Truth (81 page)

“
You’re mine.” His words
weren’t debatable. He wasn’t asking.

“
Tony, bed...
please?”

“
I’m trying so hard. You
have no idea the restraint I’m enlisting...yet, all I can think
about are
his
hands on you.”

“
Tony, I’m fine. I’m all
right. I’m with you.”

“
But, you weren’t. You
were with him.”

“
He just wanted your
money...”

Tony clutched her frame. His dark eyes
burned with desire and despair. “I’m not talking about
Chester.”

Claire froze. Her heart
pounded in her chest. Somewhere deep, she knew the scene in the
hospital went too well. She framed Tony’s face and watched as he
searched her emerald eyes. With all her might, she tried to keep
them subdued. “
I
wasn’t with
you,”
she whispered. “
We
weren’t together.”

His loud visceral response was
unreadable.

“
But now...” her lips
touched his, “now, I want to be...
please,
Tony.”

One of the hands which held her waist now
roughly seized her loose damp hair, pulling her head back, and
exposing her slender neck. His lips met the soft skin with equal
force. A shocked moan escaped her lips. Tony’s unbridled passion
ignited her, creating a sudden rush of heat overpowering any
impulses of pain crying out from her tender scalp. His rough
stubble scratched her collar bone, and his voice resonated
throughout the suite like a low growl, “Are you sure?”

The fervent lust tightened her insides.
Momentarily, speech was lost. Finally, she whimpered, “I am.”

He continued his unrelenting assault,
holding her tighter, wildly claiming everything before him. His
fire consumed everything in its path, a passion which held no
bounds. Claire never felt so desired; her whole body ached for his
touch. When he paused she saw the flames in his dark eyes. The
inferno wasn’t frightening; it fueled her desire. His low growl
became more demanding, “You are mine.”

She kissed his stubbly neck, hearing, as
well as feeling, a rumble from the back of his throat. Once again
he pulled her hair, tipped her head, and bathed her in the aroma of
whiskey. His glaring abyss penetrated as he demanded, “Say it!”

Her emerald eyes begged for understanding,
uncertain of what he wanted.

“
Say you are mine and
nobody else’s.”

Despite his command and
her powerful yearning, Claire’s eyes shone. Her voice resonated
above his growl, “Yes, Tony,
you
are mine and nobody else’s.”

She watched. A spark penetrated his dark
gaze – a flash of light where only moments before darkness
prevailed. Through the crack in his facade of domination, he
responded. It began as a whisper and rose in volume. “Yes...mighty
fine and sexy as hell,” claiming her lips he added, “and mine!”

Suddenly, he stood, seized her wrist and
pulled her up toward the bedroom. Before she could comment, the
world shifted and she was upon the king sized bed. His hungry mouth
on hers made protesting impossible. Truly, it wasn’t her plan.

Once her breathing became labored, he moved
to the end of the bed. Beginning at her ankles he worked his way
toward her injuries. Each touch released energy, freed aggression,
and exposed affection. If she winced, he caressed. If she moaned,
he encouraged. With each kiss, each touch, Tony reminded Claire of
her desires. The outside world was lost... gone beyond
comprehension. He elicited thoughts and desires she’d
compartmentalized away. His lips found places she’d abandoned. His
teeth nipped at nubs which yearned for attention. His long talented
fingers and skillful tongue probed and tantalized. Within no time,
Claire found herself begging for mercy and at the same time
pleading for more.

It was different than the
day in the condo or from her visit to Iowa. It was different than
ever before. This was deep, raw, and primal -- unbridled carnal
passion. While it started with possession, its culmination was
unification and reconciliation. Tony began this ecstasy, but Claire
met him move for move. Truthfully, she didn’t like the reports of
him with other women, either. The handsome, possessive,
domineering, loving man before her was
hers
. And although she wasn’t ready
to commit, she wanted everything he offered.

When they finally submitted to sleep, no
desire was left unfulfilled.

