Lady Killer (Tangled Desires Book 2) (20 page)

Tears stream down my face, as I turn my back on the man I wish I could stay beside. “I want to come home.”

Tom

My jaw aches from clenching my teeth while I was asleep. I groan and mutter a string of expletives, blinking at the ceiling. My leg is on fire. It’s also being crushed under the weight of a meteor. And my head fucking throbs. Oh that’s right. Mace, the fucker, shot me.

“How are you feeling?” Mom sits down on the bed beside me and even the shift of weight has pain screaming through my leg.

“Like I was shot.” I glance around, noticing how cool the sheet beside me is as I raise up onto my elbows. “Where’s Gem?”

“Her parents arrived early this morning. She went home.”

“She went home?” I’m struggling to breathe, my chest tight, and it has little to do with the hole in my leg. She left? After everything we shared? After we slayed her dragon together? I try to swing my legs off the bed so I can hobble out to the kitchen. Surely she didn’t really leave. At least not without telling me.

Mom presses me back against the pillows, pops two pills into my hand and holds out a glass of water. “She’s gone, but she left you a note.” She tilts her head in the direction of the nightstand where a piece of notepaper lays folded in half. “You’re not getting it, or out of bed, either, until you take these pills.”

I do what she says, because I need to know if Gem’s really gone, and when she’s coming back. Then I grab the paper and unfold it, scanning the contents as soon as Mom leaves the room.

She’s gone. As simple as that.
I’m sorry but I have to say goodbye.

But it’s not simple. It’s utterly fucking confusing.

Chelsea’s pregnant. And it’s mine. Or at least that’s what Gem’s written in her letter.
Can’t stand in the way if there’s a chance you two could make this work.

I’m falling out of bed before I even realize I’m up. The pain is excruciating, but nothing compares to losing her because Chelsea’s pregnant.

Chelsea’s fucking pregnant?

It explains a lot. How tired and skinny she’s gotten these past three months. Her issues with smells, and heartburn. I just don’t understand how I figure into any of this, because it’s not mine. I would never in a million years sleep with Chelsea.

Except there was that one night when Chelsea, Mace, and I had ended up back at her house, drinking far more than we should have. I’d passed out in her bed, sleeping beside her like we’d done on any number of occasions.

I drag a shirt over my head, and struggle into a pair of shorts while I lean on the crutch.

Impregnating my best friend? Fuck, no. It would be like getting my own sister pregnant. I almost retch. There is something else I’m not getting about this situation.

Gem’s phone vibrates on the nightstand and I grab it. It’s a message from the vet’s about a shift next week. I don’t even have the ability to call her and tell her she’s wrong. That she should come back and we can sort this out together. Not with her phone in my hand. I let it slip from my fingers onto the bed and hobble out to the kitchen.

Everyone’s surrounding the remains of last night’s cake. They’re all chatting, oblivious to the bomb that’s been detonated in my head. Forks clatter as they slice off bits of cake.

“This cake is amazing, Tommy. Where did you get it?” Claire asks. “I want to use them for the wedding.”

“The topper is exquisite. It’s art.” Mom picks it up.

“I know,” Claire agrees. “I’m going to keep it.”

It all sort of filters in one ear and out the other as I stare down Chelsea. Her eyes widen, and then she flinches.

“So spill the beans. Where’d you get the cake?” Razer slides a mug of coffee in front of me.

“I made it.”

“You what?” Claire and mom stop chattering to stare at me like I’ve suddenly grown two heads.

“I made it. I took some lessons with Lucy. She owns the bakery a few blocks down from the gym.”

Rush slides up beside Chelsea and whispers something in her ear, and she pushes him away as Mace grumbles about something to do with assholes.

He’s been muttering a hell of a lot lately, especially since Rush showed up last night.

Normally, I’d mark it down to him being weird, but it’s like I’m seeing my family in a different light since reading Gem’s note.

“When did you turn into such a pansy?” Mace asks, hemming Chelsea in on the other side.

