Decipher (Declan Reede: The Untold Story #3) (22 page)

“There’s just . . . some stuff happening, and I think it would be better if you stayed away for a while. Maybe just come up before we need to move.”

“What is it?”

“It’s hard to expl—”

“No, Lys, don’t give me excuses. Tell me what it is, or I’m getting in my fucking car right now and I’ll be on your doorstep before you know it.”

“It’s that pap who was following you around.”

I clenched my fist as I tried to recall whether I’d seen the guy or his white X-Trail that day, but I couldn’t recall that I had. Was it because he was now in Brisbane? “What about him?”

“He was at Emmie’s grave when I took Phoebe there today.” Her voice was quiet, filled with tears that I was sure had been falling since whatever altercation she’d had. “He knows. He knows all about Emmie, and . . . and he said that Emmie’s death would be a great focus for the next article. He—he took photos of Phoebe and me, and I just . . . I’m just glad that Flynn was there. But the guy threatened to make me look like some sort of monster for trying to hide the details. He accused me of lying to you. If you’re here too, it’s only going to give him more ammunition. It’s better if we stay apart, at least for now.”

“No.”

“What do you mean, no?”

“I mean, no, Lys. I’m not going to let them dictate our lives. United front, remember? Like you said. Besides, if he’s there causing you trouble, I want to be the one to shove his fucking camera down his throat.”

“This is why I don’t think it would be a good idea for you to be here. He’s trying to goad us. As it is, he got photos of Flynn and me together with Phoebe. I can’t even imagine what will go to print next. It’s only going to make everything you’re facing harder if you’re mixed up in it too.”

“I don’t give a shit, Lys. You and me.”

“But—”

“You and me, Lys. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“And when our article comes out, it’ll prove the truth, okay?”

“You know some people won’t believe it. Darcy isn’t going to back off just because of an article. There will be people who think there’s something going on with Flynn and me. They’ll think I’m some sort of gold-digging liar.”

“All the more reason for me to be up there. Fuck, if it helps I’ll get the paps to photograph me and Flynn together.” The thought wasn’t one I welcomed, but I wasn’t going to live my life running scared from them anymore. I refused.

“What if no one believes the truth though?”

“I don’t give a shit who believes it at first. It just means that we have to prove it. Day by day, we show everyone how fucking happy we are. By being together and being there for each other.”

Alyssa gave a sad little chuckle. “That sounds almost easy.”

“Yeah, well, loving you is easy.”

Her laughter grew. “You think you’re such a sweet-talker, don’t you? Think your mouth can help you get away with anything.”

“Oh, baby, you don’t even know everything my mouth can do.”

“That’s the cheesiest line I’ve ever heard.”

“But did it work? Did it make you picture my mouth on your body? My tongue licking your pussy?”

She didn’t respond, which I took as a yes.

“Are you now imagining all the things I could do to you, Lys? Because I sure as fuck am, and it’s making me hard as a fucking stone.”

I heard her swallowing even as her breathing sped up.

“Did you still want me to stay away for another month?”

Once more, she didn’t say anything in response, but it didn’t matter. I knew the answer by the sound of her shallow, needy breaths.

“Or do you want me to come up there and show you the things my mouth can do?”

“Yes.” She breathed the word.

It was issued with such need that it bypassed my ear and went straight to my cock. “Good. You can’t get rid of me that easily. I’ll see you tomorrow night, okay?”

After reassuring her again that it would all be okay, I disconnected the call. I headed back into the living room and skulled the last of my beer. I was certain a scowl crossed my lips, and I didn’t say anything to Morgan.

“Trouble in paradise?” he asked, looking genuinely concerned.

A frown tugged at the corners of my mouth. “Maybe.”

After grabbing another beer for each of us out of the carton he’d brought, I opened up. Taking him in as a true confidant, just like I had with Eden, I told him the whole story of Alyssa and me, ending with my desire to pay Darcy, Hayley, Paige, Tillie, and Talia back for their roles in my downfall.

Whatever else happened, I would make them pay.

And Morgan might be the perfect ally in that.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: COMING HOME

THE ALARM ON my phone blared.

The high-pitched beeping pierced straight into my skull and pulled me from my dream.

Fuck, how much had I had to drink? I dropped my head back against my pillow and tried to piece together reality from dream.

What a fucking dream too.

It was all about Alyssa. For a half a second, I smiled as I recalled the girl I’d left behind when I’d moved to Sydney. To retain the images of the dream, which had featured her in full, living colour like so many had in the past, I screwed my eyes shut. I was desperate to cling to the memory my mind had offered up of her body.

My hungover brain ticked over with the reasons why it was a bad idea to be thinking about her. For so long, I’d turned to sleeping tablets whenever I’d woken from similar dreams.

Only, this one wasn’t exactly like the others. This one was a dream where we’d been together again. Happy. Where I’d met her on the way to London and followed her to Brisbane after I’d learned of our child. Where I’d lost the job I loved, but was somehow okay with it because I had her.

Where I was travelling to Brisbane to meet her again soon.

In the dark of night, alone and hungover, it seemed too impossible to be true.

