Truth Is Found (46 page)

She’d give him what she could.

Nyx was willing to make the sacrifice. Out of love, she’d let him go like she promised Tori.

“Thank you for saving me, but we have to part ways. It’s over, Beau.”

He was hurting.

She was breaking his heart, and he was helpless to stop it. The pain welled up, as he struggled to find anything to convince her to stay with him.

Beau needed her.

He’d die without her.

“Come with me,” he begged.

She took another step back. “I can’t. I have to make a living and pay my bills. Here’s my job and career. This is where I belong, Beau. You have your place too, and it’s not here. It’s back at your home.”

He didn't want that answer.

This wasn’t how he saw it ending. They were going to be together. He had to have faith.

He had to believe.

“Nyxie, don’t do this. It’s a mistake. I don’t need you to do this for me. I need you to fight for us. It’s the only way we’ll make it. Please.”

She was well aware, but it didn't matter. Time would heal him, and it would ensure him a new life.

A happy one.

One without some freak with voices in her head.

“Come with me, and I’ll take care of you. I’ll work fifty jobs to make sure you have everything you need. Just say you’ll come with me.”

She wanted that in the worst way, but she couldn’t uproot everything she had--not without a future.

Not once had he mentioned anything permanent. Beau never even called her ‘girlfriend’. She had to believe if they were meant to be, he’d come back to her.

She only had to hold on to faith.

Moving toward him, she wrapped her arms around his waist as she rested her head on his chest. His heart pounded, and she hated that she was hurting him. His whole body shook with tension, and she knew it was her fault.

After all he did, she loathed that she couldn’t let him stay, and she couldn’t go.

“We can make this work,” he stated. “We’re only an hour apart. I’ll come here every weekend. I’ll make the effort to be with you.”

Still, he didn't offer her anything more than that. Nyx would risk it all, but she had to have something permanent. She had to have a relationship.

“It won’t last.”

Eventually, he’d drift away. That would hurt far worse. She had to cut him free, and it had to be now. She couldn’t stand in his way. He needed to get his license to work, and she needed to pay the bills.

“You need to go, Beau. It’s time. Please leave.”

She set him free.

It was the hardest thing she had ever survived. Before Beau, she believed that being assaulted and losing her family was the worst pain in the world.

This was far worse.

She was losing everything.

He backed away from her, the hurt in his eyes. “If that’s what you want,” he stated.

God!

He couldn’t be like his father, forcing his will on her. That part of him rose up, and he fought against it. Yes, he could demand, take, and offer her promises, but she didn't want him.

Nyx didn't need him anymore.

He wasn’t surprised. This was the story of his life. It was time for him to leave to lick his wounds--mainly his shattered soul and broken heart.

“Good luck, soldier,” she said, as tears filled her eyes. “I know you’ll have an amazing life.”

He doubted that.

It slipped through his fingers like the sand in the desert. Beau had lost it all.

“I’ll always love you, Nyx--until the day I die. I’ll be waiting for you if you change your mind. Heaven has room for the only angel who belongs there, and that’s you.”

He turned, headed out the door, and never looked back.

Beau couldn’t.

If he did, he’d crawl.

His life had been changed forever, and he knew to the depth of his soul that it would never be the same again.

He wasn’t going to heal.

No.

He was dead inside.

Epilogue

Sunday Morning

It was the longest, most miserable night of his entire life, and that was saying a lot. He’d slept in scorpion filled deserts, had spent days in abandoned buildings staring down the scope of a rifle, and even had been stuck in a swamp. None of it compared to the misery he was living through.

One night without Nyx, and he was ready to crawl over hot coals, glass, or even nails to have her back. He couldn’t imagine his life without her, and it was driving him insane.

If he didn't get out, so he could think it through, he was going to snap.

When he arrived at the office, right after them, Tori and Julian were shocked. The looks on their faces said it all, and the look on his must have done the same.

Neither bothered him when he went upstairs, took a shower, and went right to bed.

He could hear them talking, but he didn't want to listen. They felt bad for him, and so did he. Beau Christensen had just had his heart handed to him.

It was bloodied.

Broken.

Battered.

Now he was all alone again, and after having her in his life, he knew he’d never be the same. There was such emptiness, that he knew he’d never be the same again.

Nothing would.

Life, as he knew it, was over.

Now it was a new day, and he already hated it. The time ticked by, and each irritating click on the clock made him hate his life.

As Julian dropped down on the couch beside him, he wasn’t in the mood for company.

