The Darkest Days (Torn Apart Book 2)

by Pressley James

  As the rain fell harder, the deep thunder rolled in, seeming to shake the old shack off its foundation. In drenching sheets, the rain poured from the sky, and she could barely make out the lone road that stretched between the massive-size trees.

  A beam of headlights fell on the road.

  As she turned towards Frank, both anxiety and hope hit her. “Someone’s coming!”

  Frank leapt from the couch and killed the light quickly. Then, he hurried to the window to stand alongside her. “We have to make sure that it’s him.”

  The dark red Lamborghini crept along the dirt road, and as it did, the hard sheets of rain formed a thick misty sheen around it.

  Dear God, please let it be him, she prayed silently, holding her breath.

  A peal of lightning illuminated the dark heavens, but still, it was difficult to make out the car’s occupant as it neared the shack.

  The Lamborghini came to a stop at the shack’s porch, parking alongside the maroon-colored SUV that they’d arrived in earlier. As Sebastian climbed out from behind the wheel, she released a relieved breath. “It’s him,” she said, not able to contain her excitement. “It’s Sebastian.”

  “Well, now you can lay your fears to rest,” Frank muttered, giving her a knowing smile. “Your man is safe here with you.”

  “And thank you for listening and being my sounding board,” she said gratefully, giving him a fast hug. “Because of you, I’m safe and out of immediate danger.”

  She watched through the window as Sebastian took the short steps onto the porch. He was still dressed in the tuxedo wear minus the jacket and tie. Mid-chest, the white shirt stood open, giving him an even more manly appeal. As always, he was a marvelous sight to behold, she mulled, feeling her heartbeat quicken.

  Unable to contain her joy and excitement any longer, she rushed to the door. He’d barely opened it before she hurled herself into his arms. “Sebastian!”

  “Hey, you,” Sebastian murmured, catching her easily, and somehow managed to shut the door. Holding her close, he smiled against the top of her head. “I’m happy to see you, too.”

  “Thank God, you’re here,” she said, clinging to him, and refused to let him go. Closing her eyes, she tightened her hold. “I was so scared.”

  “I’m sorry about earlier, and I didn’t mean to worry you. But, things had to be done.” His warm breath teased her soft tresses as he addressed Frank. “Man, I owe you one. Thanks for taking care of her.”

  She heard Frank’s footsteps as he crossed the room.

  “No problem, man, anytime,” Frank chimed, clapping him on the back. “When it’s time to level up with the next stage in the plan, call me.” Arching a brow, he gave a knowing look. “I think it’s time that I make myself scarce. The two of you have a lot of catching, or should I say, making up to do? I’m going to bounce, dawg.”

  After making a fast goodbye, Frank departed.

  A few moments later, she heard the SUV fire up before it headed up the lone road.

  “I’m never letting you go again,” she whispered tearfully, burying her face into his chest.

  “Don’t worry. I don’t plan on going anywhere.” He smiled against her head again. “You’re stuck with me.”

  Finally, she released her death hold as she pulled back. Her tear-filled gaze met his. “You promise?”

  “It’s a promise that I never intend to break.”

  “And I’m going to hold you to that,” she murmured truthfully, and then looked up him, puzzled. “Where is this place?”

  “It’s several miles out from the estate,” Sebastian said, pulling free, and strode to the window to peer out again. Obviously satisfied that nothing was amiss, he faced her again. “It occupies a small fraction of the 300 acres that I own here at Widow’s Pointe.”

  “300 acres?” she murmured, eyes widening. “That’s a lot of area to contend with.”

  He shrugged. “I suppose it is.”

  “Hmmm…” she mulled aloud, trailing to the sofa. “Do you use this shack often?”

  “It gets quite a good bit of use during hunting season. Other than that, it’s pretty much vacant most of the time. It’s been here for generations. When I bought the place, I didn’t have the heart to tear it down. There’s a lot of history here.”

  “Yes, I suppose it is,” she murmured, continuing the mundane conversation. “It does hold a certain bit of character.”