The next morning at Amber’s condo, they were
met by a crew of men to carry her belongings from the fourth floor
to a waiting van and from the van to his airplane. While the men
moved her things, Claire’s mail arrived.

If she hadn’t already been
frightened into moving to Iowa, the package she received would have
pushed her over the edge. It was a large, light, thick, soft,
manila envelope addressed in handwriting Claire didn’t recognize,
with no return address. She didn’t want to seem paranoid; after
all, it was addressed to:
Claire
Nichols
. Nevertheless, when she opened the
envelope and a small yellow layette fell to the floor with a note
which simply read:
Congratulations.
Claire feared she’d faint. Tony assessed the
package.

They both knew it was a threat, not only
aimed at Claire, but at their baby. Yet, the benign nature gave
them nothing they could take to the police.

Tony grabbed Claire’s purse and phone and
immediately walked her from the condominium to his rental car.
“We’re going to the airport. Whatever you want that doesn’t make
this move can be sent later. I don’t want you here another
minute.”

Claire broke down in the passenger’s seat,
no longer able to contain her tears. She didn’t know what the
future held, only that she needed to get away from California.

Once they were safely in the air and flying
east, Claire’s anxiety began to lessen. Lying on the long white
leather sofa with her head on Tony’s lap, she closed her eyes. The
hum of the engines pacified as he smoothed her long hair away from
her wounded face. His words surprised her.

“
Claire, this whole mess
is my fault. I’m so sorry.”

She sat up. He looked older, less confident,
perhaps even frightened. “What do you mean it’s your fault?”

“
That man, Patrick
Chester. He attacked you because of me.”

“
That’s not your fault.
It’s because of your money. That’s not your fault.” She touched his
cheek. “I know you were overbearingly controlling before, but I get
it. I think about our baby. If I could, I’d never let him or her
leave the estate. There are too many crazy people out
there.”

“
I’ll hire you security.
For the time being I don’t want you going anywhere without
them.”

Claire nodded. “I don’t like it, but I’ll do
it. But...” she looked him in the eye. “I will come and go as I
please, or I’m leaving.”

His back straightened and he reached for her
chin. “Remember what you just said about our child?”

“
I’m not a child. I will
not risk my life or our child’s.” She exhaled. “I can see why
informing you of my activities is important, but I’m not asking
permission.”

He closed his eyes and exhaled, “You will
have someone with you.”

She noticed it wasn’t a question. “Yes,
Tony. I will take whomever you hire as a body guard with me. But
does this person have to be with me on the estate?”

He released her chin. “I don’t know. This is
all new to me.” He gently squeezed her hand, “We can feel it out
together.”

Claire nodded and laid her head back on his
lap.

“
Can I tell you a
story?”

She looked up at his face. He wasn’t looking
down at her, but staring away to another time and another place.
Claire nodded, “Yes.”

“
There was this man --
young man, actually. He didn’t have the greatest role models
growing up. The positive traits he saw in people and what he
learned to respect were power, unbridled control over those around
him, veracity, and ambition, the belief that nothing was beyond his
reach – nothing, meaning the acquiring of a company, money, or even
people. And reliability -- once a promise was made, no matter what,
it was kept.”

Claire listened as Tony spoke about this
young man who emulated his grandfather. In his own way, he’d made
his grandfather into the person everyone would want to be. Few
people truly knew the grandfather. Of those that did, most disliked
him. However, they respected him and his abilities. That was until
some decisions he made and people he trusted turned on him. The
young man’s father helped in the family demise. The only support
this young man believed he had was from his grandfather and his
grandfather’s new wife.

Claire followed along until this point.
Nathaniel had a new wife? She remembered reading where Sharron
Rawls died years before his arrest. Why hadn’t she seen anything
about another wife? She wanted to ask, but never before had Tony
shared. She remained silent, hoping he’d reveal more.

