False Security (25 page)

“I went with a friend of mine a
couple of times, but that was it. Mom and Dad never cared much about going to
church.”

“Our parents were religious, but
your dad didn’t carry it with him into adulthood. Your dad was named after the
apostle Luke and I was named after Paul. Do you know the Bible story about
Paul?”

“I think I’ve heard it before,
but I can’t remember what it’s about.”

“Then here’s a quick Sunday
school lesson. There was this real mean guy named Saul who spent his time
persecuting Christians in the early church. He’d round them up and jail them or
take them off to be killed.

“One day, when traveling on a
road that led to Damascus, he saw this light from Heaven. Then Jesus spoke to
him. He told Saul to stop persecuting Christians. The experience blinded Saul.
After three days, he could see again, both physically and spiritually. He
became one of the most famous Christians of all time and his name was changed
to Paul. That’s the gist of the story, anyway.

“Before Maria died, I worked at
the hospital and Maria was getting her Master’s degree in psychology. We held
off on having kids mainly because she wanted to finish college first, but we
made up for it by spoiling you.”

Rachel smiled at the thought.
“You’re probably making that up since I don’t remember so well,” she said.

“Trust me, your dad was always
upset with all the presents we brought you on our visits, especially the ones
that made lots of noise.” Paul’s smile faded. “One night, Maria walked out to
her car from the campus library and this guy jumped her. He forced her out to a
wooded area right by the library. Raped her and left her there. At some point
during the struggle, he smashed her head against a rock. Her...”

Paul abruptly stopped speaking
and swallowed hard. Rachel placed a reassuring hand on his arm, and he
continued the story. “Her brain swelled until there was no more room left. They
did emergency surgery, but she had a seizure and went into a coma. Three months
later, I had her removed from life support and she died. Being a doctor, I knew
she wouldn’t survive, but I couldn’t let her go. So I kept her like that, and
prayed for a miracle. She never regained consciousness.”

All these years, Rachel never
knew how Maria died, and now she understood why her parents had not told her.

“Her rapist was caught two days
after the attack,” Paul said. “He was seen on the security cameras that were in
the library and around campus, so the police had an easy time tracking him
down. He claimed he was so strung out on a cocaine-heroin speedball mixed with
Jack Daniels that he didn’t know what he was doing.

“The prosecutor charged him
while Maria was still on life support, and he pled guilty to attempted murder.
They dropped the rape charges in exchange for a plea bargain. He wasn’t charged
with her murder because, out of purely selfish reasons, I left her on life
support so long. Since it was his first offense, the judge gave him one year of
rehab for his drug addiction followed by another couple of years in prison.”
Fury doused Paul’s voice. “He raped my wife and left her to die, and they
patted him on the back and told him it was okay because he was stoned.”

Rachel brushed the tears off her
cheeks. She could tell by the tone of his voice that he still blamed himself
for the events that followed Maria’s death. He had no way of predicting that by
holding out hope for her recovery, he also paved the way for her killer to get
off easy. Rachel wanted to console him, but no words could take away the pain
etched deep in his soul.

“After the sentencing,” Paul
said, “I went out to her grave. As I was leaving, this man approached me. I
recognized him from being in the courtroom during the sentencing hearing, but I
had no idea who he was. He introduced himself as Donovan King, and told me he
wanted to talk about the criminal justice system. Of course I was full of
opinions about justice, plus I was curious why he was so interested in the
case, so I had a few drinks with him. Mind you, I didn’t drink back then, but
after Maria’s death I did a lot of things I normally wouldn’t have.

“After a few shots and lots of
whisky, Donovan had my attention. He was only twenty-three at the time, but he
was much like he is now: smart, knows what he’s doing, and confident as
anything. He could charm a starving lion out of a meal if he wanted.”

Rachel early on learned that
side of Donovan. He had charmed her on her first day at the estate and hadn’t
stopped since. The same charm drew her back into his arms no matter how many
times she was on the receiving end of his temper.

