Trinity (Moonstone Book 1) (20 page)

We climbed the stairs, pushing our way through the throng of people until we reached the top floor. Tony’s house was huge and there were plenty of bathrooms and bedrooms. I wondered idly how he made so much money, and if The Silver Den was so profitable why the hell didn’t he fix that stupid sign out the front.

I waited as Gwen used the bathroom, leaning against the wall outside. There were heaps of people around me, grouped together chatting and drinking, a few couples making out in the darker corners. I ignored them all as I waited.

“Hey, Trinity right?”

I looked up and into the eyes of a guy I recognized as a regular from The Bean. I smiled. “Hey, right.”

He held out his hand. “James.”

I shook his hand. “Nice to meet you, James,” I glanced at his red cup of beer. “I see you drink more than just skinny macchiato.”

He laughed. “Hey you remember my order!”

“Of course,” I replied a little smugly, “you’ve been coming in for years.”

His eyes lightened as they met mine. James was a college student, a little older than me and quite good looking. He’d been coming in regularly for years, sometimes on his own, sometimes with a group of friends and often with a girl. I could always tell when exams or assignments were due with James because he came in grumpier and surlier than normal, although he was never rude.

“I didn’t think you noticed me,” he said, “I mean not any more than any other customer.”

I shrugged. “I know most of the regulars.”

He moved a little closer as someone passed us, causing me to press back against the wall.

“I saw you tonight,” he said now, “at the Liv Den.”

“You did? I didn’t see you there.”

“You’re pretty amazing,” he gushed, “I didn’t realize the girl who serves me coffee was so damn fuckable.”

At his words my stomach hardened and I froze. I managed a little smile. “It’s all for show I promise.”

He moved a little closer so that I could feel his breath on my cheek. He smelled like beer and something else too, something harder and darker. Suddenly the mood around us changed, from light and joking to something thicker. “Oh I don’t know,” he crooned, “I reckon you would be pretty fucking amazing in bed.”

I started to move past him. “It’s for the stage and I have a boyfriend.”

He grabbed my wrist, causing my eyes to go wide. “I don’t care about boyfriends.”

I glanced down to where his fingers held my wrist. My skin burned. “I care about my boyfriend. Can you please let me go?”

The panic was starting to rise in me, I could feel it bubbling up in my stomach. I glanced around but everyone was ignoring us and Gwen was still in the bathroom. I didn’t want to create a scene but I didn’t like this guy, which was odd, because if you had of asked me just a few minutes ago about him and I would have said he was just a nice college guy who collected coffee on a regular basis.

“C’mon a girl like you doesn’t really give a shit who she fucks around with,” he continued, “and I promise I won’t tell him.”

I blinked at him. “You’re still touching me.”

He pressed against me, knocking me back against the wall. I could feel the hardness of his body against me, the hardness of him. My skin crawled.

“C’mon, babe,” he crooned, “just a little blow job. How about that?”

“I don’t think so.” I averted my head and pushed hard against him. Honestly, who the fuck did this guy think he was.

“Hey, you can’t tease me like that and then not deliver.”

“What are you talking about?” I demanded, pushing harder against him but finding I wasn’t able to budge him even a little. “I never teased you.”

“Yes you did,” he insisted, “you’ve batted your eyes at me every day when I collected my coffee and then on stage tonight. Don’t tell me you weren’t as turned on as I was.”

“There were like five hundred people there!” I cried. Surely this crazy dude did not think that I had just given a private performance for him.

“But you were looking at me each and every time you licked your lips or blew a kiss.”

I shook my head. “You are crazy and you need to let me go.”

“Not until I’ve gotten something, baby,” he leered toward me, his breath hot on my cheek, “c’mon just a little kiss.”

I pushed against him even harder as I felt his wet mouth press against the side of my face, his tongue flicking out to trace over my skin. Disgust roiled in my belly and I brought my knee up to kick him off but he was just too damn huge.

“Hey, buddy.”

I closed my eyes at the sound of Luke’s voice and knew that this horrid moment was over.

“Fuck off.”

“I will when you have got your hands off my girl.”

Suddenly the guy released me and I sagged back against the wall with relief. Then I looked over to where Luke stood, his face like thunder, his jaw was set hard and a muscle flexed in his cheek. His eyes glittered darkly and I knew he was seriously pissed off, which was good, because so was I.

