Magnificent Ruin (Everlasting Series Book 2) (17 page)

“Not even a little,” Grace says.

Fear overwhelms me. I understand completely. My eyes get watery even as I smile. How fucking lonely have I been without them? “Thank you,” I say, hugging them both. “What do you know about De Luca, Nathan?”

He furrows his brow. “De Luca? That’s the problem, Taylor. He’s never mentioned him to me. Not in all these years.”

Chapter 20

L
ove is a strange sickness. It can make you cold and it can make you feverish. It can keep you awake at night and it can make you lethargic in the daytime, staring at your own image in the mirror searching for answers.

Nathan has prepared a late lunch for us after he went shopping with Grace: pork chops with a mushroom sauce, risotto and a tomato cucumber salad.

“He can cook, too?” I ask Grace jokingly, but in all truth I think he’s just the perfect man for her. He was able to put his questionable past behind him and dedicate himself to Grace completely. It gives me hope the same could happen with Tomas even if it’s not with me. He’s not just the man who can make butterflies dance around in my stomach with a single touch. He’s also my friend and I care about him more than just romantically.

“It’s amazing what a guy will do for sex,” Grace says with a face so straight it’s comical.

I try to produce a witty comeback but there’s nothing in my brain. All of a sudden, I draw a blank and the only thing I can do is stare at Tomas who has been silent this whole time, barely touching his food or his red wine.

“Where are we going tonight?” Grace says.

“Tomas and I have a surprise for you,” Nathan says when a phone rings.

Tomas takes the phone out of his back pocket. A new phone since the fool threw the old one in the water to impress me. He waits for the phone to ring a few more times before he gets up. “I need to take this,” he says and walks out.

“Did you have a chance to talk to him?” I ask Nathan even though I know he hasn’t. Right after he came back with the groceries, he started cooking while Tomas was performing his tai chi routine outside.

“I will tonight,” he says. “I’m not letting him off the hook until I know what’s going on.”

Grace looks more worried than all of us, staring at the fork in her hand for a while. “I’ve been thinking,” she starts saying.

“Oh, no,” I say. “What now?”

“Well, if Tomas never told Nathan about De Luca it must be because he wants to protect Nathan.”

“Which means De Luca is far worse than we think,” I say pensively.

Tomas returns, holding the car keys. “I have to go,” he says.

“Hold on,” Nathan says. “When will you be back? We have big plans for tonight, remember?”

“Don’t count on me,” Tomas says. “I’m not sure when I’ll be back.”

My heart sinks. I can’t even look at him I’m so disappointed.

“Maybe I should come with you,” Nathan says, casually.

Grace’s face lights up. I know she doesn’t want Nathan putting himself at risk or leaving her for the night. She manages to bite her tongue.

“Nah,” Tomas says. “Have to do this alone.”

Nathan glances at me apologetically.

Something in me snaps and forces me to my feet. “I need to talk to you,” I say, dragging Tomas away by the arm.

He doesn’t resist until we’re upstairs in his room. He breaks free and walks to the window. What he’s really doing is avoiding my furious glare.

“De Luca’s right hand man called,” he says. “We’re going to resolve our little feud today. They assured me it would be civilized. Now if that answers the question you were going to ask, can I get ready? These people don’t wait.”

I consider his words, getting more and more pissed at him. “You’ve said that before,” I say. “It never gets resolved.”

He finds his sunglasses on the desk, the same desk we made love on only two days ago, when he sent high voltage tremors through my body and soul.

“What would you have me do?” he says. “In all your experience with organized crime kingpins, what do you suggest?”

“That’s not fair. Don’t make me the bad guy.”

“Then don’t make me have this fucking conversation again.”

I get so angry I can feel the tears welling in my eyes. I drop my head and he runs to me.

“Taylor, I’m sorry,” he says, pulling my head against his chest. “I’m listening. What do you want?”

“I don’t know,” I say through a few whimpers. “I don’t fucking know. I just want you to stay away from them. They’re horrible. They could hurt you.”

He kisses the top of my head and then he brushes my hair back to kiss my forehead right on the hairline. So soft and sweet.

“You can’t run and I don’t want to run. Not anymore. I need to face this.”