“Donovan told me about Graham
Wilkes,” Paul said. “It turned out the guy who killed Maria was into Wilkes big
time. He owed him more money than he could ever repay since he was going to be
put away for a bit, so Wilkes wanted him dead to send a message. Donovan asked
me if I’d like to do it, and if I’d like to come work for him as the head of
his onsite security team, as well as provide onsite medical care when needed.
In exchange, everything I could ever need or want would be taken care of for
the rest of my life. I didn’t hesitate.”

Paul shrugged. “I guess
sometimes justice can only come at the end of loaded gun. At least that was my
rationale back then. Your dad and I argued about my career change, so I left on
bad terms. I remember though that I brought you this big book of fairy tales as
kind of a going away present.”

“I loved that book,” Rachel
said. “Every time I read it, I thought of you and hoped you were coming back to
visit soon.”

“I think the hardest thing about
the whole deal was leaving you, but what an offer.” He locked eyes with her.
“You see, Rachel, Saul turned into Paul when Jesus appeared to him. I started
out as Paul, and turned into Saul when the devil appeared to me in the form of
Donovan King.”

A chill coursed through her body
as she considered his analogy. “If you could go back in time, would you still
do it?” she asked.

“Every time. But if I could go
back, I never would have brought you here.”

Rachel contemplated his words.
When she spoke, her voice was almost a whisper. “I know I love Donovan, and I
know he loves me. I just always thought there was more.”

Paul had
witnessed Rachel’s deterioration over the past four years, since the night of
the failed job. It was like watching the slow decay of a live corpse, and he
had done nothing to help her.

Not anymore.

He moved with purpose up the
winding staircase, and made his way down the long, darkened hallway. Halfway
down the hall, he opened the door to Donovan’s office without knocking.

Donovan looked up, more with
curiosity than surprise, his cellphone pressed to his ear. “Let me call you
back,” he said into the receiver. After he set his phone down on the desk, he
asked, “What’s wrong?”

“We need to talk,” Paul said.

“This couldn’t wait?”

“It’s already waited long
enough.”

Donovan motioned to the chair on
the other side of his desk, but Paul waved his hand. “I’ll make it quick.
Rachel’s questioning things.”

Donovan leaned back in his
chair. “What things?”

“Like why she’s living in a
prison. Why she doesn’t ever leave the estate unless she has a job.”

“Paul, we talked about this
before she came here.”

“I know, and I understand why it
was necessary back then, but she’s an adult now. I don’t think it’s a risk for
her to leave as long as it’s controlled and kept to a minimum.”

“You brought a child, a ten-year
old girl to the estate. Business had to remain intact, without her disturbing
it, so we trained her as an employee. If you recall, that was your solution to
the problem, not mine.”

“Yes, that was my idea,” Paul
said. “So far it’s worked out just fine.”

“I agree that it has worked, but
she came here on the condition that she would not leave. It was way too risky
and would raise questions. I couldn’t put our operation in jeopardy. I did the
best I could given the circumstances, and I wouldn’t have done it for anyone
else but you.”

“And I appreciate that,” Paul
said. “It was a difficult time for all of us, but I had the responsibility as
her only living relative to care for her. I didn’t see any other way of
handling it. I couldn’t leave her to the system, jumping around from foster
home to foster home with no promise of stability. People don’t adopt 10-year
olds, they just don’t.”

“Which is why I agreed to your
suggestion to bring her here, but only with those conditions,” Donovan said.

“But now she’s grown. Prior to
her arrival, we never discussed what would happen when she became an adult.”

“That’s true and I understand
your concern, but I don’t know how good of an idea it is to let her start
leaving after so long. At least not yet.”

Paul knew he was getting
through. He placed his hands on the desk and leaned forward. “Rachel loves you.
She’s dependent on you and looks to you for everything she needs. She trusts
you, and she’s given her entire life to you.” Paul lowered his voice. “She’s
human, Donovan. Flesh and bone.”

