Chances (Mystic Nights #1)

by MJ Nightingale

  “Of course, anything I can do. Shall we have dinner tonight?” he suggested.

  Aliya shook her head. “I’m sorry. I am meeting with my parents tonight,” she lied knowing Jonathan wouldn’t understand. “I really just wanted to stress that my studio, although not a clinic, will benefit the community almost immediately. It would be a positive, healthy environment that would keep kids off the streets away from bad influences, like drugs, gangs, and sex.”

  He nodded knowingly. “Yes, teenage pregnancy is quite an epidemic on the reserve.” He reached over to her, plucked a strand of her hair, and tugged on it playfully. Aliya moved her head back out of his reach. She hoped he would have respected that she was involved, but his invading her personal space told her he had no qualms about that. Jonathan was right about him. She cringed inwardly, but held her ground not wanting to insult the man.

  Aliya also dismissed what seemed like a loaded comment. She didn’t know if he knew about her past, but let it slide. “Well, I hope I still have your support,” she remarked. She watched Peter’s eyes carefully. His glance shifted to her stomach, and it was then that she knew he did, in fact, know about what she had done all those years ago. She had confessed to her parents what she had done, and a few friends. She now knew the rumors had spread here.

  “Oh, you have my support. And anytime you need someone to talk to, mull your ideas over, just give me a call.” His tone was suggestive. The man had no sense of decency. He just didn’t give up.

  “Thank you Peter,” she replied smoothly taking a step back, and tried to keep the sarcasm and disappointment from her voice. “I know you will be fair. If I can’t get the space on the reserve, I guess I will just have to look elsewhere, open a studio nearby, off the reservation.” She began to turn, but Peter called after her.

  His hand reached out to grab her shoulder. She tried not to wince. “Don’t rush into anything like that.” His voice was cajoling, but she heard the undercurrent of political speak ease. “Josephine just wants to be sure she is doing what is best for our people. She second guesses every proposal that comes before the board.” He laughed. “She takes her job way too seriously. I, on the other hand,” he touched his chest, “believe we should work to make our people’s dreams come true.” He gave her a measured look.

  She pulled her shoulder out of his grasp, and took another step back. She wasn’t buying it anymore. And his next words confirmed her distrust. “Well, as I said, if you want that studio in that space, have dinner with me, at my place, and we will DISCUSS it further. I’m always available.”

  Aliya had enough, shaking her head, she began to walk off. He didn’t even deserve a response though she gave him one. “No thank you, Peter. That’s not how I do business.” How much clearer could she be? She heard him laugh, but she didn’t turn around.

  “I could make this easy for you,” he called after her.

  Her stomach rolled. He was basically saying if she wanted his vote for the space, she would have to sleep with him. Such a pig. No way. Not happening. How had she not seen the man for what he was from the very beginning? She’d seen that kind of thing in Vegas plenty of times. She just hadn’t expected to see it here, with the tribal council no less.

  Getting into her car, she realized she should have spoken to Myrtle or Jason. Peter Sebastian was the epitome of the sleaze ball politician. He spoke one way, but acted another. His incessant requests to go out with her had all been for one purpose and one purpose only. And he knew she was seeing Jonathan. She was done trying to court his vote. She wasn’t going to chase him down for his support or vote, especially now that she knew it most definitely came with strings attached. She would focus her efforts where it would count and not suffer the indignity of the likes of Peter anymore.

  Feeling much better, Aliya headed home. She would use her afternoon to see what other facilities were nearby the reservation. One setback wasn’t going to derail her dreams.

  Pulling out of the now nearly empty parking lot, she made the left turn onto Dale Avenue when a blur of activity caught her attention. A car just sped up and blocked Peter from pulling out. Stopped at a stop light, Aliya glanced back and saw Simon Wheeler jumping out of his car. He was talking animatedly, and Peter looked upset. His hands raked through his hair. Then Simon handed him a large yellow envelope. She saw Peter glance inside. He smiled broadly and then patted Simon on the back. But Simon still looked upset. He was talking with his hands. Putting them up in the universal sign for stop.

