Tempted (In Too Deep) (11 page)

Chapter 30

Colt

After my shower, my
head is a bit clearer. I’ve tried to talk myself out of it, but I want to see Taylor. I need to find out what went wrong between us and explain that I never once cheated on her. Is that the only reason she’s with Reis?

I’m still damp from the shower when I throw on a clean T-shirt and pair of jeans. I head out into the hall and as I round the corner, I see Taylor holding onto Reis, leading him into the
girls dorm. They’re backs are to me, so they haven’t spotted me. If Taylor’s with
him
, does that mean she’s made her decision?

The
y speak in hushed voices and though I can’t make out her words, her concern for him is obvious. I’m desperate to hit something again and would probably punch a hole through the wall if there wasn’t a constant ache reminding me that I’d already fucked up my hand tonight. I head back to my room, knowing that this time, I’ve lost her.

A few more shots of Jack
eases the ache in my hand, but does nothing to quench the pain in my chest. I pick up my phone and stare at it for a while. Even though all my old contacts have been erased, there’s still one number I know by heart. Samantha, who’d always been in my phone as
Yes
. I knew she wouldn’t let me down.

I don’t even bother with the niceties.
“It’s Colt….Yeah, I got a new number….Be here in ten minutes….Um, we broke up…See you soon.”

Chapter 31

Taylor

After Reis has gone with MJ and Logan, I take a few minutes to clean myself up. First I wash my face, needing to get rid of the tear streaked make-up and pools of mascara around my eyes. I brush my teeth and hair. Then I change into yoga pants and a sweatshirt. Tonight has fried my nerves and I just need to be comfortable.

I have
no idea how this conversation is going to go, but I know I need to apologize to Colt for kissing Reis, and I need to allow him to explain what, if anything, happened with Bria.

I pad down the stairs in bare feet, heading to the second floor to Colt’s room. He’ll either be in here, or maybe his office on the first floor. When I turn the corner
I nearly get run down. I take a step back, gripping the banister and mumble an apology. I look up to see Samantha, otherwise known as Yes, Colt’s on again off again friend-with-benefits.
Holy shit!
What is she doing here?

She grins widely as she recognizes me. “You still have the nerve to be here?” She shakes her head, narrowing her eyes. “You did a number on him.”

My fingers grip into the railing, steadying me. “Are you here to see him?” I choke out.

She pats the top of my head. “He called me, sweetheart. Me. Now run along.”

As disgusted as I was by the physical violence tonight, I feel like I could punch her right now. I force a breath in through my nose. “He called you?”

She nods.
“Of course. I knew it wouldn’t last with you. The only one he’ll last with is me. I know how to take care of him.” She saunters away, continuing past me on the stairs, heading to his room.

I am so
mad, my entire body is humming with anger. I fly back up the stairs to my room, without even thinking I grab a backpack, stuff my laptop and some clothes inside and storm from the room. I am done with this place. There’s no way I’ll stick around to hear her screaming out Colt’s name again.

I head downstairs to the first floor, intent and stealing the key for the fuck truck. Long past caring if I get caught. Just try and stop me. Who’s going to stop me?
Colt? Don’t think so. I’d use every self-defense move he taught me until he was on the ground in a heap.

I fish the spare keys from their hiding spot Colt once showed me in the administration office and head out the back door.

It’s only when I’m thirty minutes down the road and merging onto the highway that I realize this might not have been the best idea. It’s eleven at night and home is an six hour drive. But I don’t care. I can’t spend another night at that school. I pull my phone from my purse and fire up the navigation app on my new phone. I hit the voice command and say my parent’s address. I turn up the radio and promise myself I’ll stop for coffee when I get tired, then I settle in for a long night.

The hum of the highway and blur of passing headlights, coupled with cheesy love songs are the perfect way to spend a miserable evening. I just let the tears come, and alternate crying, signing and chugging coffee.

I pull into the driveway just as my parents are leaving for work. I should have waited until I knew they’d be gone, but I’m so exhausted, all I could think about was my bed. My mom flips out when I walk in, shocked to see me, not to mention I’m sure I look horrid.

