Chapter Seventeen
Ayden
I laughed when Autumn missed the first pilot's announcement. She had fallen for my 'listen to this great song' ploy. When she yanked the headphones off and realized she'd missed yet another clue about our destination, she gave me a stormy smile.
"You already kept our boarding passes, stalled me in the concourse, and made me promise to close my eyes while we boarded," she whined. "I should just go up and ask the pilot."
"He wouldn't tell you. I asked the whole flight crew to help me with the surprise." I leaned back in the cream-colored leather seat and chuckled.
Autumn shifted all around in her seat as if she could not get comfortable. That was the last thing possible on the Learjet. As soon as the flight attendants brought us drinks and a tray of snacks, Autumn relaxed. Even so, I could see her peering out the window and deducing the direction we were flying in.
"Not good at getting surprised, are you?" It was an obvious observation.
"No, probably not. Surprises just seem like little mysteries I should have figured out sooner," Autumn said. She smoothed back her golden blonde hair and glanced out the window.
The water below us took on a distinctive shape, and I grinned as recognition sparkled in her eyes.
"The San Francisco Bay," she sighed. Autumn leaned back in her seat and enjoyed our descent. "I've never been."
I had a limousine waiting for us. With every step I thought Autumn could sense my ulterior motives, but she was content now that the destination had been revealed. Even the snarl of traffic between the airport and downtown San Francisco did not bother her. I forced my hands to stay still and tried not to reveal what had me so excited.
The limousine slid into the traffic heading off the highway and through the Financial District until the skyscrapers took a step back.
Autumn sat forward to look out the window with a delighted smile. "Union Square. Beautiful!"
Her smile slipped into a shocked oval when the limousine pulled up in front of the Palace Hotel. Autumn had seen the very best that Las Vegas had to offer, but here was true old world luxury. We stepped through the tallest of the three arched awnings and into the lobby. Golden tones and cream-colored marble cast a honeyed glow on Autumn's hair as she took in the domed roof of the elegant lobby. The concierge met us at the front doors and swept us into a reserved elevator.
Our top floor room was a chic combination of antiques and amenities, but Autumn stepped past all of it and took in the view. Over the eclectic and vibrant cityscape, the Bay sparkled.
"Now I hear we might not see the Bay in the morning because of the fog, but the view is still stellar," I told Autumn.
The concierge took a step forward. "The fog is actually quite romantic and from here you'll see it swirling around the tops of buildings."
Autumn turned and smiled at both of us. "I love it. I love all of it."
She was still facing me with a warm smile after I had tipped the concierge and shut the door behind him. "Giving up on the view already?" I asked.
"No. I'm thoroughly enjoying it."
Her steps were light as she closed the distance between us and leapt into my arms. I always forgot how slender and light she was until I had my arms around here. Autumn had an air of independence, an armor of business acumen and intelligence that added weight to her during the working day. But, now, free and easy in San Francisco, she really was light as a feather.
I swept her up and held her, but the power was entirely in her hands. One soft touch of her palm on my cheek, and I was rooted to the floor. She caressed my jaw, wiping away my rueful smile, but also releasing all the tension I held there. Then she curled her hand in the hair at the base of my neck and pulled me forward. When Autumn's lips met mine, every nerve in my body surged forth to meet her.
She deepened the kiss, her arms wrapping around my shoulders, turning to press her breasts to my chest. I fought the haze of desire and forced my feet to move.
"You haven't even seen the bedroom." My voice was a hoarse whisper.
"Take me," she whispered.
I carried her to the bedroom and could not even reach out to turn on a light. We dropped to the wide, soft bed, and the lights of the city were enough. I unbuttoned her blouse to reveal her silken, flawless skin. With her hands tangled in my hair, I traced my lips down her throat, down the valley of her breasts, and across the taut smoothness of her belly.
She gasped as my stubble caressed her sides and down to her hip. As I paused to sweep small circles and drop warm kisses around her belly button, my hands reached up and behind her to unhook her black lace bra. Autumn slipped it off, and then guided my hands to her ripe breasts and her tightly drawn nipples. I brushed my thumbs over them, rubbing light circles until she moaned and arched her back.
Then I slipped my hands down the curve of her tight waist and did not stop there. She helped me unbutton her pants and slip them off over her legs. Autumn's impossibly long, toned legs were too beautiful to ignore. I used both hands to rub around her calves, tracing the tight curves of her muscles. When I parted her legs to kiss the creases behind her knees, she cried out my name.
