Impossible Choice

by Sybil Bartel

  “I had one on my phone.”

  Jeez. I shouldn’t have been surprised. “You are so damn sure of yourself, aren’t you?”

  He laughed. “No, I just knew what I wanted.”

  And that kinda melted my heart. “Lucky me.”

  He teased me with a smile. “Lucky you.”

  “So,” I hedged. “The Tahoe?”

  “I’ve got more legroom and I’m not driving a chick car.”

  “Chick car?”

  “Sedan.”

  “Ah.” But I was curious about one thing. “The Infiniti was expensive.” Talon told me Buck traded stocks but I honestly didn’t know anything else about his financial situation. Not that I needed money, or worried about it, but it seemed like something I should probably know about him.

  “Is that a question?”

  “Kind of.” Sorta. Maybe. “I don’t know. You don’t have to answer that.” It felt too weird to ask.

  “I have some money. I’m not rich but I have more than the average marine. I bought the house for my mother as a foreclosure. Talon, Neil and I did all the work and when it sold, it went for more than double what I paid for it. I’ve also been living on the cheap, trying to build a nest egg. I like to play around with stocks and so far, I’ve been lucky. Most of what I earned the past few years, minus the mortgage payments for my mother, I invested. It’s worked out for me. Like I said, I’m not rich, but I’ll always make sure you have what you need, regardless of what you decide to do with that account.”

  “I wasn’t asking about that, I mean, I wasn’t worried about it. I just, I don’t know. Shit. I don’t know what I’m trying to say.” This conversation was making me so uncomfortable. “And I know we haven’t talked about the account.”

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  I sank back in my seat, suddenly tired. “I want it to go away.” I hadn’t even taken possession of the money and it was already a burden.

  Slow, Buck nodded. “Maybe an anonymous donation to a charity would make you feel better.”

  Surprised, I stared at him. Not that I hadn’t thought of that but I was shocked that he’d mentioned it, as if he knew what I’d been thinking.

  “I’m not saying all of it, unless that’s what you want to do. I’m talking about the six million.”

  “How’d you know?”

  He shrugged. “I knew you didn’t want to keep it. It was a logical solution. Either way, whatever you decide, I support you.”

  I grabbed his hand and threaded my fingers through his. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. And you have a right to ask about my financial stability.”

  Then why did it feel wrong? “I just don’t want it to sound like I’m judging you, or your worthiness or anything.”

  He chuckled. “You should.”

  “Buck,” I scolded.

  “Don’t you think your father would’ve grilled me if I’d asked for your hand in marriage?”

  My father had been very protective of me and my mother. He’d also been dishonest and I hadn’t begun to come to terms with any of it. “Probably.”

  “You live in a million-dollar house on the water, you have a substantial inheritance, it would be stupid not to question my financial position.”

  “So you want me because I’m rich.” I smiled because we both knew that was ridiculous. Buck was so damn alpha, it probably bothered him that I had money.

  “And hot. It’s a win-win.”

  I fake-scoffed. “You’re starting to sound like Talon.”

  His smile instantly disappeared and his marine mask slammed down over his features. “You want me to sound like Talon?”

  Shit. “You know I don’t,” I said carefully.

  He inclined his head but he didn’t comment.

  We rode in silence a few miles until I couldn’t take it. The rare glimpse of the carefree Buck I’d witnessed was something I wanted to hold on to. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything by that. I was only joking.”

  “What would you have done...if something happened to me?”

  All the air left my lungs and my hand flew to my chest. “Don’t say that.”

  “Would you have gone to him?”

  Okay, breathe, deep breath. We probably needed to go here, get it out and move past it. I inhaled and tried to choose my words carefully, but in the end, I only knew how to tell him the truth. “Talon is my friend, he’s important to me. But I don’t want to be with him. Not because he isn’t charming or handsome or makes me laugh, it’s because I don’t feel for him what I feel for you. He doesn’t make me weak in the knees when he looks at me, he doesn’t make me want to give up everything for just one night with him. It’s not that I’m smart enough to know I could never tame someone like him, it’s that I don’t have any desire to try. My heart knows what it wants and it’s not Talon.” I stared at Buck but he kept his eyes on the road. “I want the strong, quiet marine who believed in me enough to take a risk. I love that man...” My voice dropped to barely a whisper. “And I’m really sad that I lost his baby.”

  Buck’s arms tensed and his jaw tightened. He pulled into my driveway, threw it in Park and reached for me. Coming halfway across the center console, he wrapped his arms around me and tucked my head into the crook of his neck. “I’m sorry, baby.”

  I let the few tears go because I was safe. “I’ll be stronger tomorrow.”

  “I know you will.” He leaned back and tilted my chin. “But if you’re not?” He kissed my tears. “I’m here.”

  He was going to make me cry harder. “Thank you.”

  For a fleeting moment, his forehead creased and he looked uncomfortable. “Let’s get you inside.” He reached for his door handle. “Wait. I’ll come get you down.” He hopped out of the SUV and came around. His duffel and my purse slung over one of his shoulders, he lifted me out of the Tahoe.