  Just then a car horn behind her tooted, and she looked back. The light had changed to green and she was holding up traffic. She stepped on the gas wondering what the casino’s accountant was doing speaking with Peter. And the envelope thing had all been very suspicious. Ugh, she watched too many movies, and just because he was a sleaze bag, lecherous pig, didn’t mean he would was corrupt too. She pushed the thought out of her mind as she headed home. She was anxious to start looking for back up locations for her studio. And perhaps seeing Jonathan again after tonight’s performance might be a nice way to end her day.

  *

  Distracted by driving and her own thoughts, Aliya didn’t notice that both Simon and Peter had noticed her. After the car horn had sounded, both men looked up to see Aliya Chance looking their way with a perplexed expression on her face. She had a line of cars behind her. Peter slipped the large envelope inside of his jacket. “Simon, we might have a problem.”

  Simon glanced at the woman speeding off down Dale. He recognized her from the casino. Shit! That woman was seeing Jonathan. “Was that a dancer from Mystic?” he asked, a cold dread enveloping him.

  “Yes, it was,” Peter confirmed. “And, we need to keep our eye on that one.”

  Simon nodded nervously. He pulled a handkerchief from his side pocket and mopped his brow. Even with the bitter cold, Simon was sweating and nervous. Time was running out, and he knew that it was just a matter of days before Jonathan Sassacus was on to their little operation, dancer or no dancer. “Time is running out, Peter,” he voiced his worries aloud.

  “I don’t think so.” He felt confident his tracks were covered. Only Simon could expose him. And Simon wouldn’t be around for much longer. “We have time. One more week. Let’s wait it out.” Peter was determined to not only pull out millions from the casino, but he wanted to take down the entire Sassacus clan. He’d worked too long, and suffered too much at their hands to bail out now. He was in this until the bitter end, and was confident this time he would come out the winner.

  And he loved a good gamble. Nodding at Simon, he got back into his car. There was still hope. A chance. And if not, he had a back up plan, time, and the millions to enjoy it.

  Chapter 13

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  The afternoon performance finished and Aliya stayed after the stage crew cleaned up and reset the stage for the evening. Instead of heading home she wanted to work a bit on her own. Sometimes she liked the solitude of a quiet stage. It helped her to visualize what the sequence of moves should look like. She was trying to perfect one of the dances she was choreographing for the new spring show. She had her notebook out and was taking notes after she performed each movement, combining them as she went along. She did not see Jonathan sitting in the audience quietly observing her.

  As Jonathan watched her from the darkness, he thought she never looked more beautiful. She was truly radiant while she was dancing. It was in that moment he realized he was falling for her. Yes, the attraction was there. It was blazing hot. But even watching a movie with her had been an eye opening experience. He never felt so at peace than when he was with her. Thoughts of work, stress, and life just slipped away.

  She was engrossed in performing several of the moves he had seen her perform individually, putting it all together. She was incredibly graceful and elegant as she performed a difficult jump into the air. Stunning. He watched her run to her tattered notepad, pick it up, and scribble a few more lines down. She’d repeated the process several times until she had worke
d for nearly thirty minutes and perfected the dance she was choreographing to her satisfaction.

  When she shut the notebook and stuffed it into her backpack, he knew she was preparing to leave. It was then he made his presence known. He clapped. Just for her. He hadn’t wanted to startle her, but heard her gasp softly.

  She peered into the dark theatre and though she couldn’t see him clearly, she recognized his form, even in a suit. It was his shoulders. Amazing. “Jonathan?” she asked tentatively, to be sure, though she doubted very much it could be anyone else.

  “Yes, it’s me,” he stated softly as he began to move. She heard him approaching and soon he stood in the light from the stage. He simply took her breath away, and not just because she found him incredibly handsome, but because he was seeping into her heart more and more. She quickly scrambled to the edge of the stage and jumped down effortlessly into his waiting arms.

