Isaiah
If it’d been hard enough to get any sleep that first night here, it had been impossible to last night. Since he’d skipped out on dinner again, just to avoid having to face Kelli, he’d even gotten up in the middle of the night to put a snack together. But even afterward, he’d hardly slept at all just thinking about the day’s happenings.
One day. One fucking day with her, and he hadn’t been able to fight the temptation to taste her lips just one more time. At that moment of insanity, he’d thought he’d get what had been building all day out of his system and be done with it. Now he couldn’t stop thinking about it—that and the fact that she hadn’t wanted him to stop. She was still claiming she felt what she had way back.
He’d given up on sleep before it was even six that morning. He’d begun to gather up and pack the few things he’d unpacked since he got there so that the moment he got the word about the guy her dad was sending over he’d be ready to go. It didn’t matter if it was late in the evening either. Last night had been too close. He wasn’t spending another night in the same house with her. He’d get a room in town if he had to. But he had to get out of there the moment he was able to.
The very thought of what Nathan and the rest of his family would say about Isaiah getting involved with Kelli made him cringe. He couldn’t allow anything of the sort to happen. Sure it’d been a year, and according to her, she and Nathan hadn’t slept together. Isaiah squeezed his eyes shut as once again he was assaulted by the ugly memories: memories of how his sixteen-year-old brother’s vulnerable heart had been torn apart by that conniving, selfish bitch and how long it’d taken Isaiah to get over the guilt.
Never again.
Only now he knew being around Kelli much longer might have him changing his mind about that. And he still wasn’t sure if this would be worth it—she would be worth it. Her life was still a complicated one, and already she’d disappeared on his ass once because of it. Isaiah had to get out of there now, before he gave into his weakening heart and other parts of his body that, after coming alive as they did yesterday, would be far more persuasive now.
He was still sitting in his bedroom, unwilling to go out into the kitchen where he could smell the coffee already when his phone rang. The moment he saw it was his cousin he answered.
“Moe, what’s up?”
“Good news and bad news,” his cousin chirped. “The good news is Raquel’s dad is willing to double what he’d originally agreed to pay for this gig if you’d just stay on a little longer.”
“Not a chance.” Isaiah stood up from where he’d been sitting on the edge of the bed.
“Yeah, well, the bad news is you may have to anyway.”
“What? Why?”
“Someone’s supposed to be calling her later today, but her dad said you could tell her if you want. There was an ambush last night at a bar in East Village. Several people were murdered. Among them were one of her brothers and an uncle. Her dad says he’s certain they were targeted. He’s gone into hiding along with her other brothers. All his guys will be tied up for the next few days. He doesn’t think he can get anyone out there for at least another two or three days, but more than ever now, he doesn’t want her left alone.”
Isaiah had gone cold the moment Moe mentioned Kelli’s brother and uncle being murdered. He had no idea how close she was to her brothers or uncles, but if they were anything like his family, she was going to be devastated.
“I’ll tell her,” he said, feeling a bit numb as he stood there in the middle of his room. “It’s something she should know as soon as possible.”
Moe gave him the information on which brother and uncle had been the ones murdered. The unrelenting need to get the hell out of there had done a sudden about face. All he could think of now was comforting Kelli and, alarmingly, not letting her out of his sight. Every one of his other worries would just have to take a back seat to this now. As much as he’d been avoiding her all of last night and that morning, he was already heading out to the kitchen with Moe still on the line.
“Tell him not to worry.” Kelli turned to face him from the other side of the kitchen counter when she heard his voice. “I’ll stay here as long as he needs me to.”
“Good man,” Moe said, sounding relieved. “I knew you’d come around. So how’s it been? You two getting along any better? From the way you first responded to the good news, I take it not so much?”
Kelli was staring at him curiously. Isaiah was sure hearing him say he’d stay there as long as they needed him to and with such concord, especially given what he’d said yesterday, had to be confusing to her. “I’m gonna talk to her right now, man. I’ll call you back later.”
