Chapter Twenty-Three
Calvin
Getting the text from Cormac, stating we need to talk about the upcoming wedding, is just enough to send me over that edge I have been dangling over for the past two weeks. Tanner has said he will sort it out, but I’m tired of sitting around and not being able to do anything about it all. I can feel it putting a strain on me and Nixie, and I fucking hate it.
She hasn’t said anything to me, but I can feel her pulling away slightly whenever the topic of this Cara girl gets brought up. I haven’t told her exactly what is going to happen for me to get out of it just yet. Darcy has been around to help keep Nixie’s mind off things, but when it’s just the two of us at night, I can feel her slipping away, and I’ll be damned if I let that happen.
I’m in the car and speeding off before anyone can even begin to talk me down. My knuckles are turning white with how hard my grip is on the steering wheel. My phone rings through the car and I pick up.
“What?” I shout, not bothering to see who it was first.
A small gasp has me regretting it straight away. “Nevermind,” Nixie’s voice comes through the speakers before the line goes dead. I try to ring back, but there’s no answer.
“Fuck!” I shout as I continue to speed and swerve at the other cars on the road.
The phone rings again, but I look to see who it is this time. To my disappointment, it’s Tanner.
“Cal, dont do anything fucking stupid. I’ve got a plan.” His voice is raised at me.
“What fucking plan? I’ve been sitting around for the past two weeks, waiting for you to give us something, and you haven’t!” I shout back. “If I end up losing Nixie because of your shit planning, I will kill you.”
“Don’t be so fucking dramatic, will you?” I can feel the eye roll through the phone.
“I’m sorting it. I’m not going to tell you guys much, otherwise it’s not going to be real when I do it, so it doesn’t come back to you! Because when he dies, you will be number one on their lists,” he says.
“Just go see what he has to say and come back home to your girl.” His voice is a little softer now, and I know it just because he’s trying to talk me down off the ledge.
“Bye.” I hang up before he can say anything else.
I don”t know how much longer I can keep this up. I need Cormac and this stupid contract out of my life, and fast.
After driving for what feels like forever, I turn down a dirt road that leads to a big house up at the top. The home is surrounded by nothing, which makes me think of my home with Nixie. I can’t wait to get back to her and fix this shit. The house is secured by a gated access which is manned by security as well as a six-foot wall around. Either this guy is nervous of people getting in, or he doesn’t want people getting out.
The guard bends down to look at me through the window and then opens his gate to let me through. Once I drive over the gated line, there’s a team of men loaded with guns around my car, guiding me to park in front of the house. The car is barely even parked before the door is opened on me and I”m ordered to get out.
“Get your fucking hands off me.” I grit my teeth at the man giving me a body search.
“Not allowed this,” he says as he slides the knife from my pocket and puts it into his belt.
I roll my eyes at him before I”m being pushed into the direction of the house. Cormac stands on the porch with a smirk on his face.
“Calvin. So good to see you again, son,” he says as he pats me on the shoulder.
I’m met with a butler, holding a tray with a glass filled with clear liquid as soon as we enter the house.
“Your jacket, sir?” a small and pale looking petite woman asks me. She looks no older than eighteen.
I shrug my jacket off and hand it to her with a small thank you smile on my face. The corners of her mouth turn up a little at my smile, but they quickly fall when a loud noise comes from behind me.
“Move along, Allie.” Cormac taps his cane on the wooden floor, causing the young girl to jump.
“Yes, sir. Sorry, sir,” she mutters as she takes the rest of my jacket from my hands. As her arms stretch out it causes her own long sleeves to ride a little on her arms, it’s then that I see the bruises around her wrists, which I can only guess are from either handcuffs or rope. My jaw tightens at the sight of them. Allie must see my face change, because she quickly retreats her hands back and walks away with my jacket.
“Gotta train them whilst they’re young, am I right?” He laughs as he leads me through the house and into a room with a large wooden table and chairs in the middle.
His words make me feel sick. I knew there was something with this guy. I just didn’t think it would be this.
“Please take a seat.” He waves his hands at the chairs around the table. He sits himself on the one at the head of the table, and I choose to one two chairs away from his left. Trying to put just that little amount of distance between so I don’t strangle the fuck out of him.
