Falling Hard (Hidden Secrets Book 6) (11 page)

She nodded her head, her eyes filled with fear. Drying off, she put her long silk gown on. It was the sexiest damn number to wear to bed and flashed nothing. Pulling the robe over it, she wrapped it tightly around her and walked into my arms that I held open. The knocking continued. When it didn’t stop, I knew that whoever was out there knew Kristy was in here. Kissing her deeply on the lips, I ran my hands up and down her back before pushing her back into the shower stall.

“Stay here. Don’t come out for any reason. Do you hear me? If anything…”

She clung to me, sobbing. “Nate, no please.”

“If anything happens to me,” I say, cupping her face. “Get out of here, however you can. Just get out of here and run.”

“Nate no,” she shook her head, tears streaming down her face. “Please don’t do this.”

“Promise me, Kristy. Please promise me that you’ll do as I ask. You’re safety means everything to me. Please do this for me.”

Finally she nodded, but her tears didn’t stop. Kissing her one more time, I walk out of the bathroom. Closing the door behind me, I prayed that she kept her promise. I needed her to keep her promise. Anger surged through me and I harnessed it. Anger allowed me to focus. Anger gave me strength. These bastards were after the woman I love. To hell if I was letting them touch her.

Quietly, I pull the chain from the door. Then I pop the door open, but did not open it fully. Instead, I stepped back around the corner out of sight of anyone coming in. This allowed me the chance to check who my attackers were and how many. It would be completely naïve of me to think that only one person stood on the other side of that door. After a few minutes, the door crept open. With a small mirror from the kit that Kristy got on our shopping trip, I watched as three guys came in.

Once the first one reached me the other two would know I was there and would quickly be three against one. No matter what, these asshats were not making it anywhere near my woman.

They’re ruining the time you have left with her. Kick all their asses for every fucking second they are taking you away from Kristy.

On that thought, I shot out with my elbow into the back of the first guy’s neck, knocking him out instantly. Guy two and three rushed me then. One slammed me against the wall, while the other punched me in the stomach. Head butting the one that held me against the wall, he stumbled backwards, allowing me to turn to the other guy.

Right hook… Left hook… Right hook…

Right hook… Left hook… Uppercut…

The guy collapsed against the wall sliding down in a heap on the floor. The third guy stood unease, swaying a bit. Blood trickled down his head and from his mouth.

“She’s ours. Hand her over,” the guy tried to scare me in his tone and glare, but he failed when he flinched as I lifted my hand to wipe the blood that was getting into my eye.

“Not a fucking chance. That’s my girl and I’ll be damned if I let your grimy hands touch her. Vin can kiss my ass. He doesn’t scare me, but he should be very afraid of me. No one messes with my girl,” I growl and the guy takes a step back.

“My instructions are to take her by whatever means necessary,” he said, pulling a gun from his pants. “Guess I’m going to have to kill you first.”

BANG!

It was a blur of action. How it all happened? I don’t know. One minute he’s pointing the gun at me as I’m running toward him. The gun goes off, as I sack him to the floor. Immediately gaining my ground, I started laying into him. Yelling at him as I punched him to keep his hands away from my girl.

The door bursts open then and hotel security comes in tackling me. It’s a loud commotion of screaming and shouting. I was hauled up off the floor and pressed chest first into the wall with my arms held behind my back.

“I’ve detained the suspect,” the guy that held me yelled.

“Those guys came into my room and attacked me.”

“This is your room?”

“Yes,” I hissed as he lifted my arms a little higher.

“State your name.”

“Nathan Lane. Been here for a couple of months now. Jacob Williams is being billed for my room. I live in the United States.” I rambled off anything and everything to prove who I was.

He talked into a radio for a minute, and then finally released me. “I’m sorry. Do you know what they came in here for?”

“They are men that work for Vin West. They want my girlfriend. I knocked the first one out before he could do anything, and then was attacked by the other two. When I had the other guy on his ass, that one there pulled a gun and you came in on the last of it.”

“Okay. The ambos are on their way to check you out and clean you up. The detectives are coming up now to take your statement and contain the scene.”

Sitting there, I kept staring at the bathroom door. I wanted her to stay in there until all this was over. She didn’t need to be a part of this. She didn’t need her name in any deeper with that man than it was already. I wanted this son of a bitch to come for me.

