Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
~ELENA~
I haven’t gone back to that day in my head in years. The memory of the physical pain has lessened with time, and I always chalked it up to a lesson.
Once Archer has the wine poured, we take our glasses out into the dark evening. He covers the tub, and we sit in the plush chairs, facing the sea.
It’s choppier out there tonight, just like the emotions boiling inside of me.
“I’m not sure where to start,” I admit after I take my first sip of wine.
“The beginning is always a good place.”
“Before I do, I need you to remember that this is the past , Arch. It can’t be changed, and I’m fine now.”
He blows out a breath. “Not ominous at all.”
I lick my lips. “I was so happy that day you dropped me off at the house. The weekend in Idaho when we eloped was the best of my life, and I was riding high on that adrenaline. I didn’t think anything could touch me. I figured I’d make my announcement, pack my things, and call you to come and get me.”
“That was the plan,” he agrees.
I sip my wine and lick my lips. “My father was…livid. I’d never seen him like that before. He reminded me of my place in the family and then dragged me up to my bedroom.”
I methodically explain the next twenty-four hours to him. From the moment my father tied me up, to the phone call where I lied to Archer and broke off our relationship.
When I finish, he doesn’t say a word. He simply stands and walks to the railing of the deck and stares out at the beach. The anger rolls off him in waves. His fingers white-knuckle the railing, and the veins in his forearms are corded and popping out. For me, it’s old news, but for Archer…it’s happening here and now. All I want to do is soothe him.
“I know it’s hard to hear.”
“Stop.” He turns back to me and shakes his head. “It’s not hard. It’s fucking unbelievable. Inconceivable. Evil. Terrifying. I could go on.”
“I get the idea.”
He crosses to me and squats in front of me, his hands on the arms of the chair. He’s not touching me.
“I want to see the scars.”
“Archer…” I look at him and shake my head. “I don’t know, I?—”
“Elena.” He grabs my hand, squeezing it tightly. “I need this. You were the love of my life, and I dropped you off and left you there.”
“Don’t try to take the blame. This is all on him.”
“Please.”
Without hesitation, I raise the skirt of my dress high on my thigh, where the W is branded on my skin.
“That son of a bitch.” His voice is rough with emotion, but his fingers are careful as he lightly traces the scar. He leans in and gently lays his lips on the wound and kisses me there. “And your back?”
I stand to show him, but a light from the neighbor’s house comes on.
“Inside,” Archer says. “And don’t let me forget to have a privacy screen installed.”
He leads me through the house to his bedroom, turns on the sidelight next to the bed, and then turns back to me.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m going to kiss every inch of your amazing body before too much longer, so I’ll see them eventually. But I want you to show me.”
I turn my back to him and let the dress fall around my ankles, then pull my hair over one shoulder, exposing my back.
“Christ.”
I know what it looks like. That many lashes leave a hell of a mess on a person’s skin.
“How many?”
“Archer—”
“How fucking many?” he demands. His voice, still raw, isn’t raised, but that doesn’t make it any less powerful.
“Twenty.”
I expect him to kiss them. Touch them. But he surprises me by simply wrapping his arms around my chest from behind and burying his face against my neck. This is what I needed all those years ago. These are the arms I needed around me, to reassure me, to hold me.
And we were both robbed of it. We lost so much time. We lost each other.
“Oh, baby. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there. I’m so sorry I didn’t fucking kill him myself.”
“You were safe, and that’s all that mattered to me,” I insist, turning in his arms so I can see his handsome face, memorizing every line all over again. “This isn’t your fault. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I failed you,” he whispers. “I shouldn’t have left you alone that day. I should have insisted that I go in with you to face him together.”
“You wouldn’t be standing here now if you had,” I remind him. “And that would have destroyed me. I did what I had to do. And I’d do it again in a heartbeat if it meant keeping you whole.”
He tips his forehead against mine.
“That’s the whole story. You know everything now, Archer. My family is more ruthless than you could ever imagine. Every cliché, every rumor you’ve ever heard about the mafia is true, and in some cases, worse. They kill people, they run drugs. They hide money. They’re bullies. But if you’re part of the family, you’re in for life. There’s no leaving.”
“You left,” he reminds me.
“I escaped. And only because my parents were murdered, and my grandmother was worried that I would be the next target. I got lucky. But I don’t know how long this is going to last for me.”