  But, she did know what they had to talk about.

  Yet, like him, she wanted to avoid that conversation like the plague.

  A deep silence fell in the room.

  Their gazes met within it.

  Finally, she found the courage to broach the subject.

  “We have to talk about it,” she said, tensing. “What happened with Victor?”

  “Let’s just say that I got my point across to him,” he quipped tightly, crossing the room to her. “It’s nothing that you should be worried about.”

  “Nothing that I should be worried about---how can you even stand there and say those words, Sebastian?” she said in disbelief. “You had a gun at the engagement party, and there was the possibility of violence. And let’s not forget that I’ve just spent weeks housed with a man who’s been blackmailing me nonstop.” She gave a fierce scowl. “He threatened to kill you if I didn’t leave the island. To say that I have no part in this is ridiculous.”

  “Leave it alone, Vanessa---”

  “No, I won’t leave it alone,” she protested, firming her lips. “Back at the hotel, you weren’t up front with me all the way. Basically, we just skated along the surface of the situation. But, now, we’re alone. We can talk, really talk. Isn’t that what you said that we needed to do?” She folded her arms across her chest. “So, let’s talk.”

  “We will. But, not here, not right now,” he muttered roughly, looking away from her, and then released a deep sigh. “Look, it’s been a long night. We’re both exhausted---”

  “No, we’re going to discuss this,” she replied, laying a firm hand against his chest. “I want to know the truth, all of---”

  He bit back a curse as frustration seized his features. “Well, sometimes, the real truths are ugly, so much so in fact that you don’t want to even stare them in the face!”

  “What are you so afraid of?” she asked softly, stepping closer to him. Grasping his chin, she directed his gaze to hers. “Why are you running from me? You haven’t done that since our earlier times at Eastwood. Please, Sebastian, don’t disappear on me like that again. I can’t take it.”

  As he stared down at her, his words were tortured. “I don’t want to lose you,” he whispered, and tears glistened in his green orbs. “I’m nothing without you.”

  “Don’t say that,” she implored, biting her lips to control her sob. “You’re a strong man, and you’ve accomplished so much with me and before me.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong,” he muttered, grabbing her hand in his, and to her surprise, it was shaky. “I’m a better man because of you. You made me feel alive again.” As his eyes searched hers, she sensed his desperation. “Remember those nights on the yacht?”

  “Of course, I do. How could I ever forget such profound and memorable moments?” she smiled at him tearfully. “We made love and you confessed that you loved me. It was the happiest day of my life.”

  “I’ve never felt that close to anyone. Down to the deepest parts of my soul, I felt you,” he whispered, and so much agony shone in his green eyes that it hurt. “I remember thinking, she’s got me, every fractured, messed-up piece of me, and she’s still standing here. Instead of running away from the disaster that I was, you stayed. You’ll never understand how much that means to me.”

  “You speak of yourself as if you’re a monster. Sebastian, you’re not. I want you to stop believing that you are. I just need you to trust me completely---”

  Her words ended as he pulled away.

  Once more, he crossed the room, putting distance between them again.
>
  Wasn’t there an emotional distance as well, she mulled quietly, feeling her anxiety rising again.

  The tension in the room was so taut, that the air was likely to break like a string. More than likely, the truth would sever it.

  “Please, don’t shut me out,” she pleaded, staring at his stiffened form across the room. “Talk to me.”

  “I love you,” he whispered, anguished. “You’ll never know how much. My intentions have never been to hurt you. But, I have, and my next words will. The way in which I’ve approached our relationship in the beginning---it was all wrong. I should have been honest with you from the very beginning. But, I wasn’t, and I haven’t been.”

  Dear God, no, she whispered inwardly, feeling the tears wetting her cheeks.

  Had there been real truth to the words that Victor had spoken? Had her relationship with Sebastian been a ruse on his part all along?

  “No,” she pleaded, balling her hands into fist before placing them before her mouth. Still, her naked sobs broke free as the truth closed in. “Don’t you dare say it.”

