Forever Yours (28 page)

“I need to talk to you,” he yelled from where he was floating. “But I need you to feel safe. I’m off now. You can take off whenever you want to—need to.”

“What?” she said, feeling incredibly stupid not to mention guilty. He’d been nothing but a sweetheart to her all day. “This is crazy. Get back on! We can’t talk this way anyway, and there are too many boats out for you to be floating out there like that. It’s dangerous. Leonardo; please get back on!”

“I’d never hurt you, baby girl,” he yelled.

“Okay, I believe you,” she yelled back. “Just get back on before you get hurt.”

He hesitated but then started swimming toward the Jet ski. He climbed on and again sat behind her, his cold body feeling good against her now dry and scorching hot swimsuit.

“Forget talking in private,” he said against her ear. “I’ll tell you on our way to get Valerie.”

“I’m sorry—”

“Don’t be,” he said immediately. “Don’t you ever be sorry about being suspicious and playing it safe. Okay?” She nodded, feeling like a complete idiot until he took a deep breath and spoke again. “I’ve been lying to you.”

Chapter 18

Angel

“No, it wasn’t anything like that,” Angel said, feeling stupid about Friday night all over again. “No one got arrested, but we’re all in punishment-drills hell now. The coach is not letting us off easy.”

Sal asked Angel about Sarah. Apparently even he’d seen some of the photos being posted all over including footage of some of the drinking games Angel hadn’t seen and thankfully hadn’t participated in. Angel explained briefly that she’d been a little concerned but they were good now.

Glad that Alex had since gone up to the room, Angel took advantage of his moment alone to talk to Sal about Leo, especially now that Sal had brought Sarah up. Sal could help him validate his gut feeling that something wasn’t right for
good
reason, not just because Alex’s and Romero’s first instincts were always to crack their knuckles and assume the worst. His older brother also wouldn’t hesitate to tell Angel to get his head out of his jealous ass and just accept that this guy could be the real deal—that maybe Angel was just feeling weird about having to share Sarah’s affection with yet another guy.

He brought Sal up to speed about her dad and Leo, leaving nothing out. He told him everything: the flowers, the near-naked photo Leo had sent her, how often they spoke online and on the phone, and how her dad had just disappeared all of a sudden. He even told Sal about Leo busting the guy’s lip in the restaurant’s parking lot. Of course, Sal was more concerned that Alex had made a scene in the restaurant, but they moved past that.

“So what’s her brother have to say about her dad disappearing?” Sal asked, getting back to Leo. “He doesn’t think it’s odd?’

“I guess not. Sarah said he seems more pissed about it. At one point, she said he told her their dad can go to hell. He hasn’t been talking to him either.” Sal was quiet for a moment, and Angel continued, getting to what he really wanted to talk about. “The thing is, Sal, I got this bad feeling about her brother. I don’t know what it is, but something tells me not to trust him. And now he’s out in Havasu with her. I just can’t shake the feeling that he’s up to something.”

“Is that who that thug was?” Sal asked, his voice going up a tenor. “The one in the photos Valerie posted? I was wondering if I should even mention it because I wasn’t sure you’d seen it. Is he the one with all the tats?”

“Yeah, that’s him.” Angel frowned. “What do you mean wondering if you should mention it? Why wouldn’t you?”

“Because I figured you’d get all crazy, and what good would it do with you all the way in Hawaii? But never mind that,” Sal said, dismissing Angel’s annoyance. “How the hell is a guy like that related to sweet little Sarah? He’s got bad news written all over him, and he doesn’t look a thing like her. How do you know he’s even her brother?”

Finally!
“That’s what I’m saying!” Angel, said standing up because he was suddenly too antsy to sit anymore. “Other than her douche bag dad’s word that this guy is related to her, we have nothing else. But what am I supposed to do? Sarah seems pretty confident that he’s her brother. And worse yet, she’s
excited
about having a sibling. He hasn’t asked her for anything or done anything shady, so my hands are tied.”

“No, they’re not,” Sal said immediately. “Do your homework, man. There’s gotta be a way to find out if he’s really who he says he is. But be prepared to find out he just might be her brother, Angel. Maybe, just like for me, the first impression of him got to you. I thought he was a thug with all his tats and shit, but that impression doesn’t fit what you just told me about him. Other than the photo
you
called inappropriate, nothing else seems shady about him.”

“First of all,” Angel said, feeling irritated that Sal would insinuate Angel was making more of the photo than it really was. “It
was
inappropriate. If those shorts had hung even an inch lower, it would’ve been porn.”

Sal laughed before Angel could finish. “All right, whatever,” he said. “My point is I saw the guns on the guy. Even if his shorts hadn’t been hanging low in the photo, you wouldn’t have liked it. I’m just saying maybe he’s not the brightest. Don’t let that one slip cloud your judgment. If your gut’s right, then good for you for not letting your guard down, but if he’s legit, don’t be a stubborn ass. Sarah deserves to have a relationship with her brother regardless of your first impression of him.”

The conversation with the more level-headed of his two brothers hadn’t quite given Angel what he’d hoped for: justification for feeling as suspicious of Leo as he did. Sarah still hadn’t responded to his voice mail.

He was about to check a text from his coach when he heard Alex’s voice and some of the other guys on the team whooping and hollering. Angel looked up to see a smiling Alex walking toward him. “Let’s go check out this island,” Alex said.

“What?” Angel asked, confused as some of the other guys were high fiving each other behind Alex.

“You didn’t get the coach’s text?” Alex asked. “Tomorrow morning’s practice is still on, but the second practice tonight is cancelled. We’re free to do what we want tonight.” He turned to look at the guys behind him and lowered his voice. “Those idiots are actually talking about partying.”