“Gotcha.”
He hung up and met Kelli’s inquiring eyes.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
Isaiah’s years in the fire department should’ve prepared him for this. This wouldn’t be the first time he delivered the news of someone’s death to his loved ones. But it never got any easier. It was one of the few things he’d been glad he’d never have to do again, and now here he was.
He walked into the kitchen slowly. Unlike the rest of the time since he’d been here, except for his moment of weakness yesterday, he looked her square in the eyes.
“I have some bad news, sweetheart.”
Kelli’s brows shot up, and she put the mug she was holding down on the counter.
“Your brother Ron and your Uncle Seth were murdered last night.”
Her mouth fell open and he walked to her as she brought her hand over her mouth. Out of instinct, Isaiah wrapped his arms around her, and she fell into the embrace.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispered, kissing the top of her head.
He’d always done that when he hugged one of his sisters, but he made a mental note to be careful about how affectionate he got with her. He didn’t want a repeat of yesterday’s slip happening again. At least under these new circumstances he was fairly certain there’d be none of that.
It surprised him to see she wasn’t falling apart as he might have been if he’d gotten the news of one of his siblings being murdered. As he pulled back to study her, he realized she’d barely teared up. “I think I’ve always known I’d get this kind of news about some of my brothers or uncles someday.” She wiped the few tears she did shed away and reached for a napkin, lifting and dropping a shoulder. “Even my dad. The fact that I’m in hiding right now, when I’ve never even been involved with the business, is proof positive that everyone involved with my father’s business is living on borrowed time.”
The thought heightened the fear he had now that he’d have to watch her even closer. “I think you should quit your job at the dairy store. It’s one of the things your dad’s gonna ask you to do anyway.”
He explained to her about her dad and other brothers being in hiding now too and how he wouldn’t be able to send anyone out to replace Isaiah any time soon. Then he reiterated that he’d be willing to stay as long as they needed him. He almost felt bad that she seemed surprised by that.
“Are you sure? This isn’t the first time something similar has happened in my father’s world. They’re not even the first family members to lose their lives because of his business. I was very young the last time we were forced to hide, but I remember it felt like my mom and I were gone forever.”
Once again Isaiah assured her that he was more than okay with staying. Although the thought of being around her for much longer than he anticipated was worrisome, even more troubling was the fact that his not being there to protect her now outweighed his reservations about staying here in the first place.
“Are you and your brothers very close?”
She shook her head, exhaling. The complete lack of tears further confirmed just how not close she was to them. Isaiah would have been a mess for days—weeks—if he lost one of his siblings.
“They’re all much older than I am,” she explained with a shrug as they both made their way into the front room. “Ron was the oldest.” She was quiet for a moment, staring straight ahead, then spoke again almost in a whisper but didn’t turn to face him. “I’m my father’s bastard child. My brothers are from his first wife. My mom didn’t know he was married when she got involved with him. She sheltered me from my father’s business and other family as much as she could. I didn’t really get to know any of them until after my mom passed, when I was in my late teens, and he introduced us formally, but they knew of me for years. He never kept me a secret from any of them, including his first wife, whom he left when he found out my mom was pregnant. My mother refused to marry him, but he made sure we stayed in his life with threats. He’s always been a powerful man, so my mom had no choice but to remain a part of his life, unless she wanted to risk losing me. She knew he’d use everything in his power to get full custody of me.”
She shook her head, glancing around the room, and Isaiah noticed she avoided making eye contact now. “I didn’t know any of this, of course, until I was old enough to start asking questions like why she never married my dad, especially because my dad always told me he loved us. Not just me. I was thirteen when my mom told me the whole ugly truth about my dad, his business, and the other women.”
Kelli finally turned to him and asked him to take a seat. Isaiah sat right next to her, feeling the need to be that close in case she did suddenly break down. As a former firefighter, he knew sometimes it took some time for news like this to sink in and some people went into shock when it did. Though she seemed fine, just pensive. The more he watched and listened to her tell him more about her childhood, the more he knew he was in trouble. He felt as mesmerized as he had that first night he’d met her—as mesmerized as he’d been when they parted ways the Monday morning after the weekend was over.