Glancing through the darkness, I tried to make out the ceiling with my tired eyes. Tried to work out why my alarm was set for such a stupid-arse time of the morning. Tried to work out how the fuck to get it to shut the fuck up without me having to move a fucking muscle.

The blaring surrounded me, smashing against my skull.

“Fuck off!” I croaked as I threw my pillow at my phone.

When all it did was change the angle the sound was coming from, I finally dragged myself out of bed. As I did, I pressed my lips together. They were dry and my mouth tasted like stale beer. I’d definitely had too much to drink.

What the fuck would Alyssa think if she knew how drunk I’d let myself get?

As soon as the thought struck me, I laughed at the absurdity of thinking it was all just a dream. As if my mind had the imagination needed to dream up Alyssa’s new curves and full chest. The thought of being at her side again by the time I went to bed that night brought a smile to my lips, despite the pounding in my head.

I had a quick shower, which left me feeling halfway human again, and then dressed in something comfortable for a day of driving. When I’d finished, a memory of the previous night struck me, and I chuckled.

Morgan had been too drunk to drive home. When he’d called Eden to come get him, she’d chewed him out for letting himself get to that stage and refused to come. He’d ended up having to stay with me like he had in the past.

I left my room and headed straight for the spare bedroom at the end of the hall, where Ruby had stayed when she’d been there. Morgan’s name was on my lips as I pulled the door open, but he wasn’t in the bed there.

Either he’d passed out where he’d been sitting on my couch, or . . .

The door to Phoebe’s room stood slightly ajar and I pushed it open silently. I had to bite my lip to stop my laughter when I saw Morgan’s tall form draped over Phoebe’s white princess bed. He was lying on his back, with his head dangling off the side and his blonde waves extending in all directions, like he’d just stuck his finger in a socket. One arm was lifted up over the back of the tiara-shaped headboard.

Before I woke him, I pulled out my phone and snapped a handful of images from different angles. You never knew when a little bribery image might come in handy. God knows he had a few of me from over the years.

After I was satisfied I’d got the photos I wanted—and texted one to Eden for good measure—I tried to wake him. Always a hard task after a night on the piss.

“Morning, princess,” I said, kicking his foot.

He groaned and rolled over, dragging his head back onto the bed and drooling on the pillow.

I kicked his other leg. “Fucker, are you seriously going to drool on my little girl’s pillow?”

“Fuck off, squirt, what fucking time is it? The sun’s not even up.”

“It’s five in the morning, and you need to get your arse out of my house because I’ve got a hot date in Brisbane tonight.”

“Can’t drive. Still drunk.”

“Well, at least drag your arse out of bed and get started on some breakfast.”

“Five more minutes.” He buried his head under the pillow.

“Two minutes, or your new nickname at work will be princess.” I wiggled the phone in my hand.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” He lifted his head and took in the bed. “Fucker, what happened to the bed?” He glanced around with bloodshot eyes. “What happened to the room?”

“It’s Phoebe’s room now.”

“God, it’s worse than I thought. Not only are you pussy-whipped by your pseudo-wife, you’re wrapped around the finger of a little girl too. We need some serious man counselling.”

“Ha ha, now fuck off out of her bed. Your two minutes are up.”

He held up his hand in surrender, but got up.

“You smell like a brewery,” I said. “You should have a shower.”

“Yes, Mum.”

I was already halfway out of the room by the time the words left his mouth. Nothing he could say could bring me down. After all, I was going to Brisbane and when I came back home again, I’d be bringing my family with me.

While Morgan pottered around getting food and coffee, and trying to work out when he might be safe to drive, I packed the stuff I was taking with me into my Prado and wrote a note for Christina explaining I would be away and letting her know how to get in touch if she needed to finish up early. True, I probably shouldn’t have trusted her; for all I knew she could plot to steal all my shit for firing her, but she’d been privy to so much shit over the years that if she were a dishonest person, she probably would have sold a stack of stories to the gossip rags. Call me a sap, but I trusted her.

“You’re not taking the Monaro?” he asked, standing at the door to my garage with a bowl of Cornflakes cradled in one hand.

“I figured we might need to tow something back.”

“You’re leaving your baby here for a month? Alone?”

I shrugged. “She’ll be fine.”

“God, what happened to you, man?”

“I got my priorities straightened out by a three-year-old. Maybe you should try it sometime.”

“Got no immediate plans to hand over my balls to anyone just yet, thank you very much.”

“I’m sure Eden will be thrilled that you said that.”

A look of genuine fear crossed his face. “You wouldn’t tell her.”

“Nah, not yet. I’ll wait until I need something first.” I smacked his shoulder as I passed him to grab some food for the trip.

“Fucker.” He chuckled.

After I’d finished packing the car and grabbing enough snacks to get me most of the way, I placed the keys for my Monaro in Morgan’s hand. “Check on her every few days, won’t you?”

“I knew you couldn’t leave her completely alone.”

“And make sure the house doesn’t burn down or some shit, hey? Christina will still be coming by to clean up like normal, at least until Christmas, but there’s a house key on that key ring if you need to get in.” I might have trusted Christina, but I wasn’t a complete idiot to give free run of my house unchecked to someone I had effectively fired.

