RISE - Part Two (The RISE Series Book 2) (4 page)

He turns slowly to look at me. "I followed him when he left the plane after we landed."

I lean forward as I feel my breath stall.

"I tapped him on the shoulder." He blows a puff of air out between his lips. "When he turned around I called him a selfish son-of-a-bitch and I walked away."

––––––––

I
t's completely irrational for me to feel a rush of pain at the knowledge that Landon knew his father was alive yet he kept that to himself. We haven't known one another long. He'd shared details about his father's death at a time when he knew there was a strong possibility that the man was still alive. How can I fault him for that? I haven't shared every small detail of my past life with Ansel with him. I can't expect more from him, can I?

"After I spoke to him," he stops to correct himself. "After I told him he was a son-of-a-bitch, he pushed a piece of paper into my hand."

My gaze falls to his hands. "What did the paper say?"

"It was a number...a phone number," he stammers. "I went straight to the police station after that."

Again, I've never traveled the path that his life has so I can't judge his actions. I doubt that I'd head to a police station after finding out someone I loved is still alive, but maybe I'm just not capable of understanding all the emotional facets of what he's dealt with.

The question that is poised at the end of my tongue is 'why' but I'm not going there. "What did the police say?"

That feels more comfortable and much less confrontational. We're moving through the events of his father's reappearance at a snail's pace but it's Landon's choice. If I push him, I sense that whatever details he is willingly sharing will be replaced with clipped answers that are void of anything but what I've already witnessed myself.

"They called in a detective who was familiar with my father." He taps his foot on the floor, causing his knee to jerk up and down quickly. "He had been building a case against my father when he died...I mean, when we thought he had died."

Since he touched briefly on the fact that his father wasn't a saint before, I'm not surprised by his words. I knew the man wasn't perfect but based on what he's saying now, those shortcomings fell on the wrong side of the law. "What did he do?"

"The detective?" He furrows his brow as he reaches for my wineglass to take a drink. "He wanted all the details about what my father looked like now, where he'd boarded the flights and if I knew what name he was traveling under."

I don't have the heart to tell him that he misinterpreted my question. I simply nod.

"He took the piece of paper from me and asked if I'd help them apprehend my dad. I made the initial call to him. After that he called me back to set up a time to come here to see me and they came to pick him up."

I glance down at my watch not because I care what time it is, but because I know that my time with him is likely going to end as soon as his mother boards a flight in Boston. She's going to be his priority and once she learns that her husband is still alive, she's going to need Landon to be there for her.

"Am I keeping you from something?"

I cringe when I realize he caught me peering at the time. "No, not at all. You'll have to go when your mom's plane lands, won't you?"

He rests one of his arms over the back of the sofa. "I'm not leaving here until you understand what happened. I want to answer every question you have, Tess."

I scan his face hoping to see genuine concern there. I sigh when I do. "What did your father do, Landon? What could he have possibly done that made him fake his own death?"

His eyes fall to his lap. "The list is so long. He's done horrible things to so many people."

"What things?" I push. "You told me before that he did things that are inexcusable."

He takes a deep breath before he starts to speak. "Some of the people he worked with back then said he faked legal documents and pocketed money from his clients, he stole their homes right out from under them and there's something else."

"What?" I look at his profile. "What else did he do?"

"The police think he hurt someone. They think he may have been involved in the disappearance of a woman."

I don't need to hear more. This is beyond anything I could have imagined when I was trying to decipher what Landon meant when he told me his father had made mistakes. It's a world I'm not familiar with and judging by the expression on Landon's face, it's a world he wants no part of either.

***

"W
hat's going to happen now?" I ask quietly as he walks back towards the sofa.

He'd taken another call from his mother. He'd urged her to get on a flight tonight but had reluctantly agreed to meet her at the airport tomorrow morning. He reassured her again that he was fine and that he'd explain everything as soon as he saw her. I watched as the muscles in his bare shoulders tensed as he told her he loved her and couldn't wait to see her.

"I have to tell my mother." His voice breaks slightly. "I need to tell my brother too."

"Is he still in Paris?"

He exhales harshly. "He is. I left him three messages today. I need him back here. I want him to hear what's happening from me. I can't stand the thought of him reading about our father in the papers."

It's the expected words of an older brother who cares deeply for his sibling. I have sensed a bond between the two but when he told me they had lost touch, I hadn't pressed. I know, from my own experiences with my siblings, that life has a way of straining those connections.

"You have so much to deal with," I say honestly. "If I can help you with anything, I want to."

It's a meager gesture that doesn't hold any roots in reality. My relationship with Landon is new and fresh. The circumstances he's been thrust into with his family are old and etched with a pain that's been held beneath the surface for more than a decade. I can't help this man. I know that. I sense he feels that too.

"I know it's a lot to deal with." He turns to face me. "If it gets to be too much, I need you to tell me. I want you to take a step back if you have to."

The words disappoint me even if my expression doesn't show it. I nod slowly, trying to shield my eyes from him. "I'll tell you if it's too much."

"There are going to be people who won't understand why I worked with the police to have my father arrested." He taps his foot on the floor. "I saw the pain in the faces of the people he fucked over. He has to pay for that."

I know instinctively that the people he's referring to are his mother and brother. It may have been difficult for him to notify the police when he first thought his father was alive, but the conversations he's going to have with his family, will be angst filled. I can sense the trepidation he's already feeling in his stance.

"For what it's worth," I begin as I pull myself to my feet. "I think you did the right thing."

"That's worth everything to me." He reaches to cup my face in his hands. "Your opinion matters more to me than anyone else."

––––––––

I
try to adjust my eyes to the darkness to make out the dim numbers on the clock that sits on the bedside table. It's just after midnight.

