“Let me introduce you to my boyfriend. Gabe…”
Fuck. My life just got worse. I had to say Trista was my girlfriend… I closed my eyes and turned around slowly. This wasn’t happening.
I plastered on a smile while Major Dick—I mean, Rich and I got reacquainted. Autumn was silent as she watched. I knew she wanted to yell at me, but I was just as shocked as she was. I hadn’t seen Rich in years. But he was still the sly prick I knew from all my years in the Army.
When he realized who I was, he pretended as if we’d never had words before. God, almost five years later and he was still getting under my skin. I didn’t want to act as if we used to be best friends. I wanted to pull Autumn out the front door and take off in the limo, never to see Major Richard Fucking Jones again.
I needed to get away from him before I throttled him. I told Trista I was going to get her a drink, and luckily, being the asshole that he was, Rich made sure Autumn went to get him one too. I’d never have my woman get me a drink just so I could stay and talk shop. I’d get my own fucking drink while talking shop and I’d get my woman a drink while I did so.
As Autumn and I walked toward the bar that was set up, she confirmed Major Dick was, in fact, her husband. The same guy who continues to hurt her repeatedly. The same guy who had spies following her. The same guy who has security cameras around the house to monitor her every step. The same guy who I wanted to kill before I knew who he was. The same guy who I was certain I’d kill if he ever laid another hand on her.
Doing damage control, I tried to explain to Autumn that Trista wasn’t my girlfriend, that she was just my date. She didn’t believe me, but I begged her to trust me. Somehow—she did.
“Fuck our plan, angel. When Paul finds out who your husband is, he’ll agree with me. We didn’t call him Major Dick for no reason,” I’d told her after she’d told me she wanted to stick to our plan.
We ordered four glasses of champagne after Autumn took two shots of Patron. I didn’t blame her. I couldn’t imagine being in her position. She probably thought I was playing her the entire time—that I was a spy for Rich. She blushed as I told her how beautiful she was tonight and I wanted to see the dress on the floor in my bedroom. She was like a drug—I wanted to consume her and become addicted to her.
“Was any of it true?” she asked as we started to walk back toward the front door where we left Trista and Rich.
“Was what true?”
“Everything you’ve said to me. How you feel … the way you—”
“It’s all true, angel. Not was—is. I had no idea who your husband was and I want to run out of here with you in my arms and never look back,” I confessed quietly.
“I can’t believe this is happening.” She took a deep breath and my heart ached as I saw how close she was to tears. I didn’t want to see her cry. Sure this was a nightmare situation, but now that I knew who I was dealing with, Rich was going to pay. We were no longer in the army and he was no longer my commanding officer—we were equals.
“Everything’s going to be okay. I promise.”
She snapped her head toward me. “How am I supposed to walk up to Rich and pretend that everything’s okay?”
“The same way you do every day.”
“But every day it’s because of you, and now I have to be across from you and pretend we just met and watch you and Tris—”
I grabbed her hand, loving the feel of her warm, smooth skin as I halted her just before we rounded the corner to the front door. “I’m doing Trista a favor. She told Rich she had a boyfriend and she didn’t want to show up without a date. I’m just her date. You need to believe me.”
We stayed staring at each other for what seemed like hours as I watched her question everything she knew about me in her head. Finally, she sighed. “Okay.”
“It’s not easy for me either, angel. I want to rip Major Dick’s head off right now.”
“Please don’t,” she begged.
“If he does anything to you tonight I will.”
She took a deep breath. “He won’t. He has an image to uphold.”
I nodded. “We should get back to them.”
She gave a tight smile as we turned the corner. Trista and Rich weren’t standing there. “Um … where’d they go?” Autumn asked, looking around.
I shrugged. “Don’t know.”
“We need to find them before Rich gets mad.”
“Angel, he won’t get mad in my presence. I can guarantee that—”
“No, but he will tonight when we’re alone. He likes to remember things before bed.”