“She your girl?” the guy jeered, “seriously tell me, is she a hot fuck or—”

Luke’s fist connected with James’s jaw before he even finished the sentence and I squealed, jumping back as he sagged against the wall. The bathroom door flung open and Gwen was there, staring at Luke and at me and then at the guy on the floor. Her face was pale and I could tell that she’d been in there crying.

“What the fuck?” she asked, staring at James who was starting to get to his feet.

“C’mon,” I said, tugging her with Luke and me as we left. At the bottom of the stairs Gwen left us, returning to the other girls outside, but Luke kept tugging me until we were outside and in his car. After buckling in and pulling away from the curbside with a skid, I turned to look at him. His fingers curled tightly around the steering wheel and he stared straight ahead. His jaw was still hard and the glitter of darkness stilled flashed in his eyes.

“You okay?” I asked after a few moments. He was angry, I could see that.

“Am I okay?” he repeated tightly. “No I am fucking
not
okay. That guy had his hands all over you, Trin, and his mouth.”

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, “I serve him at the coffee shop and at first he was nice but then he turned and got a little mean.”

“Fuck!” he suddenly slammed both on hands down on the steering wheel causing me to jump in my seat. “It’s not your fault babe. I am
not
angry at you, but man, I hated seeing him touching you like that. I hated it.”

“It wasn’t much fun for me either,” I told him quietly, “trust me.”

“What on earth made him think that you were fair game like that? That you wanted him touching you,” he fumed, “fucking bastard.”

“He saw the show,” I told him, “for some reason he thought it was a private performance just for him. I think he’s a little unhinged.”

“He’s fucking dead if he thinks he can touch you like that.”

I reached out and touched his arm, pulling it from the steering wheel and entwining his fingers through mine. At my touch I felt him start to relax. “Hey,” I crooned, “nothing happened. I am yours and yours alone. I’m just glad you came along when you did.”

“Me too, babe. Me too.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Luke

“So you punched a guy last night?”

“What? Oh my god Luke what is she talking about?”

I frowned at my little sister wondering how on earth she had heard about that already. It was Sunday and I was at my parents for lunch. I hadn’t been back to visit them since I’d taken Trinity with me a few weeks ago. I’d barely spoken to them since then either but my mother had kept calling and leaving messages and had insisted I visit for lunch today. I had wanted to bring Trinity, my mother had graciously extended the invitation to her, but she had declined telling me they had rehearsals for some gig they had next weekend, the one she had bought the fancy dress for.

“It’s nothing,” I told my mum, as I flexed my fingers. My knuckles were sore but it made me feel good. If I was sore then the other guy would be suffering today too. Good.

“Why are you fighting people? You’ve never been like that before.” I heard the unfinished sentence in my mother’s tone. I had never been like that before
Trinity
. And she was right. I hadn’t been the jealous or possessive type before. I mean sure, I hadn’t liked it when other guys flirted with Melissa but I had never reacted to it and I had certainly never punched anyone over it.

“Some guy was hitting on Trinity,” I told them tightly, “she didn’t like it and neither did I.”

“Oh that’s romantic!” Brooke gushed.

“That is not romantic,” my mother corrected, frowning at my sister, “and honestly Luke you can’t go around punching every guy that she flirts with. I’ve heard the performance she gives onstage is quite risqué. What would you expect?”

I glared at Brooke. “And where would you have heard that from I wonder?”

“I didn’t tell her!” Brooke protested, “I think Moonstone is awesome. Trinity is amazing!”

“How would you even know?” I demanded.

She shrugged. “I’ve watched them on YouTube. But I heard you broke the guy’s nose.”

I sighed. We were back to that again. “No, I didn’t break his nose,” I think. “It was just a punch. That’s all.”

“And you were at Tony Hurst’s house?”

“Tony Hurst?” my mother’s hand went to her throat. “Honestly Luke I barely recognize you these days.”

“How are your studies going?” my dad asked now, changing the conversation.

“Um, good yeah,” I told him, thankful that he had finally intervened even if he was about to berate me almost as much as my mother.

“You’ve got one semester left Luke,” he told me like I didn’t already know, “one semester to get your grades up and then graduate. Don’t let your future suffer because of some sexy piece of stuff.”

I fumed at his choice of words. “Trinity is not some sexy piece of stuff.”

“Are you bringing her to the Newtons’ next weekend?” Brooke asked now.

