Come Home Again (The Donovans) (26 page)

Taraby's face went from red to purple with fury, his eyes bugging. “You’re the liar. Everyone knows about your past. You don’t deserve to be here. This job is mine. I will spend every waking moment bringing you down, I swear it.”

Nate smirked. “You’re welcome to try, but I don’t think they’ll be giving you access to electronics for some time.”

###

T
he sense of relief coursed though Nate's veins. He had to refrain from actually dancing as he called Delilah. Her voicemail picked up. Her voice alone was enough to bring forth a grin. “Hey! I guess we’re celebrating after the interview with
Rolling Stone
. You’re supplying the chocolate. See you tonight.”

She should have been here, but this morning an old client had called. She had to drum up new business. The moment he saw her though, he was putting an end to their experimental status. He wanted her by his side. After everything they'd been through, he wasn't so stupid as to not realize that he loved her. Had
always
loved her.

As he approached his office, his assistant stood abruptly. “Mr. Williams, there's a call for you. I—”

Delilah
. She’d probably been calling him at the same time. He beamed at Allison. “Great, thanks.” He'd need to call Chase when he had a minute. His best friend would want to know that they’d lived to fight another day. He sat on the edge of his desk and picked up his phone. “Lila, we're ho—”

“Sorry to disappoint you, Nate. I'm not Lila. But as fate would have it, I am calling you about her.”

Nate stilled. “What do you want, Ross?”

There was laughter on the other end of the line. “To ruin your day.”

“I don’t have time for this shit.”

“I suggest you make time. Meet me at The Cat Eye Club. Trent and I have something to discuss with you.”

“You two have already done everything you can to me, so fuck off.” Anger and annoyance simmered under his skin. This asshole had threatened the woman Nate loved. He'd terrorized her, taken the job she loved from her, all to stroke his ego. Nate had to remind himself that the headline of
CEO Commits Murder
was not a headline he wanted to read.

“I see you do have a temper control problem. Should I be worried about my life?” Ross tsked. “It's not like you haven’t killed before.”

Oh shit
. His gut twisted. How the fuck did he know? Before that part of Nate’s brain could spin out, the cold calculating part of his brain took over and silenced the panic. “I don't know what you're talking about.”

“You don’t? That’s strange. After that photo of us at the Gala came out, I had the most interesting visit from someone you might remember. Trent? Ring any bells? I guess your big brother’s a little upset that you wouldn’t finance him.”

“What do you want?”

“Meet us at The Cat Eye Club in an hour, and you’ll find out. Suffice it to say, you’re going to pay. There’s a price for us to keep quiet. You don’t show in an hour, and we go public with the proof.”

What proof?
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck
. “I can’t in an hour.”

“I suggest you find a way. And before you think of going all noble and taking your chances with the fair Delilah, let’s just say I know the real reason Chase Manning is on
medical
leave. It pays to have friends in low places. Imagine how the share holders are going to react once they find out about the CEO’s problem. After the valiant fight you’ve put in to save this company, I can destroy it by leaking the real story. You might have convinced the board to make you CEO, but that place will be worthless in the morning by the time I’m done with it if you don’t haul your ass.”

An icy fist clenched around his gut
. No
. His head swam as he tried to force it to reason. Delilah was counting on him. But Chase’s company hung in the balance if he didn't go.
Shit
. “Fuck you, Ross.”

Ross’s laugh rang clear. “But you’re still on your way aren’t you, pretty boy?”

Nate banged down the receiver.

N
ate had never driven so fast in his life. If he hurried, maybe he could still make it to Delilah. He pulled up to The Cat Eye Club and followed Ross’s directions to the back.

Ross’s smile was jovial, sort of like a Cheshire cat showing too many teeth. Trent leaned against the sole window with his hands shoved in his pockets.

“Nate,” Ross boomed. “So glad you could make it, and I must commend you on your time to get here. Trent was worried you wouldn’t come, what with your big interview waiting on you. But I reminded him that you were a Boy Scout and would choose your friend over your lady love.”

