Black Truth (A Twisted Fate Series Book 2)

by Kristin Mayer

  “Willow—” Carson coughed and I quickly handed him his water bottle. After taking a few sips, he continued, “Fuck, I hate this cough. Willow explained this earlier. You and Trent now think that the people who ran us off the road have a different vendetta against Alex.”

  Gabe’s eyes cut to mine. “Until today, that was my theory. Now, I think whoever ran the two of you off the road was after you, Carson. I think Willow was the bystander. It makes no sense for them to hurt her if the suspects are after her money. If she dies, it all goes to different charities.”

  Gabe’s words took root. Someone was after Carson. Why? I wasn’t responsible for all this. But Alex still remained a piece of the puzzle. The same thought flitted through Carson’s mind as his eyes widened. Unfortunately, it made sense.

  With the grimace on his face, Carson said, “I’m so sorry, Willow. You know I would never put you or anyone in harm’s way.”

  I stood and gave him a hug. “This is not your fault. Just like Alex wasn’t mine. We will survive this. I don’t blame you.”

  The nurse opened the door. “Visiting hours are coming to an end, Mr. Whitmore. The doctor has cleared Francesca and your mother to stay the night.”

  “Thanks, Nancy. Give us ten more minutes if that’s okay.”

  The elderly woman gave us a sweet little nod. “That works. I’ll be back with your meds.”

  The door closed and Carson looked to me. “What time will you be by tomorrow?”

  Tomorrow. Oh, I had the teaching job that I hadn’t filled Carson in on. “Um… after twelve.” I was shit at misleading. I might as well as thrown up a huge neon sign that said I was doing something Carson wouldn’t approve of.

  “Willow, what are you doing?”

  Straightening my spine, I gave a sweet little smile as I tried to play it off. “I’m teaching an art class at Apple Blossom.”

  His eyes shot straight to Gabe. “Why the fuck would you let her do that?

  Carson knew Alex had taken my money to pay for his child’s school with small automatic withdrawals sent to Apple Blossom. Alex Junior, who had autism, thrived at the school for special needs. After finding out the child was going to lose his place in school, I asked Trent to figure out a way for me pay the tuition through back channels as an anonymous contributor. There was no way I was going to punish a child for the sins of his father when I had the income to pay it.

  I started to explain, but Gabe answered first, looking a little pissed at Carson’s underlying meaning. “Listen, you and I still need to have a one-on-one talk about my choices and how they affected Willow. You’re like a brother to her. I expect it. But, don’t insinuate I am putting her in danger. Every action, and I mean every fucking action, is to keep her and my babies as safe as I possibly can. We believe Alex is still alive and Jack De Luca may have a vendetta. Or they may be working together. Now, we have another psychotic asshole who’s trying to poison Francesca who could have gotten to Willow as well. I thoroughly reviewed this option before I gave it to her. This woman is my life—don’t ever question that, especially in front of her, until we’ve had our chance to talk.”

  There was steel surrounding every word Gabe uttered. The two looked at each other while the tension mounted to an almost intolerable level. I was about to say something when Carson relented.

  “You’re right. It’s been a hell of a day.” His shoulders relaxed and he slumped back in the bed exhausted.

  Gabe raised his hand. “I get it. Just as long as we’re clear.”

  Carson looked to me. “Call me as soon as you leave tomorrow. I want to know you’re safe.”

  “I will. Promise. I’ll send Francesca in. Get some sleep.”

  Later at the hotel, I tossed and turned, trying to find a position to sleep in an uncomfortable bed. Nothing worked. I blew out a breath of air when I flipped onto my back. My eyes darted to the door. Gabe was in the living room. I was tired, exhausted actually. Even though I knew I was safe, I felt violated at the hotel. I had come so close to taking a bite of the poisoned food.

  Flopping again, I swore there were lumps in the mattress. Maybe a glass of milk would help.

  I walked into the main room and tiptoed around the corner. A faint glow from the under-cabinet lights spilled into the living room. As I rounded the table, I almost ran into Gabe who was sitting there.