Probably about the time you started fucking around with your brother’s ex.
“I learned to cook. So what? None of you would have been fed these past months if I hadn’t.”

“Is that the same Lucy you were banging when I first got to town?” Razer asks, reaching over the top of mom and Claire to snag some icing with his finger.

“I wasn’t banging her. We were supposed to do a one-on-one lesson for some complex decorations,” I snarl. “Contrary to popular opinion, I don’t fuck everything that walks.”

“What about that redhead?” Claire asks.

“She told me she needed to get changed for work after we finished a personal training session. But apparently that was code for getting into my bed. A move that got her kicked out and having to find someone new to train with.”

“And what about Sally?” Razer grins.

Mom clears her throat. “I don’t think we need to get every detail of Tommy’s love life.”

But I’m happy to set them straight. “Was she naked? Was she in my bed? No. I didn’t sleep with her. Nearly every girl you can name was a personal training session, or a one-on-one self-defense class. All things I don’t have to do so much of since you got here.”

“Oh,” Claire says, but then she’s back talking to mom about what she wants for her wedding cake, and Razer is asking Mace something.

I take the opportunity to get in between Rush and Chelsea, trying to keep the hostility I’m feeling buried deep. I’m pissed as hell, hurting physically, but I’m not going to take it out on them. It’s not really their fault Gem left. Well, maybe a little bit Chelsea’s fault, but I don’t know her story so I try to hold my emotions in check. “I need to talk to you.”

She nods, and I turn and stalk as best I can on crutches to the back door, waiting for her to open it so I can hop through. “You’re pregnant.”

I hear her inhale behind me, but she doesn’t deny it. “I was going to tell you.”

“It’s not mine,” I tell her. I don’t need the confirmation, because I know I could never consider her like that.

“No. It’s not.” She touches my shoulder, and I shake her off.

“Who’s the father?” Hobbling down the stairs so I can sit takes a bit of effort.

All the color drains from her face. She was pale to begin with, but there’s not even a hint of the normal glow in her cheeks as she stares at her hands.

“It’s Mace’s, isn’t it?”

She nods. “You’re not going to tell him, are you?”

“You want me to keep this a secret from my brother?” I stare at her. She’s been my best friend for a long time now, but this is ridiculous. “After everything we’ve been through in the past couple months, you seriously can’t expect me to keep my mouth closed on this?”

“Please?” She’s about ready to cry. “You don’t understand.”

“No, I don’t understand. You and Rush. Christ, how could you screw around with Mace after that?” I shake my head. “Bloody hell. I should have known. You two were always so fucking weird around each other.”

“I’m going to tell him.” She jumps up, her arms wrapped around her middle. “I am, but it’s complicated.”

I think if I never hear that word again I’ll live a happy and contented life. A life that at this point could have been so much better with Gem in it. But she’s off and gone. I guess all the running she did made it impossible for her to stand still and talk to me about her concerns. But Chelsea didn’t help either, keeping secrets that she shouldn’t be keeping. Balling my fists at my side, I stare up at my best friend. “You’ve put me through hell for the past couple months, Chelsea. Gem’s gone. I can’t even imagine how Mace is going to take this.”

Her hand lands softly on my arm as she collapses beside me. “He’s not going to take any of this well. He’s already struggling. Can’t you understand I had to get my head wrapped around this before I told him?”

I get that. It took me forever to get my head around it and finally come out and tell Gem, and it wasn’t even a certainty. But she’s hiding something that’s very real, and will affect my family. It’s not the same thing.

“Why couldn’t you have at least told me? Saved me the trouble of dredging through my past. I’ve faced every single girl I’ve ever slept with and worried about what kind of father I’m going to be. You watched me go through all that when you knew, you knew it wasn’t mine.”

“I had no idea where that test came from. I didn’t know you were dredging through your entire past. Not until you told me the truth about the list.”

“You didn’t send it?” I screw up my brow as I study her face. Her expression is open, not hiding anything.

