***
It
was 2 a.m. and I laid in Zane’s bed alone with my cell phone. I had tried
calling and texting him several times since we had gotten back to the house,
but he hadn’t responded, and he wasn’t home. I had no idea where he was or who
he was with. And I very much doubted he was still at a business dinner with the
Japanese businessmen. If there had ever really been a dinner. A single,
solitary tear fell and I closed my eyes. I was too tired and distressed to stay
up any longer. I didn’t know what to think anymore. All I knew was that Zane
and I had to have a very serious conversation.
Zane
I
opened the front door, slowly, and peeked inside before stepping in. I half
expected to see Lucky and Leeza sitting there, waiting for me. Lucky would be
in tears and Leeza would have a smug look on her face. I was surprised to see
that the living room was empty. I half-hoped that Lucky had fallen asleep early,
and didn’t realize that I had been gone the whole night. I took a deep breath
and closed the door before leaning back and closing my eyes. I hadn’t intended
on spending the night with Angelique, but I hadn’t been able to leave. I just
wanted to go to my bed and think, I needed to process everything that had
happened. It just didn’t seem real.
“Why,
good morning stranger.” Leeza walked towards me from the kitchen. “Good night
at your business meeting?” She smirked and flung her hair over her shoulders.
Even though I knew she wasn’t involved in anything shady, I still thought she
was a big bitch.
“Where’s
Lucky?” I didn’t even acknowledge her question. I knew now that she wasn’t
working with Evan to bring me down, but I still couldn’t stand talking to her.
It made me wonder what Lucky’s other friends were like.
“In
the kitchen.” She paused. “I’d go say your goodbyes if I were you.” She laughed
and the sound was as close to a cackle as I had ever heard.
“Goodbye?”
I stared at her in disdain, but my stomach was flip-flopping with worry.
“You
don’t think she’s going to stay here with you after last night, do you?” She
looked at me like I was an idiot.
“You
have no idea what you’re talking about.” My voice was cold and I wanted very
much to tell her to go back to Miami.
“I
knew you were a sleaze ball. All you care about is sex. You aren’t made for
commitment. Guys like you and Evan just use nice girls like me and Lucky.”
“I’m
sorry you feel that way, Leeza. But I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
My voice was low and I walked past her, quickly, my heart thumping fast. The
last thing I needed was to get into it with Lucky’s best friend. I was in
enough trouble as it was.
“You’re
a player Zane. I don’t care what excuses or issues you have. Lucky’s a smart
girl. I’m sure she sees through you, now.”
I
ignored her and walked into the kitchen. Lucky was standing by the island with
a glass of orange juice in her hands. She was wearing the same outfit she had
on the night before. I could tell from the tenseness in her body that she knew
I was there and she was very upset with me.
“Morning,
beautiful.” I gave her a wide smile, trying to mask my worry. She looked up at
me with red eyes and I could tell she had been crying. Shit! I should have
known she would have been worried. I had been more concerned that she would be
angry, but I knew in my heart that she must have been out of her mind with worry,
too.
“I
called you.” The words were coarse in her mouth and her eyes looked at me
unflinchingly. “I called you about ten times and you didn’t answer.”
“Sorry.
My phone battery died.” I walked closer to her. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to
call you back last night.” I reached over to take her into my arms. “I didn’t
mean to make you worry.”
“That’s
not good enough.” She walked backwards and away from me. My stomach dropped as
she looked at me with cold, hard eyes. “Where were you?”
“I
told you.” I sighed and saw her face crumple. I knew that it was time to come
out with the truth. “Okay, I’m sorry. I told you a lie last night.” I continued
after taking a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I really am.”
“You
lied to me. It’s like you can’t help yourself. You just keep on lying to me.”
She nodded, as if she were confirming something to herself. “Zane, have you had
sex with Angelique?” Her voice was loud and my heart stopped at her words. How
did she know?
“What?”
