Surprise Daddy

by Nicole Snow

  “I'm the one she's supposed to marry. Not you, cheater. Question time is over. You nodded, so I think we have an understanding. Do you remember everything I said?”

  “Yes,” he says, leaning heavily on the skinny little thing holding him up. “I'll leave tonight. Whatever you want.”

  “Good. Now, answer my question,” I growl, giving the chain a warning pull.

  He tenses up, turns toward me, and gives me a glare through his angry, watering eyes. “I don't know where she is. Honest. I'm the one who sent the alert to the police. She didn't come home when she was supposed to a few hours ago, and her phone's completely dead.”

  My fists are hungry. They're looking for any excuse to make this man bleed, but I don't think he's lying. The brunette digs her fingers into his scalp, pulling his face to her shoulder, protecting him.

  It's almost laughable. Her non-existent balls are ten times bigger than his. I can't believe I almost let my woman tie the knot with this dickless animal.

  “He's telling you the truth!” she says. “I'm their wedding planner. The woman's impossible to deal with, she always does things without thinking them through. She'll turn up sooner or later. And when she does, I'm refunding her money, telling her to keep the fuck away. She's made his life hell, and so have his parents. He doesn't want to be with her. They've put so much pressure on him to do the right thing, to keep their reputation going for another generation in the U.P. He deserves better than a bad wife and a family who'll never understand.”

  Is she joking? Does she think I'm going to stand by idly while she gives me his life story?

  “Stay right there,” I say, reaching for my phone.

  She covers her face, flushing bright red, while I snap several pics. I don't give a damn what kind of excuses she's trying to make for this pathetic creep wrapped up in her arms.

  I only care about getting new damning evidence for Kara. She deserves to see this, and know beyond any doubt who he's left her for.

  “What else have you got in your stack of toys over there?” I ask, nodding toward the bed. “Handcuffs?”

  She gives me an uneasy look. Yeah, of course there are handcuffs.

  I don't say a word. Just march over, pull out the small silver pair, plus a black cord that feels like a jumprope. I order them down into two leather chairs with the thick wooden legs.

  First, I cuff the asshole's hands behind his back, making them tighter than I really need to. With her, I'm more gentle, though I've got an ugly feeling I shouldn't be.

  She knows she's fucking around with a man who's engaged. He's probably fed her a sob story, but the one thing missing from her little account is regret.

  They won't be tied down long with the job I did. But it's all I need to walk out of that room, head down the hall, and get to my car. I tell the woman at the front desk I had a family emergency, and check out with the room on my tab for a grand total of thirty minutes.

  I have to find Kara, and this time it's for good. I won't stop until I have her lips on mine, haul her into bed, and make up for all the nights we lost since I fled town.

  This time, I'm back. I've said my apologies and I'm ready to move on. I'm going to give her the life she deserves, the one I promised her. It's the life I've always meant to deliver after five brutal years apart.

  Never again.

  “Baby, I'm coming,” I whisper to myself, pulling onto the highway, stabbing my foot down on the accelerator. My car goes from ten miles an hour to seventy in two seconds flat. The average Tesla has some nice perks.

  It isn't fast enough. Five years without her is too much time to lose, and after tonight, I'm not wasting another second.

  I'm putting us back together. Taking her to bed, shoving my ring back on her finger, and fucking her like the sad, strange bastard at the hotel never could.

  She isn't his anymore. Hell, she never was.

  I don't care if she isn't sure about second chances yet, I'm going to tell her the truth, show her, make her believe. There's nothing clearer beating in my heart, and I hear the truth in every booming thud. I feel it spike into my blood, feed my veins, fill my soul with one voice screaming mine, mine, mine a hundred times.

  Honest to God. That's all she'll ever be, all she's meant to be, however much the universe tries to hold us apart.

  My Kara's coming home. Her forever is my own.

  Entangled. Beautiful. Inseparable.