“Do you really think I’d do that? Hell, it’s not even yours, and I wouldn’t even do that to Mace on his worst day.”

“Then who the hell sent it?”

She studies her fingers. “The day I found out my sister was there. She asked who the father was. I was in shock. I don’t really remember what I said to her. Probably something along the lines of damn Hadleys.”

“It was Gabi? Is she even old enough to know what a pregnancy test is?”

“She’s nineteen now, as much as I hate to admit it, she’s old enough to need to know what they are and how they work.”

“Shit. So she sent it.”

“Yeah. After you told me about the list I went home to see if the test was still in my bathroom drawer. I confronted her about it being gone, and she told me she sent it. She thought the baby was yours. Thought you had the right to know, but didn’t really think her plan through. She didn’t know Mace was in town.”

“She was right about the father having the right to know, Chelsea.”

“I know that. I’m going to tell him soon, I promise.”

“I can’t believe you slept with him. You two can barely stand each other most of the time. None of this makes sense.” I rest my head in my hands. My life is a rollercoaster that I can’t seem to get off, and all I want is to get Gem back, to plant my feet and feel that calmness only she brings.

“It was a mistake.”

“A big fucking mistake.”

“You don’t have to tell me that,” she snaps. “I have to live with it for the rest of my life.”

“So what are you going to do about Mace?” I drag myself up by the railing, and hop until I face her. “Because I can’t keep this from him.”

“I’m not going to keep him in the dark any longer.” She sighs. “Can you give me a few days?”

“As soon as Mom and Dad leave.” I tell her, hopping back up the steps. “I’m going after Gem. You better have told him by the time I come back.”

Gem

I’m sandwiched between my mother and Kaylea in the limousine, heading home from the airport. My father sits opposite us, his green eyes sharp while he leans forward, biting off questions and expecting my answers to be as straightforward he is. His suit is a little crumpled, but not even finding his long lost daughter and travelling most of the day makes a dent in his composure.

Beside him, my grandfather sits quietly, a cane in his hand. The top of his head is shiny with the loss of the snowy hair I remember. He aged a lot while I was gone, but he still smiles softly at me the way he used to.

All of them have asked so many questions since they arrived in Reverence early this morning. My mother chatters about how to handle the press and whether we should hold a welcome home party. I can’t deal with any of it right now.

I find Kaylea’s hand and grip it tight. She flips her dark hair, the Castle genetics clear in her coloring, and rests her head on my shoulder. “Good to have you home finally, sis.”

But her phone keeps vibrating and chirping with messages from her friends who want to know the latest Castle gossip, so it doesn’t take long before she wriggles her fingers, trying to escape me. I don’t let go. I need this handholding thing as much as I need air. As much as I need Tom. Resting my head on the seat, I stare at the ceiling of the limo and try to block out the chatter.

Mom’s adjusting her coiffed blonde locks and checking her makeup in a gold compact mirror while going on about guest lists, and my father’s talking to his assistant about meetings he needs to push back until tomorrow. Once, I fit into this life. This all would have made sense. Now it doesn’t.

“Gemma.” My grandfather leans over to pat my knee, his pale, watery green gaze on me. “How are you doing, princess?”

Princess.
I stifle a sob, but even so, it sounds overly loud to my own ears. I missed my family so much, but it never felt like this aching chasm inside me. Still, I have to let Tom go. “I’m fine. It’s been a long trip, and I’d like to take a nap.”

We stop at the gatehouse, and the iron gates disappear into the stone wall, allowing us to pass through before they slowly motor closed behind the limo. Then we’re driving up the cobblestone driveway, stopping across from the burbling concrete fountain that takes center stage in the circular space. Surrounded by acres of blue-green lawn, the mansion I grew up in sprawls across the grounds, its gray stone walls reaching three stories into the sky. Several gardeners tend to the gardens to the east of the house as I step out of the car. I try to feel something other than regret. This is where I’m supposed to be.