Falling Hard (Hidden Secrets Book 6) (18 page)

“What’s wrong, Kris?”

The tears fell without mercy. I wrapped my arms around my brother who had knelt down in front of me. The pain of rejection that Nate has suddenly started giving me poured out of every fiber of my being.

“I thought he loved me. All the things he did. I thought he loved me,” I sobbed. “But then I get here and one perfect day was all I got before he started ignoring me. The worst of it all is that I just found out I’m pregnant and I might have Lupus.”

“Whoa, calm down!” He pulled back and looked at me. “Lupus? When will you find out for sure? What needs to happen?”

“I’m supposed to have a biopsy, but I don’t want to do it here. I just want to go home and deal with it away from all this pain.”

Aaron looks at me for a moment before smirking. “You’re pregnant?” I nodded my head. “And he doesn’t want it?” I shrug my shoulders. “Have you told him?” I shake my head. “Sis, you need to tell him. How are you going to know if he wants the baby or not if you don’t tell him?”

“That’s just it though. I’ve been here for how long now and ever since the second day, I’ve barely seen him. I don’t want him to be with me because I’m pregnant.”

“I completely understand that, but he is the dad. You are the mum. You can’t take that from him because you think he doesn’t love you. You have to tell him before you leave.”

“I can’t even get him to say more than two words to me half the time.”

“Then make him listen. Go to his work if you have to. Make him listen. After that, it’s all on him, but don’t live with it on your conscience because you’re hurting. You’re the voice of your child right now. Make sure he or she knows that their mum did everything she could to give them their dad. Okay?”

Sniffling, I nodded my head. Then I looked up into his eyes. “Will you guys be there for me? I just know that Nate won’t be. He’d rather have slept on his couch than his bed because I was in it. And…”

He moves up next to me on the bed. “And what?”

“I’m not strong enough to deal with the other thing right now. I mean, I should be ecstatic that I’m pregnant. Should have been the best news of my life. But no, I get that amazing news on the back of being told that I could be dying. The first guy I ever feel anything for and he doesn’t care. Maybe he should either…” I sighed.

“Give him a chance, Krissy. No matter what, we’re all here for you. We’ve lost far too much time with you already.”

Anything to change the subject off me, I asked how everyone was doing back home.

“Everyone’s good. Mum and Dad miss you. They wished they’d gotten more time with you before you left. Rebecca hasn’t been around for a couple months. I’m getting kind of worried. I’ve stopped by her apartment several times, but she’s not answering the door. When we get back, maybe she’ll be more apt to talk to you. You know girl to girl, pregnant woman to pregnant woman.”

“Who’s the father? She never answered me on that. Only how excited he was for her to be pregnant with his son.”

“None of us know. Mum and Dad are worried about her, but every little thing worries them since you left,” he said sadly.

I wished I could apologize for leaving and changing things for Aaron and Rebecca, but I don’t. Everything that’s now was because I left. Even though my heart is breaking and I honestly don’t know what my life has in store for me now, I’ll never be sorry it happened. Never.

“I can’t apologize, Aaron,” I whispered.

“I don’t want you to, Sis. Though Mum and Dad worry over things like they’ve never done before, things really changed for the better for Rebecca and I. They became parents for the first time in a long time. However,
I am
sorry for everything you’ve gone through. Our life got better and yours got worse and probably scary as all hell, right?”

Thinking back over everything that has happened, fear never really entered my life after that incident in the shelter until Vin started chasing me. Everything in between was me surviving. That was all that it registered as too. Survival.

“Only a couple times was it really scary, but the rest was survival,” I shrugged.

“You need to talk to your man, though. He needs to know everything, Sis. As angry as you are at him right now. You’ll be even angrier at yourself if you don’t.”

“You’re right.”

Picking up my phone, I call him several times, but he doesn’t answer instead I get a text from him. Getting angry, I reply to his text.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Nate

Shredded
.

That was the only way to describe the way her hotel room looked when I went to collect her clothing and turn over the room. How the hell had he found her so quickly? The only thing on my mind was keeping her safe. If anything happened to her, I’d definitely go insane. Vin wouldn’t stand trial because I’d fucking kill his ass.

The problem was I had no clue where Vin was or how much he knew. But I’m guessing that if he knew that she was in the hotel, he knew that she was there for me. I wanted him to come for me. I wanted him to so I could break his fucking neck and get back to loving my woman.

However, it wasn’t until the Crime Scene Investigators got there that I’d been told this wasn’t Vin, but Chain. They showed me a picture of the mirror in the bathroom where they’d carved into the mirror a message to Kristy for me.

Tell Nate we know what he values. If he doesn’t back off investigating this case, he’ll lose all he cares for. That means you, sweetheart.

