34. Sarah
34
SARAH
We arrive at Glazer Ville before the sun comes out. As I park my car at the spot Ian asked me to meet him, he's standing beside his truck, and I'm unable to meet his eyes. That doesn't stop me from noticing how good he looks, though.
It's only been a week since we last saw each other yet somehow, he looks so much better. Maybe not telling him that I was leaving town was for the best, after all. He seems to be doing well, and I feel a little bad for calling now and disrupting whatever peace he's managed to get. I wouldn't have called him if it wasn't important, though.
He is the only person I can think of I can trust right now.
“Hi,” I say when I'm in front of him.
“Hello,” he responds and doesn't say anything else.
He's not going to make this easy for me, is he?
He clearly wants answers, and I wish more than anything to give him some, if not all. He'll see Olivia soon, and I know he'll have questions.
“You look good,” I compliment him.
He chuckles and shrugs, nodding his head at me. “You don't look bad yourself,” he says.
I do. I've been on the road all night, and I've spent half of the trip trying to assure my daughter, who's now gone from being pissed at me to being frightened, that everything will be fine.
She hasn’t even asked me a single question, and that tells me what state her mind is.
“So, where's the place you have for us?” I ask him, my doubts surfacing again. When he said he had a place I could stay, I was at first skeptical. Then I remembered he'd come to Glazer Ville for a reason, and I never got to find out why. Maybe he has a house in town?
“It's down the road. I'll take you there. I just need to make sure you're not being followed. I have someone doing that, and they'll call when we're clear.”
I nod at his words, wondering how he suddenly has access to people working for him, but I don't question it. I'm honestly just grateful that he's helping despite the situation between us. I've always wondered if I could count on him. Now he's proven it.
“Who’s that in your car?” he asks, suddenly on guard as he walks toward the car.
Shit.
“Ian,” I call his name to stop him from going, but there's no stopping him. He goes to the car and finds Sheila and Olivia in the back seat. Olivia is huddled against Sheila, her face in her chest so Ian can't see her, but I can see the questions in his eyes the moment he turns back to look at me.
“Who is that?”
“Ian, please.”
“I'm not taking you anywhere until you tell me what's going on here. I've had it up to here with you. What's with the many secrets?”
“Fine, let's just step back and talk about this in private.”
“No, I want him to stay.” Olivia's voice comes from the car, her eyes now on Ian. She's looking at him with a weird curiosity that leaves a bitter taste at the back of my throat. She thinks he's her father.
Oh dear.
“Well?” Ian presses.
I look between him and Olivia. My eyes drift to Sheila, and I see that she wants me to tell him the truth, too.
Damn it.
“She’s my daughter,” I say and watch his face move from surprise, to hurt, then questions.
“Is she….” He trails off, unable to finish the words, but I understand what he wants to ask. It's the very reason Olivia insists he stays, too.
“No,” I say.
There's no reaction from him, except a nod. I glance at Olivia, and she looks away from me, burrowing her face back in Sheila's bosom.
Damn. How much hurt am I going to have to put her through until all this ends?
Ian’s phone vibrates from a message, and he checks it.
“We can go now,” he says and starts to walk back to his truck. I enter my car and drive after him as he goes down a sloppy road.
The farther we drive, the more familiar the road we're taking becomes.
This is the Gabriel Estate property. How does Ian have a place here?
When we get in front of the gate, it opens immediately to us. I glance back at Sheila for a split second to see if she shares my thoughts. All I get from her is a well-perfected blank face.
She knows something.
Facing the road, I enter the gate behind Ian and follow him as he drives us through the estate until we get to the very end.
While I'm familiar with the estate, I've never been to the part of it where Ian stops. The moment he gets out of the truck, a middle-aged woman comes out of the mansion.
“Mr. Peele, welcome back,” she says with a smile on her face. From her dress I can tell she's a staff member. What I don't understand is why she's calling him Mr. Peele with a tone that says he's her boss.
Is he?
Shit, that billionaire thing he said a couple of weeks back! I thought he was joking!
“Thank you, Elise. Is the bungalow ready as requested?”
“Yes, sir. Do you need help with anything else?”
“Just the bags. Take the ladies in the car inside the bungalow. Sarah and I will be in the mansion,” he says.
All I can do is stand dazedly and watch him be something I never thought I'd ever see him be: a boss.
Am I crazy for thinking he's so hot right now?
Focus, Sarah. You have problems to solve.
Right.
Shaking out of my silly trance, he motions for me to follow him inside the house.
It's a big house. A beautiful one, too. He leads me to a room that's not the primary bedroom but looks luxurious regardless and holds the door open for me to go in. I can't take it anymore, so I ask him the question that's been on my mind as I enter the room.
“Whose house is this?”
He smiles at my question, one of his hands lazily going to the back of his head to ruffle his hair up.
“It's a long story, and I'll tell you about it later. All you need to know for now is that you're safe here. I mean either the mansion or the bungalow. The estate is protected. Okay?”
