Joel Castellanos had chosen me for his bride. Everything would get better. I just had to make it to the wedding and survive the next three years without my family. But I’d do anything to keep Eden and my father safe.
“I was um…chosen, Dad. Just like I hoped.”
“Of course you were. I had no doubt you would be. You’re perfection from top to toe,” he blustered.
I pressed my lips together allowing that sweet compliment to remind me that I too had something to give to Joel.
“Look, Dad, I’ll be transferring a large sum of money into your bank account.” I forced my hand away from Joel’s and turned toward the window to give myself the illusion of privacy. “Use it for the medical bills and whatever else you and Eden need. There will be a lot more available after the wedding. I promise things will be better soon.”
“Cara mia… I don’t like what you are doing. It goes against everything I could ever want for you.” His tone was stressed and clogged with emotion.
Tears filled my eyes and fell down my cheeks. I dashed them away without a thought. “The money is going to take care of our biggest concerns. Tell Eden that I love her very much and I’ll come see her soon. When it’s safe. Okay?”
“You should be able to tell her that yourself. She needs you, Faith. Every day she asks about you. Every day I tell her soon, knowing I’m lying to my grandchild.”
“It’s not a lie if it’s true. I will see you both very soon.” I inhaled sharply because I had to ask. “You’re keeping her away from Grace, aren’t you, Dad?” I cringed, hoping for the right answer. Dad didn’t want Gracie rubbing off on Eden any more than I did, but he had a soft spot for his girls. And my sister was exactly like our mother. She could worm her way into his home and his heart in a single conversation. I’d seen her do it many times in the past.
“No, Faith. Grace has never so much as asked about Eden. She did come to the restaurant last month and beg for some money. I gave it to her, only because I needed her to leave. Eden was inside the office coloring, and I didn’t want to risk a confrontation. I know you don’t want her laying eyes on Eden, and I’ve agreed to that request, because it’s what’s best for my grandchild. But one day… All of this has to stop. The lies. The fear. The hatred. We used to be a family, cara. Now it feels like we’re in witness protection, constantly living a lie.”
I closed my eyes and let the familiar pain score another laceration upon my soul. I needed the pain, anger, and hate. The pain made me strong. The anger drove me. And the hate… That kept me focused on what mattered most.
“I’m sorry, Dad. Please let me know what happens when the cops arrive. I love you,” I whispered and abruptly hung up. I couldn’t deal with his guilt on top of it all. I pressed my heated forehead to the cool glass of the window.
Suddenly, two warm arms came around me and turned me sideways, so I was curled against Joel’s solid chest. He ran his hand from the crown of my head down my hair. “Whatever is happening, sweetheart, I will help fix it. If you’ll only let me in, I swear, it will be my honor to help make your life easier.”
With those kind words ringing through my ears, I cried harder against his chest.
Every time I felt like I was getting a step ahead, finding a new normal, life caught up with me and pushed me two steps back.
The limo came to a stop at the circular entry to The Alexandra. When the driver opened the door, Joel slid out and reached for my hand. I put mine within his and then stood super close to his body as I scanned the entrance and the open space around us.
Joel stiffened as I cowered against him, but gamely wrapped an arm around my shoulders, keeping me close, and briskly led me into his property. He didn’t so much as stop until we were through a private elevator that led straight to the penthouse.
Once inside, he led me over to a gleaming wooden bar topped with marble. He curved his long fingers around the edge of a stool and gestured for me to take a seat. I did so without a word and watched as he went around the bar and pulled out two tumblers and an expensive bottle of whiskey. He poured two fingers’ worth into each and then slid one crystal glass over toward me.
He lifted the drink and slammed back the fiery spirit in one go. I followed along, slugging back the drink until my stomach burned with a pleasurable heat. He poured another two fingers and then lifted his glass. I raised mine to meet his.
“To a better life…” he stated, his eyes blazing with an intensity that mesmerized me.
I clinked his glass and repeated his words. “To a better life,” I whispered, wanting that reality more than anything.
He took a drink, set the glass down, and pressed both of his palms flat to the top of the bar. “Now tell me, Faith. Who is after you, and what do they want?”
I licked my lips and bit into the bottom one as I traced a finger around the rim of my glass. I’d been running for so long, putting my entire life on hold, shutting my father out, keeping secrets upon secrets in order to keep it all going.
“I don’t know you, Joel. How can I trust you when every person I’ve ever trusted has betrayed me?”
“Fair enough. Let’s start with the easy part. Who wants to hurt you?”
I closed my eyes and looked out the floor-to-ceiling windows across from us. Sin City sparkled like a diamond in a mine against the dark desert backdrop. I’d been out on those streets, hiding in shitholes, sleeping on filthy couches, cowering in roach-infested motels. Whatever it took to escape.
“My ex-fiancé. Aiden Bradford.”
Joel leaned back against the bar, crossed his arms over his chest, and pursed his lips before cocking an eyebrow. “You mean to tell me you were engaged to be married to Aiden Bradford—the scummy hotelier?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“He’s a monster,” Joel stated as if this was news to me.
“Uh, yeah,” I repeated.
He frowned deeply and shoved off the edge of the bar. “And he obviously thinks he owns you. Do you owe him money?”
I shook my head. “I didn’t take a dime of his money.” I may have taken something else from Aiden, but he didn’t know that and he never would.
“Then why is he dead set on finding you?”
I shrugged. “Because I left, and no one leaves Aiden unless he’s done with you. He’s made that very clear by trailing me across the US. Once he found me, he’d bring me back kicking and screaming. He’d lock me away in one of his gilded cages until he was ready to play with me again. Except the last time I escaped his hold over me, I threatened to put him in jail.”
“And why would you threaten that?” Joel tipped his head to the side, his attention one hundred percent focused on me.
Faith, if you can’t trust the man who’s going to be your husband, who can you trust? I warred with myself for a full minute.