Sunset Flare

by Shannyn Leah

  “What’s going on?”

  “Gunner’s in some sort of trouble,” she whispered, glancing around to confirm no one stood about eavesdropping. This town was nosey and whatever Gunner was hiding from, she didn’t want to be responsible for his capture. “When we were at the camp and the kids started chasing us, he freaked out at the possibility of his picture being taken. He was installing security cameras because obviously he’s running from someone. And you were right, since I attract the camera lens I dressed down tonight to blend in.”

  Abby’s face fell further into a concerned frown. “What kind of trouble?”

  “I don’t know!” She felt panicked. She’d felt like this since the concert began. Every strum of the guitar had tightened strings around her chest until she couldn’t take a breath. Listening to the lyrics of Inch Away’s heart-wrenching love songs had planted ideas into her head, ideas about love and eternity. Possibilities she’d never considered in her life and knew weren’t possible with the only man she’d ever experienced them for.

  Abby grabbed her shoulders now, stopping her wild thoughts. “Izzy, stop. Talk to me.”

  “What? What do you want me to say?” A part of her prayed Abby could give her the solution.

  “Tell me what kind of trouble Gunner is in.”

  “He won’t tell me. The closest thing I’ve gotten is once he leaves the resort, he’ll go back into hiding. That doesn’t sound good, does it? Plus, he said he’s done some bad stuff, Abby. Illegal stuff. I don’t know if he’s hiding from the mafia or the police or both. He’s called himself a criminal. His words, and, oh!” She groaned, letting go of Abby and walking away.

  “What? What!” Abby chased her down.

  “He had a moment when I handcuffed him in the pole room. A panic attack or something and that’s when he told me vaguely about his criminal background.”

  “What kind of criminal activity?”

  “I don’t know. I know that he thinks the world of Anton, claiming he saved him. But the Italian Caliendos are online gambling drug lords and Gunner’s mentor is a Caliendo. Cranky, old Anton. So let your mind run free with the prospect of exactly what Gunner has done in the past. He knows what goes on in the torture room and not because he was on the receiving end of it.”

  Abby tried to keep a calm face with the downpour of information Izzy spewed at her, but Izzy could see her friend struggling. “Did you look him up online?”

  “No, I didn’t look him up online. Did you look Riley up on the online?”

  Abby’s lips puckered in thought. “Why didn’t I think to do that? I mean, he’s Riley Boyd and his name and picture pops up with Torsten Record Label. I would have known everything about him. Hindsight.”

  “Because you don’t search the ones you’re falling for,” Izzy practically yelled at her.

  Abby took a tentative step toward her. “You do if you’re falling for a person who hasn’t been honest and upfront with you.”

  “He’s been as honest as he can be.”

  “The internet holds no secrets.” Abby swiped her phone and Izzy touched her arm.

  “I tried to get his file. You know Marc or Carl already know everything about Gunner. They wouldn’t let him into the files at any signs they shouldn’t.”

  “We’ll type his name in...” Abby’s fingers started moving over the screen and Izzy held her breath as the results popped up. “Gunner Mann...” Abby repeated as she scrolled the screen. She kept swiping, nothing came up for his name. “No Gunner,” Abby said, sounding relieved.

  Izzy wished she felt half as confident as Abby appeared. But if Gunner Mann was hiding, she suspected he wouldn’t be using his real name. Like her brother Corbin, who lived away from society under the alias Tom Coach.

  Abby pulled her into a long hug. “Listen to your intuition,” she whispered in her ear. “It seems as though you might actually have one.”

  Izzy chuckled and said, “Ha-ha.” But inside, her intuition told her to Google search the Italian Caliendos and she bet her answers would appear.

  “And talk to him.” Abby leaned back and rubbed Izzy’s arms. “Listen to your heart. If you’re really falling for him, like head over heels, and he’s the man for you, then talk to him. If he’s in some sort of trouble, you have more money than you will ever find a use for. Marc and your dad have contacts. Figure out what’s going on and fix it.”

