Drowning (Tears of Sin Series) (22 page)

I circle the desk and shock both of us, throwing my arms around him and giving him a bear hug. “Love you, Dad. Thank you.”
“Go take care of that girl.” He pats me on the back. “Seth, watch yourself. Harrison doesn't like to lose.” He backs up and pulls out his phone. “I'll see what I can handle from this end.”
Harrison will only have to do the same, and my dad’s business will suffer. I hate that he will probably lose the career he's worked all his life for, but maybe he is ready for retirement. No, that’s the selfish prick in me. There has to be a way to get us all out of this mess. I just have to think of it. “Dad, be careful. I'm going to get back to Alice. Make her forgive me and stick by her side like glue until this all blows over. I'm sure that Harrison wouldn't like his dirty little secret spread around the world. I think it's time we fought fire with fire.”
He arches a brow and pinches below his bottom lip with his index finger and thumb. “You might be right, but Harrison's not a man to play with, son. I mean it, be careful.”
Back at the apartment, Gabe and Molly are sleeping, cuddled together beneath a blanket on the oversized couch in the living room. I sprint to my room and pack a duffle bag full of jeans and shirts.
I'm rummaging through my socks when Gabe flops to my bed. He wipes the sleep from his eyes and stretches. “Dude, what are you doing?”
I glance back at him. “I'm going to stay with Alice for a few days.”
He frowns, and scratches his armpit. “Okay, then why are you packing a bag?”
“Because we're not staying here. I don't want you and Molly here either. Take her on a surprise trip to the lake house or the Ritz. I don't care which, just don't be here.”
“Okay, is this because of Alice?” My brother’s voice held both concern and hope, and I can’t stop the grin. I felt the same way. It was most definitely because of the dark beauty next door. And thinking of her hurting brings back my mission.
I slam my drawer closed and toss the bag on the bed. “He's been hurting her all his life, and he's holding something over her. I'm going to get her out and take care of him.”
Gabe rolls his eyes. “So, what are you planning on? Just snatching her away? Do we stay hidden forever?”
“I got it—”
He cracks his knuckles. “I don't like not being here for you.”
“You are always here for me.” I fist bump him and pull him to his feet. “Dad is helping me, don't worry.”
Gabe's eyebrows shoot to his hairline. “You talked to Dad?”
“Yeah.”
He breaks into a smile. “Okay. Let me get Molly up, and we'll get her a bag packed.”
Evan winks at me as I enter Alice’s room. “She’s sleeping like a baby.”
“Thanks, man. I got this now.”
We fist bump and he pats my shoulder as he passes. She hears me and rolls over, wincing. “Hey. What are you doing here?”
“I'm going to help you.” I nudge the edge of her bed, and she rolls her eyes. She has more color now, but there’s a tightness around her mouth and eyes that hadn’t been there the last time I’d seen her—before I’d abandoned her. “Let's get you up and dressed.”
She flops back to her pillow. “I just want to sleep. Please go.”
I reach beneath her and lift her shoulders until she sits. “Come on, we have things to do.”
“You wanted to be rid of me. You got your wish.” She twists the sheet around her thighs, and then glares up at me, her light brown eyes darkening to black pools. “Why are you here?”
I place a knee on the bed, lean over her until she lies back on the bed, and use one hand to hold me up and the other to rake a thumb down her cheek, brushing it across her bottom lip. “Because I'm not letting some jackass hurt my girl and get away with it.”
She lays there in stunned silence, eyes wide with tears swimming on the surface. “I'm not your responsibility.”
I brush my lips across her forehead, down her nose, careful to avoid her swollen jaw, and end with a swift kiss on her mouth. She doesn’t return it, but she will. “No, but you are the girl whom I want to be with, and you can't be free to do that until you're done with all this.”
“Seth.” She sighs my name, and my dick hardens. I didn’t really need an erection right now. That’s not what this is about. I want her to understand how I feel about her. I want her to know that she’s my everything.
She pushes me over, rolls to the side, and stands. The T-shirt she’s wearing drops just below the hem of her panties, and I have to avert my stare, or else I’ll be embarrassing myself. “I'll be in the other room while you get dressed.”
She grabs my hand. “I need help.”
“I know. That’s why I’m here.” I would not let her do this alone.
She smiles, and it’s like the sun kissed the night sky. “No, I mean getting dressed.” She points to her stomach. “I need to change my bandage.”