“I won’t let anyone touch you ever again,” he pledges and brushes his lips over my chin, then up to my lips. “I’ll keep you safe, Elena. I swear it.”
“I’ve missed you so much,” I admit. My heart rips open wide and feels so full of joy that he’s here. “It terrifies me that you insist on staying, but God, it’s so good to feel you. To talk to you.”
“I told you, I’m not going anywhere.”
His fingers draw light circles over my back, making my nipples tighten in anticipation of receiving the same attention. I push my hands up into his hair and hold on as he takes the kiss deeper and guides me back to his massive bed. He lowers me and then covers me with his hard body. He’s familiar and new at the same time, filling my senses in new and exciting ways.
Archer and I were together sexually when we were young. Still, it didn’t happen often, and only in the last few months of us being together. I was a good Catholic girl, and I was young. Archer was patient, and when we did finally have sex, it was sweet and loving. Innocent.
And usually, it was quick. Not because he had no stamina, but because of our schedules and our families. Getting caught was always a concern.
So, taking our time to truly explore each other never happened until our wedding night.
Three days later, it was over.
“Stop thinking so hard.” His voice is rough with lust as he kisses down my neck. “Say the word, and this ends.”
“Definitely don’t stop,” I reply with a grin and then sigh when his hand glides behind my knee and begins to make small, soft circles that trail up the inside of my thigh, making my pussy tighten in joy. “Oh, man, that feels good.”
“Your skin is so fucking soft.” His fingertip brushes over the W, and he pauses. “Look down, E.”
“Huh?” I open my eyes and find him staring down at me with those gorgeous blue eyes.
“Look down,” he repeats and glances down to my thigh, where he’s tracing the W on my skin. “When we look down like this, it doesn’t look like a W at all. It looks like an?—”
“ M ,” I say with him and feel the last knot in my stomach break free.
“Montgomery,” he says, his grin cocky, and then kisses me once more before moving those talented fingers in toward the part of me that’s been longing for him for a dozen years. “Ah, baby.”
I gasp as his finger slips inside, and when he pushes a second one in with it, I feel the orgasm gather at the base of my spine.
“Archer.”
“Yes, sweetheart. Let go. I’m right here.”
I fall apart, my back arches, my toes curl. And he’s there, murmuring sweet words and caressing my neck with his lips as I float back to Earth.
“I don’t have condoms,” he admits with a growl. “And trust me when I say, I want to punch myself in the face for not getting some.”
I laugh and shake my head. “I’ve been on the pill for years.”
His eyes light up again. “Yeah?”
“Oh, yeah. We’re good.”
He links our fingers and presses them into the mattress near my head. “Are you sure?”
“Archer, I’m gonna need you to get a move on here.”
His lips twitch as he fumbles with his clothes. Then he’s braced over me once more, kissing me softly and thoroughly as he pushes in gently, inch by inch, until he’s fully seated inside me.
“Christ Jesus, Elena. How is it better than I remember?”
“Because it’s now.” I lift my legs higher on his hips, opening myself to him even more. “And because it’s right.”
I don’t even know how much sex I’ve had with Archer over the past few days. I’m quite sure it’s more than all of the times we did it put together when we were young.
Maybe we’re making up for lost time.
Or maybe we’re creating memories to hold on to when he’s gone, and I’m left alone again.
I frown at the thought. Of course, this isn’t forever. It can’t be. But I’ve resigned myself to simply enjoying every minute that I’m given.
I didn’t stay with him last night. I was with him Friday and Saturday night, and I decided I needed a night away. Mostly, I was being stubborn and stupid because I was lonely when I woke up this morning.
And maybe a little moody.
Even my car didn’t want to start. Probably because I didn’t drive it all weekend.
But we’re on the road now, on the way to work. Getting back to some normalcy will be good for me.
Run-down car, awesome job, Ally. That’s who I am.
I nod and square my shoulders, but then my car decides to throw a temper tantrum. It sputters and dies. I’m lucky I can at least steer it to the side of the road.
“Well, shit.” I lay my forehead on the wheel and contemplate my options.
It’s early in the morning. The only people I know who are awake are my coworkers, who are currently working.
They won’t be able to help.
And Lindsey is most likely at the spa already, getting ready for her first client at eight.