He kisses me again and then he releases me. I feel like I am floating away without his arms to keep me grounded. Blood rushes to my head as I see him walk out the door without looking back.

Tears stream down uncontrollably. In my heart I know I will never see him again. I don’t know how I know it, but I know. And then he’s there. Standing in the door.

We stare at each other a long time. My whole body aches. “If you leave tonight, we’re through,” I tell him.

“That’s not true,” he says, his eyes burning through me. “You have to stop, Taylor. You don’t belong in my world. Let go of this.”

“If you leave, I will want nothing from you ever again,” I say. “In fact I will be done wanting anything forever. I’ll just be over it. This whole shitty existence.”

“Everybody wants something, sweetheart,” he says. “What is it that you really want? It can’t be one rugged misfit like me? You’re amazing. You must want more than one man.”

A shot of defeat rushes through my core. I have never been able to answer that question, not even to myself—especially not to myself. “What do I really want? Absolutely nothing. I want nothing. I’m through.”

“You poor, lost little girl,” he says. His condescending tone drives me insane once again. “Have a little faith in yourself. And while you’re at it, have some faith in me. I’m making the only choices possible.”

“Why didn’t you make these good choices before?” I blurt out angrily.

He walks to me, pushes strands of hair behind my ear. “That’s an easy one. I didn’t know you before. You give purpose to my decisions.”

“Is anything you say true?” I ask quietly as we stare at each other.

He pulls me to him again, close enough that I can smell his breath, sweet and tangy as always. “Everything I say to you is true.”

“I believe you,” I say, low enough to wonder if he actually heard me.

“You should want to get rid of me,” he says, kissing the side of my neck.

My determination vanishes in a pool of sweet desire. “I don’t know how to want that,” I whisper.

He bites my earlobe, sliding a hand under my shorts. “I will be back tomorrow,” he says, letting his fingers tickle me along my aching lips that are already opening up for him.

I’m suddenly jolted back into consciousness when he rubs a thumb against my nipple. I slap his hand away, spinning my body out of his reach. “Using sex to erase everything is not smart, Tomas. You need to focus on your meeting. And you need to stop trying to get me to do whatever you want.”

His eyes sparkle as cruel as I have ever seen them. “If I wanted to get you to do whatever I want, you’d be on your knees right now blowing me.” He stops, his expression softening up just a smidge. “We don’t fucking fit together, Taylor. You have your perfect little life in a perfect little padded cage. That’s who you are, what you aspire. You think you want me but you could never handle me. The sooner you admit it to yourself, the better.”

My feet take me to the door in two long strides. I push it open, trying to keep my calm. “I feel sorry for you,” I say. “Why don’t you go be rude somewhere else?”

My body feels numb from head to toe but my soul is twisting. The sudden absence of all purpose and direction hits me hard. I remain still for as long as I can. I’m letting him go. I’m setting him free because that’s what he’s really been begging me for all this time. I’ve deafened myself to his attempts to push me away so I could keep my own dreams alive.

When I walk downstairs, I catch sight of Tomas’s back as he storms out the front door. Nathan glances at me, sadness on his features.

“What happened?” he says.

“Tomas happened.”

“Ah,” Nathan says, understanding completely.

What I don’t know is how to explain to Nathan that I finally understand that Tomas cannot be stopped by any human force—that the best thing I can do for him is to get out of his way. There comes a time when all you can do is accept people for who they are and who they are going to be.

Nathan did change for Grace but he was capable of change. He was ready. She didn’t force it on him, she didn’t even ask him to change. He came out of the shadows for himself first and then for the woman he chose to love.

Tomas is a different animal, a beast really, one to whom change is a form of death, some primal denial against his tough guy code.

“Let’s forget about him,” I say. “We had plans.”

“Oh, honey,” Grace says as she comes up behind me and wraps me in her arms. “Let’s have some drinks and let our hair down.”

“Sure,” I say. “The sun comes up tomorrow. Life goes on.”

Grace and Nathan consider each other with concern.

“Taylor,” Nathan says, “there’s something you should know.”

“What?” I say, as I notice how uncomfortable he gets, avoiding my eyes and putting his hands into his pockets.

“It’s nothing,” he says. “Well, wait, I have to say this. A man would be a fool to let you go. I think even Tomas can figure that out.”