  “Oh gosh. I thought you were asleep on the couch.”

  “I was reviewing the files. Couldn’t sleep.” The bags under his eyes showed his lack of sleep. He closed the folder.

  Inching closer, I suddenly felt shy. “What were you looking at?”

  “Latest intel on Jack De Luca. There’s nothing new.”

  Part of me was glad there wasn’t anything else to contemplate for the day. I was on processing overload and scared.

  “Come here, sweetheart.”

  Quickly I tucked myself into Gabe’s lap.

  “Having trouble sleeping?”

  “Yes, I was going to get some milk, hoping it would help. I didn’t want to wake you.”

  Gabe rubbed my back, which already had me relaxing. “Willow?”

  “Hmmm…”

  “Is there anything I can do?”

  I looked up with tired eyes. “Will you sleep with me?”

  Gabe stood, cradling me against his chest. “I’d love to. Let me grab my book and I’ll read to you while you fall asleep.”

  “Mmm…”

  The vibrations from his chuckle moved through me. Taking me with him, Gabe flipped the lights off and I cuddled closer to him, feeling the drowsiness fall over me like a blanket.

  The bed dipped and I found my pillow, sleep already encroaching. Clothes rustled and the heat of his body brought me close.

  “Best fucking feeling in the world is having you in my arms.”

  Sleep had already won as I mumbled something incoherent.

  I reached over and turned off the alarm. It was warm. Too warm. Gabe’s arms slipped around me and held me tighter. Gabe. Momentarily I froze, wondering what happened. Then, I remembered going to the kitchen to get some milk and asking him to sleep with me.

  He brought me to bed and held me all night long. For the first time since the accident, I slept well.

  “Morning, sweetheart.” The deep rumble of his scratchy voice exuded sex.

  Four more days. Only four more days.

  For now, I relished being in his arms. “Morning.” I wrapped my arms tighter around him. “I don’t want to get up.”

  “Me, either. I want to keep you in my arms and never let go.”

  “Then don’t.”

  Gabe lifted me up a little to where I was able to look into the depths of his green eyes. “We’re in this for the long haul.”

  Through it all, Gabe soothed my underlying fears. “I want to go away somewhere and pretend none of this is going on.”

  “Soon, I’ll take you somewhere.”

  The reminder alarm went off, breaking the magical spell we had woven to escape reality. “I better get up if we’re going to leave on time.”

  In the next second, I found myself on my back. A squeal of delight left me as I clasped onto his biceps. “I think you forgot something, Willow.”

  I wiggled a little and felt his hardened length against my abdomen.

  A deep guttural groan left his lips. “Behave. Only four more days.”

  I gave him a little pout and he nipped my lips. The warmth from his touch sent tingles through me. I needed more.

  “Gabe…” I sighed his name before his mouth fully covered mine. Instinctively, I wrapped my legs around his hips to bring him closer.

  The strong strokes of his tongue commanded mine, and his hand moved across my oversensitive breasts. And then he was gone. My eyes opened. Gabe was breathing hard while he knelt between my legs and tried to regain control. The molten fire that burned within told me he was as much a slave to our love as I was.

  When we touched it was as if we became one, needing to join our bodies. “I t
hink you should go take a shower, Willow.”

  All I wanted was Gabe. I blinked a few times to break the spell.

  With ease, he unhooked my legs and scooted off the bed. “It is taking everything I have not to strip you bare and sink inside you.”

  “I want that, too.”

  Gabe’s wrapped his fingers around my ankles and gentle pulled me to the edge of the bed, causing my nightgown to ride up my thighs and expose my panties.

  “You are so fucking beautiful. I’m going to go get ready before I lose the last of my self-restraint.” His deep gravelly voice was strained.

  Without another word, he left the room and I felt the throb of my clit begging to be touched. I flexed my fingers to keep from touching myself. I blew out a frustrated breath. Now, I understood why someone would take a cold shower.

  With one last look in the mirror, I made sure I looked presentable. The fog from my earlier desire was only now dissipating after a frigid shower.

