Decipher (Declan Reede: The Untold Story #3) (5 page)

It wasn’t going to happen though. The release made that much clear, especially considering the second piece of information it contained.

I screwed my eyes shut to block out the words. My hand holding the offending paper dropped to the table so that I wouldn’t reread the words printed on it over and over. A sigh that carried the last of my hope for another chance at my dream left my lips as I leaned my weight against the table and dropped my head.

“What is it, Dec?” Alyssa asked.

“He—he’s already replaced me. He has a new driver starting in the new season.”

“So soon? How? With who?”

I couldn’t even form the words. How could Danny recruit the biggest lunatic on the track? Morgan and I could both be a little reckless, but neither of us took our personal vendettas onto the track. Not like—

“Hunter Blake,” Eden answered when she saw I wasn’t able to.

“Is he a good driver?” Alyssa asked.

“Does it fucking matter?” I shouted. “He’s not me, is he? He’s taking my fucking spot on the team!”

“He’s with Wood Racing,” Eden explained to Alyssa.

I pinched the bridge of my nose, wanting to block out the nightmare. Not only had I been replaced in a matter of days, it’d been by a psycho.

After a few deep breaths, I finally felt calm enough to join the conversation again.

“How did it happen so fast?” Alyssa asked. “Wouldn’t he have been under contract?”

“Apparently Danny paid out the remaining years,” Eden said. “Cost a small fortune. I don’t understand it. It’s not like he’s the best driver out there. Top ten maybe, but his driving style doesn’t really fit with Sinclair’s strategy.”

It was Eden’s polite way of saying the dick was a lunatic on the track who was overly aggressive and often refused to listen to team instructions—usually to his own peril.

She didn’t even know the worst of it. His behaviour was even worse off the track. There were things I’d learned about him that no one at Sinclair knew or would probably suspect. If Danny had known even a fraction of them, he’d never have signed up the bastard. He’d definitely never have paid extra for the fuckstick.

Now, it was too late for me to say anything. No one would accept my story as the truth. They’d assume it was just sour grapes on my part. I doubted even Eden would believe me if I told her how despicable he truly was.

All I could do was remind myself that it wasn’t anything to do with me. Not anymore. I wasn’t with Sinclair and any choices Danny made didn’t affect me. Even if they did make me feel like I had a thousand eels churning in my gut.

My focus had to be my family, and trying to figure out what the hell I was going to do with the rest of my life. One thing still bugged me though.

Why Hunter? Why now? 

“An eye for an eye,” I murmured as the reason became apparent to me.

Both Alyssa’s and Eden’s heads whipped around to me. They’d continued the conversation, but my words had silenced them in an instant.

“What?” Alyssa’s voice prompted me to continue.

“It’s Danny’s version of an eye for an eye. Paige was trying to recruit one of his drivers—”

“So he recruited one of hers,” Eden finished my sentence. 

“Exactly.” My voice lacked enthusiasm. Numbness had replaced the anger. “The question would be why Hunter would go from being number one at Wood team to playing second fiddle to Morg.”

“You,” Eden said. “It’s because of you.”

“What?”

“As if you don’t know,” Eden snapped. I felt like we were coming to the reason she’d come in person to deliver the press release. “I’d heard rumours, but I’d never believed that you . . . That you could . . .” Her expression twisted into something I’d never seen on her features before. I couldn’t pin it down exactly. It wasn’t anger, neither was it disappointment, but it seemed to be a bitter cousin of both.

“That I could what, Edie? What do you think it is I’ve done?”

“You were in talks with her, weren’t you? This whole time, I’ve been sticking up for you and you’ve been planning on leaving the team as soon as you could. That’s why Danny wouldn’t listen to me. He’s got other evidence about you and Paige.”

I stood and paced away from the table. It was clear gossip had spread around the ranks of Sinclair long before the magazine came out. No wonder Danny was so fucking quick to believe it. My heart pounded in my throat. “It’s not what you think.”

“So she wasn’t trying to recruit you?” 

“No. I mean, yes, I mean, fuck.” Maybe I should have told everyone at Sinclair sooner that Paige had made plenty of noise about wanting me to join her team. Maybe I should have made it crystal fucking clear that I’d turned her down every time. Maybe then Danny would’ve had less reason to doubt my loyalty when the article crossed his desk. My focus was on Eden as I looped back around with my hands trailing through my hair. With my gaze locked with hers, I admitted the truth. “She approached me, okay?”

Eden gave me her best bitch brow.

“A few times, actually. But each time, I told her the same thing.”

