Chapter 20
Christian
No one would ever accuse me of being a nice guy or someone with compassion.
If it was anyone else, I might have been one of those shitholes of men who made fun of the situation. That’s how jaded I’d become in my life. Yet with Vanessa everything was different. I no longer wanted to just be that guy, the one you couldn’t count on.
She was hurting. Her eyes reflected years of dealing with gut-wrenching pain.
I followed her to her office, uncertain how I was going to help or handle the situation. She drove like a bat out of hell in the Ferrari. I admired not only her spirit, but her determination to get to her brother.
Even if she’d disobeyed me.
Maybe a part of me had known she would. Maybe I’d even wanted her to.
Another reason to punish her.
Right now, my thoughts were about controlling the situation in the right way. If I fucked it up, Donovan would be sent to prison.
She’d barely parked before jumping from the car, the tennis shoes she’d chosen to wear allowing her to sprint to the building. The elevator doors almost closed before I managed to drive my arm inside, pushing them open.
She was panting, her eyes filled with tears. What the fuck had happened to Donovan? She huddled in the corner when I entered, refusing to look me in the eyes.
“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” I told her, which was completely the wrong thing.
“Embarrassed? I’m sure your family is perfect in every way, Christian. All the right schools. The perfect grades. I bet you went to Harvard too. Right? You’ve never done a bad thing in your life. At least that you were caught for.”
The venom in her words no longer caught me off guard. If she had any idea about my family, she’d know there wasn’t a single person on this earth who hadn’t experienced some sort of trauma, tragedy, or misfortune.
Even ours.
“Yale,” I told her since I had no idea how to defuse the situation.
“Yale?”
“Where I went to college.”
She choked, slamming her hand on the button as if doing so would take her to the floor quicker. “Figures.”
I knew all about her. Duke, a straight-A fucking student graduating top of her class. From what I’d read about her, there was nothing she hadn’t excelled at.
The ping made her jump and she raced out, rushing toward the doors. Before we walked inside, we could both hear a loud voice, a man shouting. A single crash created a wave of anger inside. She didn’t need this shit. No one did.
I pushed around her, heading inside first.
Amelia was huddled in the corner of the reception area, immediately pointing to Vanessa’s office.
I tried to keep Vanessa from going in first, but she gave me a look that should drive me six feet under. “Just don’t. Please. I’m glad you’re here, but only I can handle him when he’s like this. Okay?”
Hissing, I nodded but remained close to the door as she walked in, closing the door behind her. When I turned my head toward Amelia, she seemed relieved.
“She can’t handle this anymore. It’s not fair.
Their father does nothing. Their mother walks around like some zombie.
Vanessa is left to pick up the pieces. I know you don’t care about her, but I do.
I love her like a sister. Don’t allow that man to destroy her and everything she’s worked so hard for.
He’s not a bad guy. Except when he’s like this. ”
“How often does this happen?”
“He hasn’t come here before, but he’s nearly destroyed her house twice. She won’t tell you that and please don’t mention it. I’ve seen what his addiction has done to her.”
I raked my hand through my hair, trying to keep my patience. But it was wearing very thin. I could tell she was doing her best to defuse the situation, but Donovan wasn’t buying it. There was another loud crash and I couldn’t take it any longer.
I burst into the room to find the beautiful neon sign I knew was important to her smashed on the floor.
Donovan had his hand wrapped around her throat, squeezing.
I reacted, grabbing and yanking him by the shirt collar, tossing him against the wall.
Without thinking, I wrapped my hand around his throat, crowding his space.
“How does it feel? Huh? You think you’re invincible. You think you can hurt your sister after everything she’s done for you. Well, I’m here to tell that will not happen. Do you fucking hear me? Do you?”
He grunted, his body flailing.
I held firm, hissing as I glared at him.
“It’s okay,” Vanessa said softly. “I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not.” I threw her a quick look, long enough for him to be able to throw a punch. I fisted my hand, ready to retaliate until she screamed.
“No! Christian. Please. Please, don’t.”
He dared try to hit me again. This time I wrapped my fingers around his fist, slamming his arm against the wall. I shook him a few times. His eyes were cloudy, wild from whatever drug he’d taken. “Just calm down. Calm the fuck down.”
