Chapter 15 The Truth That Burns #3
Kayden sighed, understanding the concern. It was a real one any parent would harbor. He could only hope that he could convince Rupert that he had his daughter’s best interest at heart somehow.
“When she gets out of her house arrest, she will be escorted back to New York with a full five-year restraining order for both of us, our properties, and associates, Mr. McKenzie. There is nothing more important to me than making sure that Lana is one hundred percent safe at all times. And I will do anything and everything to make sure that happens.”
Rupert took a swig of his drink, never removing his eyes from Kayden’s the entire time.
He believed that he loved his daughter and would protect her.
It wasn’t just the words but the look in his eyes.
A man afraid of losing someone they loved all had the same look, and he knew it personally.
Rupert took a breath before finally speaking.
“Okay, son. I’m going to take your word for it. But if anything happens to her, you’re gonna have to deal with me,” Rupert’s eyes narrowed to make sure that Kayden understood the threat and the promise was a real one.
Kayden picked up on it immediately. It was the same one he gave Sam the night before. Veronica carried the main dish over to the dining table as Lana got the place settings ready.
“Okay, fellas, dinner is ready. Kayden, I hope you like curried chicken,” Veronica called over her shoulder.
They both stood and made their way to the round glass table.
“Oh, I love Bahamian food. No worries about that.” He smiled.
“Is that so?” Rupert teased as he sat down with a massive smile on his face.
Kayden sat, and Lana took a seat next to him. “My parents used to vacation there all the time, so we love the culture and food. Especially conch fritters. You name it, we ate it.”
This put a huge smile on Veronica’s face.
She always liked it when people loved her homeland, and especially those whom she could cook for and knew that they would enjoy the meals beforehand.
Lana smiled, feeling secure that he’d won them over.
Veronica grabbed his hand across the table and gave him a small squeeze.
This had gone way better than Lana had thought, and for the first time in the last few days, she sighed, feeling utter relief.
Her phone chimed again, reminding her of the message, and she swiped the phone as they began to dig in. She read the message:
Unknown Number: What’s it gonna take for you to disappear????!!!!
Her smile faded a bit as her heart rate increased. It was Kim. It had to be.
“Everything OK?” Kayden asked.
She plastered a smile on her face and said, “Yep.” There was no point in ruining the evening, and she decided the crappy conversation could wait until later.
JOSHUA AND THOMAS Hartwell sat at the dinner table eating in near complete silence. Josh picked over the lasagna on his plate and kept checking his cell phone every ten minutes.
“You have somewhere to be?” Thomas broke in.
“Not yet,” Josh replied.
Thomas still hadn’t divulged that Kayden found out the truth about him.
Josh would probably have an aneurysm right there at the table.
The boy could never stand Kayden, knowing that he lived a privileged life, and it didn’t help that Kayden was a showoff, either.
Thomas believed that jealousy turned to hate and, in turn, blamed Kayden’s existence as the reason Rebecca took her own life, which was true.
But it had nothing to do with Kayden. He didn’t ask to be born. It was what it was.
“Where have you been taking off to at night?” Thomas prodded.
Josh sighed.
“I’m thirty-two, Dad, really?”
“Just curious. I’ve been hearing that you’ve been kicking up dust with this whole Capshaw campaign you have going on,” Thomas continued.
“And?” Josh’s face was flushed. He threw his fork down.
“I’m just saying, let sleeping dogs lie.”
Josh shook his head and picked the fork back up.
Thomas watched him and felt sorry for his son.
It was his and Maureen’s bad decisions that laid the foundation for everything that had happened.
Their indiscretion transpired during a time that was tough for him and Rebecca, with her being sick with cancer and Maureen being an old high school flame.
One night after the Capshaws had thrown another one of their fundraising charity events, they ended up rekindling that old flame, and Kayden was the product of it.
Josh only found out the truth after Rebecca had died.
After she’d taken her own life in the lake on Deleveaux, a note was left in a sandwich bag.
The boys never crossed paths much, and Thomas was surprised Josh had never spilled the beans to him, himself.
It was like he was saving that tell for some special occasion, and Thomas feared what it might be.
