Enticing Interlude (Tempest #2) (18 page)

“What happened with RDA?” she asked once we were back outside in front of the Triumph. I should’ve known she wouldn’t let that rest. She’d just been so easy to talk to that I’d unwittingly barreled right into subject matter that I hadn’t intended to get into tonight. Frankly, I was afraid to share. The decisions I’d made back then were not going to win me any points with her and after the fantastic way the date had gone so far I loathed doing anything to wreck it. But I’d made a promise to be truthful and because I planned to keep that promise my only remaining option was to delay the telling.

I drew in a deep breath of cold air. “How about I tell you all the sordid details after we get to our next stop,” I hedged while helping her get her helmet back on.

Suddenly she threw her arms around my waist, the helmet banging hard against my shoulder.

“What the hell was that for?” Not that I was really complaining. Quite the opposite. In fact, my hands slid down to her lower back to press her closer.

She leaned back tilting her head so she could look at me, her adorable face framed by the helmet. “I just wanted to thank you for dinner, and for being so honest with me, and for sharing stuff that I know wasn’t easy,” she ended on a whisper. She was so sweet. I don’t think she had any idea how effortlessly she plucked at the strings of my heart, a heart that was already so in tune with her.

“You’re welcome.” I pulled on my gloves and touched the tip of her nose with a finger before leading her over to the bike.

“Where are we going?” she asked once she was settled in behind me her voice warm near my ear.

“Just a quiet place I think you’ll like.” I started up the engine and just barely managed to stifle a groan when I felt her soft hands slide back into place at my waist without being prompted. Oh heck yeah that felt good, but I was too keyed up to really enjoy it the way I wanted. I knew there was a very real chance that what I was about to share would end for good what was growing between us.

I took the Granville Bridge back to downtown and turned on Georgia Street. The main waterfront thoroughfare was as busy as usual. Though I couldn’t pick up any real speed, we got lucky with green lights along the way. I put my indicator on, turned, and we dipped into the underground parking garage. My headlamp lit the way to my usual spot before I shut off the engine and helped her down. This time she removed the helmet on her own and handed it to me.

“Where are we?” she asked while smoothing her hair.

“My sister’s apartment building.”

She looked a little nervous about that, so I quickly explained. “Avery’s not here. She’s on the island for the weekend.” I shoved my gloves into the pockets of my jacket and took her hand. “C’mon. I’m taking you up to the roof. I think you’ll like the view from up there.”

I entered the key code for the elevator, and we stepped inside.

“Mega high tech,” she commented on the way up.

“Yeah, it’s a pretty high security place.” I shrugged. “Took some getting used to for her, but it’s the way she and Marcus have to live.”

As soon as the door slid open, I heard her gasp.

“Yeah.” I grinned enjoying her look of wide eyed wonder. “That was about the same reaction I had the first time I came up here.” She squeezed my hand in a silent thank you before stepping out into the greenhouse and slowly turning around in a complete circle. She appeared just as enchanted by the rooftop conservatory as I’d hoped she would be. “It’s beautiful here, Justin,” she whispered. “The plants, the fountain, the view of the city and the mountains in the background, but,” she unzipped her hoodie and smiled at me, “it’s a little warm. Feels like spring in Florida.”

“Thought you might appreciate that.”

“I totally do.” She reached back for my hand, but this time didn’t release it as she towed me with her to explore.

As we completed the entire circuit, I appropriately oohed and ahhed at each one of her discoveries. She’d been especially fond of the twinkling lights in the trees, the tropical flowers, and the butterflies. I realized it was time to stop stalling and go ahead and get it over with.

“Bridget,” I called.

She turned with a question in her eyes.

I gestured to the concrete park bench and shrugged out of my jacket, arranging it fabric side up for her to sit on. “I think now’s a good time to tell you about the RDA deal and everything else.”

She nodded.

I could tell she picked up on my unsettled vibe by how rigid her posture went when she sat. She bit down on her lip and waited patiently for me to begin.

I clasped my hands together behind my back. “The deal never went through because I died.”

“What!” she exclaimed, brows soaring into her bangs. “Don’t tease. You scared me for a minute, Justin. You seem so tense. I thought you were going to tell me something serious.”

“It was serious. Everyone thought I had really died, that I’d been murdered, including my sister. It was a pretty messed up time. I was doing a lot of dope, and I got involved with the wrong type of girl. A woman named Antonia who was a lot older than me, something that I thought was flattering at the time. But she was also engaged at the time to a very dangerous man, a man involved in organized crime… Joe Campanella.

Her lips formed a surprised o. “I’ve heard that name. He’s supposed to be going on trial soon.”

I nodded.

“I read about it in the Florida papers. They carry a lot of the East coast news because so many New Yorkers retire down there.”

“Yeah, well, the biggest charge they have on him is attempted murder… of me. I’ll have to take the stand and give my testimony soon. The only reason Campanella didn’t succeed in knocking me off was because of an undercover cop. He intercepted the order and made it appear as though it had been carried out. Then he helped me and Antonia disappear. The FBI put us in the witness protection program for a while.” I rubbed the back of my neck, risking a glance at her face to try to gauge her reaction so far. Besides looking a bit incredulous, her expression didn’t tell me much. “Being in tight confinement with Antonia…especially being sober,” I clarified. “I realized that she wasn’t who I thought she was, definitely not the kind of woman I wanted to be with long term.”

