Faith (Stregth Series Book 2)

by T. L. Nicholas

  “I don’t know. He said I have too much scarring and that I won’t be able to get pregnant.”

  “Then maybe getting a surrogate is a possibility, if that’s what you want. You have plenty of time to decide if you even want them at all, so I don’t want you to worry about it. You have enough on your plate right now, and whatever you decide, I’m not in any hurry.”

  “Are you sure, Jace? You could be with almost anyone else and not have to think about adopting or shelling out thousands of dollars. You could have your own baby, the usual way.”

  “Yes, I’m sure. I don’t want anyone else. I want you, and I know, for certain, that whether the kid is my blood or not won’t matter a damn bit. If we have a kid, it’ll be ours. End of story.”

  It really sounds like he’s talking about forever. “Okay. I’m sorry I didn’t just talk about it. I don’t know why I do that.”

  “Fear, anxiety, meds? Who knows? It doesn’t matter though, because I’m not going to leave you, Bayleigh. You have my word.”

  “That’s what Ben said,” I say smiling.

  His eyes widen, “That he wouldn’t leave you?”

  I laugh, “No! He said you wouldn’t leave me.”

  The parts of his face that aren’t black, blue, and purple turn bright red. He closes his eyes. “I really wish you’d never asked me why I wasn’t jealous of Ben. I was fine until then. Now, I’m always second-guessing. I feel like a caveman.”

  “I’m sorry. I really am. I thought it meant you didn’t care. Ben has no interest in me, Jace, and, more importantly I think, I have no interest in him that way. He’s a sweet guy, and I really hope he finds someone wonderful. And I enjoy having him in my life. I’ve never had a brother.”

  “You have Chance.”

  “That’s true, I do, and I love him. I can have Ben too, though, can’t I?” I ask.

  “I don’t know. You forgot about Chance,” he says, laughing.

  “I didn’t forget him, I just always think of him as your brother or Alex’s boyfriend, not my brother.”

  “Okay, you can keep Ben,” he says. “We should get ready, we have to meet him soon. Do you want the shower first?”

  “No, I’m going to take a cat nap while you take yours, if you don’t mind?”

  He stares at me for a long moment, “Are you sure you’re feeling okay?”

  “Yes. I’m fine. I promise, I have no desire to die right now. I feel a little overwhelmed, a little worried about what’s coming, but I’m okay, Jace.”

  “Okay. You know, you can join me in the shower if you want,” he says, raising his eyebrows.

  “Almost any other time I would say yes, but I really want to lay down for a minute. I have an awful headache.”

  He walks to the bedroom and I follow, assuming he wants to get clothes or something. When we get there, he lays on the bed, pulling me down next to him. He wraps his arms around me, and I snuggle into him. “I just want to hold you for a minute. I had an awful time sleeping without you yesterday.”

  “You did?”

  “Yeah. I’m so used to being next to you. It was weird not having you there. I missed you,” he says. He kisses the back of my neck. “It was the best night of my life, and then it turned into the worst night of my life. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to do this again.”

  “I was afraid of the same thing. I don’t know how you can ignore everything I’ve done to you, but I’m grateful.”

  “I don’t ignore it, Tiny, I understand it. I know why you’re doing it, and that it’s not because of me. It’s because you’re scared, and someday, you’ll see I won’t let anything hurt you.”

  I smile, and he kisses the back of my neck again. “Go to sleep, Baby. I’ll wake you up when I get out,” he says. I feel him get off the bed, and then he’s gone.

  “Do you want to get in the shower?” he asks.

  I stretch. “Want to? No, not really, but I’m never going to wake up if I don’t.”

  Jace grabs my hands when I reach for him, and pulls me up to sitting. “How’s your head?”

  “I don’t know yet. The same I think.”

  “I’m sorry, Sweetheart. Come on, maybe the shower will help.”

  I follow him to the bathroom, and he already has the shower running for me. “Do you want me to go so you can get in? I have to shave, but I can wait.”

  “No, I don’t care,” I say, stripping down. I glance back and he’s staring at me in the mirror, his hand holding a razor and frozen in midair, near his face.