“And that is?”

“That I’m Sinclair through and through, and always have been—even before Danny recruited me. That, well, that he gave me a shot at my dream, and I’ve never regretted saying yes.”

In my periphery, I saw Alyssa’s smile fall. Her brows pinched together slightly in pain, and the reason was immediately clear. Fuck! Would my big fucking mouth ever stop causing trouble? By trying to dodge one bullet, I’d stepped right into the path of another.

Without pausing, I strode straight to her and drew her into my arms. “I regret the way I handled some things,” I murmured against her hair before looking back to Eden, “but I’ve never regretted the choice. Maybe I should’ve said something earlier, but Wood’s offers just meant that little to me.”

Eden assessed me for a moment, and then a smile took over her frown. She crossed to me and gave my shoulder a playful punch. “I knew it. Or at least I didn’t think you’d be able to keep it from me if you were thinking about jumping ship. I can usually read you like a book.”

“Why would I jump ship on the best fucking job I’ve ever had?” It might have been the only real job I’d had, but that was beside the fucking point. “But that still doesn’t explain why Hunter left Wood.”

“All I know is he’s been running his mouth off around the track in Bahrain. Something about him not wanting to waste time with a team that’d put in so much effort to recruit a cockhead.”

“Some fucking recruitment campaign,” I said. “She’s trying to ruin my fucking life.”

Eden tilted her head in question.

“The magazine,” Alyssa said. “We think she was behind the article.”

“I don’t think . . .” Eden trailed off. “I mean why would . . .” She hummed in thought. “Okay, maybe, but how?”

“That’s the mystery. But just think about it. Who stood to benefit the most from my contract being cancelled by Sinclair?”

“Why not wait though? Twelve months and your contract would have been up.”

“Because I think she knows as well as anyone that I would’ve renewed with Sinclair if I’d been offered a place.” 

“But if that was the case, she’d have to know what’s happened by now. Surely if she’d been trying to get you on her team, she’d have offered you a pos—” Eden cut off, no doubt seeing something in my expression. “Oh. She already has, hasn’t she?”

“She rang this morning,” Alyssa confirmed.

Eden’s mouth twisted in distaste. “So she’s won then? You’ll be back on the track next year with her?”

“Fuck no.”

Her eyes flared. “What?”

“What do you take me for, Edie? I’m not going to race for someone who’s willing to pull those tricks to get me on her fucking team.”

“But it might be your one chance to race again.”

Lifting one shoulder, I gave a half-hearted shrug. “So? It’s not worth it.”

“Don’t be noble if it costs you everything.”

“I’m not being noble. I’m just not racing for a bitch. Especially if it means moving north while my family moves south.”

“You know the worst part of it all?” Eden asked. “Hunter has been given the new car.”

With everything happening, the news didn’t really surprise me. Morgan had already confirmed he’d be running his car again because he was happy with the set-up. “Well, that was the one that was supposed to be mine, I guess.”

“He’s an arrogant arse!” Eden exclaimed. “He doesn’t belong on our team.”

The statement almost drew a grin from me, but only because there was a time she would have said the same thing about Morgan, and about me. My smile fell again because in Hunter’s case, she was right.

“Apparently, he’s done nothing but brag about everything he
thinks
he did at Wood Racing. If I was to believe everything he’s told Morgan, he single-handedly built that team from the ground up.”

“I don’t know what to say, Edie. I think you’re right. But I also think Hunter is dangerous. Just be careful around him, won’t you?”

She rolled her eyes. “I’ll be okay. I think I know a thing or two about how to handle jerk drivers.” A half-smile lit her face when I raised my brow at her.

Phoebe came darting up to the table and the conversation stalled. “Wiggles gone,” she said, pointing toward the TV where the DVD had reset to the start menu.

I’d seen her restart the DVD from there before—heck, the day I’d spent alone with her at Alyssa’s house, she’d completely kicked off the DVD on her own—so I figured that she must have wanted to join in the conversation rather than actually being concerned about the DVD stopping.

“I think that means it’s time to put this conversation to bed,” Alyssa said, obviously understanding Phoebe’s mood as well as I had—or more likely even better. “Unless there’s anything else?”

Eden shook her head. “Only that the release is going out tomorrow morning.”

“Shit.”

Alyssa elbowed me in the ribs, clearly less tolerant of the swearing now that little ears were around and listening. When she caught the bruising that, although faded, still covered a good portion of my ribs, I winced. She gave me an apologetic look, but indicated Phoebe with her eyes—her silent way to tell me to lay off the fucking cuss words.

