Everything to Lose (8 page)

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Caitlyn pulled the blanket Sean had retrieved tighter around her shoulders and sat at the kitchen table. She wasn’t particularly cold but she couldn’t stop shaking. Her emotions were a tangled mess swirling around in her head. When it really counted, Sean hadn’t stood by his word. The reality broke her heart.

One of the police officers brought her another cup of coffee. She vaguely remembered him introducing himself as Joseph earlier. Wrapping her fingers around the warm mug grounded her and helped to tame her senses.

“Your quick thinking saved your husband’s life,” he said, apparently not satisfied to let her sit in silence for a few moments.

She nodded and gave him a wry smile.

“Lucky shot too,” he continued.

“There was nothing lucky about it,” Sean announced as he walked back into the room.

“I’m sorry?” Joseph asked and turned.

“She’s a crack shot. Could’ve killed him if she wanted.”

Both men looked at her, the cop presumably for verification.

She shrugged under the intense scrutiny. “I’m not in the habit of taking lives. Didn’t want to start now,” she murmured and took another sip of the hot liquid. Shooting someone was one thing but actually killing someone wasn’t something she was sure she could live with.

“Well, it’s a good thing he’s alive because it looks like he’s going to turn evidence against Coleman.”

“Really? What about the other guy?” she asked.

“Lewis just used him as a decoy. He thought they were robbing an empty cabin and making a few quick bucks.”

Despite everything that had happened, she allowed herself a small smile. “He sure got the surprise of his life, huh?”

Sean chuckled and nodded. Over the rim of her coffee cup, she watched Sean as he turned to the police officer. They started whispering and she couldn’t find the energy to care what about.

After a few minutes, the officer left the kitchen and she breathed out a sigh she hadn’t realized she was holding. “What did he say?”

He started to answer when his cell phone rang. Holding up a finger, he turned his back to her and every few seconds his head would bob up and down animatedly.

Finally he flipped the phone shut and turned to face her. His eyes practically shone good news. “Who was that?”

“Captain Jones. When Coleman heard Lewis was caught, he started talking.”

Her brows snapped down. That seemed odd. “Why would he do that?”

“Coleman isn’t exactly at the top of the food chain. He’s big but he’s still new and he decided to save his own skin in exchange for a reduced sentence.”

“How so?”

“He’s turning evidence against some guy down in Central America.”

“Who’s the guy?” She couldn’t understand why Sean was so excited. Their lives were still in danger.

“Sweetheart, it doesn’t matter. Don’t you see? Coleman was the only person gunning for us. He wanted to make an example but now he’s just trying to save his own ass.”

She walked to the sink and placed her now empty mug in it. “So we’re safe now?”

“Yes.” He moved to where she stood by the sink and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close.

She leaned against his chest and inhaled his masculine scent, savoring every last bit of him because she knew it wouldn’t last.

“Now we can go home,” he murmured against her ear.

In his arms, she stiffened and pulled away. Did he still not get it? “Home?”

“Well…yeah.”

“Sean! When someone broke into this house, you locked me up in a closet!”

His expression darkened. “Hell yeah and I’d do it again too.”

“And that’s our problem right there. You don’t trust me. I thought maybe we were making headway but nothing’s changed and nothing ever will change. When it came down to it, you pretty much hog-tied me and threw me in a closet.”

“Someone was in the house,” he said the words as if that explained everything. As if that alone was enough to make up for his behavior. His stupid, typical-Sean behavior.

“And?”

“And I was trying to keep you safe.”

“Keep me safe? You would have been killed if it wasn’t for me.” She placed her hands on her hips.

His jaw clenched but he didn’t comment.

“Am I right?”

“That’s beside the point.”

“No, that is the point. You don’t trust me to make decisions, period.”

“That’s not—”

“Before you finish that thought, yes, it really is true.”

“What are you saying?”

She stepped away, fully out of his embrace and out of arm’s reach. “This isn’t going to work. When it counted,
really counted
, you pushed me away and took over. What happened to our deal? What happened to us being equals and helping each other?”

His only response was an audible swallow so she continued, “I’m going upstairs to pack my stuff. I just want you to take me back to Orlando so we can sign the divorce papers.”

A dark silence filled the air for a long moment. “Fine. Whatever you want.” With that, he walked from the room.

She should have felt elated and overjoyed he didn’t fight her. Instead, she just felt like crying. Her legs filled with lead as she walked up the stairs and the expression on Sean’s face when she met him in their room nearly killed her.

For the first time in her life, she understood the expression “hollow victory”.

Caitlyn picked up the phone to her room. “Yes?”

“Cab waiting downstairs ma’am.”

“I’ll be right down.” She disconnected and scanned the room one last time even though she was certain she hadn’t forgotten anything. For the past two days she’d been holed up in her room and hadn’t so much as gotten out of bed.

Not because she was scared though. Lewis was in jail and Coleman was now dead and no longer even a remote threat to them. The man Coleman decided to turn on had a very long arm and apparently didn’t take kindly to Coleman’s accusations. He’d only lasted a few days in prison.

She was pathetic. She’d gotten exactly what she came for but now she had no clue what she was doing with her life. When an old friend had called from DC and asked if she wanted to visit, she’d jumped at the chance to leave Orlando. Technically she had a place to live but seeing Sean wasn’t in the cards right now. He hadn’t said a word on the way back into town. If she thought leaving the first time hurt, this time was ripping her heart into shreds so tiny she doubted she would ever put it back together.