I took a deep breath, hoping that she was grasping at straws. This was not a
conversation I wanted to have.
“I
saw Braydon last night and he told me that you slept with Angelique. I didn’t
believe him, but now, I think he was right.” Her voice broke and her shoulders
trembled. “You slept with her, didn’t you?”
“You
spoke to Braydon last night?” My voice was murderous and I was furious. “Where
the fuck was Leo?” I clenched my fist in anger. How had Braydon gotten to
Lucky? What if he had done something to her? Oh my God, what if he had seen her
just a few hours after everything had gone down with Angelique and me? He would
have harmed her or even tried to kidnap her. I knew what he was capable of and
I was furious. What had Leo been thinking?
“Don’t
change the subject.” Lucky shouted at me and I stared at her, in shock. “I’m
fed up of your bullshit, Zane. All your lies and suspicions. This has nothing
to do with Leo.”
“He
was supposed to be your bodyguard, Lucky. He was supposed to be looking after
you. Anything could have happened.”
“What
could have happened, Zane? What?” Lucky came forward and pushed me. “I’m so
tired of your bullshit. Braydon’s not the one who hurt me, Zane. You are.
You’re the one who hurts me every day you lie to me. I can’t take this, Zane.”
She started crying and my heart broke. I didn’t know how to respond. “Say
something.”
“I’m
sorry.” My voice was low and I reached my hands out to her. She recoiled from
me, and I felt as if someone had just sucked away all the oxygen from my body.
“I
want more than an apology.” She came towards me and pushed. “Where were you
last night?”
“I
was with Angelique.” My voice was bleak and I watched as the light died in her
eyes. “It’s not what you think.”
“So
you’re still sleeping with her?”
“No.”
I grabbed her hands. “Please believe me.” I begged her. “Please, just listen.”
“You
knew when you were leaving last night that you were going to spend the evening
with her, didn’t you?”
I
nodded. How could I deny her the truth?
“So
it was all a lie, the bullshit about the Japanese businessmen?”
I
nodded again, willing her to understand why I had to lie. “Please let me
explain, Lucky.”
“Have
you had sex with Angelique?”
“I
did not have sex with Angelique last night.” I pleaded with her to understand.
“But
you have before?” Her breath caught. “Have you fucked her?”
“Lucky,
please.” I grabbed hold of her. “Let’s not talk about her.”
“Why
didn’t you tell me?” She cried and my heart broke at her tears. She looked so
small and tired. Her bright smile and happy eyes were dimmed and I was
responsible for making her miserable. My heart dropped as I realized that it
hadn’t been worth it. The events of the night before hadn’t been worth it. Not
if it meant I was going to lose Lucky.
“It
was a long time ago. It was one night, before she and Noah started dating. It
meant nothing, Lucky.”
“Not
to her,” she gasped through tears, daring me to refute her claim.
“I’m
sorry.” I reached my hands to my forehead and closed my eyes. It was true; I
knew Angelique still had a crush on me. It had been my in with her. I had been
her weakness. But now, now that I was standing here with Lucky, crying and
upset with me, it wasn’t worth it. None of it was worth it. Noah wouldn’t have
wanted me to ruin the relationship with the one girl I had ever loved to get my
revenge.
“I
thought we were finally getting through to each other. I thought you were
finally being honest with me. But you’re never going to be truly honest, are
you?”
“I
am honest with you, Lucky. I couldn’t tell you about Angelique.” My voice was
hoarse and I hoped she could see how sincere I was. “I couldn’t tell you Lucky.
Please believe me.”
“You
couldn’t tell me or you didn’t want to tell me?”
“Look,
it’s true that we slept together once, but that was a long time ago. Last
night’s dinner was something that had been planned for a long time, since before
we even came to Los Angeles.”
“I
see.” Her face paled and she looked down.
“It
wasn’t a romantic dinner, Lucky.” I sighed and brought her face up to mine.