  Izzy blew out a large breath of air. “Thanks. Can you just give me a minute to sort myself out before coming back inside?”

  “Sure.” She gave Izzy another hug then headed back inside. Izzy sat down alone a nearby bench, phone in hand ready to discover the truth. This search would define her future.

  It only took a few keywords before Gunner’s face popped up on the screen. Thinner and prettier without the defense and wariness of the man she knew now. In the pictures, he sported designer suits, drove luxury cars and attended amazing galas in Italy. He looked like the male version of Izzy, loving the spotlight, living in the spotlight, craving the spotlight. The only difference between them was a beautiful blonde by the name of Mercedes Caliendo and she held a title Izzy hadn’t expected: Gunner’s wife.

  Her heart plummeted, unable to wrap her mind around the fact that she’d fallen for a married man.

  Tears stung her eyes and she couldn’t tell if she’d read the next passage right or the blurriness was playing tricks on her eyes. “Matteo Marino, CEO of Cali’s Lounge, the largest bar chain in Italy, and who was allegedly arrested for insider trading was murdered in his cell late last night.”

  Matteo Marino was Gunner who had evidently been murdered. The world believed he was dead. Which meant not only did she share her bed with a married man, but a ghost.

  She looked away from her cell phone, as her mind reeled with confusion, unsure where to put any of the discoveries and especially unsure what they meant for their future...or what appeared to be no future at all.

  How had he escaped from police custody and why was the world led to believe he was dead? How had he escaped police custody?

  Anton?

  Of course, but why would Anton free Gunner—Matteo—from his sentence instead of leaving him to do his time? And how did Anton orchestrate his fake murder? How had he escaped? What else didn’t she know about him? What she did know for certain was that he had a wife. The black mourning dress the apparent window wore at his funeral was a clear reminder.

  Anger reverberated inside the walls of her chest with no answers to settle them down. Abby had been right; the only option left was to confront Gunner—Matteo.

  But, how on earth would she keep her newly found knowledge to herself until they were alone?

  Chapter Thirty

  GUNNER SENSED IZZY’S solemn, but antsy mood change. Her smile didn’t rise as high, she lacked her ordinary bubbly-self and her eyes couldn’t stay focused on anything, drifting into her own mind, her own thoughts and far away from the party. Something was bothering her, so he was thankful when she said her goodbyes and dragged him outside early.

  “What’s going on?” They stopped on the boardwalk and waited for a car to pass.

  “We can’t talk about it here.” With quick paces, she darted across the road, heading back to her car parked behind the McAdams’ soap shop.

  “Izzy?” He caught her wrist once they were safely on the sidewalk in front of a quaint bakery. “We’ve both drank too much to get behind the wheel of a car.”

  “Now you care about breaking the law?”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  She spun around to face him, shouting, “I looked you up.” She quieted, realizing they were out on the far-from-deserted street. “I searched you on the internet.”

  He’d expected her to do so sooner.

  “And, of course, nothing came up under ‘Gunner Mann’ because that’s not your real name.”

  He could tell from the look on her face that she’d figured out his real name.

  “You’re married,” she w
hispered. He reached for her, but she pulled away. “And dead.”

  She was right, they needed to get off the street. “Let’s call a taxi and talk about this at your suite.”

  Her shoulders dropped. “Talk about your wife?”

  “She hasn’t been my wife for years.”

  “Because she thinks she’s widowed. Or does she?” He watched her beginning to pull away from him. Pain wretched through his heart like waves of destruction.

  However, her angry reaction to his past would be exactly what he needed to break the ties binding them together. Only it felt too soon to let her go. He’d been expecting a few more days with her.

  Gunner moved toward the street to hail a cab, only to remember they were in the tourist town and cabs weren’t driving the streets looking for customers. When he turned around, Izzy had disappeared down an alley between the bakery and the Old Town Country Soap Co.

