Wicked Intentions (19 page)

Shakira’s words drifted into nothingness as she waited for Nathan to react.

It took a long while but finally his shoulders slumped. When he took that deep breath that told her he was letting his anger go, Shakira took a relieved gulp of air of her own.

Shaking his head, Nathan made his way towards the bed. “Baby, you’re too soft.”

Though Nathan was over his snit, he wasn’t about to let Edya get away scot-free with disrespecting Shakira like that. She could love him all she wanted, be sorry all she wanted but it would be on her own time and not on that of the woman he loved.

If he wasn’t already in deep, the knowledge that Shakira had turned down the one million for him would’ve drowned him. Any other woman would’ve taken it and ran. Shakira hadn’t even looked at it twice – and she’d defended Edya’s actions too. He was never,
never
, going to find another woman like her and he’d be damned if his mother ran her off.

He patiently sat through the lavish garden wedding and the elegant reception until just before he and Shakira were about to leave to confront his mother. The happy couple – or rather Edya – had decided that a honeymoon was a waste of time especially as Edya had a meeting with investors on Monday. Apparently the Landa-Hollis world would crumble without its matriarch.

He found her in the den taking a phone-call.

“Your stocks have been taking a beating the whole month since you announced that Jon was taking over from you.” Edya waved Nathan towards the couch opposite her as she spoke into the phone, “We sell ours and you might as well just dump
Arthur Cleans
into the trash.”

Nathan shook his head. He wasn’t staying long enough to need a seat and Shakira was in the car waiting for him. Cocking an eyebrow at his disobedience, Edya listened to the person on the other end of the line before ordering, “I want you to name Ethan as CEO.”

Nathan had to applaud the person on the other end of the line because whatever he or she said had Edya narrowing her eyes as her mouth straightened into a thin line. Her voice was terse and each word clipped as she stated, “Well then we have nothing else to say to each other,” and ended the call.

Obviously frustrated by the call, Edya leant back against the settee with her eyes closed and took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes again, the anger was gone replaced by equanimity. She asked him, “Did you come to say good-bye?”

Nathan plunged right in, “I saw the check you wrote Shakira.”

“She told you?” The surprise in his mother’s eyes was immediate but she quickly rose in her own defense. “She only told you because she’s angling for more from you.”

“She didn’t tell me.” Nathan crossed his arms over his chest as he asked, “What would possess you to offer my girlfriend money?”

“What was I supposed to do?” Edya grimaced. “Let you get yourself killed because of that…that parasite? You’ve got your private investigator telling you that she has thugs following her around. You know that the FBI has proof that she was funneling illegal money for her dead boyfriend. And you’re still hanging around her?”

Nathan didn’t miss the reference to his PI. He asked, “How do you know about Randall?”

He was sure that neither of his brothers had outed him. There was only one possible explanation. Edya confirmed it. “You didn’t think you were the only one paying him, did you?”

Nathan wasn’t surprised that Randall was working for his mother too. If he’d known his mother was still bothered enough about him to keep an eye on his doings, he would’ve seen this coming. He shook his head and chuckled self-derisively.

Edya repeated, “What was I supposed to do?” She stood as she asked, “How can you know everything you know about that girl and not be smart enough to run the other way? I raised you better than that.”

Edya had no right to judge Shakira. She knew nothing about Shakira. She didn’t know that behind all that information Randall had fed her there was a whole other story; a story that couldn’t be captured on camera or on paper. It wasn’t her business to know anyway.

“Mother,” Nathan began ready to cuss his mother to hell. But it was as if Shakira was there jabbing him in the ribs. He took a deep breath then began again. “Mother, let’s get this clear. Shakira is my business.” His words were succinct and his expression somber as he warned, “If you ever pull a stunt like that one again, it will be the last time you and I ever speak – actually even see each other. Are we clear?”

His mother didn’t answer.

But Nathan knew she’d gotten the message. He was serious. This was her last chance. If she messed it up, with a clear conscience he would tell Shakira he’d tried and then walk away from his mother.

Leaving Edya at that, he exited the den - only to find Shakira standing at the foyer.

