Blind Faith (20 page)

“I would have,” she snapped back, “but everything happened so fast.
 
Serena stood up and turned right into him.
 
I’m sure he was teasing about the kiss
,
but it scared her and then she sort of…fainted.”

A mule kick to the chest would have inflicted less pain than the thought of Serena being so frightened.
 
Will took a step towards McKinley, an animalistic growl vibrating in the back of his throat.
 
She drew in a sharp breath and tried to skitter off to the side, letting out a startled squeak when Will’s large hands clamped around her upper arms.
 
Touching McKinley made his stomach twist so violently he nearly let her go, but he had a few things to say and she wasn’t going to escape until he did.
 

“Listen very carefully,” Will said, his voice dangerously low, “because I’m only going to tell you this once.
 
If you
ever
pull a stunt like this again or even
think
of doing anything that might upset Serena, I
will
make sure every member of your family knows what you did to her tonight.”

“What
I
did?
 
It was that man’s fault.
 
He’s the one who freaked her out.
 
All I did…”

“I know
exactly
what you did,” Will cut her off.
 
“Taking Serena to that bar was a calculated act of cruelty.
 
You wanted to persuade her to kick me out and knew you
would
have a better chance of doing that if you took her someplace that made her uncomfortable.
 
Someplace that would throw her off balance and keep here there until you filled her mind with enough doubts about me that she
’d
be afraid to come home.”

“That’s not true,” McKinley denied

“What would you know about the truth,” he sneered.
 
“Every word that comes out of your mouth is a lie.
 
Tell me, McKinley, did that man really bump into Serena by accident or did you put him up to it?
 
No, don’t bother answering,” Will shook his head in disgust, “I wouldn’t believe anything you said anyway.”

McKinley’s cheeks flamed with color.
 
“You’ve lost your damn mind.
 
Do you honestly think I would deliberately hurt my own sister like that?”

Will smiled, but there was nothing warm or friendly about it.
 
“It doesn’t really matter what I think, now does it?
 
The question is, what will your family think?”

Her face contorted into an ugly mask of rage.
 
“You only
think
you have me cornered, Will.
 
I’ve been in much tighter spots than this and managed to wiggle my way out of it
,
so don’t kid yourself into believing your threats have me shaking in my boots.
 
Besides the fact you have only your suspicions to go on, we both know you aren’t going to tell anyone.”

“Don’t test me, McKinley,” his tone was low and even, but there was no mistaking the warning in his dark eyes.
 
“You have no idea what I’m capable of doing in order to protect Serena.”

McKinley arched a brow, her lips slowly curving upward.
 
“Oh, but I
do
know, Will.
 
That’s why I’m so confident you won’t breathe a word about what happened at the bar.
 
Serena will lean on you for support and get over it in a week or two.
 
But if you go and
blab to the rest of the family, you’ll alienate me and then poor Serena will feel sooo guilty.
 
Can you imagine how hard that will be on her, knowing she’s responsible for tearing the family apart?
 
So you see,” she said with a knowing smirk, “the only way to
protect
Serena is to keep this unfortunate incident all to yourself.”

Will’s grip on McKinley’s arms tightened for a moment before he let go, repulsed by the sight of her and disgusted with himself for not anticipating how she
would
react to his threat.
 
McKinley was the queen of deception; he should have known her devious mind would map out an escape route
and
that she
would
find some way to retaliate.
 
He’d allowed her to goad him, to work up his temper and cloud his thinking, and now McKinley had him in a headlock because of it.
 
But it wasn’t over, not by a long shot.

“Your two minutes are up,” he said between clenched teeth.

McKinley side stepped Will and circled around the car, clearly disappointed that he
had
proved to be such an unworthy adversary.
 
He didn’t care.
 
Let her think what she wanted.
 
All he cared about right now was getting Serena inside and away from McKinley so he could take care of her.
 
He opened the back door first and let Rufus out then reached inside and grabbed Serena’s briefcase, slinging the leather strap over his shoulder in order to keep both hands free.

Serena didn’t move a muscle when he opened
the
door, and for a few seconds he thought she was still asleep.
 
But as he reached across her lap to unbuckle the seatbelt he heard her draw in a slow shuddering breath.
 
That one, despondent wisp of air from Serena’s lips speared through him like a stake being driven into his chest.
 

Even with her eyes closed and her face devoid of emotion, Will knew she was hurting.
 
He felt it, deep in his own heart, squeezing tighter and tighter.
 
It made him angry, really angry.
 
Because he was losing her.
 
Because he could feel her slipping away.
 
And because Will realized he could help ease her pain
,
but he would never be able to shield her from it, not completely anyway.
 

Because he loved Serena, he wanted to protect her, and to some degree he
would
be able to do that.
 
