Steele Hearts Redemption (18 page)

“He said you can’t go in with the team but if
you agreed to it we could keep you onsite for a positive
identification after capture.”

I was grateful for the opportunity.

“Thank you Max, but can I talk it over with
Gabe first?”

I didn’t want to rush into a dangerous
situation once again and have Gabe relive what he did with the
bomb. I needed to do things right now and one way of doing that was
considering the feelings of the man I love.

“You got it Al. I need to know as soon as
possible though.”

After he left I took Gabe’s hand and led him
to my apartment across the hall. Everyone else were staying in
either Connor’s penthouse or the floor below us that Connor kept
empty for traveling executives from his company.

**********

Tyler

I needed to get away from the crowded room
and take a moment to breathe. The moment she stepped into the room
I felt the air knocked out of me. It happened every time I saw her.
I hustled down the empty corridor and found refuge in Connor’s home
office. Seeing her enveloped in my family’s embrace was too much
for me. In my eyes she was and always will be perfection in every
way and form. The only problem I had and through no one’s fault but
my own was all that perfection belonged to someone else. I was the
one who let her go and I was the one destined to live in hell for
the rest of my life wanting her, needing her. I threw myself down
on the sofa and laid down with a huff, closing my eyes as I relived
in my mind our time together, memories that were forever etched in
my brain.

I was twenty-three, and already a successful
writer, pounding out bestseller after bestseller and had the world
by it’s balls. I enjoyed life and shied away from commitment
telling myself love was something I should not crave until I was
way into my thirties. I played and played hard. Beautiful women
were a dime a dozen in my world and they all seem to accept the
fact that I was not into anything serious. I had all the girls I
wanted, getting them all on my own merit, although having a brother
who was a young billionaire and taking the business world by storm
and another one who was making quite a name for himself in the
movie industry didn’t hurt my chances.

I remember the first day I saw her. I had
dropped by Connor’s office hoping to pull him away from his desk
for a few hours for some brotherly bonding time, prepared to do
anything to get him out. What I was not prepared for was the
tightening in my groin as I stared at the pair of perfectly shaped
legs, encased in a snug, knee length black skirt that were sticking
out from under the desk as I walked into the outer office of
Connor’s executive suite. Mumbling from under the desk drew me out
of my drool fest.

“Stupid wire!”

I walked over to those legs and knelt
down.

“Need some held under there?” I asked.

My presence startled her and from the bang of
what I assumed was her head on the desk and from the muttered curse
that followed, my presence was definitely not appreciated. With a
fluid motion she glided herself from under the desk and ignoring
the hand I extended, she sat up. My breath was taken away. As a I
writer I knew given time I could come up with a number of words to
describe her but my numb brain had only one word echoing in it.
Beautiful. Her hair was a honey dew color, long and cascading
around her, her lips sinfully kissable, pink and clean of
artificial color, her face perfectly shaped to accentuate her high
cheekbones and her eyes, the color of a pale but bright sky on a
perfectly sunny day. She was without a doubt breathtaking. Her lips
moved and I instantly became mesmerized. She was talking but I
heard nothing. I sat back on the floor and stared at her not
comprehending a word that came out her sweet mouth.

“Hello…”, her sweet, melodious voice broke
through my haze.

She must have thought I was some kind of
pervert staring at her the way I did.

“Sir, do I need to call security?” she asked
snapping me back to life.

“Ah… no I came to see my brother, Connor. Is
he in?” I hoped I didn’t sound as stupid as felt.

She jumped off the floor, brushing her skirt
as she tired to compose herself.

“Crap you’re a Steele? Ah sorry, I meant,
he’s not in right now.”

That was interesting, she was acting guilty
about something.

Maybe she was a spy and was doing something
illegal under the desk, like placing a bug or something. Yeah okay,
I maybe a writer of fiction but even that sounded farfetched.

“Okay, maybe I’ll just wait for him then.” I
said taking a seat on one of the big comfy chairs that were
available.