His heart dropped to his sneakers and his blood ran cold as his eyes zeroed on her face. Hurt and shock mingled there leaving no doubt that she’d heard the whole conversation.

CHAPTER 21

“I can explain,” Nathan racked his panicked brain to come up with a fast excuse for what she’d heard. “I swear it’s not what you think it is.”

She stared at him.

“Yes, I had someone watching you…” He rubbed the back of his neck in exasperation. “…but I swear I was only trying to protect you”

Her eyes cut into his, bright, glassy and unblinking.

“I mean I started off suspecting you because of the conning thing but eventually I figured out that you weren’t lying. I only wanted to know…” His words drifted off as he realized that there was no way to make himself look good in this situation. “Kira, I’m sorry.”

She glared at him

He wished she’d say something; cuss him out and tell him how hurt she was. He wished she’d do something; hit him and show him how much he’d hurt her. But she only stood there looking at him, the hurt, disappointment and betrayal pouring out of her in thick waves.

“I’m sorry,” he tried again this time reaching for her. His forward movement stopped when her palm cracked over his cheek. Slap!

Nathan flinched with the force of the smack. He drew back his head and closed his eyes with the immediate pain that spread through his face.
Fuck!
Behind that dainty hand was strength he didn’t know she even possessed. When he opened his eyes it was to meet Shakira’s back as she crossed the foyer.

“Shakira, Shakira, Shakira.” Working his jaw, he chased after her.

His calling her name only seemed to accelerate her pace and in seconds she was out of the house. Nathan almost crashed into the door as it slammed behind her. By the time he yanked the door open and followed her outside, Shakira was already in the car and revving up the engine.

“Shakira, Shakira, Shakira.” He raced towards the driver’s side. He tried to open the door but it was firmly closed to his efforts. The car growled and then started to crawl away. Nathan slapped his palm on the window repeatedly to draw Shakira’s attention. “Shakira, Shakira, Shakira.” But she stared straight ahead and accelerated the car.

“Shakira, Shakira, Shakira.” Nathan raced after the car, slapping the passenger window, the trunk and then finally thin air as it zoomed away.

His body and mind numb, and his hands clasped over his head, Nathan watched the car retreat towards the gates.

She’s gone
. His heart crushed at his feet with the realization.
She’s gone.

He closed his eyes doing best to hold onto her image rigidly. His mind etched her face clearly but instead of a laughing Shakira, all it gave him was her disappointment and hurt.

What the hell had he done?

Shakira had never felt this kind of pain.

It felt like there was a hand inside her chest, gripping at her heart, squeezing it painfully and trying to rip it out of her body. It hurt. It hurt so bad.

I won’t cry. I won’t cry for him.

Her eyes stung with unshed tears as she stared at the road in front of her. Her fingers clenched over the steering wheel in response to the pain whipping like a violent tornado inside her and her stomach churned nauseously clogging her throat with bitter bile. In her purse, her phone rang incessantly. She didn’t pick it up.

She knew it was him and the last voice she wanted to hear with his.

She knew he didn’t trust her but this was so much more than anything she’d ever imagined. Private investigators, stalking, sneaking…who knew what else he’d been up to. Did she even want to know? She’d walked away from his bullshit apology before he could confess all his sins because she was afraid that his confession would tell her the one thing she didn’t want to hear.

That they were a lie!

Even while the pain sliced through her and bled her out, her mind arranged the puzzle pieces; the excessive prodding, the turning up at the school when she hadn’t let him know anything; the over-compensating. How could she have been so blind? It all added up to a picture of deliberate manipulation that she’d blindly let herself be painted into.

It was all a lie.

The tears came unbidden. She wiped them off with her palm to keep them from blurring her vision of the road but they kept coming until she had to pull off the road. Propping her arms on the steering wheel, she hung her head and let her sadness take the reins.

It was all a lie.

Everything she thought they had, every date they’d ever gone too, the nights holding each other, the feelings she thought they shared were all a lie. They were a figment of her imagination fanned by him and part of the play he’d carefully scripted specially for her. She’d been too wrapped up in his Oscar-worthy performance to see it.

