Beautiful Surrender (The Surrender Series Book Three) (10 page)

“You
don’t know anything about him,” I said.

Marty
threw his hands up in frustration. “I know he’s a smooth-talking player who
thinks you’re the flavor of the month.”

His
words hurt me. Although Vincent and I had resolved the miscommunication over
Ariel Diamond, the issue had still been lingering on my mind. “Why do you keep
saying that?”

“‘I have
some ideas for some new positions we could take at our next meeting’; ‘If
you’re touching yourself right now, it’s only a fraction of the pleasure I’d
give you’. Give me a break. He’s a douchebag. Just like those frat guys we used
to make fun of in college—the ones with baseball caps turned backward and
popped-collars. I know how smart you are Kristen. That’s why I’m surprised
you’ve been falling for this guy’s bullshit.”

Hearing
Marty recite bits of private conversation between me and Vincent made the blood
drain from my face. “How did you know about those things? How did you see the
text messages he sent me?”

Marty
sighed. “Your phone. Remember I have access to it? I can see your texts and
hear your conversations.”

“What
the hell are you talking about? I never remember agreeing to that.”

“Yes,
you did. We said we would share passwords. You use the same password for your
email as you do for your phone.” Seeing my phone resting on the coffee table,
he picked it up, tapped at it a few times, then showed me he’d passed the
security input to reach the home screen. He smiled. “The word of the day is:
waddles. You changed your password on your email and Facebook accounts but I
guess you forgot to do it for your phone. You have an app that lets me access
your phone through the internet. It’s how I’ve known where you’ve been all this
time.”

“What
the fuck,” I said, shocked at the invasion of my privacy. The signs had been
there. Repeated warnings from my service provider about going over my data
limit. My phone sometimes randomly turning on at night. He’d been watching me
all this time.

“This
is so twisted,” Vincent said. “You’ve been stalking her. That’s how you knew I
was coming over here.”

“And
you don’t think it’s twisted putting a tracker on my car? Hiring goons to live
in the apartment next door. You’re the monster here. What’s sick is how you’re
brainwashing Kristen with your charm!”

“Wait,”
I said, still reeling. “If you knew where I was, why did you wait two years
before showing up at my doorstep?”

Marty’s
eyes became tender. “I was afraid. I didn’t feel like I deserved to see you
after what I did to you. I thought you’d come back to me on your own when you
were ready. I thought I could be a better man by then and we would be a
stronger couple. But things didn’t go the way I planned.”

I
tossed my hands up in the air. “You’re not making any sense.”

“You
were going through a phase. You needed to date other guys and then eventually
you’d realize we were meant to be together. That’s fine. I’m patient. You dated
a few guys but it never got far. It was just a matter of time before you came
back. But you went further with Vincent. I was afraid for you. Can’t you see
why I had to step in? Vincent is bad news.”

“You
know nothing about me,” Vincent said.

“I know
you’re a charmer. You’re a CEO who doesn’t have time for personal
relationships, never mind giving Kristen the kind of love she deserves. You’re
just like my dad—wealthy, selfish, egotistical; only thinks about his business.
He made my mom so miserable she killed herself. I’ll be damned if I let Kristen
end up like that.”

“I’m
not your dad. I’m nothing like your dad. Or you. What the hell’s the matter
with you?”

“Ask
yourself. Who beats someone up like this?” Marty pointed at his face.

“Someone
who hates men who abuse women,” Vincent growled.

“Don’t
call me an abuser. It was one time. I have a disorder for god’s sake, what’s
your excuse for what you did?”

“I know
guys like you. My sister dated one. You’re a piece of shit abuser who doesn’t
deserve sympathy.”

“You know
nothing about me! Calling me an abuser is bullshit. I hurt Kristen a little bit
one time, and I feel awful about it. You have no right to beat me to a fucking
pulp when I try to apologize to her.”

“Marty,”
I said softly. “Vincent and I talked about that. But it doesn’t justify you
coming into my apartment with a gun.”

“Kristen,
I told you, I didn’t want to do this! What else can I do?”

“Take
some fucking responsibility for your actions!” Vincent yelled.

“That’s
what I’m doing now. I’m protecting her from you.”

“You’re
ruining Kristen’s life! If you really care about her, you’d leave her the fuck
alone.”

“You
think I like doing this? This is all because of you.”

“You’re
pathetic,” Vincent spat.

“You
want to see who’s pathetic? I’ll show you.” Gun in hand, Marty stood up and
stomped toward Vincent.

“Marty,
no!” I screamed.

Marty
stood in front of Vincent menacingly. Vincent looked up at him with defiance.

“Let’s
see how you like it,” Marty said. “Kris, turn away. I don’t want you to see this.”

Marty
balled up his fist and punched Vincent across the face.

“Stop
Marty!” I screamed.

“Not so
easy to beat me up when you don’t have your goon squad to hold me down, huh?”
he sneered.

