End Game (Games Thriller Series) (2 page)

Chapter 3

Tom lay on the beach watching the sky turn from the black of night to the various colors of dawn.

She named one after me.

The thought kept repeating over and over and over, sobering him faster than usual, more effective than a jug of coffee or a slap in the face. This coupled with the fact they never married gave his restless brain a ray of hope.

He closed his eyes and drifted to sleep on the sand. Ice-cold water smacked his face and he sat up, gasping.

Sharon
stood over him, her face a mask of disgust and the bucket still in her hand, drops sliding down the side and dripping on the sand. “I’m getting sick of finding you passed out on the beach. When this premiere is over, I’m checking you into rehab,” she announced and stormed back toward the house.

“Bullshit,” he called after her and he stood up, darting past her and blocking her path.

Sharon stopped on the steps. “If you don’t do what I want, I’ll order the hit,” she reminded him like she had numerous times over the last five years whenever he pushed the envelope.

Tom narrowed his eyes and ground his teeth together. “I’m not a fucking alcoholic,” he snapped, although even he had doubts about that. It was the only way to escape this hell called his life. His acting abilities only got him so far for so long and then he relied on the bottle to make the world believe this lie, this masquerade she insisted upon. Hatred burned in him, turning his natural boy-scout nature into a dark, brooding, and volatile man he didn’t recognize. He turned and entered the house.

“You will do as I say,” she ordered and slammed the door closed.

Tom stopped in his tracks, his hands balling into fists, fists that wanted to pummel every bone in her body until nothing was left but a bloody pulp. He took a deep breath gaining control over his murderous thoughts with the help of the dull pain of his fingernails creating welts in his palms.

She stalked in front of him. “Understand?”

He willed his hands to relax afraid they might take on a mind of their own and strike out at the blonde bitch blocking his path. “I’m not going to rehab.”

“Then you are going to stop drinking on your own.”

“Drinking is the only way I can get through the day being married to you.”

Her expression fell, her eyes widening and tears springing to the corners and he reveled in the pain he saw there.

“If you take that away from me, I may end up killing you.” He didn’t wait for an answer, skirting around her and crossing to the master bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind him. He turned on the shower and looked at himself in the mirror.

“What the hell have I become?” he asked his reflection. Eyes devoid of compassion looked back. He dropped his chin to his chest, closing his eyes and praying for the strength to get through another day without killing the woman who called herself his wife.

Chapter 4

“He asked me to marry him,” Jessica announced into the phone.

“It’s about time,” Eric replied.

Jessica laughed at her son’s reaction. “He just wasn’t ready
, Eric,” she defended Chris’s procrastination.

“He was ready the day he walked back into your life five years ago
, Mom. He was just afraid of the answer.”

Jessica looked out the back door at Chris playing in the snow with the boys. “I know, but he shouldn’t have been.” She smiled when he let the boys tackle him. “Anyway, think you can get away next Thursday night?”

“To baby sit?”

“Stop being such a smart ass, you already know why I’m asking.”

“I know and yes, I wouldn’t miss your wedding for the world,” Eric replied. “Want me to tell Dad?”

“No, I think it would be better coming from me. Is he there?”

“He’s at work; you want to talk to LeAnn?”

“No, I’ll give him a call later. How’s
Sandy doing?” Daniel and LeAnn had a daughter a couple of months before she had the boys.

“She’s a little terror. She is into everything and Dad is going nuts. It’s really fun to see him get riled up.”

Jessica chuckled. “The boys try to get into things, but it’s impossible for them to get away with anything.”

“Yeah, I know,” Eric said. “It’ll be the same when I have kids.”

Jessica watched Chris get pelted by the snowballs the boys rocketed at him. “Mmmm.”

“Anyway, I need to get going, I’ve got practice.”

“We’ll pick you up next Thursday after school.”

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Mom. Give my brothers a hug from me, same with Chris.”

“I will. Happy Valentine’s Day, and good luck at the game this weekend.”

“Mom?” Eric caught her before she hung up the phone.

“Yes sweetie?”

“Think you and Chris can make the game?”

“Where is it?”

“Worcester.”

“We’ll be there,” she said. “I’ll get the particulars from your dad.”

“Thanks
, Mom, see you on Saturday.”

She dialed the familiar number to the house on the other side of town that Tom gave her in the divorce settlement. When Emily took a teaching job at
York High School, Jessica gave her the keys to the house. She planned to sign over the deed to her as a wedding gift when the time came.

“Hi
, Mom,” Emily answered.

