Restrained (Sterling Family #3)

23. Hayden

23

HAYDEN

T he doorbell rings through my house and I glance at the clock, seeing it’s ten o’clock at night. I’m not expecting anyone, and I'm certain it’s not about business. My lips quirk into a sly smile as I make my way from my office toward the front door, hoping it’s Lola.

I don’t bother to tug on a shirt, having been about to go to bed and wearing only black sweats. I smirk, seeing Lola through the glass, standing on the other side of my front door and pull it open. “I thought we said tomorrow.” She’s still dressed in the same skirt and blouse she had on earlier. My eyes trail from her heels up to her face. “But I'm definitely okay with this too.”

Her hair is down, and her eyes are desperately searching mine with an expression that sends chills through me. She seems almost breathless, her lips parted as she stares.

“Lola? What’s wrong?”

“You.”

I swallow the bile that rises in my throat. “What?”

Her gaze stays glued to my face. “You’re Penelope’s brother? Or at least related to her?”

Shit. No. “Lola...” I start and see the anger and hurt in her eyes. I reach for her hand, but she instantly jerks away.

“Answer me.”

“Come inside.” I want to touch her, to calm her down, to plead with her to understand.

She folds her arms, staying put on the stoop outside my house. “No. Answer me, Hayden.” She closes her eyes briefly, and then they flutter open, landing on mine. “Are you related to Penelope?”

No more lies. “Yes.”

She looks like she’s going to be sick, and I want to hold her, but I don’t touch her. “Who are you?”

I look in her eyes, begging for forgiveness for keeping this from her. “I’m her brother.”

I think she’s going to slap me. I’d deserve it. But what I didn’t expect from the tiny, ultra-refined blond was for her fist to ball up and sock me right in the eye. Hard. I’ve been hit by a lot of men, and she packs a punch.

My hand flies over my eyes, but other than that I don’t move while she remains in place, furious. Her breathing is rapid as she shakes her right hand that has to be on fire. “How could you not tell me that?” She grits her teeth. “How?”

I drop my hand to the side, my eye already swelling. My jaw ticks with anger. Not necessarily at Lola, but at the whole fucked-up situation.

Thank you, life, for fucking me once again.

“I didn’t fucking know you. What was I supposed to say, Lola?”

“How about when we first met at the coffee shop instead of the line of bullshit you fed me? You could have said, ‘I know Penelope. We share DNA.’”

I growl, thinking about that day, being taken by Lola and her throwing off my plan of getting to know my sister. “I wanted to know who she was first.”

She shakes her head. “That’s why you hired us? It was all a scheme.”

“No.”

“Bullshit, Hayden. You made me look like a fool.”

“It wasn’t about you.” And it wasn’t. Lola was a curveball, something I should be used to but didn’t see coming.

“Right. It was all to trick Penelope. What do you want from her?”

“Nothing.”

She moves closer to me, her chin tipped up, fire burning fiercely in her eyes as she glares at me. “If you hurt her, so help me. I’ll cut your balls off and toss them into the ocean.”

Jesus. A threat shouldn’t be so fucking hot . “I don’t want to hurt her.” I can smell her honey and lavender scent. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“She’s my best friend. You lied to us both.” Her chin trembles. “You slept with me.”

“That had nothing to do with it.”

“No? It wasn’t just to get closer to her?” She’s searching again. “Your taking of my virginity was just part of a fucking scheme.”

Her teeth are clenched again, but now I’m pissed. How the fuck can she think that? “We didn’t know each other. You didn’t fucking tell me the truth either, remember?”

She winces but only slightly. “Fine. I didn’t tell you that I’d never had sex before I gave it up to you. And you’ve lied to me since day one about your identity. Totally the same thing.”

“The two have nothing to do with each other, Lola. I was attracted to you from that first day, but I didn’t know you enough to confide in you.” My hand wraps around her waist, and I chance pulling her body closer to mine. “When we had sex, I thought it was a hot hookup with a pain in the ass I was working with. Not defiling a fucking virgin.”

She shoves me away with her hand on my chest. “Fuck you and your defiling. Fine. I didn’t tell you about being a virgin because I wanted you in that moment and I didn’t want to have a very awkward, very personal conversation. And you didn’t tell me you were Penelope’s brother for pretty much the same reason.”

This has to be a trick leading to my downfall. “Yes.”

She doesn’t cross the threshold of my house, but she’s right at the line as she edges closer to my body. “But every time after? After we told each other so many personal things and shared our bodies with each other? You still didn’t tell me.”

“I was trying to find a way.”

“Yeah, well sticking your dick in me was definitely not it.”

I cringe, knowing everything we had, whatever it was, is now gone. She isn’t going to look at me the same way.

“It was sex, Lola. It had nothing to do with the fact that I’m related to Penelope.”

“Even you don’t believe that, Hayden. You know it was a betrayal. Every touch. Every kiss. Every single pleasure filled moan...” Her eyes are deadly serious, and I feel a loss greater than any I've ever experienced. “It was all a lie.”

“Lola, you’re a smart woman. Come inside and we can talk about it. I’ll tell you everything.” I reach for her hand, and again, she pulls away from me.

“No.” She raises her hands, and I see tears in her eyes that threaten to kill me. “I need...” She puffs angry air from her mouth, and I see her shoulders tremble with anger and sadness. Her eyes linger on my swelling left eye. “I have to go.”

“Don’t.” I’ve never begged anyone in my life, but I hear it in my voice. That’s exactly what I'm doing.

But it doesn’t work. She turns and leaves, her heels clicking on my driveway as she runs to her car.

I watch her leave, wondering if this is the last time I’ll ever see her. I’ve had so many people leave in my life. I’ve left a lot of people behind.

But it’s never felt as bad as this.