced over his shoulder and stood, smiling as he turned to face me. "We're leaving for Maryland on Thursday. You'll be going with us."
"I'd rather not." I walked to the fridge, ignoring the only two men left in my life. "I'm going to the beach house for the rest of the summer. I've been through enough."
"You're coming with me to Maryland. It's not up for discussion." My father walked toward me and ran his hand down my back. "Ian's coming with us this time."
"Great," I muttered and pulled out the milk. "I like pink by the way."
"Pink what?" My father gave me a look of confusion as I turned and walked toward the counter. Ian stood stiff in the dining room, watching me as if I might grow a second head. I'd fallen head over heels in love with him and yet something held me back from showing it. Was it fear or a way to protect him while my father was around?
"A pink collar." I gripped my throat and looked up, letting my eyes rest on the handsome bastard across the room from me. "So you've taken Pauly's place?"
"Yes." His voice was hard, calloused as if he were working to prove to my father that I meant nothing.
Right.
"As the head guard for my dad, or on the floor, bleeding from your forehead?" I smirked and poured a glass of milk.
"Chloe. That was horrible. Don't let me hear you talk about Pauly like that again." My father grabbed my arm and jerked me back, spilling the milk down the front of my dress.
"Fucking awesome." I jerked the glass toward him, lodging the remaining contents down the front of his shirt. "Don't tell me what to do. I'm not twelve."
"Then stop acting like you are." Daniel walked in and narrowed his eyes at me.
I turned without another word, pulled my dress over my head and walked back to my room in my bra an
d my panties. The sound of my father cursing behind me was almost music to my ears. I'd talk about Pauly any way that I wanted to. Something was wrong, fucked up, and no one wanted to talk about it.
"Chloe." Ian's voice was strained as it filtered under my closed door.
"Go away," I whispered and pressed my dress to my face. I was lost in my need to figure things out. Everyone seemed like a villain with a mask, or maybe I was just finally breaking down.
"No. Never." The door opened, but I kept my back to him. "Baby."
"Don't," I whispered and launched the dress across the room. "What the fuck is going on around here? You come when my father calls, but you weren't here when I woke up? Who do you belong to? Me or him?"
Ian moved to stand in front of me. The look on his face said that he was barely holding himself in check.
"I don't belong to either of you." He reached out and gripped my chin tightly. "Stop acting like a child. This isn't you, and you know it."
"It's not?" I pulled from him and pushed at his chest. "Who is it? Which mask am I wearing?"
"Chloe. Stop it." He reached for me, but I turned and walked to the window, opening the curtains and trying hard to keep myself from breaking down.
"Get out. I don't know any of you." I glanced over my shoulder. "I thought we were falling in love."
"We were." He pressed his hands to his hips. "We are."
"Are we, because I feel like whatever happened last night with Pauly is getting pushed under the fucking rug. My father fills my head with stories about Pauly being the bad guy."
"He was, Chloe." He sighed and let his head drop. "Please let this go."
"He taught me what it meant to love someone, Ian." I wrapped my arms around my chest, feeling far too exposed all of a sudden. "He showed me how to dance and sing. He helped me learn to ride a surfboard and drove me to prom. He was at all of my events at school and held me when I fell down."
"Baby." Ian's eyes filled with tears.
Pauly wasn't the man they were making him out to be.
"No. Look at me." I balled my hands into fists and dropped them down to hang beside me. "Really look at me."