  Dammit, Izzy!

  He chased her to the end and caught her opening a gate and walking into someone’s backyard.

  “Izzy!”

  She didn’t look at him until he’d caught up to her and stepped in front of her, blocking her path. “We need to talk.”

  “That’s what I thought...” He’d never heard surrender in her voice like he did right now. “But you’re married to a Caliendo.”

  “I don’t love her.”

  “But what? You love me? After a week? I doubt it.” She tried to pass him and he stepped with her.

  “I have strong feelings for you. Stronger than I’d ever expected and hadn’t been looking for, but I can’t act on them. Can I explain what happened, please? It won’t change where I stand with my decision to leave, but at least you can understand why I am where I am.”

  Folding her arms across her chest, her eyes told him she was silently battling whether to let him speak or go running through this random backyard. Finally, she said, “Fine. Explain.”

  “I made my money in the stocks long before I met a Caliendo. I’m good with numbers, and my investments were how I met Mercedes—”

  “I know what her name is, Matteo.” The extra jab cut him deeper.

  “Her father, Tito owns a large chain of Cali’s Lounges which he hired me to run. I met Mercedes and we hit it off—” He’d been ready for Izzy’s quick movement and cut her off. Her icy stare stung him. “We hit it off like partners, acquaintances. It was a good business deal, not love. We both knew it.”

  Her lips pursed as she listened.

  “I fell into their life totally aware of the criminal activity going on in the background but I was in charge of maintaining a good front and did a damn good job at keeping the authorities off their trail. But something must have changed because the next thing I knew, I had been arrested for insider trading that I’d had no part of.”

  She said nothing.

  “They set me up, Izzy. A decoy after some undercover authorities started sniffing around and Tito caught wind. He needed a distraction while he hauled in millions on a deal he couldn’t risk losing. I took the fall. Only the authorities wanted Tito, so they offered me a plea bargain.”

  Izzy took a step back, and held up her hand. “Stop. This is too much. You’re just like Robert with the secrets and lies. You’re not the man I thought you were.”

  “I never said I was perfect, or good. I wasn’t, and, yes, I would’ve taken the deal if I hadn’t been almost beaten to death. Orders from Tito and his sons to get rid of the liability after the charges were laid.”

  Her face dropped in horror.

  “I almost died, but some people in high places owed Anton some big favors and he snuck me out.”

  “Why?”

  “He’s always had a soft side for me.”

  “Who is he?”

  “He’s Mercedes uncle.”

  Izzy covered her mouth. “I slept with my relative’s husband.”

  “Stop calling me that.”

  “That’s what you are!”

  “Mercedes let them frame me.” He heard the coldness steal his voice. “She is not my wife. She’s dead to me and when I first met you, I thought you were the mirror image of a woman I hate. But you’re not.” His voice softened. “If Tito, or any of the family found out I was alive they would have me killed. You think that’s what a wife does to her husband?”

  “So you’re running from the mafia?”

  He nodded. “I was.”

  “What does that mean? You were?”

  Feeling at a crossroads, he took a deep breath and covered his face with his hands, groaning through his fingers. Did he tell her the truth or keep more secrets from her? Turning away from her, he took a few steps then circled back, and grabbed her by the shoulders. “I’m falling in love with you,” he practically shouted at her. “But we can’t do anything about it. Do you understand? If I tell you the truth you have to respect my decision. Understood?”

  He felt her fingers curl around his arms. “You’re falling in love with me?”

  Of course he was. She was his soul mate and for a man who’d never believed or experienced such deep feelings toward a person, he didn’t have another title to use. His words couldn’t show her like actions could.

  He bent down and covered her mouth in a long, passionate kiss—one of those breathless ones she enjoyed so much—leaving them panting like animals when they were finished. He pulled her into his arms for a long time, simply holding her in the shadows of the trees and never wanting to let go. He was tempted to run away with her, taking her with him and living a simple life. But that wouldn’t have been fair to her in the long run. Right now their new relationship promised months of new developments between them but once that wore off, she’d be stuck with him and him alone. He couldn’t see her living a life without her family as selfishly as he wanted to take her away from them. Plus, he didn’t want the possibility of a target on her back, too.

