RISE - Part Three (The RISE Series Book 3) (2 page)

Lilly is capable of many things but turning back time isn't one of them. She also can't erase my father's past. "I don't know what to do. I have to go home and call my brother."

She nods her head slowly. "I can go with you. I'll call Clive and tell him that I'll be home late."

I stare at the smartphone on her desk. As much as I want her to go home with me, I need to do it alone. I want to sit in the still air in my apartment when I call my brother, and try to call my mother again.

I don't want Lilly to be across the room from me, pretending to be lost in a magazine when I call Landon to ask how any of this is possible. His father pulled my father down with him as the ship of his life was sinking. I refuse to believe that coincidence brought the two of us together.

"I'd rather you spend the night with your family." I rest my hand on my cheek. "I need to make some calls and figure out what my next step should be."

I see the hesitation in her expression even before she speaks. "I know what it's like, Tess. My dad was a bad person too. I can help you."

Her father raised a gun to the head of each of his children and his wife. He stole every person Lilly loved from her and by some small miracle she survived with just a faint scar on her neck. My father took money. He moved numbers around to satiate his greed. On a scale of evil, they don't come close but as I look into her eyes I see something I've been longing for all day. She understands.

It doesn't matter if my father's crimes impacted strangers or if Lilly's father's deeds changed the entire course of her life. She knows what I'm feeling and tonight, I need her strength to help get me through all the realities I'm going to be forced to face.

"Let's stop at your place first and see Haven," I offer as much for her as for me. The hugs of a beautiful little girl can wash away almost anything for a brief moment or two. "I can ask Clive what he wants."

"That works for me." She scoops up her smartphone and purse. "I'll help you get through this, Tess.  You know you can count on me."

***

"I
've been trying to reach you, Tess," Clive says as he embraces Lilly tightly. "I called you more than once. Where have you been?"

The words are too familiar and intimate for the business relationship I share with him. He may be the husband of my best friend, but until a few weeks ago, we hadn't exchanged more than a handful of words with one another. Since I started working on planning the gala his company, Corteck, is hosting, we've warmed up to one another. This goes beyond that though.

"I've been busy," I try to level out my tone. "Is there an issue with the gala you want to discuss?"

His eyes close briefly as he pulls Lilly closer to him. "My cousin stopped by my office this morning. My cousin, Jax. Ivy was with him."

He knows. I see it in his face. There's a flash of tenderness in his expression that is usually reserved for only Lilly and Haven. I look down, fearful that my scattered emotions will boil over and I'll fall to my knees in grief right here in the foyer of their condo.

"You know about my dad, don't you?"

"Ivy's upset." His lips brush effortlessly over Lilly's forehead before he takes a step back. "That means Jax is running around trying to fix the problem. They stopped by because they were concerned about you."

They stopped by because Ivy couldn't reach me. "How upset is she?"

"She thinks the police made a mistake." He looks first at Lilly, then at me. "She's convinced they arrested the wrong person."

That's the Ivy that I know and love. She'll cling desperately to the best in every person until a hard dose of reality slaps her across the face. It happened with her former fiancé, Mark, and her best friend, Liz. They had an affair, behind her back, that lasted for years. She's confessed to me that there were warning signs that she willingly chose to ignore. That innocence is part of her charm. It's also the cushion she needs to ignore life's harsh realities until she's ready to face them.

"The police don't make mistakes like that." I can hear the resignation in my tone, even if my mind hasn't caught up. "My dad isn't the man we all thought he was. Right now I feel like I never even knew him."

––––––––

"Y
ou don't know me," he begins before his hand darts out into the space between the two of us. "My brother knows you."

I look up and into his face. I've seen it before in the photographs that are neatly displayed in Landon's apartment. He's older than he was when he posed next to his father and brother, but it's him.

I reach out to place my hand in his. "You're Dane, aren't you?"

He nods briskly as he shakes my hand faintly. His eyes study my face before his tongue darts out to moisten his lips. "Landon told me a lot about you."