It had the symbol for the Wringers on it. I swear my face was red with the anger that I felt for this man. If Kristy had come there and saw that, I shuddered. She doesn’t need to know she’s being hunted by two mad men; one because of Danger and one because of me. When I get my hands on Chain, or even Vin at this point, I’m going to make sure they won’t hurt or hunt Kristy or anyone ever again.

“Man, I don’t want to be on the other end of that thought if it puts that kind of look on your face,” Keith said handing me a drink.

We’ve been working tirelessly on trying to get Chain before he got to Kristy. Super long hours, but it didn’t matter because when I went home, I slept on my couch with my gun under my pillow. No one was getting to Kristy. Her safety during the day scared me. So, I did the one thing that I thought would get her away safely. I kept myself busy so I didn’t see her much. The theory was she’d go to a hotel and I’d put a guard on her. It worked, but then Jack called me telling me she’s crying all the time. Mary said she saw her at Jack’s office saying she didn’t know what she was to me anymore. Suddenly, my well laid plan was backfiring by the second, but I can’t tell them why I’m doing this.

“Tobey called. He needs you to go out to the ranch for something.”

“Great that’s code for Mary’s going to bitch me out about something. I’ll go now. Be back in about an hour,” I said, standing from my desk.

“Be careful. Keep your eyes peeled.”

I nodded and left the station. The drive out to the ranch was far too long for my liking. All I wanted to do was go to the hotel and wrap Kristy in my arms and tell her that I love her so fucking much, but it would be putting her at too much at risk and I didn’t want to do that. I wouldn’t do that.

Pulling up in front of their house, I climbed from my car and headed up the steps and knocked on the door. A few moments later and Mary opened the door with Mitchell fussing on her hip. Opening the screen door, I held out my hands to Mitchell and he immediately leaned over into my extended hands. Taking him from Mary, I walked inside talking to him as I followed her into the kitchen.

“What is it that I was needed here for during work on an important case,” I said looking at Mitchell but talking to Mary.

“Why are you doing it, Nate? Tell me,” she demanded, holding her hands on her hips.

Just then, Tobey came in the door. “Hey baby, the guys aren’t eating here today. They're eating on the way to the market.”

“Okay. Can you put Mitchell down for his nap? He’s not cooperating for me today and he’s really fussy.”

“He looks pretty happy, but you’re the boss,” he laughed taking Mitchell from me. “How you doing, Nate?”

“Fine. I need to go,” I said as I walked out of the door toward my car.

“Do you have any idea how stupid you’re being?” Mary shouted from behind me.

“I’m being stupid? How am I being stupid?” I yelled back as I turned around to face her.

“Kristy came all this way for you, for you Nate. Why are you pushing her away? I thought we were past this and just friends now?” She added softly.

Everyone thought that I was pushing her away because of Mary. Of course, over the past year or so I guess I haven’t given them much other proof, but since I came back, I don’t see Mary that way anymore. I was pushing Kristy away for her safety and my peace of mind knowing she wasn’t in harm’s way, but no one understood that. That also might be due to the fact that no one knows that Chain has threatened her and me.

“I have to go back to work,” I grumbled as I continued over to my car.

Just as I walked away, my phone rang. Pulling it out, I saw it was Kristy again. Quickly, I typed her a message:

Nate:
I’m on my way to work, we’ll talk later.

Kristy:
No, we need to talk now. I’ll meet you outside the station.

Damn it!

Just as I was about a block from the station, I got an urgent call to go out on. The whole time I was gone was about three hours. When I got back, she wasn’t standing anywhere outside and she hadn’t returned my text about being called out.

Keith looked up as I walked in and the look on his face had my stomach turning. Tentatively, I stepped toward my desk keeping my eyes on his face.

“What’s going on Keith?”

“Your girl came in. She, uh, left you a message. Damn man,” he said, shaking his head. “Whatever you’ve done… I’m not even sure you can fix it.”

On my desk, I could see the folded piece of paper. When I got closer, I could see the wet spots on it. Looking up at Keith, I swallowed hard.

“She was crying?”

“Yes, bad. The guy with her kept telling her to calm down, but it wasn’t helping her any.”

Guy with her?

Jealousy surged fast through my veins.
What guy was with
my
woman?
The thought had my fists clenching tightly against my thighs. No one was going near her. She was mine.
Mine!
Sitting down at my desk, I picked up the letter and began to read it.

Nate,

I don’t know what I’ve done to you or if it’s just you never really cared… I don’t know what happened. One minute you’re telling me how much you love me. Okay, I’ll give you that, you’ve never said you loved me. I’ve always just assumed by the way you talk to me, touch me, look at me.

But I guess that’s where I went wrong. Coming here was a mistake, a huge one, because now I can’t hold on to the delusion that you do love me. I can’t pretend that if we were together, you’d tell me because we’ve been together and you never did. You went out of your way to ignore me. Well, I called my dad. My brother came today to take me home. By the time you get this, I’ll be gone, but I wanted you to know something. Something you needed to hear in person and not in writing or a text, but you couldn’t even give me five minutes of your time.