  9

  Reset (Kara)

  Several Hours Earlier

  I closed down Grounded a few hours ago, telling my assistant manager I won't be in tomorrow. I packed a few waters and sandwiches, ready to make the trip to Sault Ste. Marie. It's a quiet town at the end of the U.P. on Canada's border.

  Perfect for the introspection and time alone I need the next few days. I'm about twenty minutes outside town, passing through the edge of Marquette, when my phone rings.

  I have to talk to Matt, however much it's bound to upset me right now.

  “Sis? Where are you? We need to talk,” he says, little Holden laughing in the background. I hear another voice, mom's, which tells me he's home. He's probably also dropped the news about Ryan.

  “We're talking now, Matt. You must be calling me because you've decided what you're going to do. Just tell me.”

  There's a pause, and then a heavy sigh. “I haven't turned the asshole in. Not yet. He's dangerous, and he shouldn't be out on the streets, much less in your coffee shop late at night. I want you to tell me why he came back. What does he want with you?”

  I think about his arms, his heat, the truth he promised last night. I remember Reg this morning, the bitter, violent edge in his voice, how he flung me around our kitchen and smashed his secrets – if that's what they really were – into a dozen pieces.

  “He's trying to prevent me from making a mistake,” I say, as close to the truth as I can get. It's also the closest I think he'll come to understanding, since he's convinced I'm dealing with a monster.

  “Mistake – what? Surely you don't mean marrying Reg?”

  “I don't know, Matt. He told me some things. Even gave me what he said was proof of things Reg has been doing behind my back.”

  “Kara, fuck, come on! You don't really believe that, do you? He's putting ideas in your head. You're happy together. Ain't like me and Maggie.”

  He's so sure it hurts. I guess that's what I get for keeping the strain in our relationship to myself, hiding it from everyone. It was mostly his idea. God forbid his parents and their rich friends find out there might not be a wedding to deal with, when they've spent so much time and money planning it.

  Well, there won't be now.

  I'm still trying to form an answer when Matt swears again, his frustration boiling over.

  “Look, I don't have time for this crap. Here's ma, I'll let her try to talk some sense into you.”

  Great. I can't follow the road safely anymore with everything going to hell. So, I pull over, into a small scenic overlook. Down below, Superior's dark waters slap the rocky shore, mirroring the feelings kicked up inside me.

  “Kara? Your brother told me everything. Listen, I know how much it hurt when he walked out. I saw the damage he did to you – we all did – but no one like me, first-hand. If you want him gone, honey, and you can't do it yourself, then let us take care of him. We can talk to Sheriff Dixon, make sure he's apprehended before he has a chance to play more games. We're here for you and –“

  “Jesus. Fuck.” I'm gripping the steering wheel hard, ready to tear it off. “You don't get it, do you, mom? Neither of you. I'm the one who agreed to meet with him last night. I've known about him being back in town for almost a week. He isn't here to hurt anymore.”

  “Kara.” She says my name in a tone that lets me see her holding up a finger. “You don't know what he's here to do. He's an awful man. You shouldn't trust him with anything. Honey, I've heard you might be having some issues with Reg. You're vulnerable. Ryan probably knows it, which is why he's come back here to me
ss with you again. Don't believe a word he says. Don't –“

  “I don't know what to believe, but the only one who can sort it out is me. Nobody else,” I say, jabbing my finger against the dashboard. The pain gives me a nice distraction. “What is it he's done, anyway? Why won't anyone be honest about it? It seems like you know more than I do, as much as daddy took to the grave a couple years ago.”

  She's quiet. No different than the other times I've asked her about what really happened that night, whatever they know that goes beyond old articles and rumors.

  “Kara, your father wanted you to move past Ryan. Forget him. Pretend he never existed,” she whispers. “We don't need to relive his betrayal. He stabbed us all in the back when we least expected it. Maybe we failed to recognize the mental issues a boy like him had, coming from those foster homes that didn't take good care of him. It isn't our problem anymore, honey, and it isn't yours. He needs to be locked up so he can finally get some help.”