After I was checked over and given my statement, everyone finally left and I was thankful. Kristy didn’t come out of the room at all. Which both had me worried and relieved. Taking a deep breath, I walked to the bathroom door and opened it.

“Kristy?”

Just as I got her name out, she ran out colliding against me with such force, I stumbled back against the wall. She shook in my arms and her tears dampened my shirt. Holding her tightly, I ran my hands all over her body to make sure she was okay.

“Are you okay?” I croaked out through my emotionally clogged throat.

She pulls back quickly. “Am I okay? You idiot! Are you okay?”

“I’m fine now that you are in my arms.”

Kristy laughed softly. “You are such a man. Really, are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I was more worried about you.”

My time was drawing to an end. I couldn’t hide out here forever. I had a job back home. It hurt because a lot would be lost. My heart for one. My heart would not leave with me, but if she chose to fight me, beg me to stay. I would in a heartbeat. I’ve taken a risk in love before and it bit me in the ass. I need her to take the risk on me. I needed her to tell me she felt the same way I do. If she does, I won’t be leaving Australia. Or if I did, she’d be coming with me.

Just as she leaned up to kiss me, my phone started ringing. Ignoring it, I claimed her lips with my own. Walking her out to our room, slowly lowering her to the bed, she pulled my shirt over my head and ran her hands up my chest causing me to flinch in pain.

Kristy started to cry again. Lying next to her, I pulled her into my arms and held her as she cried. Eventually, we fell asleep. Not a good night's sleep either. Every little noise I heard outside had me jerking awake and checking to see what was going on out there before crawling back into bed with Kristy and falling back asleep.

I was just in the barely asleep stage, when knocking jerked me all the way awake. Kristy shot up with me and stared at me wide eyed. She began to shake.

“Go to the bathroom. Stay put until I come and get you. Okay?”

She nodded, but didn’t move.

“Go now.”

She kissed me hard before running off into the bathroom, closing the door quietly. Quickly, I grabbed my shirt and threw it on before creeping up to the door. Slowly, I peeked through the peephole only to find Nick standing on the other side.

My breath swooshed out of my lungs before opening the door. Nick stood there bright eyed and a big smile on his face. I scowled at him.

“Hey brother. Wow, you look like shit. One day you are just going to have to quit drinking,” he stated as he walked into the room uninvited.

Chapter Thirteen

Kristy

Yesterday was a nightmare, to say the least. There were moments in my times on the street that I thought I’d classify as the worst moments in my life, but nothing compared to that moment. That moment when I heard the gun fire at my man. I knew it was being fired at him because he didn’t have a weapon.

The love of my life was getting shot at and beat because of me. My heart raced so fast that I was afraid that if they listened hard enough, they would be able to hear it out there. If they knew we were here, then Vin has been following us, which means we are not safe here any longer.

What hurt more was that I knew it was almost time to say goodbye. I could feel it. It was between us, with every touch, kiss, look. It was the proverbial elephant in the room. He hasn’t said for sure when he’s leaving, but he hasn’t said he wasn’t either. Honestly, I hadn’t expected him to stay this long. It was both a gift and torture at the same time. It was a gift because it was more time with him. And it was torture for the same reason. The longer he was here the more attached to him I got. That meant there was more to miss and it was even more painful when I was alone without him.

When I was finally back in his arms after the attack, I was so close to telling him how much I loved him. How much I needed him to stay with me or let me come with him. But in the end, I just cried. It was my moment to tell him and I clammed up and cried like a fucking baby.

Now, I stand hiding in the bathroom again because yet again, someone is knocking at the door. My legs were shaking and I held my breath. My ear was pressed to the door to try and hear what was going on. That’s when I heard Nate talking to someone.

“I haven’t drank anything in over two months. What do you want Nick?” Nate said, almost sounding irritated.

“Well you stopped taking all our calls and we all got worried. So I came here to make sure you’re okay and see when you’re coming home.”

“What’s it matter?” Nate bit out.

“Nate.”

“Nick.”

“I know you’re hurt that we didn’t call you when Eli passed, but you have to understand that none of us were thinking. There in a bed, barely being able to push two words out without gasping for breath was Eli. Strong, confident, a force to be reckoned with, Eli lay there looking so pale and fragile. Even if we’d have called you when he was admitted, you wouldn’t have made it to the hospital in time to say goodbye. It all happened that fast.”

