The Certainty of Deception (2 page)

I shrugged him off. “How would you feel if it were Morgan on the other side of that door?”

Gavin turned deathly white in the florescent lighting of the complex.  “I’d fight for her,” he admitted.

With
a nod of my head, I returned my attention to the door that separated me from my beloved.  I rammed my fists against the door again.  It vibrated against my hands.  “Mickie, if you don’t open this door right now, I swear I’ll break it down.”

“Drew, you heard her.  McKenzie needs you to leave,” the authoritative voice of Jared had replaced Mickie’s on the other side of the offensive slab of wood.

I stared at the door, stunned.  What the fuck!  Jared was here?  She would talk to him but not me.  That son of a bitch confessed his love for her knowing that she loved me, and yet, there he was sitting all high and mighty in her apartment! Oh, hell, no!  There was no way I was going to allow that.  My already boiling blood pressure skyrocketed out of orbit.

All I saw was red.  That man was locked in that apartment with my girl, and he was going to pay for taking my place.  Mickie was mine!  I slammed my entire body against the door.  It rattled and shook from the blow.

“Let me in
now
, Jared,” I ordered. 

Silence.

“I swear to fucking God, you either let me in, or I’ll break down the door.”  An empty threat.  Gavin had a grip so tight on me now; there was no way he’d allow me crash into the door again.  Besides, the world was spinning so fast, I wasn’t even sure I could walk, let alone break down a door.

The sound of the deadbolt unhinging echoed into the night.  I tapped my foot impatiently, waiting for Jared to open the door.  First thing I planned to do was to ram my fist into that weasel face of his.  The next thing I planned to do was march in
to the apartment, pull Mickie into my arms and never let her go.

When only a sliver of the door parted, my temper flared again.  The rat bastard wasn’t going to let me in.  Well, we’d see about that.

“Leave now,” Jared snarled.

“I have to see her.” 

There wasn’t much to Jared.  He was tall and slender, much like me in build, but I was stronger.  Plus, I had Gavin with me.  If we enforced enough weight, we could push him over.  A ghost of a smirk quivered against my lips.  I had this bastard.  Taking one step forward, I placed my hands against the door, and shoved with all my might.

“No! She doesn’t want to see you.”  Jared’s voice was strained with resistance. 

“What the hell are you doing?” Gavin yelled, pulling me back toward him.

I wiggled free of Gavin’s grip and managed to maneuver my body through the crack in the door before Jared could close it.  My eyes darted quickly around the room. 
Her presence was so strong that I had no issue finding her.  She was plastered against the wall behind Jared. 

The light from the floor lamp haloed around her head, highlighting the dark circles under her eyes and streams of tears poured down her cheeks.  Her beautiful blonde hair was piled high on top of her head and her t-shirt and jeans looked as rumpled as mine did.  She was hurting, and I was the cause of her pain.  I had to fix it.

Our eyes met, and for a moment my demons were quelled.  My beautiful angel was close by.  Even in her distressed state, she was absolutely gorgeous and that feeling of warmth that always burned my soul poured through my veins. 

I extended my hand out to her, ignoring Jared’s attempts to push me back and Gavin’s grip tugging on me.  Just one touch; that was all I needed.  “Please,” I mouthed, pleading with her to let me take away the pain.

“Please, Mickie.  I can’t imagine never holding you again, loving you again. Please.”

She stepped toward me with her hand outstretched, lifting it to meet mine.  Her blue eyes were red and puffy, and she appeared as though she were hypnotized.  Then, without warning, she shook her head and snapped her hand back to her chest.  Anger, hurt, and sorrow crossed her face in a mask of emotions.  She slammed herself against the wall, shaking her head vehemently.  Instead of reaching for me, her hands covered her face and her chest heaved in gut-wrenching sobs.

“Baby, I beg you,” I whispered through my own tears.  “I love you so much.  Let me fix this.  I can fix this.”

“Damm
it, Drew.  Can’t you see what you’re doing to her?  You need to go!”  Jared looked around me to Gavin.  “Get him out of here!”

