White Lies (A Twisted Fate Series) (Volume 1) (11 page)

The tickling persisted. I would not give up. I refused. I reached for a pillow and hit him on the side of the head, causing him to release me. We laughed as we scrambled to our feet, preparing for what the next one would do.

“Do you want to call a truce?” His blue eyes danced with fun. This was exactly what I needed. “What’s it going to be, Russo?”

CRASH!

We jolted and swung our attention to the back porch, where the noise came from. In a flash, Carson headed to the door. The rain pelted harder. It was like a monsoon. The weather was unseasonal.

“Be careful out there. Do you want an umbrella?”

He flicked on the back porch light. “Nah, I’m good. Let me check. I’ll be right back.”

He opened the door, and the sound of the storm intensified. Carson stepped outside into the rain. The door remained open as the rain made its way in. Quickly, I grabbed one of the kitchen towels to clean up the mess.

Lightning struck, illuminating the angry night sky.

The storm was getting worse. I waited and watched for Carson to come back. When I was on the verge of going after him, he came back inside and shook out his long hair. It sent rain droplets flying everywhere. He was soaked. “The storm knocked over the umbrella. It’s getting bad out there.”

Another flash of lightning streaked across the sky. “Do we need to secure anything?”

“No, everything else looks good.”

Carson headed to the guest bathroom and reemerged with a towel to dry off with. A yawn escaped me as I took in our mess. “I’ll clean up the rest of this in the morning. I think this girl is headed to bed.”

“Night, sleepyhead. I’m going to work a little bit in the study. The Italy hotel should be getting in any moment.”

Placing a few of the pillows on the couch, I asked, “Are they getting any better?”

“I don’t think so. We’ve had several reported thefts. So we’re adding some security per Trent’s recommendations. I’m hopeful it gives us some answers.”

The fact that Carson allowed Trent so close to his hotels spoke volumes. The problem in Italy sounded terrible. Managing people was not my forte. I preferred it to be me, the canvas, and the paint. It was a perfect combination. “Ugh. Better you than me. Enjoy working while I get my beauty sleep.”

“Night, Willow. Trent is headed back from Italy in a couple of days. He said he would make his schedule clear whenever you wanted to meet.”

“Sounds good. Night, Carson.” I walked up to him, and he gave me a brotherly hug. “Thank you for the wonderful evening. It was what I needed after the hellish couple of weeks.”

“Anytime, angel. I’ll see you in the morning. Get some sleep.”

“I will.”

Heading to a bedroom upstairs on the opposite end of the house from Carson’s, I got under the covers. I was so exhausted, I barely remembered my head hitting the pillow.

I felt a light pressure on my cheek.
Wait… someone touched me
. A startled scream was cut off as a hand covered my mouth. I froze, terrified. On the verge of thrashing, the familiar accented voice said, “Shh… it’s me.”

The low, hoarse whisper sent a warmth through me. He was here again. Abruptly, I sat up and scooted away. “What the hell are you doing? You can’t come in here unannounced like this and scare me like that.”

I felt him shift further away. “I’m sorry about that. I forgot to give you something last time we talked to keep that from happening. I don’t want you to be frightened of me.”

My heart slowed as I drew my knees up. “I don’t have any idea who you are. I’d be crazy if this didn’t make me a little nervous.”

He chuckled. It was deep in tone. “Very true.”

The room was pitch black. The curtains were drawn and nothing was detectable. Again my body felt drawn to him and I had no idea why. The realization scared me. I wanted to reach toward him, but I ignored the urge. To feel such familiarity with someone I knew nothing about scared the hell out of me.

“How did you know I was here?”

“I have my ways.”

I blew out a frustrated breath. This was getting me nowhere. My logical side said to scream bloody murder and get him out of my life. But… there was something else… something big holding me back. “Willow, I swear I’m not here to hurt you. If you want me to leave, I will.”

His weight left the bed, and I blurted, “No, don’t go!”

My hands went to my mouth. I sounded desperate, which was unlike me. I wasn’t in complete control of my thoughts around this guy.

“I’ll stay. But if you get uncomfortable, tell me and I’ll leave.”

Where was his accent from?
It had to be Irish. I racked my brain, but I wasn’t able to think of anyone I knew with an accent this strong.

I blindly reached for the light, but his grip stopped me. Tingles erupted all over my skin where we touched, and I sucked in a breath of air. He didn’t release me, and his grip was fuzzing my thoughts. I needed to regain control. “Why can’t I know who you are?”

“For now, it’s safer this way, Willow. I promised someone I would always protect you.”

Promised someone? Who?
The possibilities raced through my head.

“Was it my dad?”

“Yes.”

He’d known my dad. “How’d you know Dad? Do I know you?”

His hand touched mine, bringing an odd comfort. “I promise you, I’ll reveal everything when I can. I’m trying not to lie to you, Willow. I know after what Alex did to you, along with things to come, you need honesty.”

I blew out a frustrated breath. “Why are you here if you’re not ready to give answers, only more riddles?”

A pregnant pause permeated the air, and his thumb brushed against my lower lip. “I needed to tell you something. It wasn’t safe to call you.”

Closing my eyes, I focused on his touch—strong yet gentle, rough yet soft. In the blink of an eye, the warmth was gone. Instantly, I missed his touch. What the hell?
I missed his touch?
The pressure of my teeth against my lower lipped helped eradicate the feeling, giving me something else to focus on. Without thinking, I reached forward, and his hand stopped me again. A quick intake of air settled between us.