  “You know, I could’ve done that.” I was sore as hell, but I could manage.

  “Not on my watch.” He set me on my feet and closed the door.

  When my full weight was on my own legs, I felt it in my stomach and my fingers gripped my side.

  Buck’s gaze slid to my hand and he didn’t hesitate. Swooping one arm under my legs, the other caught my back and I was airborne.

  “I can walk,” I protested. “Put me down, it’s too much to carry me and our bags.”

  “Shit, woman, you weigh half as much as my combat loadout,” he scoffed but he was smiling.

  I was giggling when he pushed open the front door.

  Then everything went to shit.

  The air in my lungs, the hope in my heart, the feeling of safety, all of it, gone. I sucked in a terrified breath and every muscle in Buck’s body tensed.

  Shorty, the man who worked for Miami—my parents’ murderer—and who had followed me for years, tormenting me, threatening me, sat with another man on my couch. Lazy, slow, with the attitude of someone who had the upper hand, he stood.

  Buck dropped his voice to barely above a whisper. “Guest room, lock the door. Don’t come out until I come get you. If I call you anything other than Layna, go out the window and run.”

  Buck gently set me down, surreptitiously pressing the Tahoe’s keys into my hand, then he spoke loud enough for them to hear. “Go to the kitchen, baby, and get me a beer.” His eyes trained on Shorty and his partner, he moved in front of me to block their view so I could slip down the hallway.

  I didn’t know if I should immediately go out the window and to the Tahoe. I didn’t have my purse or cell phone and while the guest room didn’t have any windows facing the back of the house, which I understood was why Buck told me to go there, it also didn’t have a phone extension. Shit. Shit shit shit. I could get in the Tahoe and make a run for the guard station but who knows
what I would encounter. Whoever was working had obviously let them through the gate. Fuck.

  What the hell should I do? Okay, think think think. They didn’t have guns drawn. That was good, right? I was going to take that as a good sign. And they didn’t look threatening when we walked in, they looked smug. They wanted something and I was pretty sure it wasn’t us dead because they could’ve hidden in the house and ambushed us.

  I stopped pacing and leaned my ear against the door but it was useless, I couldn’t hear shit.

  The knock on the door was so sudden and loud, I jumped.

  “Layna, open up.”

  I fumbled with the lock then threw the door open. “What happened?”

  Buck was spitting mad. He walked past me and went to the window but stood to the side. “Who’s in the guardhouse?” he barked.

  I flinched. “Um, Louie from eight to four, Bill, four to midnight and Mary, midnight to eight. The weekend has two other guards, Manuel and James, they do twelve-hour shifts in a rotating schedule.”

  He glanced at his watch. “I’m going to the guardhouse. What’s Bill look like?”

  “Seventies, white hair, tall, thin. Can I come?”

  “No.” He took the keys. “Get off your feet, I’ll be right back.”

  “What did Shorty want?”

  “We’ll talk when I get back.”

  He slipped out of the room before I could say to be careful. I moved to the window but Shorty and his partner were gone. I watched Buck’s powerful strides carry him to the Tahoe, then he drove away.

  My false sense of security shattered.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Buck burst through the front door twenty minutes later.

  “Talon’s on his way.” He picked up the home phone from its cradle and tossed it at me. “Call your alarm company and cancel the contract. You’re getting a new security system tonight.”

  “Blaze.”

  He didn’t wait for me to finish. “Make the call.” He moved from window to window, checking the locks as he pulled out his cell phone. “I have to brief Talon.”

  I dialed, watching Buck put his phone to his ear. “It wasn’t clean,” he said without preamble.

  I didn’t hear the rest of the conversation, Buck went to the back of the house and the alarm company picked up. Ten minutes later, after verifying my identity no less than five times, I got the service canceled. Then I panicked. I found Buck in the living room, his back to me, texting.

  “What do we do if they come back?”

  He glanced over his shoulder. When his eyes met mine, he stilled. “I’ll handle it.”

  “What did they want?”

  I didn’t realize I was wringing my hands again until Buck took them in his. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.” He kissed me softly. “But you need to get off your feet, baby.” He urged me toward the couch but he didn’t sit. “What do you want to drink?”

  Tequila. Lots of tequila. “Nothing.”

  “I’ll get you something, be right back.”

  He was avoiding me and it was scaring the shit out of me. Buck hadn’t shown any fear toward Shorty before, why was this a big deal? Buck didn’t get intimidated. I curled my feet under me but it made my side hurt so I stretched a leg out but nothing felt right.

  Buck came back with ice water and handed it to me. “Let me finish this text.”

  I nodded.

  When he was done, he lowered himself to the couch, leaned his elbows on his knees and held his phone in his hands. All business, he trained his eyes on mine.

  “You told me earlier you’re still looking over your shoulder.”

  Oh God. “I meant figuratively.”

  “Have you noticed anything? Think before you answer.”

  Jesus. “You’re scaring me.”

  “I need you to think about this.”

