Rush of Redemption (Rush Series #2) (30 page)

He jerked forward towards
her and grabbed her wrists. “No,” he rasped. “I would have stopped it had I
known. I’ve tried to protect you from her. You just don’t understand what it’s
been like. What I’ve gone through…”

“What 
you’ve 
been
through?” she said with mirth.

“Trinity, please listen to
me…”

She pulled her hands away
from him sharply and folded her arms in front of her chest defensively. “Why
should I?”

“Things aren’t always what
they seem. You, of all people should know that,” he said with a sad smile.

“You’re right,” with
disdain dripping from her words, she said, “By all means tell me what 
you’ve
 been
through.”

Her father folded his hands
together and studied them for a long time before speaking. In tones so quiet,
she had to strain to hear, he said. “Years ago, when Martin Lord came to me
about the Embassy Fund, I was outraged. I would never put my family in harm’s
way like that. I loved you and your mother so much… we were happy.” When
Trinity moved to speak, he laid a hand over hers. “Please let me speak, 
then
 I’ll hear you out. Okay?”

She moved her hands out
from underneath his, but otherwise didn’t speak, but just looked at him
expectantly.

“Once I refused Martin, he
went to Jim with this crazy scheme, and he agreed. I originally had no part in
it, other than I knew what they were planning. The original plan was for 
Marlena
 to be kidnapped.” He paused in his story and
sipped his tea. Looking away from her, he said, “A long time ago…
long before your mother, I was involved with 
Marlena
,
but once I met your
mother, that
was over. I’ve never
wanted anyone like I wanted your mother. 
Marlena
 never
accepted that.”

He paused and looked far
away from where they were sitting, maybe even into a different time and place.
“The night the kidnapping was to have occurred, I was working late, as I always
did, and you and your mother were going to see some new Disney film. Your
mother begged me to go, but I was too busy... always so damned busy. I’ve
wished every day since then that I’d taken one stupid night off and had gone
with you guys… maybe I could have stopped them… maybe I could have saved your
mother… saved you… but I didn’t… I didn’t,” he ended softly.

Trinity wiped a hand across
her eyes as she remembered they were sitting outside a café with people milling
around them. “Why didn’t you tell me this before…. when it all came out?” she
asked.

He inhaled deeply, 
then
 sighed. “After your mother… died, 
Marlena
 thought we could just pick up where we’d left
off. But I hated her for what she’d done to your mother. If you’re wondering if
she purposely had your mother killed… I believe so.” He rubbed a hand over his
face, which seemed to have aged just in the time he’d begun to speak. “She told
me if I refused her, bad things could happen to what was left of my family. I
had no choice. I was forced to be with her. I tried to contain the situation
for years, but then Drayton began digging around, dragging up all that stuff
from before and Jim started to lose it. 
Marlena
 didn’t
help, she continually fed into his insanity until he just… snapped,” he stopped
speaking, and seemed to melt into his chair as if he was now completely used
up.

Trinity sat with tears streaming
down her face. She leaned forward and laid her hand gently against her
father’s. She choked back the tears which clogged her throat. “Daddy, I’m so
sorry. I’m so very sorry. I…”

The words she was preparing
to say died on her lips when from out of nowhere, a motorcycle came barreling
down the street. It skidded to a stop in front of the café. The rider, wearing
a shielded helmet, lifted a handgun and fired twice. Before Trinity could
react, the motorcycle sped off. Screams and chaos erupted. In one second, she
was sitting holding her father’s hand, and in the next, the motorcycle was
screeching off.

She turned to her father,
shock keeping her in her seat for a frozen moment. Her father was slumped down
in his chair, blood streaming from a hole in his forehead, and blooming red
against the white of his shirt. On shaky legs she went to him and pulled his
lifeless body against hers as she cried. Around her she knew people were
running and screaming and tables were crashing as people moved swiftly away. But
the sounds seemed muted somehow. The comings and goings of the rest of the
world seemed so unimportant.

It wasn’t until the police
came and made her let him go that she released her grip on him. She shut down
after that. She was numb… she was frozen. The police sat her in their car and
drove her to the police station. She tried to focus on them, but they were
faceless to her. They sat her in an office and handed her a cup of coffee. She
set the cup down on the table and wrapped her icy cold fingers around it. She
glanced down and noticed the blood coating her hands, arms, and torso. She
started to shake and shiver. She was so cold, almost as cold as she’d been in
the Mexico. Her teeth began to chatter, and deep sobs bubbled up through her
throat and she struggle to stop them. Tears streamed down her face. Pushing the
coffee aside, she buried her face in her hands and she cried… for her father…
for her mother… and for herself.

She sat in the room for two
hours. After the first hour, the tears and sobs stopped to be replaced with the
same numbness as before. She answered their repeated questions
emotionlessly. 
Going over and over the details until she
was used up.
 When they were done, they escorted her into the front
lobby and called her a taxi. As she sat stoned-faced, she once again looked
down and saw the blood staining her hands… her father’s blood. The father she’d
pushed away for nearly a year. He’d never even met her son.

She became aware of raised
voices and confusion, but she didn’t lift her gaze, she wasn’t interested in
anyone’s drama. It wasn’t until she saw hands placed on her knees that she
glanced up. Rush was kneeling down in front of her, his face filled with
concern.

Placing his hand on her
face, he said softly, “Hey… are you hurt?”

She blinked at him and
began to shake. She swallowed hard and shook her head.

With slow movements, as if
he was afraid he would scare 
her,
 he
gathered her against his body and wrapped his arms around her. “Oh, baby. I’m
so sorry. I want you to come with me. Okay? I’ll take you home and get you
cleaned up.”