Josh had been making himself very vocal about his dislike of the Capshaws recently, not realizing it would bring him a new level of drama when the truth was revealed that they are actually brothers.
People in the town would never trust the Hartwells again, especially when they found out that he’d already known.
No amount of talking would change that inevitability.
As Josh stuffed his face with the lasagna, Thomas changed his mind about saying anything.
He would wait to see if he heard from Kayden first. And if he were being completely honest with himself, he didn’t even know if he could have a relationship with him.
Of course, he wanted to know his son, but the one in front of him was volatile at best. It could set off a chain of events that neither side was ready to deal with, and Kayden had been through enough.
Josh rechecked his phone before reaching for a second helping, and they continued to eat in silence.
LANA AND KAYDEN were slipping into bed after the successful dinner at her parents.
She hadn’t forgotten about the call he got earlier and decided to wait until she snuggled up next to him to ask about it.
As she started to climb into the bed wearing only a thin nightgown, Kayden sat on the edge of the bed and reached his hand out to her.
She crawled over to him, grabbed his hand, sat on the edge of the bed next to him, and rested her head on his shoulder.
“The call I got from Paula earlier? I thought she wanted to talk about Mom, but it was about her house,” Kayden said, as he rubbed his fingers across her knuckles.
“What happened?” Lana asked, sitting up intently.
“Her house was set on fire,” Kayden turned to her.
Her mouth dropped open. That was the reaction he thought he would get, and didn’t think it was smart to bring it up for obvious reasons.
“What the hell happened?” Lana asked, standing up in front of him, her nipples hard and poking through the sheer silk material.
It was distracting him, so he grabbed her by her hand and guided her back next to him so that he could concentrate.
“I’m not sure, to tell you the truth. But she’s thinking Kim had something to do with it.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Lana shot back up, hands on her hips, standing in front of him.
“How in the hell could she even do something like that? She’s under house arrest. If she had left outside curfew, she would’ve been arrested within five minutes!”
“I know. That’s why I think Paula is a little off center with this one, but you never can say never. After all, she did get her techie friends to mess with my Instagram again. She’s stupid, but not dumb,” he hypothesized.
Lana paced around the room as the words settled into her mind. She turned to him, at a loss for words, shocked that they were even having the conversation. She was even more shocked that he didn’t seem as upset as she was.
“So, what now? Is the house completely gone?”
“No, just the downstairs was destroyed. Mostly the living room and kitchen. Upstairs is OK except for smoke damage, but the lower level will have to be completely gutted.”
The conversation reminded her of the text she received earlier, and she reached for her phone on the bedside table.
“Earlier, I got a text asking me what it would take to get rid of me. I know it was her.”
“What?” Kayden asked, standing over her shoulder as she scrolled the messages. It was gone.
“I swear, Kayden. I’m not crazy, I got a message and that’s what it said,” she explained.
“I believe you. I saw the look on your face, but are you sure it was her?” he asked.
“Who else would it be? You see why I want a break from all of this?”
Lana slapped her hands to her sides in frustration and threw the phone on the bed. Kayden grabbed her hands and wrapped her arms around his waist, staring intensely into her eyes.
“We don’t know it was her. And I don’t want to jump to conclusions. I’d hate to think there was someone out there willing to help her commit arson. And that message could’ve been a wrong number.”
“I believe it. If Paula thinks it’s her, then it was her,” she retorted.
Kayden groaned out of frustration, but it sounded sexy as hell and distracted her for a moment, but only a moment.
“What time is your flight tomorrow?” he asked, a pained look in his eyes.
He looked so sexy with his pouty face and disheveled hair.
“I have to be at the airport by three PM,” Lana replied.
“And I have to be there by four, so I guess we’ll be traveling together in a sense,” he replied.
Lana wrapped her arms around his neck and stood on her tiptoes, resting her lips on his, kissing him sweetly and gently. She pulled back, placing another warm peck from her full lips over his, then pressed her forehead into his.
“Everything between us will be fine. I have no doubt about that, Kayden. Three months will pass in the blink of an eye. I’ll be back home in Hamby before you know it.”
Kayden nodded and grabbed her by the hips, pulling her up, wrapping her legs around his waist. He led her to the bed, where he kissed her gently and removed the distracting nightgown.