How the fuck had they found out about Chase? Nate slid a glance toward his brother and tried to stay calm. “What the hell do you want?”

Ross tsked. “Hey man, I get it. You’re a little sad about disappointing your Delilah. Well, you know she’s probably used to the disappointment. Trent was telling me all about your sordid history. Fascinating really.”

Nate glared at him “The point, Ross.”

“What? You think you still have time to deal with us, then run back to Delilah? I like your sense of optimism, but honestly, give me some credit will you? I picked this meeting spot to prove a point. If you chose to protect Chase, you wouldn’t have enough time to get to Delilah. If you chose pussy over your friend, I would just call my pals over at
Celeb Juicy
and leak the story about your boy. Lucky for Manning you chose correctly.”

Nate shoved his hands into his pockets to stop from beating Ross until he lay in a bloody heap. His mind raced. How much did Ross actually know about Chase? Chase confided that the money to pay off his debt had been pulled from multiple sources. And Nate had covered the tracks of the rehab facility himself. No one would know to look for Chase there. That left the bookie. “What do you want, Ross?”

Ross’s jovial smile slipped and his face turned a shade of red. “To prove that I can fuck with you just like you fucked with me. Dredging up that old shit? Delilah would never have found it if you hadn't gone digging.”

“And what? You think you two would have lived happily ever after? Buy a clue, asshole. Was never going to happen.”

Trent stepped forward then. “Can you two save the bullshit for after I get my money? I just want to go.”

Nate nodded. At last, the truth. “This is all about money to you, Trent?”

His brother shrugged. “We wouldn’t be here if you had given me all the money. I’m just here to collect what you owe me.”

“You’re a screw up, Trent. You think the world owes you something, and it doesn’t.
I
don’t owe you anything.”

His brother stepped directly in front of him, breathing hard. “Yes, you fucking do. You thought you were better than me with your new fucking family. Like you could just up and leave me. But we were family and needed to stick together.”

Nate studied him. The hatred was apparent in his eyes. “And this is what you call sticking together? You sold me out to Hector then and now you’re doing it again.” Nate inclined his head toward Ross. “To this guy?”

Ross, having regained some of his composure, sat on top of a bar stool. “As touching as this little family reunion is, I’m bored now.”

Finally
. “Then tell me what the fuck you want, so I can go.”

Ross pulled out his phone. “It’s so great how even back in the day video cameras recorded decent quality. Not the same as high def of course, but with some cleaning up, it came out pretty good. And with the right technology, you can upload videos wherever you like.” He held up an iPod before tossing it to Nate. “You can keep this one. I have several copies.”

Nate stumbled back a step but caught it easily. The video was already in playback, and the walls started to push in, and the floor threatened to tilt. This video was the reason he'd preferred to be on the streets than home with his mother. The one thing Trent had on him. The one reason Nate had stayed hidden.

Nate tried to breath, but every attempt felt like he sucked in sawdust that scratched and scarred his lungs. The memory intruded on the present, and the world grayed until he saw nothing but that day he'd been twelve. His mother's john lurching toward him, drunk, high, stinking of booze and that too sweet perfume his mother liked to wear.

Bile rose in Nate’s throat as he thought of the way his thick, meaty hands had grabbed at him. The voice that gave him nightmares rang in his head, as clear as if it was happening now, not fifteen years ago.

"Come on, Nate. If you give me what I want, I'll buy you a video game. Something for something. You know how it works. Just come here.”

Sweat popped on his brow as he shook his head. "No. I won't. You get out and leave me alone."

Cy’s face had contorted into a mask of anger. Gone was the cajoling. Instead, he spat in Nate's face. The sound of the knife flicking open echoed like a rocket taking off. The sweating hulk threatening him with the knife. Nate did the only thing he knew how—he aimed to run. But he'd been caught around the waist. Then he'd remembered the defense moves he'd learned at the rec center. He stepped on the guy's instep and snagged his wrist.

What had happened next had haunted him for years. The brute lunged toward Nate. The sickening sound the knife made as it sank into flesh. The smell of the blood in the air, like rust. The sticky feel of it on his hands. The weight of the body as it fell on him.