  Despite her rough morning, she forgot everything else in his presence. Caring for this man, falling for him, had happened so fast. And if what she suspected was true, about her condition, she didn’t know how that would effect them. For now, she kept that concern to herself. She wanted to be sure before she made any decision.

  She knew she was falling in love with the man, but it had been barely two months since their first encounter. She still had no clue how he was feeling about them. When he took her into his arms wordlessly, she succumbed to his lips on hers and was lost in the moment. She was going to take what she could for now. Enjoy it while it lasted. He licked the seam of her lips and she opened for him wrapping her arms tightly around him until he lifted her like she was nothing and seated her on the edge of the stage and stood between her open legs which she wrapped around his torso. He groaned his pleasure. And she felt the same way.

  “Mmm, I could really get used to this,” he murmured against her cheek inhaling her, enjoying being close to her this way.

  “I feel the same way, Jonathan. Is this crazy?” she asked, afraid to express her feelings, but wanted to know if he was feeling the same way. She knew it was a loaded question and didn’t want to pry, or push.

  “No.” He kissed her neck. “It’s not. It’s perfect.” Jonathan touched her forehead with his and looked deeply into her eyes. He saw something there. A soul mate. He knew he wanted this woman in his life. The silence stretched between them and they both laughed awkwardly, still touching forehead to forehead.

  Aliya broke the silence. She wanted this man to know her. All of her. Know what he was getting into before they took it to the next level. If they were to make it, he had to know the truth. “I was engaged once. I ended it.” Her words came out unsteadily. She wasn’t sure how to begin.

  Not expecting those words, but sensing she was trying to tell him something, he encouraged her to go on. “The past is the past, Aliya. I heard something about that. But I don’t judge people by the past. The present speaks for itself.”

  She took in his words. He must know some of it already, she assumed. But she wanted to be sure he knew the truth, and that it came from her. “I don’t want any secrets between us.”

  He saw her eyes looked sad, and he gave her a slight encouraging nod. “Okay. No secrets.” Again he waited. She was tensing up and so he stroked her arms. “There has never been a woman I have wanted to spend more than a night or two with until you, Aliya.” Saying it out loud sounded silly, but he wanted her to know he cared about her. He sensed that was what she needed in order to open up.

  “No dark secrets. No one from the past?”

  He shook his head in the negative. “Nobody.” He was telling the truth. Yes, there had been plenty of women, girls in college, but all had been fleeting. All had known he wasn’t interested in more than sex.

  She swallowed hard. Though his words had been meant to lessen her worries and fears, it had the opposite effect on Aliya. This made it harder to tell him what she wanted him to know.

  He saw her eyes shining. A lone tear slipped down her cheek.

  “Hey, hey, now, what’s this?” He wiped the tear away with the pad of his thumb. “We are beginning to care for each other. A lot, I suspect. I told you the past does not matter.” He heard her sniffle. He stayed patient.

  “I do care, Jonathan. A lot. And that is why I want to tell you something I did. Something about my past. I don’t want to fall in love and then you find out from someone else, and can’t handle it.” There. She said it. She couldn’t turn back.

  Jonathan let out a sigh. He knew her story, well, some of it. He suspected she was talking about the rumors about her having an abortion. He wanted to ease her fears and tell her it did not bother him, it was her body, her choice. He could see she was struggling with her decision to tell him. This was hard for her. It pained him to see her so distraught. So he told her some of what he knew so her secret wouldn’t seem so overwhelming. “Darling. I know you were engaged. To a detective. I know you ended it. I know you went to Vegas to pursue your dancing career, and I have heard the rumors of you having an abortion. Lantern Hill, sadly, is a small town, and well, secrets are hard to keep here.”

  Her mouth flew open and she gasped. He knew. She was shocked, and stunned all at the same time. He knew it all! He knew and still looked at her like that. “You knew?”

  Her eyes were round. He nodded. “And it was your choice to make.”