I looked up and a surge of desire broke through me like a tsunami. Autumn lay stretched out on top of the covers, completely naked and open to me. I was still dressed down to my shoes, but I had to have her. I pushed her legs apart farther, her hands guiding me as her fingers flexed against my scalp, and kiss the honeyed center of her. Her taste was intoxicating, and I lapped deeper.
Autumn bucked with pleasure beneath me, her hips rising off the mattress to meet my eager tasting. While my tongue swirled over the tender, throbbing point of her pleasure, I undid my pants and released my heavy, hard response.
Her hands pulled at me, tugging my hair. "Ayden, please. Please, I need you."
I pushed myself up and plunged inside her as our lips crashed together and our tongues tangled in a moaning conversation of lust. She had my body, my breath, and every thought in my head, and Autumn took all of me. Her hips lifted off the bed, setting a wild rhythm that pushed me off the edge of consciousness. I tried to hold back but she wanted all of me and I gave in to her with deep shudders of pure pleasure.
What seemed like hours later, my mind swirled back to reality. Autumn's hands had finally untucked my shirt and her fingernails lightly ran up and down my back. I eased back and we both groaned at the bittersweet sensation of our bodies parting. I came back for a long, deep kiss.
"How are you?" I asked.
Autumn gave a lusty chuckle. "Fine a few times over. Maybe a little hungry."
"You taste so good." I dropped my head to nuzzle the heavenly place between her neck and her shoulder. Then I remembered. "Oh, god, I hope we haven't missed it."
"Missed what?"
I sat up and was relieved we still had time. "We have a dinner reservation at La Folie." Autumn gave a small shriek of despair and I smiled. "Don't worry, I ordered a dress especially for you. It’s hanging on the wardrobe."
Autumn sat up and laughed. "I didn't see the wardrobe much less the dress. Oh, Ayden, it’s beautiful."
She was more than beautiful. She was radiant as we entered the restaurant a short while later. Heads turned as she walked by, the golden hues and embroidered pearls and crystals of the dress catching the light.
"You look like champagne," I told her as we sat down and raised the waiting glasses.
"I feel like it. All bubbly," Autumn said with a charming blush.
We lingered over the first course of foie gras torchon, the bites melting in our mouths. It was surprising how easy it was not to discuss work. The new city, the champagne, the sinfully mouth-watering food, and the afterglow of our lovemaking wove a spell around us I never wanted to break.
"Apparently I've never had risotto before because the thing I make in no way resembles this creamy heaven in a bowl," Autumn said.
I took a bite of our second course, the lobster and mushroom risotto, and all I could do was nod. The warm, luscious bite was comfort and satisfaction all rolled into one.
We moved on to the duck breast as we talked about walking along the Embarcadero and taking in the sights. "I hope it’s alright if we skip the Alcatraz tour," I joked.
The four-course meal ended with peach melba baked Alaska. As much as we wanted to linger over the amazing, delectable food, we were both ready to go. I wanted to walk with Autumn through a city where no one knew us, and we could be ourselves.
Outside, though, Autumn confessed she did not feel well. "Probably just the lingering effects of all the stress we left behind," she said.
"Let's head back to Palace," I offered as I opened the limousine door for her myself. My plans were unraveling, but Autumn looked pale and a little shaky.
Back in our top floor room she did her best to smile at me, "I'll just go freshen up and we can take that stroll."
She disappeared into our master suite, and I poured myself a glass of Glenlivet from the silver tray on the polished bar. As I sipped it almost to the bottom, it became clear that Autumn really felt ill.
"I'm so sorry. I'm almost ready, I swear. Could you find my cosmetics bag? It’s in the pocket of my suitcase," she called.
"Inside or outside?" I asked, but she did not hear me.
I reached into the outside pocket and found a manila envelope. "Did you really bring work with you?" I asked, though I heard water running and knew she could not hear me.
I turned the heavy envelope over and froze. I recognized it. My father had tried to hand it to me during our confrontation at Jace's mansion. I had tossed it aside and could not bring myself to touch it until now. Why had Autumn packed it? Had she read the contents?
I put down my drink and flipped the manila envelope over. The seal had not been broken so I tore it open myself. A stack of letters were bound by a white ribbon that I untied with one sharp tug. I picked up the first letter, and my heart wobbled as I recognized the handwriting.
* * * * *
It was a letter from Jace and the date was fifteen and half years ago. He wrote to my father apologizing for ever letting me get involved with him. My hands tightened on the paper in anger. What was there to apologize for? Jace had been more my family than my own father at the time.