Naturally, I wanted to fight Jared.  How dare he try to step in between Mickie and me like that, but seeing how upset she was, it snapped something inside of me.  All the anger I was harboring dissipated into a puff of air.  I felt weak and oddly enough, sober.

“Jared, please,” I begged.  “I need five minutes alone with her.  I need to make her see how much I love her and show her that nothing has to change.  I can’t live without her.  I know you know how that feels.  Please.”

Okay, it might’ve been heartless of me to throw Jared’s feelings for Mickie in his face, but I had to reach him somehow.  He was the only thing standing between me and my girl. 

Jared looked as if I had punched him in the gut.  I guess, in essence, I did.  The rims of his eyes turned red and tears swam near the corners, but he never gave me the satisfaction of seeing them fall.  

I’m secure enough in my masculinity to say that Jared was a good looking guy.  The first time I met him, he was having lunch with McKenzie.  I initially had thought he was Nate, but quickly realized he was yet another admirer of the beautiful McKenzie Evans.  My first impression of him with his big gold eyes, shoulder length blonde hair and scruffy appearance was that he considered himself some sort of modern rocker.  I was close in my evaluation.  He was a musician, but not a rocker.

His nostrils flared as he exhaled.   “I do understand, but Drew, I also understand what it feels like to let her go.  And that’s what you have to do, man.  Let her go.”

A pit hardened in my stomach.  The thought of letting her go was far too much for me to handle.  I couldn’t do that.  Ever!  She was in my blood now, a part of me, and no matter what, I was holding on for dear life.

“I can’t.”  I cringed at how feeble my voice sounded.  True, I was weak, but I didn’t need to sound that way in front of my rival or my brother.  How could I be for certain that he had, in fact, let go of Mickie when I couldn’t?

“You can.”  Jared gently pressed his palm into my chest. 

“If she would just listen to me.  Jared,” I whimpered, “I don’t want Olivia.  I want Mickie.  I need Mickie.”

“I know.” 

My head bolted up at the sound of the door closing behind him.  Gavin was no longer behind me.  Jared had somehow managed to move me away from the door and back outside.  My heart screamed for me to push this man away and rush inside, but my mind and body felt defeated.  Mickie had made her decision, and her choice was to leave me.

I pressed my back against the wall, staring vacantly at her front door, as I slid down to the ground.  All of my confidence and vigor was gone.  Crossing my arms over my knees, I dropped my head into the crevasse and cried.  There was nothing left for me.  My hopes were gone. She had rejected me.

“Drew, you have to stop this. You’re not only hurting McKenzie, but you’re hurting yourself.  Look at you.  I’ve never seen you like this.”

“I have,” Gavin muttered
; his arms crossed over his chest.  Gavin was two years older than me, but also two inches shorter.  His light brown hair was starting to thin, so he compensated by using a lot of product and keeping it cropped in a Caesar cut.  He was slender, yet fit and he carried the Wise family trademark of blue eyes; only shades darker than mine.

A muted chuckle drained from my chest.  “Gav’s right.  I’ve looked worse.”

Jared lifted his faded ball cap to scratch his scalp in exasperation.  “That might be so, but man, you’ve got to get it together.  You won’t win her back this way.”

My eyes widened in surprise, and my heart leapt from my chest.  “You mean there’s still hope for me?  I still have a chance.”

He knelt down in front of me and placed his hands on my shoulders. “Of course there’s hope.  Drew, she loves you.  Take it from me.  I watched her with Nate.  She never once looked at him as she does you.”  Jared hung his head down, diverting his eyes from mine.  “She’s never looked at me the way she does you.”

A sense of pride puffed out my chest.  Mickie loved me more than she ever loved her ex-boyfriend, Nathaniel Fuller.  I hated that bastard for the hell he put her through and I’d never even met him.  He didn’t deserve McKenzie’s love after leavi
ng her alone to grieve for the loss of their child.

However, there was a piece of me that felt sorry for Jared.  He looked almost as lost as I felt.  It struck me that by her moving back to Texas, I wasn’t the only one losing her.  He was too.   I licked my lips, tasting the salt of my tears.  “How do I win her back?”