It’s nice of him to try and make me feel better, it really is. But it’s not what I need right now. What I need is a night out, lots of strong, quality booze and a new lease on life.

“Listen,” Nathan says. “From what I’ve pieced together, Tomas is creating this situation to some degree. I think he’s working on the idea that De Luca needs to be taught a lesson. It’s a guess but I know him. He gets these ideas. They’re like strange moral compass issues. He’s a modern Knight out to right the universe. No doubt there is risk and a lot at stake, but you should know there is no one quite like Tomas on Earth. He’s done these things before and he manages to come out squeaky clean and perfectly safe.”

“Tomas is creating this?” I say trying to control my fury. “Nate, let me just say, your friend is not some noble Knight. He’s a fool. And if you mention him again, I will punch you in the face.”

Grace laughs and then covers her mouth. “Yeah, shut up, honey.”

Nathan’s face goes red for a second before he shakes his head at both of us.

“Come on you two,” I say with a deep sigh. “Get me drunk and I’ll forgive everyone not named Tomas.”

Chapter 21

T
he happiness spilling out of both Nathan and Grace as they quarrel over the last piece of Greek bread is contagious. Maybe that’s what a true sense of belonging feels like. Not being afraid to be totally silly in the other person’s company—even more than that, actually enjoying the silliness and feeling no need to prove anything.

“Quit whining,” Grace says to Nathan. “You can have the bread. This last piece is yours anyway. I had more than you.”

“Are you sure?” he says with a satisfied grin as he picks up the bread.

“You know what?” Grace says, grabbing the bread and putting it in her mouth.

“What the what?” Nathan protests as she chews on the bread.

“That should teach you to be more assertive,” she says, gulping down the delicious piece of baked dough.

The fish tavern in the Marina of Kalloni is almost full as are most of the taverns in the area, even though five in the afternoon is a time between meals. Greeks eat late—lunch at two pm and dinner after eight although it seems that most of them forget to walk away from the table after a heavy meal. They can linger in a tavern or restaurant for hours.

My friends stayed up late with me last night. We played cards and backgammon with some tequila and ouzo, and discussed anything under the sun except for Tomas and his self-destructive behavior. That’s a subject we left untouched for once.

Having Grace and Nathan so close is reassuring and empowering in many ways. Not that I can get rid of the feeling of loss or the melancholy residing deep down in my soul. But I am functional, all thanks to them.

Nathan has put his arm around Grace’s shoulder and is kissing her neck.

“Hey, get a room,” I say when their lips come together in a passionate kiss.

“Our morals are a tad loose,” Grace says, slapping Nathan’s hand. “We watch too much HBO.”

“Let’s go swim one more time before we go back home,” Nathan says standing up, practically pulling Grace off her chair.

“You go ahead,” I say. “I need to drink something cold first. The heat is dehydrating me.”

“Okay, join us when you’re done,” Grace says.

I nod but the truth is they deserve to have some time by themselves. I’m sure they didn’t travel across the world with a mind to being my babysitters. They planned a summer vacation, not a mission to save me from myself.

They splash around in the water, always keeping within each other’s reach. Everything that they do has one objective only: to bring them closer.

The young waiter hands me an iced lemonade. I sigh as I swirl the straw around before I bring it to my lips.

“Hey, Taylor,” Adrian says, materializing out of thin air.

I bend my face at him as I try to decide whether I should kick his ass or try to be friendly to see if I can get him to open up.

“Hey, Adrian,” I say, still undecided.

He gives me a big smile as he takes the seat where Nathan was sitting. Then the smile vanishes and something very close to anger replaces it.

He grabs Nathan’s car keys and sunglasses from the table. I’m totally confused until he looks at me with a sad expression. “You gave him second chance?”

“What are you talking about?” I say even though I’m pretty sure he thinks the keys and glasses belong to Tomas.

“Tomas. You’re giving him a second chance,” he repeats, almost reprimanding me.

I consider his words, trying to take on a face of pure bewilderment. “How do you even know I ever gave him a first chance?”

“He’s not good,” he says. “When will you believe me?”

“Honestly? I’ve known Tomas a lot longer than I know you. Why should I believe you over him? When you came to my house with Sophia to show me those photos, I was not impressed. Not at all.”