“What happened?” She grips my arms, inspecting me. I catch my reflection in the window and see my skin is blotchy from the multiple crying spells and dark shadows are etched under my eyes from lack of sleep.

“It’s a long story, Mom.”

“Come sit down. What are you doing here? Did you drive all night?”

She pulls me over to the table and forces me down into a chair. I should be tired of sitting, but I’m so exhausted it’s actually a relief to be off my feet.

“I couldn’t stay there anymore. I know I should have told you all this before, but I was dating Colt, the head of the school’s son who actually took over daily operations and well…we broke up and I just can’t be there.”

“Alright.” She pats my back. “We’ll talk about this later. Do you want me to stay home with you today?”

“No. Go to work. I just need sleep.”

She nods. “Okay, sweetie.” And presses a kiss to the top of my head. “Do you want breakfast first?”

I shake my head.

“Go get in bed.”

My dad comes down the stairs just then, dressed for work. “What in the –“

“She’s alright. Boy troubles,” my mom supplies.

His eyes get wide. “Oh.”

I’ve always been drama free and relatively sane so I can tell my dad is stunned right now. He glances out the window and sees the truck in our driveway. “Who’s truck is that?”

“I borrowed it from the school,” I say. More like stole it, but they don’t need to know that.

After convincing them I’m fine and they are free to leave, they finally agree. “Okay, get some rest today sweetie, and we’ll talk about this tonight. I’ll bring home chicken parm from Balducci’s.” My mom smiles. It’s my favorite Italian restaurant.

“Kay. Love you guys.” My parents are being cooler about this than I would have guessed.

When they leave, I head upstairs and bury myself under the covers.

Chapter 32

Colt

I’m awoken in the morning to an insistent pounding. At first I think it’s in my head from the multiple shots of Jack I downed until I realize the thumping is coming from my bedroom door.

I pull on a pair of shorts and head to the door. “Yeah?” I croak out, seeing its MJ.

She looks frazzled.

“What happened?” If something’s happened to Taylor, I’ll kill Reis.

“Is Taylor here?” She steps around me, entering the room.

“No.” I rub a hand over my face, trying to wake myself up. It’s too damn early for company. “Wait, what do you mean? She’s not in the dorm?”

“She didn’t sleep there,” MJ confirms taking in the sight of my unmade bed.

“Well she wasn’t here.” Fuck. Did that mean she spent the night with Reis?

MJ answers her cell phone. “Yeah, I checked Colt’s ro
om. She hasn’t been here….Okay.” She clicks off the phone. “Reis is coming down. She’s nowhere.”

A few seconds later, Reis and Logan barge through the still open door. “Her stuff’s gone,” Reis announces.

“What are you talking about?” I look between the three of them. I wince slightly at the sight of Reis. His face is bruised and swollen, and a cut along his cheek has been stitched up.
Damn
. 

Reis steps forward. “When we got back from the hospital last night and she wasn’t around, I figured she was with you. Since that’s why she stayed here rather than coming with us.”

She stayed here for me? I never saw her. Oh fuck. Then I remember I invited Samantha over. What if she somehow found out? Samantha didn’t stay here long. She tried to kiss me and something felt incredibly wrong about it. I missed Taylor. I told Samantha she better go after that.

“And some of her clothes and her laptop are missing,” Logan offers.

“Where would she have gone?” Just then I remember showing her where I kept the spare keys to the truck. “Go see if the truck is gone,” I say to Logan. He takes off down the hall in a sprint.

He comes back a few minutes later
, out of breath. “It’s gone.”

Christ. She took off in the middle of the night. Her parents lived
six hours from here. If something happened to her because of my stupidity, I’d never forgive myself.

“I’ll try calling her again,” MJ says.

We wait while it rings, but it goes to voicemail after the fourth ring. MJ hangs up. “I’ve already left two messages,” she explains.

“Let me know if you hear from her
,” I say. They all nod and then turn to head out. “Wait, Reis. Can I talk to you?”

He stops and turns around slowly to face me. Logan lingers in the doorway until Reis nods for him to go ahead.

“So you went to the hospital?” I mumble, looking at the ground, feeling like a real piece of shit.