  Inhaling, I pressed my fingertips to my forehead. “No.” I exhaled slowly. “The feeling of being watched is always there but I haven’t seen Shorty or any of the men he used to have follow me. And if he was following me again, he wouldn’t be subtle about it. He intimidates by being obvious, getting close enough to talk to me, making inappropriate comments, that’s his MO, he’s too full of himself to hide. You know this. Besides, Miami is dead, it wouldn’t matter now if I identified Miami as my parents’ murderer. Shorty has no reason to follow me anymore. What’s going on?”

  “What do you really know about that night your parents were killed?”

  “Buck,” I warned. “Tell me what’s happening.”

  “I need to know what you know,” he said quietly.

  My heart threatened to beat out of my chest. “I told you everything. I was on the phone with my father, there was arguing in the background, then shots and Miami came on the line.”

  “You didn’t hear anyone else’s voice?”

  “No!”

  Buck breathed in like he was relieved. “Okay. Here’s what we know. Miami wasn’t just a contractor using your father’s political connections to win bids. He had his hand in a lot of shit, gambling, girls, drugs, clubs that laundered cash, and he wasn’t alone. He was part of a larger organization and that’s what gave him the means to follow you for so long.”

  Wait. What? “And you’re just telling me this now?”

  “We didn’t think you needed to know.”

  “We?” They all knew? And no one told me? I didn’t have time to be pissed because his next sentence hit me like a freight train.

  “Shorty and his men found a new angle.”

  My stomach dropped. “Oh God.”

  “This isn’t anything we can’t handle, but I don’t want to take chances. Talon is coming down and I’ve contacted a former marine buddy who owns his own security firm. He’s going to install his system tonight. If we don’t get this squared away in the next twenty-four hours, his men will watch you until I get back.”

  Twenty-four hours? Men watching me? My arms crossed my stomach and I leaned forward to stop the wave of nausea. “I can’t do this, Buck.”

  His hand grabbed the back of my neck and he brought his forehead to mine. “You’re not doing it, baby. I am.”

  “No. No way.” This wasn’t happening. I was not going through this again.

  Huge hands cupped my face. “I want you to take a pain pill and go lie down. It’s going to be a long night, and you need some rest right now. When you wake up, we’ll have dinner.”

  He wanted to drug me? “That’s your answer? Take a fucking pill? Why don’t you tell me what’s really going on and we’ll deal with it instead of me going into hiding? And you, you—doing whatever it is your marine thing is.” Shit!

  His smile was more ironic than not and it didn’t touch his eyes but it was there. “There’s my girl,” he said softly.

  I gaped. “You did that on purpose!”

  “I do want you to lie down,” he said without apology.

  “Goddamn it, Blaze, tell me what’s going on!”

  It turned into a real smile. “I’m Blaze now?”

  “Buck,” I snapped, quick and short.

  He kissed me then turned serious. “Shorty’s threatening me.”

  I went completely still. “You? Why?”

  Buck paused. “He says he has video feed of me on the yacht.”

  Something sounded off. “Just you?”

  He touched my nose. “That’s my smart girl.”

  “I don’t get it.”

  “There were two of us on that boat,” he explained. “Any points of entry that were covered that we possibly missed, it would’ve picked up both Talon and me at some point. We didn’t even separate when we swam the girl out and the boat was the farthest out from the marina. There wasn’t a soul on the west side,
we couldn’t have been filmed from that side. So if Shorty did get footage of me, it would’ve been from the east. There’s only one point at which he could’ve done that and it was when Talon and I got the girl off the boat. He should’ve seen all three of us. But he wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference between Talon and me in our gear, not without some serious camera equipment.”

  A memory flashed in my mind of the girl. Buck had swum her back to Neil’s boat and when they pulled her onboard, the sight of her would forever be burned into my soul. She’d been beaten so bad, her face was almost unrecognizable. And when I’d helped her into dry clothes, her body was covered in the abuse Miami had inflicted on her. She been so terrified, she was barely able to tell me her name was Ariel.

  I shook off the memory. “So, Shorty’s bluffing.”

  “Bluffing or fishing. He wants money and my gut says he’s got nothing but I have to operate under the assumption he has something.”

  “Is it possible?”

  “Anything’s possible. But I want to talk to Talon and Neil and see what we all remember.”

  Shit. “This is a nightmare,” I mumbled.

  His face softened. “No, two days ago was the nightmare and you pulled through.” He caressed my cheek then inclined his head toward the front of the house. “That was just noise.”

  “But you’re worried.” I saw it, in his actions, in his expression.

  “I’m worried about leaving you alone,” he admitted.

  “Not about what Shorty has?”

  “No. Assholes like him are a dime a dozen and they all sing the same song. When push comes to shove, he’ll cave. And trust me, I’m going to push.”

  I leaned forward and put my head to his chest. I was scared but if there was one thing I had complete confidence in, it was Buck’s ability to push back. I’d seen him in action. He was lethal. I lifted my eyes and met his. “Push hard,” I breathed.

  He held my stare. “You’re beautiful.”

  “I’m scared,” I admitted.

  “I’m not gonna let anything happen to you,” he said adamantly.