Before he could even say a word, giving him that dreaded pep talk, he cut him off.

“I’m going to hit the gym. I need to clear my head. I’ll see you in a couple hours, Julian.”

“We can watch the game,” he offered, knowing how Beau felt. He’d had his life turned upside down like this by the woman he loved too.

It sucked.

That moment when you were shoved out of the relationship was achingly painful.

No, it just plain sucked.

Now Beau was living it, and Julian prayed it wasn’t going to last for a long time.

He’d not been so lucky.

Tori walked away from him, and he’d suffered for weeks. It nearly broke him.

When the door closed, Julian glanced over at his wife. From the look on her face, she was planning to take care of this mess.

So much for letting Beau work it out on his own.

The second he was gone, she was out of her seat. “I have a plan.”

Instead of reminding her to mind her own business, he opted to let her try. Maybe if someone had intervened in his life, he wouldn’t have nearly lost Tori.

It wasn’t like she could make it worse…

Right?

“What?”

“I need that office attached to our building. You know…the one I was joking about the other day.”

“For?” he asked. “I thought we were going to rent that out to increase our income into the business.”

She was aware. “Well, I think we have to switch routes on that one. I have to have it.”

So, Tori told him her plan.

He stared at her. “Are you crazy?”

“Do you have a better idea, Jules?”

He shook his head. “It’s yours. The keys are in my desk downstairs. Good luck with this one.”

“I’ll be back in a couple hours.”

“Where are you going?” he called as she headed toward the door. “Victoria?”

“I’m going to find me a psychic.”

“You’ve been hanging out with Elizabeth Blackhawk too much! Playing Cupid will always get you in trouble!”

“I’ll be fine.”

Julian didn't doubt that she would.

The Christensens were as stubborn as mules, and they generally won.

     
* * *
  L   i   t   t   l  e  m  o  o  n  * * *

Shopping for Fate

She cried the entire night.

When the tears dried up, her heart ached so much that she didn't want to go on. Had she known it was going to hurt this much, she would have rather sunk to the bottom of the river than be saved.

Her heart was broken.

And she felt as guilty as hell.

Nyx had hurt Beau, and she didn't deserve his love. If she knew then, what she knew now, she would have gone with him. Anything was better than this.

She’d screwed up. That was crystal clear.

Hell!

Even Trey was mad at her.

He refused to talk to her. It appeared she’d pissed off both brothers.

When she heard banging on her door, she rushed down the stairs in hopes that it was Beau. As she approached, she knew she was screwed.

Tori was standing there, and there was no doubt that she was going to make her pay.

Opening the door, she stepped back. “Whatever you’re here to say, you can’t make me feel any worse. I want to die over all of this.”

“You screwed this up.”

She was well aware. “Go ahead. Kick my ass. I deserve it. I know how much Beau means to you.”

Tori was amused. They must love each other very much, because she looked just as shitty as Beau.

“I’m here to ask you a few questions. Can I come in?”

“Sure.”

Tori followed her toward the couch. “Do you love him?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“How much?”

“I want him in my life so badly. I told him to go because I didn't want him to lose his family or throw away his career. I have nothing to offer him. I’m broken, weak, and need a babysitter.”

Tori understood that. When Julian came to rescue her, she was in the same boat. Over time, they meshed, bonded, and became unbreakable.

Nyx had that opportunity, if only she took the chance.

“You don’t think that you’ve become his family?”

She didn't say anything.

“He’s a mess. My brother is barely hanging on, and he doesn’t deserve it.”

“It’s my fault. I need something permanent. If I’m going to close up my shop and chase after him, I need more than he’ll support me.”

“What do you want?”

“Him.”

“And?”

“My career.”

“And?”

“Love. I really want love.”

Tori pulled two things out of her purse. “Here.”

Nyx was confused. One was a thick envelope, and the other was a set of keys. “I don’t understand.”

“That’s a key to an empty office attached to our building. You can pack this one up, move there, and have your career. Our town doesn’t have a psychic--well one who owns a shop. You’ll have your niche.”

She stared openmouthed. “What?”

“The rent, as long as you’re with my brother, is on us. You can open a store there and make it work. It’ll be slow at first, and that’s where part B comes into play.”

Nyx couldn’t believe this. “You’re giving me a storefront to open my business? What’s the catch?”

“Again, that’s part B. In that folder are the papers to get your clearances to work for us. You’ll have to be bonded, and there will be one hell of a background check, but once you pass, you’ll be able to be Beau’s partner.”