“Wait a minute.” Her brows pinched together. “Does this have anything to do with why Avery dressed up like a guy when she first joined Brutal Strength?”

“Yeah.”

“So it wasn’t just a publicity stunt?”

“No.” I took a seat beside her and shifted toward her, raking a nervous hand through my hair. “She was desperate and afraid of Campanella because I’d run up a big debt borrowing money with him to finance my drug habit, and he held her responsible for repaying it.”

“What happened?” she asked in a small voice as if scared to find out.

“Campanella threatened her. Threatened our roommate. And then burned the crap out of her arm with a cigar. She still has the scar.”

“That’s horrible.”

“Yeah, it was. I’m still mad at the FBI for not letting me contact her. I can’t even imagine how scared she must have been. The rest is pretty easy to figure out. Avery was desperate for cash. Marcus didn’t want a female guitarist back then.” I let out a long breath. “At least it worked out alright for them in the end. You’ve probably seen pictures. They’re a pretty tight couple now.” I waited for her to say something. That was basically all of it, enough damning evidence to convict me of being the selfish impulsive guy I knew I had been. I watched her and waited. She continued staring straight ahead, her expression blank, but she was chewing the crap out of her lip. “Hey,” I manned up and reached for her hand. “Stop doing that and say something alright? I’m dying over here.”

“Why’d you start doing drugs?” she asked, throwing me completely for a loop.

I’d just told her about my run in with the mob and about my fake death and this was the question she asked? I shrugged. “Looking to escape the self-esteem issues I had because of the abuse mostly,” I answered honestly. “At least that’s what I figured out in rehab.”

“Hmm.”

“If you think I’m a cocky bastard now, I was even worse back then when I was using, I guess I thought like most addicts that I could control it.” If she wasn’t going to grill me about the rest of it, I figured it was my turn to ask her. “What about you? Why’d you start using?”

She pursed her lips. “More of the first thing you said. I got myself in way over my head with the number of hours I was doing in school, and I was working too. The coke kept me going. Gave me a false sense of security, made me feel invincible. At least that’s what I learned in rehab.”

“Hmm.” I teased mimicking her response.

“I’m not going there ever again,” she continued. “The drugs took over my life, and I scared Carter. I know he still has nightmares about it, and about losing me, especially since Meemaw’s death.” She closed her eyes as if she was trying to block it all out and put her head in her hands.

I angled closer, tapping my knee against hers, and gently removed her hands from her face. “It’s ok, baby. We all make mistakes, and just so you know, mine win for worst.” I tried to tease a smile out of her without any luck. “You’re a good mom, Bridget, and Carter’s a great kid. There’s so much love between you. You’re both gonna be alright.”

That got me a tremulous smile. “Thank you,” she whispered.

“No problem.” I stretched my arm out behind her and hooked my hand to draw her closer. We sat in silence for a while. The attraction was still there humming beneath the surface like it always did, but the weight of the past’s revelations hung heavy in the air between us.

“Bridget,” I finally ventured, turning my head to look at her sweet face. Her aquamarine eyes were flooded with concerns and I had to remind myself to breathe and prepare for the brushoff I felt sure was coming. “Tell me this doesn’t ruin everything.” She shook her head, a long strand of hair falling across her lips. My throat felt tight as I reached out to smooth it behind her ear. “Please don’t give up on us before we even have a chance to get started.”

“I don’t want to.” She gave me a searching sidelong glance. “Is there anything else you haven’t told me that you think I should know?”

“No, that’s it. Are you kidding? I would think that would be more than enough.”

Her lips curved up at the edges. “Honestly Justin, I had a great time with you tonight. Even with all this heavy stuff. Maybe even because of it.” She let out a small laugh. “Hell, I probably wouldn’t know what to do if my life didn’t include a little drama. But I still want to take things real slow.”

“I can do slow.” My gaze roamed her face while my heart danced the cupid shuffle inside my chest.

“But I need another promise from you.”

“Anything.”

She touched my face and I leaned into her hand. “Promise me if things don’t work out between us…”

“They will.”

“I wish I had your confidence and I wish…well, that’s not important, just promise that you’ll always be there for Carter. He’s already gotten really attached to you.”

“Done. That’s an easy one, babe.” I shifted so I could frame her pretty face in my hands. “My turn now, yeah?”

“Ok.” Warmth filled her eyes and a tentative smile ghosted across her lips.

Hell, I hoped that warmth was all for me. “I want you and Carter to come with me this weekend out to the Anthony farm to meet my family. My sister and my dad.”

“Your dad? But I don’t understand. I thought…”

“We’ve reconciled. It took some doing, but he’s changed, and he’s pretty sick. Would you come? So we can spend more time together. We’d have separate rooms. It’s a bed and breakfast, but closed this weekend so there’s plenty of space and...”

She put a finger over my lips. “Yes. I’d love to.” She was grinning big time now. “You’re rambling like I do when I get nervous…babe.”

I grinned as I kissed her fingertips. She started to withdraw her hand, but I caught it. “One more thing and I’ll take you home.”

“Ok.”

My brow rose in response to her quick agreement. “I want a kiss.”