“Taylor insisted I go last night after looking at my cuts. I got four stiches.”

The cut is right over his cheekbone, the line of stiches black against his skin. “Sorry man. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“It’s alright. We both know I deserved it. I kissed your girl.” He smiles.

“Okay, well we’re even now.” I playfully jab him in the stomach.

He dodges the hit. “Cool. What ended up happening last night? Taylor was going to come find you after I left.”

I rub my hands over my face. “I think I fucked up again.”

Reis shakes his head. “Good Lord. I can only help you win her back so many times before I just say fuck it and keep her for myself.”

“If I get her back this time, I’m not letting her go.”

“How bad did you fuck up?” he asks, looking bored. He makes no effort to contain that he secretly likes my fuckups. They only increase his odds.

“I was with Samantha last night. Taylor, I don’t know, must have seen her or heard us.”

“Damn it, Colt. Grow up.”

“Nothing happened. She left after a little while. I didn’t touch her, I swear. What am I going to do?”

“Whatever it takes,” Reis mutters.

My cell phone chimes from my nightstand and I lunge for it, hopeful it could be Taylor. But it’s just an email from Geoffrey
with a new case they need me to get started on right away.

The job
is gathering intel on a few guys they’re tracking who are now in New Jersey. A few days on the road will be a good distraction for me.

Chapter 33

Taylor

After a leisurely shower, I finally face my cell phone. I plug it in and power it on. I have numerous missed calls and texts from Logan, Reis, Colt and MJ. I’m not ready to talk to anyone yet, but I don’t want anyone to worry. I send a text to MJ telling her I’m fine and I’m at home, then I turn the phone off again.

When my parents get home with takeout containers of Italian, I dress in fresh pajamas and make my way downstairs.

I set the table while my mom makes a pitcher of iced tea.

After dishing up a plate with pasta and a golden breaded chicken breast, my mom passes it to me with a wistful look. “We need to talk about this, Taylor. You need to be back in school.”

“I know. I want to transfer back here.”

“You can’t transfer back in the middle of the year,” my dad supplies around a bite of pasta.

“I can’t go back there
. Mom…” I plead.

“Taylor,
your dad and I talked and we think the right thing to do is to go back to the academy. It’s a good opportunity for you and we don’t want you to throw it away. You’re stronger than that.”

As excited as I was for my favorite meal tonight, I push
away the plate, my appetite vanished. How could they do this to me? I cannot go back and face Colt every day. They don’t understand anything.

After that disappointing dinner, I decide to turn my cell phone back on.
I can’t avoid my life forever. There’s several more missed calls and a text from Colt that says
I’m sorry
. Another from MJ says
Are u ok? Call me!

***

Crap. I hate it when my parents are right. After four days at home, one thing is crystal clear. I don’t belong here anymore.

The moment I called Piper to tell her I was back in town, her endless questions
pumped me for information. And her sympathy-laced voice made promises to set me up with useless high school boys I had no interest in whatsoever. My conversations with her, and then with MJ had me wondering if coming here was a mistake after all. 

MJ confirms that Colt’s left on another field assignment and urges me to come back. And as busy as Colt is
, I doubted I’d see much of him unless I made a deliberate effort, which I obviously wouldn’t be doing.

Even if I have to dodge Colt,
I’d rather be back at the academy with friends who know what I’m going through and who won’t rehash every gritty detail, making me relive the pain all over again.

The call from Reis disrupts my reverie. “Hello?”

His breathing is frantic. “Something’s happened to Colt.”

That was all I needed to hear. I immediately pack my bags and jot a note for my parents, letting them know that I’m heading back to the school.
It’s not far from the truth. I was going to Connecticut, but I was headed to Reis’ house to figure out what was going on.

Reis and I talk on the phone while I drive. Colt had left to work a case by himself two days ago. He’d insisted that he didn’t need back up, only telling Reis that he’d be in New Jersey overnight. He was due back yesterday
, no one has heard from him and his cell phone has been turned off. It’s a nerve racking five hour drive to their house, and all the while I ponder various scenarios – all horrible, all involving Colt. There’s a million ways a field assignment could go wrong, and my mind works through all of them and then some.

