Falling Into Place (19 page)

Tremaine took a deep breath. They were both
so damned stubborn, and in a way they both did the right thing,
even if it was exactly opposite of what either one of them
needed.

“You’ll fix it, Robert, I know you will.
Right now you need to make her see you aren’t leaving for anything.
Not ever.” Tremaine knew he wouldn’t, but Liz was going to be
harder to convince.

Robert walked to the kitchen to wash his
face. At least Liz and Robert could finally work their shit out. It
was good, he was happy for them, but it fucking hurt because he had
started to believe that he could be what Liz needed.

Liz came back, looking refreshed for the
most part. He could see the anguish in her big hazel eyes. Tremaine
would wind up carrying her out of the bar.

Robert walked to Liz and Tremaine stepped
beside him. “We should go back to the party.”

Her brow arched as she looked to Robert but
took his hand. Tremaine grabbed his arm and then they were standing
next to the cars.

Liz tipped her head in a slight nod, but her
grief had slipped toward anger. She turned then and walked straight
to the doors.

Tremaine sighed. “Yup, she’s going to go
straight for the Voodoo. You’re not getting anywhere with her
tonight.”

Robert’s mouth fell open as his gaze shot to
him. “Voodoo? What?”

“Rum, not magic.” Tremaine pushed his
fingers through his hair. “Look, she drinks to blackout so she
doesn’t have the nightmares. It’s the only thing that keeps them
away.”

“Why?” Robert whispered.

“Think about the date, Robert.”

Robert slammed his fist into his car and
clenched his jaw. “I never meant to hurt her. I never should have
helped Emily that night.”

“You were the only one who could have helped
your sister. Emily could not have handled Christian on her own. God
knows where he would have wound up. You gave him a chance, and he
turned out to be a good kid.”

“But I lost Liz because I couldn’t protect
her.”

“No, she doesn’t blame you. So stop.”

Robert shook his head before looking him
straight in the eye. “I need to ask you something.”

Tremaine knew the question was coming, and
as much as he wanted to avoid it, he nodded.

“Why aren’t you with her? It would take a
blind man to miss the way you look at her. God, I see the way she
responds to you too. Why aren’t you with her?”

His eyes narrowed to
slits. “You’re a damned fool. She’s always been yours. Don’t be
stupid and fuck this up
again
.”

“What if it’s too late? What if it’s you who
can make her happy? I wouldn’t take that from either of you, Trem.
You have to know that. I’ve always expected her to wind up in your
arms, ever since the day I let her walk out of my life.”

“Shut the fuck up. She
doesn’t see me that way. Trust me. She’s still in love with your
dumb ass. So man up and fix your shit. I want to see you both
happy.”
Even if it guts me to watch it
happen.

Liz dropped onto an empty
stool at the end of the bar and waved to catch Jamie’s attention.
She groaned inwardly.
Just what I need, to
be analyzed by an empath.

One pale brow arched, but there was concern
in Jamie’s baby blue eyes. “How you doing, Liz?”

She shook her head, “I need a big glass of
Voodoo, since I know you won’t give me the bottle.”

Jamie’s face twisted in a grimace. “Another
of those nights?” Then her eyes went wide as she mouthed, “You love
two men?”

Her eyes slammed shut as she took a deep
breath in and then let it out slowly. When Liz opened her eyes, she
glared at Jamie. “Keep out of my fucked up emotions.”

“Habit.” Jamie shrugged, and slid the glass
over.

With a snort, she wrapped her hand around
her rum, and then gulped it down. Seconds later, she slid the glass
back to Jamie.

Fallon leaned against the counter beside
her. “You okay, Liz?”

“No, no I’m not. Please do me a favor and
make sure your man and Slater know Robert and Tremaine did nothing
wrong.” She let out a heavy sigh. “Robert had some bad news to tell
me.”

Fallon gave her a long look. “They know.
Jess told them it was fine.”

Jamie pushed her glass back, full to the
brim and tossed the empty bottle. “Good thing Jess ordered more
Voodoo. You seem to be trying to drown yourself.”

Liz gave her a nod and took another long
drink. “Please leave it be. Tonight is not the night to talk about
anything. Just keep this coming, and put in an order for a
cheeseburger and fries. I need something in my stomach so I don’t
get sick when all this hits me.” She guzzled the rest down and
pushed the glass back to Jamie.