He swallowed hard, trying to concentrate on the fact that she’d just lost two family members. Regardless of what she’d said, this had to be a trying time for her. The last thing he should have been thinking about while he stared at her was cradling her face again—devouring that mouth—and especially not how badly he wanted to make love to her again.
“So your dad and brothers are in the Mafia?” he asked, trying to get his head back on the subject.
“He’s never called it that, but he may as well have. Maybe even worse. It hadn’t gotten this bad again until about maybe six months before I met you. Nelson, the guy I’d been dating, was run off the road by some random car. It wasn’t until I just happened to mention it to my dad that he let me in on what was going on. He sold a big part of the business, and a few of his silent partners and one who’s particularly ruthless felt cheated out of their cut. They’d been dealing with him for a while, but he’d started making threats. So my boyfriend being run off the road didn’t seem so random to my dad. He said maybe they thought I was in the car with him. When he started talking about me possibly having one of his goons babysit me, I refused. But I had to at least tell my boyfriend what was going on. Things weren’t the greatest between us as it was. Needless to say, after a few more random incidents and a brick through his apartment window on a night I happened to be there, it was over between us. I can’t blame the guy. You’ve no idea how humiliating it is to have someone dump you because they don’t want to be involved with someone who has a family like mine.”
She shrugged; then her expression turned even more serious, and she glanced away. “After that, I swore off getting serious with anyone I’d have to warn about my family—why I didn’t even want to give you my full name the night we met. It’d been easy enough up until that weekend, knowing I couldn’t get involved in anything serious. Then I spent that weekend with you. What I felt . . .” She shook her head, glancing away. “I was so ready to take a chance—convinced myself that it’d be fine. Then I got the texts”—she turned back to face him—“threatening texts about harming my new boyfriend if I didn’t talk to my dad. At first, I thought they were bluffing. I called them on it, saying I didn’t have a boyfriend, but then they sent photos of you and me at Seaside Village. Even then, I considered ignoring them but decided it’d be best to wait before responding to your texts. My hope was because they never actually used your name that my dad was right about them likely not knowing who you were. He suggested that I stay away from you for your own good because it was the only way they could get to you.
“He even suggested that I continue hanging out—having lunch and coffee—with my other male friends, because it’d confuse the idiots trying to scare me into begging my daddy to give into their demands. It’s why I agreed to have a drink with Nathan in the first place. I really did plan on contacting you once it all died down, and my dad assured me it would. But then I saw you again at your uncles’ and you seemed hurt—angry. I can’t explain how that felt. All I knew was I had to explain to you why I’d blown you off, and then being near you again . . . I just . . .”
Isaiah took that all in as she glanced away and sat there pensively again for a moment. Not only had she had a valid reason for not wanting to return his calls, it bordered on honorable. If in fact she had felt what she claimed she did, then ignoring his texts and calls had been a sacrifice for her—a torment. It sure as hell had felt like that to him from the moment he arrived. With his heart nearly bursting, he almost reached out for her, until he remembered Nathan. So he bit his tongue because he knew he shouldn’t say what he was thinking—he couldn’t.
She shook her head suddenly as if to shake the awkward silence, turning back to the kitchen. “I forgot all about the waffle batter I’d just made before you walked out. Would you like one?”
With that, she stood and walked back to the kitchen. Breaking the news to her about her brother and uncle had been a lot easier than he’d imagined. Somehow he’d been expecting and had prepared himself for hysterics. But he supposed it made sense if she were never close to her brothers. She was probably even more unacquainted with her uncle. She’d hardly mentioned him at all.
“If you’re making them anyway, I’ll take one,” he said.
She gazed up from the waffle maker where she’d just poured batter into . “Are you gonna sit with me and eat it or are you taking it back to your room?”
