Surrounded by Secrets (12 page)

“Me?” Why would she want to see him? Ah, hell. It was probably to warn him about Lillian. Mikaela didn’t need to be concerned about him. She needed to focus on her recovery so she and the baby would be fine.

“Yeah, man. Josh is headed in there now. He said to give him a few minutes before you come in.”

“Okay. I’m gonna grab some water, and then I’ll go see her.” He’d said it as an excuse to walk away from the concerned gazes of his brother and his brother’s mate, and to buy the time Josh had asked for. Since they had Mikaela holed up in Josh’s old room of the main house, he had to go downstairs to the kitchen to get his drink.

Unfortunately, it hadn’t taken him long to walk down there, get some water, drink it, and walk back.

Or at least it had felt like only seconds to him. He knocked on the bedroom door and entered when he heard Josh call out the permission.

“Hey,” he mumbled, looking at Josh and then Mikaela as he walked over to her. He gently rubbed her upper arm before sitting in the chair beside the bed. Josh was seated on the other side of the bed, and several doctors walked around reading charts and looking very busy. The room was filled with machines—several of which Mikaela was hooked up to—that made it look as if this were an actual hospital room.

“Dad just stepped in while you were gone and said the fire next door is contained, so we won’t need to worry about evacuating,” Josh said as he nudged a little closer to his wife. He had both hands on her, and Jack couldn’t blame him for needing that reassurance that she was alive.

Jack nodded. “That’s good. It wouldn’t have been fun trying to prep this place to minimize the damage before fleeing.” He looked at Mikaela. She was covered with bruises and cuts, but the cuts didn’t look as bad as he’d feared. She’d been covered in dried blood when they’d found her. “How are you feeling?” he asked her softly.

“Better now. They gave me some Demerol.”

“Docs said it wouldn’t hurt the baby. Now that she was conscious they wanted to keep her blood pressure down, so they gave her something for pain. They think when it wears off, she might be okay with just Tylenol.”

“So you’re a little loopy?” Jack asked, smiling at her. She gave him a goofy chuckle, and he pressed his lips together to keep from laughing at her.

“You could say that. I’m also sleepy, so Josh is going to make me take a nap.”

“Kitten, you heard the doctor. You—”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’m not complaining. I just need to clear something up.” She looked at Jack, trying to flatten her expression, but just looking a little silly instead.

“Bro, she was just filling me in on what really happened, and you do need to hear this.”

Jack stiffened in his seat, but didn’t say anything. He wasn’t sure if he could hear more hurtful things about Lillian. His heart just couldn’t take it.

“Mr. Caldwell is who took me. Not Lillian.” Mikaela waved her hand around, but then her focus stayed on her hand. “Heeey, where’s my wedding wing?” She frowned and closed one eye as she looked at her hand. Then she opened that eye and closed the other. Did she think it’d reappear if she looked at it from a different angle?

“Doctors took it off, baby. I have it.” Josh took that hand into his and rubbed it.

“Ooooh.” She smiled at Josh and then looked at Jack. The seconds ticked by as she continued to stare at him, not saying anything. “What was I saying?”

It didn’t matter what she was trying to tell him. He’d already known about Lillian’s father’s involvement. Jack just needed to placate her until the meds took her completely under. He steeled his heart before answering, “You were telling me about being kidnapped.”

Her eyes popped open wide. “Right! Um, yeah, Lilly-man didn’t take me. Her father is crazy, with a capital
craze
.” She leaned toward Jack as if she was engrossed in an awesome story. “He beat me up and left some note. He dragged me back to his house and gave me something to knock me out. I never saw Lilly-man. I-I ka-member waking up, an’ Lills was arguing with her father. She picked me up and mumbled something about helping me and getting us outta there.” Mikaela shook her head slowly. “I don’t think she had any idea what her father was doing to me. I think she was trying to help me.”

Jack’s heart was pounding so hard he just knew everyone in the room could hear it. Lillian might be innocent. His hands were shaking, and his mouth was suddenly dry. Oh God, he hoped she was.

Only because it’d lessen his guilt for what had happened to Mikaela. But the hole in his chest grew, his heart aching even more.

