White Lies (A Twisted Fate Series) (Volume 1) (16 page)

Pound.

Pound.

Pound.

Another groan emitted.

Carson stirred. “How are you feeling? You had a rough night.”

My eyes closed as I muttered, “I feel terrible. What happened?”

Pound.

Pound.

Pound.

The pounding was inside my head.
Shit
.

The vibrations from Carson’s voice had me wincing. “I found you on the couch in the pool house when I woke up. You scared me shitless with how out of it you were. Everyone was wasted. No one knew where you had gone.”

A hand touched my shoulder. “Take this aspirin and drink some orange juice. It’ll help.” I shot up and then grabbed my head in pain.

“Fuck!” My outburst caused the ache to worsen.

Orange juice and two white pills were put in front of me. “Here you go. What do you remember?”

I took the aspirin and prayed they helped sooner rather than later. The orange juice burned going down. I closed my eyes as flashes from last night came back. “I found pictures of Alex’s son. After that, I went on a mind-numbing mission. Not my finest moment.” Being upright hurt, so I lay back down. “I haven’t been that drunk since my birthday our sophomore year in college. Never again. I don’t feel good.”

He patted my back. “Get some sleep. I’m going to work for a bit. You’ll feel better after you rest. If Rosie mentions a Francesca, just go with it.”

“I will. Sorry your wingman is out of commission. Is Francesca your made-up girlfriend?”

He shrugged. “I’ve been on a few dates with one.”
Later, I’d ask him more about this Francesca chick.
The throbbing in my head kept me from diving too deep on any subject. We’d talk later. My eyes closed but opened again when I felt a gentle pat on my back. “I’ll think of some sacrifice you’ll have to make on the trip since you’re slacking on your wingman duties.”

I loudly groaned at the displeasing thought.

I heard him chuckling as the door closed.
Bastard
.

Hours later, I woke up to a plate of crackers and more orange juice. I caught a glimpse of a note.

I was glad Carson took time to hang with the guys. It gave me some time to piece myself together after last night.

I headed to the bathroom to I clean up, which helped me feel more human. I was never ever drinking like that again. I hated that I let Alex’s double life bring me down to a place where I turned to alcohol. Normally, I was more in control, but for some reason, seeing the picture of the boy sent me over the edge.

As I was combing out my hair, a knock stopped me. The door opened before I said a word. It was Rosie.

“Hey, Willow. How are you feeling?”

“Better. Almost human.”

“Good. Do you have a second?” I nodded. “How serious are Carson and Francesca?”

No wonder Carson felt safe to leave his hideout. “I’m not sure. I haven’t had time to talk about her much with everything that’s been going on.”

“That makes sense.” My burner phone dinged from within my purse. “I’ll let you get that. I’m going to go lay out by the pool and wait for the boys. Mitchell went with them, too.”

Poor Mitchell. He was in for the Rosie ass-grabbing next. Hopefully he was dating someone. She bounced out of the room without a care in the world. Sometimes I needed a word stronger than odd for her. I was never able to figure it out, but we weren’t close.

Grabbing my purse, I dug out my phone and sat on the couch Carson had moved next to the bed last night. I remembered being sick.

Ugh. Poor Carson.

Tack: How are you feeling?

Me: Better now that I’ve got some food and aspirin in me.

Tack: Do you remember last night?

I remembered he’d been there. Until now, I hadn’t thought about it.
Oh my gosh.
I nuzzled him. I said I fantasized about him.

Another text came in from Carson.

Carson: How’s it going?

Me: Better. I’m feeling human. Thanks for the crackers. The Francesca thing worked. Rosie has her eyes set on Mitchell now.

Carson: Poor bastard. Trent called. He rerouted his flight from Italy. He wanted to meet with us. Said he could meet in town if you want.

Me: Yeah, let’s get it over with.

Carson: Okay, you want me to arrange or do you want to?

Me: I’ll let you.

Carson: Sounds good.

Then Tack texted me again.

Tack: You there?

My eyes were tired of reading. I called Tack instead. My heart raced thinking about speaking to him again.

The phone connected. “Hello.” That voice was too sexy for his own good.

“Hey.” Oh geez, I was having word vomit thoughts now.
I mean, yes his voice is sexy, but I cannot have these thoughts.
It was the hangover. Hopefully, I kept them to myself.

“Are you going to answer my last question?”

It was time to give Tack a taste of his own medicine with one-word answers. “Yes.”

A pregnant silence followed. And then a chuckle. “Yes, you remember or yes you’re going to answer?”

“I can’t believe I said those things.”

Another laugh. “By the way, I’m not old.”

Oh shit, I asked him if he was old. And told him I had fantasized about him. Fuck.
I shook my head and then held it from the pain while I emitted a groan.

“You okay, Willow?”

“Everything hurts. And I’m humiliated. Around you, it’s like my mouth has a mind of its own. It’s terrible. Did you stay with me last night?”