Jackson called me today with the results of the exam he did. The good news is it wasn’t food poisoning. I’m pregnant, Nate. According to the doctor, he consulted, I’m about thirteen weeks or so. After working it over in my head, it was the night we said goodbye. You are going to be a daddy. We’ll figure out how you’ll see him or her when the time gets closer. I’ll send you updates whenever I can.

However, there was bad news as well, but at this moment I just don’t think you count as someone to tell. I’ve done my job and told you that you’re going to be a father.

I understand that I was competing with Mary this whole time, but I thought for a moment that I was more important to you. I thought for a moment that she didn’t matter to you as much as I did.  Again, I’ve never been more wrong in my life. Please forgive me for everything that I’ve cost you and I will get you the money for every last thing you’ve bought me or paid for. The apartment may take me a bit longer, but I’ll get it to you.

I’ll cherish every moment and memory I have of you because I, unlike you, really did love you. Take good care of yourself. You hold my heart no matter what so please stop breaking it.

Kristy

My heart was hammering in my chest and plummeted to my stomach as I read this letter. She was pregnant. Kristy was carrying my baby. I wanted to smile. I wanted to jump for joy, but I couldn’t because Kristy believes that I don’t love her. She believes that I don’t care about her at all. Kristy left me. There was also this other news that she won’t tell me and that’s my fault.

Quickly, I stood from my chair and ran into the Captain’s office. After explaining everything, I was given the go ahead to leave early and try and catch her. I was at my desk in ten seconds flat gathering up my things and running toward the front of the station when I come face to face with Vin.

Without thinking, I drop my stuff to the floor. Before I went and got Kristy, I was going to take out the man that threatened her life. Faster than he saw coming, I nailed him on the left side of his face. His head whipped to the side and he staggered some.

Turning his head slowly toward me, he spoke. “You’re going to regret that.”

“Nope,” I said calmly before I started really laying into him.

My right, my left. In his stomach, face, sides, wherever my fists would land. Vin started to fight back. He was giving as good as he got. He hit me in the stomach, causing the air to whoosh out of my lungs on a grunt. He nailed me on the right side of my face, then the left.

The only thoughts running through my head right now was even if he killed me, I needed to take him with me. Kristy and our child needed to be safe. If I couldn’t protect them anymore, I needed to know they were safe.

That thought alone brought back a whole new surge of anger through my body. My fists were landing harder and harder. I could hear commotion going on in the background. The alarms were going off, but my focus was on Vin. I wasn’t falling until he did. That way he wasn’t walking out of here and I couldn’t.

Blood trickled down my face and into my eyes. Blinking rapidly, I tried to clear my vision the best I could. Swiping my hand across them, I began to swing more. My body ached with each swing, but I kept moving. The sound of crunching bones has faded away. The only sound I hear now is my heart hammering in my ears and this buzzing feeling in my head.

Just then Vin nailed me with one hard uppercut and I stumbled backwards a few steps. Wiping my eyes again, my blood ran cold when the next sounds to fill my ears were that of a gun being fired. Pain like I’ve never felt before coursed through my body before I felt my body hit the floor.

“Officer down!” I heard yelled from somewhere before several more shots rang out.

“Nate! Can you hear me?”

“Danger?” I choked out.

“Yeah, man. The ambulance is on the way, just hang on man,” Danger said gruffly.

“Tell her for me. Tell Kristy I love her. Tell her…” I broke off as I began to cough.

The only taste in my mouth was metallic. It was overpowering. The smell. The taste. The pain that was so strong has disappeared. I felt nothing. It was like the air had surrounded me and I no longer touched anything.

All of a sudden I could see the scene as if I wasn’t in my body anymore. As if I was an outsider looking in. Chaos was all around where Danger held my head on his lap. A small huddle of people were around Vin. I felt lighter when they said he was dead. Kristy no longer had to fear him. He was out of her life for good. I’ve saved her.

Danger screaming my name brought my head back to where he held me on the floor. He shook me. Tapping my face. My body hung there limply. Limp. No movement. No life.

“Damn it, you can’t die on me you asshole. We were a team remember. Outsiders stick together. Damn it, Nate!”

Keith and Chelsey knelt next to my body as well. Chelsey’s head hung low and Keith pulled her into his arms. But what caught my attention was the look on Danger’s face. He truly looked pained, lost.

Just then, as if the peace of knowing what I’ve done, the scene started to fade away and soon all that surrounded me was nothing. No sounds. No people. No flashing lights. Nothing. Just nothing surrounded me. My last thought passed through my head before everything disappeared.

I love you, Kristy. You have your freedom, be free.