Paradise Found: Cain (Paradise Stories Book 2) (27 page)

“Just,” she sobbed. “Just stay right here, for now,” she whimpered into my skin. My head shook back and forth as I squeezed her tighter against me. Leaning forward to kiss her hair, she quietly cried over my heart.
I’ll never let you go
, it beat.

In the morning, he was gone. I tried to convince myself I’d dreamt the whole night. His standing in the rain. His being in my space. His holding me. I had imagined it all, I determined as I stretched out in my bed, not even waking on the couch where I believed we had shared a moment. Had his presence been a hallucination? I thought so. He was a whisper in the dark. A hiss in the forest. A voice in my head. He couldn’t have been here, willingly comforting me. However, his scent lingered, and a piece of paper on the pillow held the image of two boxing gloves crossed over each other giving the subtle appearance of a heart. It occurred to me that this design was the same one under the logo for Eden2.

The truth also was I’d had another nightmare the night before. One where I pictured my mother and father laughing, imagined them kissing. I was often told that my mother loved my father fiercely. In my mind, they were coming out the back door of the casino, exiting into an alley. Not escaping as much as celebrating, as if they got away with something that was secret and precious to both of them.

I’d never believe they were running away from someone or something they owed to another. My father’s face grew stern in my vision, and my mother’s expression softened to concern. The words exchanged were something I never heard. The dialogue was fictionalized with the edgy accent of Atom Callahan being prominent. He would have accused my father. He would have made demands. How my mother got involved, was a mystery to me. Did she step forward to try to reason with an unreasonable man? Did she try to protect my father as a human shield? My assumption was she attempted both before the fatal shot was made. The explosion in my head woke me, as did the warmth of Cain’s hand on my back. For a moment, it was me in the dream. I was stepping in front of Cain, confessing some sin, and his father raised the gun to destroy me.

I cursed myself for crying on Cain. I didn’t want him to see me weak. I definitely didn’t want him to see the pain. He’d only pity me. He’d try to convince me that this wasn’t some kind of punishment. The sins of the father always followed a child, and my day of reckoning was coming. Atom Callahan wanted to know more about me. He was going to come calling for an unpaid debt. He’d done it to his own son, Abel. Why wouldn’t he do it to me, a nobody girl, who was connected to his other son? He wasn’t a stupid man. He knew by now I was Cain’s wife. At least on paper. We’d been married for over a year and hadn’t spent more than two months together. It was unbelievable.

Suddenly, I needed some concrete answers and the best recourse was to go to a source. I needed to see Kursch. Other than his guidance out of the main house, I hadn’t seen him after that horrible night of confession. I didn’t know what to ask, and he didn’t offer any words other than directions on how to escape. If Cain was in the Preston area, then Kursch had to be around, somewhere. There was only one of two places I could think of to find him: Cain’s house or Cain’s work. I couldn’t risk either. I didn’t want it to appear like I was chasing after the wrong man.

At the university, I found Abel outside the science building.

“Hey,” he greeted me sheepishly. He’d been the one to convince me to attend the grand opening of the gym. He had also been the one who apologized profusely afterward, even though it was Cain who raised a hand to him. He’d provoked his brother, he said defending Cain. He was growing bolder in how he talked to his brother, how he behaved toward him. We chatted for a second before I asked him directly: “Do you know where I could find Kursch?”

Abel’s surprise was hardly masked. “Why?”

“I need to ask him some things. I need some answers.” I spoke quietly. My heart sank as I admitted the truth.

He confirmed what I already thought: the house or the gym. Surprising me, he gave one more suggestion.

“You could try Highlands. He’s been hanging out there quite a bit lately.”

Abel’s gym was at the base of the hills before entering the mountains outside Preston, versus Cain’s place that was in a warehouse on flat land. Highlands was managed by Abel’s coach, Ava Shepherd, who appeared to have some kind of history with Kursch. It was likely some connection to Atom Callahan and a ruined relationship because of him. Taking my chances after class, I followed Abel in hopes to find Kursch at this other gym.

Luck was in my favor, as Kursch was present, but he and Ava looked like they were in a heated discussion. His large imposing arms were crossed over a chest dressed in solid black. A black tee and black pants were his uniform of choice. Ava, on the other hand, had her hair down, which was rare. It was dark, almost black like Kursch’s attire, and wildly draped to the side of her head, slipping forward as her hands gestured and arms flailed in anger. Kursch kept his head bowed, but the smirk on his face proved he was amused by her rant, not frightened by her. She was smaller in stature than the large man, but she had a toned body and a fierce scowl on her face. That look was her uniform. She was tough.

The door to the office was closed, but Ava’s voice was carrying. I waited with Abel at my side.

“Why in God’s name would I ever consider working for him? You are out of your ever-loving mind!” she yelled.

Kursch’s mouth opened, but she interrupted him, continuing her tirade.

“He took everything from me. Every. Thing. And I can’t get any of it back. I would never work for him or his offspring.”

Kursch must have gotten a simple word in to which Ava responded, “That’s different. He’s different.”

She had to be implying Abel, who was growing restless behind me.

“I’m heading out,” he said, stepping away from me for the open gym.

I continued to watch the two people who paused for a stare off. Kursch reached out for Ava’s face, but her flinch and raised hands proved she didn’t want him touching her. The hurt in his eyes was evident, as he spun for the office door and noticed me observing through the window.