Donovan continued to struggle, but his eyes kept darting toward his sister. She was sobbing softly, but I knew her well enough by now. She was doing her best to try to keep her emotions in check. She didn’t want me to see her vulnerable side.
As he finally sagged against the wall, I squeezed his throat one more time before letting him go.
At least she stood near me, not rushing to him to forgive. I could feel her anger and frustration growing.
“How dare you,” she said to him in a much more controlled voice than I’d had. “I’m trying to help you and you do this? Do you hate me that much? Do you want to die? Do you know what that would do to me? Do you?”
It was as if she’d never talked to him so harshly before. Suddenly, his features softened and he slid down the wall. With his head in his hands, he wept.
I turned away, surveying the damage. Fuck. This was terrible.
This wasn’t my place, yet I didn’t want to leave her. The man was unpredictable and she was already suffering. As she crouched down beside him, I walked to the window, placing my hand on the glass. I’d been such a fucking asshole to even think about using his condition against her.
My fucking God. What was wrong with me? Caroline would be so angry. So very angry with me.
I fisted my hand, realizing and accepting that Vanessa was as vulnerable as she was valuable. How we’d move forward from here would be dicey.
“I’m okay,” Donovan said with the same contempt in his voice.
“No, you are not,” she insisted. “If I need to chain you inside the house, you are going to do this. For you. Not for me.”
Noise caught my attention and the reflection in the glass allowed me to watch as he rose to his feet, pushing Vanessa away. Bristling, it took every ounce of control to keep from intervening. As she’d told me several times.
This was her burden. Not mine.
No contract in the world meant I would interfere. But goddamn it, the need to protect her was stronger than I’d believed possible.
“Who the fuck is that asshole?” he asked, not even bothering to lower his voice.
That was my cue to turn and face both, remaining where I was and allowing her the opportunity to explain my presence.
She sighed, her shoulders slumping, but she shifted so she could see me while providing a direct line of sight for her brother.
“His name is Christian Elliot,” she started.
“So the fuck what?”
“So he’s my fiancé. We’re about to be married.”
Complicated.
Perhaps by design.
I stood at yet another window, this time one inside my house. Still seething, I reflected on the limited conversation I’d had with the man during the ride to my home. Correction, the house I was sharing with my… fiancée.
Donovan hadn’t taken the news well, laughing and cursing for a few seconds until she’d put a halt to his tantrum.
She was damn good at handling him. I’d give her credit.
There’d been no other choice but to bring him to the house and provide him with a room, food, and plenty of water to sober him up.
I’d seen the track marks on his arm. I’d witnessed the beginning of him coming out of the drug-induced haze. I’d also seen the lines of worrying digging into Vanessa’s lovely face to the point she appeared almost haggard.
Yet still the most beautiful woman I’d ever laid eyes on.
The contradiction in what I’d felt earlier to now continued to hit me like a ton of bricks.
If we could get through tonight and if the attorney Michael had secured managed to do the job he was hired for, and if Donovan didn’t jump ship, disappearing before we could get him into rehab, then he might have a chance at a future.
Might being the key word.
I’d encouraged her to drive the Ferrari back to the house while I’d brought him in my Lexus, which had allowed me to have a heart to heart with the man. I laughed softly as I swirled the liquid in my glass.
Bourbon and it was only four o’clock in the afternoon. What the hell? I certainly needed the liquid encouragement after dealing with Donovan.
He’d said very little, but I’d sensed he was listening.
Plus, I’d told him a few details about the nightmare I’d been living for over a decade.
Whether or not it made any difference, I wouldn’t know.
Sharing the worst portion of my life with him even though I’d made the story as if it had happened to a friend had opened new wounds.
Fuck. This was all karma’s fault.
Seconds later, I heard footsteps and took a deep breath, admitting to myself I wasn’t interested in another sparring event even with the enticing, seductive woman I wanted to protect.
The footsteps stopped at the entrance to the living room, the only sound her deep sigh. As she finally started to walk closer, I thought of a dozen things to say and none of them were appropriate.
When she was close, the same electricity as I’d felt during every bantering session swept through my body. Pinpricks of current boosted my heartrate, my cock stiffening. Maybe inappropriate timing, but it was what she did to me.