Lost Until You (The Sorrentino Brothers Series Book 1) (11 page)

A few minutes passed and still no word from the guy or Mr. and Mrs. Lander.

“Dude, I don’t think they’re coming back?” Brix said, beating me to the punch.

Stone held his hand up. “Just give them a minute. Maybe they’re busy or something.”

Jazz stood quietly beside me. I kept her close, refusing to let go of her hand. I knew she needed me with her. And even if she wanted to fight the fears on her own, I would be damned if I was going to let her pull away.

I peeked my head up and looked through the door, seeing a shadow walking through the house. I had to remind myself to be patient. If I were to show any sign of agitation or fear, Jazz was going to feel it, too. It would be inevitable. She could read me like an open book.

A few minutes later, the door opened and the same guy came back to greet us.

“Mom said to come in and make yourself at home. She’s just finishing her bath.”

I noticed Jazz’s lips trembling, and I wanted nothing more than to kiss her fears away, but I squeezed her hand instead. I had given her enough of my strength leading up to this point. I wanted her to push herself through this. I wasn’t going anywhere, but she needed to prove to herself just how strong she really was.

Stone was the first to walk in, pulling Brix behind him. I was next, still keeping Jazz close to my side. I refused to let her out of my reach. The guy led us into the back to an open living room. There were three skylights on the ceiling, a large fireplace, and the biggest wraparound couch I had ever seen in my life. The house didn’t look all that big from the street. I was surprised of the view from the inside.

“Have a seat. My dad should be home soon,” he said, ushering us to sit down. “Oh yeah, before I forget. Can I get your names? Mom asked who you guys were, but I have no idea other than Stone.”

Brix stood up and reached out his hand.  “I’m Brix. This is Jazz and this is her husband, Brax.”

The guy moved around the couch and shook both mine and Jazz’s hands. As he turned to exit the room, Mrs. Lander walked in behind him.

“Who are our guests, Landon?”

Are they serious? Is his last name Lander, too? If so, who in their right mind would name their kid the same first name as their last name?

Ha! What a joke. I ain’t ever heard that shit before in my life.

“This is Stone,” Landon said, pointing to my best friend.

Stone stood up and walked over to Mrs. Lander, shaking her hand.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Lander. My name is Stone Walker. My friends and I were hoping you and your husband had a few minutes to sit down and speak with us.”

She moved her head around Stone, glancing at Brix. Once she looked Brix over, she focused her eyes on me. When she saw whatever she was looking for, her eyes traveled to Jazz. Then Mrs. Lander’s face turned pale. She looked like she was going to pass out.

“Mom,” Landon wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “Are you okay? What’s wrong? Your coloring’s off.”

At that moment, tears streamed down the woman’s cheeks, as she stared intently at my wife.

Jazz didn’t notice what was going on. She sat back on the couch with her eyes trained on the muted TV, engrossed in whatever was on.

“Landon, honey, call your father. Tell him to come right now.” Landen looked at all four of us confused. “What’s going on, Mom?”

Mrs. Lander swatted at her son’s arm. “Just do what I said, dear. He needs to hurry, please. Tell him to get here.”

Landon gave his mom a firm nod and walked out of the room. She leaned against the wall and looked back to Stone. “May I ask what you’re doing here?”

Stone relaxed his shoulders. “Yes, ma’am. Let me grab my briefcase.” He walked back to where we were seated and pulled out a manila envelope, taking it over to her.

“Are you sure you don’t want to wait for your husband?” Stone asked, trying to cover his tracks.

Smart man. I was proud of my best friend. He had come a long way and was doing one hell of a job. Once this was all said and done, we were going to give him a big bonus for all of his help. Jazz would be all for it as well. I had no doubt.

“No, honey. You’re good. Follow me.” Mrs. Lander took Stone into another room, leaving me, Brix, and Jazz in the living room by ourselves.

Jazz lifted her head noticing Mrs. Lander was gone and then looked at me.

“Do you think she knew who I was?”

Did I what?

“Wait. Were you hiding from her?” I asked jumbled.

