The Unblocked Collection (42 page)

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Edited by Steven Luna

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to similarly named places or to persons living or deceased is unintentional.

PRINT ISBN 978-1-5137-0131-8

EPUB ISBN 978-1-5137-0152-3

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015910683

To Adam Bodendieck

for making this possible—

for making them all possible.

Thanks for being a part of this journey.

DEREK

HAYDEN’S EYES FILLED
with tears. She wasn’t just hurt by the text Reed had sent me; there was anger in her expression, too. That bastard had no fucking right to call my sister a cunt. Hayden didn’t know he was engaged when she went back to his condo that night, or that he’d gotten anyone pregnant and was expecting to be a father.

He was the cunt for cheating on Frankie.

“Please don’t kill him,” she said. “I don’t represent capital murder cases, and I really need you around.”

Reed was a pussy. I could take him down without losing my breath. But if I smashed his face in, the only place I’d end up was in jail. And he’d win. So I’d play his little game like his text had goaded me into, but I was playing it for real. I was giving Frankie the control to choose who she wanted. He’d get nothing but silence from me, and it would eat him up from the inside and do more damage than my fists. It would make him question when I was planning to make my move.

He may have been pretty and polished, but I had strategy on my side.

“All right…I won’t kill him,” I said. “But if he mentions you again, I
will
set him straight.”

“I can live with that.”

“Can you live with my connection to Frankie?” She wiped her tears, then crossed her arms. Before Reed’s challenge had appeared on my phone, Hayden was waiting for me to explain why I hadn’t told her about my relationship with Frankie. Her reaction was the reason our feet were surrounded by shattered glass. “I know you’re angry about it.”

“Clearly.”

“I would have told you when the time was right.” I understood why she was mad, why she felt betrayed. But now she needed to understand where I was coming from. “I fought my feelings for her until I couldn’t anymore. And until I really understood what those feelings were, I couldn’t tell you what was happening between us. Finding out about your history with Reed made it even harder.” Admitting this to Hayden was as crucial as admitting it to Frankie. The difference was Hayden knew about my ex; she knew I had sworn off any type of relationship after Taylor had walked out. Frankie didn’t. “I care about her, Hayden.”

“I can’t believe this.”

She turned around and tried to walk away. I reached for her, gripped her shoulders and pulled her closer. “Listen to me. Please.”

“Stop saying that.”

I continued to hold her until her eyes met mine. “If things go further with Frankie—”

“
When
they go further…”

I smiled, acknowledging the attitude she was throwing at me. “
If
they do, we’ll figure out a way to make things work between you two.” Fuck, I hoped that was true. I didn’t just want the women in my life to get along; I needed it. Randy had caused enough drama and fighting and goddamn tears among my family. There wouldn’t be any more.

“Brother, I just told you I was the reason Frankie miscarried her baby. How can you possibly believe that she can be in my presence without wanting to kill me? Last time she told me to fuck off…next time will be much worse.”

Frankie had mentioned that she’d acted out when she’d seen Hayden. Considering what had happened, it was no surprise.

But Hayden had a point. Telling me what went down at Reed’s condo was a story I’d never forget. It was almost as difficult as when I’d explained what had happened at Randy’s jobsite. Both had resulted in death. Both impacted me in a different way.

“She told you to fuck off because she thought we had just hooked up. She didn’t know you were my sister.”

She shook her head. “That’s not the only reason she told me to fuck off.”

“I’ll talk to her. Don’t worry about it.”

“I’m not worried about
it
, Derek. I’m worried about you. You’ve never kept anything from me that I know of…except this. It’s making me wonder what else you might be keeping from me.”

I made her face me so I had her full attention. “You know me better than that.”

“I thought I did. But the Derek I know would never get into a relationship and screw every bit of focus we have just months before we nail the bastard. I’ve worked way too hard and we’ve been chasing him for way too long to lose this momentum, or to let Frankie ruin this.”

I carefully led her back toward the counter, poured two shots of vodka into a new tumbler, and handed it to her. “I’m as dedicated to this as you are. You have my word.”

She drank until it was empty and placed the glass back on the counter. “If at any point I feel like you’re choosing her over this…”

“Hayden: stop.” I’d heard enough. I may not have told her what was going on between me and Frankie, but I’d always been honest with her otherwise. She had no reason to doubt my focus or my desire to destroy Randy. “Trust me. When I say you have nothing to worry about, I mean it.”

Her eyes bore into me for several seconds before her shoulders relaxed and her posture softened. She poured another drink and slid it over to me. “So do I tell Mom about Randy’s employee?”

Finally, we were back to where we needed to be. “No.” I lifted the glass to my lips and shot the vodka down. “Don’t say a thing to her until you get him to sign with your firm and have his statement on record. Then there’s no turning back. I don’t want to get her hopes up unless we’re absolutely sure.”