“No!…..Ahhh….Okay, but maybe you might be
more comfortable in the conference room. I could get you a drink,
maybe something to eat while you wait,” she said hurriedly.

“Is there something going on here that I
should be concerned about?” I asked, “Maybe I should call my
brother.”

I saw the panic in her eyes, then the drop of
her shoulders.

“Please don’t call your brother. I really
love this job and don’t want to be fired.”

“So tell me what’s going on then.”

“I accidentally unplugged some wires from
under my desk that connects my computer system with the main
systems and I was trying to fix it because I have this report to
complete for Mr. Steele before he gets back but there are so many
wires underneath there I don’t know what goes where,” she explained
in a hurried voice, practically out of breath.

“Why don’t you call the IT department then?”
I asked.

“Because I didn’t want anyone to think I’m
incompetent and did I mention I really love this job and don’t want
to get fired. Do you think you could not tell your brother and help
me?”

If she’d ask me to run around the building
and into Central Park naked I would do it. That’s how taken I was
with her.

Getting on my knees I crawled under the desk
and was about to turn on my back when I felt her squeezing in next
to me. Thank God Connor had the sense to have a big desk placed
here. I turned to face her and our faces were inches apart.

“Hi, I’m Tyler,” I said, with a smile.

“Hi, I’m Anna,” she said with a hitch to her
breath.

Our secret relationship lasted exactly six
months. The first three months was explosive. The sex was
phenomenal, the best I ever had. Anna insisted we keep it a secret,
not wanting to jeopardize her job and I agreed to her request
because I would have done anything she wanted me to. Then slowly
the relationship started changing. It wasn’t just great sex
anymore, it was becoming more. We became invested in each other’s
lives. I was always eager to hear how her day was and she became my
sounding board when I got stuck with my writing. Six months down
the line and I realized I was in a relationship without knowing it.
Anna was perfect, she never made any demands from me and she never
pressured me for more. I panicked the night when she slipped and
said those three word I dreaded hearing, “ I love you.” Like a
coward I pretended to be asleep when she said it and a week later I
told her it was best we didn’t see each other anymore. To this day
I’m haunted by the hurt in her eyes. She didn’t cry or ask if it
was anything she did. She simply nodded and said she understood. I
was somewhat disappointed she didn’t fight to try and keep what we
had but a bigger part of me was just relieved.

It would have been easier to go back to my
old ways but something changed inside of me when I walked away from
her. I saw the beautiful faces that surrounded me but not one of
them called out to me the way Anna’s face did. I avoided her at all
cost, trying to purge myself of her and when nothing worked I
bought my cabin in Colorado and hibernated there, filling my days
by writing. It took a whole year for me to come to one realization
and why I still thought of her everyday. I was in love with her,
always was and probably always will be. She was my true north, my
comfort. It was wrong of me to try and win her back after the way I
left her but I was determined to get down on one knee and beg her
forgiveness so I could have her in my life. It was a cold, bitter
day when I got back to New York. I fulfilled my family obligations
by spending time with my family before tackling the biggest
challenge of my life, but the cold hand of faith stepped in and
dealt me a cruel blow. I overheard Connor telling my dad he met
Anna’s boyfriend and although he seemed like a nice guy Connor
didn’t really care much for him but he did seem to make her happy.
Who was I to take away her happiness. If he made her happy then he
was giving her something much more than I ever did. I walked away
and never looked back.

I heard the door open and slowly opened my
eyes to see who dared intrude on my solitude. My breath caught in
my throat as I saw her enter Connor’s office and focus on his desk.
Without looking around she took a seat with her back to me and
started making phone calls, cancelling Connor’s appointments for
the next few days. I stayed as still as I could, barely breathing,
enjoying the sound of her voice, my eyes fixated on her. As if
suddenly realizing she was not alone she slowly turned towards me.
Her eyes blazed for a second before the veil that was usually in
place every time we saw each other fell into place. I held her
eyes, waiting for her to finish her call.