I can't say the same. I've heard spotted details about Dane Beckett from his older brother. I only know that their relationship has been strained for most of their adult lives, and that Dane is going to be a father and a husband soon.

I pull my hand free before motioning towards the door of my apartment building. "Did you come here to see me?"

It's a pointless question given the fact that I saw him standing near the door the moment my building came into view as I walked down the street. I rode the subway home after spending the past two hours with Clive and Lilly.

I'd taken a few bites of the dinner Lilly prepared as I worked my way through the dozens of messages on my phone. I'd excused myself to the solace of Clive's home office when I called my brother. He's handling it he told me. My father is as fine as can be expected. He has a competent lawyer and he's anxious to get back to Boston to clear everything up.

My brother told me he'd call me tomorrow after he landed in Boston. He loved me, he whispered, and our father loved me too.

"It will all be okay, Tessie," he managed to say before he ended the call.

"Landon is worried about you." Dane looks over my shoulder to the steady stream of traffic on the street. "He asked me to come here to see if you're okay. He tried to call you but there was no answer."

Eighteen missed calls.

When I'd finally looked at my phone there had been eighteen missed calls from Landon. I didn't listen to his voicemails, or read his text messages. When I talk to him again, I want it to be face-to-face. I need to look into his eyes as I hear him explain how his father and my father are connected.

"Are you okay?"

"I guess." I shrug, unable or maybe unwillingly to reveal too much of myself to this man. "I'm fine."

"Can we go for a coffee?" He gestures towards a café down the street. "I'd like to talk to you."

I stiffen. I hadn't realized until right now how much I was looking forward to meeting Landon's brother. He's an extension of him and in my innocent thoughts I imagined the two of us laughing as he shared stories about the things Landon did when he was a young boy. "I'm really tired."

"I'm messed up about my dad...about Frederick," he corrects himself. "I know what you're going through. I won't take a lot of your time."

I glance at the entrance to the café before I level my eyes back on his face. "I can spare a few minutes. I can't promise you more than that."

***

H
e's slightly taller than Landon. His hair is a bit longer and the color of his eyes is a deep brown. The smile is exactly the same though. I caught a fleeting glimpse of it when he held open the door of the café for me and I thanked him.

"Landon told me you're a fireman." I don't look up as I settle myself into a chair next to a small round table. I'd ordered a hot water with lemon. I don't need the extra energy that a dose of caffeine would give me at this time of day. I may not be able to sleep tonight, but I want to try. I need the rest if I'm going to deal with my life tomorrow.

He empties a packet of sugar into a large cup of coffee. He pops the plastic lid back on before he shakes it.  He curses softly as a few drops of the dark liquid fly from the slit in the lid and land on the arm of the sweater he's wearing.

"I'm a fireman." The corners of his mouth perch into a grin. "You're an event planner."

I return the smile. I like that he not only knows that, but that he remembers. "Landon told you that?"

He takes a sip from the cup. "Landon told me a lot about you."

It's surprising given the fact that their family has been caught up in the drama surrounding their father's return from the dead and his subsequent arrest. I've only known about my dad's past for less than twelve hours and it's taking all the effort I can muster to carry on a conversation that doesn't focus on him.

I nod, searching for something to say in return. "He told me about your baby."

"He did?" His brows rise. "What did he say?"

I can tell my words gave him something he needs. Maybe it's reassurance that his brother is excited about the birth of his child? Or perhaps it's much simpler than that. "He said that you were coming back to New York from Paris so you and your girlfriend can get married here and have the baby."

The paper cup in his hand shakes slightly before it stops in mid-air halfway between his mouth and the table. He lowers it quickly. "My brother told you all that?"

I look down at the cup in front of me wanting to mask my expression from him. I'm surprised by the intensity of his reaction.  I didn't reveal anything private or secretive. I simply laid out the meager details that Landon has given to me.

"He didn't say much when I told him about the baby," he confesses softly. "I couldn't tell then if he was happy or not."