Silent sobs racked her body, only her occasional sniffles punctuating the car’s quiet. It seemed to go on for hours. It seemed to go on for days. It felt like her heart was seeping out of her body with every tear that slipped down her face and landed on her jeans.

When was she ever going to learn? She should’ve learnt how to protect her heart after the Charlie fiasco. Instead there she’d gone catching feelings for another fake.
You’re too soft
. Nathan had kept telling her - and then proceeded to take full advantage of it. When was she ever going to learn?

Shakira sniffled again as she swiped her hand over her cheek but it was the sound of tapping on glass that got her to raise her head. When she turned towards the window, it was to find a burly woman whose face was partially shielded by a cap, peering into the car through the tinted glass. Hastily, Shakira wiped at her eyes and nose with the edge of her t-shirt before lowering the window

“You out of gas?” the woman asked. “I can give you a ride to wherev…” Her voice drifted into silence as she took in Shakira’s face. Her craggy face crinkled in concern. “Hey, you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Shakira cleared her throat to get rid of the residual tears and plastered a smile on her face. Eager to get rid of the woman, she said, “I don’t need gas but thank you for stopping to ask.”

“Who is he?”

Shakira’s voice was strained. “Excuse me?”

“The man that got you crying on the side of the road,” the woman asked as she propped her arm on the roof of Nathan’s car, the soft breeze fluttering her checkered flannel shirt. “I know these things. Before I started riding them trucks I used to be a woman too.”

“There’s no man,” Shakira insisted on a reluctant chuckle as her glance relief briefly shifted from the woman to the hulking sixteen-wheeler parked in front of her.

The woman shrugged. “He ain’t worth it.” As if that was the sum of her thoughts on the matter, the woman straightened and tipped her hat. “You take care of yourself now.”

“You too,” Shakira called out. “Thank you.”

Once the woman and her truck were gone, Shakira pulled back into traffic. The crying and the truck-driver’s interruption seemed to have dulled much of her pain. Resolve replaced it.

Buck up, Shakira. You’ve been through worse than this. He’s just another person in the long line of people who disappoint you. He won’t break you.

The closer she got to the city the stronger her resolve got. She’d been surviving just fine before Nathan barged into her life with his PIs. So what if she was still broke? So what if the FBI were still after her? So what if the only two men she’d dated both turned out to be sneaky, conniving assholes? So what if her heart ached? She’d survive - just as she always did.

She sped up on the highway, strategizing as she went.

By the time she parked the car in front of their building it was already dark and she had a plan firmly in place. Some part of her worried about Nathan and what he could’ve done after she’d left him at their estate. The other part asked ‘
why the hell do you care
’. He was a big boy. He could find his way home and when he did, he wouldn’t find her there.

Lugging their suitcase, she climbed the stairs leading up to their floor. At this time of the night, the hallway was deserted. She rolled the suitcase behind her as she walked towards their door while sorting through Nathan’s keys for the house-key. They jingled as she pressed the key into the keyhole. She started to turn it but the door slipped open all on its own.

What the hell?

Shakira backed away as instant fear eclipsed her senses. Tilting her body slightly she peered into the apartment just in time to catch a light from the bedroom flicker off, plunging the house into complete darkness.

There was someone in there.

Dropping the suitcase on the floor and heart pounding like a mad disco drum, Shakira raced back the way she’d come. She only realized that she had nowhere to go when she got to the ground floor. She’d left the keys in the key-hole. Trembling, she fumbled with her bag as she searched it and came up with her phone.

Her eyes on the landing of the stairs, she dialed.

“911,” the operator picked up almost immediately. “How may we help you?”

“I’d like to report a…”

She never finished the sentence. Her jaw fell when Agent Gates emerged on the landing. His eyes narrowed on her as he methodically advanced down the stairs.

Shakira wanted to run, she could even imagine doing it but her legs seemed plastered to the floor in abject terror. The closer Gates got to her, the more visible the fury on his face became. His eyes were hard glassy orbs glaring at her with something akin to hate. His mouth was drawn in a thin strained line and his jaw ticked with the force of his anger.

He looked almost…crazy.

It was only when he got to the bottom step that he spoke. “Where’s the thumb-drive?”