Destroy You (Destroy #3) (20 page)

I felt the desire building between us, but I wasn’t in a hurry. I lifted my arms as she raised my shirt over my head. Still, I didn’t move to undress her but let her continue to remove my clothes. Toni pushed me back on the bed and followed me down. She kissed and stroked me to the limits of my control, but still I held back. Somewhere in my haze of desire, she’d shed her clothes, and I groaned when her smooth skin rubbed against my heated flesh.

Our mouths met again in the same lazy rhythm. I gripped the sheets hard in my fists as she positioned herself above me and slowly guided me inside of her. She set a slow pace that had my eyes rolling back in my head.

“Never let me go,” she moaned.

I groaned my agreement and pulled her back into a deep, earth-shaking kiss. I wrapped one arm around her waist and the other around her shoulders, letting me grab a fistful of her hair. I never would have thought her slow and steady rhythm could lead us to ecstasy, but eventually the pleasure was racing through my body so hard, I thought for sure I’d die of the intensity. We groaned into each other’s mouths and continued to hold tightly to each other long after our bodies had cooled.

After a few more minutes, we each cleaned up and got back into clothes, since Jeremy had a habit of waking us up in the morning. Toni picked my T-shirt up off the floor and slipped it on. This was a shitty day, but I’d go through it over and over again if it always ended with her by my side wearing my shirt.

Chapter 26

Toni

Zack met me out front in time for me to go to class. I’d passed my car keys to Trent, since both his truck and motorcycle were still parked in the loading bay of the bar. For the second day in a row, the ride to school was silent. We were both on edge after what happened yesterday, and I followed his example by scanning my surroundings, seeing if anything stood out.

Other than a pop quiz in the communications class I had with Jeremy, my morning had gone pretty easily. In my statistics class, which was large with nearly a hundred students, I slipped into my usual seat in the middle of the auditorium. Zack took the same seat he had yesterday in the back, where he could see the entire room.

We were both so focused on looking out for Miguel that neither of us noticed Trinity enter and take the seat next to me. She propped her combat-boot-clad feet up on the back of the chair in front of her and casually looked around the room.

“So this is what a classroom at Central looks like. Can’t believe I’ve never been in one before.”

I had arrived early, and there were still five minutes before the professor arrived. With so many students, I wasn’t looking to stand out, certainly not for disturbing the class. “What do you want, Trinity?”

She shrugged. “I just wanted to see what the big deal was about you. Personally, I don’t see why everyone is going through so much trouble to get to you, but Trent seems to believe you’re special. What do you have that I don’t?”

Was she for real? “What do you mean by ‘everyone’?” I demanded.

She smirked. “Oh, you’ll find that out soon enough. Don’t get too comfortable having Trent around. He’s always been there when I needed him. Can you say the same?” Before I could answer her, Zack rushed down the aisle.

“Is she bothering you?” he asked me.

I nodded.

“Good, then I didn’t call in backup for no reason. I was afraid I was going to look like a total jackass.”

By “backup” he must have meant Detective Daniels, because he entered the room a few moments later. He headed straight for Trinity and grabbed hold of her elbow. “Ms. Simms, would you come with me?”

She tried to pull her arm away. “Do I have a choice?”

“No,” Daniels replied simply. He pulled her to her feet and escorted her from the classroom at the same time the professor entered.

Instead of returning to the back, Zack took the seat Trinity had vacated. “Are you going to be able to pay attention?” he whispered.

“We’ll see,” I whispered back.

***

It turned out I wasn’t able to pay attention to the lecture. Zack proved to be an academic lifesaver in addition to a bodyguard, since he noticed my inattentiveness and took notes for me. We didn’t run into any more unwelcome surprises on the way home, and within ten minutes I was sitting in the living room chatting with Kate while Zack went to talk to Reed and Daniels.

She handed me a cup of coffee and sat next to me. “How are you holding up?” she asked. If anyone could understand what I was going through, she could, since her ex-husband, John Brandt, had stalked her for years before he was murdered last year.

“My instinct is to tell you I’m fine, but honestly I don’t really know. None of this makes sense. Miguel never seemed that into me before now. I mean, there were always other girls from nearly the beginning, so what changed?”