When I finally pull into their driveway, I slam the truck into park and jog to the door. It swings open after several minutes of knocking and I expect to see Reis, or maybe Mrs. Lee, so it takes me a second to figure out that
it’s McAllister standing in front of me.

“What are you doing here?”
I blurt out, stunned.

“I live here,” he says,
slowly.

“Oh. Of course, I mean, I thought you were in Brazil.”

“My initial plan was to come home to see Reis’ last soccer game. But when I got here – Reis’ got stitches in his face and Colt’s disappeared.” He rubs the back of his neck, looking wistful. “Seems I shouldn’t have stayed away so long.”

I nod in agreement.
His hair is laced with more silver than I remember and his eyes look lined and tired.

“The better question is, what
are you doing here?” he asks. His voice is direct, but not unkind, just curious at how I fit into this mess with his sons.

“I’m here to fix things.”

He smiles lightly. “Me too. Come inside.”

I
follow him in through the foyer and into the kitchen. Reis is chatting with Mrs. Lee. He springs off the barstool when he sees me and lifts me from the floor in a hug.

McAllister and Mrs. Lee watch us. I can’t help but notice the way she narrows her eyes at me.
Reis sets me on my feet a few moments later and pats the top of my head. “Shrimp,” he whispers, adoringly.

Reis stands
by my side, keeping his arms around me, like now that I’m back, he’s afraid to let me go. It’s a little unnerving. Mrs. Lee clears her throat. “I bring in the groceries,” she says, leaving the three of us in the kitchen.

“Can you find him?” McAllister
asks, his expression somber. Even though he’s a dirt bag, I can tell he loves his son. It softens me toward him the slightest bit.

“I’ll track him down.”

He nods. “Thank you.”

Reis holds
my hand, petting his thumb across the back of my hand repeatedly.

McAllister watches us with a curious expression.
“Reis, can I talk to you a minute?” he asks.

Reis gives
my hand a squeeze and then follows his dad from the room.

I walk to the hutch at the other end of the kitchen and pick up the photo of Colt and Reis. He’s so insanely handsome.
Where are you Colt?

I hear rustling behind me and turn to see Mrs. Lee wresting a bag o
f groceries bigger than her up onto the island. She watches me with a guarded expression.

She gestures to the photo in my hands. “You pick.”

I look down and return the picture to the shelf with trembling hands.

“You no toy with them.”
She wags her finger at me.

I nod, stunned at her harshness.

When Reis and McAllister come back into the kitchen, Reis heads to me, but Mrs. Lee incepts him, fussing over his freshly removed stiches, lifting his chin to inspect the line of tender skin. She loudly kisses his cheek and pats his chest, giving me the evil eye as she examines him. Her warmth toward me from the homecoming dance as evaporated.

Reis pulls
me upstairs, carrying my laptop in front of him likes it’s a prized possession. I set to work at his computer desk while he paces the room.

“Reis, sit. This isn’t like in the movies. It’s going to take a while.”

He nods and collapses on the bed with a deep sigh.

An hour later, after reading through the case file on Colt’s computer and tracking the email
s between him and Geoffrey, I think I’m onto something. We knew that Colt was headed to New Jersey, but now I have an address. His assignment was to gather intelligence on two suspected terrorists, and they’d recently leased on old warehouse, which based on a simple search I discover is vacant and on an isolated country road. Needless to say, it’s very out of the way. Who knows what could be going on there. Certainly nothing good.

McAllister pokes his head inside the doorway. “Find anything?”

“I think I know where he is.”

Reis leaps
from the bed and McAllister crosses the room in two strides. They hover over my shoulders, looking at the satellite image of the warehouse.

“I’ll go get him.” McAllister programs the address into his phone.

“No.” I stand. “I need to be the one to get him.”

His face is pure confusion and disbelief. “It’s not safe.”

“I know.” He’s right. It will be dangerous, but something tells me I need to be the one to do this. No matter how much I want to prove to Colt that I’m worth his love, I’m not that dumb. There’s just something nagging inside me that tell me I need to be the one. “I could run into a dead end with this warehouse and I’ll have my laptop. It has to be me. Trust me?”