“Sorry,” I said, rubbing the pain of Alyssa’s wayward elbow away. “I was just hoping for a little more time before the vultures descend.”

“They’re already circling, Dec,” Eden said. “At least this way it’ll all be over at once.”

It didn’t even sound like her words had convinced her, but I nodded anyway to end the conversation.

“Would you like to stay for dinner, Eden?” Alyssa asked.

“As unique as a home-cooked meal in Declan Reede’s house would be, I have to decline. Morgan’s supposed to be calling me from Bahrain when he breaks for lunch. I don’t want to miss the call. I just wanted to make sure you knew what was coming. I didn’t think it was fair for it to be sprung on you without warning.”

“Thanks, Edie. I appreciate it.”

As I saw Eden out, she hugged me tightly. “Is Alyssa here for good?”

“No, just until Wednesday.”

Eden’s mouth mashed into an unhappy line.

“Why?”

“I’m leaving for Bahrain in the morning and I won’t be back for a little over a week.”

“So?”

“So, I don’t think it’s a great idea for you to be alone right now.”

I scoffed at her insinuation. “I’m hardly going to top myself.”

The look in her eye told me she didn’t believe I could cope alone for a few fucking days. “I’ll have my phone on roaming. If you need anything—and I mean anything—call me whenever. Any time. Day or night.”

“Yeah, sure, Edie.” I was done with the conversation. I’d managed without Alyssa before, I’d be able to do it again. Especially when it was only a temporary thing.

“I’m serious, Declan.”

“I know.”

After Eden left, Alyssa and I started to strategize on how we would present the united front Alyssa herself had suggested earlier in the day. It wouldn’t be hard in some respects, like spending time together in public, but others would be more difficult, like keeping the vultures away from Phoebe. We both agreed though, that task had to be our number-one priority.

CHAPTER FIVE: VULTURES

IT DIDN’T TAKE long before I needed to put Alyssa’s advice into play. Mere minutes after the press release was issued the following morning, I received my first phone call from the press.

After that first call the phone rang almost non-stop.

The media had a raft of questions, but mostly they boiled down to the two most vital ones. Who was I driving for now, and what was the reason behind the split from Sinclair Racing?

Following Alyssa’s advice, I gave the same answer each time: “I’m not driving at the moment, and no comment.”

Some of the more reputable organisations left it at that. Others weren’t so professional. They’d gathered information about Alyssa, about Phoebe, and one or two had even found out about Emmanuel.

With an effort worthy of a fucking saint, I held my tongue as they tried to bait me to get a sound bite of me losing control. The one thing that helped me the most was to concentrate on Alyssa and Phoebe. Together, they did a fantastic job of distracting me from my worries over the whole situation between phone calls. After fielding the tenth call of the morning, I decided enough was e-fucking-nough and left the phone off the hook. I left the study with a snarl on my lips and Alyssa glanced over at me with a concerned look on her face.

“You know what? Let’s blow this joint,” I said. “How’s a trip to the beach sound?”

Alyssa chuckled. “As much as I’d love to, I didn’t exactly pack for the beach when we left.”

“So, we’ll go to the shops first then.”

“You can’t just spend money willy-nilly, Dec.”

Not now that you’re unemployed.
Even though she hadn’t said the words, they were as loud as the rest of her sentence in my head. A reminder that I had to start being more frugal. That I had to call my banker and work out my finances and see how long I could last without having to liquidate everything.

Fuck it. That could be tomorrow’s problem. “Can we just have one more day without worrying about it?” I asked. “I know I’ll have to start being careful soon, but not today. Okay?”

“If that’s what you need.”

“I need a day with my girls. A day without any stress. Most of all, I need a day away from that goddamned telephone before I give one of those leeches everything they deserve for their stupid-arse questions. Plus, you leave tomorrow.”

Her gaze fell and she moved closer to me. “Don’t remind me.”

My lips twitched upward, knowing that it was as unpleasant a thought for her as it was for me.

Within ten minutes, we were in my Prado—it was at least a little more discreet than the Monaro—and headed for the local shops. Within an hour, we’d grabbed a basic swimsuit for each of them and were at Bondi Beach. The beach was busy enough to allow us to blend in, but not so busy that we couldn’t find a quiet spot near the water. Hiding under my hat and sunnies, I was able to sit with Phoebe and help her make a sandcastle.

I pulled my shirt off to enjoy a little of the sun and to take Phoebe into the water to splash around in the shallow waves.