  My lavender gray eyes were wide and alert as I thought about what was ahead. In less than an hour, I would be teaching art at Apple Blossom. And inevitably, I would come face-to-face with Alex’s child.

  Glancing down, I touched my stomach. Alex Junior was going to have cousins he would never know about. With all that Alex was involved in, I wasn’t willing to intertwine our worlds more than they were. An ache settled in my heart. Family was important to me, but they would never know Gabe’s side.

  I knew Gabe agreed with my thoughts on the matter though we hadn’t discussed it at great length. Regardless of how he felt about his brother, I knew it cut deep not being involved in Alex Junior’s life.

  The clock showed it was time to leave.

  “Gabe, are you ready?”

  An older man with glasses walked in the door, similar to the man I saw at Precinct 54 the day I confronted Commander Taylor and learned Alex was not an undercover cop. I would recognize those green eyes anywhere. “I know why you wore glasses when you were pretending to be the older men.”

  “You would have figured it out.”

  I smirked at the Irish accent he adopted. If Alex sounded like Gabe in everyday life, his speech would have to be changed as well. Seeing the way his eyes lit up anytime we saw each other, I would have known.

  I kept constant eye contact as I walked up to him. “Yes, I would have. The eyes are the perfect window to a person’s soul.”

  “And yours is beautiful,” he said.

  “So is yours.”

  “Only because of you.”

  The words he spoke touched me as always. We were entranced with each other as we searched the depths of our love.

  A distant beep alerted us to Trent opening the hotel suite door. “Willow? Gabe? Andre is ready in the car.”

  “In here. We’re coming out!” I called.

  Casually dressed, Trent walked toward my bedroom door as we exited. “I’ll be riding with you guys. Security is starting to arrive on our strategic timetable. The supplies you requested are in the car.” Trent gave a smirk. “Nice costume, old man. I think he might be too old for you, Willow.”

  I giggled.

  “Fuck off, asshole,” Gabe shot back.

  Trent chuckled.

  It was tempting to tease Gabe, but I needed to focus on the day ahead. “What are your names again?” I asked. They had told me yesterday at the hospital but I had been tired.

  “Gabe is Ben Jones and I’m Joe Smith.”

  It was hard to keep a straight face as the man who didn’t look like Gabe had his voice. “Those names are pretty boring.”

  “True, but that means there’s a million of them and it made it easier to have a fake background uploaded for them to check against.”

  These two men had skills. They accomplished so much with so little time.

  “Makes sense.”

  Yesterday, while in the waiting room at the hospital, I had come up with a lesson as well as the supplies needed. Due to time, I kept it easy and planned to use something Dad had taught me at an early age.

  It was near time for Carson to be up, having always been an early riser. I checked my phone to see if I had missed a message, but there was nothing from Carson or his family.

  “Have you heard from anyone at the hospital?”

  Trent rechecked his phone. “My men made their rounds five minutes ago. Bennett is in the waiting room waiting for everyone to wake up. All is clear.”

  That was a relief. As we headed to the door, Trent motioned to the bar. “Fresh breakfast from a random bakery across town. We cleared out all the food yesterday from the suites and restocked Bennett and Marie’s with new supplies. For security reasons, I advised Bennett we were no longer using room service to eliminate any potential risk due to the unforeseen video outage. Only my men, Carson, and you two know about the attempted poisoning.”

  It still made me sick thinking about what almost happened. An inconspicuous shudder moved through me. Last night, Nonno had said he would visit Carson today. “Is Nonno still going to the hospital?”

  Trent checked something else on his phone. “Mr. Russo confirmed with security he would come to the hospital when you were there.”

  I hadn’t seen Nonno since he left and missed him terribly. However, I wanted to thank him for having the foresight to understand what Gabe and I needed. Yesterday, I decided against telling Nonno about Apple Blossom. Until we had answers, it wasn’t something he needed to worry about.

  The muffins smelled delicious and I grabbed one and a banana. Gabe snatched two bottles of orange juice.