“Sure thing.”

“It also means you can let yourself out.”

“Anyone would think you’re in a hurry to go.”

“Hey, I got a hot woman with a wet and ready pussy waiting for me at the end of my trip. Who wouldn’t be eager to start?” I climbed in the car.

“Don’t let me stop you.”

“And you’re still okay, for that other thing?”

He flashed me an evil grin. “Looking forward to it. I’ll text you the details once I get them sorted.”

“Awesome. Catch you on the flip side.” I stuck my key in the ignition and started to reverse out before realising I’d forgotten the most important thing. Something I wanted to give Alyssa before we came back home. “Shit!”

I leapt from the car and raced into the house. Less than a minute later, I had what I needed and was back at the car.

“Is that what I think it is?” he asked. His eyes widened to the size of saucers as he glanced at the velvet box in my hand.

I lifted one shoulder in response. “You know me. Pussy-whipped. And what a fine fucking pussy it is.”

“Whatever, it’s your dick that’s going to suffer from disuse once you slip that ring on her finger.”

“You underestimate the quality of my dick.” I started the car.

“I really don’t want to think about your dick.”

“Sure you don’t. Now it’ll be all you can think of until I get back.”

I laughed as he flipped me the bird.

THE DRIVE up to Brisbane wasn’t as comfortable or as fast in my Prado as it had been in my Monaro. True, then I’d been driven by the ghosts of the past, whipping me into a frenzied state where I couldn’t stop unless I had to, and now it was just my own desire compelling me onward.

By the time I hit the Gold Coast, the sky was stained with pinks and purples. The big black clouds and increasing humidity hinted that a storm would roll in before long. I could only hope to make it to Alyssa’s before that happened.

As I continued north, the clouds overhead grew thicker and darker in the fading light of the day, casting an almost apocalyptic shadow over the world. When I turned onto the motorway just fifteen minutes later, the clouds had opened up. Even through the heavy rain on the roof, I could still hear the near-constant rumble of thunder. In the distance, lightning flashed, illuminating the area around me for fractions of a second at a time. It wasn’t the sort of weather that was good for driving. In fact, visibility was down to almost nothing, but that was typical of a November storm.

It slowed me down as I drove to match the conditions. All I wanted was to be back at Alyssa’s side. Between her telling me not to come and the weather delaying my arrival, it felt ominous.

I shoved aside the worry that it was a sign of things to come. Instead, I worked to convince myself that none of the shitty things really mattered. Alyssa’s family would either come around or they wouldn’t. The lingering threat of the paparazzi and gossip columns would ease if we didn’t give them anything to focus on.

Almost an hour later, long after I’d promised I would show, I pulled up in front of Alyssa’s house. After I’d stopped the car, I hid the ring box in the back of the glovebox, but left all my other bags where they were in the boot. Unpacking could wait until after I’d said hello.

Fuck, it could all wait until the morning if it needed to.

I practically ripped the door off its hinges to get to my family. The first breath I took outside the car was filled with the still air, heavy with the heat of the day trapped by the clouds overhead.

The rain had paused momentarily but was gearing up to fall again. Hopefully it would bring release from the cloying humidity.

Glancing through a small gap in the curtain, I saw Alyssa sitting on the end of the couch chewing on her thumbnail. I wondered if she knew I was there and was just restraining herself, or if she was still unaware of my arrival. As if feeling the weight of my stare, she glanced up and met my gaze. The grin that crossed her mouth was fucking worth every kilometre I’d driven.

She was at the door and pulling it open before I could knock. With a gentle tug on her arm, I pulled her outside for a moment of alone time. I didn’t even say hello before taking her face between my hands and guiding her lips to mine. The sheen of sweat that had burst across the back of my neck in the warmth didn’t deter her as she gripped my hair and pulled me close in response to my kiss. My lips melded with hers, and my eyes sank closed as I fell into her.

Knowing that there was someone else I needed to say hello to, someone who was likely needing to head to bed soon, I pulled away from Alyssa.

“Hi,” I murmured before resting my forehead on hers and planting one more open-mouthed kiss against her lips.

“I’m glad you ignored me when I said not to come.”

I slid one hand down to her arse and pulled her hips against mine. “I’ll be coming all right, and so will you, just as soon as Phoebe is asleep.”

She flushed red and gave me a playful shove, but the need in her gaze told me that it was a false protest.

“Speaking of . . . I should probably say hi to her too.”

“She doesn’t know you’re here yet.” 

“Okay.” After one more kiss with Alyssa, I headed in through the open door.

Phoebe looked up as I came into view. Almost instantly, her gaze dropped back to the book in front of her, but then lifted to mine again.

“Daddy!” She squealed the word and the sound of it made my heart explode with joy.

I knelt down to her level and opened my arms for her. She was across the room and in my embrace in a heartbeat. The force of her flying-leap hug was almost enough to knock me on my arse.

“Hey, baby. I promised I’d come up as soon as I could, didn’t I?”