I glance down at her, fighting the need to kill her dad. How can anyone break a spirit like Alice? Or try to? I’m not sure anyone would ever get this girl to go down. She had survival skills that would impress any cat.
“I know you’ve seen the bandages.” Her smiles twist into something sad. “You thought I was sleeping.”
“Yeah, I did.” I lean down and grab the hem of her shirt and wait for her nod. “Ready?” She raises her hands in the air and nods. I pull the shirt off, inching it up over her breasts and finally passed her head. I'm momentarily struck dumb by her beautiful breasts. Small enough to fit into the palm of my hands, but perfect and perky, and I want to taste them. What kind of an ass thinks like that about someone who’s hurt? I have no idea how doctors do it.
Tiny red splotches have seeped through the gauze across her ribs, and I'm scared of unwrapping her. Scared that I'll kill that fucker for hurting her like this.
She catches my hand in hers before I touch her below the bandage. “I’m okay, Seth. I’ve had worse.”
That’s the part that sucked the most. How many times had he beaten her, and she had to deal with it alone?
She begins to peel the tape away, and I shove her hands back. She's watching my face, and this feels more intimate than when I'm inside her. My breath stills when I unwrap her, revealing a long slash across her stomach. It's stopped bleeding, but the edges are shredded. I trace the skin above the wound with my thumb, and she shivers. Her nipples harden, and her eyes darken.
I swallow down the bile rising. “What does this?”
“Whip. It doesn't hurt that bad today. I've had worse.”
Tears fill my eyes that anyone would have to endure worse, yet the woman I love had. “I'm sorry.”
She cups my jaw. “Don't sweat it. I'll be out of your hair very soon, and all this dark will lighten.”
“The hell you will. You’re not fucking leaving me. I’m in this for you. With you. Until we find a way to stop him or to give him whatever he needs from you.”
She turns her head to the side and shudders. “I'm not going to continue to let him hurt me.”
“What did you think you were going to do?” She turns and wraps clean gauze around herself, and I'm all thumbs trying to help her. She's good at this, and I don't even want to think why that is.
“If I can't find what he needs, I'll have to disappear. It's the only way to keep everyone safe.” The hollow way she says the words has the hair on the back of my neck standing up.
I grab her hips, forcing her attention back on me. “Alice, what does he want?”
“Memories.” She finishes with the tape and finds a loose-fitting flannel shirt that buttons up the front. I help her stretch it across her shoulders, and we both struggle to get her into a pair of sweats. I tie her tennis shoes for her and comb her hair into a ponytail. It's really crooked, but she's still beautiful.
I give her a few minutes alone in the bathroom and wait in the living room. She enters, walking stiff and pained. I take her hand and drag her down to my lap. “Where do we start?”
She lays her head against my chest. I may have broken her heart, but there are still pieces that love me. “Seth, you're not doing this with me. I have to take care of Molly and try to find the zip drives holding the files.”
“So we are looking for something tangible?”
“Of course. It's proof of all the horrible things that he's ever done to me. Evidently, my father likes to watch his punishments.”
My stomach churns. “Alice, I'm staying with you. You won't be alone ever again.”
She doesn't hold my gaze and glances around the apartment. “Is Molly still next door?”
“Yeah, and Gabe is preparing her for a trip. I want them out of the city until this is all settled.” Alice rises, unfolding her petite body like an eighty-year-old man, and I sit on the edge of the couch. “I went to my dad for help. He's going to try to find some evidence to use against your dad to get him to stop all this.”
She laughs. “Seth, I appreciate that, but you've put your dad in terrible danger, and my sperm donor won't stop. He'll probably only be happy with my death.”
A shudder races down my spine. The thought of her cold and alone in a shallow grave flashes through my mind. “Don't say that. If we stick together, we can do this.”
“This isn't a game. He's serious, and his lackeys are dangerous.” Alice leans closer, pinching my shirt between her fingers, tugging it away from my chest. “They are mostly good people that he's blackmailed into being his henchman, but still, they'll do whatever he tells them to.”
“Well, baby, I can be my own kind of bad.” I tip my head forward, bend my knees, and touch her lips to mine. She slides her hands up my chest, gripping my shoulders. “I want to be bad with you right now.” I nibble on her top lip, sucking the sweet cushion into my mouth. “But we have things to do.” She strokes her tongue across the ridges of my teeth, dueling with me and my intent to get us out of here. I bracket her face in my hands and surge back, sucking in a breath to steady my need. “I'm sorry.”