  On our way to the elevator, I asked, “How is David doing this morning?”

  Trent gave me a warm smile. “Good. He’s pissed as hell and ready to be back on the job. The doctors expect a full recovery.”

  These security men were crazy half the time with how quickly they wanted to return to work. “Tell him to rest. I’m going to have something sent to him today if that’s okay.”

  “That’s very thoughtful of you.”

  I pulled out my phone, I placed an order for a get-well balloon arrangement on our way down. Balloons seemed manly enough. I wasn’t sure David was the teddy bear type.

  A knot formed in my stomach knowing Alex most likely would see us at some point today. We were about to potentially start down a path we would not return from. With us reaching out to Alex’s child, we were about to poke an unhinged person. That alone had my nerves prickling with apprehension.

  As we walked through the lobby, I looked at people wondering if they were somehow connected to all this. All of the people’s faces were appropriately engaged. I looked for a sign, something, but saw nothing. With all the threats, our enemies had the potential to blend like Gabe. Even his gate was slower with a slightly slouched posture as he embraced every part of appearing to be fifty.

  If Gabe had on sunglasses, I would not think he was the man I loved. It was unsettling to know the capabilities of people. Whoever wanted to take me could be in this room, watching as we walked across the lobby. The thought sobered me. But, I pushed forward.

  We stepped outside. The city was awakening as the early morning light chased the night away. Every morning felt like a new beginning—a fresh start to correct the wrongs of yesterday. Hopefully, today would lead to answers instead of more questions.

  Scooting to the far side of the black town car, Gabe got in a little slower. It was hard to take my eyes off him.

  The car door closed and away we went as the sun crested over the horizon. Gabe handed me an orange juice. “Grabbed this for you. I thought this might be good for your stomach.”

  “Thanks.” I settled in and ate my breakfast, hoping it wouldn’t cause a bout of morning sickness. Inconsequential chatter filled in the interim—mainly sports talk. It helped ease the tension, but my mind flitted to what was ahead and beyond. Hopefully, this wasn’t a mistake.

  Poking the beast sometimes was worse than letting it sleep.

  My phone vibrated with Carson’s name, which
brought a smile to my face.

  Carson: Morning. Wanted to check on you. You okay?

  Me: I’m good. A little nervous, but I’ll be fine.

  Carson: You’ll do great. Text me when you’re done and on your way back.

  Me: I will.

  Carson: I wanted you to know I support you. I shouldn’t have said what I did yesterday.

  Me: I know you do. It’s a lot for us all to take in.

  Carson: It is, but it’s not an excuse. Do you forgive me?

  Me: Of course, I do. I wasn’t mad. I’ve missed you.

  Carson: Miss you, too.

  It was so good to have Carson back in my life. Every day I had him would forever be a blessing.

  Trent turned around as he adjusted a small earpiece that was almost impossible to see unless you were looking for it. “Put this pendant on your shirt. It’ll help us hear you just in case.”

  Taking the proffered piece of jewelry, I inspected it. The microphone was a little painter’s palette with all the primary colors. I smirked. “Cute, fitting and practical. Just what the special forces ordered.”

  Andre disguised his laugh with a cough while Gabe and Trent shook their heads.

  I pinned it to my shirt. “There.”

  There was a pause and then Trent said, “Good. It’s working. We’re reading you loud and clear.”

  Within a few minutes we pulled up to the school. It was an old church that had been renovated into a special needs education center. A widow had bought it and had it redone for her grandson almost two years ago. It was beautiful.

  Andre pulled the car underneath a covered porch and things became real. I was here and about to meet Alex’s son. At the hotel, I had similar thoughts but now the reality of the situation had increased in potency.

  Deep breaths. I have this. It’s the fastest way to draw Alex out. I want to be free of him.

  I kept looking at the stone building, expecting it to reveal the answer to all the madness. Trent’s words broke through my thoughts. “We’ll be with you the whole time. If you feel uncomfortable, say you need some air. We’ll get you out immediately.”