Ross snapped his fingers, bringing Nate out of the stranglehold of the past. "You see, asshole, I own you."

Nate stumbled back, fear clawing at him, urging him to run. But he couldn’t run. Chase was depending on him. Nate had fought to keep something he desperately wanted. He wasn't going to run. "What do you want?"

Ross smiled. "Oh, it's very easy really. I want the only thing you have left. Or rather, I don’t want you to have it. You stay away from Delilah, and she never sees this.
And
I leave Manning alone." He inclined his head toward Trent. “As for your brother, well he just wants money.”

Sweat beaded on Nate’s brow. Chase was depending on him. And Delilah, Ross was clearly obsessed with her. He had to protect her. Dragging in a deep breath, he mentally shoved the scared kid aside. He met Ross’s gaze levelly. “Then you two had better prepare yourself for disappointment. I’m not staying away from her, nor am I paying you off. I’m done with the bullshit.”

Ross’s face turned beet red as he sputtered. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” Nate crossed his arms. “Do what you have to do. I’m not staying away from her.” He and Delilah were long overdue for truth and disclosure. He was going to tell her everything. He’d make her listen somehow. And he could protect Chase. He would find a way. Operating from fear was what had landed him in the shadows. He wasn’t doing that anymore.

Ross launched himself out of the chair, stopping just short of Nate’s face. “Maybe you don’t understand,” he spat. “Manning will lose everything.”

Nate wiped the spittle off his face with the back of his hand. “Oh no, I understand, Ross. But you’ve been given too much lead on your leash. You keep yanking it, and it’s bound to choke you.” His fist connected with Ross’s nose swiftly. The soft crunching sound filled the tense space and blood spattered as Ross landed in a heap. Nate crouched beside him. “I think you’re fishing. If you had information on Chase, you would have used it by now. And you see, I’m very good. There’s no trace of where he’s gone or why. The Mannings are very private. So all you could leak would be speculation. Profits are up, and the board has confidence in me as the CEO. No matter what happens, he’s coming back to the company he built. I’m seeing to that.”

Ross mumbled something that sounded a lot like, “Fuck you.”

Nate approached his brother, who straightened and met his gaze with a slightly tilted chin. Trent’s movements were quick as he tried to land a punch. But Nate was faster. Trent’s knees gave out, and he sank to the floor next to Ross.

Trent gingerly touched his jaw. “Fuck you, Nate. All these years you’ve told yourself that I’m the problem. But we both know it’s not true.”

Nate clenched his jaw. “No, Trent, you’re right, I
am
the problem. I’ve been ashamed of you most of my life. I saw myself in you. And I tried to run from it. But
you
made all the wrong choices. You’ve been making all the wrong choices for so long, you can’t even tell what the right choices are. I am not you. You are not me. And that shit we went through as kids, that doesn’t define me.” He studied his brother still lying supine on the ground. “Our past doesn’t define me. You don’t define me.”

As he took the stairs back down to the parking lot, it was like he had retroactive goggles with the ability to see every crossroads where he’d chosen wrong starting with the night of Delilah’s birthday.

If only he’d made the decision to kiss her like he’d wanted to back then. Or even simply made the decision not to run. What would have happened if he’d believed Sarah and John when they said he was part of their family?

He thought about not telling Delilah about Trent and the extortion. Worst of them all, he’d shut her out.
Had
been shutting her out. She was right—he couldn’t do everything alone. But instead of letting her help him, he’d pushed her away.

He checked his watch. He was over an hour and a half late.
Shit
. He’d fucked this up. But he had to talk to her. Had to explain. He would make her understand.

The only decision he’d made right was following her home to Hope. But he still had some unfinished business there. If he didn't want to be his past, he had to do some things differently.

###

D
elilah paced as she supervised the cleanup of the private room the restaurant had set up for her. She’d called Nate more times than she had fingers to count on, and all her messages had gone straight to voicemail.

Fear curled around her heart and rooted there. Where was he? Had he taken some back street and had an accident on his bike? She’d already called the hospitals to check if he’d been brought in. But nothing.