“You know,” Fallon started.

Liz cut her off. “I can’t. I just can’t.”
Talking about any of it was only going to make the nightmares
worse. She didn’t think there was enough alcohol to drown out the
memories, especially with Robert there. “Just please tell me
Christian’s not on his way over. I need to get my shit together
before I wish the kid a happy birthday.”

Fallon squeezed her shoulder. “Brody is
keeping him busy.” She walked back toward their table.

Liz looked down just in time for Jess to
slide a plate of fries and a greasy bacon cheese burger in front of
her. One corner of her mouth lifted. “Whose burger did you
steal?”

Jess grinned. “Yours. I put the order in ten
minutes ago.”

Her eyes burned. She knew she had friends,
but it was times like these she realized how much they put up with
when she was like this. “I love you guys. You know that, right?”
She took a huge bite of burger and washed it down with a big gulp
of alcohol. Yeah, she was going to be sick tomorrow, but that beat
dealing with the shit tonight.

“Aww. We love you too.” Jess winked. “Just
remember, you have friends who will help any way we can.” She
glanced over Liz’s shoulder and one corner of her mouth twisted up.
“Looks like a couple are coming this way. You ought to give them a
chance. I think you’ll like the results.”

She knew it was Tremaine and Robert. Hell,
she could feel Robert closing in on her. They still shared a
connection she had tried to shatter. Robert still held her heart,
but so did Tremaine. Choosing wasn’t an option, it would rip her to
pieces.

Tremaine leaned against the counter next to
her. Robert was beside him. The two of them couldn’t be more
different if they tried, and yet, she wasn’t whole without either
one of them. Not anymore.

Dark, unruly curls framed Tremaine’s rugged
face. His dark eyes were intense and captivating. He was rarely
clean-shaven and she longed to brush her hand over the scruff.

He was her first taste of a man who would
always do the right thing. Tremaine had taken her in, never once
touching her, but making sure she was safe. He taught her to rein
in her magic during their travels.

It took a few months away from Robert for
her to realize that a part of her heart would always belong to the
man who swept in and saved her, the man who taught her to rise
above. She had always loved her avenging angel, but it took losing
Robert to finally realize it.

Then there was her sensitive gentleman.
Robert always dressed immaculately, there was never a blond hair
out of place, and his dusky blue eyes were always thoughtful and
never missed anything.

She never understood why such a perfect man
wanted the woman who rarely made an effort to fit in, and couldn’t
keep her mouth shut to save face.

Robert tipped his head as he took her in.
“I’m sorry I’m making this all worse, Liz. I just want to be sure
you’re safe.”

She let out a heavy sigh. “Ditto. Let me
finish eating. I’ll go over there and spend a little time with
Christian before we go.”

He smiled sadly. “We don’t have to rush.” He
turned and walked toward the table where everyone sat.

Liz shoved the rest of her burger in her
mouth and looked up at Tremaine.

“He wants to fix things,” Tremaine told her.
“You don’t have to drink yourself into a coma. He wants to make
things right.”

After swallowing hard, she glared up at
Tremaine. “Trem, he can’t fix anything. It’s too late.” How was she
going to get through the night? Easy, lots of fucking rum to forget
the men in her life. “Please. Let me have tonight to be a mess.
I’ll be on my best behavior tomorrow.” She crammed a few fries into
her mouth.

He swept her hair behind her ear with a sad
smile. “Okay, Liz. Just let me take care of you tonight. Don’t
fight me on it.”

She snorted. “You will anyway, so don’t
worry. I just wish….” She blinked back the sudden onslaught of
tears and guzzled the rest of her rum.

“Wish what, doll?”

“Doesn’t matter. Just forget it. Okay? And
thanks for taking care of my messed up ass.” She threw some money
down on the counter and managed to walk over to the group with a
smile.

What she saw stopped her in her tracks.
Robert hugged Christian, both animatedly chatting. And then she saw
Christian’s resemblance to James.

He was twenty-one today. Twenty-one years
after Robert left to take care of Emily. Robert was Uncle Bobby?
Holy fuck.