There was such a sense of finality in leaving this time. She shook her head and sighed. Purse and key in hand, she grabbed her rolling suitcase and headed downstairs.

After she signed at the front desk for her brief stay—at a downtown bed and breakfast, not the Embassy Suites thank you very much—she walked outside and fought tears as the cab driver put her bags into the trunk.

As he pulled away, she stared out the window and let a few tears fall. If she was doing the right thing, then why did she feel so awful? She had a decision to make and no one could make it for her. Sean was overbearing and pushy and he wasn’t going to change.

Caitlyn laid her head back against the vinyl seat and closed her eyes. They’d certainly been through a lot the past couple of days. Her emotions had been on a roller-coaster for the past year and after her trip home, she felt even worse. The cab driver took a sharp turn and her eyes flew open. He cut down a side street into a section of historic downtown. The jostling over the brick streets aggravated her upset stomach and growing headache. “What are you doing?”

“Cutting through. I’m taking 417 because it’s quicker.” His words were clipped and annoyed that she’d even asked.

It wasn’t quicker but she didn’t argue. She didn’t have the energy. As they passed Greenwood Cemetery her heart jumped. An unexpected vision played in her head.
Sean holding her head as she emptied the contents of her stomach when she learned her grandmother died. Then of Sean holding her hand at the funeral after he’d taken care of every last detail because she’d been unable.

They’d only been dating then and he’d looked after her. She hadn’t asked him to, he’d just stepped in and taken over. Of course she hadn’t minded then. Then she’d taken his take-charge attitude for granted. Appreciated it even. Why had things changed?

She squeezed her eyes shut even tighter and fought a building headache. There was only one question she had to ask herself. Could she live without him? Truly leave now, knowing they weren’t going to be married anymore?

The answer hit her with such startling force, it was as if someone had punched her in the gut. A vision of life without Sean played in her mind and bile rose in her throat.

“Do you mind if we take a detour?” She leaned forward and asked the driver. She actually didn’t care if he minded. They weren’t going to the airport anymore.

“Sure, where to?”

“The nearest office supply store,” she said as they pulled up to a red light.

“Is everything okay ma’am?”

“Yes. I have some documents I need to shred. Then, I won’t be needing you to take me to the airport.” She’d planned to mail the divorce papers to her attorney when she made it to DC. Her heart beat an erratic tattoo against her chest. This could be the biggest mistake of her life but she owed it to herself to try. Hell, she owed it to Sean to try. And she had to get rid of these stupid papers before she faced him. Bringing any sort of reminder into their house wasn’t the way to start things off again.

Thirty minutes later, sans divorce papers, they sat in Sean’s driveway and her heart still hadn’t stopped racing. She wiped clammy palms against the seat. They had a lot to work on and things wouldn’t change overnight but he’d shown he was willing to try to fight for them. She was the one who’d run away because it had been easier. Well, she wasn’t running anymore. If she could only find the courage to get out of the cab and take that first step, she knew they had a chance.

“Are you okay lady?”

She glanced at the driver in the rearview mirror and had a sense of déjà vu from her first day back in Orlando. She swallowed and gave herself a hard mental shake. “I’m fine.”

The driver nodded, then stepped from the vehicle. Once he retrieved her bags from the trunk and delivered them to the doorstep she paid him. After he left however, she still stood on the front porch, unable to go inside.

What was she getting herself into?

Her key slipped into the front door and twisted with the familiarity of coming home. Sean’s SUV was outside but the house was quiet. Her sandals were silent across the wooden floor as she walked through the house.

She dropped her bags when she heard the sound of running water. As she walked through the living room toward the hallway that led to the two back bedrooms, she started undressing. She knew she was taking a chance and putting herself out there but Sean had done the same for her. She needed to swallow her pride. First went her shoes, then her calf-length skirt, then her top and sweater until all she wore was a pair of plain, pink, cotton panties.

Their bedroom door was already half open so she slipped through without moving it. Sean’s off-key singing greeted her ears from the direction of the bathroom. As she moved closer toward the bathroom door, she realized he was singing a depressing country song about a man losing his wife. Her heart twisted at the lyrics. If he rejected her now, she’d actually understand.

The door was open a small crack so she pushed it wide enough to step through. Then she slipped off the last shred of material she wore and pulled back the shower curtain.

Surprise and a mix of emotions shrouded her husband’s handsome face. His eyes darkened. “What are you doing here?” he rasped out.

“I live here.”

His eyes crinkled at the sides and a small smile touched his lips. “Is that right?”

She nodded because she didn’t trust her voice. There were so many things she needed to say. Wanted to say. Mostly in the form of an apology. But nothing came to mind when she stared into his dark eyes. The only thing she knew for sure was this time there was no turning back.

“It’s about damn time you got home,” he said as he pulled her into the shower with him.

Katie Reus fell in love with romance at a young age through books she’d pilfered from her mom’s stash. Years later, she still loves reading romance almost as much as she loves writing it. When she’s not plotting or writing, she loves to travel with her husband. In addition to writing erotica, she also writes romantic suspense and light paranormals. No matter the genre, Happily Ever After is always a must.

The author welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.

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