I sucked in a breath, imagining the way Rich would grab her when he was mad. The way he’d punish her with sex. I hated all the images in my head, and I hoped my imagination was extremely vivid and not realistic.
“If that happens, tomorrow you’re not returning home and honestly, I can’t guarantee he will either.”
Before Autumn could protest, Rich spotted us and motioned for us to come to them. They were standing outside near the fire pit, talking to people. After we’d handed them their drinks, Rich leaned over and whispered into Autumn’s ear.
Acid rose from my gut as I watched him get close to her. I wanted to rip his fucking throat out and throw it into the fire in front of us. Instead, I stood there sipping the acidulous champagne, hoping the little bit of alcohol would calm me. Autumn nodded, then Rich walked a few feet and stood on the hip-high brick wall that lined the patio, clicking his champagne glass with a fork to get everyone’s attention.
Autumn stepped closer to me so I was sandwiched between her and Trista. My arm was pressed into Autumn’s as we made room for everyone to gather around. Reaching around with my hand, I moved it until I found hers then laced her fingers with mine. I needed her touching me. I wanted to comfort her, show her that no matter what, I was there for her. We were in this together.
Part of me hoped Rich would see. I wanted to see his face when he realized his wife he controlled was faking. That she was strong and was going to leave him. I wanted to watch his face as I left bruises all over his body like he did to her, then again as she left with me.
Fuck the plan.
I started to lean over and whisper in Autumn’s ear that we needed to leave—that I couldn’t take this shit any longer. I wanted to save her, and leaving her in this house with him was not something I could do. I was trained to protect, and I wanted to shield her from the hell she was living.
Before I could speak, Rich started his speech, his eyes scanning the crowd. I pulled back from Autumn. “Family and friends,” Rich began. “Some of you approached me this evening, telling me you’d thought this was a surprise party. When I agreed that yes, this was indeed a surprise party, you all looked at me as if I’d lost my mind. I can tell you,” he chuckled, “that I have not. This is, in fact, a surprise party, but the surprise isn’t for me. It’s for you.”
People started to look at each other in confusion. I just rolled my eyes. God he was a douche.
“The surprise is I have an announcement. After months of consideration, I’ve decided that I’m going to run for mayor!” He smiled a cocky smile.
Gasps could be heard all around and Autumn squeezed my hand—hard. I’d forgotten Trista had told me her boss was going to run for mayor. Was this what Autumn meant when she’d said he was powerful? Did he have cops in his back pocket? I wouldn’t put it past him to corrupt people. He was a master manipulator; I’d watched him work first hand at getting his way with everything during our time in the army.
After the crowd had stopped clapping, Rich spoke again. “Thank you, everyone. Now please, enjoy yourself this evening, and when it comes time to vote, don’t forget this face,” he said, taking his pointer finger and drawing a circle around his face.
“See what I mean?” Autumn whispered. “A lot of these people are cops, or people who have pull in the city. I’m sure they’re even on his payroll.”
“I’m not scared of him,” I whispered back.
Before Autumn could speak, Trista stepped in front of me. “Honey, let’s go get another drink.”
I gave Autumn a tight smile before I looked at Trista. “Anything for you, sweetheart. I’ll get it. You stay here and enjoy the fire.”
Chapter Seventeen
Autumn
Sweetheart? Hearing Gabe call his pretend girlfriend sweetheart did the same thing to my stomach as when Rich called me princess. I wanted to fucking hurl.
I couldn’t wait for the night to end. I wanted to be at Club 24 in our racquetball court and be able to talk freely. To be able to laugh as he tried to cheer me up like he always did.
Gabe left me and Trista standing on the patio as I waited for Rich to speak with people. A few seconds later, Rich walked over with his receptionist, Trina. Her gaze adverted mine, but I knew something was up. She couldn’t be here only for the party. I had to give her credit; took a lot of balls to come into my house. If it were a month ago, I’d be pissed. But now that I had Gabe, I didn’t care.
