Chapter 15 – One to Keep
Star Brandon was not a real name.
No surprises there, even Nikki called that one, but what did surprise me was the only record anybody had of her was as Toni Durango of Raleigh, North Carolina. I shook my head at the additional, obviously fake name, and wondered if the work address, The Skinniflute bar, was equally false.
It was clearly her photo, beside a two-year old arrest record for indecent exposure. Seemed Ms. Durango thought a thong bikini would be acceptable in Myrtle Beach, but the conservative residents thought otherwise. The charges had eventually been dropped, but it gave me a place to start. If that turned up nothing, Tom Brandon was my next search. He’d given her his name and called her, perhaps he was her boss.
My mind scrolled through the possibilities, the most pleasant of which was that I’d have an excuse to be in Elaine’s home state again. I heard Derek’s voice—he said my name loudly, but then it tapered off. Fine with me, I wanted to read every word of the Star/Toni report and note any clues it might give me to her current whereabouts.
The noises out in the hallway grew louder. I glanced at my closed door. A female voice was speaking rapidly, but I didn’t recognize it. It wasn’t Nikki. Star/Toni’s information was still up on my screen, as I slowly stood, finishing the page.
The voice tapered off as I opened my door. That’s when it sounded vaguely familiar. I was out in the hallway just in time to see the front glass doors closing and Derek standing at the entrance to his office looking shell-shocked. He quickly went after whoever that was, but when he went out, the foyer was empty. I followed him.
“Are you okay?” He didn’t even look at me. Without a word, he turned and went back into his office. “Derek. What happened?” My concern was growing by the second.
He walked straight to the windows and looked down, turning his head as if he were trying to see something. I looked down, too, but all I saw was the empty courtyard below. For several minutes he simply stood watching, not speaking. My brow creased as I studied his face—lined, dark brow furrowed, blue eyes full of pain.
“What happened?” I repeated.
Nikki stepped into the room and quickly crossed to him, touching his arm. Her voice was quiet, gentle. “Was that her?” she asked.
My mind flew through everything that just happened—everything I wasn’t paying attention to. Derek had said my name then his voice cut off. Several minutes passed, and I heard that female voice… I noticed Derek’s jaw clench, and he turned back to the desk, quickly sitting behind it. I looked at Nikki, but she shook her head.
“What her do you mean?” I asked.
“Melissa was just here.” My partner’s dead tone immediately caused me to sit.
“Melissa?” I repeated. “But… why?” Clearly it hadn’t gone well.
Elbows bent, Derek put his face in his hands, his fingers pushing back the dark hair. For several seconds he stayed that way, and I sat watching him, waiting. My eyes scanned his desk. A small pouch lay on top of some papers, otherwise, nothing unusual was in front of him.
Nikki’s voice was hesitant. “Is there anything I can do?” She carefully reached out and put her hand on his arm.
Dropping his hands, Derek cleared his throat, turned to his computer, and started typing. I watched in silence as he pulled up the state government site for Maryland and started scrolling.
“Want to tell me what happened?” I tried again.
I knew his longing for Melissa was as powerful as mine had been for Elaine. Now that I’d had my need met, I felt better about offering to help. I wasn’t walking around like a hollowed-out shell of a person anymore.
The telephone out front beeped and Nikki left the room. Her voice in the reception area echoed back to us, and Derek slowly turned to face me.
“He beat her.” His voice was quiet.
“What?” I slid forward in the chair, anger rising in my stomach. “Melissa? Who beat her?”
I didn’t know her very well, but I knew her well enough. I knew Derek loved her, and I knew she was Elaine’s best friend. If someone had hurt her, I’d gladly help Derek kick the shit out of him and put him away—in whatever order they preferred. But I was confused. Derek didn’t seem ready to act.
“Her husband.” Still quiet, his voice now sounded broken. “I didn’t know. I didn’t even check.”
A flash like white light hit my face. “Melissa’s married? But I thought you two were—”
“I knew her husband from Princeton. He hired me to follow her to Scottsdale. To see if she was having an affair. I told him she wasn’t.”