He pulled back, and taking
her hand, pulled her to her feet. She stared at him blankly but moved forward
with him. He wrapped his arm around her and led her to his 
towncar
. He settled her in and strapped the seatbelt over
her. He pressed his lips against her forehead. “Everything is going to be okay,
I promise,” he said.

He walked around and slid
into the other side. He grabbed one of her hands and held it between his,
striving to rub warmth into it. Her silence worried him, as did her almost
vacant stare. He should have demanded she keep someone with her at all times…
not that it would have helped. God, just to think what could have happened had
Blake been with her. It didn’t bear thinking about.

He helped her out of the
car when they reached his house. He led her back into the master suite and sat
her down on the bed’s edge as he went into the bathroom and started the water
in the massive tub. He helped her up and led her into the bathroom and helped
strip her of her bloody clothes – her white Capri pants forever ruined. He
placed her in the tub and slowly washed her, squeezing the warm water over and
over her body. He gently washed her hair, and using a cup from the sink, rinsed
the shampoo out of it.

When he was done, he
toweled the water from her skin and slipped one of his T-shirts over her head.
Guiding her back to the bed, he laid her down and curled up behind her, once
again wrapping his arm around her, curling his body against her and held her.
All this was done without her once speaking at all… making 
no
 sound at all. He swallowed hard at what her
emotional state must be. How much could one person take before they were broken
beyond repair?

~*~

The explosive report of a gunshot and the feel of splattered blood
against her face had Trinity jerking straight up and a horrified scream curling
from her lips. Hands were clawing at her and she struggled away from them. She
threw her body to the edge of the bed, seeking only to get away. But the hands
grasped her waist and hauled her back. She screamed again and began to beat
against the arms and twisted her body in an attempt to break their tightening
grip.

It took a solid minute
before she realized where she was. She collapsed back onto the bed and buried
her face into the pillow as the tears fell to be absorbed into the high
thread-count pillowcases. Rush once again pulled her body back into his as he
whispered words of comfort into her ear.

“Oh, baby. Everything’s
okay. You’re safe here. No one can get you here. I’m here. I’ll keep you safe,”
he murmured.

He rocked her gently and
pressed his lips against her head over and over. He rubbed one hand up and down
her arm, seeking to instill comfort and security. Eventually the tears stopped
and she lay shivering beside him. They lay quietly next to each other, his
front pressed up against her back. He intertwined their fingers and remained
quiet behind her.

Softly she murmured the first
words she’d said since he’d picked her up from the police station, “I’m an
orphan now.”

He tightened his hold on
her hands. “I know,” he replied just as softly.

Her chest burned. “I’m
truly alone now,” she whispered.

“No. I’m here… and you have
Blake,” he whispered back.

She went completely still
again before turning over to face him. She grabbed his face as her chest
heaved. “You must keep him here. I can’t protect him. I’ll never be able to
protect him. I see that now. I couldn’t protect him before… I couldn’t protect
my father… or myself. Please keep him here,” she said frantically.

Rush wrapped his arms
around her shoulders and crushed her to his chest, burying her into his form.

“
Shhh
.
Come on, baby. I promise we’ll do whatever is necessary. You don’t have to
worry. I’ll always take care of you both. I promise. Oh, baby,” he murmured
over and over.

Once her frantic rant
stopped, he pulled back slightly to brush a hand against her face. “You’re safe
here,” he said firmly.

She nodded jerkily. “I can’t
stay here forever.”

Brushing her hair from her
face, he said softly, “Sure you can. 
As long as you
need.”

“Thanks for that,” she
said.

“Can I get you anything?
Something to eat or drink…” he asked.

Slowly, she shook her head.
An unexpected knock on the door made them both jump. “What?” Rush said with a
scowl.

Alex Masters opened the
door a fraction. “Rush, I have the information you requested,” he said quietly.

“I’ll be there in a
minute,” Rush said.

Trinity pushed against his
chest. “You go. I… I need a few minutes alone if you don’t mind. If it’s all
right with you, I’d like to see Blake before I… go,” her stomach clenched at
the thought of going outside the walls of the house.

Rush gripped her face
within his palms, forcing her to look into his eyes. “You are not going
anywhere. You certainly can’t return to your condo right now, the press will
eat you alive. You and Blake will stay here for now. We’ll… we’ll figure out
what to do… later.”

She looked into his eyes
for a long moment before nodding her head. He heaved a huge sigh of relief.
“Okay,” he said. “I need to go talk to Alex. You take as much time as you need.
If you need anything, let me know,” he said before pressing his lips against
her forehead chastely.

She watched him roll from
the bed and head to the door. His body was thinner than she remembered. She
thought of Hunter’s words from the week before – he’d been working too much and
drinking too much. Why?

Rolling onto her back,
Trinity stared up at the ceiling as she tried to unfurl all the information her
father had given her. He’d only tried to protect her… over and over. And she
pushed him away. 
Refused to have any contact with him.
 
Ignored his calls.
 
Always believed
the absolute worse of him.
 Granted, there were things he’d done
that were totally insane, like ransacking her room and sending that photo to
her office, but his reason for doing so now seemed so clear… so she would have
accept the protection he so desperately wanted her to have. What was wrong with
her? Why couldn’t she trust him even a little? She remembered those same words
being said by Rush, 
Why can’t you trust me just a little?

Tired of her own rambling
thoughts, she sat up on the edge of the bed and lowered her feet to the floor.
She was emotionally and physically wasted. She rolled her head side to side to
relieve the tension stored there. She dropped her head and closed her eyes
tiredly. They immediately snapped open when her father’s face with a gunshot in
his forehead appeared before her eyes. She jerked at the violence. She sat
staring out of the window, wondering if she’d ever feel safe again. Her track
record certainly wasn’t good. It was almost like she was a magnet to violence
and danger. And she now had a son who’d be exposed to that same danger.