“Jesus, Derek.” She sighed as she rested her arms on the counter. “I know what’s riding on this. I’ve always known…but now that it’s so close, it feels even bigger.”

I knew where this was going. But her job was to think with her head, not her heart. I needed to remind her of that.

“I want you to be extremely careful. Talk to me or someone at the firm before you make any other moves.” As a lawyer, she knew the penalties if she got caught doing anything illegal. She also knew what she could get away with, what she could bury, and what the defense would be looking for before this went to trial. If there really was dirt on her hands—and I had a feeling there was—I didn’t want them getting any dirtier. “And if at any point you need me to do something, something you can’t or shouldn’t do, then just tell me. You’re in deep already; I don’t want you in a place where you can’t get out.” She said nothing, but I saw the appreciation in her eyes. “Now go get a broom so I can help you clean up all this glass.”

While she walked to the closet, I sent Will a text asking him for Brea’s phone number. Even though things with my sister were still a bit messy, my mind was on Frankie, too. The “xoxo” she’d used at the end of her last text didn’t sound like her. I suspected it might have been Brea…if that were the case, I needed to speak to her.

Hayden returned with a broom and dustpan. “Have you eaten?” she asked.

“Nah.” I grabbed the broom from her hand. “I came straight from Timber Towers. I didn’t have time to stop for something.”

“I’ll make a deal with you…”

My sister was a princess, I knew where this was going. “I’ll clean up the mess; you go order food. Does that work?”

She smiled. “Thanks, brother.” She headed toward her bedroom. “I’ll be back in a minute. I need to change.”

As I started to sweep, my phone beeped. It was Will texting me back with Brea’s number. I waited until I heard Hayden’s bedroom door close before calling. She answered after the second ring. “This is Brea—”

“It’s Derek. Is she okay?”

She sighed. “Hang on a sec.” Rustling followed, as if she had put her hand over the speaker. Then I heard her breathing and the sound of a door shutting. “She’s okay.”

“Why did she cancel our plans tonight?”

“She got…tied up.”

Tied up? The only person who tied her up was me, with my flannel—to
my
goddamn headboard.

I didn’t like this at all.

“Did you send me that text, Brea?” That got no reply. “Listen, if it’s work related, then that’s all you have to say, and I won’t ask questions. But if there’s something personal upsetting her, then you need to tell me.”

Silence followed. Whatever was going on had nothing to do with work.

“She’s with me, and she’s safe. I’ve got everything under control. She’ll call you in the morning.”

I hated that I couldn’t take command of this situation. I knew I could put more pressure on Brea, but I had a feeling she approved of me. I didn’t want to jeopardize that.

“I’m trusting you,” I said.

“I know.”

I hung up, staring at the glass on the floor. What the fuck could have gone wrong, when things had been so good between us?

And then it hit me: if Reed had sent me a text, he must have sent Frankie one, too. I wondered how much he had uncovered about me, and how much he had told her. And if it was making Frankie question who I really was.

FRANKIE

I REALLY DIDN’T UNDERSTAND
why we were at Anna’s apartment, or why she and Brea were staring at me as though I were about to break. I had told them in my office that I’d made a decision and I thought I was clear. It was a difficult one, but it wasn’t going to break me. And yet, when I tried to voice it, they stopped me—cut me off and said that before I spoke another word, they needed to talk to me. So after my final showing, Norm dropped Brea and me off at Anna’s.

I’d noticed the cookies as soon as we arrived, and the brownies, too, decorating a tray in alternating patterns that had been placed in the middle of the coffee table. They were from The Carrot Cake; I recognized them easily. Next to the tray were two bottles of pinot noir—the same wine Derek had sent us…a detail I wasn’t oblivious to, either.

They were feeding me all my favorites: sugar and wine.

What they weren’t feeding me was an explanation of why I was here. So far, there had been nothing but small talk and silence. The silence made me think…and thinking led to Derek. My brain needed a rest from that topic.

“Can you please tell me why we’re here?” I said finally.

Brea returned to the living room and took a seat next to Anna, who nibbled the corner of her brownie and placed it back on her plate. I wasn’t sure it was possible, but she looked even thinner than normal. “Have some patience, doll. We’re trying to figure out the best way to knock some sense into you.”

“Knock some sense into
me
?” I reached for a brownie. I hadn’t planned on caving to the sweets so quickly, but they looked too good to resist, and I was feeling a little pressure now.

“You haven’t told us your decision, but we know what it’s going to be,” Brea said. “So yes, you need some sense knocked into you.”

The frosting swirled around my mouth before I spoke again. “You promised me that I had your full support.” I looked at Brea. “You both did. So I don’t know why you’re fighting me on this. I told you, it’s either Derek or work. I can’t do both, so I choose—”