Vincent
tried to shake off the blow but it was clear he was in pain.

“You
don’t really care about her. You don’t love her like I do,” Marty said.

Marty
landed another punch to Vincent’s face and I shrieked. Vincent didn’t protest
but his nose began to bleed.

“Admit
you don’t really care about Kristen.” Marty punched Vincent in the gut,
knocking the wind from his lungs. “Show her I’m right.”

I
leaped from the couch, my hand around my necklace. “Stop it Marty! You proved
your point. You got your revenge. You don’t need to hurt him anymore.”

Marty
wrinkled his brows. “What’s that around your neck, Kristen?”

Oh
no.
I’d planned on macing him but
hesitated because he still had the pistol in his hand.

“Don’t
touch her!” Vincent shouted hoarsely, straining against his cuffs. He was still
trying to catch his breath.

Marty
hurried over to me and ripped the necklace off. “He gave you this, didn’t he?
To buy your affection.” Marty examined the heart-shaped pendant. He squeezed it
between his thumb and forefinger and liquid squirted out from the bottom onto
the carpet. “What the hell? What is this thing?”

I could
feel my heart beating through my chest. The one chance I had of getting out of
this mess was gone.

He
brought his finger up to his nose to sniff then he touched the pad to the tip
of his tongue and grimaced. “Is this like pepper spray or something?”

I shook
my head, horrified.

“You
meant to use this on me didn’t you? He made you wear this.” Marty went back to
Vincent. “Trying to turn her against me? Making me out to be some kind of
monster? Let’s see how you like being treated like that.”

Marty
squeezed the pendant and squirted fluid into Vincent’s face. Vincent closed his
eyes and tried to turn away but it got all over his face.

“Oh
god!” I cried.

Vincent
didn’t cry out in pain. He kept his eyes closed but his jaw was clenched
tightly. I could only imagine how bad his eyes were burning right now.

“Say
that you don’t really care about Kristen. Say it and I’ll stop.”

“Please,
Vincent,” I pleaded. “Just do what he wants. I don’t want you getting hurt
anymore.”

Vincent
hung his head, panting. He tried wiping off the mace with his sleeve and
managed to get enough off to crack open his eyes. “I don’t care about Kristen,”
he murmured, blood dripping from his lip.

Even
though I asked him to say it, and the circumstances were extreme, the words
hurt more than I anticipated.

Marty
grinned wickedly. “That’s what I thought.” He turned to me. “See, Kris? If I
hadn’t done this, you would’ve never known what a liar he really is. See how
I’m protecting you?”

“You
think you’ve proven something?” Vincent growled, commanding Marty’s attention
once again. Still on his knees, he threw his shoulders back and brought his
head up, his posture like a soldier’s. “My feelings for her go beyond caring. I
love her.”

Marty
became furious. He socked Vincent across the face again. The force of the blow
made Vincent turn his head and I could see his eyes were red from the mace.

“No you
don’t. Say it again. I dare you.”

Vincent
gazed at me. Both his eyes were bloodshot and one was already swelling from
Marty’s blows. He looked miserable—a man on the verge of dying. “Look at me
Kristen. This might be my last chance to say this.”

My
breath stopped. My heart pounded in my ears.

“I’ve
felt this way for a while. I knew it was just attraction at first. But after
taking you to my island, I realized it was more. So much more. I love you,
Kristen. I mean truly love you. Not obsession. Not lust. Not selfish
possession. Not some kind of blind idealism. Not some sick, twisted version of
love—but the real thing. One with eyes open. One with respect. One that never
underestimates the hardships to its existence, never takes the other person for
granted. The only kind of love there really is.”

“Vincent,
no!” Tears streamed down my face.

Marty
punched Vincent in the face harder than before. Then Marty kicked him in the
stomach. “I warned you!”

“I love
you, Kristen,” Vincent choked.

“Stop
saying that. You’re a liar!” Marty kicked Vincent again.

“Please,
don’t say it again,” I sobbed.

“I lo—”

Marty
pistol-whipped Vincent on the side of the head. “Don’t try to act like you’re
the hero and I’m the villain. Don’t forget you’re the one who started this.”

“No,”
Vincent panted, his voice barely above a whisper. “You started it when you hurt
her.” Every word was strained and seemed to require all his energy just to
pronounce.

“How
can you even say you love her?” Marty said, flabbergasted. “You barely even
spend time with her. You’re a fucking hypocrite.”

“That’ll
change . . .” Vincent was visibly struggling to hold his head up. Most of his
face was swelling and bleeding now but his eyes were burning with intensity.
“It’ll work.”

“You’ve
only been with her for two months. I was with her for two years!”

“You
took her for granted . . . You didn’t appreciate her. She’s unlike anybody . .
. I cherish every moment.”