This revelation had me slowly sliding back in my chair again. I watched Derek as he spoke. He’d never struck me as the homewrecker type, and I knew how he felt about sleeping with clients. Now he was telling me this potentially explosive story of how he’d broken all his rules.
“Did he beat her when he found out?” I asked, unsure how to proceed. Cheating or not, abuse was still unacceptable to me.
“No,” he said. “It was before. Apparently a while back. It’s why she was leaving him. She’d filed for divorce before she went to the desert. He lied to me.”
I was sure the confusion was clear on my face. I didn’t know anything about the case that had taken him to Arizona, and now I was learning he’d been hired by Melissa’s almost-ex-husband to investigate her, and he’d ended up falling in love with her.
“Is this why you blamed me?” I asked, remembering his demeanor at the bar, his incomplete story.
Weary blue eyes lifted to mine, and I decided to drop all comparisons to my screw up or how this pretty much got me off the hook.
“Explain this abuse part,” I said. “What was that about?”
He picked up the small pouch on his desk and opened it, lifting out a gold chain with a small floating heart on it. “She thinks I knew. She thinks I helped him knowing what he’d done to her.” His fist closed around the delicate piece of jewelry, and he lifted it to his lined brow. “I’ve got to fix this.”
Derek stood quickly, heading down the hall to an older storage closet that contained several filing cabinets. In a few moments he was back carrying a file. I sat watching.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“She said he hired prostitutes.” He seemed recharged. “Abusers usually have a pattern. I need to find another woman he hurt.”
“This guy sounds like a real winner.” I couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of my voice. “You didn’t know about any of this?”
He shook his head, quietly scanning the pages. The folder had the name Reynolds on it, and I remembered it was the name Melissa had said at dinner that night. Her former marketing client. Derek stood and snatched his suit coat off the back of his chair along with his keys and phone.
“I might be out of the office a few days,” he said, going to the door. “Nikki, forward my calls and emails.”
He pushed out the glass doors, and the office was suddenly quiet. Staring after him, I processed all he’d said. It was an awful story. It was what had taken him to the desert. Melissa and Elaine were out there together on a spa vacation—a mental health break, Elaine had said.
If Melissa thought Derek was lying to her, had she told Elaine what happened? I was on my feet and headed to my office in an instant. Shutting my door, I grabbed my phone and touched her number. Elaine had to know I didn’t know shit about any of this.
* * *
Nine hours later, Elaine’s body was back beneath mine, my arms tight around her waist, and I was breathing an enormous, internal sigh of relief. Moments before she’d been crying out in ecstasy, but before all of that, she’d been about to hit me and throw me out of her condo.
Again, an enormous, internal sigh of relief.
After Derek had left to do God knows what about his situation with Melissa, I’d tried calling Elaine. When my third call went to voicemail, I knew something was wrong. Scooping up my things, I went straight to my car headed for Wilmington. Nikki followed me into the hall complaining about Alexander and Knight both disappearing at once, but I wasn’t listening. Whatever my senior partner had done, I’d be damned if he cost me the woman I loved. I drove all eight hours thinking of what I might say, which wasn’t going to be much, considering I’d just found out about the whole thing.
Apparently, Elaine had been in the car while Melissa had been in our offices. She was just getting home after dropping her friend off at her new place when I met her.
“I’m not ready to see you now, Patrick,” she said, attempting to push me out of the house.
I caught her hands, not letting her go. “You can’t shut me out. I didn’t know anything about what Derek was doing.”
She was still trying to push me out, but the more she pushed, the more I held on until she finally stopped struggling. Still, her green eyes flashed with anger.
“He only told me it was complicated,” I said. “Then when we got back, all I could think about was you. I didn’t pay any attention to his cases.”
“You’re trying to tell me you two are in the same office and you never discuss your work?”
“Baby, I promise…” I reached for her waist, but she blocked my hands.
“Don’t baby me. I want the truth, Patrick Knight. Melissa’s been through hell, and I won’t waste time on players who have no respect for women.”