“Alright.”
“Now let's talk about you,” he declares with his gaze fixed on me.
“Yeah, let's,” I say sulkily.
“Good.” He starts to walk toward me, taking a seat at the edge of the bed, and he beckons for me to join. I do reluctantly, my body feeling flushed even though I know he has no filthy intention in mind.
I just can't help myself around him. When I'm seated beside him, he takes my palm in his, and I let him.
“Tell me what's going on, Sarah.”
He speaks so softly I almost don’t hear him. Almost.
Nodding my head, I let my mind travel to when it all began. He squeezes my hand in encouragement.
“I met Kyle a year after you left. He was charming, had a way with words. He always had the answer to every question, the perfect response to every conversation. I started writing, then published my first book. While I sometimes like to believe that my books are successful because people love my writing style, after Maria, his younger sister and my friend at the time, exposed the things I wrote about you, he also had a hand in my success.”
I pause, trying to gather my thoughts. Ian patiently waits for me, his fingers slowly caressing the back of my fingers.
“He had the money, he had the crowd, and he had the power, too. All he had to do was give instructions, and I was sold out. Of course, no one knew we were dating. He kept our relationship a secret, thank God for that.” I chuckle. My head is swimming with thoughts. “You know, I knew he was into something shady, but I didn't know the details until a few weeks before I found out I was pregnant. I couldn't get rid of her. So, I ran. Because I'd rather die than raise my child with a kingpin. A drug dealer, Ian. It wasn't until after I left his grasp that I realized how dangerous he was. His sister knew but didn't tell me anything, so I stopped speaking to her, too.
“He never tried to reach out to me, and I'm more than happy to have it remain so, but now with my name all over the news, I'm afraid someone will bring it to his notice, and he'll grow curious enough to consider looking into me and find Olivia. And he would, if he wanted to. He has all the resources, and I know for sure he's going to take her away from me if he finds her. I can't let that happen, Ian.” I finish with tears trickling down my face.
“He won't.” He finally speaks. His voice firm and he pulls me into him for a hug. I let him hold me.
“Just to be clear, this Kyle, is he by any chance Kyle Austen?” he asks.
I pull away from him in shock. “You know him?”
Who am I kidding?
Everyone who's ever lived in New Jersey has to know Kyle. He didn't particularly try to hide his dirty engagements. I was just too stupid to see them because I was too engrossed with the attention and how important he made me feel.
Ian sighs and shakes his head in frustration.
“I had a run-in with him back in the day. Well, Justin did. He almost killed him, and I had to get involved to get him out. He's dangerous, Sarah,” he says tersely.
I know how dangerous Kyle is. The only reason I haven't turned him in is because first, I like being alive and second, I have a child to protect. I stumbled upon something that would have put him away forever years ago, and that's why I ran. Honestly, the only reason I'm still alive is because he didn't know. If he knew I had something on him, I would have been gone long ago.
“What are you going to do?” I ask Ian, trying to show him in my expression that I won't be disappointed if he turns me away.
“I'm going to protect you.”
Our eyes meet, his words hanging in the air with sincerity. Suddenly, I can't stay another minute without kissing him, and I do just that, showing him with my mouth how grateful I am to have him. To have known him. And for this moment with him.
However temporary it is, it's still a gift. If only things could be different between us.
I sigh into the kiss, ready to end it but he has other plans.
Taking his hands to my back, he massages my skin rough and hard, his touches sparking currents in my belly.
I will never get enough of him, will I?
He deepens the kiss, taking his hand lower to my ass where he finds my skin soft and in need of his touch.
Each intentional delicious squeeze and caress he delivers to my buttocks makes me grip his neck harder, and I plunge my tongue deeper into his mouth. He sucks my tongue with purpose, the hardness of his body suddenly becoming defined under me as I let my legs go around him.
I feel the strong bones holding his neck upright. The proud ridge of his shoulders as my hand goes over them. The elegant carving of his back feels just perfect beneath my skin.
I'm breathless by the time his hands finally make it between my legs. A sigh of pleasure and defeat escape me at the same time as I remember that my daughter is in the next building, scared out of her mind, and I'm here chasing pleasure.
“We have to stop,” I whisper against his lips.
“I know,” he responds.
We stay silent. Neither of us speaks for a full minute.
“We have to go,” I say more specifically.
“I know,” he responds again, squeezing my back. But he doesn't let me go, and I don't move either.
We remain like that for a while, not kissing or touching, yet closer than we've ever been.
It's at the tip of my tongue to tell him I'm pregnant and for him to be happy about it, but I'm not looking to get kicked out of the safest place I've found in a long while. And even if he doesn't kick us out, I don't need the tension.
So, I pat his shoulder and slowly start to move off his body.
When I'm back on my feet, I look at him, a smile on my face.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
“For what?” he asks with a confused look on his face. It makes me smile brighter.
“For being a good man.”
That has him smiling, too.
Maybe there's still hope for us, after all.