“Emily, can you take next Friday off?”

“Why?”

“Chris and I are getting married.”

Emily let out a little laugh. “It’s about time.”

“That’s exactly what Eric said, so, can you take the day off?”

“Sure, where’s the wedding?”

“We’re getting married in
New York, so we’d pick you up next Thursday and have you with us for the weekend in the city.” She took a breath. “And I’d need you to sit for the boys Friday night if you wouldn’t mind?”

“I’d be delighted to. Do you want me to watch the kids for the whole weekend?”

“Thanks, but if Eric’s team wins this weekend, the finals will be in the city on Saturday.”

“Ah, ok
ay. Where’s he taking you Friday night?”

Jessica paused and took a deep breath. “We are going to a movie premier
e.”

Silence blanketed the line. “What premier
e?”

“
Survival Games
. Tom called and asked us to come.”

“Really?” Emily said with a short burst of shocked laughter.

“Yes. We were a little shocked as well.”

“And you chose the same day to get married?”

“Chris wanted to get married today, but I wanted you and Eric there and next Friday is the first opportunity for all of us to be together.”

“Did Chris ask you to marry him before the phone call from Tom or after?”

Jessica knew where Emily was going. “He didn’t ask me to marry him because of Tom’s call. It wasn’t a spur of the moment thing. He and the kids planned it beginning with a pancake breakfast in bed and a rose petal trail leading me out to the rock wall,” she said. “Chris froze out there waiting for me and he had a ring, so it wasn’t because Tom called.”

“I’m sorry, but...”

“Em, he had to have the flowers here before this morning and the ring. He planned this with the boys,” she repeated. “The call from Tom was just incredibly bad timing.”

“It’s just ironic, that’s all.”

Jessica chuckled. “I know, but despite the phone call, it turned out to be the perfect morning and the proposal was so completely romantic. I’m not talking a petal here and a petal there; it was a solid path of yellow, pink and red rose petals from the upstairs hallway, down the stairs, through the family room and the entire length of the backyard. And Chris must have stood out in the cold for close to a half hour in just his Armani suit waiting for me to get my lazy butt out of the shower. The poor guy’s teeth were chattering but I didn’t have the heart to point that out when he dropped to his knee.”

“Oh Mom, how perfect! You said he had a ring?”

“I’ll swing by on our way to the studio and show it to you,” Jessica replied, studying the bright diamond in the sunlight. “I need to give your father a call to tell him and see if I can pull Eric from school next Friday.”

“Dad doesn’t like Chris.”

“I know, but that’s his problem, not mine.”

“Good luck,” Emily said. “I’ll see you later.”

Jessica hung up, dreading the next call. Daniel, her first ex-husband, never accepted Chris and probably never would. He reminded Daniel of the man who kidnapped her and changed the course of their lives. If he ever found out the truth, that Chris was that man, all hell would break loose. Accessory to murder was a pretty serious charge and Ty Aris had committed several in his lifetime.

She took a deep breath and punched in the numbers. “Hi Danny,” she said when he picked up his phone.

“Hi Jess. Is everything all right?”

“Yes, everything’s fine. I’m calling to see if I can pick up Eric Thursday night next week. I know he would miss school Friday, but it’s for a really good reason.”

“What reason is that?”

“I’m getting married.” She listened to the silence on the other end of the line, biting her lower lip and turning away from the escalating snowball fight outside.

“Are you sure you want to do that?”

“Yes I am.”
More sure than the day I married you
. “Danny, he’s a very special man and he makes me happy. I know you’re worried because he grew up with the Aris family – but he isn’t one of them,” she said in response to his thoughts.

A sigh came over the line. “Ok
ay. I’ll let Eric skip school next Friday. But Chris has to come in with you this time when you pick the kids up.”

“I’ll make sure he does, but don’t give him any shit. Ok
ay?”

“I’ll try not to,” he said and she knew he’d slip some derogatory comment in; he always did whenever they ran into each other in
York. “You coming to Eric’s game this weekend?”

“Yes, we are. Eric said it’s in Worcester?”

“At the Worcester Centrum. Tipoff is at three.”

“We’ll be there. See you then.” She hung up the phone and walked back into the family room. Chris and the kids rolled in with a flurry of snow flying off their pelted coats, leaving mini-puddles on the tiled entry.

“We are on for next Friday.” She smiled.

Chris crossed the room and nuzzled his cold face in her neck. He chuckled and held her tighter when she tried to get away from his frigid nose and hands.

“Your hands are freezing,” she complained with a laugh.