Jared chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck.  “Well for starters, you drinking and acting like a crazy person is only going to push her further away.”

“Finally!” Gavin exclaimed.  “Please, listen to the man.”

My eyes darted back and forth between Jared and Gavin.  They both carried the same stern but caring expression. 

“Sober up.  Yeah, I’ve been on that wagon before.” 

Furrowed brow and squinted eyes exemplified Jared’s questioning mind.  I waved him off, not wanting to go into detail as to what I meant.   He curled his lips and he cocked his head, glancing at my brother.  Gavin shook his head once and Jared shrugged. 

“You also need to remember you’re not the only one hurting here.  McKenzie has it in her head that if she leaves, you and Olivia will find a way of bonding in order to create a happy life for the child.”

“That’s preposterous!” I exclaimed.  “There’s no way in hell I’ll ever want Olivia.  Mickie’s it for me.”

“That might be
, but Drew, you have to look at it from her point of view.  While we both know I think Olivia is the spawn of Satan,” -I snickered at the remark- “McKenzie considers her to be a dear friend.  Since Olivia has made things clear to her that she sees a future with you, and with her carrying your child, well, you get the gist.”

I covered my mouth.  Either the alcohol was playing the mambo in my stomach or the thought of having a future with Olivia had curdled it.  Whatever the case, I had the sudden urge to vomit. “Seriously?” I gagged.

Jared nodded, “Yeah.  Olivia told McKenzie that you were willing to work on your relationship for the sake of the baby.”

“I never...” I started. 

Gavin lifted his hand.  “She told Morgan the same thing, little brother.”

“She lied!” I cried, rubbing my hands over my face.  “I told her I would care for her and
the baby, but that’s where we ended.”

Jared pinched the bridge of his nose.  “It doesn’t surprise me at all.  Olivia is crafty when she wants something.  She’s manipulated many a situation to keep McKenzie where she wants her.  That’s why I’ve always been so crass toward her.  But McKenzie is a stubborn one.  She follows her heart, not the truth.”

“That she does.” My stomach churned faster and faster.  I swallowed, but the metallic flavor on my tongue only added to the nausea.

“Wait?” Gavin interjected.  “You’re telling me this is a pattern for Olivia?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” Jared confirmed.

“Then, maybe Drew’s right.  He should talk to McKenzie.”

“It won’t work.  Trust me.  I know how McKenzie thinks.”

“So, what do I do?” I raked my fingers through my hair, tugging at the tangled locks.  I couldn’t remember the last time I combed it.

Jared returned his hands to my shoulders and gave them a good squeeze. Tilting his head, Jared’s eyes darted back and forth from me to Gavin. “Look.  Here’s what we’re going to do.  You’re going to let McKenzie go back to Texas for now.  Olivia has always used her loyal nature against her.  This will prevent Olivia from manipulating McKenzie.  Besides, you both need some time and space.”

“But-” I tried to protest.

“Hear him out,” Gavin suggested.

“Fine,” I huffed.  “And?”

“And,” Jared continued, “you’re going to follow through with your promise to Olivia.  McKenzie is already beating herself up enough for being a bad friend.  She doesn’t need another reason to martyr herself.”

There was something in Jared’s eyes that made me believe he wasn’t playing me for a fool.  He truly wanted to help. 
This shouldn’t have surprised me.  Mickie loved this man like a brother.  If she trusted him, then I could as well.  My tongue slipped over my lips, wetting the coarse, dry skin.  “I’ll agree to your terms on one condition.”  The lawyer in me decided to rear its ugly head.  Negotiate.  It was the only way to settle any dispute.

With a chuckle, Jared balanced himself on the balls of toes.  “What’s your condition, counselor?”

Ah, so he caught on to my professional side.  Good for him.  I straightened up, staring him in the eyes.  “I know you’ll be in constant contact with her.  All I ask is that you keep me informed.  I have to know that she’s doing okay.  If you don’t agree, my ass is on a flight to Amarillo tomorrow.”