I snatched up the next letter and my chest burned with anger. The date put it at four and half years ago, shortly after Jace had signed his NFL contract. He told my father that he was sorry for everything that had been taken from him. Jace knew it would never replace what was missing, but he needed to help. Attached was a check stub for $500,000. It had been cashed the day the letter arrived.
More letters and more check stubs. I dropped them back on the bar and crushed my fists down on the stack. All those years I had been alone in prison, and Jace took care of my father. Bittersweet tears blurred my vision. I marveled at the pain of seeing Jace's generosity and missed my best friend with a bottomless pain. On the other hand, I despised my father for cashing the checks and never once revealing to Jace that he had abandoned me to my prison sentence.
I tore through the stack and read each letter. At one point, I thought Autumn had called out to me, but I was not sure. I picked up the last letter and my ears buzzed.
My friend wrote that if Joseph was receiving that letter it meant something had happened to Jace. He explained to my father that he was truly the guilty party. All those years ago, he had asked me to carry the package, begged me to take the fall, because he did not want to lose his opportunity to play for the NFL. Jace outlined for my father how I had been coerced into carrying the drugs.
I crumpled the edges of the letter in my hand. Jace had never coerced me, and I had never needed convincing. The last lines of the letter conveyed that to my father:
Your son knew all that was at stake and took it on without a single word from me. He carried that package without hesitation and never once involved anyone else in his downfall. That kind of selfless friendship can never be repaid, only admired. All I can truly say is I was grateful for Ayden King every day of my life.
I let that letter fall open to the bar and picked up the last thin envelope with heavy fingers. The letter was postmarked only a week ago. My father must have packaged everything together and made his way to Las Vegas shortly after he received it. The missive was an official letter from the Texas courts granting me an exoneration hearing. Jace had left a sworn statement to be read after his death, and the court was prepared to review it and clear my name. After over a decade in prison, I was to be proven innocent.
I stumbled away from the bar and the spread of letters and dropped down into a wide armchair. What had my father thought when he read those last letters? Had there been a tear through the center of him like I could feel now? All those years he had thought the worst of me, proven wrong by the one man who knew the truth. There was no way my father would have doubted Jace's words, and now the court was going to make it official.
No wonder I had seen such pain in my father's eyes when he showed up on my doorstep. I had always remembered his blue eyes as sharp, like the blades of knives, honed by bitterness and worry and disappointment. When he arrived in Las Vegas, they were faded, washed out by tears he had never shed.
I pinched my own eyes shut, knowing their color was the exact shade of my father's. I had lashed out at him, driven him back, tossed him out of my life when all he wanted to do was face me. After all those years and the deep betrayal, it must have taken all his remaining strength to stand in front of me. And all I did was yell at him.
Autumn staggered to the door wrapped in a hotel robe. "I'm sorry, Ayden. I don't know what it is, but I am just not up to adventuring tonight. It must have been something I ate back in Vegas because it certainly wasn't the wonderful food we had tonight."
She made her way to the bar and opened a bottle of sparkling water. I heard the water fizzing as she paused. The letters were all open and spread out in front of her. It only took a few moments for her to put together what had happened.
"Oh, Ayden. I'm sorry. I brought it with so we could talk about it. I didn't think you would find it and open it tonight."
"Jace took care of my father. All those years, he supported him and kept in touch. The last, the last two letters," I steadied my voice, "Jace explained what happened."
Autumn shuffled through the stack, and I squeezed my eyes shut harder. She had never believed I did the crime I was convicted of but to have it proven was an entirely different sensation. I felt as if my heart my crack into pieces.
"They're going to exonerate you." There was a long pause as she took a few shaky steps and curled up in the corner of the couch nearest my armchair. "You sacrificed yourself so Jace could have the career he was meant for."
I opened my eyes and saw tears flowing freely down her cheeks. "I never thought of it as a sacrifice. I got everything I ever wanted, the chance to study, to earn my degrees. It was just. . .different." I tried to explain, but my voice failed.
"But even your own father believed you were trafficking drugs. You were sentenced to fifteen years in federal prison," she reached across and caught my hand.
"Well, now he knows. My father tried to tell me he knew the truth, and I chased him out of my life." I closed my eyes again and let my head fall back on the chair.
"He's not out of your life. Now that your father knows the truth, now that he truly knows what kind of son he raised, he will find his way back into your life. If not for himself, then for your mother's sake. He said so himself," Autumn whispered.
I sat up, angry with myself. "I haven't done anything to prove it. I need to work at it. I need to make Knight Holdings a success. Jace deserves his legacy, and I have to secure it for him."
"Then let's get Shelton on the phone and talk through the David situation again." Autumn's hand fell away, and I saw her blanch. She was really sick but tried to shake it off.