But McKinley’s actions tonight proved there were going to be times when it would be impossible, times when Serena was more vulnerable than others, times when her survival would depend on being able to stand on her own and come to her own defense instead of retreating into that dark place where he couldn’t reach her.

Will had no choice.
 
He could open the door for her.
 
He could even wait on the other side with open arms, but if Serena was ever going to be truly free…she had to walk through that door alone.

McKinley didn’t get in the car, but h
e could see
her
through the window on the driver’s side; arms crossed, fingers drumming impatiently as she waited for him to get Serena out of the car.
 
She had to have known all along Serena wasn’t asleep, and that infuriated him even more.
 
Knowing how frightened Serena had been, how fragile and isolated she must have felt, McKinley still let her sit all alone in the car.
 
Why?
 
Why would she do that?
 
Was she really so desperate to get rid of him that she was willing to destroy Serena in the process?
 
Will shook his head, recalling what Rose told him just before he’d left her place.

“Don’t kid yourself into believing you can dodge every bullet McKinley shoots at you, Will.
 
She’s a hedonist to the bone and nothing matters but getting what she wants.
 
Trust me, you
will
never be able follow all the twists and turns of that girl’s devious mind.”

Nothing matters but getting what she wants.
 
 
 

But
had
McKinley gotten what she wanted?
 
Will reached down and took one of Serena’s hands and brought it to his lips.
 
It felt small and delicate, as soft as the petals of a rose, and when her fingers curled into his palm and gently squeezed, Will couldn’t suppress his smile or the sense of triumph that surged through him.
 

“Listen to me, Serena,” he said softly.
 
“You have to pull yourself together.
 
You have to fight it, brush it off,
anything
but give in to it.
 
Catering to your fear won’t do anything but give it more power
.  I
t will chip away at you until there’s nothing left but a hollow shell.
 
Don’t you understand; the only way it can defeat you is if you
let
it.”

Serena’s eyelids slowly opened but when several minutes ticked by in silence, Will began to worry he hadn’t gotten through to her at all.
 
Still, he waited; glancing out the window now and then to make sure McKinley remained on the other side of the car where she couldn’t eavesdrop.
 
He didn’t know what more he could say to Serena, what encouragement he could offer that would make any difference.
 

“How?” Serena said so quietly Will wasn’t sure she
had
actually spoken until she turned her face towards him.
 
“How do I fight it?”

“By taking it one small battle at a time,” he told her.

“M-McKinley, you mean?”

“You have to start somewhere.”

“Will, I…can’t,” her voice trembled.
 
“I tried…today when McKinley took me to that…place.
 
She said horrible things, and I tried, I really did, but…”
Her shoulders
slumped, shame flickering across face.
 
“I’ve never been brave enough to confront her and I never will be.”

“You listen to me, Serena Cross,” Will’s tone bridged no argument.
 
“You are the bravest person I
have
ever known.
 
You can do this.
 
You
will
do this, or it’s never going to stop.”

“I can’t,” she shook her head.
 

“Yes, you can.
 
I’m not asking you to confront her; that would only give her the opportunity to hurt you.
 
What I want you to do is get out of this car and walk away with your head held high.
 
Let her know she hasn’t broken you, that she no longer has the power to crush you with her cruelty.”
 
Will cupped her face in his hands, his voice softening.
 
“You don’t have to fight with her to win this battle, Serena.
 
Sometimes, the bravest thing you can do is turn your back and walk away.”

“Evasion is something I’ve gotten very good at,” she said with a sad smile.

“But that
is
not
what you
are
doing now.”

“Isn’t it?”

The uncertainty in Serena’s beautiful, sightless eyes gutted him
. 
“No…no, it isn’t.
 
Blocking out painful memories is your brain’s way of to shielding you from the horrible truth until you’re ready to deal with it.
 
What you’re doing now is making a conscious decision to protect yourself before McKinley can inflict any more pain…or open up old wounds.”

“I know you’re right, but…”
 

Will leaned down and kissed her, softly at first and then once more with an intensity that conveyed the depth of his emotions.
 
He could feel the rising heat in her cheeks against the palms of his hands, felt her hesitate briefly before surrendering her mouth to him and the response of his own heart
thumping heavily in
his chest.
 
This
was what he
had
dreamt about on those endless nights when he longed to hold her in his arms and feel the warmth of her lips taking and giving without reservation.
 
 
 

Somewhere in the back of his mind the voice of reason told him it was a very bad idea to kiss Serena when McKinley could so easily witness it if she decided to peer through the window.
 
It was like tossing a lighted match into a keg of gunpowder and foolishly believing it wouldn’t go off.
 
An explosion was inevitable, and there
would
be casualties; McKinley would make sure of that.
 
As much as he resented his intrusive thoughts, Will knew he couldn’t continue to ignore them.

