Page 7 of Billionaire's Promise
Baron
She hesitates, glances away.
"Do you?" I persist. "Do you want us to meet again?"What the hell am I doing here?I’d been outside to ensure that she was fine. That she got back home safely. That she’d be okay…that I'd watch over her. That’s what I had promised Edward when he’d called me earlier this morning.
It just so happened that it had coincided with one of my rare visits to London. I'd hauled ass from across town to ensure I was there before he left. Only I had missed him. By the time I’d arrived, asshole had taken off already. I’d tried calling him and had gotten the message that his phone was disconnected. Not surprising. It’s what I’d have done if I wanted to disappear, and clearly, I have a lot of experience in that. What had packed a punch was the woman who had chased after him, only to trip and almost fall.
And I couldn’t let that happen. Why had I promised to look out for her, when all these years I had wanted nothing to do with him?
Your guess is as good as mine.
Perhaps it’s the fact that he picked up the phone and called me? Something I had simply not expected, not after all these years, not after how we’d fallen out. How we’d sworn never to have anything to do with each other. And yet, in his time of crisis, when he needs someone he can trust, he eschews the rest of the Seven and reaches out to me.
He could have done so at any time, considering he’s the only one who’s had my phone number all along, but he’d desisted. Of course, for Edward, it wouldn’t have mattered if I had been in the same city. He would have never reached out to me.
And now he’d called me… So, it had to have been a life and death situation. I could have refused him, of course. Could have asked him to approach one of the others…but…I hadn’t. Perhaps it’s time for me to return and face the shit-show of life that I left behind? A life on the fringes of which I had stayed for the past few months. None of them—not even Edward—had known that, of course.
I’d returned to town to watch my best friends getting married, one after the other. From a distance, of course, I’d seen them find the happiness they deserve. I don’t begrudge them that. They need every bit of brightness that their women bring to their lives. As Ava had, no doubt, brought to Edward's. Something he, clearly, hadn’t been aware of.
And you know that’s not true.The Edward I’d once known had been hell-bent on depriving himself of even the smallest pleasure life had afforded him. It’s why he’d turned to the seminary. Oh, of course, he’d claimed he’d felt the calling, and while I don’t dispute that… I am pretty sure that’s not the only reason he’d decided to become a priest. It would have been the discipline, the extreme deprivation that the life demanded that would have attracted him to it.
And then when he’d found something…or someone, who had broken through that self-imposed exile of his, he’d decided to flee. Typical. And I understand why he did it. After all, I did it too.
I tilt my head, train my gaze on the woman who’s responsible for bringing me back to my own life again. A woman with auburn hair, so similar to the one who occupies my mind. But Ava is not her. She can’t be the girl I glimpsed twice in the past fourteen years. The first time I'd seen her. she'd been but a little girl and the second time, while she had been grown up, I had only glimpsed her from a distance. Yet there had been something about her that had affected me so much both times. No, Ava can't be her. It would be too much of a coincidence for that to happen. Also, she belongs to Edward, remember?
"Well, Ava?" I demand. "You haven’t answered my question yet."
She blows out a breath, then draws herself up to her full height. "Yes," she snaps. "Yes, I want to see you again."
The breath I’d not been aware of holding hisses out of me. Christ, had I been that on edge? Why does it matter to me whether or not she sees me again? I’d returned only as a favor to Edward, to make sure that this woman—his woman—would be safe while he’s off killing his devils or putting the demons in his head to rest, or whatever it is that ex-priests who are ex-friends do.
Typical Edward. When the going gets rough, he gets going. Much as I had done. When guilt had gotten too much to bear, I had raced out of there. I hadn’t been able to put enough space between myself and the scene of my wrongdoing. And now, I am back…to face…my life. The remnants of it, that is. My friends, if they’ll have me back.
And what I had been forced to do during the incident? That's gone. Over. In the past. Never to be spoken of again. Just as I’ll make sure never to overstep the line with this woman. She is Edward’s… All I am going to do is make sure that she stays safe… That I protect her from hurting herself, if necessary. Yep, I can do that. For Edward. For what I owe him. For the wedge I had driven between us, and which I have no intention of fixing, not for as long as I live. In fact, the reason I am back is because… Edward isn’t here. It makes it so much simpler. Enough time to make amends, to make up for turning my back on my friends. I’ll make the most of the time he is away to help his woman too. It’s the least I can do for him.
"Good." I nod at her. "I’ll be in touch." I shrug on my coat and walk to the door, then turn to level a glance at her over my shoulder. "Lock the door after me; don’t open it for anyone you don’t know."
She huffs, "Oh, please, I’ll be fine."
"When it comes to your safety, I will not compromise. Do you understand?"
She blinks.
"Do you?"
"Y…yes."
"Good." I step outside, close the door after myself, and wait until the sound of the latch being snapped into place reaches me. Only then, do I turn and march down the steps. I stalk up the sidewalk to where I’d parked my SUV, get inside the car, then toy with the hair tie I had pilfered.
Why the hell did I do that? Why had I felt compelled to pick it up, like some teenaged boy in need of a memento from his beloved? Shit, it had been a moment of weakness, no doubt about it.
I stare at the purple-colored band, then bring it to my nose and sniff it. The scent of jasmine and luscious raspberries fills my senses. I am instantly hard. Hell! This instant response to her... It's disconcerting, to say the least. If I am not careful, I am going to become obsessed with her... Correction, I already am obsessed with here. It's why I am sitting here, outside her home, in my vehicle, thinking about her scent, the softness of her skin, those delectable, perfect curves of her body. How right she'd felt in my arms when I had carried her inside...
What in the bloody hell is wrong with me? I returned to do Edward a favor, remember? Best I not lose sight of that. I slide the hairband into my pocket, then ease onto the quiet street. By the time I reach my destination on the outskirts of the city, the sun is up in the sky.
I park my vehicle, peer through the windshield at the deserted warehouse. It’s where I’d last seen the rest of the Seven. At the Kings of the Alley showdown when I’d taken on the guy fielded by the Bratva and not been able to defeat him. I’d had to pull out and Arpad had taken my place. And that’s when Edward and I had fought—for the last time. And I had walked out. My fingers tighten around the wheel.
Of course, they would want to meet me here. The tossers aren’t going to go easy on me. Not that I blame them. If it were me, I’d do the same. Bet they’ve spent long hours thinking up their revenge. Bet they’ll take their time exacting it, too. It’s the only reason I am hesitating to go in. Not because I want to delay the inevitable. Not because I’ve been dreading this reunion for as long as I’ve been gone. Only consolation, Edward isn’t here. Which makes it both good and bad. If he were here, he’d deflect the attention from me, do his best to soothe out the tensions. Or maybe not. Perhaps he’d be the first to exact his vengeance. After all, I had wronged him… Almost as much as our kidnappers had. Shit! I slam my fist into the wheel, hit the button for the horn instead, which blares. The noise echoes through the empty parking lot, ricochets through my mind, careening me straight into an image from my past.