“I want to keep you safe. You don’t know what he’s done.”

I can’t play this game anymore. “How about you lying to me about Sophia and Tomas?”

He lets the keys and glasses drop back on the table. “Stay far from him, Taylor. Tomas… He kidnapped a girl.”

“What the hell are you saying?”

“Tomas. He goes to rich American’s villa. Tomas put a knife to a girl’s throat and took her. She kicks. She screams. They have a witness.”

For a moment I stare at him, basically unable to understand what he’s saying. Is he describing a scene from a movie? Does he want me to believe Tomas went to De Luca’s villa and kidnapped a girl?

“Adrian,” I say, “I don’t believe you. Enough, okay? It’s too hot.”

“Fine,” he says, acting so offended I get a chill down my spine. “Okay, talk to the man. I can dial the phone.”

He’s going to give me De Luca’s phone number. Is this what he’s suggesting? “Let me get this straight,” I say. “First, you bring some old photos of Tomas beyond drunk, perhaps drugged, stripping with Sophia, while you are very strangely taking photos, and then you tell me they were from last night and Sophia had sex with him while, what? You take photos?”

“That’s something else,” he says.

“And now you just happen to have some mob boss’s phone number on you for me to call and confirm some kidnapping story. How fucking dumb do you think I am, Adrian? You are such a freak.”

He ignores my words. “Ask him about Amelia,” he says and my heart leaps in my chest.

I grab his hand. “Why would Tomas kidnap Amelia?”

Adrian shakes his head. “For money. It’s always for money. He knows this man loves the girl.”

“First you belittle my intelligence and now you’re saying Tomas is an idiot. Why would he do that and why wouldn’t De Luca go to the police?”

A grin forms on his lips at my mentioning De Luca’s name. Something tells me letting him know I’m aware of the
American man’s
name was a mistake on my part. “Amelia doesn’t have her papers,” he says. “She’s illegal. For this country she do not exist. They send her straight back.”

“Back where?” I say as I remember the perfect face and figure of the young girl, the expression of boredom on her face. Tomas did say he talked to her once but he didn’t attribute any significance to the meeting.

Adrian tries to take my hand but holds back when Nathan approaches, soaking wet and completely ripped with flexing muscles.

I remember the days when Grace and I were googling Nathan to find all those half-naked pictures of him from his short stint as a model. Who would have thought then he would end up being the love of Grace’s life?

“This guy bothering you?” Nathan says, noticing the expression of alarm on my face.

I grab Adrian’s hand to keep him seated. “This is Adrian,” I say. “One of Tomas’s Greek friends. He has a strange story to tell.”

“Really?” Nathan says, sitting on the chair next to me.

Adrian opens his mouth but I cut him off. “Adrian says that Tomas has kidnapped a young woman, apparently De Luca’s illegal mistress.”

Nathan chuckles. “That’s just stupid. This guy is full of shit. I can see it on his weak-ass face.”

Adrian balls his fist and leans forward in his chair.

“Sit down before I knock your ass back into the Bronze Age,” Nathan says as easily as he would a passing hello.

“Nathan, listen, please,” I plead with him. “Adrian says he did it in exchange for money, not to have the woman to himself.”

“Money? As in ransom?” Nathan says, looking straight at Adrian’s face.

“That’s what the man said,” Adrian repeats.

“Why would this man talk to you?” Nathan says. “You’re irrelevant.”

“I tell you what I hear,” Adrian says, sounding intimidated. How quickly a man with gym muscles bows down to a real tough guy.

“Sounds like you need your ears fixed,” Nathan says.

Adrian shrugs, turning away from Nathan. “News travel fast.”

“It didn’t travel to us,” I say.

“You don’t speak Greek,” he says, dismissively. “The island knows about Tomas.”

“The whole island? Wow,” Nathan says. “My dude doesn’t work that way, Socrates.”

“There is evidence,” Adrian says.

“What evidence?” I say.

“A camera and a witness.”

“And you just happened to hear all that, too?” Nathan says. “You sound like the worst plant in the history of set-ups. Whoever hired you is not getting their money’s worth.”

“No one pay me,” Adrian says.