“Drink? You never did take the one at the front of the house” he asks.
“I’m good, thanks,” I retort back to him which only cause him to let out a small chuckle.
“The drink is safe, no need to worry.” He chuckles. “Why would I off you when I need you to take over the business?”
The doors to the room open up and Allie walks in, holding a tray with two glasses and a bottle of clear liquid. She sets down in the middle of us and bows her head down in Cormac”s direction.
“Thank you, Allie. You may go now” he instructs her and she walks off in a hurry, closing the doors behind her.
I can see the darkness invading Cormac’s eyes as he watches her leave the room.
“So young and perfect, wouldn’t you agree?” he asks me.
“Hmm, yeah, sure.” As soon as those words leave my mouth, they make me feel sick.
“Don’t worry if that’s not your cup of tea. We cater for all needs and wants,” he winks at me and it takes everything in me not to punch his stupid fucking face right now.
“So, I invited you here because I thought it would be a good time to introduce you to your future wife,” he says as he begins to pour the clear liquid into the glasses. He hands one to me and takes a sip himself from the other glass.
“I’m more of a whiskey type of guy,” I tell him as I take a sip of what I know now is vodka.
“I’ll keep that in mind, but in this family, we’re vodka people,” he laughs.
As Cormac stops laughing, the doors open again and a slim woman with short, red hair walks in, wearing a black dress that’s so tight, it looks like it could cut off circulation.
“Ah, there you are, love.” He stands and greets the woman by kissing her on both cheeks.
“Cara, this is your future husband, Calvin. Calvin, meet Cara.” He smiles wickedly at me.
“So nice to finally meet you. My dad has talked a lot about you.” She holds out her tiny hand for me to shake, which I do. I’m not a complete ass.
“Well, I haven’t heard anything about you.”
She laughs. “Well, I’m sure you can find out all about me after our wedding.”
Like hell that’s going to happen. Staring at this woman is just making me want to get back to my girl. She hasn’t got anything on my Nixie.
“Oh, yes, the wedding. No offense, Cara, but I don’t like the idea of marrying some woman I don’t know. And I just don’t think it will work out for us.” I shrug.
I can see the shift in her attitude change. Gone is the sweet smile that was plastered on her face. Now it’s replaced by a scowl at me before changing again to sad eyes and turning towards Cormac
“Daddy. What is he saying? You promised me,” she whines at him at the same time as stomping her foot like a child. I roll my eyes at her performance.
“I know, princess. Don’t worry. Just ignore him. The wedding is still going to happen,” he reassures her, and she just smiles and nods at him before turning back to me and giving me a smirk.
She knows what she’s doing. She has him wrapped around her finger.
“The wedding will go ahead in two weeks. That’s when Cara will turn twenty-four,” Cormac instructs.
Cara sits there and claps her hands. “Oh, thank you, Daddy. This will be the best birthday ever.”
“Calvin. You have two weeks to get everything in order before you become a Sullivan,”” He stands from the table. “I will leave you two to have a chat,” he says as he walks out of the room, leaving me sat across from the woman that I’m supposed to marry.
“I thought he would never leave.” She sags into the seat before sitting back up and looking straight at me.
“The wedding is not going to happen, Cara. I’m going to everything in my power to find a way out of the contract,” I tell her.
“Yeah. No. That’s not going to happen. My daddy has promised me this for years.” Her voice is full of anger now. “Like my dad said, you have two weeks to get your shit together. That includes getting rid of that woman you call your girlfriend,” she snarls at me. “Oh, yes, I know all about Nixie, and I won’t let her stand in the way of what I’ve been promised my whole life.”
“That sounds like a threat,” I snarl back at her.
“I would do no such thing, but I won’t let her get in mine or my daddy’s way.” She shrugs her shoulders.
“Well, let me make it clear to you,” I tell her as I stand from the chair and lean my hands on the table. “You threaten Nixie, you come near Nixie, you breathe in Nixie’s air space, then I will kill you and your whole fucking family.”
“You want me and only me. If you bring her in, the whole fucking deal is off. Do you understand?” I shout at her.