It mirrors what happened when I pointed out to Landon that he'd be an uncle when his niece or nephew is born. He'd panicked enough to leave the room. "We haven't talked about it a lot."

He looks past me to where two young men are having a rousing conversation about the merits of running versus biking. "He's talked about it non-stop since I got back from Paris. He bought the baby some books. They're picture books about airplanes."

It's a glimpse into the man I've been sharing the most intimate parts of myself with.  I smile at him. "It's good to hear that. He likes being a pilot. I know it's an important part of his life."

"It is," he acquiesces as he leans back in the chair, stretching his legs out. "Being a pilot is part of who he is but you're the most important part of his life, Tess. That's why I'm here."

––––––––

I
drink the last of the lemon water as I try to focus on my smartphone. Dane had taken a call from his girlfriend and as he whispered that he loved her and would be home soon, I'd felt guilty for hearing the words and even guiltier for wishing that the phone hadn't rung in the first place. It had interrupted him just as he was talking about Landon.

"I'll need to get home soon." He rests his hands on the table next to his now empty coffee cup. "All of this has been hard on Bridget too. She's my fiancé."

I nod. I don't need him to give me a glimpse into the mind, and possibly, the heart of the man I've been seeing. He has his own growing family to worry about. I push my hands against the edge of the table. "I should get home too."

"Please stay just a little longer." He motions towards a barista. "I can get you more water."

I scrub my hand over my face. I'm past the point of exhaustion. It can't hurt to sit here for a few more minutes. "I don't need another drink. I'm not thirsty."

"I'm not either," he says before he pushes the paper cup away from him. "Landon's been worried about you. He called me a bunch of times today."

I glance at his smartphone on the table. The only call that has come in since we sat down was the one from his fiancé. Logically, I know it's the middle of the night in Athens. Landon must be fast asleep which explains why my phone has stopped ringing too.

"I couldn't talk to him," I admit. "I have a lot of questions and I need time to figure things out."

"I know that feeling." He cocks his head to the left. "Are they questions about our dad? Do you have questions about Frederick?"

I run the fingers of my right hand over my left palm. My eyes catch on the sight of the mole on my index finger. It's the very same mole my dad has on his thumb. "I'd rather talk to Landon about it when I'm ready."

"He's torn up." He rakes his hands through his messy brown hair. "He hasn't been this upset since our dad drowned. I mean since we thought he drowned."

"I'm sorry about your father," I mutter even though I'm not sorry. His father, and his need to save himself, upended my own life forever.  "I don't know all the details about how our dads are connected. Does Landon know? Do you know?"

"No." His phone chimes to signal a new text message. His eyes briefly settle on the screen before he looks up again. "That's my mother. She's back in New York. She wants to see me."

Of course she does. The woman is dealing with the cold and brutal reality that a man she mourned for years is alive and well. The twisted web of pain that Frederick Beckett's actions have unleashed has not only hurt his sons, but it must have devastated his wife too.

Unfortunately, I can empathize with all of them. My father may not have taken the coward's way out by faking his own death, but the man I thought I knew yesterday has fallen off the face of the earth to be replaced with someone sitting in a jail cell waiting for his day in court.

"Landon was shocked that your father was arrested." He pulls the empty coffee cup into his hand. "I can tell that you were too."

I don't take that as an insult. I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the mirror when I used the washroom at Lilly's place. I look horrible.

Any trace of make-up I had on this morning has been washed away by the brush of my hand against my face to scoop away the tears that had fallen down my cheeks as I gazed out the window in the taxi earlier on my way to Times Square.

The dress I'm wearing is wrinkled and there's a stain on the skirt that I picked up when I sat in a pool of brown liquid at Penn Station. I'd tried desperately to wipe it off with a piece of paper I found crumbled at the bottom of my purse. What it lacked in absorbency, it made up for in mayhem. The ink from the paper mixed with the liquid to create a spot I doubt will ever come out. It was my own fault for sitting so close to the remnants of an overturned can of soda.