  I laugh and he smiles, shrugging his shoulders, “Sorry. I couldn’t help it. You’re beautiful.”

  “Thank you.” I get in the shower, still laughing. I feel beautiful, he makes me feel beautiful. I wipe the condensation from the shower door glass, and watch him shaving. He’s shirtless, jeans unbuttoned, an errant lock of dark hair over his forehead. Even the extensive bruising can’t detract from his gorgeous face. If anything, it adds to it, making him appear even more ruggedly handsome, and I’ve never been so attracted to a man in my life. I back away from the little window I’ve made, “Jace?”

  The shower door whips open, “What’s wrong?” Panicked blue eyes search me up and down.

  “Nothing really, I just… um. Never mind.” I can feel the heat creeping up my face.

  He’s grinning at me, and I know he knows what I’m thinking. He’s irresistible. “Did you need something, Bayleigh?”

  “Well, if you’re not too busy, I think I changed my mind about--”

  He kisses me, pushing me back against the wall of the shower before I can finish my sentence. When he moves to my neck, I laugh, “You still have jeans on!”

  “They’ll dry eventually,” he growls.

  The laugh dies on my lips, when his hand finds me. He knows exactly what to do, and takes me over the edge in record time, kissing my neck and nibbling my ear the entire time. I’ve never had him like this, rushed and desperate, and it leaves me breathless. He takes his hand away, running it up and down my ribcage. I arch into him, and he kisses me again. This kiss is slow, searching; the exact opposite of what he was doing a minute ago. Then his hand is back, his thumb expertly manipulating my clit into another orgasm, and he doesn’t stop this time. I dig my fingers into his shoulders, slick with water, moaning into his mouth. I break away, “I’m going to fall,” I gasp.

  “Never. I’ll never let you fall, Baby,” he takes his hand away, relief from pleasure I didn’t know I could need, and then it’s back. It’s too quick, and tremors go through me instantly, my head falling back against the wall. I didn’t know pleasure could be so excruciating until this moment. “Fuck. I-I Oh my GOD!” I’m going to pass out, I can feel it coming, and then he’s inside me, all the way, in one smooth stroke. My leg is up over his arm, my other foot off the ground completely, and I don’t know how it happened.

  “Oh my God,” I moan. He leans back, enough to look me in the eye, while he thrusts into me, hard. “Oh my God! Fuck!” My head falls forward as I struggle to hold on to him. I feel like an animal, out of control. I bite his shoulder, and he thrusts harder. He grabs my hair, dragging my head back so I have to look at him.

  He smiles, blue eyes on fire, “That’s not my name, Bayleigh.” He releases my hair, his hand back where I need it most.

  “Fuck… I c-can’t.” I close my eyes, unable to hold up to the onslaught of sensation.

  “Look at me”— he demands, pausing just long enough for me to open my eyes — “That wasn’t my name either, Bayleigh.”

  “I c-can’t” — he increases the tempo of his hand, and it’s too much, I’m dying — “JACE!”

  We enter the hotel restaurant at eight-thirty-seven, and I feel like the cat who ate the canary. Jace shaved the other side of his face while I finished my shower, and we hung his soaked clothes over the shower door. They should hopefully dry by tomorrow.

  Ben lifts his hand from a back table. The table is against massive windows overlooking the bay. “Sorry we’re late,” J
ace says, pulling out my chair for me.

  “That’s okay. If I had the option, I would have chosen sex over being on time, too,” Ben says, grinning.

  I feel my face heat and look down, amusement and embarrassment warring within me.

  Jace laughs, “Nah, she was tired. I let her sleep.”

  Ben stares at Jace, then me, then Jace again. “The whole floor heard her scream your name, man. Be proud.”

  Jace looks at me with a sheepish grin, “I’m sorry, Bayleigh.”

  “Why? I’m not,” I answer, laughing. Jace leans over, kissing me.

  “Hey, break it up, you’re in public now. See? People everywhere,” Ben says, attempting to seem stern, but failing miserably.

  They laugh, and we settle into our seats. “Did you already order?” Jace asks.

  Ben shakes his head. “I just got coffee, told the waiter I’d wait until you guys got down here.”