Was I affecting him?

“What did you need to tell me?”

“Commander Taylor is having you followed. Your phone is tapped.”

I leaned against the headboard, feeling all of the air leave me. “Why?”

“He knows you visited Cocktails. The paperwork to get the tap cleared showed it was to monitor for any clues about Alex’s death. It was tapped within twenty-four hours of your visit.”

Who knew me at Cocktails? I replayed the events from that night. No one had seemed the least bit interested in me or even showed the least bit of recognition. I’d never been there before. The only connection was Alex, and I highly doubted he’d told his other wife about me. That would have gone over like a house on fire. Was Commander Taylor having me followed?

I went through the possibilities as dread filled me. On a whisper, I asked, “How did he know?”

“Harley called him. He knew about Alex’s plan.”

My spine went rigid. When I’d seen Harley at Cocktails, he’d given no indication. None. “H-h-he knew?”

“Yes.” My heart was racing, and I realized the man had his thumb on my wrist where my pulse pumped through my veins. “I’m going to keep you safe. I swear it. I get you’re scared, but this is why I have to work in the dark like this without you knowing.”

His honesty took me back. It was confusing, finding comfort in his words. What was I getting myself into? I wasn’t sure.

All I knew was Alex had royally fucked up my life. Each day, it grew easier to hate him and not feel guilty. I swallowed hard, preparing myself. My voice quavered. “What did he say?”

A thumb stroked my bottom lip, and I realized it was quivering. It was as if this man had the ability to see in the dark. I found myself calming as he continued his soft, reassuring touch. “Harley asked Commander Taylor what he told you when you visited the precinct. Commander Taylor lied and left out the majority of it, saying he let you keep believing the lie. Harley demanded you be watched. Today the patrols let up since you’ve done nothing for almost a week. It was the first time I’ve been able to get to you.”

Harley, Commander Taylor, and God only knew who else were in on Alex’s games. “Did Alex come after me because of my money? Is that why he was so insistent Nonno hand it over?”

I knew the answer, but I wanted it confirmed. The thumb disappeared again, but his hand remained on my wrist. “Alex had a lot of debt.”

“What kind of debt?”

“He owed a few different loan sharks several hundred thousand dollars. So far, I know of at least two million dollars he was on the line for.”

Over two million dollars. That was an insane amount of money. “Does Candy know about the money?”

“From what I can tell, she knows a little but not the full extent. She’s stripping again at Cocktails.”

Wow, that was fast. I knew what I was asking was trivial, but so many questions still remained unanswered. “How long had they been married?”

“Five years.”

Five years! Five years! Five damn years! I felt sick and grabbed my stomach. Alex had already been married long before I entered his life. I was for sure the
other
woman. The man’s hand followed. “Did you find out if you’re pregnant or not?”

I shook my head but then remembered we were in the dark. “No. I won’t know for a couple more weeks.” I paused as my mind wandered. Harley knew about me. No doubt there had been a plan. “Are they going to come after me?”

“I don’t know. There are a few more things I need to find out first.”

“Like?”

“Like what their plan was to get the money and who was in on it.”

These people were dangerous. “How will you find out?”

“I have my ways, but I can’t share yet. I need you to be careful by staying at your place as much as possible. I’m going to give you a burner phone so we can keep in touch. I meant to give it to you at the bar the other night.”

Things were spinning out of control. No, wait. Things
were
out of control. This was crazy. I was trusting this man way too fast. I scooted back, needing some distance between us to clear my head. He followed.

His forehead came to mine, and I stayed completely still. “I get that I’m asking for a lot of trust after you’ve been to hell and back. Maybe this will help. Your dad told me something only you and he would know.” He cleared his throat while I worked on staying unaffected by the minty smell of his breath brushing across my face.

“Wait? My dad told you what?”

“He told me about when you went to Italy, how you would go to the spot in the woods behind your house where he proposed to your mom. You both would lay flowers in the spot and share your memories. Even your Nonno didn’t know this.”

A tear slid down my face. That was something only Dad and I knew about. It was our secret—something we’d done to treasure Mom’s memory. No one knew but us. “Why did he tell you that?”

“I don’t know. Honestly, I have no clue, Willow.”

I was a little hurt Dad would share something so personal with someone and not tell me. But I knew Dad loved me and wouldn’t have done it without a reason. Maybe he died before he was able to tell me.

I stared into the darkness; my voice was stern and left no room for misunderstanding. “Don’t ever lie to me. If you can’t answer, just say so. But don’t lie. I’m going on faith that Dad told you that story for a reason. I’m going to try and trust you. Don’t prove me wrong.”

A sigh escaped him. He was closer than I anticipated. On instinct, I turned toward him, causing my lips to brush his. The connection sizzled, and neither one of us moved. Every fiber of my being was aware… acutely.

This was crazy.

I was crazy.

Suddenly parched, I licked my lips, touching his. Without warning, his lips crashed to mine.

Warm.

Commanding.

Desperate.

I moaned into his mouth. My hands moved to touch him, and he pulled away, leaving a void my body craved.
What is wrong with me?

Only our ragged breaths filled the room. As I opened up to him, he pulled back. I wanted to taste him.

“I need to go, Willow. The phone is on the dresser. Don’t tell anyone about it. Does Carson know about me?”

“No. What do I call you?”

I felt him move closer before his lips were on my forehead. “Tack.”

“Tack.”

And just like that, he was gone.