“I did until Carson came for you. Then I disappeared out the back. You talk in your sleep.”

Oh my gosh!
I not only had to worry about my thoughts coming out when I was awake, but apparently when I slept, too. This was not good at all. My subconscious was doing a damn good job of forcing me to acknowledge a few things I was not ready to.

I leaned back. “What did I say? Please tell me it was about puppies or something unimportant.”

“No, it wasn’t about puppies.” He paused. “You’re scared. And hurt. And worried.”

Well, that was obvious. Nothing too earth-shattering in those confessions. “I am. Was there anything else?”

“You miss what you had with Alex in the beginning.”

Apparently, I shared a lot last night. Tack waited for me to respond. Not pushing, just being there in case I wanted to talk. I liked it. “I do. It’s hard to explain. Have you ever been in love?”

“Yes. And then she broke my heart into a million pieces.”

So he knew what I was feeling. “I know I shouldn’t give Alex a second thought, but I was madly in love with him. The soul-shattering kind that leaves a void when it disappears. When he came back, all I tried to do was rekindle it. But it was all a lie. I imagine our meeting was planned. Somehow I was an easy target. And I don’t know what I did. I’m terrified of making the same mistake. What did the girl do to break your heart?”

The conversation had taken a dramatic turn. “I’ve never told anyone this.” He stopped speaking while he probably got his thoughts together. “She broke up with me, and I found her with another man.”

So he knew what it was like to be cheated on, too. “Do you think your heart can ever heal?”

“I do, Willow. I think it takes time, but I hope to hell that’s the case.”

“Me, too.” My words hung out there while we both reflected. Tack had depth, and I was drawn to him. Maybe it was two battered souls recognizing each other.

It was time to change the subject. “What are you doing right now?”

Seemed like Tack agreed, given the quick release of air I heard. “Sitting at a restaurant. Looking over the pictures you sent me.”

“Have you found anything out?” If he had, I hoped it was good news versus another piece of the puzzle.

It was quiet for him to be at a restaurant. I looked at the clock, noting it wasn’t exactly a meal time. “Not yet. I think there are some missing pieces.” Of course. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“I know this is personal, but I was worried about you last night. Are you relieved the test came back negative?"

Lasts night’s antics were definitely slowing down my thinking. I wasn’t even going to try and follow. “Negative? Which test?”

“The pregnancy test.”

Things clicked into place. “Oh
fuck
.”

“What?”

What did I do? What the hell did I do?
The throbbing was a jackhammer in my head. “I never took a test. Not yet. I’m not late yet. Tack, what have I done? I need to go.”

“Willow!”

“I’ll talk to you later.”

I hung up and grabbed my computer to quickly boot it up. With all that had happened, I forgot about the possibility of being pregnant. A lump formed in my stomach as I thought about the damage I might have caused.

After forever, the browser came up and I typed
“what happens to the baby if I drank the first month of pregnancy”
into the search field. I never turned to alcohol to drown my sorrows. If I was pregnant and there was something wrong, I’d never forgive myself.

The search results came back. I found case after case where the same thing happened. Of course, it wasn’t recommended, but nothing significant had been linked to the baby’s health. I leaned back and breathed a sigh of relief. While I was thinking about it, I plugged a reminder into my phone to take the pregnancy test in a week, when I would be two days late.

The burner phone rang, startling me. “Hello.”

“Are you okay?”

The headache was back in full force. “Yes. Sorry, I needed to look up the effects of what I did last night if I was pregnant. I’m still not ready to find out if I am. I know that may not be the most mature, but I have to take this in baby steps.”

A week. I had a week to get mentally prepared.

“I think you have to do what is best for you. What are your plans today?”

Massaging my temples, I closed my eyes. “Meeting with a private investigator, who also happens to be a security advisor. Then probably coming back here. When will I see you again?”

Oh shit!
Why the hell had I asked that last question? It was best not to backtrack. Otherwise, I was going to look like a bigger idiot than I already did. I shut my eyes tight, bracing for his response.

“Soon.” I blew out some air, relieved when that was all he said. “What’s going on in that head of yours, Willow?”

I was tired and exhausted from all the revealing. “I’m not sure. I probably need to get ready for my meeting with this security advisor.”

“I’m glad you’re getting extra security to make sure you’re protected, just in case.”

Just in case.
That was what worried me. “There’s something that’s been bothering me that you may have the answer to.”

“What’s that?”

“How did Commander Taylor coordinate Candy and me finding out about Alex? He didn’t come to my house. Officers did.”

I heard a chime on the door, the first sign he was out and about. “Most of that precinct is dirty and on someone’s payroll. The same officers who informed you told Candy also.”

So, my instinct had been right about not sharing anything with the police. “I want all this to end, Tack.”

“That’s what I’m working day and night on.”

I was bone tired. “Thank you, Tack. I’ll see you soon.”

“Soon, Willow.”

I hung up the phone, forbidding myself to think about Tack for now.