“Trista, come with me. I want to introduce you to some people who we need to get on our side.”
She smiled brightly as if she wanted to please Rich any way she could. “That’s what I’m here for.”
All three walked off, Rich not acknowledging me, and I was left standing by the fire pit alone. I looked around for my parents, Lea or Gabe, but I didn’t see any of them.
As I stared at the orange flames, my heart felt as if it was finally starting to calm down after everything was sinking in. While Rich gave his speech, Gabe grabbed my hand and held it. It was as if he knew I needed the contact. Instead of only his hand, I wanted him to wrap me in his arms and tell me everything was going to work out. He told me as much, but I wanted the warmth of his body pressed against mine. I felt safe with Gabe, and if I were in his arms, I would feel safer because he wouldn’t let Rich touch me again.
Instead, I was standing alone while my husband tried to win over people to get their votes. I watched as he spoke and everyone laughed. I couldn’t hear what was being said, and honestly, I didn’t care. Come Monday morning, I was finding an attorney and filing divorce papers. Gabe was right; I should have done this a long time ago, but now I had support. I had support from Brandi and Gabe and Paul. I wouldn’t need immediate money. Gabe and Paul were offering me their house, and I knew they’d feed me.
As I stared at Rich, I thought about how people would react when they found out he was getting a divorce. More than likely, they would never know the reasons, and I was confident he’d still run for mayor and feed off of being lonely. He didn’t care about me. All he cared about was himself and wanting to keep up appearances.
Thank the stars above I wasn’t pregnant with his baby!
“Want to slip away?” I stilled at the words being whispered into my ear until I realized it was Gabe.
Turning slightly I said, “You know I can’t. He’ll be pissed if I’m not in eyesight. Plus, there are cameras everywhere.”
“I know, angel. Wishful thinking I guess.” He shrugged.
I gave a weak smile. I should leave with Gabe—leave Rich wondering where I’d gone—make him worry about me and then bam—divorce papers.
“I’m going to go give this glass of champagne to Trista. If she doesn’t want me to be with her, I’m going to come back. If she does—”
“I understand,” I sighed with a weak smile and watched him walk away again.
After everything that had happened during the night, I hadn’t been able to enjoy how handsome Gabe looked in his suit. It hugged all the right places, and when I say all the right places, I mean all the right places. Damn, his ass was perfect as the black slacks formed around what I assumed was a hard muscular backside. With the slight contact we’d had, I could tell everywhere was stone hard. And at the gym, I got my fair share of his sculpted arms and legs. I’d yet to see his stomach, but if it were anything like the rest of him, I knew it was rippled to perfection.
“Why the long face, sunshine?” I turned to see my parents standing next to me with concern in their eyes, bringing me out of my lust-filled daze.
“What? Nothing’s wrong,” I said, trying to pretend everything was okay.
“Don’t you think we know when something’s wrong with our daughter?” Mom asked with a slight tilt to her head.
I turned to them fully, ready to make up more lies, when a big, burly man ran past me. Remo? The man ran toward Rich.
“What’s that all about?” I heard Dad asked.
I shrugged, not saying anything as I watched Gabe pull Trista to the side. I briefly thought Gabe and Rich were about to start throwing fists when I saw Rich wasn’t looking at Gabe. He was looking at another man. A man I’d never seen before. And shielding Trina with his arm to move away from the angry man.
Rich and the man were toe to toe, and the man who I thought was Remo was within a few steps. My eyes darted to Gabe’s and he was staring back at me. I gave him a questioning look and he shrugged, then grabbed Trista’s hand and started to pull her toward me.
My sight fell back on Rich. Just as the man he was arguing with was about to throw a punch, the burly man stepped between them, blocking the blow. The man’s fist collided with the burly man’s chest, then he was hunched over, holding his hand as if he were in pain.
“We’re gonna go,” Gabe bellowed next to me.
I looked up at him, wanting for answers.
“Something’s going on and I don’t want Trista here. Do you want to come with us?” he asked.