  “Locked up why? Because you think he really killed Nelson Drayton? I've never understood why everyone is so fucking insistent. He sat at our table almost every night, mom. He was like family. I loved him. If he had a dark side, I would've seen it. He's not a murderer.”

  I'm so sure of my own words I almost believe them. Almost.

  What I really want is to get off the phone, forget about going east, and find Ryan. I want him to clear his name. I want to believe I'm not falling for another dangerous liar, when Reg has shown me that's all he really is.

  “You don't know that. Kara, please come home,” she says, snapping at first and then softening her tone. “Please. We can sit down, talk about this, sort out what we're going to do. I'll leave a light on for you. We'll figure this out as a family, together. We won't do anything until I let you have your say, if that's what you want. You've seen him last, so you might know how to deal with him without anyone else getting hurt.”

  I'm not going to change her mind, no matter how much time I burn talking. She clearly isn't opening up, and isn't going to tell me any new big, ugly secrets.

  I hang up. Turn off my phone. Ignoring another text from Ryan while I do it. I can't let them trace his last communications to me if mom and Matt decide to turn him in, and it turns into a manhunt.

  I need to find him, before the wolves close in, and rip him away from me forever. Whipping my car around, I peel back onto the highway, watching my headlights stab into the night.

  My first mistake of the night is stopping at home, before I try to get in touch with Ryan. I'm surprised to see Reg's car there when it isn't even midnight. After what happened, I thought for sure he'd be gone.

  As soon as I step inside, I hear something being thrown around upstairs, bounding loudly across the floor.

  I take each step up cautiously. When I reach the hall, I look into our bedroom. It's a total mess. Clothes everywhere, drawers ripped open, debris from the master bathroom strewn around in the clothes. I've never seen Mr. Clean in such a chaotic frenzy, and it sends a chill up my back.

  “Reg? What's going on?”

  “Kara.” He stops, turns around, his eyes wide like I've just caught him pulling money from the safe. Thankfully, that seems to be untouched. There isn't a single fingerprint reflecting on the shiny metal buttons at the bottom of our closet. “I was going to leave a note, but...I'm leaving.”

  “Leaving? What do you mean?” I say, folding my arms. “Another work trip?”

  I'm so sick of his excuses. The only thing that stops me from walking away is the mess he's made, which tells me he's in a hurry to get the hell out. I'd like to know why.

  “No, not work.” He shifts uncomfortably, stress lining his face. “Look, I'm sorry it has to go down this way. I'll be gone for the rest of the week, and I expect you to be out of my condo by the end of the week. Wedding's off, and we're done.”

  My heart shouldn't hurt anymore. It's irrational. But it does, bleeding into itself, pain throbbing at the grim finality. I told myself I was ready for this. Hearing it is another story.

  “So, it's over...just like that?” Anger invades my voice. I step into the room, kicking aside my dresses, which he's flung all over the floor. I'd say it's a disrespectful way to end, but it's no different from the way things have been the last six months.

  He doesn't care. He never did. Never will.

  I draw in a breath. “You know what? Fine. I'll be the bigger person and leave, since that's what you want. You've already turned my life upside down, wasted years, so what's another week?”

  He doesn't say anything. For some reason, that's more infuriating than watching him stoop down like a scolded animal, tuck his toothbrush into his leather suitcase, and scurry past me.

  He's halfway down the staircase when I lose it. I'll take his abuse, his nastiness, and his cold disregard, but I can't stand this vicious silence.

  I'm snatching at everything I can find, throwing it after him. A bottle of dry shampoo hits him in the back of his head, causing a satisfying echo.

  “Fuck!” He stops, turns around, and looks at me, waiting near the door. “Your boyfriend is fucking insane, Kara, and so are you. You're lucky I don't turn you both in, and tell them everything right now. There's a police bulletin out for you. Call the cops and tell them you're safe before I do. It's the last favor you're ever getting from me.”

  I'm looking at him, trying to take in the insane things he's saying, one at a time. It's like my brain has reached its limit on crazy today.