He nods. “If you’re sure this is what you want, I suppose it’s the least I could do. I know I’ve made plenty of mistakes, but I love my sons – fiercely.” He drapes an arm over
Reis’ shoulders.

“I know. I’ll bring him home.”

When McAllister sees I’ve driven the truck here, he insists I take his Jaguar. It’s more reliable than the old truck, and will certainly be faster.

***

I pull to a stop outside the warehouse and leave the car running. I’ll knock on the door and if someone’s here, I’ll play stupid and say I’m lost and ask for directions. And if no one answers, I plan to sneak in and search for Colt.

I take a few deep breaths and double check the
utility knife McAllister shoved in my purse before I left.

I can do this
. I repeat the silent mantra in my head. It’s go time.

The steel door in the front is pad locked with thick chains. Crap. I take a deep breath and knock on the door. My stomach tingles with nerves
and my hands are shaking. This feels like a terrible idea. But if someone answers, I remind myself, I’ll fake my best dumb teenage girl who took a wrong turn in Daddy’s car and needs help back to the highway. Of course I’m praying that no one answers and I can get inside and rescue Colt. This will work. It has to.

After knocking for several minutes, no one answers, and I don’t hear any noises from inside. I’m wasting time. If Colt’s not here, I need to move onto plan B. I walk around the side of the building, and drag an upturned crate over to the window, standing on top of it to look inside. The window is too dirty, inside and out to see through. I push against it and miraculously it slides open.

I hoist myself up and through he open window and as I drop to the floor, my only thought before I hit the concrete is,
man this is dumb
.

I ignore a sharp pain that shoots up my spine and inspect my surroundings.
The building is dim and completely silent. The large room I’m in is empty, except for various mechanical equipment scattered haphazardly. I scramble to my feet and shuffle across the room to an open doorway. I hug the wall and peer through. The room is small and damp and in a darkened corner sits a lone folding chair, a guy slumped over and tied to it. Colt! My heart pounds erratically. He’s here. I bite my lip and listen for any sounds of movement. The warehouse is eerily silent.

I race toward him, falling at his knees. “Colt,” my voice is little more than a frantic gasp, but it startles him awake. Thank God.
He doesn’t appear hurt. His eyes soften when they find mine.

“Tayl
or. You have to get out of here,” he rasps.

“I’m not leaving you here. Come on.” I pull the
blade from my purse and work at sawing through the ropes holding his hands behind his back.

When the rope springs free, his hands drop to his sides and he groans in relief.

“How are you here?” He looks captivated by me, like I’m a mirage, or an angel.

“I hacked into your email and figured out
where you were.”

He rises on stiff legs and leans on me for support. We half limp, half jog for the door.
He lifts me to the window and I scramble out, anxious until he hoists himself out and drops to the ground.

We climb inside the
car and I throw it in reserve and slam on the gas, pining us both against the seats and kicking up gravel in my wake. I hand my phone to Colt and he calls Reis to tell him we’re safe and on our way.

Neither of us
speak until we’re about fifteen minutes down the highway.

“You shouldn’t have come,” he whispers, turning toward me. His words stab at my heart. He doesn’t want me here. But then he brings his hand to my jaw line and brushes my hair back, tucking it behind my ear. “If something would have happened to you…” he doesn’t finish, but the agony in his voice does wonders to mend the ache in my chest.

Tears blur my vision and double my efforts to focus on the highway, while Colt continues to wrap his fingers around the curls of my hair. He scoots closer and wipes at a tear rolling down my cheek. “Pull over,” he whispers.

I jerk the
car to the right, pulling off the highway at an exit for a rest stop. As soon as I wrench it into park, I clamor across the seat and I’m on top of him. I straddle his lap and sob into his chest. “Shh. Shh. I’m okay.” He rubs my back in gentle circles.

“I was so scared.”

“I know. But it’s okay now. I’ve got you,” he murmurs, still rubbing my back, sweeping my hair off my neck.

I cry harder, for everything I’ve lost, but mostly because I’ve lost him. The physical ache to be near him has haunted me for weeks, and now that he’s so close I let myself fall apart in his arms.