I could hear Nate sigh. “Yeah, but I would have been there to pay my final respects.”

The sadness in his voice brought tears to my eyes. This must be one of the Williams family members. He said that they were really the only family he had.

“Yes, but then Jake tried to kill himself. Mom was scarily depressed. We found out at the funeral that Eli had found Amber. That’s where he’d been disappearing. He has twins who are just gorgeous. EJ looks so much like Eli, it’s seriously scary. You won’t believe what’s happening with Jake right now.”

“What?” I could almost hear the smirk in his voice.

“The man is going to be a dad. He went off to find Vicky before I left.”

“Vicky’s a good woman. I owe her a lot for convincing me to come on this trip.”

“You do look better, man. I’m glad this trip helped.”

“It has. So much more than I can even begin to explain.”

“Well, my return flight is in two days. Are you coming back with me?”

“I don’t know if I’m ready to leave yet.”

“What? Why?”

I heard him clear his throat, and then called out that it was safe to come out. My heart was hammering in my chest. I walked out into the bedroom area. The man that Nate had been talking to, this Nick, he was tall very muscular. Not like pump weights, take steroids muscular, but not afraid of hard work muscular. He had short light brown hair and bright blue eyes with a dusting of facial hair across his jaw and around his mouth.

Nate stood then and walked over to me. When our eyes met, he wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me close to his side.

“Kristy, I’d like you to meet Nick. Nick, this is Kristy.”

The guys seemed to have a whole conversation back and forth with their eyes. Nick’s eyebrows would quirk up and his eyes shift every so often and when I looked at Nate his were doing the same thing, almost like answering him back.

“It’s nice to meet you Kristy. I’m sorry to interrupt your morning.” He turned to Nate. “I’m in the room next door. Let me know what you plan to do. I’ll leave you guys to it.”

When the door clicked closed, I looked up at Nate. “You’re leaving soon, aren’t you?”

I tried so hard to keep my emotions in check, but it didn’t work well. His leaving meant that I would be alone soon. It meant that I’d go back into a world that I didn’t matter. That for the first time in months, I was going to have to fight to survive. My heart was breaking already.

“I don’t know, Dove. I do have a job, I hope, that I need to get back to before I lose it completely,” he stared down at me like he was wanting me to say something.

Please tell me what you want me to say. Tell me. I’ll say anything if it means I don’t have to be without you. Please tell me what to say.

Tears began to fill my eyes. Nate wrapped me fully in his arms and held me tightly. I gripped him tighter. Letting him go meant that he would be leaving. I needed him to stay with me.

Please don’t leave me like everyone else. Please. I can be better. I can be worthy of you. Please just stay with me.

“Hey, let’s not think about it right now okay. We have two days together. Let’s not waste them wishing for more time. I want every last minute I can with you. Please, let’s just act as if we have forever, okay?”

“But we don’t Nate. We don’t have that long. In forty-eight hours, you’re leaving. Why lie to ourselves?”

“Because I don’t want my last moments with you tainted with the sadness that comes with that thought. Please, I’m begging you. Let’s forget the time and just be us again.”

“I’ll do anything for you, Nate,” I whispered.

* * *

The time passed far too quickly, just as I knew it would. Tonight we are walking along the harbor after having one of the best meals I’ve had at one of the most talked about restaurants in Sydney. He pulled out all the stops over the past two days. We stayed inside most of the day yesterday. The only thing I wanted to do was make love to him as many times as I could. I wanted to memorize his taste, his sounds, his smell, his touch because when he leaves that’s all I’ll have left. Those memories.

Tonight as we walk, though our arms are wrapped around each other, we both are silent. Lost in our thoughts. Not sure what he was thinking about, but I was remembering all our time together. Our public sex, our vacation because that is really what it was. I’ve never been outside Sydney really. Nate gave me a view of my own country and a dream come true. But now I’m having to say goodbye. How am I going to be able to do that?