“I know.”

“She has emotions and dreams
that can be crushed.”

Donovan remained silent, his
eyes fixed on the desk.

Paul’s vision blurred with tears
and his body trembled with his words. “She bleeds, too.”

“I know that!”

After a tense moment, Donovan
rose. Paul took a step back, once again struck by Donovan’s powerful presence.
If the man walked into a room full of marines, they would all stand up a little
straighter in the shadow of his authoritative stature.

Yet Paul knew there were many
facets to Donovan King outside of his public one. Over the years, he had
witnessed the different personalities of Donovan, all coming from the same
shell, all as varied as the shapes of snowflakes.

Donovan braced his hands on the
edge of his desk, his face rigid. Without looking up, he asked, “What is it
that you want me to do?”

Paul flinched. This was the
first time he had seen Donovan humbled to the point of asking another for
direction. A surge of hope rushed into Paul’s heart. “Senator Cal Robbins is
hosting a dinner at his home next week. I think you should take Rachel.”

“I’m leaving for Seattle that
afternoon.”

“Reschedule your meetings,” Paul
said.

A twitch in Donovan’s jaw
revealed his otherwise imperceptible debate, but he did not respond.

Paul decided to press the issue.
“For Rachel.”

Donovan lifted his eyes. The
edge of his voice was unusually soft, regretful, and apologetic. “I never meant
to fall in love with her.” He sat back down and reached for his phone, his
actions dismissing Paul.

Rachel looked up
when Donovan came through her bedroom door. She placed a bookmark in her book
and closed it. “I thought you had to go to Seattle,” she said, as she hopped
off the bed. She laid the compilation of Edgar Allen Poe stories down on her
dresser, and walked over to him.

“The meetings were rescheduled.”
He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and twirled the ends of it between
his fingers. “I know it’s short notice, but do you think you can be dressed and
ready to go in an hour?”

Rachel tilted her head. “I
suppose that’s a possibility. Is there a last minute job?”

“Senator Cal Robbins is hosting
a dinner at his estate tonight.” Donovan paused before adding, “I would like to
take you as my date.”

“I’ll be ready,” she said, her
eyes brightening.

“Then I’ll see you upstairs in
one hour.” He gave her a quick kiss before leaving her room.

Paralyzed by Donovan’s visit,
Rachel remained still until it fully registered in her mind what he said. She
was going to leave the estate for something other than a job for the first time
in thirteen years. More than that, Donovan was taking her out on an actual
date, in public, surrounded by his peers.

Rachel’s feet had trouble
keeping up with her legs as she sprinted out her door and down the hall. The
sides of her fists banged on Paul’s door. “Paul!” she called. “Paul!”

“I’m coming,” he said.

“Hurry up!”

He opened the door. His hair
rumpled hair and wrinkled clothes told her she interrupted a late afternoon
nap. “Rachel, honey, you know I love you, but this had better be important. I
was having the best dream.”

“No time for that. I’m going
with Donovan to a dinner for Senator Robbins.”

Paul smiled knowingly.

Rachel’s eyes widened. “You
talked to Donovan, didn’t you?”

“Don’t question it, Rach. Accept
it and enjoy it.”

“I only have one hour to get
ready! You have to help me. I have nothing to wear!”

“Okay, okay. Calm down.
Everything is already taken care of for you. Let’s go make you beautiful.”

Forty-five minutes later, she
was dressed and ready to go. Paul stood at a distance and watched Claudia
squirt hairspray over Rachel’s head. Rachel squirmed and wrinkled her nose at
the mist that showered her neck and shoulders.

“All done,” Claudia said. Paul
and Rachel thanked her, and she left the room with a basket full of makeup and
hair supplies.