“Sure.” She smirks at me and gets up from the table and walks over to wear im leaning on the table still.
“Be seeing you real soon, husband” she says as she places a kiss on my cheek. I move away quickly. The mark where she just kissed feels like it’s burning. I try to wipe the burning away which only makes Cara laugh.
“Best get used to the feel of another woman kissing you,” she says as she walks out of the room, leaving me alone. Like hell am I having any other woman kissing me. The only woman I want and need in my life is Nixie fucking Black.
I race out the room and through the house again, but not before stopping at the dickhead guy standing at the front door. I hold my hand out to him and he chuckles before placing my knife back in my hand.
The urge to go back in there with this knife and end everyone is strong, but I fight against it and walk back to my car. Once in behind the closed doors, I let out a frustrated scream before turning the car on and flooring back down the driveway. I sure hope the guy on the gate knows I’m coming, because I don’t give a shit right now. I will plow through the gate at full speed just to get out of this fucking place.
Luckily for me, the gate is open as I approach it, and I fly out of and back down the dirt road until I reach the main road, my wheels screeching as I turn on to it and head back home. I need to see her now.
The sun is starting to set as I drive back home, and all I have on my mind is getting back to Nixie.
After parking the car outside our home, I rush through the door on a mission to find Nixie. After checking all the rooms downstairs, I’m about to head upstairs to check there when I hear her laugh come through the home. Following it, I find her outside on the patio with Darcy, enjoying some wine together. I know I should leave her to it and let her enjoy her time with her friend, but I need her.
I open the doors to the back garden and step out.
Darcy is the first to look up to me. “Oh, hi, Calvin,” she says as she makes eye contact with Nixie.
She doesn’t move an inch, doesn’t turn around or even acknowledge that I”m here.
“Nixie, can we talk?” I ask her.
Her back stiffens as the words leave my mouth. I don’t like that reaction at all.
“No, I’m having fun with my friend,” is her response, and I definitely do not like that.
Darcy sips on her wine whilst her eyes are batting between us both, like it’s a game of fucking tennis.
“Darlin’, please,” I tell her, trying to keep my voice down.
“No,” she says as sips her wine.
Fuck this.
I walk around so I’m now in front of her.
“I’m done asking nicely,” I tell her as I bend down and pick her and throw her over my shoulder, causing the wine glass to fall to the floor.
“Cal! The glass, it’s everywhere now,” she shouts.
“I don’t give a fuck about that,” I shout back.
“Darcy, don’t touch it. I’ll get it sorted after,” I tell her.
I don’t give her time to respond as I stalk my way back through the house and up the stairs.
“Calvin, put me down, now!” she continues to shout at me.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No, darlin’. I could do this all day,” I tell her.
She gives up and stays silent. I walk us into our bedroom and set her down on the floor.
“What the fuck was that about!?” she says as she jabs her delicate finger into my chest.
“I told you I needed to talk to you.” I shrug my shoulders back at her.
“And I said no.” She folds her arms in front of me. She looks as beautiful as ever, wearing some black leggings teamed with a short jumper that shows off a hint of her curves that hide behind it. Her long black hair sits on top of her head in a messy bun, her face free from any makeup and instead has a natural blush that is caused by the wine she has consumed.
“Cal, what’s going on?” she asks.
I don’t even have the words to start explaining what’s going on in my head, so I do the next best thing and bring her to me, crashing my lips onto hers, trying my best to pour everything I’m feeling into it.
It takes no time until we’re all hands all over each other, trying to rip at each other’s clothes.
“Wait. No. Stop.” As soon as those words leave Nixie’s mouth, my hands are off her and I take a large step back from her.
Her face now has a blush creeping across and her lips swollen from me.
“Cal, you have to talk to me. You can’t keep me out of the loop. It’s driving me crazy, not knowing what is going on.” Her voice is quiet and sad now.
And that just punches through my heart.
My knees buckle beneath me and I fall to the floor. Nixie joins me in seconds. I can feel her hands on me, lifting my head up to look at her. Once my eyes meet hers, I can’t stop the emotions coming out.
“I-I can’t lose you Nixie. I can’t live this life without you.” A tear falls from me as the words leave my mouth.