“I couldn’t look at her, B. She looks too much like me it’s scary. Those pictures Stone had of her and Pat didn’t do justice to what they really look like in person.” She wiped at her eyes. “It’s taking everything in my power to keep my mouth shut when all I want to do is scream and yell and run home to my baby girl.”

I wrapped my arm around her shoulder, pulling her head onto my chest. “Try and relax, baby. Stone’s going to handle the hard part. All we have to do is wait for Pat to get home before you can introduce yourself,” I reminded her. “If it’s any consolation, I think she knows who you are. She turned all pale and shit. I kind of felt bad for the woman.”

That got Jazz to laugh a little, relieving some of the tension in the air.

“You got this, Jazzy. We’re all here for you,” Brix reassured my wife.

I was wondering if something was bothering my cousin. Any other time he was the only loud one in our group, but not tonight. Brix was acting like someone I had never met before. Someone who was distant and reserved. Definitely out of character for him.

The three of us sat in silence, watching the TV, waiting for Stone to walk back in the room. Twenty minutes later, the door slammed, followed by loud stomping.

“Landon? Phyllis?” a guy yelled, his voice was deep and raspy.

Jazz went still, fear marking her tired face, but before I could open my mouth to try and calm her down, the guy walked across the living room and stood in front of us.

“Who in the hell are you?”

Oh, fuck. I never saw this coming.

Chapter Twelve

Jazz

I couldn’t believe I was sitting here in my maternal grandparents home. It all seemed surreal. What in the hell was I thinking? I had been a nervous wreck ever since I woke up this morning, but nothing ever made me feel like I did this very moment.

My hands were sweaty, my heart was racing, and at any second, I felt like I was going to pass out. I felt sick, like I was going to throw up all over the light brown sectional, and I didn’t know what to do.

Brix, Brax, and I had been sitting here, pondering, wondering where in the world Stone and Phyllis went. But when they had walked into the other room, I was finally able to make myself breathe again.

Both Brax and Brix have tried to calm me down, yet nothing was working. I hated sounding like a bitch when my husband tried to talk to me, but he had no idea what was running through my mind. I didn’t even want to hear my thoughts. They were that bad.

What if these people shunned me away, or told me I wasn’t worthy of their love? Now that I knew how much I looked like Phyllis and Landon, it was going to be hard to just forget about them. My life wouldn’t be that simple.

We were seated on the couch, focused on the television, when the door slammed, followed by loud stomping.

“Landon? Phyllis?” a guy yelled in a groggy tone.

Oh, God. What if…..what if that was Pat? 

My insides froze, my muscles tensed, and I could feel my heart rate triple in speed.

I lifted up my head and saw a guy who was taller than the Sorrentino boys, which said a lot, because they were all freaking huge, walking across the living room. He stopped in front of us and crossed his arms over his chest. 

“Who in the hell are you?” he asked, staring directly at Brix.

Brix jumped up but tried to remain calm. You could see fear written all over his face.

“I’m, Brix, sir,” he said politely to Pat.

I had never seen this side of Brix before. He had never acted like this. This was a different guy standing in front of me.

“Why are you in my house, Brix?” the guy asked in an earthshattering tone.

“I..uh..Stone…Stone’s in another room with your wife. You should probably see him first, sir?” Brix fidgeted with his hands.

The guy stared intently at Brix, and then at Brax, skipping over me. Thank you, Jesus. He was one scary old man. He turned on his feet, storming out of the room, leaving a fearful spirit behind.

“Dude, I’m about to say fuck it and call a cab home. This is fucking nuts!” Brix stated, letting us know how pissed he really was.

I couldn’t blame him one bit. I was ready to go myself. If that man was Pat and he was really this mean, I didn’t know if I could handle talking to him, more or less getting to know the guy. I’d had too many bad apples around me growing up. Enough to last a lifetime.

I was glad I listened to Brax this afternoon and left Savanah home. Had she been here to see the evil on that man’s face, I was almost positive she would’ve cried into next week. He was too scary for even me to want to be around.

Having enough for one day, I stood up from the couch. “I think I’m ready to go.”