I shook my head. “No.” Definitely not. There was no way I would subject Trinity to that level of cruelty. Between Melissa and my mother she didn’t stand a chance.

“I don’t think that it’s the kind of event that Trinity would feel comfortable in,” my mother told Brooke, “and I doubt she would have the appropriate dress or the money to buy them.”

I glared at my mother. “Maybe I will bring her.”

“It’s too late now,” my mother replied. “The RSVPs were in weeks ago. And really, it would just upset Melissa. I think you do need to consider her feelings Luke. The poor girl is just devastated.”

“And she’s even more devastated,” Brooke stated, “after Trinity told her you were getting married.”

“What?” my mother screamed and looked like she was about to faint. I glared at Brooke.

“Seriously I have to know,” I demanded of my little sister, “where are you getting all your gossip from?”

She grinned mischievously at me. “That is what Trinity told Melissa right? Someone saw her trying wedding dresses on and she told Melissa that you and she were getting married.”

“Luke what is she talking about.”

I shook my head at Brooke before facing my mother. “Melissa and Trinity bumped into each other shopping and Melissa was a bitch to Trinity. In return Trinity suggested that we were getting married—but we aren’t.”
Yet
, I couldn’t help adding silently without thinking.

“Son,” my dad said now, “you don’t marry girls like Trinity. You marry girls like Melissa.”

I glared at him, “And what do you do with girls like Trinity?”

“You leave them where you found them.”

I glared at him and for a moment I wondered if he was the same as Trinity’s father. Did he have some woman, a mistress, on the side? Did he visit the other end of town regularly to indulge in girls that you “don’t marry”? I wondered if he knew about Trinity’s dad.

I shook my head. Now was not the time to talk about, not that it would ever be the right time. I hated that I knew who Trinity’s father was, and she didn’t. I hated that I was keeping that secret from her, but there was no way I could tell her, not without being prepared to lose her for good.

I looked around at my family and suddenly felt as if I was seeing them for the first time. My mother and her snobbery, my father and his black-and-white views, my sister and her gossip and bitchiness. Pushing back from the table I stood up.

“What are you doing?” my mother asked, her eyes going round. “Sit back down.”

“I have to go,” I muttered, “I’ve had enough.”

“Luke don’t be so rude,” my father growled, “your mother has prepared a lovely lunch for you and you will sit yourself back down and be polite.”

I shook my head. “Nope. I’m leaving. I’ll come back when I can bring Trinity with me, and when I can trust that the two of you will be polite to the girl I love. Let me know when that is.”

I didn’t wait for them to say anything but walked out, not bothering even a glance backward as I climbed in the car and pulled away from the house. It was the first time I had ever walked out on them, the first time I had ever threatened them. If they couldn’t accept Trinity in my life then I didn’t exactly know what that meant. Was I prepared for that event? I wasn’t sure, but I knew that there was no way I was letting them get in the way of Trinity and I and what we had.

That also meant there was something else I needed to address. Someone else who was getting in between Trinity and me without her even realizing it.

I drove a few streets away and pulled up outside the familiar house. I stared up at the dark red bricked building with the white shingles and the perfectly manicured gardens. God, how many times had I been here over the years? It was almost like a second home to me. Drawing in a deep breath I made my way up the front porch and rang the doorbell.

Melissa answered, her eyes going round with shock when she saw it was me.

“Luke!”

I managed a tight smile careful not to offer too much her way. I wished we could be friends but I wanted to let her know that it was all we would ever be. “Hi.”

She blinked for a moment before she gathered herself and stepped backwards, letting me in. “What are you doing here? I mean, it’s great to see you, but I’m just surprised that’s all.”

I followed her in, keeping my hands pushed deep into my pockets. “I um, actually came to speak to your dad.”

“My dad?” she asked, “Um okay—he’s in his office.”

I nodded and made my way over to the familiar closed door. Her dad was a workaholic, and was regularly away for work, although I now realized that he hadn’t gone as far as he let his family believe. Probably most of his interstate business trips were simply conducted across town and there was little business involved. My stomach churned with disgust for the man that I had once considered like a second father.

I knocked tentatively on the door before pushing it open and stepping inside. When I closed it I caught a glimpse of Melissa watching me curiously.

Mr. Newton looked up from where he sat. When he saw it was me he sighed and leaned back in his seat watching me carefully. “Luke. I’ve been expecting to see you.”