“Right,” Nathan says. “Leave this table.”

Adrian gets up, quickly moving behind the chair and toward me, putting distance between himself and Nathan. “Talk to the American man,” he says, handing me a piece of paper.

“What’s that?” Nathan says as soon as Adrian’s out of sight.

I roll the piece of paper with my fingers before I answer him. “It’s a phone number and an address. Presumably De Luca’s.”

“Give it to me,” Nathan says.

Something in me wants to keep that piece of paper all to myself. I look up at Nathan but still my fingers won’t open.

“Taylor?” he says.

“What will you do if I give it to you?”

“I don’t know yet,” he says. “What I do know is I’m not letting you get anywhere near De Luca.”

“Don’t even think about it, Nate,” I say as I straighten out the paper, taking a quick look at the written characters on it before I hand it to him. “We’re not putting you at risk, either. No way.”

“Nothing will happen to me,” he says, folding the paper and putting it in the pocket of his shorts. He then places the shorts inside the bag he and Grace have brought along.

His eyes focus on me now. “It’s all B.S., Taylor. You know that, right? That weasel, Adrian, is probably on De Luca’s payroll.”

I shrug. “You have to admit, it could explain why Tomas keeps vanishing, why he wants no one to know what he’s up to or what he’s done.”

He shakes his head. “I’ve seen Tomas at his best and at his worst. He has principles, certain rules he lives by—he won’t judge and he won’t put a woman in harm’s way. It’s not in him.”

“And you don’t think people change?”

“Behind everything, Tomas has principles that will never change. I’d be dead if he didn’t. He can’t walk away. That’s his problem.”

“He’s lucky to have you,” I say, smiling. “Grace is lucky to have you, too.”

“You have me, too, Taylor. I don’t have many friends in this world and you’re among that select few. I won’t let anyone fuck with you, not even Tomas. I got you, little boo.”

“So now she’s your little boo?” Grace says, squeezing the water out of her hair. “How soon they move on,” she says with a roll of her eyes.

“You’d better sit down for this one,” I tell her.

***

The dark sky is filled with sparkling pinholes of light. “I’ve never seen so many stars in my life,” I whisper up at the universe.

“It’s because there’s no moon tonight,” Grace says. “Nor city lights.”

She’s right. Sitting on the porch, we can hear the ocean but we can’t really see it. We have the outdoors lights off, aromatic candles strategically placed all around the porch. Grace did all the work.

The cool sea air fills our lungs and I remember the days and years of Grace and me together at piers and parties and doing homework and talking about boys and dreaming of travel to exotic islands.

Even memories of me lecturing her about the distinct benefits of different essential oils and aromas seem like a different lifetime now.

“I’ve brought the spreadsheets for the shops,” Grace says. “We can go through them whenever. It’s going so good.”

I’m still amazed that Nathan’s parents decided to invest in the little aromatherapy shop I inherited from my grandmother. That place was going under faster than the RMS Titanic. It was bleeding money so steadily I can only describe it as having a heavy flow.

It’s even more amazing that the five new stores are already set up and running. There’s so much work to be done when I return home. Drowning myself with work might be just what the doctor ordered. I wish I could get more excited about it but it will hopefully come back in time.

“Yes, let’s do that,” I tell Grace. It’s the least I can do since she’s the one making my future financial independence a strong possibility.

“Great,” she says and then louder so she can be heard inside the house, “Nathan, bring out the spreadsheets and turn on the porch light.”

Nathan shows up shortly after, holding the spreadsheets like Grace ordered him. Just as he’s about to hand them to Grace, we’re all startled by a loud thud, followed by banging on the front door.

“Stay here,” Nathan says, rushing back indoors.

Both Grace and I follow him instantly. “Men,” Grace says. “They think we’re like helpless children.”

When Nathan opens the door, my heart sinks. Tomas stumbles into the house clutching his left leg. Nathan leans to offer him support immediately. He does this so naturally I realize he’s done it many times before.

“My god,” Grace says, rushing to Tomas’s side. I stay frozen. The left side of his face is caked in blood, his left eye is bruised and swollen. There’s a nasty cut on his upper lip, his nose swollen and split. And that’s just what I register during my first heartbeat in the dim hallway.