Chapter 4
His surprise was just as big as hers. Mira noticed how his eyes widened when he saw her. Did he recognize her? The last time he had seen her, Mira had been eight years old. Back then, she had been a frightened young girl. Today, she was a 25-year-old woman. And right now, not very much less frightened. Her heart raced, and her palms began to sweat once more. All that she saw was Connor Carmichael.
The man who had killed her father.
The man they had let go, due to a lack of evidence.
The man who had ruined her entire life and that of her sister, and their mother, with just one tiny movement of his index finger, when he had pulled the trigger.
Before she knew what happened next, she had lifted her hand and slapped him across his face so hard that the bones in her fingers trembled. She didn’t even realize just how much of her anger and despair she had put into it, because his head had barely moved, but even in this dim light she could clearly see the outline of her hand on his now reddened cheek.
Then she turned on her heel and ran down the hallway towards the stairs. Her breathing came in short and rapid bursts as she tried to overcome the incredible chaos inside of her. She ran blindly past Fabienne and noticed, with relief, that George had opened the door for her. For an early autumn night, the California air was surprisingly cool, and Mira was grateful for the refreshing breeze outside the house. She took a deep breath and held on to a street light. Her entire body was shaking almost violently.
She had run away. Just like she had done all those years ago.
The sound of steps came from behind her, and when she turned around in panic, she saw that Connor had followed her. He walked slowly and made no attempt to hide his presence from her. Her entire body was shivering so badly that it literally paralyzed her to the point where she couldn’t walk away from this situation. Memories of this man back then, when he had lifted her up, pressed her against him and carried her back to bed, blended into what she was looking at right now.
As he came closer, the light of the lamps above him brightened his face a little, before plunging it back into the dark and then lighting it up again.
When Connor Carmichael came to a stop right in front of her, Mira was so scared that she thought she would pass out. He lifted both of his hands in a calming and soothing manner, but she didn’t understand that.
“Mira,” he said with a low voice and right then something inside her snapped.
Her eyes filled with tears and she could not stop them. His betrayal was so very painful and still so fresh, as if it had happened only yesterday. First mom and then dad — they had both trusted him. And how had he repaid them?
“Please let me explain…”
“No,” Mira interrupted him rudely and stumbled away from him. The heel of her shoe got stuck somewhere and she almost fell, but she managed to catch herself and kept running. Away from him. Away from this man. The tears in her eyes made it difficult to see, especially in those darker areas between the sparsely located street lights that were not very bright to begin with. She ran into something and screamed in pain. He caught her and held her, subduing her tears, pressing her head close to his chest just like he had done all these years ago. He even smelled like he had back then!
“Please, Mira. Calm down. I won’t hurt you.”
She lifted her head away from him and pushed against him as hard as she could. Her breasts were heaving because she was so out of breath. Connor reached his hand out to her, half pleading and also a little demanding. “At least let me explain why I visited your mother.”
Mira’s reaction was something she had no control over. She burst out laughing. It was in the middle of the night, they stood in a wealthy part of town in a street lined with upper class houses, and the man who had destroyed her entire family, had come to visit her dying mother. What was there to explain? What could he possibly want to explain?
“Leave us alone!” Mira’s voice was soaked with disgust for him. “And do not dare to come near my mother ever again. Why did you come here? Did you need to see how much you have broken her, one last time? Did you need to rub it in her face, just how wrong she had been about you?”
For a split second, Mira noticed a look of impatience on his face. The light around them was only faint, but he seemed a little agitated. She saw his jaw muscles clench and his blue eyes narrowed ever so slightly. She immediately took a step back. He reminded her of a hawk, fixated on its prey and ready to catch it any second now. Mira felt like a mouse, paralyzed and staring into the eyes of death. At this point, all she could hope for was that it would be quick and painless.
“I did not kill your father.” He spoke quietly while watching her face carefully for any kind of reaction or answer. He didn’t find any. The hand he had stretched out towards her, fell to his side. “I could never hurt your mother. I would rip my own heart out of my chest before I’d do that.”
“I do not believe you!” She spat her words out in utter disgust, and Mira felt her self-confidence slowly creeping back into her veins. She realized two things: For one, they were standing in a street lined with houses full of people. If she was to scream for help, she would be heard. She was sure of that. And even if nobody came to her rescue, they would certainly call the police. The other thing was — if Connor really did want to do her harm, he would have done it by now. How much time had passed already, since they had been standing here?
She pulled her shoulders back and defiantly wiped her tears from her face. “What is it that you want? Why did you visit my mother?”
“Don’t you know?” He silently moved towards her. Connor Carmichael was a muscular man. That much was obvious, even though his body was covered by all of his clothes. And yet, he moved as smoothly as a predator, with a quiet elegance that seemed to belie the sheer mass of his muscles. When her heart skipped a beat, Mira realized there and then that he had made no attempt to hide his footsteps as he had followed her — just like he had allowed her to slap him straight across the face. This man seemed dangerous. Fast and silent, just like that hawk he reminded her of.
“I wanted to see her one last time before she dies,” he said brutally and without hesitation. Mira stared speechlessly at his face and for a short moment she saw a darkness in his eyes before it disappeared again.
“You are lying,” replied Mira angrily. “Just like you have been lying all this time. Let me go. And do not dare to try and see my mother again. I will inform the house about your false identity and I will also let the police and our lawyer know about this. I will get an order of protection against you for my entire family, and if that includes getting a restraining order, then I will do that too. Do you understand me?”
He lifted his head and stared at her with an unimpressed look. His lips curled into a mocking smile. “The little girl has grown up, I see.” He shrugged his shoulders. “A little fighter. Fine by me. Go ahead. Get your lawyers involved. I’m looking forward to that hearing.”
Mira wasn’t really sure how she was supposed to take that. She tried desperately to get her twirling thoughts under control. What on earth did he mean by I’m looking forward to that hearing?
His hand went behind his back and he pulled his wallet out of the back pocket of his jeans. “Here is my card. At the bottom you will find my private number. If you have any questions or if you change your mind about this whole court thing, then you know how to get hold of me directly.”
He was so damn cocky! Mira stared at the simple white card she had taken automatically. It seemed to burn her fingers. It was like poison in her hand. She tore it into four even pieces and let them fall to the ground. She looked fearlessly into his cold eyes as she purposefully stepped on the torn pieces of the card, and moved closer to him, until she was only an inch away from his face. “Hell will freeze over before I talk to you again.” Mira spoke purposefully quietly, and she tried to put a smile on her face. She felt a drop of sweat run down her spine. It felt like the tip of a finger running down every single one of her vertebrae.
Connor held her gaze with a wide smile. Then he turned around and without another word, he left.