“I think it’s time we get Mommy.” He laughed and picked her up, dropped her on the couch as fair game for the boys. They pounced, tickling her with their chilly fingers and Chris joined in the fun.

“Stop,” she gasped through the laughter, their tiny hands burrowing in her armpits, wiggling and tickling relentlessly while Chris held her arms in the air. When Chris let go, she wrapped her arms around each of the boys, pulling them to her sides, stopping their playful attack.

“Come on, we need to get into dry clothes,” Chris said and started for the stairs. CJ and Tommy ran past their father and out of sight. He glanced at Jessica and smiled. “I still can’t believe how lucky I am.” He climbed the stairs, disappearing from view.

The boys came bounding down a few minutes later in dry clothing. Jessica set them up with their favorite video and wandered upstairs. She closed their bedroom door behind her and walked to the bathroom, leaning against the doorjamb, watching him step out of the shower. He wrapped a towel around his waist and sent a sly smile in her direction.

“I wouldn’t bother with clothes,” she said.

“Is that so?” He approached her, the beads of water glistening on his skin and his eyes were sparkling like the surface of the lake when the sun hit it. Pulling her to him, he kissed her, running his hands under her shirt and peeling it over her head.

As always, his touch set her on fire. Every fiber ached, longing for his hands, his mouth, craving him like an addict craves heroin.

“Where are the boys?” he asked, his hands preoccupied with the button on her jeans.

“Watching that video they like,” Jessica said pulling him to her lips. “Make love to me.”

“Every day of my life,” he purred and stripped her clothing, maneuvering her onto the bed, his towel discarded along the way.

Each stroke of his hands, each flick of his tongue, each graze of his lips created a wake of ecstasy that rippled through her body, eliciting moans she muffled with the back of her hand.

He worked his way back to her mouth, sliding his hard cock into her dripping pussy, satiating her, and she met his thrust, pulling his hardness further into her, filling her and tendrils of pleasure spread through her making her gasp for breath. She ran her fingers through his wet hair, pushing it away from his face as he stared down at her, his hips moving leisurely, relishing the slow burn.

“I love you...Mrs. Ryan,” he said, the grin surfacing again.

“Back at you, Mr. Ryan.” Heat spread through her, cresting and she arched, her eyes rolling back at the power of the orgasm. Every muscle tightened, heightening the pleasure with each stroke of his cock. “Oh God, Chris!”

* * * *

The sheer bliss of being inside her overwhelmed him and he lost control, speeding up the motion of his hips, thrusting deeper with each pass until his muscles seized and an eruption of semen shot inside her, triggering another sweet orgasm on her part. Aftershocks gripped him and he collapsed on top of her, relishing the curve of her neck, the warmth of her pussy and the tickle of her breath.

Chris sighed and propped himself up on his elbows, studying the swirl pattern of her eyes before glancing at the bedroom door, sending out his sixth sense to see what the boys were up to. He offered Jessica a half smile. “We left them to their own devices a little too long. They’re getting into trouble.”

He closed his eyes and sent out the command for CJ and Tommy to sit back down on the couch and then opened his eyes back up. “That will hold them for a few minutes.” He slipped off her and went to find some clean clothes.

* * * *

Jessica stretched then climbed out of the bed following the path of discarded clothing, putting each garment back on. “Chris?”

“Hmmm?” He stepped out from the closet, zipping up his jeans.

“Why did you take so long to ask?”

He pulled his sweater over his head then met her gaze. “You never mentioned marriage so I thought maybe it wasn’t really what you wanted.” He walked over to her and took her hands. “I got the rings after the boys were born but it took me this long to get up the nerve.”

Jessica put her hand on his cheek. “I would have said yes the day I made the decision to be with you. I thought you knew that.”

He shifted and dropped his eyes to the floor. “I never believed you really wanted to be with me.”

“Are you honestly that insecure?”

He nodded
, meeting her gaze. “I’ve always been where you’re concerned. I keep thinking I’m going to wake up and this will all be a dream.” He touched her face and kissed her gently. “We have to get downstairs before they destroy the family room.” He pulled away from her lips and led her out of the room.

Half way down the stairs, his words sunk in. “Rings?”

He smiled back at her. “I bought matching wedding bands.”

“Can I see them?”

“As soon as we get lunch for the kids.” He headed down the stairs. The pillows, throw blankets and cushions from the couch were strewn over the living room floor and the boys were sitting on the cushion-less couch looking up at them with guilty expressions.

Chris looked at the mess and then back at the kids.

“He started it.” Tommy pointed at CJ.