He winced, feeling like an asshole now. “About that.” He shook his head as he leaned against the counter. “Obviously, that wasn’t because you repulsed me, Kel. You know now that couldn’t be further from the truth.”
“So we’ve established your reluctance for anything more happening between us.” She spun the waffle maker upside down then glanced up at him. “I respect your decision. I won’t push the issue anymore. Maybe this is just me because I’ve never been close to my brothers, but I just think you not being able to share a meal with me or be in the same room is a bit much, don’t you?”
Was she really that oblivious about what she did to him? If she were any of the other girls one of his brothers had dated and therefore off limits, he’d have zero issues with being in the same room with her. Zero worries about not being able to keep his hands and lips to himself.
He watched as she walked over to the fridge and pulled out the carton of fresh berries she’d bought at the farmers’ market yesterday. His eyes began roaming, taking in her firm legs and tight little ass, even at this most inappropriate moment. Fortunately, her phone rang, breaking him out of his thoughts.
She glanced up at him with a strange expression before answering. “Hey,” she said in a sweet and gentle voice. “How are you?”
Isaiah could only assume it was her dad or maybe one of her two other brothers. “You should’ve called me, Matt. Hold on.” She covered the phone, turning back to Isaiah. “Help yourself to coffee, and when that beeps go ahead and flip it over and take the waffle out. You can have the first one. I’m gonna take this outside for a minute.” She started to the door but began talking to Matt again. “You know you should never hesitate to call me, no matter what.”
Staring at her from behind as she walked out the kitchen door into the backyard, Isaiah tried hard to remember way back to the lunch in Los Angeles: the day she’d met them out there and AJ and Nathan had begun to get into it about her. He remembered a very annoyed Nathan had rattled off the names of her brothers to AJ. Isaiah couldn’t remember all their names, but for some reason, he thought he remembered them all being R names. First she said Gilbert, a name he hadn’t forgotten from his weekend with her, was the only other friend who had her very private prepaid phone number. Now Matt was calling her too?
Isaiah poured himself a cup of coffee just as the waffle maker beeped. He tried not to let the fact that Kelli was out back on a call she clearly preferred he not listen in on bother him. This call from Matt, whom she spoke so sweetly to, was annoying as shit. He flipped the waffle maker over, opened it, and pulled the waffle out onto his paper plate.
This was not jealousy he was feeling. It was annoying that, just when he’d begun to let go of some of the resentment he’d felt for her all this time, she was proving AJ’s theory about her might be right after all. Maybe she lied easily. Maybe she couldn’t be trusted. Just yesterday she’d made the argument that she still felt for him what she said she did the night she said good-bye forever. She’d begun to touch on it again today. That meant she was claiming she was still feeling for him what he was certain now he felt for her. Yet she had Gilbert and Matt calling her on a phone he assumed was supposed to be highly classified. She was in hiding, right? Fearing for her life? And Isaiah was the one responsible for keeping her safe.
The moment she walked back in the back door he turned to her. “I thought you said Gilbert was the only other person who had that number?”
“I forgot about Matt.” She glanced away to the waffle maker as she approached the counter. “But they’re the only two.”
“Is that phone untraceable?”
“Yes.” She poured more batter into the waffle maker. “But it wouldn’t matter with them if it weren’t. I trust them with my life.”
“Who are they?”
“I told you.” She glanced up at him then back at the waffle maker. “Friends. Good friends.”
“Platonic friends?” He walked around the counter, even more annoyed now about her being so vague. “Like Nathan was?”
She tilted her head with an expression that appeared as annoyed as he felt now. “No, I never even considered Nathan a friend. He was just someone I went out with a couple of times. Gilbert and Matt are my good friends—have been for years.”
“Are they gay?”
To his surprise, she laughed. “No, why would you think that?”
Even hearing her sweet laugh didn’t stop him from rolling his eyes. He should’ve figured Kelli—someone whose life was too complicated for serious relationships—would have multiple male friends calling her. One had been calling her daily even way back during their weekend together.