“Should you really go in there?” Alyssa asked, glancing at the ocean.

I gave her a questioning look, and she indicated her back.

“You know, with your tattoo.”

“It’ll be fine. I don’t think I need to be up to my neck in the water with Phoebe.”

“Okay, if you’re sure.”

“I’m positive.” I turned to Phoebe. “You wanna go swim to wash off the sand?”

She nodded before taking off straight for the ocean. Unsure about how confident she was in the water, I rushed off behind her.

When I turned back to tell Alyssa to join us, I caught her gaze lingering on my back—on the tattoo celebrating Phoebe and commemorating Emmanuel. In the water up to my knees, I smirked at her to let her know she’d been caught staring. She just shrugged and gave me a look that said, “What do you expect?” before relaxing back against the towel.

I followed Phoebe a little further out, watching her like an eagle the whole time. She spun and danced in the ocean, jumping over some waves and diving under others. Each time a wave approached, she’d squeal and dance.

A couple of minutes later, a hand grabbed my arse. I twisted in place to give the molester a gobful, but the abuse stilled on my tongue when I saw it was Alyssa.

For a moment, I was completely stunned and it wasn’t just the abusive words that died in my mouth. I couldn’t even form a coherent thought, let alone make it into a sound.

It was probably a sign of how distracted I’d been that even though I’d caught a glimpse of the small black bikini at the shops as Alyssa had scanned it through the self-service checkout, I hadn’t really imagined what it might look like on her. If I had, I don’t think my imagination would have drummed up an image even half as hot as the one in front of me.

Black Lycra contrasted against her milky white skin. Her hair curled around her shoulders, the ends calling my attention downward. The ruffles along the top of the cups accentuated the perfect fullness of her boobs. The ties that were knotted at her hips hinted at just how easy the bottoms would be to remove. Without thought, I moved closer to her.

Alyssa’s gaze shifted to Phoebe for a moment, checking that she was okay, before heading back to meet mine. On the way, her eyes trailed a smoking-hot path over my body.

“Don’t look at me like that,” I murmured to her as I captured her in my arms. I glanced quickly at Phoebe, playing not even an arm’s length away, to ensure she was okay. “Or I can’t be held responsible for what happens later,” I murmured in her ear as I pulled her closer to me. Unable to resist her, I nibbled her neck.

Her breath came as a needy sigh before she chuckled. “Where’s a babysitter when you need one, right?” Her eyes focused on Phoebe as she brushed her hair behind her ear, exposing more of her neck to me.

I moved us so that her back was against my front, my cock pressed between her arse cheeks. It was like heaven. Her words and the feel of her in my arms were sharp reminders that the previous night, for the second night in a row, Phoebe hadn’t fallen asleep easily and had woken constantly. Between that, the stress of the situation, the fact I refused to make love to Alyssa in a bed where I’d seduced other women, and Alyssa’s exhaustion when she’d first arrived, we hadn’t exactly had the chance to reconnect properly. The need to take her was getting stronger with every passing second. I was dying for her.

“Hopefully she’ll sleep better tonight,” Alyssa murmured, leaning against my body. The heat in her eyes when she turned her head slightly to meet mine was too much. Need for her raced through my body and down to my cock, causing it to swell further and ache with need.

“Fuck, you really can’t say things like that to me in public,” I whispered against her neck.

“Why not?” Her voice was filled with false innocence. After checking Phoebe once more, she spun in my arms, put her hand on my chest, and whispered into my ear, “I guess I shouldn’t tell you how badly I want you to fuck me.” The last two words were nothing more than a breath against the shell of my ear.

I swallowed down the lump in my throat, but that didn’t help the one growing in my boardies. “Fuck me,” I murmured, a little louder than I’d intended.

“Maybe later,” Alyssa said with a throaty chuckle as she moved away from me and closer to Phoebe. “If you watch your language.” She turned and winked at me.

The lack of her warm body in my hold was instantly noticeable, but wasn’t enough to deflate my raging hard-on. Knowing I needed to get myself under control considering we were on a beach filled with families, I checked Alyssa was close to Phoebe and then headed deeper into the tepid seawater.

“Where are you going?” Alyssa called after me, but I just raised my hand to tell her to give me a moment.

Looking out at the open ocean, I closed my eyes and breathed in the sea air as the water surrounded my lower half. The salty breeze whipped through my hair and around my face. After another deep breath, another lungful of the cleansing air, I turned back toward my girls. I watched for a moment without them knowing as Alyssa lifted Phoebe over a wave and then in a loose circle through the air. The wind carried their laughter to me. The moment was so fucking tender, it made my heart swell with pride that I was able to call them mine.