I pop the lever under the steering wheel and step out of the vehicle, lift the hood, and stare down at what looks like a heap of garbage to me. I don’t have the first clue what any of this is, how it works, or how to fix it.
And I don’t own a cell phone.
I blow out a long breath and look up and down the road. It’s empty at this time of day.
“I just had to move to a small town,” I mutter as I walk back to the driver’s side door. But before I can open it, a familiar vehicle pulls up behind me. “Archer?”
He steps out, shuts his door, and walks toward me with a frown. “What’s wrong?”
“I have no idea. It died.” I kick the tire and then curse myself as pain shoots through my toes. “Pile of junk.”
“Did you call a tow?”
“No phone.”
“Right.” He pulls his cell out of his pocket and taps the screen, then places a call. “Hi, I need a tow truck.”
His eyes are on mine as he tells the person on the other line where we are, what kind of car it is, and then hangs up.
“Thirty minutes,” he says.
“You don’t have to wait. I’m sure they’ll give me a ride to work. I’ll have to figure out how to rent a car around here.”
“Why? You have me.” He leans a hip against my car and looks mildly annoyed.
“Yes, because I’m sure you want to be at my beck and call, driving me all over town. You’re not a chauffeur.”
“You go to work, and you go home. It’s really not a big deal. I’m sure they’ll have this fixed in a couple of days. No need to waste money on a rental.”
“Really? You’re going to tell me what I should and shouldn’t waste my money on, mister I bought a whole house so I could date ?”
“That’s completely different.”
I roll my eyes and lean on my car, my arms crossed over my chest.
“Oh, can I borrow your phone to call my job and let them know I’ll be late?”
He passes me the mobile and waits while I do just that.
“Hey, Chad, it’s Ally. I’m going to be late. My car broke down.”
“No problem. Be safe.”
“Thanks.”
I hang up and pass the phone back to Archer.
“Appreciate it.”
“I didn’t like sleeping without you last night,” he says and links his fingers with mine, then pulls my hand up to his lips. I was trying so hard to put a little distance between us, to not let myself go all mushy when it comes to him, and then he does stuff like this. “I didn’t sleep well at all. So, I was going to fetch your breakfast.”
“Do you mean you were going to get yourself some breakfast and get me some at the same time?”
“Well, sure.” He smiles down at me. “A man has to eat.”
I laugh and lean my cheek on his biceps, relieved that he was here to help me this morning. His muscle feels firm and warm against my cheek. “Thank you.”
“Come stay with me for a while.”
My head whips up. I stare at him as if he just asked me to jump off a bridge.
My stomach flutters as if he did just that.
“What?”
“You heard me.”
“Why would I do that?”
He shrugs a shoulder. “Because I’m irresistible? Because you can’t stand being away from me? Because I’ll cook you all the tacos you want and rub your feet and eat your?—”
“Point taken.”
He gives me a wicked grin, and I feel it all the way to my center.
“I have a home,” I reply slowly.
“Well, you don’t have a car for a few days.”
“We don’t know that. Let’s find out what the garage says.”
“Two weeks.”
I stare in shock at the man with Lee written on his coveralls.
“Excuse me?”
“It’ll take two weeks,” he repeats. “That part isn’t one we keep in stock, and I’m backed up since my nephew up and left town with the girl he knocked up this past spring. So, unfortunately, your car is gonna have to wait.”
I sigh deeply.
“That’s if you want to fix it,” he continues.
“Why wouldn’t I want to fix it?”
Lee looks down at the paper on his counter. “Well, it has almost three hundred thousand miles on it. This week it’s the fuel pump, but next week, it’ll be the alternator or something else. It’s lived its life.”
“I’m not putting my car to sleep,” I mutter. “Please, fix it.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I give him my information, grab his card so I can call him later, and walk out with Archer. He was unusually quiet the entire time we were in there.
“Just say it.”
“You need a new car, babe.”
“That one will be just fine.”
He shakes his head. “If you’re worried about standing out, just buy another used car. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but it does have to be reliable. You don’t carry a phone. I found you on a deserted road, alone, at oh-dark-thirty. It’s not safe.”
“This one will be fine,” I repeat. I know I’m being stubborn. I don’t care. “Thanks for the ride to work.”
