Betrayed (3 page)

8-
 
Rob

I honestly could have gotten the jacket any time this week, it’s not like I don’t have hundreds of them. I had to see if my hunch was right, though. I had to make sure it was him. It was him, just as I was sure. Ripped everything away from me so many years ago, revenge will be a bitch for that one. A bitch named Molly.

Luckily I caught them in the middle of a very heated discussion that ended up leading to more, and that was just delicious to watch. Deliciously beautiful, Molly. The wild hair, the vibrant eyes. So plush. She will be perfect. This was all going better as planned. Originally the contract was just to get him…but seeing what I just did my plans have changed.

I smile to myself, knowing that I couldn’t be in any better of a position right now. He has no clue who I really am. I have to keep in touch with Molly for this stupid wedding that’s happening because the bride got knocked up. Everything is going wonderfully. Now all I have to do is keep up the charming Rob charade and everything will go my way. Time to start a mind fuck game that will send Nate in a downward spiral. Everyone knows Nate Savage can take down men twice his size. What everyone doesn’t know is that when it comes to mind games, Nate doesn’t do so well. This is going to be fun.

9-
 
Tatum

What is happening today? It keeps going from bad to worse! I need to chill out, I need to back off, and I need a drink. Unfortunately, bad things happen when I drink, so I ended up here. In the middle of a field. There are a lot of those around here so it’s not surprising this is currently my scenery. There’s a lake a half mile away or so, corn growing all around me. I think I smell cow shit.

How did I get here? Yes, I love her, but really? At least in Texas I was feared, therefore I was respected. The Savage name got away with anything in Texas. We weren’t criminals, per say (at least they couldn’t get us for anything) we were just that good. The real criminals were taken care of by us. I used to be my dad’s right hand man when it came to teaching those men some lessons. The men like the one that took my little sister and only returned her pieces. The men like the one who killed my brother. When my son was killed my life changed. I didn’t want to kill anymore. I didn’t want to be pitied, and I definitely did not want to talk about my loss every damn day of my life. I guess that’s how I got here. Because I wouldn’t face my past.

I’ve had so much death around me all of my life, but somehow I am the one that is fortunate enough to be standing here, in the middle of a cow-shit laden field. Really, I need to be with Molly. I need to apologize. I know I am being protective, but I’ve seen what men like him do to women. It’s not something that Molly needs to be wrapped up in.

First I need to cool off, though. If I see him again today I may want to put my fist through his pretty boy face. No scars, soft hands. This man has probably never been in a fight in his life. Me, on the other hand. Well, I’m full of battle wounds, yet I’ve lived to see another day.

I hate the fact she has to do this wedding this weekend. Doesn’t she know I have all the money we will ever need? I know telling her not to do the wedding will go over incredibly terrible so that’s not an option. My only option at this point is not to leave her side the entire time.

First thing is first. Time to grab a peanut butter cup and some flowers for her. I owe her an apology. And desk sex.

10-
          
Molly

I have to wait three weeks. Three weeks before I am able to see a doctor to confirm or deny my pregnancy test. Three weeks of keeping this huge news from everyone I know. Three weeks. A lot can happen in three weeks.

In order to keep my mind of the track it’s racing around, I start to rearrange my schedule to open it up for next weekend’s wedding extravaganza. Everyone has been very understanding when rescheduling. I only had to mention the Delany name once to get someone to agree to the switched date. I also had to give away a free print package to someone else who was very unhappy. Her dogs already had their scheduled bath and grooming session for the photos I was to take. Heaven forbid they get dirty before their pictures.

Sighing, I sat down at my desk and instinctively rested my hand on my abdomen. I still remember being pregnant with Alice. The first flutter, the first real kick, the first time her foot (or arm...or some appendage) got stuck in my ribs and I wasn’t sure I was going to make it. If this is all real, if I really am pregnant, I get to experience all of that again. Tears form in the corners of my eyes. I can’t believe I’m so lucky to have a second chance at life. After an unhappy past, maybe I am now able to have a positive outlook on life.