I was heading back over to join them when I saw someone standing on the beach. At first, I was almost willing to ignore the guy, but something about him demanded my attention. He was a young man—he couldn’t have been more than eighteen. His camera was slightly too big to belong to a tourist—especially with the telephoto lens sticking out the front. My fingers curled into fists at the sight. A fucking paparazzo.

Did he know I was there? His camera certainly seemed trained in my direction.

A flood of other questions rushed through my mind. How long had he been there? Had he tipped off any others or was he a greedy arsehole who wanted a scoop? Had he seen me with Alyssa and Phoebe—had he gotten a photo of Alyssa and me? Of Phoebe?

I walked past where Phoebe and Alyssa were playing together, striding straight back toward the beach.

“Dec, what is—” Alyssa’s question died on her lips, no doubt seeing the direction I was headed and making the connection. “Don’t do anything stupid,” she said. I heard her splashing behind me and figured she was following me.

I stopped midstride and spoke to her without meeting her eye. “Just wait here for a few minutes and then leave the beach. Pretend you don’t know me and make your way back to the car. I’ll deal with the vulture and meet you there.”

“Dec . . .” Her voice trailed after me.

“No, Lys. I won’t hurt him, and I won’t do anything stupid, but I don’t want him hassling Phoebe. She doesn’t need it. Not yet. Just trust me, please?”

“Okay.”

I was already walking again before I heard her confirmation that she’d follow my instructions.

The pap started to back away when he saw I was making a beeline for him.

You’d better run, fucker!
I wanted so desperately to shout the words, but I bit back on them so that I didn’t cause more problems for myself. The last thing I needed was yet another article about how I couldn’t control my temper. But what type of sicko followed someone around on a family day to the beach, for fuck’s sake?

By the time I was out of the water, the pap had turned his back completely and was heading up the sand away from the crowd. The fucker had the lead, but didn’t count on the fact that I was fit and had plenty of stamina. More than some skinny-arsed dipshit photographer, at least. Despite the lingering injuries from my crashes, I was certain I could catch him. Especially because I wasn’t willing to let the fuckwit get away with stalking my family. As soon as my feet hit the dry sand, I sprinted in his direction. Each time my bare feet hit the sand, a spray of sand kicked up behind me, no doubt hitting the tourists and sunbathers lying on the beach, but I didn’t give a shit.

“Hey!” I shouted after him, hoping he’d turn and see that I was gaining ground. I wanted to see the blind panic in his eyes as he saw how close I was. “Hey you!”

People around us turned to look in my direction, no doubt wondering who the hell the crazy man running along Bondi Beach was, and why he was screaming at the man with a camera.

“You wanted a photo of Declan Reede, didn’t you?” I shouted louder. “Well, take your fucking photo.” I slowed my pace and held my arms out in invitation.

More heads whipped around in our direction. The crowd was more tourists than locals, so I didn’t think they were paying attention to my name—just my shouting.

“Come on, you coward, turn and take my fucking picture now.”

Even though I’d stopped running, by the time he reached the boardwalk, I was practically on top of him. I grabbed his shoulder and spun him around to face me. The kid was at least six inches shorter than me, and easily half my weight. It would almost be unfair to pummel him to dirt, but that was all I wanted to do. The only thing stopping me was the promise I’d made Alyssa.

“What’s the matter?” I snapped, getting in his face to intimidate him. “Don’t you want a fucking close-up? You’d rather take long-range photos like some sort of peeping fucking Tom, would you?”

“I—I’m just doing my job.” He held his hands up in the air in surrender, his camera aloft and his face turned away as if he expected me to strike at any moment. A week ago, I probably would have, and even now it was damn tempting. If only he hadn’t been quite so pathetic.  

“Well, now your job needs to be taking happy-snaps of any-fucking-one else but me, do you understand that? If I see you around again, there will be issues.”

“I just go where I’m told. I don’t make the decisions.”

I curled up my nose and laughed at the coward. “Well, how about you decide to grow a pair and say no for once.”

“Why would I? It wouldn’t make a difference.”

“What do you mean?”

“If I refuse, she’ll just send someone else.”

“She?” My heart pounded against my ribcage at the word. “What fucking she? Paige?”

“Who? What?”

“Did Paige Wood put you up to this?” I asked again. When he didn’t respond straight away, I grabbed his collar. “Is she the one who sent you here?”