Rachel walked into the bathroom
and took in her reflection. The slit of the long, black evening gown tastefully
stopped just above her knee, and the neckline of the sleeveless top fell
several inches below her collarbone without being too revealing. A sheer, black
scarf wrapped loosely around her neck and traveled down her spine to her lower
back.

Rachel patted the French twist
on the back of her head, and turned her head to the side to see the profile of
her hair. Satisfied with what she saw, Rachel couldn’t resist bobbing the
tendrils of hair bordering her face.

“Much better than the last dress
you wore,” Paul said when she waltzed back into the bedroom.

“I don’t even recognize myself.”

“You look exactly like your
mother.”

Tears formed in her eyes at the
thought. “How did you manage to pull this off?”

“A magician never reveals his
secrets. But I’ve had the damn dress on hand for nearly a week waiting for
Donovan to decide he was taking you.”

She hugged him. “You’re
amazing.”

“No, you’re amazing.” He held
her away from him. “Like Cinderella going to the ball.”

“Then you must be my fairy
godmother.”

He frowned at her. “Enough
analogies.” He walked her to the foot of the stairs.

“Thank you, Paul.”

“I’m going back to bed. I’m beat
and I have a great dream waiting for me. Have a great time.” He gave her a wink
before walking away.

Rachel moved up the stairs and
into the foyer, where Donovan stood wearing a black tuxedo. She had never seen
him so dressed up, and her heart skipped a few beats before racing out of
control. She was like Cinderella going to the ball. She only hoped that there
would be many more to come.

Donovan let out a low whistle
and looked her over. “You are absolutely breathtaking,” he said. “Everyone will
have their eyes on you tonight.”

“But I’ll only have my eyes on
you,” Rachel said. She moved closer to him, and he encircled her with his arms.
His lips found hers and, for a moment, Rachel thought they might not make it to
the dinner after all. When the kiss broke, a large smile overcame her.

“As beautiful as you are,
something is missing,” Donovan said. He walked over to the table in the foyer
and opened the drawer. When he turned around, he had a large black jewelry box
in his hands.

Rachel gasped with surprise when
she raised the lid of the box. Inside was a silver colored necklace with three
large diamonds seated in a delicate, lace-like design.

“The necklace is platinum,”
Donovan said, “so it won’t damage easily. The diamonds are each a full carat. I
know it’s not a lot, but I didn’t think you’d want something too fancy.”

Rachel raised her eyes to meet
his and smiled innocently, unable to speak.

Donovan chuckled. “You don’t
have any idea what that means, do you?”

“None at all,” she said.

“It’s a one-of-a kind necklace.
I had it designed for you. I thought you would like something simple, yet
elegant at the same time. It needed to at least match your beauty.”

Rachel couldn’t take her eyes
off him. In that moment, he had shown her more love than he had in the entire
five years of their affair. She wanted so much to tell him that she loved him,
but she was afraid he wouldn’t say it in return. He had not said it before, and
there was no reason for her to believe he would say it now. Not wanting to ruin
the night, she instead said, “Thank you so much. It’s gorgeous.”

“I’m glad you like it,” he said.
He took the box from her hands. “Let me help you with this.” He walked behind
Rachel and untied her black scarf. He handed her the scarf and box to hold
while he secured the necklace around her neck. Rachel gave him back the scarf,
and one hand instinctively reached for the necklace. It fit on her neck like it
was part of her.

After he finished retying her
scarf, she turned around to face him. “It’s perfect,” he said. He reached up
and touched her right earlobe. “If you had your ears pierced, I would have
gotten you matching earrings. We may have to fix that.”

“No one has ever given me
something so amazing or thoughtful.”

“You deserve nothing but the
best,” he said. “Speaking of which, the limousine is waiting outside for us. We
better not keep the driver waiting too long.”

Rachel smiled, and her fingers
continued their inspection of the necklace. She took his hand and they made
their way to the front door, the sheer, black scarf trailing after her.