“I respect you.” My fingers threaded with hers, and I pulled her to me. “And I believe you. I’m sorry about what happened with Melissa. Fuck, I want to kill that guy.” My voice grew softer. “Please believe me when I promise you, I didn’t know about any of it until today. Derek was seriously playing it all close to the vest. Probably to protect her.”
Her lips were still a tight line, but she was in my arms now. My muscles were starting to unclench, and when she lowered her head to my chest, they completely relaxed. I kissed her head and she turned her cheek to the side, pressing it against my heart.
“She’s so hurt,” Elaine said, her voice cracking. “I’ve never seen her so devastated. Even after it happened. I know she’s still in love with him.”
My hands rubbed her slim back. “Her husband?”
“No.” She shook her head. “Derek. Melissa loves Derek. She barely spoke the whole drive home, and I think she was just holding on until she could be alone and fall apart.”
“We’ll check on her,” I said, moving my hands down to her waist. She was wearing a black skirt, and a sleeveless black top that was slightly cropped, exposing a half inch of her lined torso. She was so beautiful. “Let’s make up first.”
“I’m not sure if I’m ready.” She stepped back, but I caught her hand, bringing her back to me.
“Look,” I said, catching her chin and raising her eyes to mine. “I love you, and I’ll do whatever I can to help Derek bring that guy down. He’s already started working on it, building a case.”
Her expression changed as I spoke, and the look in her eyes—happiness combined with wonder—melted me.
“What did you just say?” she asked, eyes shining.
I tried to remember. I replayed my words in my head until I realized it. Shit. My jaw clenched, but I didn’t answer. I hadn’t meant to say that out loud yet.
“Patrick?” her voice was soft, almost a whisper and this time she caught my chin with her slim hand, forcing my eyes to meet hers.
“I called you baby,” I said, a grin touching my lips. “I know you love that.”
“That wasn’t all you said.” Her voice was lower and she rose on her toes, putting her face closer to mine. Her arms wrapped around my neck and we were a breath apart, noses almost touching. The scent of her delicate perfume surrounded me, and her lips parted. I barely moved, covering them with mine, mouths opening, tongues curling together.
In a flash she was off her feet and in my arms. I carried her back to the bedroom, and we were on the bed, her hands working at my belt, my hand fishing in my pocket for protection. Soon enough I was rocking into her, her legs wrapped around my waist, any disagreement between us forgotten.
Which brought us back to the lovely moment of her body under mine. We were still partially dressed, but I’d managed to get her out of that black top and bra. Her skirt was another matter, bunched around her waist. My shirt was still on my shoulders, but it was open, allowing her breasts to be flush with my skin. I kissed her temple, her eyebrow, her nose.
“What was it you said before?” Her eyes sparkled as she repeated the question from earlier.
I couldn’t help but smile. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“I think you do.”
With a deep breath, I gave in and said it.
“I love you, Elaine Merritt. I love your eyes and your laugh and the way your lips feel against mine.” It was all coming out now in a rush, and I wasn’t stopping it. “I love how smart you are and how much you care about your students. I love that you’ll protect your friends. I love your independence…”
Her chin lifted with her laugh, and she pulled her body closer to mine. “I’m not so independent,” she said, kissing my jaw. “I couldn’t go a whole week without you.”
“I’m so glad you couldn’t,” I said, pressing my lips to hers again briefly. “I love making love to you. I just… I love you.”
It was the first time I’d said it to any woman not related to me since Stacy, but it was so right. It was so much more than that near-mistake, that injury that had left me going down a self-destructive path. That had led me here.
My heart was something I’d gladly give her. I’d given it to her already, she just didn’t know. I was afraid it was too soon, yet everything leading us to this point solidified my decision.
For a moment, she only looked at me, that beautiful smile on her face. Then she pulled her body up, placing her mouth close to my ear. “I love you, Patrick Knight.” Her soft lips touched my skin. “I love you so much.”
My eyes closed as my arms tightened around her. Whatever happened between us, in that moment, I knew the truth. She was my heart and my soul. She was the one I’d never get over. She was the one I would always keep.