Unbreak Me (24 page)

Connor looked up at the bright blue sky, his heart heavy, and his head full of so many things he just wanted to escape. “I don’t know. I just can’t figure out why someone would screw us over. Bruce is convinced he knows who the leak is, but he isn’t confident about being so forthcoming.”

“Interesting,” John replied. “Maybe with you going to Hong Kong he might cave from a little pressure—which relieves you from any suspicion.”

“What?”

“The board of directors has aired their concerns, considering your brush with the…you know.”

“You can say it, Dad, I’m not that bloody sensitive.” Connor’s eyebrows narrowed as his father danced around the delicate subject of attempted suicide.

“I suppose it’s a well-known fact now,” John replied, glancing over at his son. “We’ll get past all this. It will just take time.”

“Time seems to fuck me over.”

“You’re only young. You have a whole life ahead of you.”

Sighing, Connor rubbed his face. “And no one to share it with.”

“How is Molly?”

“She blew me off. I had my chance, but that bitch in there destroyed it all, and there’s not a thing I can do.” Connor was angry. “Dad… I don’t think I can ever be happy. Not truly. I feel like I am destined only to exist.”

“That breaks my heart,” John said as he looked over at his son. “I know I’ve been hard on you. That doesn’t mean that I’ve never cared.”

“It’s okay, Dad, you don’t need to explain yourself to me.”

“I think I do.”

The two men stood together, united for the first time. Being father and son, no interruptions from Eleanor, no condescending remarks, just genuine warmth between them.

“Take a walk with me,” John said. “Your mother was quite a woman back in the day, she still is now, but, people change over time. Her once gentle nature became corrupted by the prominent world we live in. She became a woman of means, and that came with a small price to pay.” John looked solemn as he spoke. “I’ve always been driven, something your grandfather drilled into me from a young age, but your mother made it her business to make sure I became head once my father retired. There were never any doubts about it. And twenty years later, here we are, a family that has become estranged, convoluted and at war with itself.”

Connor understood everything his father was saying. He had lived within the confines of the empire all his life. He had seen firsthand the lengths his mother went to, to remain top dog. He’d witnessed the cruel world where money made everything okay and no one had a conscience.

“Why can’t she just let me do my own thing and be happy for me?”

“Because, in her mind, there is a natural order, a process, and when that’s fucked with, all hell breaks loose,” John said as they strolled through the hilltop garden. “She doesn’t even realize what she’s saying half the time. It’s like she goes into autopilot mode and does what she was bred to do.”

“She ripped Molly apart the night of the gala,” Connor said as they stopped near the pool. “I’m sure she put Marissa up to following us.”

“Marissa is the kind of woman who, when she sets her sights on something or someone, she won’t let go,” John remarked as they looked out over the pool. Their world was in sharp contrast a place of sanctuary away from the struggles of daily life, the worries of not knowing where the next meal was coming from, the fear of not being able to survive. Connor knew he had it good, he wasn’t naive enough to think otherwise, but he also knew how seedy and corrupt his kind were, and that was something he found hard to comprehend.

“She screwed my chances with Molly. She took that away from me.”

“I know.” John was sympathetic. “But maybe some distance, some time apart, away from all temptation of falling back into old habits and things that drag up unsavory memories is exactly what you need.”

“Nothing is ever simple… Women, eh?” Connor sighed.

“Women are creatures of habit, or so is the case with your mother,” John stated. “Sometimes a clean slate is the only solution. If it’s meant to be, then it will happen when the time’s right. You can’t force something to happen. It goes against nature.”

“You’re right,” Connor finally admitted, accepting that Hong Kong was to be his new beginning. “This is exactly what I need in my life right now—clear direction. Thanks, Dad.”

A beginning away from all the heartache of California was the path he had to go. If he was to be happy, he had to cut his losses and take a chance on something new, no matter the pain.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Molly helped Regina pack the remaining boxes into the back of her car, taking her time, trying to avoid an impromptu dizzy spell. Sundays were always her day of respite. A day for books, chocolate and sleep, but restlessness crept through her. She knew what she wanted to do, but she didn’t know if she had the guts to go through with it.