  “As much as I don’t want to, I have to.” Like bright emeralds, his green eyes glistened with fresh tears. “Baby, I’ve never loved anyone the way that I love you. Hurting you is the last thing that I want---”

  “No, I don’t want to hear it!” she screamed wildly, and her words echoed in the shack. “Sebastian, I want you to stop it!”

  But, if he said nothing further, would it really matter, she thought desperately, for didn’t the truth breathe within the walls already?

  “We met at one of your gallery showings,” he continued. “I’d like to say that it was by chance, but it wasn’t. At that moment, it was ploy, nothing but a game. You were the pawn.” Avoiding her gaze, he stared at a point across the room. “Because of things that’d happened, those that I don’t want to disclose right now, I wanted revenge against Santini and his father.”

  Staying silent, she awaited the next verbal blow.

  “So, I schemed, plotted, and became involved in illegal dealings just so that I could break them financially. But, it wasn’t enough for me. I wanted them both to bleed crimson red,” he said as if disgusted with himself. “The feds got in on it, and they pulled me in, realizing that I could be an asset to their case. They did their research, looked into their private lives and the relationships that shaped them. That’s how you came into the picture. My job was to seduce you and get all the information that I could on Santini.”

  At his words, the numbness settled on her.

  Stung by his betrayal, she sank down on the sofa.

  “I did my research. I found out as much as I could about you and your family. Pretty much, except for your uncle, you were alone. Back then, I can remember thinking,” Sebastian murmured, as if faraway. “That those facts alone would make you an easy mark, for weren’t you already broken somewhat?” He paused. “I was a cold, calculated son-of-a-bitch with no regards to anything or anyone. Revenge was my drug, and I fed on it like junkie getting his fix. It was my high. I was addicted to it.” Finally, he looked at her again, but still, it was if he didn’t really see her. “Santini’s obsession with you clenched the deal. That’s when I realized that you were the answer to his destruction.” He gave a humorless laugh. “But, I was too much of a fool to realize that you’d be my own.”

  Although it hurt to say the words, she said them anyway. “So, you decided to use me.”

  The shame played on his handsome features. “Yes, I did.”

  At the words, she sucked in a painful breath.

  “I was a coward, too blinded by my own insecurities to face the truth. I needed someone, and that someone was you. The very moment that I saw you, that truth was there,” he said, and pain laced his words. “I’ll never forget that night---the first time that we met face to face. The crowd in the gallery was small, so you met me in the doorway.” His smile was brief. “When I first saw you, it was if I’d been struck by lightning, and for a moment, I lost all speech. I swear that your smile lit up the world---it set mine ablaze. Through your eyes, I saw the things that I’d thought lost---feelings and emotions.” He paused, lost in time again. “And you, you sensed our instant connection, just as I did. In your beautiful, big brown eyes, I saw the truth. We’d found the very thing that we’d both been yearning for.”

  Turning away from her, he stared out the window and faced the rainy night again.

  At loss for words, they both allowed the silence.

  “Even as I found myself at the gallery week after week, I was too proud to admit that I was there because I wanted to see you. So, I convinced myself that it was all part of the game against Santini.” He looked at her fully. “What I didn’t realize that I was being played in my own game of deception. For I was the true pawn…you had captured me.”

  “So, all this time, you’ve been pretending to care about me?” she whispered, anguished, and was pained at the words.

  “No,” he said roughly, whirling around to face her. “If there’s anything that’s true, it’s the fact that I love you. Before the accident, in all the weeks and months that we spent together, I fell in love with you. I’ve loved you from the very beginning.” Frustrated, he raked a shaky hand through his hair. “And I was too cowardly to face that very fact until you and I were together at Eastwood.”

  “Eastwood,” she murmured, and somehow, it hurt to breathe. “When I awakened from the coma, you had evidence that proved we were together. The things that you told me, were those lies, too?”

  “There were half lies and half truths.” The dark shadows played across his face, but still, they didn’t hide his plain grief. “The truth was, it was your wedding day, and there was a church explosion. But, I was not the man that you were going to marry.”