"Oh, no. I keep doing this to you. All of this has waited over fifteen years. It'll keep for a while longer. What can I do?" I dropped to my knees on the floor in front of the couch.
Autumn waved both hands in front of her face. "I'll be fine. I'm just tired."
I scooped her up and carried her into the master suite. Underneath the robe she had put on a nightgown of pale pink satin. My body lit up at the sight, but Autumn shivered. I tucked her under the covers of the bed and got undressed. Then I slipped into bed and wrapped myself around her.
"I've ruined your getaway," she whispered against her pillow.
"Nonsense. Just rest. We still have tomorrow."
"I brought the envelope, and I dug it all up. I'm so sorry. That was just what you wanted to get away from." Autumn's voice wobbled.
"Shh, like you said, it’s a good thing. The truth is out. Jace was always good at clearing the air." I smiled against her blonde hair.
Autumn gave a long, ragged sigh, and I felt her fall asleep in my arms. I lay there with her in my arms and looked out at the lights of San Francisco. I realized in the whirlwind of leaving Las Vegas and arriving in San Francisco I had forgotten to tell Autumn what I had planned to say. Now it felt buried underneath the letters from the past.
I took a deep breath and promised myself I would dig out from underneath it all and not miss my chance with Autumn. Ever since I first laid eyes on her, she had been a balm over the wounds from my past. Now it seemed they were healing on their own, and I had to stop taking advantage of her. She was so much more and she meant so much more to me, but I had not said it aloud.
Now she lay wrapped in my arms. We were insulated from the worries of work, the distractions of Las Vegas, and the complications of our lives there. I promised myself that in the morning, I would set everything else aside and focus on her. Autumn deserved it. She deserved to know how I truly felt though my insides skittered with fear at the thought of revealing so much.
"Tomorrow I'll tell you I love you," I whispered.
Autumn shifted in her sleep, her body fitting snugly against mine. The warmth, the comfort, the beating of our hearts in the quiet suite, all lulled me into a deep and peaceful sleep.
* * * * *
The sound of the phone jolted me awake. My mind had formed the old familiar picture of the prison and for a few seconds I was certain the riot alarms were ringing. I sprang from bed with such force that Autumn cried out.
"Sorry, it's okay, everything's fine. It’s just my phone," I told both of us. My vision started to clear, and I slowly remembered we were in San Francisco at the Palace Hotel.
Autumn sat up and brushed her blonde hair back from her face. "It’s just your phone, Ayden. Here it was on the bedside table."
I shook off the last of my prison memories and reached for the phone. "Ayden King," I answered.
"Ayden, I'm glad I caught you. I'm sorry for the hour."
"I'm sorry, who is this?" I held the phone away from my cheek and checked the screen. "Shelton? What are you doing calling in the middle of the night?"
Autumn pulled herself out of bed and wrapped the robe around her. "Is everything alright?"
"I'm calling about David," our attorney said.
I dropped to the edge of the bed and pulled Autumn down next to me. "Yes, I understand. I went to see David without consulting anyone. I apologize. I just wanted a chance to talk to him about the Mertz brothers before he knew what was coming."
Autumn pushed away from me and stood up again. Her cheeks burned red, and I could tell by the strength of her hands that she was feeling better. I mouthed 'I'm sorry' to her, but she shook her head and crossed her arms tight across her stomach.
"If it’s any consolation, the conversation went just the way I suspected it would. David was smug. He thinks he's out of the Mertz brothers' reach, so he had no reason to cooperate with me. I put a little scare into him. When Autumn and I get back from San Francisco, we'll go see him together, and I'm sure he'll be ready to talk," I said.
"Ayden, please, listen to me," Shelton interrupted. "I'm calling in the middle of the night because the correctional facility just called me. David was found in his cell. His throat was cut."
"David Rooke is dead?"
Autumn put both hands to her mouth in shock. I thanked our attorney for the heads up and hung up the phone. The silence in our suite pulsed as we both tried to take in the news.
"He's really dead?" Autumn asked in a taut whisper.
"The guards said there were signs of a struggle, but none of the other inmates in his cell block are talking. No surprise there. We may never know exactly who did it, but I bet I can guess who ordered it to happen," I said.
Autumn tucked herself into my arms and hung on tightly. "You really think the Mertz brothers are capable of that?"
"Yes, and it’s time we took them seriously. They want us to know who they are dealing with, but they have no idea what I'm capable of." I felt Autumn tense in my embrace, but the only way to keep her safe was to unleash the hardened version of me that long years in prison had hammered into iron.