Regina, her proverbial conscience, was the one to drop the little bombshell. “I got a call from Luke late last night.”

Molly looked at her and asked, “What did he say?”

“Eugene wants to press charges against you.”

Molly went silent as the words rang through her head. She couldn’t believe it. The man who had beat and tried to rape her wanted her charged. It was ridiculous.

“Why?”

Sighing, Regina rested her hand on the car, as her other hand fixed Molly’s hair away from her face. “Because he’s a dumbass fool.”

“Will he have a case against me?”

“Nope. Barry has already begun his own case against him.”

“Oh… I forget sometimes what Barry does for a living,” Molly said, sounding deflated.

“Honey, the man tried to rape you,” Regina said. “We were there. We saw what that monster did to you.”

“But I hit him!”

“In self-defense.”

Molly’s head ached from all the information filtering through. The memory of that day, the way he had made her feel. The vision of him jerking off as he pinned her against the wall made her dry heave. “Why can’t these assholes just go and die.”

“Because the world doesn’t work that way,” Regina remarked as she locked the car. “Come on, let’s take a walk. Grab a coffee on the way.” Her warm smile was enough to convince Molly that a little walk would help.

The two women linked arms, walking down the street as Sunday morning traffic buzzed by.

“What about my folks?” Molly asked, knowing that Regina would be honest with her.

“They were released without charge.”

Molly’s heart sank to another level.

“They’re never going to leave me alone, are they?” Molly asked. “They’re always going to be there, sneaking, watching me, knowing my every move.”

“Most likely. Either that or they’ll take one hit too many and die in the gutter,” Regina said as she held on tight to Molly.

“Would it be bad of me to wish they’d just die?”

“We never wish death on those who’ve hurt us. Always remember that.” Regina had a way with words, a way of making Molly listen, and even though things were jumbled in her head, Molly knew Regina was right. Wishing death on them would have made her exactly like them and she didn’t want to stoop to that level, no matter the hurt she was feeling. “Both Aggie and I, we came up against a lot of bad people in our time, but our one saving grace was that we never once wished ill on those who hurt, or tried to hurt, us. We placed all our faith in God and our beliefs. Because if there’s one thing, the man upstairs does right by those who’ve been wronged.”

Molly sat down outside a small bistro. She quietly sipped her coffee, listening to the laughs from the people who surrounded her. It felt as if it had been a lifetime since she had laughed heartedly. She wanted that joy back in her life.

“I need to make things right with Connor,” she said as she glanced over at Regina. “I know you’re going to try to talk me out of it, but, what if this is it, my one chance? I can’t let that go.”

“Then chase your dream. Just come home if things don’t go the way you want.” Regina reached across the table and held Molly’s hand. “I can see the passion, the love, the determination in your eyes. If he can make you happy, then you have my blessing.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I just don’t want you hurt again.”

“I love you, Gina, even though I’ve been a bitch lately,” Molly said, her voice almost a whisper. “I’m working hard to keep that tongue of mine in check.”

Laughing, Regina fanned her face with her hand and said, “Good thing my skin’s made of leather.”

Molly shook her head before finishing off her coffee. “Mind if I go? Are you all right with taking the boxes over to Goodwill yourself?”

“You go do what has to be done. Just be mindful of yourself and that little head of yours. It’s taken quite the beating lately, and well, we both know the things that can go wrong.”

“Yes, I know… I promise, you will be my first point of contact if I get all weird and shit.”

Molly stood, planting a kiss on Regina’s cheek before going about her business. If there was one thing Molly had learned through everything that had happened, it was that if she truly wanted something bad enough, she had to go get it herself. Her happiness was in her hands and it was up to her to secure her future. She just didn’t know exactly how she was going to do that.

Molly took her phone out of her back pocket and called Jenna.

“Hey, did Barry happen to get that address I was looking for?”

“I’m good, thanks for asking.” Jenna’s sarcasm was obvious. “Yes, of course he did.”

“So…?”

“So… Are you sure this is something you want to do? Do you want me to come with you?” Jenna asked.