  Another tear slipped out and she pulled him closer. He heard her sigh of relief as she laid her head across his chest. “Oh, Jonathan, I just want you to know it means the world to me that you don’t judge me for what I did.”

  “Because you chose to have an abortion?” He shook his head. “You were twenty, right?”

  She peered up into his eyes and saw nothing but concern for her. She nodded. “I was young, naïve.” He saw a deep sadness there, but she surged on ahead. “I think if I would have had the support of my family around me then I may have chosen to have that baby. I regret it now. It still pains me to think about it.” She wanted him to know it hadn’t been an easy decision for her. It had been the hardest choice she had made in her life.

  He brought his hands to her arms and rubbed them soothingly. He felt some of her tension leaving. He could see that the abortion had really changed her. “Can I ask you something?” Jonathan asked softly.

  She nodded and he proceeded. “Why did you have the abortion? I’m not judging you. I never would. I just want to know what was going through you head then.”

  She let out a long slow breath, the sound of it echoed in the dark, empty theatre. “My fiancé was a detective,” she started, and paused, remembering that time in her life. “He was older than me by nearly six years. He had just been assigned his first case, and it was to catch a serial killer. Andreas had been so excited to have been given his new partner and first assignment.” God, what they hadn’t realized back then was how much his job would infiltrate every corner of their life. They had been so young. Both of them. She wet her lips, took a steadying breath. “He worked the case four months and finally caught a break. Got an identity. Found the man’s wife. He exposed him to the world. But the man got away.” Of God, if he hadn’t, her life would have turned out so differently. But she had stopped looking back many years ago. She surged ahead. “That killer began to threaten him. He wanted revenge for Andreas destroying his life and he threatened me as well.” She heard Jonathan’s gasp. His body tensed. Again, she continued. “I know. I was terrified when I found out. And he didn’t even tell me. It made me so mad. But he thought he was protecting me. Sadly, it gave me a reason to get out. Even before that, I knew I shouldn’t marry him. I mean, he was a great man. But when I knew I couldn’t pursue ballet, and school was done, I was lost for a while and that’s when I met him. I rushed into the relationship. He was so dedicated to his job, his family. Anyhow, I ended it. Out of fear, and confusion, I left New York, and went to Vegas to find myself. I only found out about the pregnancy after I left. Then I was too scared to go back, and I knew if I did I would live in fea
r.”

  Wow, he had been thrown. No wonder she had done what she did. There had been so much going on, and she was alone, or felt that way. “Darling, I don’t know how any other girl would have coped in that situation. You did what you thought was right at the time.”

  Aliya let out a cry of anguish, for her loss and regret, and threw herself into his arms. Talking about it, saying it out loud lifted a heavy burden from her shoulders. Having the courage to tell him about her confusion, and the circumstances surrounding her actions all those years ago, freed her and gave her the courage to say what she had been thinking all week. “I’m falling for you, Jonathan. Hard. I just wanted no secrets between us. Nothing that could hurt us later.”

  He pulled her flush up against him, holding onto this incredibly strong woman who’d been to hell and back. Her road had not been an easy one. “And now there aren’t any,” he stated with conviction as he held her close. He felt her head nod against him and he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. He would hold her for as long as she needed him to.

  *

  In the early evening Jonathan continued to work the books. He’d taken Aliya out for an early, therapeutic dinner and then left her back in the theatre with promises to meet after her show. Their talk brought them closer, and he was feeling pretty good about where their relationship was going.

  But looking over the books for the last hour had him aggravated once more. He had just called Simon to come and speak with him. He’d found several more errors, things Simon should have caught. He was seriously fed up. The man should have figured this out. Especially if he was finding these simple mistakes.

  His door was open and he saw Simon enter. He wasted no time. “Simon. I am disappointed. I’m not going to lie,” he started.

  The look on Simon’s face showed surprise. He went on. “You told me last week you did not make mistakes. Well, I’ve been going over the books, and so far I see mistakes that amount to nearly a quarter of a million dollars. Stupid, bullshit mistakes.”