Regardless of my embarrassment, I couldn’t step down from what I needed to know.

“Kursch...” I began, but he breezed past me, grumbling, “Not now, Sofie.”

“Kursch,” I called after him. Not letting his foul mood deter me, I followed him to the lot beside the gym.

“Sofie,” he breathed my name, and turned on me. He rubbed a large hand down his face and sighed. “What do you need?” His false smile said he wasn’t willing to help me, but I had to ask.

“Were you there?” I paused, swallowing hard. “Were you there when Atom took my parents?”

“Sofie,” he sighed in warning. “I don’t think I’m the one to explain that night to you.” He turned his back on me and reached for the door handle of a black SUV. It was a vehicle I was all too familiar with.

“I need some answers. I can’t ask anyone else.”

“Go to Cain,” he commanded, spinning back to face me.

“You know I can’t,” I replied, lowering my voice. “I can’t go to him.”

“He’s waiting for you. He’ll tell you anything you want to know. He’ll tell you the truth,” Kursch sighed, lowering his body into the driver’s seat of the truck. I couldn’t ask Cain, but Kursch’s comment gave me pause. Did Cain know the answers? Did he know what his father had done? The realization hit hard; he knew and he hadn’t told me. I didn’t want to believe it. His initial reaction seemed as puzzled as mine. His attempts to make me focus on him, affirmed at the time, he didn’t know anything. But I couldn’t be certain: so much unknown, so much unanswered. It was another reminder I didn’t know who Cain Callahan was as a person.

“Does he know the truth?” I asked quietly. My tone expressed my concern. Bracing myself for Kursch’s answer, I closed my eyes. If Cain knew the truth, it would be one more lie from him.

“He found out when you did. He demanded everything of me, when he was finally calm enough to ask. Understandably, he was pretty upset at first,” his voice remained low.

“And what did you tell him?”

Kursch looked away from me, staring out the front window of his truck. His eyes didn’t appear focused as much as lost. Lost in a memory of a painful past.

“I told him the truth. I shot your mother,” he said, twisting to hold my gaze. His dark eyes were cold, but the lines around them lied. He had done something horrible, but the guilt was hard to contain. I stumbled back in my disbelief.

“You …” I didn’t believe it. “You couldn’t have.” My hand shook as it came to my mouth, holding in a scream, holding back bile, holding in pain at the betrayal of a man I considered a friend.

“I was young, and I was eager to prove myself. There’s no excuse. I was trigger happy, and I reacted when she stepped forward.” He stared at me, letting the words sink in, gauging my reaction. My whole body trembled. I took another step back, my head slowly wagging from left to right.

“I didn’t mean to shoot her. I didn’t mean to kill her. I panicked.” He turned away to stare emptily out the window again. “And Atom took care of me. He took care of everything, like he always does.” His voice was hollow, as empty as his gaze.

Far enough away from the vehicle, Kursch was able to reach for the door and close it, shutting me out. I stood in disbelief as he backed out of the spot. The words vibrated momentarily through the cool mountain air before settling around me. There was more meaning in them than covering for a man that had committed a murder. Kursch had made a deal with the devil after that sin. My stomach rumbled again. I vomited in the empty lot.

That night I waited, willing Cain to come to me. I looked out my living room window, the lights on low, as I stared into the darkness. My forehead pressed against the glass, as I watched the empty yard below, hoping he would appear. He told me he drove by almost nightly. He told me he checked on me. Could he see me? Did he know that my heart ached, shattered, drifted on the wind with all that I’d learned? By now I assumed Kursch told Cain he’d given me the truth. Secrets were hard to keep once lies began to unfold. For the briefest moment, my heart pinched at the thought that Cain might suffer, too. His confidante and caregiver was a killer, and he’d never known. Then I remembered that Cain could be cold and calculating, and my heart sealed up and choked me. Cain would be forgiving of such history. He had his own ghosts to contend with, and he’d understand the weight of killing.

My forehead rolled back and forth on the cool, glass pane, while my eyes closed. He wasn’t coming. I don’t know why I wanted him here. My heart was torn between wanting to scream at him, and wanting him to hold me tight, like he had the night before. I was falling apart inside. A good girl my whole life, I tried not to dwell on the loss of my parents, because my grandparents had been so kind to me. I’d done what I was asked and hardly asked for anything. One night. One night was all it took to turn my world upside down. One night; one fighter.

I stepped away from the window and curled up on the couch as I often had. My mind wouldn’t rest, although my body needed it. I turned on the television and stared at the flashing color of characters in motion, with the sound on low. The notepaper with the heart shaped logo of boxing gloves was crumbled in my hand. My eyes eventually closed, dried up from days of crying, but my brain was still open and overactive.

I couldn’t hold it in any longer than overnight. Kursch’s terse explanation wasn’t enough. Why was he there? What was he trying to prove? How did Atom take care of things? Why did Atom protect him?

I raced to Cain’s house. My heart matched the speed I traveled. I vibrated like the tires on my car, spinning round and round as they thrust forward. Coming to a screeching halt in front of his house, I stormed to the front door. Ready to pound the door down, it opened before my first knock.

“Sofie?” Cain smiled that slow smile that could melt my heart and my panties, but not today. I was not falling for it.

“Where’s Kursch?” I bit, pressing past him, not waiting for an invitation to enter the house. The door closed slowly behind me, and I spun to face Cain, whose arms crossed in a stance similar to his bodyguard.