“Look at me, please. I’ve been working with the FBI and the DEA to catch
Braydon for selling drugs. Their investigations showed that Braydon was
connected to some powerful drug lords in Mexico and Braydon is one of the biggest
traffickers in the city. They needed my help because he is an actor and he’s
well-protected. It has been hard for them to get any real dirt or concrete
evidence on him. Angelique and he were good friends, and the FBI thought that,
if I maintained my friendship with Angelique, I could get even closer to the
real dirt in the group.”
Lucky
frowned and looked away, but I knew she was paying attention and really
listening. My heart pounded as I continued my story, hoping that Lucky would
understand everything and forgive me for leaving her in the dark.
“So
I’ve been playing friendly with Angelique, hoping she would be able to provide
me with some information.”
“She
knew you were trying to bring down Braydon?” Lucky’s voice was hurt.
“No,
no.” I shook my head. “No one knew that Braydon was suspected of being a major
drug trafficker. I couldn’t tell anyone. But last night, Angelique let
something slip. She told me she was leaving the country for a couple of months.
I thought she meant because she was so upset over Noah, but she gave me an odd
look. And then it all hit me at once.”
“What
hit you?” Lucky’s face was confused and I slowed down.
“I
had a conversation with the Agent in charge of the case yesterday, I’m sorry I
didn’t tell you. He told me that Braydon had a partner, someone who was
actually running the show. I thought it was Evan and I suspected Leeza of being
here to do something bad to you.”
“Oh
Zane.” Lucky looked upset and then angry. “Why didn’t you tell me any of this?
Shouldn’t I have been warned if you suspected that about my best friend?”
“I
asked Leo to keep an eye on Leeza and all her movements.”
Lucky
was silent and I could see her eyes becoming more distant. “I was wrong about
Evan and Leeza. I owe her an apology, I suppose.” I made a face, but Lucky
didn’t laugh, so I continued. “Angelique was the partner. She was the perfect
foil. No one would ever suspect a beautiful supermodel of running a huge drug
cartel.”
“Angelique
is a drug trafficker?” Lucky’s mouth dropped open. “What?”
“I
know.” I shook my head. “It turns out that she and Braydon have been working
together for years, and she was the brains behind the whole thing.”
“She
was the brains?” Lucky made such a funny face that I laughed and she scowled at
me. “I’m not forgiving you that easily, Zane. Why were you out all night?”
“I
wasn’t in her bed, even though she wanted me to be.” I cut myself off before I
made the situation worse. “Look, Angelique came from a very poor family, and in
all her life, all she has ever wanted was money. After our alliance, I blew her
off and I guess I became a bit of a challenge to her. Men didn’t reject her - she
rejected them. I think she convinced herself, in her own sick way, that she
loved me, or rather she was trying to do everything she could to get me, to
prove something to herself. I have never wanted to be with her. And I’ve never
really liked her. Last night, when I realized that Angelique was Braydon’s
partner, I called my contact at the FBI. He told me to stay until they could
get over there. Well, let’s just say they didn’t get over until about 3 a.m.”
“It’s
10 a.m. now.” She glared.
“I
was taken in for questioning.” I grabbed her hands. “I’m so sorry, Lucky.
Please forgive me. I never thought this would happen.”
“You
thought I’d just continue being a fool in the dark, here? Waiting for you to
get back from your fake business meeting?” She cried out, but she didn’t remove
her hands from mine.
“No,
Lucky, never that. I wanted to tell you but …” I paused at the look in her
eyes.
“But
you didn’t trust me.” She snapped.
“I
do trust you.”
“You
don’t trust me to look after myself or to be safe. You don’t trust me, Zane.
What do I have to do to show you that I love you and I’m here for you? I’m not
a little kid or some fragile doll. I can handle the truth, Zane. Life has
thrown some shit my way, as well, and I survived. I’m strong. I’m a strong
woman. And I can’t be in a relationship with someone who doesn’t see that.”