Page 17 of Wanting a Family Man

“The car dealership was my first job after getting my bookkeeping certification. I realize now that it wasn’t a good foundation in accounting. It was more about how to use that particular software, but I felt like I finally had a real job, one that paid well and offered benefits. I liked working with numbers. They don’t lie. If something doesn’t add up, you know you’ve screwed up. You find your mistake and fix it.”

Trystan moved to a stool at the island, trying to give her space to speak at her own pace, but he was riveted to every word, wanting to pry them from her as fast as possible so he could turn them over and see what danger they might pose to the people he cared about.

“Things weren’t adding up,” she said with a flat smile. “I brought it to the owner’s attention. He was Ivan’s dad, Gregor. He would tell me it was fine, and he would make some adjustment and it would seem fine. For a while. Ivan was the head of sales, but he traveled a lot. Whenever he was in, he would flirt with me. He was ten years older than me, very charming when he wanted to be.”

That was always a red flag.When he wanted to be.

“I was still paying off my student loans. I had a car payment, rent… I was living month to month so I got very swept up when he started taking me to fancy restaurants and the VIP section in nightclubs. He was really hard to say no to, especially when he just seemed to want to make me happy. He paid off my loans and gave me a credit card, told me to buy clothes and manicures and get my hair done. I felt a little like he was trying to turn me into something I wasn’t, but all the wives and girlfriends in his circle did those things. I felt like I was becoming one of them because that’s where we were headed. I thought we were in love, that we would get married and all the rest. I didn’t see the danger in becoming completely dependent on him.”

Another huge red flag, one that sent an ominous chill into Trystan’s blood.

“One day, Ivan told me to make some changes in the dealership account and I said no, that it wasn’t right. At first, he tried to talk me around to his side of things, but when I was stubborn about it, he lost his temper.” She seemed to go gray as all the luminous gold leached out of her skin.

Trystan was surprised his ceramic coffee mug didn’t shatter in his hand. He was very philosophical about helpless fawns that were pounced on by pumas, but this was an entirely different type of predation. The kind that riled him in atavistic ways.

“He apologized afterward, but I knew I had to leave. I didn’t know how, though. My paychecks went into a joint account. If I started taking money out of it for first and last month’s rent and everything, he would have noticed. If I left, I wouldn’t even have ajob. By then, all my friends were the women attached to his friends. I had no one to turn to.”

“You had Tiffany.”

“Yes, but”—Cloe gulped her coffee and choked slightly—“when I called her, she told me she was pregnant. She was so excited, I wound up downplaying the trouble I was in. I had mostly convinced myself that it was just an argument that got out of hand. He was having a bad day. She was still worried and said I should come here right away. I thought a work visa and coming when the baby was born would be a cleaner, low-conflict break. I told Ivan I was planning to visit her once the baby came, but I was nothing but ulcers.” She waved at her stomach.

“Was he being violent? Abusive?” he asked, bracing himself.

“No.” She shrugged helplessly. “But I had this unending sense of dread, aware the switch could flip at any time. I wanted to be able to go to Tiff in a hurry if I had to, so I started adding twenty or forty dollars in cash to any groceries or whatever I bought on the debit card. And I was still bothered about what he’d done in the books, so I started downloading files onto thumb drives.”

“Weren’t you afraid he’d find out?”

“Terrified. I kept everything in my locker at the gym.”

Smart. He nodded, impressed.

“Thank God I did. He and his father were setting me up as their scapegoat. That evidence kept me from being charged, but Ivan showed his true colors again when he was arrested, making some very scary threats. I was put into protective custody. I didn’t have anywhere to live, anyway. Much as I wanted to come stay with Tiff, I couldn’t leave the state, let alone the country.”

“Then you lost her. I’m really sorry about that, Cloe.” No wonder she looked like she’d been peeled down to the core of her reserves.

She jerked her shoulder. “I honestly don’t know how I would have got through all of that if I hadn’t been thinking about Storm the whole time. When the trial was over, I just wanted to get here. I was given back the cash I’d stashed. I sold the few things that hadn’t been seized. It wasn’t much, but it got me here. This is what rock bottom looks like, in case you were wondering,” she said with a very lame, self-deprecating smile. “The good news is, there’s only one way to go from here and that’s up.”

He wanted to hug her. He had a feeling she could use it, but she must be wary of men after that prick not only scared the hell out of her but tried to pin his crimes on her.

“That’s not me asking for a handout,” she hurried to add. “I really appreciate you giving me a place to stay for a couple of nights.” She pointed toward the crew cabins. “Now that I know Storm’s okay, I’ll make a plan for myself. Ineedto do it myself. I can’t become dependent on anyone again.” Her cheeks went hollow.

He understood that, but a knee-jerk impulse to help lurched in his chest.

His phone pinged. He glanced at it, hoping it was a reply to one of his texts earlier, so he could offer her a job. Offer herhope, but it was only Reid.

“Is it time to go? I’ll brush my teeth.”

He couldn’t tell whether she was eager to see Storm again or simply wanted to end their difficult conversation. Probably both.

He nodded and took the mug she drained.

Chapter Six

“Oh good, you’reback.” Emma seemed more relaxed when they returned, smiling with welcome as she bustled in the kitchen, setting steaks to marinate in a glass dish. “Storm’s still asleep, but I remembered that we have some of Tiffany’s things.”

Cloe’s heart clutched. It must have shown on her face because Emma sobered.

“You don’t have to go through them right now. Reid hasn’t even found the boxes yet.” Emma looked to Trystan. “Do you remember where you put them?”

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