More surprising than her laughing about his assumption was the fact that she didn’t comment further or question his eye rolling. Instead, she changed the subject.
“So are you actually eating with me?” She motioned to the small kitchen table.
Just then the waffle machine beeped again, and she flipped it over, taking the waffle out and placing it on her plate. Isaiah watched as she walked her plate with berries and whipped cream to the small table, trying to decide which was more exasperating: that she had two guys checking in on her when she was supposed to be staying on the down low—maybe her phone wasn’t traceable but what about theirs?—or the fact that she was evidently done telling him anything else about her good friends. Walking his plate and coffee mug over to the table, Isaiah decided he’d drop the subject of her good friends.
For now.
She smiled, lifting her brows as he sat down. The surprised expression she wore about the fact that he was actually going to sit and eat with her was a bit overdone.
“Just so you know,” he started to explain, “it’s not that I think I’m breaking any kind of bro code by being in the same room or having a meal with you. It’s just my way of trying to avoid any slips like yesterday’s happening again.
She glanced up from her plate. “Curious. Since you’re so hell bent about staying true and loyal to your brother, will you be telling him about yesterday’s . . . slip?”
“Nope.” Their eyes locked as just one of her brows lifted. “Unless the two of you get back together, there’s—”
“We were never together.” She sounded as frustrated as he felt about this subject now too.
“Well, whatever it was that happened to make him refer to you as his girl at one point. If I knew you were back in his life again, I’d have no choice but to tell him—everything.”
“You never told him about us at all?”
He shook his head, reaching over to the carton of berries because he couldn’t look into those eyes any more. “Once you were gone, I didn’t see the point. The way you do that, just up and disappear, is pretty fucked.” He tried not to sound as bitter as he knew he already did. “His ego was bruised enough.”
“I had no choice,” she said softly. “But I did text him to say good-bye.”
Isaiah bit his tongue from saying what he really wanted to say: that at least Nathan had gotten that much from her before she disappeared on him. Instead, he countered with something else. “Then you disconnected your phone immediately afterward.”
“No, my phone is actually still in service. I just pulled out the battery so there was no way to track it. But I did put it back in every now and again to check messages.” She glanced down at her plate again before adding, “I had the tiniest of hopes you might’ve tried to contact me. I had it with me for the few months before my dad got this place.”
Isaiah brought his attention back to her because he didn’t want to believe it was this easy for her to lie. But it was hard not to. “Nathan said your phone was out of service that same day you told him you were leaving, Kelli.”
His irritation only grew when she glanced up from her food and shook her head again. She was still going to have the nerve to try and deny it?
“There’s an app Matt told me about. You can download it so you can program specific numbers that call you to get the message that says your phone is out of service. I programmed it for several people I wanted to think I’d disconnected it, including Nathan, but not you.”
Gulping hard, Isaiah could kick himself for getting caught in those eyes again. It pissed him off to think of all the what ifs? What if things had happened differently? What if it had been Isaiah’s shift that had been called out to her salon instead of Nathan’s? Even now, a few new what ifs had been floating in his head ever since he tasted her mouth again last night. What if he just talked to Nathan about this? What if he explained he’d had every intention of staying away from her forever? This was nothing like the situation with Desiree. Through no fault of his own, they’d been thrust together again, and he couldn’t help what he felt for her. But just the thought of having to rehash the only instance that had ever caused a rift between him and one of his siblings already had him shaking his head.
Apparently, Kelli was done waiting for him to respond to her comment about her waiting on him to call. She got up and walked over to the waffle maker. “You want another one?”
He shook his head because he hadn’t even touched his first one. “I’m good right now.”
“So I know, with everything going on, right now is probably not the best time for me to leave town, but I’m gonna have to today.”
Isaiah’s head jerked in her direction in response to her announcement. She couldn’t possibly be serious. But it seemed she was.