Sitting up, I said, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to
startle you.”

“No, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize anyone was
in here,” she said.

“I needed alittle space, with everything
that’s going on I needed some alone time,” I lied.

“A lot is happening, isn’t it.”

“Yeah….How have you been?” I asked, hoping my
small talk could keep her from running off.”

Lowering her eyes, she replied, “I’m good,
what about you?”

The six months we were together I learnt a
lot about her and one of those things I learnt was that she could
never lie to me.

“Yeah? Look me in my eyes and tell me you’re
fine then,” I said daring her.

She raised her head proudly and just as she
was about to say the words her chin began to quiver and she clamped
her mouth shut. In a flash I was on my knees in front of her, her
chin in my hand, forcing her to look at me. Tears were glistening
in her eyes and I saw the internal struggle she was having with
herself to keep her composure.

“Anna, talk to me please,” I begged.

“I’m fine Tyler,” she said a little too
harshly as she swiped my hand from her face and turned away form
me.

She clearly wasn’t fine and I’ll be dammed if
I allowed her to leave before finding out what was troubling her.
Gently grabbing her shoulders I turned her to me but she flinched
as the pressure of my hands grabbed her shoulders. What the hell?
Was she injured?

“What the hell Anna, are you hurt?”

My question only angered her. Pushing her
chair back she leapt to her feet and bolted for the door but I was
faster. Springing to my feet I got to the door just as she did.
Grabbing her arms I pulled her to me. This time she cried out in
pain. Struggling to escaped my grasp seem to irritate her injury
even more as she cried out again. Grasping her firmly around the
waist with one hand I used the other to push the open jacket she
wore over a small dress off her shoulder. She struggled to stop me
but I saw enough for me to start seeing red. There were ugly blue
and black marks marring her perfectly white skin. It didn’t take
much effort, despite her struggling for me to get the jacket off.
As I took in her bruised arms, tears welled in her eyes and began
flowing freely down her cheeks.

I stood there and held her in my arms for
what seemed like an eternity as she let it all out. After the tears
ended I led her to the sofa and swore to myself I wasn’t allowing
her to leave until I was satisfied she told me the truth.

“Tyler, I’m sorry,” she said, confusing the
heck out of me.

“You and your family have enough to deal with
without adding my drama to the mix.”

I looked at her beautiful face for a long
time taking in the dark circles under her eyes and the sadness in
her face.

“Please tell me what’s going on? Is your
husband hitting you?”

I saw the shame in her eyes and knew without
a doubt he was beating the shit out of her. I wanted to scream,
tear him apart, limb from limb but she needed me now and I had to
reign in all my emotions.

“Tell me everything Anna,” I commanded.

She shook her head, refusing my command.

“Do you want me to go out and find him and
have him tell me,” I asked, making a threat I had every intention
of carry out if she didn’t open her mouth. Panic overcame her and
she grabbed my hand, hoping it was enough to keep me still.

“Okay,” she said with a deep sigh, as if the
weight of the world rested on her shoulders.

“Six months ago I found out he has been
cheating on me. He goes to these underground sex clubs and….well I
don’t have to explain what happens there. I confronted him and told
him I was leaving. The next day I went to the bank to remove his
name from my account only to find out that everything I’ve worked
for and saved was gone. My account was cleared out two weeks
before. I went home to confront him and that’s when the other shoe
fell. Apparently he “borrowed” three million dollars from his
biggest client and they found out. He didn’t have a lot of other
clients because he always relied on this Russian business to
sustain his accounting business but now that they found out he
stole from them they refused to pay him and threatened to kill him
if he didn’t pay back the money. Eventually they came to an
agreement. He gave them a lump sum, which was everything I had
saved and he would pay a monthly installment until the debt was
paid. The fucked up part is I make a whole lot more money than he
every did so he decided on his own, mind you, that he would use
whatever he made for his recreational purposes, because he had no
intentions to stop visiting the sex clubs and he would use my
salary to pay the house bills and his monthly installment.”