“No you
don’t. You won’t settle down. All you care about is money and excitement. How
can you even pretend to be serious about what you’re saying?”

“. . .
We’ll settle down when the time is right. For both of us.”

Marty
threw up his hands, frustrated. “You’re going to be a terrible father to
Kristen’s baby. You’re too busy. You wouldn’t be there like I would.”

No.
Marty didn’t just say that. He didn’t just tell Vincent about the baby. How did
he even know about that? Was it from my text messages with Riley about the
pregnancy?

“Baby .
. .?” Vincent struggled.

“You
didn’t even know Kristen was pregnant? What a piece of work you are.”

Vincent
summoned the strength to turn his head in my direction. “Is it true?”

Tears
streamed down my face. “It wasn’t supposed to come out like this. I wanted to
tell you. That’s why I called you over.”

Vincent’s
eyes locked with mine. Tears ran down his cheeks.

The
sadness in his gaze hurt more than anything I could’ve imagined. The image of
his dark eyes filled with tears ripped through my heart like a bullet.

Vincent

One
week prior

“So,
Vincent . . .”

I knew
that tone.

“Tell
me more about Kristen,” Giselle said as she did some preliminary tidying in the
kitchen before Brady’s birthday party officially ended.

“She’s
a very capable analyst recently promoted to wealth manager.” I fingered a trace
of blue frosting in a nearby bowl, tasted it, then chased it down with a gulp
of orange soda. It was delicious. I made a mental note to caution Brady about
drinking too much of this stuff. But damn did it taste good to have some every
once in a while.

“And .
. .?”

“. . .
And she’s funny and caring.”
She’s also one hell of a minx in the sack
,
I thought
.
Just the thought of her lips wrapping around my cock made me
instantly hard even in the most awkward of situations: during business
meetings, presentations, even if this conversation. I decided it was better to
keep that to myself.

“This
is the first time you’ve let me meet one of your girlfriends and that’s the
best you can give me? I’m disappointed. Here I thought she was something
special.”

You
don’t know how special she is.
My mind
slipped back to the first time Kristen and I met. Pinching my nipple in that
business meeting? I remember thinking in that moment—as her chest was pressed
against mine—that she was either the stupidest girl ever or the smartest.
Special, for sure. She had quite the set of balls on her. I smiled, suppressing
a laugh at the thought.

It
wasn’t until we started dating that I realized how brave and strong she
is—especially with what she’d been through, being in an abusive relationship
like Giselle had. It made my blood boil to imagine the silent suffering Kristen
endured because of her ex.

“I
never said she wasn’t.”

Giselle
shot me a knowing look. “All right, fine. Don’t want to tell your sis too much
about your love life. I know, I get it. I’m not a gossiping housewife you know.
At least not yet anyway.”

“You
started picking up knitting. I’m not willing to take that risk.”

She
smiled. “Brady needs sweaters made from love. A boy can’t live on trains
alone.”

“We can
agree to disagree on that point,” I teased.

Giselle
sighed. “You’re so fond of Brady. When are you going to have your own kid to
spoil?”

I
sputtered on my drink.

Kids
were something I wanted badly, but it was too early in the relationship to
discuss it. It was something I’d hoped for ever since Brady had been born. What
I saw in him was what I’d been missing: something worth making money for.
Something that made me think beyond the present. Long after I was done risking
my life stupidly and working day and night on my company, he would be there,
growing and living as I had. I wanted that.

Recovering,
I responded, “When I’m with the right person. When the time is right for both of
us.”

“Mmhmm.
I’m not dumb, Vincent. I know you brought her over here for a reason. Maybe to
evaluate her reaction around kids?”

Damn,
Giselle was clever. I looked around the kitchen, making sure Kristen wasn’t
within earshot. I could hear her playing with Brady and the other kids in the
den. The sound of her laughing and making loud choo choo noises along with the
kids made me feel warm and fuzzy.

I
lowered my voice. “It’s too soon to talk about. Kristen and I have only been
dating for two months.”

“I know.
And yet you’ve brought her to meet me when you haven’t let me meet your other
girlfriends. I know you’ve been in longer relationships than that.”

“Those
weren’t serious.”

“Okay.
And this one is? Despite being shorter?”

“Quality
over quantity. As far as seriousness, it is on my end but we’ve had some rough
patches recently.”

“I
think she’s very serious about you.”

“Why do
you say that? You guys only talked for a few minutes.”

“She
seemed very interested in hearing about what I had to say about you.”

“Uh . .
. what did you tell her?”

“Nothing
scandalous.” Giselle smiled. “I told her about Mom and Dad and how you changed
after that happened.”

“How
did she react?”

“She
seemed very interested in your story.”

“Makes
sense considering we’re dating.”

“It’s
more than that. I think she’s really into you, Vincent. I can’t put my finger
on it but call it woman’s intuition. She’s probably already thinking about
taking things further.”

“Let’s
hope so.”