  Before he walks out, he stops, and gives me the most hateful look I've ever seen on his princely face. “This is the last time you'll ever see me, but we're not done yet. Nobody assaults a Drayton and walks away. Your boyfriend doesn't either.”

  Boyfriend? What the hell is he talking about?

  The door slams behind him, and I walk to the nearest window, overlooking the garage. His grey, freshly washed Mercedes screams out a second later. I know in the pit of my gut it's the last time I'm ever going to watch him leave our home.

  There's no time for tears, wine, or a lavender scented soak in the tub to calm me down. I'm going to go ballistic if I can't get answers.

  Before, I needed to see Ryan. Now, I'm going to lose my mind by the end of the night if I can't find him. Hell has broken loose, spilling out a little more by the second, and I need answers.

  His offices are dark. The security gate is locked up tight. A couple vehicles roam the lot, but I know they're mostly guards working night shift. I seriously doubt he's at work, especially if he's learned the police were trying to chase me down just a few hours ago.

  If he couldn't find me, where would he go? It takes me a few minutes before I think I have an answer.

  I drive on, leaving Punch Corp behind, heading for the spot where I believe he's likeliest to find me.

  When I pull into the lighthouse parking lot, I see his lonely Tesla, and start to smile. How fitting.

  He's upstairs, staring across the wide, dark sea. He doesn't wait for me to come up and join him. As soon as he sees my light, his solitary figure takes off, heading inside and racing downstairs. He bursts out the doors a second later. His big beautiful arms are around me before I've even had a chance to close my door.

  “Are you okay, babe? Did he hurt you?” His voice scratches my ears. Low and rough, delicious as the drag of his stubble on my skin.

  “Only a few bruises to the heart.” I sigh, pausing to breathe him in, the only man who's ever felt right.

  Ryan's blue eyes are dark and beautiful in the night. He takes my face in one hand, tilts it up, forcing me to hold his gaze. After all the hell I've been through tonight, I love it.

  “That's over,” he whispers, low as distant thunder. “I'm here, Kara-bou. Never letting go as long as I've got a pulse. You're spending the rest of your days with a smile on those precious lips.”

  “I want to believe you,” I tell him, nestling into his chest. His hands roll down my back, lower, warming the chills running up my spine. “It's hard, after
all this.”

  “It's not.” His hand cups my cheek again, and his forehead touches mine. “This is our reset, Kara. The pain, the hurt, the regret, that's all over. I'll mend fences with you and my family. I'll throw him out of your life if he ever comes back to give you hell again.”

  “Like it's so easy.” Sarcasm creeps into my voice.

  “I never ran away from a challenge,” he says, flashing me his mysterious smile. “You're the best one of my life. It's easy, because I say so, babe. I told you what this is – reset. Whether it's easy or hard doesn't matter because I just pushed the fucking button, and this ride doesn't stop until you're happy, living under my roof, and curled up with me every single night. We've lost too many nights. It'll take a whole army of assholes like Reg to keep me away from you even one more time, and I'll still go down swinging to keep you.”

  No more talk. I lean into him, and let his lips take what they've wanted.

  Our kiss ignites the fireball building in my belly. Rampant, scorching heat runs through my veins. His tongue presses into my mouth. Mine dances against his in hot, furious ripples. I'm actually swooning in his arms, losing support in my knees, falling into an embrace that's just like home.

  “Your ex is gone tonight, yeah?” he asks.

  I can't help but laugh. He calls him my ex like it's already official, and I don't have a hundred loose ends to wrap up, getting Reg out of my life for good. Finally, I nod.

  “Good. Then let's take this to your place. I'll get the movers in the morning to grab your stuff as soon as we've had our fun. They'll strip down everything that isn't his in that damned condo except the sheets we're about to ruin. I want him to rub his face in our love after everything he did to you.”

  Sweet Jesus, he's insane.

  But I have to admit, the idea has a certain wild charm to it. It satisfies my jealousy, my anger, and my hurt all at once. More than anything, I just want Ryan again, the sex I've craved for half a decade, suffering through abstinence and then the awkward encounters with Reg that weren't much better.