  We look through our menus, and Jace holds my hand under the table. When the waiter comes we order, Jace and I in awe of the amount of food Ben requests.

  “So, what’s the plan for the day?” Ben asks.

  “I guess I have to call the landlord so I can get into the apartment,” I answer, reality wrapping around me like a lead cloak.

  “You’re not alone, kid. We will go to the apartment. You’re not dealing with any of this by yourself, so take the word ‘I’ out of your vocabulary for a few days.”

  I nod, and Jace squeezes my hand. “Do you want me to call the coroner for you? Let them know you’re in town?” Jace asks.

  I nod again, as the waiter brings Jace and I coffee and waters, and refills Ben’s coffee.

  “I guess so. How long do you think I have before they’ll release her and I have to make a decision?” I ask.

  “I don’t know. A couple of days maybe? I don’t know how long an autopsy takes,” Jace says.

  “Don’t worry about it. We’ll worry about that when we have to,” Ben adds.

  We sit quietly, watching the water through the windows, lost in our own thoughts until the waiter brings the food. He fills the table with food, most of it being Ben’s.

  “They have bigger portions than I expected,” he says, grinning.

  We laugh, and Jace looks at his own plates, “Sorry, don’t think I’m going to be able to help you out.”

  “I’m good. I love a challenge,” Ben answers, digging in to a mountain of pancakes.

  The food is wonderful, but I barely touch my omelet and hash browns. I don’t want to go to my mother’s apartment. The last time I was there it was a mess, beer cans everywhere, dirty dishes piled high in the sink.

  Jace touches my leg under the table. “Are you okay, Bayleigh?”

  I nod. “Yes, I’m sorry. Just thinking.”

  “Anything you want to talk about?” he asks.

  “I don’t know. I don’t want to go to the apartment.”

  He squeezes my thigh, “I know, Sweetheart. If there was a way we could avoid it, we would. We’ll get you through it. Don’t worry.”

  I hate that they have to.

  “Don’t you start thinking that you’re putting some burden on us either, kid. We want to help you. We’re here because we want to be. You’re not forcing anyone to do anything,” Ben says, reading my mind.

  We finish our breakfast, taking our leftovers to our rooms. I put mine and Jace’s in the refrigerator, while he makes coffee. When Ben knocks on our door, Jace lets him in. “Okay, who’s doing what?” Ben asks, sitting at the breakfast bar.

  “I’ll go call the landlord. Can one of you maybe find out if there’s some way we can rent a dumpster or something? There’s a lot of stuff that’s going to have to be thrown out.”

  Ben and Jace exchange pointed looks. “I think we should go to the apartment first. Then we’ll have a better idea of what we need to do,” Jace says.

  “Okay,” I answer, taking Jace’s cellphone from him when he holds it out to me. “The landlord’s number is in there. Just type ‘landlord’,” he says.

  I go into the bedroom and sit down in one of the chairs. I do as he said and the number comes up. I tap the green call button, and a man answers.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, this is Bayleigh— “

  “Richards. Yes, hello. I’m so sorry about your mother, honey.”

  The sincerity in his voice breaks me, and I struggle to hold it together, tears rolling down my cheeks. I nod. Realizing he can’t see that, I squeak out a thank you.

  “She was a nice lady. I mean, she had her problems, but everyone does. She tried to get along, and she mostly kept to herself, but what I knew of her, she seemed nice,” he continues. “I assume you’ll be wanting to get into her apartment as soon as you can? Do you know when you’ll be in town yet?” he asks.

  “I’m here now. I got in this morning,” I answer.

  “Oh! Well, I thought they said you were in New York now, that’s a long drive, isn’t it?” he asks.

  “It took us about seven hours, but we had to stop a couple of times.”

  “Well, you must have drove all night. Do you want to get some sleep and I can meet you later tonight or tomorrow to give you keys?”

  Yes, please, tomorrow, next week, as far away as possible. “No, that’s alright. I’d like to get started, if that’s okay. What time is good for you?” Please say tomorrow.

  “Alright. I can meet you in the hall outside her door in an hour, if you’d like?”

  “Can we make it two hours? I think we’re in Baltimore. I have a little bit of a drive.”