“It's okay. I should have known that things were going too well.”
“No, I'm sorry that I didn't come to you. I just tried to control the situation thinking I could handle it. But I can't. I need you, baby. I need to know you're safe. I need to see you smile again.” She fights tears, but one escapes. I dip forward, catching it on my lips and licking away the trace before anymore fall. “I will make this up to you.”
She leans against me, giving me all of her trust. “I know.” And like that, I think we were back to normal. She trusts in my strength, even when I didn't always know if I had it in me.
“So where to first? You are leading this search, baby.”
She tips her head back, resting against my arms that are locked around her. I’m not ready for the blast of her smile. “I want to check with Rowena. She's a real bitch to deal with, but I think she'll be honest with me. She's never held back before.”
We cross into my apartment and find a scowling Molly. “I don't like this. I know something's up.” She taps her cane until it hits my shin. “Seth?”
“Yes.”
“Be honest with me. Is Alice okay?”
“Yeah, she will be. It's a good idea for you guys to take a break from our mopey behavior. I think we're going to spend most of our time in bed.” I nibble on Alice's lower lip, even though she's not really returning the experience. “We'll be fine.”
Molly smiles. “I couldn't see that, but it sounded hot.” She laughs. “Okay, you two. Call me if you need anything.” She reaches up and hugs me, but whispers into my ear. “I've never heard her quiet. Please watch over her.”
I nod against her cheek and crush her in an embrace that I feel to my very core. These people are fast becoming closer than family to me. “Have fun.”
Gabe gives me a fist bump and a nod that tells me he will handle Molly. They leave, and I grab my wallet and keys. Alice stands in the doorway and takes so much time to step into the hall, I think I might have to push her. She is definitely not herself.
“Are you sure Gabe will take care of her?”
“Yes. Now stop worrying. If anyone even thinks of hurting her…do you honestly think my brother would let that happen?” I grab her hand and kiss each knuckle. “Let’s worry about you right now. Okay?”
She’s quiet the entire ride over to her step-mom's, but I don’t bother her about it. I’m not sure what will set her off, and I feel the current of panic riding the air.
She slides down from the truck—with small, careful movements—as soon as we pull into the gated home. “I'll just be a second.”
“If you think I'm letting you go in there alone, you're crazy. I told you not out of my sight.”
She shuts the door on me and anything else I might say. Damn frustrating woman.
“Together.”
She nods and latches onto my hand before leading me up to the steps. The house is massive, but not what I thought it would be. “I expected more.”
“This isn't the main house. This is where Row stays. She can't stand my father.”
Her family just gets more interesting as the time passes. A woman answers the door and smiles fondly at Alice. “Ally, my munchkin. How have you been?” The lady yanks Alice into a warm embrace and stiffens when she feels the shivers wracking Alice's frame. “Is that old demon still at it?”
Alice drops her gaze to the extravagant potted flowers bracketing the door. “He hasn't been until recently. Hey, Cyn, is Rowena here?”
“Yep. In the back, drinking, so be careful.” The older woman steps back to let us by. “Your father was here earlier, and he roughed her up.”
I follow Alice into her next trip into hell. The woman grabs a handful of my biceps and squeezes. “Damn, Al, you done good.”
Alice smiles back at her, and it's the confirmation I need. She hasn’t given up hope on us. “Thanks. He's a keeper.”
My heart gets lighter with her praise. Rowena is lying on a sofa with an ice pack on her face. How the hell does this bastard get away with this?
“Row?” Alice kneels to the floor and lifts the pack off Rowena's face. “How bad is it?”
“What do you care?”
This bitch needs some lessons in common humanity. I can’t believe that this family treats Alice like this. Even in her own suffering, Alice is concerned. She’s a better person than I am. I’d laugh at the evil woman.
“I don't.” I rub Alice’s stiff shoulders, hoping that my action reinforces that I’m here for her. “Not really, but I thought you'd appreciate the concern.”
Rowena sits up, her eyes trailing over Alice’s bent form, up to my chest, and finally scowling at my face. “Is that your bodyguard?”
“No, he's my friend.”
Well, I had hurt her. It might be too early to hope for more. But being put into the friend category still sucked ass.
“Not a boyfriend, I hope.” She sinks back down to recline fully on the sofa and drops an arm across her forehead. “No reason to bring anyone else into this shitty excuse for a family.”
Alice stands and fidgets, her elbow jabbing me in the stomach every time she tugs on the hem of her shirt. “I need your help.”