CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
“You didn’t have to come with me,” Billie said for the twentieth time since the phone call from her friend. “You could have stayed in Hawaii and taken the rest of your vacation.”
Tyler wasn’t quite sure what to say to his woman as they settled into the rental car at the Madison, Wisconsin airport. The little town where Sierra was hiding was only about an hour away. Connie had given them the address and he’d easily programmed it into the GPS.
Sure he could have stayed in Hawaii all by himself, soaking up sun and drinking rum drinks but why the hell would he? The woman he loved needed him and he didn’t want her dealing with this alone. Of course he was going to go to Wisconsin. He was a self-absorbed son of a bitch, that was true, but he wasn’t an asshole.
“Why would I stay in Hawaii when you aren’t there? I’m happy to be here, babe, helping you.”
Shoving her purse down on the floor, she folded her hands primly on her lap. “I was just saying that you could have stayed.”
Blowing out a frustrated breath, Tyler pulled out onto the freeway. “No, what you were saying is that you think I’m too shallow to want to deal with anything that isn’t fun. You’re not trusting me again with the good and the bad. You think I only want the good.”
She was studying her hands as if she’d never seen the before. “I do trust you.”
“Good. Then know that we’re there for each other no matter what. Do you think I don’t know how difficult this is for you? You’re going to see your sister for the first time in years and that has to be a big goddamn deal. I’m not letting you do this alone. We’ll go together to get her and take her back home with us. We’re a team, right?”
They always had been but even more so now. He’d never felt this crazy bond with another human being and damn if it didn’t feel like the best thing ever.
“A team,” she repeated softly. “Then I think I should warn this team that Connie said that Sierra still isn’t convinced that she should come to California.”
“Then we’ll convince her,” Tyler said firmly. He couldn’t let the sister of the woman he loved be in danger any longer. If he had to hire a team of bodyguards he would keep her safe.
The drive was easy and the weather cooperated, staying sunny and fairly warm despite the forecast for rain. The GPS guided them to what looked like a fairly new apartment complex, all the buildings painted blue with white trim. Well-maintained and cheery, there was row upon row of buildings but it only took a few minutes to find the one they were looking for. Her apartment was on the second floor overlooking a little pond with flowers planted on the sidewalk leading up to it.
“Are you ready?” he asked as Billie gathered her things, but he knew the answer without her having to tell him. Her face was pale and her lips trembled visibly. She was terrified and he wasn’t sure how to make everything okay for her. This wasn’t in his control. He couldn’t drop a bunch of money or use his fame to fix it all.
“As ready as I’ll ever be. Let’s go try and convince my estranged sister to pick up her life and move to a completely new state with me. This should be easy.”
There was sarcasm in Billie’s tone which was a good sign. She still had her sense of humor although he could feel the tension in her body as they climbed the stairs side by side. She was – rightfully – nervous.
Connie was supposed to have warned Sierra that they were coming so Tyler hoped he didn’t scare the young woman by knocking but they had no other choice. There was a flurry of activity behind the door, although he couldn’t tell exactly what is was—hopefully not a gun—and then a muffled voice spoke.
“Who is it?”
Clearing her throat, Billie leaned close to the door so she didn’t have to speak loudly.
“It’s Billie and Tyler. Can you please let us in?”
The door didn’t open right away and for a moment Tyler thought that maybe Sierra was going to refuse to do it, but then he heard the locks being disengaged, one after the other. Good, she’d had decent locks on the door. That was something at least. When she swung it open, he wasn’t sure what to expect. A woman who looked just like Billie? They were twins but not identical. Sierra’s hair wasn’t as dark and her nose was slightly different. There was definitely a strong resemblance, but Sierra had her own brand of beauty. It was there clearly in her delicate features despite the faded bruises on her cheek and eye. Shorter than Billie by about two inches, Sierra looked like a strong wind might blow her away. The t-shirt she was wearing had short sleeves that showed off more cuts and bruises on her way too thin arms. Even the shorts she was wearing hung off her frame as if made for someone ten pounds heavier.
“I guess you should come in,” Sierra said, stepping back and allowing them to enter. The apartment was decorated in a sparse fashion with only the basics. A couch and a chair in the living room along with a small television on a table. There were no personal effects at all, nothing that told him about the personality of the person that lived there. Sierra must have left all of it behind when she escaped. That made Tyler want to take her shopping and replace every bit of it with brand-new. He’d have to wait, though, because this abode was simply a temporary stop off on the road to a better life.
Sierra moved past them and sat down on the edge of the chair, elbows on her knees and her head hanging down so her curtain of dark hair hung across her face. Tyler couldn’t see her expression but the tension in the air was so thick even he wanted to tug at the collar of his white button-down shirt. Several years of unspoken words hung in the air between these two women.
“Connie called me.” Billie perched on the far end of the couch as far away from her sister as she could. Trying to be the buffer between them, Tyler sat on the couch as well but closer to Sierra. “She believes you’d be safer coming with me and Tyler to California and I think she’s right. We can’t let Brian find you again and there’s no way he’d think you left the state.”
“I’m fine. You didn’t need to come here.” Sierra was still staring down at the floor, not looking up to speak.
Billie’s lips tightened and she let out a frustrated breath. “You’re not fine. The social worker is worried about your safety. We can get you out of here right now and make sure he doesn’t get to you.”