  “Of course, we can, honey. I’ll see you in a couple of hours. You be careful on the roads.”

  “I will, thank you,” I say, ending the call.

  He had such nice things to say, I don’t know what to think. I expected him to be a typical slum lord, the kind that just gets pissed off that they even have to deal with you. He wasn’t though, and seemed genuinely kind. It’s the kindness that made me cry.

  I pull myself together, and go back to the kitchen. Ben and Jace are speaking quietly, and stop abruptly when I’m within hearing distance. “Do you want me to go back in there?” I ask, my voice a little harsher than intended.

  “No, Jace was just telling me how pretty I am and didn’t want you to get jealous.”

  I laugh despite my now-miserable mood.

  “How’d it go?” Jace asks, taking the phone and putting his arm around me. I know by the way they’re both looking at me they can see I was crying.

  “Okay. He seems nice. He said he can meet us at her apartment in two hours,” I say, sitting on a stool at the breakfast bar next to Ben.

  Jace kisses the top of my head, then moves to the other side of the counter where he makes me a cup of coffee. “How long does it take to get there?” Ben asks.

  “Are we in Baltimore?” —they both nod — “I’m not sure, with traffic. I think a little over an hour. He actually said he could meet us in an hour, but I knew we wouldn’t make it there that quickly so I said two hours.”

  “No problem,” Jace says. I take a drink of my coffee, letting it warm me up. I feel cold, though I know it’s not cold in the room. “We’ll finish our coffee and head out then,” he says.

  CHAPTER 22

  The apartment building is not in a good part of town. Looking around, I can hardly believe I lived here, however briefly. The brick is cracked and crumbling, faded to a salmon pink. The window sills are rotted, chunks of some of them lying on the filthy sidewalk. There are people milling about, peeking out of the alley with paper bags gripped in their dirty hands.

  Jace locks the truck, looking around nervously. “Maybe I should have rented a truck to come out here,” he says, chuckling. The shiny, newer truck is drawing more attention than anyone would like.

  “I’ll stay out here with the truck for a little while. Make sure everyone understands not to fuck with it,” Ben says.

  “No, come on. It’s just a damned truck. I have insurance.”

>   “Yeah, I should probably protect you instead. Looking at your face they probably think you can’t fight,” Ben says.

  Inside, we climb up the stairs. Ben first, his shoulders nearly as wide as the narrow stairwell, me, and Jace behind me. It’s not lost on me that they always have me surrounded. I don’t feel as threatened as they do here, but I appreciate the gesture.

  The landlord is a small man, dressed well by building standards, with glasses and a mustache that’s two sizes too big for his face. “You must be Bayleigh,” he says when Ben moves aside. He puts his hand out and I take it, expecting him to shake it. Instead he covers it with his other hand, squeezing gently. “I’m Tommy. I am so very sorry about your Mom,” he says. His brown eyes sparkle with sorrow, his voice soft and kind, and I tear up again. “Thank you.”

  Jace and Ben introduce themselves, and Tommy is relieved. “I’m glad you guys are here to help her. I was going to try to help, but I don’t know how much help I’d be to her.”

  “We’ve got it, sir. Thank you though,” Jace says.

  “Alright. Well, here are the keys. If you need anything give me a call and I’ll help if I can. Take your time, I’m not in any hurry. If it has to sit for a month, so be it,” he says.

  Ben clamps a hand on my shoulder, somehow knowing that I’d give anything to run back out and come back next month. “Better to just get it over with, I think. We appreciate it though,” he says and I think he’s talking to me more than Tommy.

  Jace takes the keys, and looks to me. I nod, resigned to what’s coming, and he puts the key in the door.

  “Oh! I almost forgot!” Tommy turns back to us. “The couch is gone. I had it hauled out. It um…” He looks back and forth between Jace and Ben nervously.

  They nod, and Jace says, “Okay. We’ve got it, thank you.”

  “I, um, opened a couple of windows when I got here too. It was… stuffy,” he says. They nod again, and I try hard not to think about what he means.

  A sad smile emerges, and he looks at me again. “Okay. Good luck, Miss. Richards.”