Brax saw my face full of fear and pulled me into his arms, kissing the side of my head. “Just wait, baby. I’m sure Stone will be out soon. If not, we’ll go sit in the truck.”

“But…” I shook my head, looking at the door. “I don’t want to be here, B. I’m ready to go.” I grabbed his hand. “I just want my daughter. I want to be home where I feel safe.”

I released his hand and leaned down to grab my purse. The guys stood up and followed me to the front door. We made it to the end of the hallway, when I heard someone call my name.

“Jazz?”

I shifted on my toes and glanced toward the steps, but no one was there. I moved around the corner, checking in the piano room, but there wasn’t anyone in there, either. Brix pushed his way around Brax, opening the door. Brax and I followed his lead outside and I couldn’t thank God enough for the fresh, cold air. For an hour, I had felt like I was suffocating, like I was going to die with the thick tension around me.

I was never good around angry older men. It was a fear I was pretty sure I would have for the rest of my life. Living with foster parents who yelled and screamed over anything they possibly could would put the fear of God in you. It wasn’t something I wished upon anyone.

No one should be that angry. There was too much in life we ought to be grateful for. And being alive was one of them.

We made it to the truck and Brax opened the door, waiting for Brix to climb inside. He lifted me by the hips, helping me inside the cab, and then leaned in toward me.

“You okay?” He brushed the hair away from my eyes, kissing my mouth.

I held my arms around his neck, needing to feel his touch. I knew my husband loved me more than anything in the world, but at that very moment, I needed to be reassured. I needed to feel wanted, needed, because, after everything that just went down, I was feeling extremely insecure.

Brax walked to the driver’s side and climbed inside. He turned on the ignition, cranking up the heat.

“Man, this is some fucked up shit,” Brix stated, releasing an aggravated breath. “What in the hell was that dude’s problem?”

I laid my head back and closed my eyes, trying to make myself calm down. I was five seconds away from hyperventilating. I couldn’t do this to myself. Not here and certainly not now.

“No joke, cuz. What was his problem?” Brax agreed.

“Don’t know, dude, but I swear to God, if that prick says another fucking word to either one of us, I’m going ape shit on his old ass.”

We sat there in silence, unsure what to do next. Brax thought it was best for us to wait it out, but I didn’t have a good feeling about what was going to happen next. He continued holding my hand, rubbing circles around my palm, trying to calm me down. Yet nothing was working.

I sat there wondering about Landon and if he was Peyton’s brother. Did Phyllis and Pat have Landon after Peyton died or was he older? He looked young, close to thirty-seven maybe. I soundlessly add up the years and figured out that Peyton would have been forty this year. I bet the Lander’s were an emotional wreck when she passed. I couldn’t imagine what they went through.

Thinking about it all sent chills down my spine. I focused on my breathing, taking long, deep breaths, praying Stone would hurry up and get out here. I needed my daughter. Savanah and Brax were the only two who could help me right now. I just wanted to go home, sit in the recliner, and hold my baby girl. That was it. And maybe we could try this again when everyone calmed down.

I was sure catching the Lander’s off guard wasn’t the best idea now that it had happened, but I was human. I had never done this before. When Tanya mentioned it to me, Brax and I talked, thinking it would be best if we just showed up. I guarantee that if I had called instead of going there, Phyllis or Pat would’ve hung up on me. They seemed to be those kind of people.

Forty-nine minutes dragged by when a knock sounded on the window, scaring the shit out of me. Brax sat up and rolled the window down. I didn’t dare look over. I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

“You doing alright, Jazzy?” Stone peeked his head inside the cab, wanting to check on me.

I turned and faced him, as tears streamed down my cheeks. I shook my head and asked, “Can we go home now? Please?”

Brax opened the door and then stepped outside. He and Stone talked then Stone got in the cab and sat in Brax’s seat. He took my hand and kissed my palm. He had done that for years after watching Brax, when he was trying to calm me down, which, unfortunately, had been too many times to count.

“It’s all out in the open,” Stone whispered softly. “They want to meet you. Would you be willing to go back inside?”

I covered my face and sobbed into my hands. I couldn’t do this. I was too bent up about it all. Everything that happened earlier didn’t sit well in my chest.