How many years had she wondered why the
mysterious Uncle Bobby never showed up when she was around? How
many times did she wonder why he was always gone before she showed
up?

Tremaine walked right into her, putting his
hands around her waist as he leaned in to whisper against her ear.
“He didn’t tell you why he left that night?” She heard the heat in
his words, but fuck, she hadn’t given Robert a chance.

She shook her head. “He’s Emily’s?” she
whispered.

“And James’. He raped her, resulting in
Christian. It’s why she disappeared for months.”

“Shit. And that’s why Robert never made it
that night.” She couldn’t breathe as Christian and Robert’s eyes
locked on her. “I really, really don’t want to be here,” she
muttered.

“Chris doesn’t know about his parents.
Robert never told him,” Trem whispered urgently.

The way his breath danced across her face,
and how his hands curled around her, made her body respond to his.
And then Robert’s eyes locked on hers, and she saw desire twisted
with concern.

Too much rum. I’m imagining shit now.

Tremaine’s lips brushed against her ear and
her breath caught. “Don’t tell Chris. Let Robert handle that.”

“Right,” she said on an exhale. Tremaine
took a step back. Man, what she wouldn’t give for a pair of pants
with pockets to hide her trembling hands. Instead she clenched them
into fists and hoped like hell she could escape to the bar soon.
She needed more rum.

Christian hugged her tight. “I hear you know
Uncle Bobby?”

“Yeah, funny thing about that, I’ve known
him forever, but I haven’t seen him in years. I didn’t realize he
was your uncle.” Shit, she didn’t feel so good.

Christian gave her a curious look before
turning his gaze back to Robert, and then Tremaine. His eyes went
round as he faced her and a smile spread on his lips, but there was
concern in his expression.

“You okay, Liz?” Christian asked and then
let her go. She shook her head, and his brow arched. “What’s going
on?”

Hell, Chris likely had a better idea than
she did. He was worse than Jess and Jamie put together.

A nervous laugh broke free. “I’ll be okay.
Just a bad week, hon. I don’t want to worry you on your
birthday.”

“Good times are coming, so don’t stress. I
know you’ll get through it.”

Okay, maybe he turned twenty-one and his
gifts for seeing the future and reading emotions were failing him.
That or he was already drunk. Either way, there was nothing she
could say without giving away too much info.

“Thanks, kid.” She nodded to the pool table.
“I believe you were playing against Brody.”

Brody gave her a slight nod and half smile.
“He is. Fallon’s giving him pointers.” He slid a glance toward his
fiancé and winked. They were so damned perfect together. She had
shared that with Robert once, but it was torn from her.

Fallon slid up next to her and placed
another glass of Voodoo in her hand. She whispered, “You’re going
to be sick as a dog tomorrow, but I know you need this.”

“You are a lifesaver.’ She took a long swig
and smiled back at Fallon.

“If you need an escape, I’ll give you the
key to the apartment.” Fallon meant the apartment above their
garage. Between Robert and Tremaine, they would find her. It wasn’t
worth avoiding them.

“Nah, I’d have an easier time warding my
house against them both if need be.”

Fallon’s brow rose. “If you say so.” She let
it drop and walked back to Brody.

Liz found herself a chair because the world
had started to spin. She still chugged the rum, but figured she
would stay put for a while.

* * * *

Robert had taken a seat next to Amethyst as
he watched Liz, who was already on another glass of rum.

“Hey,” Amethyst said softly. “I take it
you’re the reason Preston was trying to find out about Liz?”

“I told him to leave her be. She has a good
reason to stay under the Council’s radar.”

“But yours? I see what you feel for
her.”

His eyes dropped shut. “How are you and
Hayden?”

“Good, great. I’ll let you get away with the
subject change.” Her gaze found Hayden over at the bar before she
turned back to Robert. “How is Preston? Is he okay?”

“He’s working hard. He’ll be okay.”

She put her head on her hand and looked back
over at Hayden and then down at her drink. Swirling her straw, she
glanced back to Robert. “I’m worried about him. He looked so
devastated when he walked out of here. I… I miss him. It’s been two
months since then. And I know he needs time, so don’t tell him
that.” She sighed. “Just tell him I said hi.”