Eventually we headed back to the hotel and back to the room for one last time. One last night together. One last memory. One last bit of happiness. My heart already began its descent in my chest. As he pulled my shirt over my head and began to kiss me while undoing my bra, my chest began to tighten. As my knees hit the back of the bed, I removed his shirt and soon the rest of our clothes were on the floor. Nate then lowered me to the bed. In one powerful thrust he was inside of me. It was as he thrust inside me that my heart began to crack and fall apart.

Nate broke the kiss, panting. “Looking at you here, lying beneath me like this, makes me wish I could rewind time. I’d meet you first and be the last to love you like this. But I can’t and I didn’t. So let me have this one last night of a dream. I’ll head back home knowing at least for a little while I knew what it was like.”

Tears fell from my eyes. Nate leaned down and kissed them away. My heart wanted to believe that he was telling me he loved me there, but my brain shouted over my heart that I was just reading more into what he was saying. His thrusts were slow, but deep. Normally we’d be going at it like animals, but this time was different. It was almost like he was trying to memorize everything just the same as I was.

My heart was already broken. Before he’s even left, my heart was shattering into a million unrecognizable pieces. Tightening my legs around his waist, I held him tighter to me. My moans filled the room. They were from pleasure, but even I could hear the sadness in them. He grunted and moaned with me and it seemed like he was trying to keep his release off. Like he wanted to prolong this as much as I did.

After a while I could hold off no longer and I called out his name in a cry that was filled with so much pleasure and so much sadness. My heart turned to dust in my chest as he roared out my name in what almost sounded like the same amount of sadness as mine. Wrapping my arms around him, I pulled him down on top of me, kissing him as the tears began to fall.

He rolled to his side, taking me with him. Nate continued to kiss me, passionately, almost loving kisses. His hands caressed my face, my neck, my arms, everywhere. How was I supposed to forget this feeling? How was I supposed to forget him?

Curling into him, I cried into his neck and he held me tightly. This was worse than the realization that my family didn’t care about me. It was far worse than the pain when my brother turned his back on me.

“This isn’t fair,” I sobbed.

“I know, Dove. I know.”

We fell silent. My silent tears continued to fall while his hands ran up and down my body in an attempt to bring me comfort. My world is falling out from under me and all I can do is lay here and cry on him.

Why is it that I’m constantly being punished?

Nothing good ever stays around me. It’s always taken from me when I realize how important they are to me. It wasn’t enough for me to lose my family, my only stable living space, my safety. No, now I have to lose the one thing that filled the empty spaces and pushed away the cold.

Soon Nate’s soft snores filled my ears. Lifting my head up from his chest, I watched as he slept quietly. He looked peaceful aside from the slight frown on his face. My tears picked up again. I’m going to miss him so much.

“Nate,” I whispered.

When no response came, I whispered the one thing that I was so afraid to tell him to his face.

“I love you.”

Morning came far too early. I was grouchy, but trying not to show that to Nate. I didn’t want the last memory he had of me being me in an ill temper. So I sat on the bed as he packed up his stuff.

When he finished, he looked down at me. Again, it was almost like he was begging me to say something. Hell, if I knew what he wanted. Instead, I gave him a smile. My smile was forced and I know Nate could tell. What I wanted to do was beg him to stay. Instead, I force this fake smile on my face and wish him the best. Then… Then I watch him walk out of my life dragging my heart behind him with each step he took toward the door. When he reached the door, he turned to me with the saddest look on his face.

“There’s something for you in the bathroom. Don’t open it until I’m gone. I… Goodbye Kristy,” his voice broke, and then he turned and walked away, the door clicking closed behind him.

Running to the door, but not opening it. I pounded on the door crying for him. After a few minutes, I slid down the door and cried harder than I’ve ever cried before. For the first time in my life, I’ve really lost. I’m really alone. This time was different because I knew what it was like to belong to someone. Now, I had no one.

Once I’d cried my eyes out, I pulled myself off the floor and into the bathroom. There on the counter was an envelope. Picking it up with shaking hands, I ran my finger over his writing. Flipping it over, I pulled out a piece of paper.

Kristy,

This was a vacation that changed my life… you changed my life. I couldn’t leave here without knowing that I’d given something back to you that you’ve given me. So at the bottom of this note, you’ll find directions. Follow them. A surprise awaits you at the end.

I’ll never forget you or our time together.

Nate

Gathering up everything I owned, put on my heavy backpack, and headed out to find this last gift from the amazing man that will forever own my heart.