Sitting there, thinking about everything, smiling down at my stomach, two things happen all at once. I hear my front door open and know immediately that Tatum came back, and I am so overcome with emotion from today that I barely make it to the trash can before throwing up everything I had eaten. Damnit, morning sickness. If this continues it’s going to be hard to keep it from him for three weeks.

His hand comes to rest gently on my back as I’m leaning over the trash can making sure I’m finished for now.

“You alright?” The gentle edge to his voice pulled at my heart strings. He really does care about me, that’s apparent.

“Yea, just a very upset stomach mixed with nerves from today. I’ll be ok.”

He looks uncertain, like he knows I’m lying.

“Molly, I’m sorry. I was an ass. I trust you and know you would never do anything with him. I am not used to feeling jealous and I didn’t react well at all. Here, I got you these.”

He awkwardly handed me a package of peanut butter cups and a bouquet of flowers, like he wasn’t used to apologizing. The chocolate was a wonderful thought, but just smelling the flowers made my stomach turn. How to get around this without him being suspicious?

“I absolutely forgive you, especially when there is chocolate added into the apology.” I said, a genuine smile spreading across my face. “Thank you. Why don’t you grab a vase from the kitchenette and put those on the counter. I need to go freshen up from that.” I said nodding towards the trash can. I don’t go out to the counter much when I’m working so the smell shouldn’t bother me back here.

He carefully arranges the flowers in a vase and sets them on the counter. I watch him from the hallway, thanking the good Lord that this perfect specimen of a man is mine. Hormones on high alert again, my thoughts start drifting to places they shouldn’t be drifting while at work. The way his jeans hug his ass, the way his muscles are currently bulging out of the tight black t-shirt.

After setting the flowers down, he walks towards the door, flips the lock and turns to me.

“I do believe we have some unfinished business to take care of.” He said as he walked towards me. “I believe we were right about…here…when we were so rudely interrupted earlier.” He said, then he pushed me against the wall and lifted me to wrap my legs around him.

His lips crushed into mine, his hands holding my ass firmly. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kiss him back like my life depended on it. Growing more impatient, I grind against him and feel the familiar bulge twitch in his pants.

“Damn woman, you are going to make me keep that promise aren’t you.” He grunted, then carried me to my office desk and set me down.

His hands roamed down my body, slowly unbuttoning and slipping off the tunic and revealing the lace bra I added into my wardrobe recently. Just the caress of his hands made my nipples tighten and stretch against the fabric. He leaned down and blew on each one, the cool breeze through the fabric was enough to make me explode. I felt like I was floating, every nerve lighting up in tune with my beating pulse. I started undressing him, shirt first, pants next. I’ll never get grow used to the body on this man, even if I stare at it every day for the rest of my life. The ripples, the hardness, his ass. The assault on my nipples ends and he focuses his attention lower. My shorts were soon laying on the floor, along with everything on my desk as he swiped it off in one clean sweep to lay me out. It’s a glass desk, cool on parts of my body, other areas burning hot, the sensation was incredible. I laid back and opened my legs, ready for him to do as he pleased.

“Fuck Molly, no underwear?” his eyes burning into mine, towering above me as I lay out on my desk. It made me feel powerful, knowing that I did this to him. He was as hard as he possibly could have been when he entered me, and I felt every inch of him. He pinned my hands above my head with one hand, the other snaked down to massage ever so gently the one spot that still needed friction, his eyes never leaving mine. It wasn’t long before he was collapsed on top of me and we were both attempting to catch our breath.

“You have ruined me for other men” I managed to gasp.

He pushed up onto his elbows, unable to move the rest of his body as I was still wrapped around him.

“You say that like there will be other men after me.” The sideways grin I received made my heart flop, just like it did the first time he smiled at me.

This man was going to make me forget everything I thought about not becoming dependent on another man. I already am letting him creep into my life slowly by moving in with me and giving him the assistant position. If I wasn’t careful I was going to lose myself to him, and the last time I did that I lost more than I bargained for.