  As she swallowed past the lump in her throat, a tear slipped free. Hastily, she brushed it away, and again, she had to force the words out. “So, the truth of the matter is that you kidnapped me from the wedding. You wanted to hurt Victor.”

  “Yes, a part of me wanted to put the screws in Santini. I won’t lie about that. But, do you want to know the real reason why I did it?” he said roughly, and his pain was so visual that she wanted to wipe it away. “I did it to stop you from making the biggest mistake of our lives. How could I just stand back and allow the woman that I loved to marry someone else, especially one the likes of Santini?” The disgust played in his voice. “I knew that he was holding something over your head and forcing you into it. I didn’t care what measures that I had to go to stop it.”

  “I have no doubts that I’d been coerced into marrying him,” she spoke distantly, for her emotions were too stormy for any clear thinking. “In these last weeks, he’s mentioned that his father has bogus evidence that’ll keep me in line. It’s apparent that my relationship with Victor has always been a loveless one.” Finally, she focused her attention on him again, and she marveled at the guilt and shame that played on his face. “You knew that, didn’t you? That’s why you decided to go in for the kill and capture your quarry.”

  “I loved you. I still do, now more than ever---”

  “Stop it!” she shouted, leaping up from the sofa, and her eyes were filled with angry tears. “Don’t you ever say those words to me again! They’re completely meaningless.”

  “Vanessa---”

  “No! I don’t want to hear any more of your lies. Enough of them! You’ve had your say, and I think that it’s time that I have mine,” she fought back. “You’ve taken everything else away from me. Can’t I at least have this right?”

  “Baby, I’d give anything to take away what I’ve done,” he whispered hoarsely, and tears glistened in his green orbs. “I’d rather die than hurt you---”

  “But, you can’t take it back, can you?” she challenged, and as their eyes met, she prayed that she wouldn’t crumple from the pain on his handsome visage. “How can you erase the destruction that you’ve caused at your own hands?”

  “Forgive me. Baby
, I’m sorry,” he rasped unsteadily, reaching out to her. “Please---”

  “All this time, you’ve been laughing at me, playing me for a fool,” she accused, sucking in a painful breath. “Tell me, Sebastian, have you gotten all of your kicks in? Are you proud that your little plan worked?”

  “Baby---”

  “Don’t call me that! I am the pawn, remember? The game piece in your power play against Victor and his father. You know what? It’s funny.” Her laughter verged on hysteria. “It all makes sense now, all the evasiveness from everyone else. Dr. Roma, for instance, he would never totally be upfront with me about us. He knew what you were doing, didn’t he”

  The guilt played on his face. “Yes.”

  “Damn,” she whispered, embracing her anger. “You’re good. Keeping a well-renowned physician quiet is no small feat. Like you, he deserves a medal for his award-winning performance. How much did that little endeavor cost you, Mr. Armani? A hefty price, I bet.” As she looked at him, she held her breath, afraid of his next words. “Luna, Javier, Rosa---did they know the truth?”

  “Javier and Luna---no, they had no part in this,” he said, hesitating, and flushed red. “But, Rosa, she knew what I was doing---”

  “Dear God, no,” she cried, placing shaky hands over her mouth, but couldn’t halt the flow of tears. “How could she?”

  “Don’t blame Rosa. None of this is her fault, and I regret that I ever placed her in such a position. It was wrong of me to take advantage of our friendship like that,” he muttered in her defense. “She was never in agreement with my actions, and it pained her to lie to you---”

  “No! I’m not going to stand here and listen to you justify anyone’s actions!” The bitterness played on her face. “But, you’re right. I’m not going to blame Rosa or anyone else for that matter. I’m going to place the blame where it belongs---right at your feet,” she said coldly, striding forward, and stopped when she reached him. “Sebastian Armani, master manipulator, the playboy billionaire who’d do anything to get what he wants. That’s the real you, isn’t it? All this time, I believed that you were much more.”