  He pulled away, taking her hand and guiding her to a swing hanging from a tree. Once they were sitting side by side, he continued. “Tito died this year and Anton took over for the family alongside Tito’s sons. Once I’m finished helping him here he’s promised it will be safe for me to come out of hiding.”

  Izzy’s eyes lit up and he hated that he given her even an ounce of hope.

  “He’s going to take the target off my back in regards to his family, but it ends there. Even if they let me walk away, which is still a big if, I won’t ever be Matteo Marino. I will always be Gunner Mann and I will always put the people around me in danger.”

  “Gunner Mann is the guy I’m falling in love with.”

  He shook his head and pulled his hand out of hers. “I can’t stay. I’m going to disappear, but it won’t be as severe this time. I will be able to go live more, but alone. Always alone.”

  “But you don’t have to.”

  “I have no choice.”

  “You just said—”

  “That the mafia could possibly let me walk free.”

  “I can help you. I have money and contacts. Marc and Carl have all Robert’s contacts and they’d be able to help you.”

  He doubted very much that Marc would be willing to help him with anything. Anton was his blood, not Gunner.

  “We could leave together and hide if that’s what you want or we could fight whatever you’re hiding from. Together. You don’t have to do it alone. I don’t want you to do it alone. I don’t want to be alone without you.”

  Lord, he understood. He felt her every last word pierce his heart. He pulled her into his tight embrace, holding her, knowing this would be the last time. Knowing the way her hands desperately gripped the front of his shirt and the sigh she let off that she knew too. Her body collapsed against him.

  He kissed the top of her head. “If there was ever a woman who made me want to try, it’s you, Izzy Caliendo. But, it’s life or death. There’s no trying.”

  Izzy pulled away and stood up. “You’re not trying!” she yelled. “I’m trying. I’m giving you options, but maybe you d
on’t want options. Maybe you would rather live alone than be with me or even your wife.”

  He stood angry then, but she continued on so he couldn’t get a word in.

  “You’re giving up. On yourself, on me, on us. You’re pushing me away and letting me go. So when I walk away, it’s all on you, Gunner. Because I wouldn’t walk away from family or people I care about but I also know a losing battle when I see it.”

  He reached for her. Lord, he needed her touch.

  “No. You don’t get to hold me and say sorry for your weakness. You don’t get my forgiveness for giving up. I don’t forgive you.”

  And just like that, for the first time in his life, Gunner felt true heartbreak and it almost buckled his damn legs.

  Betrayal hurt, but heartbreak nearly crushed him. He feared when he left for good, it would crush him.

  “I’m sleeping at Abby’s. Go to the resort, Gunner. I don’t want to see you again.” She walked away, taking his heart with her. The mafia wouldn’t be his death, his broken heart for Izzy would.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  “DO YOU WANT a coffee?”

  Izzy smiled at Abby. “Maybe some of that soothing tea Syd makes us. I could use something soothing right now.”

  Abby rubbed her shoulders. “Sure thing. I’ll be right back.”

  Izzy pulled the crochet afghan tighter around her, wrapping her arms around her legs and leaning her chin on her knees. Bundled up on Abby’s sofa in the cottage that belonged to her late grandmother, Izzy wished Gran was still alive. At the moment, she could use some of the wisdom the older woman had always been dishing out in hefty servings when she’d been alive. Blunt wisdom whether you asked for it or not.

  “How long have you been awake?” Abby asked, coming back into the sunroom with two steaming mugs of tea.

  Izzy shrugged. “I don’t know if I ever really slept. I sort of laid here forever wondering when exactly my life had gotten so out of control.”

  Abby passed her a mug and settled on the other end of the sofa. “Did you come up with an answer?”