Tears filled her eyes.

“I don’t understand.”

“While you’re building your career, you can work for us part time. When he’s out in the field, he’s going to need someone to cover his back.”

She started to cry.

“Is my other brother still here?” Tori asked.

“Yes. He refuses to leave. He said his work isn't done here yet.”

Tori was good with that. If the woman was channeling Trey, she was his vessel, and that made her family. Tori and Julian would keep her safe.

It was their duty.

“Trey is my brother, and I need him in my life, even if it’s like this. Beau is my brother too, and he needs someone in life and at work.”

“He won’t want me. I sent him away.”

“Why did you?”

“I told you why.”

Tori stared into her green eyes. “I want to know the real reason. I know my brother. He would have stuck. Why did you really push him away?”

“I want more than to be his ‘girl’. I want all. It’s selfish and wrong to demand, but I want all he has to offer. I need to be permanent.”

Tori shrugged. “Then tell him that. If he’s moving too slow, you need to take the lead. I’m sure if you tell him that you want him for the rest of his life, he’s going to follow you to hell and back. Shit! He jumped in a river on the first day he saw you. Imagine what he’d do for you now.”

She swallowed. “Do you really want me there? I’m nothing to you.”

Oh, she was very wrong.

“You’re everything to me. My one brother loves you, and my other trusts you enough to carry out his mission in death. That’s a whole lot of something--not nothing.”

She thought about it.

“I think you’re good for Beau. When he’s with you, the shadows go away. He and I didn't come back whole. We both left something behind in the sandbox. When I’m with Julian, it fills in the gaps. When you’re with Beau, it does the same. You can heal him, and frankly…you need a little healing yourself.”

She swallowed.

“If you want this, reach out, and take it,” Tori offered, holding the envelope in her hand. When Nyx still didn't move, she knew what to do.

“Trey! Help a girl out here!”

The radio went crazy.

“Go! You. Need. Him. Love. My. Brother.”

Tori smiled. “Well, Nyx Nightingale, are you in or do you want to hang out here with Trey? The living breathing one is waiting for you. All you have to do is have enough courage to face him, tell him your heart, and go with it. Are you going to hide, or are you going to save him--like he did you?”

She stood. “I’ll get my bag. We have to go!”

Tori watched her hurry away. Her mission there was complete. She’d accomplished what she set out to do.

Maybe this Cupid thing wasn’t so bad. Her best friend knew something no one else did.

It was pretty rewarding.

“Ahhh, Trey, what the hell are we going to do with these two lovebirds?”

The radio flipped to a station and there was laughter.
“Baby. Sit. Them.”

It was her turn to laugh.

“Yeah, I agree.”

      
* * *
  L   i   t   t   l  e  m  o  o  n  * * *

Littlemoon Investigations

Apartment

Afternoon

When Beau returned, he didn't look any better. Obviously, kicking the shit out of a punching bag at the gym didn't improve his mood. As he dropped down on the couch, Julian handed him a beer.

“We need to talk.”

“No.”

Julian shrugged. “Fine. I’m used to Christensen pig-headedness. I’m in there with the champ. If you think you’re the most stubborn, I can vouch for your sister. She’s wearing the crown in your family.”

Beau looked over. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Julian laughed. “When I met your sister, she had sex with me, made me fall in love, and then left me for months. I didn't hear from her, I called daily, and I tried to get her to see me.”

Beau was listening. “And?”

“Finally, a case at the FBI brought us together. I thought I’d finally won, and she bailed again, dumping me. She let me walk away. No, she told me she didn't love me and let me leave. I drove away, and didn't see her for weeks.”

Beau leaned forward. “What happened?”

“I nearly lost her, and I don’t mean as a girlfriend. She went into the VA and planned to die in there. Your stubborn sister nearly got her wish.”

Beau couldn’t help but run the parallels of his relationship against Julian’s.

“What did you do?”

“She reached out to me, leaving me one of her dog tags. It just showed up one day, and I had to find her. I was so lost. I wouldn’t eat. I couldn’t sleep. Every day, all I wanted was Tori back.”

“And?” Beau knew the significance of leaving a tag behind. Automatically, his hand went to the ones around his own neck.

“I thought I was doing the right thing by trying to get over her and letting her have time to think about it. It was the worst damn thing I’d ever done. I was hurt, pissed, and stubborn. I wouldn’t swallow my pride and go to her. After I found that tag, it was nearly too late. When I got to her, she was malnourished, broken, and giving up.”