“I appreciate you wanting to help but I’m not your problem.”
Throwing her hands in the air, Billie stood. “You’re my family. That makes your problems my problems.”
Jerking her head up, Sierra’s face was wet with tears. “I can take care of myself.”
Her purse falling to the floor, Billie stepped closer to her sister. “I’m sure you can but you need a little help to get back on your feet. I can give you that.” Billie’s eyes flashed with what looked like anger. “Or is it that you’ll take help from everyone but me? Because I could have sworn you told me that you hated me for trying to break you and Brian up and that you didn’t want me around anymore. So I left you alone like you asked me to. I’ve felt guilty every single day for leaving but frankly you never gave me a choice. You cut me out of your life with a dull knife.”
Every cell in Tyler’s body screamed to intervene, pull Billie into his arms and soothe her anger and hurt. Tears were falling on her face now as well and he had to fight his instinct to wipe them away. Those were cleansing tears of anger and hurt and his baby girl had been holding them in far too long. He loved her and he’d lay down his life for her but at this moment she and her sister had to say a few truths to one another. They were both hurting.
“Of course I said that,” Sierra yelled, more tears gushing from her swollen eyes. “Brian didn’t want you around and every time after you visited me he used to get so…”
Dashing at her cheeks with the back of her hand Billie growled, her teeth bared. “He beat you, didn’t he? After I left he’d beat you. That useless, fucking waste of goddamn skin. Every time I came to see you I begged you to leave with me but you never would. If I ever see his lazy fucking ass again I’ll beat the shit out of him with my bare fucking hands.”
That was a lot of dirty words out of his woman’s mouth but she’d had a good reason. Tyler felt the same way about this Brian guy and he hadn’t even met him, but he was already thinking of ways to ruin the man’s life.
The two women seemed to have run out of things to say, which was a surprise to Tyler because it appeared they had a hell of a lot more to talk about, especially after that little tidbit of information. Billie simply stood there waiting for Sierra to respond but the young woman didn’t say anything. Her body shook as she sat in the chair whether from anger, fear or something else, Tyler wasn’t sure.
“Are you going to say anything?” Billie asked after several long moments passed. “Anything at all?”
And just like that, Sierra’s lips tightened. Exactly like Billie’s had a few minutes ago. They were sisters and if Sierra had some other things in common with Billie then she was stubborn as hell. This standoff could last for hours…days, even. Tyler had many faults and lack of patience was one of them. They could argue in California.
“Sierra,” he finally said, his gaze flicking back and forth between the two women. “Would you like some help packing your things?”
It was time to take control of the situation because this was getting them exactly nowhere. There was a plane to catch and he wasn’t leaving Sierra here. He’d remembered how his mother had taught him to be assumptive when he wanted something. He’d used it with Billie quite a bit so he’d give it a shot with Sierra. From this moment on he was simply going to act as if it had all been decided and she was going with them. Case closed.
“I don’t have much,” Sierra admitted, her expression guarded and he didn’t expect anything less. She’d seen him for the first time about ten minutes ago. He had the distinct feeling that she trusted few people. Especially men.
Flicking a glance at his watch, he gave her what he hoped was his best reassuring smile.
“Why don’t we get those things packed up then? We need to get back in the air as soon as possible.”
He didn’t know why Sierra didn’t argue with him. Perhaps deep down she really wanted to go but didn’t want to admit it. Or maybe she was too exhausted to fight about it. It didn’t matter at the moment because she stood and walked into the bedroom, leaving him behind with Billie.
Scooting across the couch cushion, he wrapped an arm around her, dropping a kiss on her cheek. “It’s going to be okay.”
“She hates me,” Billie said, her voice thick with tears. He longed to be able to take away her emotional pain but he didn’t have a clue as to how. All he could do was try to help in the few obvious ways he could see. “And I hate myself. I never should have left.”
They’d had this conversation before but it looked like they might need to have it a few more times. “She doesn’t hate you, baby. And if you had stayed what do you think would have happened? Do you think Sierra would have left him any earlier? Do you think you could have somehow magically changed the situation? She told you she never wanted to see you again so you left and tried to make a better life for yourself. You don’t have to apologize for that.”
Wringing her hands together, Billie rubbed at her wet cheeks. “I would have been there when all this happened.”
Tyler wasn’t the type to carry a handkerchief so he did the best he could with his fingertips, wiping up her tears and pushing back the strands of hair that clung to her damp skin. “Okay, let’s say that you stayed. You didn’t get to see Sierra but you stayed. Would you have been in any position to help when she decided to get out? At least we can take her away from here.”
“Probably not,” Billie conceded, taking a shuddering breath. “I’d probably be at the same dead end job or one just like it. But let’s face it, Tyler, I’m not the one helping Sierra. You are. It was your money that paid for the divorce and the new life. It’s your money that’s bringing her back to California.”
“Don’t you ever say anything like that ever again,” he replied, warning clear in his tone. “We’re together and that means that everything I have is yours. Even if we weren’t together, I think you’ve earned that money over the years putting up with my shit. Don’t think I don’t know that you could have walked away from me and my antics a long time ago. Your friendship has kept me grounded and made sure I didn’t become just another Hollywood statistic.”
A smile curled on those full, pink lips. “You have been a handful at times.”
“There you go. Now let’s get your sister and get out of here.”