Angel jumped up from where he’d been sitting, suddenly feeling energized but mostly relieved that their grueling second practice was cancelled. “I say we grab a cab and have him drive us around to check out the sites.”

“Fuck the cab.” Alex’s face soured as they walked out of the hotel. “We gotta a lot of time to make up for. Let’s go rent a helicopter.”

~~~

Back from his evening out in Waikiki with his
brother
, Angel was finally able to call Sarah back, who’d of course called when they were on the helicopter and there was no way he could answer his phone. After that, he hadn’t a moment far enough from Alex to have the conversation he knew he’d be having with her once he got a hold of her. But now that they were back, Alex had stepped out to do the very thing Angel wanted to do—make a call in private.

He hit the speed dial button and lay back on his bed. The last thing he wanted to do was argue. But he was still curious why she hadn’t told him about Leo being there. She hadn’t left a message, just texted him to call her whenever he got the chance. Just hearing her voice when she answered had him smiling instantly.

“Hey, baby,” he said, sitting up. “I was on a helicopter earlier when you called.”

She was quiet for a moment then responded. “Helicopter? I thought you said you had two practices today.”

“I did, but they cancelled the second one.”

“Who’d you go on a helicopter with?”

“Alex,” he said simply.

“Just the two of you?”

“Yep.” He smirked. “It was romantic as shit. We held hands and everything.” That made her laugh and he smiled. “God, I miss you.”

“I miss you too. We’re leaving super early tomorrow morning so we’ll be there in time to pick you two up from the airport. I can hardly wait.”

“You don’t have to, babe,” he said, the thought of seeing her tomorrow already exciting him. “I don’t want you guys racing home. That’s a long drive.”

She assured him they wouldn’t be racing. They’d have plenty of time if they left early in the morning. Angel hated to ruin their fuzzy moment, but he had to know or it’d drive him crazy.

“So why didn’t you tell me Leo was out there with you?”

“He didn’t get here until today,” she said. “I didn’t even know he was coming. I’d mentioned to him I’d be here, and then today he just showed up.”

“I saw the photos of you and him on the Jet ski.”

“Yeah,” she said almost in a huff. “I didn’t know Valerie would be posting so many of them.”

Angel gnashed his teeth once again to try and see the silver lining. With a guy like Leo driving Sarah around on his Jet ski, it was highly unlikely any other guys would dare mess with her. Unlike Valerie and the other girl who’d gone out there with them, the only photos of Sarah with any guy were the ones with her and Leo.

“So you had fun?”

“Umm.” She seemed to hesitate then continued. “It’s been an interesting day.”

He waited, but that’s all she gave him. “How so?”

Sarah exhaled rather dramatically, making Angel nervous. “First, we were invited onto that big boat you probably saw in the photos.” She paused, but he didn’t respond to that because he didn’t want ask who the fuck invited them.

He already had an idea—total strangers they’d probably just met. If he asked and was right, there’d be no holding back telling her what he thought about that, and he didn’t want this call to sour this quickly. Something in Sarah’s tone already told him he might be hearing something galling.

“Then,” she continued, “Leonardo showed up unexpectedly, and to be honest, his showing up was kind of a blessing. I didn’t really want to go on that boat, so he saved me from having to do so.”

“You didn’t go on the boat?”

“No.”

Okay, maybe his theory about it being better that Leo had been there was panning out. “What else?”

She yawned, and he could hear her moving things around. “I’m so tired, Angel. Maybe I can just tell you about everything else tomorrow. There’s just so much. All I know is I’m never doing something like this again. It was too nerve-wracking with all the drunken guys and girls and fighting—”

“Fighting? Who was fighting?”

“Everyone,” she whispered, but he noticed the tiniest change in her voice.

She sounded sad, and it made him sit up straighter. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she said, but there was definitely something wrong.

“Sarah, babe, don’t lie to me.”

“I just . . .” She took a deep breath. “I just should’ve never come here without you.”

“Tell me why?”

“It seems my stomach’s been in knots all day.” Her voice sounded less upset now, and it made Angel feel a little better, but she was still being cryptic.

She lowered her voice and told him the rest. The other girl who had gone with them, Monica, had gotten really drunk. So instead of leaving her on the boat alone with all those guys—all four of them wouldn’t have fit on Leo’s Jet ski when he and Sarah had gone to pick up Valerie—Leo dropped off Sarah with his friends on the shore and went back alone. He got Monica and Valerie back just fine, but a few minutes later the drunken guys from the boat came looking for them in their Jet skis, and Leo and his friends had stepped up. “Leonardo beat one of the guys so badly,” she whispered, and Angel couldn’t tell if she was crying. “I thought he was going to kill him. It was just so scary. It was a side of him I didn’t expect. That’s all. It’s just a reminder that I know so little about him.”

A part of Angel was glad Sarah was feeling cautious about Leo, but another part of him was even more concerned about her brother. From what she was saying, the guy was unpredictable—dangerous.

“Anything else or are you too tired?”

He was trying to be mindful that she was three hours ahead of him and that not only had she had a long day she’d just finished telling him she was getting up super early—for him. But he got the distinct feeling she was holding out on something even bigger than just the fight.

“There’s more,” she said, yawning again. “But I really need to get some sleep, Angel. Valerie and I are gonna take turns driving tomorrow. If I get into this now with you”—she inhaled and exhaled—“it’s not gonna be short.”

Great
. Now he really wanted to know. “That bad?” he asked, closing his eyes and letting his head fall back against the headboard of the bed.

“No,” she said, yawning again. “It’s just long. I’ll tell you everything tomorrow. Okay? I promise.”

They hung up, and twenty minutes later he’d nearly conked out with the TV on until Alex walked in and woke him.

“You talked to Sarah?” Alex asked, pulling off his shirt and throwing it on the chair.