Tony went on explaining:
emotions were high, threats and promises were made. The new wife
and this young man’s parents did not get along. One night there was
an incident. Tony looked down into Claire’s eyes; he
rephrased
an accident
. It wasn’t intentional, but things got out of control. The
young man wasn’t there. He arrived too late to help his parents.
Since they were beyond help, he chose to help the woman his
grandfather loved. The only person who could refute the premise of
murder/ suicide was a neighbor. That neighbor, like everyone else,
had a price. For over twenty years the young man worked to shield
the woman he promised his grandfather he would protect.

Tony’s eyes once again met Claire’s. “When I
changed my name, I hoped to distance myself from the Rawls sins.
I’m not sure how or why Patrick Chester made the connection from
Anton Rawls to Anthony Rawlings, but I’m so sorry he did.”

Claire sat up, “It’s my fault.”

His eyes refocused, “What? How?”

“
We found his name on a
police report. Your parents’ injuries weren’t consistent with
murder/suicide. Patrick Chester lived in a very nice neighborhood
with very nice cars. His lifestyle didn’t match his profession or
income. He had an annual installment that continued to grow. We
suspected the annual payments were payoffs for silence. In the
original report he mentioned a woman in a blue Honda. The woman was
never mentioned again. A month or more ago, I went to his
house.”

Tony’s regret changed to hostility before
her eyes, “You did what?”

Claire couldn’t justify her behavior. She
melted against the soft cushions, “I know-- it was stupid.”

His hands were on her shoulders, “Why would
you even think...”

She allowed the tears to
fall, “It wasn’t
your
fault. It was mine. I’m the one who put our baby at risk.”
His arms surrounded her. With her face pressed against his chest,
she asked, “The woman, she wasn’t your aunt was she?” Claire felt
Tony shaking his head. “She was your
grandmother
?”

He shrugged, “I guess. I’ve never really
thought of her that way. My parents successfully petitioned her and
Nathaniel’s marriage to be voided. She wasn’t legally able to
maintain the name Rawls.”

“
You’ve been paying for
her freedom for all these years. Do you ever see her?”

“
I do. But she doesn’t
want to be identified.”

Claire nodded. She didn’t blame the lady.
There was no statute of limitations on murder in California; the
less people that knew, the better. “Thank you for telling me the
truth.”

He pushed her away and looked into her eyes,
“No more detective work.” This again wasn’t a question. Claire
nodded and settled against his chest. Inhaling his cologne and
listening to the beat of his heart, Claire closed her eyes. She
didn’t want to ponder the new information. She wanted it all to go
away.

Claire awoke as the plane touched down in
Iowa.

Your memory is a monster;
you forget - it doesn't. It simply files things away.
It keeps things for you, or hides things from you -- and summons
them
to your recall with a will of its own.
You think you have a memory; but it has you!
– John Irving 

Chapter
55

Over the next few days and weeks Claire
settled into an old, yet unfamiliar, pattern on Tony’s estate.
Things were different and the same. She had her iPhone and iPad.
Tony even bought her a new laptop; her old one was still missing.
Apparently, the police found Patrick Chester’s van and hotel room.
Unfortunately, the laptop was in neither place. His house in Santa
Monica was also thoroughly searched. Nothing was there either. His
wife and daughter were shocked. They had no idea why a loving
husband and father would decide to kidnap someone. Repeatedly, they
told the police and press, “This wasn’t like him at all. We don’t
understand what drove him to such behavior.”

The missing laptop led everyone to assume
there might be an undetected accomplice. For that reason, Claire
was more than content to stay behind the large iron gates. She
rarely left the estate. When she did, it was usually to attend
functions with Tony. The first few dates on their prearranged
schedule were missed due to her appearance. Claire didn’t want the
press taking pictures of her with the remnants of Patrick Chester’s
handiwork around her eye or on her cheeks. During those first few
weeks she called friends and family. Courtney and Sue made multiple
visits. She even told them about the baby.