11-
Tatum

Molly and I spent the rest of the afternoon planning out the three days of shooting that were rapidly approaching. She had never shot such a big name wedding, and I’ve never shot a wedding period. I was getting crash courses in lighting, camera use, and any other tiny tidbit that she could think of as we went through the afternoon. By the end of the night my brain was swelling with information, as well as an ever present swelling a little lower. Just looking at her move in her tiny shorts and crazy hair made me want her. She didn’t even know how beautiful she was, always pulling at her shirt to adjust it, or redoing her messy hair to make it look like she meant for it to be insane. I loved every fucking bit of it, too. This was all so new to me, but if love really did grow like so many people say, I look forward to the future when I love her more than now, if that’s even humanly possible.

She had some things she needed to finish with schedules, so I headed back to the house to start on dinner. I didn’t really know how to cook, but I could make a mean pot of spaghetti and meatballs. Mom’s specialty and one thing she made her kids learn before they left the house to move on into the big mean world.

On the porch was another box, much like the ones we have been unpacking, but it was unmarked. Alert on high now due to my father’s training to be suspicious of everything out of the norm, I looked all around before picking up the box and carefully took it inside. It wasn’t heavy, but I knew it didn’t matter. Sometimes the most dangerous things barely weighed anything.

I turned on the side table light, just enough to light up the room but not enough to alert anyone on the outside that I was home.  I set the box on the coffee table and sit on the couch preparing myself to open it. An awful feeling is settling into the pit of my stomach and when I open the box I almost lose it.

One lone, dirty, baby blanket lie in the bottom of the box and takes my breath completely away from me.

It was his. It was in his carrier when she ripped him out of my world. Tears stream down my face and land on my arm resting on the table before I know I’m even crying. The blanket so soft, I still remember him wrapped up in it while he laid unresponsive in the hospital. The hole in my heart that had started to heal was ripped open at the awful memories the blanket brought back. It felt like I couldn’t breathe, like there was something sitting on my chest, a burning that wouldn’t cool down.

Sadness was suddenly replaced with anger, burning rage. Who the hell would do this? I was adamant that every trace of a child be wiped clean. Nothing was to be left to remind me of what I lost. Hell I left a great life because I didn’t even want the knowing stares and sympathy! Some parents that lose their child keep everything just as it was the last time their child touched it. Some never made their beds, dusted their rooms, or changed décor. I was the total opposite. The therapists said everyone grieves differently, and I was just not following the path most parents did, but there was nothing wrong with it.

Now some asshole decides to pull this? Who the fuck kept my sons blanket? And why the hell did they just now decide to leave it on Molly’s front porch? What does she have to do with any of this?

Going into survival mode, I put the blanket back in the box and stash it in my office behind other boxes that I needed to unpack. Molly doesn’t need to know about this. It has nothing to do with her, and she already has enough on her plate to worry about. I make sure the doors are all locked and blinds closed, then I go about my night preparing dinner for the woman I love. All the while my brain is working it’s hardest to figure out what the fuck that was all about.

Setting the table I notice a notecard on the floor next to the coffee table. Facing up are the words “revenge” in letters that seemed to be scribbled frantically. The other side killed me:

Life only means something when you have loved ones to share it with.

The breath rushed out of me as I read the note over and over. The room no longer existed, I couldn’t smell the smells of the dinner I was preparing. All that I could see were the words on the page in front of me. What the fuck? I was trained in all types of physical contact and fighting matters, but when it came to this psychological bullshit I had nothing. Fuck mind games.

The door opened and I quickly put the note in my pocket and returned to the stove to finish up dinner. Trouble seems to follow my girl around, and the last thing I need is to have her wrapped up in more danger. She already is in enough when it comes to the Delany family.

“Hey babe” she purred as her arms wrapped around me. “Smells wonderful.”

I hadn’t cooked for her yet so tonight would be the test. No sane person could turn down my mother’s spaghetti. We sat down to eat, making small talk about the wedding this weekend. My mind was racing but I had to keep my cool, there was enough on her plate to make her worry about this. I needed to call my father.

The noises that came out of her while she was finishing up her massive plate of carbs were enough to make me need to adjust my pants. This woman can even make eating erotic. Jesus. At least I know she enjoyed it. Anyone who didn’t like my mom’s spaghetti was bat-shit crazy.