“I …” I looked between him and my parents. “It’s that serious?”
“That guy who’s yelling at Rich,” he pointed in the direction of the swarm of men, “is making threats. You shouldn’t be here, Ang … Mrs. Jones.”
This was my chance. My chance to slip away. Could I do it? My heart began to pound as I became anxious about the possibility.
“Come to our house, sunshine,” Dad suggested.
I nodded. “Okay.”
The five of us started walking toward the white French doors that led inside the house. I wanted to tell my parents if I went to their house my new plan wouldn’t work because Rich would find me and bring me back home. In the few seconds we had to make a break for it, I needed to slip away with Gabe. I couldn’t say anything because Trista would hear and tell Rich.
Fuck!
“Go get the car and then I’ll be ready. I need to find Lea,” I added, dodging people as they walked quickly out the door.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a circle of people standing where Rich had been. I was certain he was still there, dealing with the man who had crashed his party. Luckily, there was a ton of cops at our house and I’d recognized a few in the crowd of people. Whoever it was had picked the wrong night to threaten Rich—but the right night for me to escape.
I stepped around the corner to the kitchen to find Lea when I felt a hand grab mine, halting me. “Angel—”
“This is my chance, Gabe. I can slip away and hide from him while I file for divorce.”
“Wait. What?”
“I don’t want to go to my parents. I want to come home with you and put our plan in motion. It’s perfect.”
“Are you sure?”
I smiled. “I’m positive.”
Lea went to rush past me and I grabbed her arm. “Hey, you need to go home. Shit’s going down. I’ll send you the money—”
“What about cleaning up?”
I shook my head. I didn’t care how the house was left. Rich could clean it up or hire someone. “Don’t worry about it. Get your staff out fast. I want everyone out.”
“How are we going to get you to my house?” Gabe asked when Lea walked away.
I thought for a few seconds and then an idea came to me. “I’m leaving everything here because I’m certain Rich can search it,” I said while walking toward a drawer in the kitchen. “Write your number on this and I’ll call you to come pick me up after I explain everything to my parents. I’ll b
e at their house.”
He gave me a concerned looked. “Are you really sure about this?”
“Yes!” I shrieked. “We need to hurry.”
He wrote his number on a piece of paper I’d gotten from the drawer while I ran to my room, grabbing my gun and my purse. I put the gun in my purse and threw my cell phone on the bed before going back to the kitchen where Gabe was waiting. He handed me the piece of paper and we started to run toward the front door.
The plan was in motion and I was scared shitless.
Gabe gave me one last look before slipping into the limo where Trista was waiting and I slid into my parents’ SUV.
My heart felt as if it were pounding out of my chest as I kept looking over my shoulder out the back window, making sure we weren’t being followed. I couldn’t believe I’d left everything behind. I hoped once I’d filed for divorce, my attorney could get a few of my childhood photo albums back at the very least. I didn’t need the clothes, the jewelry, my cell phone—all of that was replaceable.
“Now do you want to tell me what’s going on?” Dad asked, pulling onto the freeway.
“I will once we get to your house.”
“Autumn, this is scaring me,” Mom sobbed.
“It’s going to be okay. I promise.” I reached over and placed my hand on her shoulder where she sat in the front seat. I didn’t know for certain if everything was going to be okay, but it had to be.
We sat in silence as Dad drove to their home. I looked down at my hand where I had the piece of paper with Gabe’s number written on it. I wished I had my phone. I wanted to hear him tell me everything would be okay and I wanted to be in his arms—safe.
Dad pulled into their garage and we all got out and went inside.
“There are some clothes in your old room that you can wear,” Mom advised, turning on a few lights.
I looked down at my dress. I hadn’t thought about changing or grabbing clothes. “Thank you. Let’s all change and then I’ll tell you everything.” I started to walk down the hall toward my childhood room. “Dad…” I called out, turning around.
Angels & Whiskey Page 15