Even if Lillian hadn’t kidnapped Mikaela, his judgment still couldn’t be trusted. If he truly deserved her, he would’ve stood up for her, fought for her honor in the face of adversity, but he hadn’t. He’d threatened to kill her. The guilt he’d felt when he believed he’d fallen for Lillian’s lies didn’t even compare to the devastating remorse he felt for not being there for and believing in his mate, or at least giving her the benefit of doubt. Just more proof that he was too damaged to be mated to anyone.

Mikaela’s eyes rolled back, and she slumped against the pillow, out cold.

“We need to investigate this. It’s possible Lillian’s father set her up to make her take the fall,” Josh whispered, unaware of his inner turmoil.

“I should’ve been the one to kill him,” Jack growled.

“Too late. I’m gonna talk to Dad about this. Have him talk to the Lyons investigators to see what they can find before they leave.”

Jack nodded. They needed the truth regardless of what it was, but he couldn’t get lost in that right now. He needed to focus on what Josh was saying. “Any idea what’ll happen with the Lyons family now that they know where we are?”

Josh sighed as he snuggled up against Mikaela. “Dad said he’d deal with it. I don’t know what that means, but he and Jeffery were in some heated discussions just before I came in.” He shrugged.

“Honestly, I don’t give a shit about that right now. Mikaela and my baby are all that matter to me.”

Jack stood up and pressed a chaste kiss against Mikaela’s forehead. “I’m very happy she’s okay, man. Get some rest.” Jack hoped his expression was indifferent enough to be believable.

“We’ll talk more about everything later.”

Jack nodded, not really looking forward to some of the conversations his stubborn brother would be bringing up. He knew Josh wanted to discuss Lillian in depth, and Jack would because it would be expected of him. But Jack’s mind was made up. He would pray that Lillian wouldn’t be as cold as he’d first thought.

God, as he’d first believed.

But either way, he couldn’t be with her. Either she was an evil creature he needed to avoid, or he was a heartless man who’d chewed up his mate and spit her out when he should’ve coddled and protected her. And what really hurt him now was, deep down, he knew the truth of what had happened today.

He was a heartless son of a bitch.

Chapter Eleven

Lillian had been exonerated. In the weeks since Mikaela had been kidnapped and her father killed, she’d cooperated with the Woodses’ investigators who’d worked the case. They’d verified what she’d told them, that she had no idea what her father had been up to and that he’d used her job with the Woods family to get better access to their property. Nowhere in the transactions and communications could they find a connection to Lillian and the rogue investigator who’d taken it upon himself to back her father in this insane scheme to expose the Woodses. She was relieved to be a free woman, but the investigation hadn’t been her only obstacle.

She also had to bury her father, and she’d had mixed emotions about that. There wasn’t any love lost between them, and she hated him for what he’d done to Mikaela, but he was still her father. She’d buried him next to her mother’s gravesite, and being near her mom also brought her emotions to the forefront. She was all alone and had no one to help her regroup. Her grandmother had come down for the funeral, but she hadn’t stayed to console her. And if the investigation or the funeral hadn’t brought her to the pits of hell, the fact that she was jobless and homeless had done the trick.

Since the fire had been rightfully ruled intentional, the insurance company wasn’t going to cover the cost to rebuild. Her father had left her some money, so she’d be able to rebuild eventually, but she’d need to get a new business going again to create steady income once the money ran out. She’d already set aside the amount he’d made from harming the Woods family. No way was she going to profit from it, but she had no intention of giving it back to the creep who’d paid her father. That lowlife had been weeded out and was probably doing time on the reservation where the Lyons family ruled. Lillian had contacted Mikaela about the money because she had an idea of how to spend it and wanted Mikaela’s approval. If she hadn’t agreed with the idea, then Lillian was going to insist on Mikaela deciding how to spend the money. She was the one most hurt out of this, and it was the least Lillian could do to make up for what her father had done to her neighbor.

