Pretty Bitches (25 page)

I stood and walked to the joining room, which I assumed was the bathroom. I turned on the light and realized it was the size of a suite. A gigantic Jacuzzi tub sat under the full-length window and two separate showers flanked either side.

I stood there and stared at the simplistic decoration. He had good taste.

I turned off the light and walked back into the bedroom. Cailen popped his head around the corner. “There you are.” He said smiling. “I was wondering if you fell in. I couldn’t find you.”

“I was just soaking up your bachelor digs. Pretty snazzy.” I teased.

“This is a dingy. You should see my other boat.”

I laughed. “Don’t you mean
my
boat?”

“Absolutely, love.”

I wound my hands around his neck and looked into those artic blue eyes. “Are you ready?”

“To marry you?”

“Obviously.”

“I’ve never been more ready for anything in my life.”

I smiled and kissed his lips. “Good because that dress is non-refundable and Lila would go to prison for killing you.”

“I have no doubt.”

He kissed my cheek and grabbed my hand pulling me from the room. Lila and Kincaid were popping the top on a bottle of champagne when we pulled the door on the cabin. Cailen took his glass and climbed up the ladder to the captain’s chair. I grabbed mine and followed after him.

The wind was calm and the sun was out. It was a beautiful day and in a few short hours I was going to be Mrs. Emberly Carmichael. That sent a thrill up my spine. I didn’t realize I had a permanent smile on my face until Cailen looked over.

“That’s looks so good on you, Gemma.”

“What?”

“That beautiful smile.”

I tilted my head. “Well get used to it because you put it there, baby.”

He reached for my face and pulled me close to kiss me. “I’ll work on it everyday, love.”

I winked at him and lay my head against the seat soaking in the sun. He started the engines and within minutes we were coasting away.

When we were on the water for about thirty minutes when I looked over. “Why do you have such a huge boat on such a small lake?”

The question had been bugging me since we boarded. It seemed like such a waste.

He grinned. “It may be a small lake but it’s connected to a huge waterway. I can be on the ocean in an hour.”

“Ahh, ok, now that makes more sense.”

He threw me a crooked smile and gunned the engine. The wind whipped through his chestnut hair and the sun bounced beautiful shades of auburn and caramel. He really was just yummy.

I leaned over and watched Lila and Kincaid on the main deck. It looked like he was giving her a root canal with his tongue. I snorted. Things were looking promising for him, I would say. I haven’t seen a guy keep her attention this long in years. Maybe never.

I looked back over at Cailen and noticed his face was tense and his eyes were tight. There was definitely something bothering him but I wasn’t going to pry. Hopefully he would talk to me when he was ready.

I sighed and settled back into my chair.

“I’m going to head back. It’s getting pretty close Miss Landon.” He teased but I could hear the strain in his tone.

It made me sad.

I smiled. “Better hurry.”

His grin widened and he gunned the engine. Thirty minutes later we were gliding into the slip next to the dock. He tied down the boat and caught up with me on the dock.

We were smiling walking behind Kincaid when I felt Cailen stiffen next to me and stop in his tracks. He and Kincaid exchanged glances and I looked between their faces trying to figure out the problem.

My eyes followed Cailen’s gaze and landed on a group of dangerous looking men. They were glancing around the property seeming to be in search of something. The tall man in the middle wore an expensive looking suit and was flanked by several sketchy looking men.

Cailen pulled my face to his. “Emberly, take Lila and follow the steps straight inside as fast as you can. Ok?” His eyes were dark and I had a terror feeling rush up my spine.

“Why?” It came out almost as a whisper.

He cupped my face. “Just please, go. I’ll be in shortly.” He placed his hand on my back and gave me a push.

I just stared at him shocked but started walking pulling Lila to my side. As I reached the top of the hill the tall man in the suit caught my frame and turned to smile sinisterly while he crossed his arms against his chest. I couldn’t tear my eyes away as we quickened our pace. Something about him terrified me. Suddenly I had a feeling of utter panic coursing through me, as though there was something terrible getting ready to happen.

He pulled his hands from his chest and began walking in out direction. I yanked the door open as soon as we reached the house and shoved Lila in.

I turned back to lock the deadbolt and peered through the window. He was still coming our way but Cailen and Kincaid intercepted him. He stared in our direction for several moments before he turned his attention to Cailen.

I watched as they had a heated exchange and Kincaid shifted into a fighting stance. Suddenly Alick burst through the side door followed by Mac and Rory.

The man sized up the scene and they exchanged several more sentences before Cailen rushed to his face and the look in his eyes was murderous. The tension from the scene was intense; I could feel it in the house.

Finally, with one last exchange they turned for the drive and began walking. The tall man in the middle turned and glared at the door we had entered and smiled before he disappeared around the corner.

Chills ran up my spine.

“What the fuck was that?” Lila shrieked.

“I don’t know.” My voice trembled.

Cailen stood in the yard, his chest heaving and his fists clenched at his sides. His friends huddled around him and gave him reassuring pats to his back.