After Landon had cut up some fruit for the two of us to eat in place of dinner, he'd taken me to the bed to lie next to him. I knew that his touch wouldn't shift to anything more than an arm circling my clothed waist.

He wanted to rest for a few minutes and he asked me to stay with him while he did that. His breathing leveled within moments and as I felt the gentle rise and fall of his chest against my back, I'd fallen asleep as well.

It's only a few hours later now and I know that I shouldn't sneak off into the darkness without waking him to say goodbye.

I stare down at his face. He looks so peaceful. Anyone seeing him like this wouldn't know the demons that are haunting him. He has to tell the two most important people in his life that the reality that they thought existed for more than a decade has been an absolute lie.

He's been pushed into the position of being the bearer of bad news. He didn’t ask for it yet he has to tell his mother in the morning that the man she never stopped loving betrayed her. He'll sit with his younger brother to explain that the years he spent grieving the loss of his father were time wasted.

All the thoughts swirling in my head about Landon's dad jolt me into the realization that I haven't spoken to mine all day. I had noticed two missed calls from him before I left my office, but my dad can sense if anything isn't right in my world just from the sound of my voice.

I don't know how I can explain any of this to him given the fact that he slips into a mild panic attack whenever I catch a cold or the flu. I know, without any doubt, that if I tell him about Landon's father, that he'll make me promise that I won't see him again. I can't do that. I won't.

I slide off the bed while holding my breath. I walk silently across the hardwood floors, grateful that I kicked my heels off shortly after I got to his apartment.

I retrieve my phone from where I left it on the coffee table. There are two more missed calls from my father in addition to three voicemails. He texted me as well, which speaks volumes about his concern. He's not technical and the auto correct feature on his phone has to work overtime when he is composing a message to me.

I stifle the uncontrollable urge to giggle as I read his message. It's rife with spelling errors but the gist of it is clear. He's worried and he needs to hear from me before he can sleep.

I dial his number and hear the instant relief in his voice when he answers.

"Tess, sweetheart, what's going on?"

I pull in a heavy sigh before I speak in a veiled whisper. "Everything is fine, dad. I've just had a busy day."

"A busy day?" I can sense the skepticism in his tone. "What's his name?"

I smile at the inference that my time is being stolen away by a man. My father has a sixth sense when it comes to me. He knows when I'm holding anything back. "His name is Gabriel Foster. I told you about him. He's the reason I'm coming to see you."

"I read about him. He's a big deal."

He's the biggest deal in terms of my career right now. If I can keep my dad focused on that part of my life, it will buy me more time to think about how to bring up Landon and his family. "He likes my work a lot, dad. If I do a good job in Los Angeles, I think I'll be the go-to person for event planning for his company."

The line is silent which can only mean one thing. My father disagrees with what I just said and he's trying to find the right words to diplomatically correct me.

I decide to let him off the hook. "I know you think I shouldn't count my eggs before they hatch but this is different. He could have hired any event planner for this and he didn't. He hired me."

"There are a lot of people like you here, Tess."

I bite my lip realizing how callous that sounds even though I know that's far from his intention. "There are a lot of event planners in California and the fact that he didn't hire any of them, says something. He hired me."

"You're right, sweetheart," he acquiesces. "I don't know if you know this but Ansel is there. He's in New York."

I knew my father would bring it up. I half expected him to drop that bomb on me within the first twenty seconds of our phone call. I'm glad he didn't. "I saw him."

"You saw him?"

"Briefly." I glance over my shoulder towards Landon's kitchen. I need something to drink.

"How did that go?"

My dad is working hard to temper his reaction to the fact that I saw my ex-boyfriend. He's never admitted it, but I saw the disappointment that clouded his eyes when I told him that I'd ended the relationship. He had high hopes that Ansel and I would build a life together.

"It was fine," I admit. "We ran into each other on the street. I was busy, he was busy. It was fine."

"Did he upset you?"

I'm touched by the shift in his tone from blatant curiosity to compassion. "Ansel didn't upset me at all. I felt nothing when I saw him."

"Nothing?" I hear a faint chuckle woven into the word.

"It's over, dad," I begin before I stop to take a breath. "I actually met someone new. I really like him."

"You have a new boyfriend?" He doesn't try to mask his happiness. "Tell me all about him."

"He's a good man, dad." I close my eyes to try to quell the need I feel to confess everything about Landon to my father. "I'll tell you more about him when we talk again."

"As long as you like him, sweetheart, that matters most."

"Thank you, dad," I say relieved. "I'll call you tomorrow. I love you."

I end the call after he tells me he loves me too and just as I'm about to stand to head to the kitchen to get a glass of water, I feel a hand on my shoulder. I'm not startled. I don't scream. I reach for it and pull it into mine.

––––––––

"I
need you." His hands yank my clothing off before I have time to realize what's happening.

He'd kissed me after I leaned back to look up at him. I have no idea how long he stood behind the sofa listening to me talk to my father, but I didn't care. I'd spoken the truth to my dad about Landon. He is a good man. He's the best man I've ever met and when I felt his hand on my shoulder, I knew that we'd end up back here, in his bed.

"Landon," I whisper his name into the darkness. "I want to touch you."

The only response is a low growl and his hands gripping my waist. I can feel his erection pushing against my hip through the thin material of his sweatpants.

I reach back, wanting to circle my hand around the width. I want to touch him. I want him to know that I want and need his body as much tonight as I did the first night he made love to me. Nothing has changed beyond the fact that I feel closer to him now than I ever have before.

"I want you on your knees."

I try to turn to give him exactly what he wants. I shamelessly whimper as he stops me in place.

"On the bed, Tess. Get on your knees now."