And it was the need to discuss that money that forced Lillian to show up at the Woods estate this evening. Well, it was
Mikaela
who had insisted. She’d gone on and on about how she hadn’t blamed Lillian for anything and that she wanted her to come back to work with them. She had even offered to let her stay at one of the cabins while her house was being rebuilt. The thought of not living in a hotel room in the next town was very appealing, but Lillian knew being on the estate again would be too much for her because she’d have to see
him
.

God, she missed Jack. He consumed her waking thoughts and her dreams. There wasn’t a moment in the day that she hadn’t ached for him. What started out as fun had turned into something so much more. And not just for her. He’d said that he loved her. He hadn’t professed his love. He’d spat it out like it was an awful taste he couldn’t get rid of, and that hurt. But she couldn’t blame him.

He’d believed the worst about her. Mikaela had told her that Jack was now aware of the truth, yet he hadn’t tried contacting her. Lillian had figured as much. She knew when she saw him last in the woods that he wouldn’t ever let her near him again. He was both livid at her and at himself. He might accept the truth about her, but it was him he needed to forgive. And Lillian knew him well enough to know that wouldn’t come easy.

She’d wait. Love didn’t come with a user manual, but she knew if she truly loved him, she would never find another man who’d compare to her scaredy-cat. She just hoped in time he’d learn to accept how he was and how he felt about her. It was that hope that got her through the last couple of weeks and would continue to help her through the tough road she had ahead.

Lillian pulled up to the gate, which immediately opened, and drove the winding path to the main house. Just being so close to where Jack lived made her stomach do somersaults. After she parked and climbed the stairs, Jeffery greeted her at the door.

“It’s lovely to see you again, Ms. Lillian. You look beautiful as always.”

She smiled and let him take her jacket. “Mikaela is expecting me.” She assumed he knew this already, but she felt as if she needed to explain why she was here. It was as if she was already an outsider, and that felt awful, too.

“Of course. She’s in her office.”

Lillian excused herself, not wanting to make small talk. She needed to get this visit over with and flee before she ran into Jack. She hoped like hell she’d at least get to see him from a distance, though, but she didn’t want to cause him any unnecessary pain. She figured, in time, she might approach him, maybe do something as daring as she had when she’d first started her job here—hell, she’d been looking at that bra and thong set she’d worn her first day here, hoping he’d get to see it one day—but it was too soon for something like that.

She knocked on the door to Mikaela’s office.

“Come in,” she called out.

Lillian pushed the door open and slowly closed it shut. “Hi.”

Thank God, Mikaela looked much better than she had the last time they’d seen each other. The lady before her now didn’t have caked blood or bruises. A few lingering scrapes on her forehead and cheek were all that remained.

“Hey, girl.” Mikaela walked up and hugged her. “Thanks for coming.”

Lillian stepped out of the embrace and chuckled nervously. “You didn’t give me much of a choice.”

Mikaela winked at her just before she turned and headed to her desk. “I know.” She picked up a flask of whiskey and poured a shot. “Now drink this.”

“Why?” Lillian asked timidly as she stepped over to Mikaela. She took the shot glass and eyed it warily.

“Because you need to take the edge off.”

That was no lie. She downed the shot without argument and sat down. Mikaela walked around and took her seat, too.

“So tell me your idea about the money,” she said as she poured more liquor into that little glass.

Lillian waved her hand, trying to stop her. “That won’t be necessary.”

“That
will
be necessary. Two more.”

What? “Are you trying to get me drunk?”

Mikaela chuckled. “I would never dream of such a thing. I’m just jealous I can’t join you. This is girl talk, so we’re making it fun.”

Lillian felt a twinge of longing at the thought of just hanging out with friends and shooting the breeze over drinks. She’d never really had that before. She picked up the glass and downed the drink. She could just call a cab to come get her.

“Good girl. Now tell me your plans.”

Lillian coughed as the burn of the whiskey went down, and then cleared her throat. “Well, I’ve been trying to come up with a way to spend the money so that you can at least get something out of the horrible thing that happened.”

Mikaela sighed. “Listen, chick. I told you on the phone you have nothing to worry about. I do not blame you.
No one
blames you.” The way Mikaela looked at her, she knew exactly whom the woman was stressing. Jack. She felt nerves tingling inside her at the thought of him. A reaction she’d better get used to.