He never smoothed the look on his face and his rigid posture was visible.

“I need to see what is going on. Wait here.” I said.

I unlocked the door and pulled the handle. Just as I stepped onto the stone path Cailen shouted, “Emberly go back inside!”

I stood frozen. Everything had turned upside down in a matter of hours. Something catastrophic had happened since earlier in the morning when Cailen was deep in conversation with Alick. He was keeping something from me and that just broke my heart.

My hand was frozen on the door that was still open under my grip. He must have seen my expression because he began running in my direction with a panicked look.

When he finally reached me I was still in the same position, staring. He gripped my arms and crashed me into his chest.

“Fuck. I’m so fucking sorry, Emberly. I didn’t mean to yell at you. Please forgive me. Please.” He begged, out of breath.

Words were stuck in my throat and all I could do was nod.

He pulled back and gripped my face in his hands. The look in his eyes was pure terror. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry you had to see that. That is something I never wanted you to see. God, love I am so sorry.” His eyes were pleading. “Please don’t leave, just please don’t leave. He begged.

I blinked several times and the words just burst from my mouth. “Who were those men and what the fuck do they want from you, Cailen?”

His face paled as he dropped his head to the ground and started running his hands roughly through his hair.

Lila stepped behind me and placed her hand on my arm.

Cailen looked up and glanced at her before he looked back to me. “I need to talk to you privately, please.”

“Whatever you need to say you can say it in front of Lila. She’s been through hell with me before and she’s not afraid to go there with me again.” My tone was cold.

His eyes tightened. “Please, Emberly.” His lips pressed into a tight line and I could see the anger bubbling under his skin.

“Look. I don’t know what kind of fucked up shit you’ve gotten yourself into but you are not taking Emberly down with you.” Lila hissed.

Cailen narrowed his eyes at her. “This is between Emberly and me, Lila. I would appreciate it if you would give us some privacy so we can discuss this.”

I felt her hand tighten around my arm. I took a minute to stare into his eyes before I patted her hand. “It’s ok, Lil. Go back inside and open a bottle of wine. I’ll be in in a minute. I have a feeling we’re going to be getting drunk today and that’s about it.”

She squeezed one last time and disappeared into the house.

He let out a breath. “Thank you, love. Just give me a minute to explain a few things. Ok? Then we can get ready for the ceremony.”

I huffed. “I highly doubt there is going to be a ceremony today, Cailen.”

His eyebrows pinched together and a look of utter heartbreak pierced his face. “Please don’t do this, Emberly. I can’t lose you, too. It’ll kill me. Please just don’t do this.”

“You’re not losing me Cailen but you’re not going to hide shit from me either. I’m not living my fucking life that way. I’ve seen first hand what lies and deceit do to people and I refuse to be a victim.”

I pulled my hands through my hair. “This is exactly why I never let people in. You get fucking hurt.” I said mostly to myself.

He grabbed my arms. “I will never ever hurt you, Emberly. Please know that. You are the only good thing I’ve ever had.”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “Talk to me, Cailen. Tell me what is going on.”

He nodded but seemed to be torn. “Come with me, ok?”

I nodded and he began pulling me back toward the boat. Once we were on board he led me to the cabin and sat me on the sofa. Several minutes went by as he paced the floor rubbing his face with his hands.

I sat back and stared him down.

Finally he came to a stop in front of me and looked me in the eye. “There’s a lot of bad shit that follows me from my past. No matter how much I run it always finds me.” He began pacing again. “I really thought I could be normal and I was selfish enough to pull you with me.” He turned to face me. “But now, I can’t let you go, Emberly. I can’t. I have to have you by my side, in my life.”

I prompted him with my eyes to continue. He took a sharp breath. “That man is a very bad demon from my younger days. He comes back every so often to remind me of my debt and to collect. I’ve been avoiding him for some time and he finally tracked me down.”

He pulled a chair from the dining table and placed it directly in front of me. He sat and took my hand in his. “I’m not that man anymore, Emberly. Hell, I haven’t been that person since Lorne took me in. I did terrible things in my youth and I have spent many years trying to right those wrongs but he is one wrong that keeps slapping my face.”

“Who is he?” I asked flatly.

He stared at me for several moments and his face fell into shame and sadness. “He’s a drug dealer. He lived at the same house I did when our foster mom pimped us out to women and sometimes men.” He broke our gaze shamed. “I left but those other boys stayed and it broke them, physically, mentally and spiritually. Graham left shortly after me but he resented me for leaving them all behind. I felt like I owed him for abandoning him and he took advantage of that and pulled me into working for his boss, which was the biggest heroin dealer in Europe. At first I loved it because there was so much money and booze and women. We lived high for days at a time. But I began to realize it was not the life I wanted. I hated myself when I looked in the mirror. I did really really bad things to people that I can’t even think of now. That’s when Alick found me and took me away from it all. Alick saved me.”