I didn’t reply just kept my gaze locked on him.

“I thought I would’ve heard from you before now, or at least heard from that girl of yours.”

My hands curled into fists at the way he talked about Trinity, as if she was nothing at all, when in fact she was everything.

“Do you even know?” I whispered eventually.

“That she’s my daughter?” He shrugged. “Sure. Or at least that is what her mother has always told me although without a paternity test I can’t be a hundred percent sure.”

“You think she’s not actually yours?” Maybe that was why he had never done the right thing, because her mother had suggested that she wasn’t.

“Oh I’m pretty sure she is.” He shrugged and then regarded me carefully. “You haven’t told her have you?”

I shook my head. “No.”

“Are you going to?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well,” Mr. Newton stood up behind his desk and moved around the front to lean back against it. “Let me see if I can help you make the decision that works best for everyone.”

“Everyone?” I cocked an eyebrow. I knew what he really meant and I was pretty sure that when he said everyone he was pretty much just talking about himself.

“Well look at it this way,” he continued, “by telling Trinity that I am her father what will you be achieving? Think about for one, what will happen here to my family.” He gestured around the office and to the family photos of his wife and his kids that sat on his desk. “My wife will be devastated and you know how fragile she is. I wouldn’t be surprised if she had a complete breakdown this time. And what about Melissa? Can you imagine what it would do to her to find out that I have another daughter about her age? A girl who has managed to steal her boyfriend away from her, a girl she already thinks has ruined her life.” He shook his head. “And your own family. Imagine how they will feel … it would make them feel as if they had to take sides. Choose between your girl and my family. Whose side do you think they will choose?”

I stared at him as he talked, my hands curled into fists. I wanted to hit him, I wanted to slam my fist into his sick, selfish face and wipe the smirk off his mouth.

“And then what about Trinity’s family.” He snickered. “You think Maureen will be pleased that after keeping my secret all these years for me you have gone and shared it? You think she won’t blame Trinity for it? And Trinity? I know how your parents feel about her and I know how she feels about Melissa. Oh yes, I heard about her vindictive little snipe at Melissa yesterday. You think she is going to be happy to have a half-sister—a half-sister that is your ex-girlfriend?”

“You know Maureen was abusing Trinity and you never did anything?” I said eventually, grasping the one bit of information that actually made me feel sick.

“What could I do?” he said simply. “I suspected but since I never actually saw the girl I couldn’t be sure. But if I alerted authorities I would have to explain my involvement and I couldn’t have done that could I?”

“So you just left her there,” I clarified, “to protect your own self interests. You left your own daughter with a woman who beat the crap out of her.”

“Like I said,” he repeated, “I couldn’t be sure.”

I shook my head. “I don’t get it. Why have you been doing this? If you loved Maureen why didn’t you just leave, years ago, and be with her?”

Mr. Newton stared at me like I was mad. “You are still young Luke, you don’t understand how the world works just yet. You think you are in love with that girl but once you realize what you have to give up in order to be with her you’ll realize you don’t love her enough.” He stared down at the floor, deep in thought before he lifted his eyes again to meet mine. “I did love Maureen, once, long ago. She was beautiful and she would do anything to keep me interested in her. Amazing in bed, incredible in bed, and always willing. Girls like her always are. I bet her daughter’s the same.”

I glared at him and felt my fists twitch but kept steady as he continued.

“But Valerie’s parents were friends with mine. And Valerie was the girl I was supposed to marry and have a future with. I explained the situation to Maureen, she always knew I would never leave Valerie. You understand. You think you can leave your family, you can avoid marrying and having a future with Melissa but you are just as caught as I am. You can’t avoid your future, Luke.”

“I am nothing like you are.”

“Yeah you are, Luke,” he told me smoothly. “Think about it. And let me give you some advice.” He leaned forward and lowered his voice, “You can actually have it all too. You can marry Melissa, you can keep your family happy and be the man you are supposed to be and you can keep your piece of ass on the side. Get Trinity a house, hell I will buy the house for you, and set her up in there. Keep her for as long as you like.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

He shrugged. “One piece of advice though. Don’t make the mistake of knocking her up like I did the mother.”

I couldn’t contain my rage anymore and my fist landed square on his jaw. Fuck, I’d used the same hand as I’d used on the guy last night and my knuckles throbbed like hell. Mr. Newton rubbed a hand over his chin and glared at me.