Reluctantly, he drew his head back.
 
“I’m sorry, Serena.
 
I shouldn’t have done that.
 
Not that I could ever regret kissing you
,
but it’s like…”

“Adding fuel to the fire?” she finished for him.

“Something like that.”
 

Serena grimaced.
 
“McKinley didn’t…”

“No, she didn’t see us.”

“Maybe we should…go inside,” she said in a breathless whisper.

The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them.
 
“So we can kiss in private, you mean?”

“Yes…I mean no!
 
Oh, you’re a horrible man for teasing me like that,” Serena chastised when she heard him chuckle.
 

“I know, but it was worth it just to hear you admit you wanted to.”

“I did no such thing!”

Will’s eyes followed the trail of vibrant crimson slowly working its way up her neck.
 
“You’re absolutely stunning when you blush, do you know that?”

“And
you
are very transparent,” she replied, not quite suppressing a smile.

“Ah, you think it was a ruse, that I only kissed you to take your mind off of McKinley.”

Serena
did
smile then; a full-fledged, brilliant smile that made his breath hitch in his throat.
 
Will would have given anything in the world to keep that look on her face but the second she got out of the car, McKinley would be there to snatch it away from her.
 
There was no way to avoid it, and for the first time Will truly understood the feeling of helplessness that gripped Serena whenever McKinley was around.
 
The only thing he could do was get her inside as quickly as possible.
 
 
 

“What do you say, sweetheart?
 
Are you ready to get out and show your sister she didn’t win this one?”

“Yes, I think am,” she sounded confident.
 
“I mean, what more c
an
McKinley possibly have to say to either of us that she hasn’t already said?”

“I’m sure she’ll think of something,” he said dryly then let out a groan.
 
“Oh, God, you heard us talking
,
didn’t you?”

“Yes.
 
McKinley tends to forget that losing my eyesight has improved my hearing, not impaired it.”

“I’m so sorry,” he said, recalling his conversation with McKinley.
 
“I said some things I shouldn’t have.
 
I had no right to accuse her of deliberately scaring you.”

“No…you were right,” Serena’s expression sobered. “I’m glad you called her out
for
it.”

“So you think she planned the whole thing too?”
 

Serena hesitated for a moment.
 
“Yes…but I
would
rather wait until we’re inside to tell you about it.”
 

As far as Will was concerned, they couldn’t get away from McKinley fast enough.
 
“Judging by the way she
has
been pacing back and forth, I’d say she’s pretty anxious to get going.
 
Come on,” he took her hand, “let’s get this over with.”

Serena let him help her out of the car but refused his offer to guide her up the pathway to the porch.
 
She leaned towards him, keeping her voice low.
 
“Let her know she hasn’t broken me, isn’t that what you said?
 
Well, how can I do that if she thinks I
need your help
?”

Admiration mixed with apprehension as he handed her Rufus’ lead and watched Serena start up the stone pathway, her slender shoulders squared, each step smooth and confident.
 
Will absently shut the car door, his eyes still following Serena, and for one brief, shining moment he thought McKinley was actually going to leave without causing any more trouble.
 
But of course
,
it was too much to hope for.
 
As soon as he stepped away from the car and started to follow Serena, McKinley called after him.

“Where are you going?”

“In the house,” he answered without turning around.

“To pack?”

Will stopped and turned around, a cocky grin on his face.
 
“Now why would I do that?
 
I live here, remember?”

“But…” McKinley glanced at Serena, who was standing on the porch looking remarkably calm and composed, as if nothing out of the ordinary had transpired.
 
“I thought that’s what you were talking about for so long.
 
Serena, you can’t be serious,” her tone was incredulous.
 
“You’re going to let him stay after everything I told you?”

Will skewered McKinley with an icy glare.
 
“I don’t suppose you
care to repeat any of it to my face?”

“Why should I?”
 
McKinley shrugged.
 
“You
would
only deny everything anyway.”

Will held his temper in check, but just barely.
 
“I’m done sparring with you, McKinley.
 
I’m going inside now and
you
are going to leave before you cause any more trouble than you already have.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” she stood her ground with a mutinous lift of her chin.

Biting back an angry retort, he forced a smile instead.
 
“Fine.
 
Stay there all night if you want. I’ll be sure to leave the porch light on for you.”

McKinley flew into a wild rage.
 
She charged around the front of her car, shrieking out a string of obscenities that would have made a seasoned sailor blush.
 
She stopped a good five feet from him,
al
though her scalding tongue kept hurling insults at an impressive rate.
 
It didn’t faze Will in the least but he was worried about the effect it was having on Serena.
 
Glancing over his shoulder, he wasn’t surprised to see Rufus planted in front of her, diligently guarding his mistress.
 
What disturbed him was the rigid way Serena held herself and the blank expression on her face.