“Seriously? C’mon, Jenna, I need to do this alone.”

“Well, how about I drive over to his place? I’ll just sit outside. I promise, I won’t cramp your style.”

Molly thought for a few moments, biting down on her lip. “I don’t know.”

“What harm can it do?”

“Okay,” Molly conceded. “I’m on Sacramento. Just by the park.”

“Give me five minutes. I’m not too far away. Just dropping Arianna off at a friend’s.”

“No worries.”

Molly knew that between both Regina and Jenna, she was never going to do this alone. They had her back and while at times it made her feel like she couldn’t breathe, she was pretty damned happy at the prospect of having someone to go to if things went wrong.

Jenna pulled up and honked the horn, making Molly jump. Waving, she made her way to the car. Her stomach sank as nerves began to get the better of her.

“You ready to do this?” Jenna asked, raising her eyebrows.

Nodding, Molly closed her eyes, envisioning Connor in her mind. “Yes.”

As they drove off toward her destiny, Molly found herself thinking, reassessing everything that had happened since May. The bridge, the way Connor had been so broken when she’d helped him, to how he had come along and whisked her away after her escape from Eugene. Right down to the night of the accident, the reality hitting her hard. So many little pieces of the jigsaw finally fitted together.

Wounded and hurt, she accepted that the time had come to move past all the suffering.

In just under ten minutes, they pulled up outside the apartment block on Mission Street. A knot of unease made itself known to Molly as she looked up at the building, her heart hanging by a thread.

“Apartment three-zero-ten,” Jenna said as she looked at Molly.

“Oh God, I feel ill.” Molly couldn’t hide the nerves. The anxiety was becoming too much.

“No, you don’t. Not when you’ve got this far. Go in there, say what you have to. I’ll be here regardless,” Jenna said, reaching over to open the door. “You said it yourself yesterday, you’re the only person who can make this right.”

Molly looked at her, the palms of her hands sweaty, as her heart pounded. “I can do this, right?”

“Absolutely.”

Molly got out of the car, her head dizzy from the anticipation.
God
, she thought,
I’d better be doing the right thing.
Standing still as she mustered up all the courage she’d ever need, she inhaled deeply before stepping through the entrance of the building.

The air conditioning billowed around her as she walked inside the main foyer of the building. Getting her bearings, she eyed the front desk. A well-built man sat behind it.

Lifting her head, she walked with confidence toward the desk, smiling at the man as she approached.

“How may I help you, miss?” he asked.

“Apartment three-zero-ten, Connor Ellison,” Molly said as she kept eye contact.

“I’m afraid Mr. Ellison has left for the airport.” The concierge smiled as he delivered the devastating news. Unbeknown to him, Molly’s heart stopped beating.

The air suddenly got tight. “What? What do you mean?”

“Mr. Ellison was picked up fifteen minutes ago.”

Molly’s world suddenly came crashing down around her. It was too late.

She had fucked up.

She had screwed whatever chance she’d had. Panic began setting in.

“Where’s he going?”

Unsure of whether to deliver the information, the man could see the desperation in her face. “He’s bound for Hong Kong.”

“Oh God!” she gasped.

“Miss, are you okay?”

With tear-filled eyes, Molly ran from the apartment block, out to the car where Jenna stood, waiting.

“He’s gone! He’s left for the airport,” she cried. “I’m too late.”

“What?”

“Hong Kong,” she muttered as her head spun. “I’ve lost him.”

“No, you haven’t. Get in.”

“What?”

“Get in the damn car,” Jenna stormed. “We can still make it.”

Not wasting another minute, Jenna made it her mission to help Molly salvage something she was sure she’d never have again.

Chasing the dream, the one person who completed her, Molly’s mind raced. Losing him now wasn’t a prospect she could face. If she’d lost him for good, then she’d spend the rest of her life in deep regret.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Connor stood in line, waiting to check in. His heart was heavy, but he had become very adept at switching on his business head. Locking all his emotions in the back of his mind, refusing to address them ever again, he’d decided that he’d never revisit the past. Falling in love meant being vulnerable, and that exposure meant weakness—no more.