“What time should I pick you up?”
I start to tell him no thanks , but when he looks at me, his eyes tell me he’s at the end of his patience with me today.
And I’m too tired to argue.
“Two should be fine.”
“Two, it is.”
I nod and sit back in the warm leather seat. Being driven in this luxurious car for a couple of weeks won’t be a hardship. We’re passing through the heart of town when I see the same black Mercedes SUV that I saw in the parking lot of the football game the other night.
Black with tinted windows and black rims. Just like my father used to drive. What is a car that cost that much money doing in Bandon, Oregon?
Is it the family? Are they here, looking for me? Or is it just a coincidence? This is a resort town, and people come to visit from all over.
That’s the logical answer. But I don’t like it.
“And then we got new mountain lion cub triplets,” I say as Archer drives me home from work. “They can’t be more than three weeks old. Absolutely adorable. We don’t know where their mama is. Probably poached.”
I feel the heat creep up my face. Whenever an animal is lost to the greed of humans, it pisses me right off.
“Why people feel the need to illegally kill animals is beyond me. There are seasons for hunting, for the love of Moses. But we’ll take care of them. The goal is to release them back into the wild.”
“That’s pretty incredible,” he says with a nod. “I’m glad it turned out to be a good day. Now, about moving in with me.”
“It feels silly to do that.”
“Why?”
“Because I have a home.”
“Yes, but if I’m going to be your chauffeur, it makes sense that you base out of my place until the car is fixed.”
“It’s not that I don’t enjoy being with you, or even want to be with you. I hope you know that.”
“But?”
“But it feels fast, and it feels like I’m taking advantage of you.”
“You’re not. There, we solved that problem.”
Okay, he does make a good point. And, frankly, I missed him last night. And didn’t I decide that I was going to enjoy every minute with him that I could get?
“You’re awfully sure of yourself.”
“I’m just positive that I want to be with you. If you’d rather I move into the cottage, I can do that. I don’t mind.”
“It seems like a waste to not stay in that gorgeous beach house,” I reply.
He pulls into my driveway as I bust up laughing. But the laughter dies when I see my front door standing wide-open.
“I’m going to assume you closed that when you left this morning.”
“I always double-check the locks,” I confirm as dread spreads through me. “They found me. Oh, God, they found me.”
“Don’t jump to conclusions. And stay put.” He pulls out his phone and dials 911. His hand reaches for mine as he waits for someone to answer. “We believe we have a break-in.”
He rattles off my name and address, and within five minutes, the cops show up.
There’s been no movement inside.
I get out of the car, but the officers motion for me to stand back.
“We’re going to do a sweep, make sure no one is in there. Then we’ll get your statement, miss.”
“Of course.”
Archer moves up beside me and wraps his arm around my shoulders as we watch the cops go inside and around to the back of the house. Less than two minutes later, they reappear, holstering their weapons.
“There’s no one here, but someone definitely ransacked the place.”
Bile rises in my throat.
“Can I go in?”
“Yes, ma’am. We need you to tell us if anything is missing.”
There’s only one thing of value in there.
I run inside and up to my bedroom, wanting to sob at the sight of my little cottage. I hurry to the dresser, open the bottom drawer, and breathe a sigh of relief when I see the photo of my grandmother, exactly where I put it days ago.
Whoever was here, they didn’t find it.
But the rest of my place is in shambles. Furniture turned upside down, cabinets open, drawer contents spilled. It’s a disaster.
And it’s going to take days to clean it up.
“I don’t know if anything’s been taken,” I say when I step back outside. “It’s too much of a mess to know off-hand.”
The officer nods and passes me a card. “Call me anytime if you discover anything’s gone. We’ve had a string of auto theft in the area, and my guess is they’re getting braver. Especially since your place is secluded.”
He nods, shakes Archer’s hand, and then both officers leave.
“I’m going to throw up.”
“Hey, hey, hey,” Archer says, rubbing a big circle over my back. “It’s going to be okay.”
“I have a bad feeling, Arch. I think it’s the family.”
“We don’t know that. You heard him, it’s probably kids. You need to gather up a few things and come home with me. I have a state-of-the-art security system, and no one even knows I’m here.”
I nod in agreement. “Thank you. I think I’ll take you up on your offer.”
“Come on. Let’s get you home.”