“You may never understand his motives. I never could figure out why John picked me over all the other women that threw themselves at him. What about me called to the monster inside of him? I’ll never have the answer to that, and I’m not sure I’d really want to hear it, either.”

“I’m sorry Reed is getting dragged back into police work. I know you both would probably rather get as far away from all of that as you can, considering how he was treated,” I said.

She waved off my apology. “Honestly, I’ve been afraid that he’s missed it. He seems to enjoy his studies to become a social worker, but I’m scared it won’t be enough to satisfy his hero complex. And hey, maybe you can help me distract him from wanting a baby.”

“He really wants a baby now?” I asked, happy to have a change of subject.

She looked down the hallway to make sure he was still in the kitchen with the other guys. “Yes. He’s turning twenty-nine soon, and apparently that’s given him baby fever. I’m still trying to figure out what I want to do with my life. I should have a better grasp on that by now, but I spent too many years doing nothing more than existing. Now the only thing I know about my future is whom I want to spend it with.”

“I thought you wanted to become a therapist?”

She shrugged. “I want to help women who are in a situation like I was. Help them and their families heal from abuse and find a way to break the cycle. I think I’ve found another way to do that without continuing with school. A women’s advocacy group approached me to work as a nurse for their battered women’s shelters in the area.”

“And if you get the job?” I pushed.

She smiled. “I’m twenty-five, and I’m getting a little jealous of Becca. I see that dreamy look she gets when she watches Aiden holding Scott, and I can’t wait until it’s my turn to see Reed holding our baby.”

“I feel so out of touch with everything that’s going on. You and Reed talking about babies, and Hope came home yesterday, right?”

Kate smiled. “She did. Hope didn’t need the NICU for as long as they thought. Honestly, I think Becca was a bit further along than they guessed. It was probably only off by a couple of weeks, but Hope is as healthy as a full-term infant now.”

“Yeah, well, I’ll be the cool aunt for a few more years.” I was not ready to go having babies, no matter how hot Trent got me.

Kate’s eyes filled with tears, and she attempted to surreptitiously wipe them away before I caught her. She tried to speak, but her voice wavered, and she cleared her throat. “You have no idea how much that means to me. I’ve got Cameron, but I miss my parents. You and Becca have given me back that feeling of family.”

I narrowed my eyes and turned my head to study her. “You aren’t already pregnant, are you?”

She shrugged. “I, uh, kinda quit taking my birth control a couple of weeks ago.”

“You are so totally knocked up!” I said, bouncing in my seat.

“Shh, I don’t want to get his hopes up until I know for sure.”

I mimicked locking my lips. “I won’t tell.” Now I understood why she thought about running by herself when her ex found her last year. The thought that I could put her in danger, or Becca and her family, terrified me. Maybe I should leave and save everyone from the drama surrounding me.

Kate grabbed my shoulder and shook me. “I know that look you’ve got on your face. Don’t you dare try and take off by yourself, thinking you’re going to protect any of us.”

“It was just a passing thought. Don’t worry.”

She narrowed her eyes at me and pursed her lips. “I’d ask you to promise me you wouldn’t do it, but I know you are every bit as stubborn as Becca and I are. It won’t help, because we’ll worry about you, and if I think you’re going to try it, I’ll tell the guys.”

Yeah, she would, too. Not that I could blame her; if I were in her place, I’d tell, too. It wasn’t like taking off would really work, though. I didn’t have anywhere to go to hide. I’d been pretty sheltered, or controlled depending on how you looked at it, and I didn’t have many contacts outside of my family and this group of friends.

My phone rang, and I groaned when I heard the special ringtone. It was my mother, and I’d been dreading this call since my father appeared in court on behalf of Miguel. It was the second act of the “Tear Toni Down” play my parents seemed to know by heart. I considered letting it go to voice mail, but Graciela Padilla could be a stubbornly determined woman, and she’d keep calling.

I sighed and answered my phone. “Hello, Mother. What do you want?”

“Is that any way to speak to your mother? We are having dinner with the Santoses tomorrow evening at seven.”

She was expecting me to fall in line and play the dutiful daughter at this dinner, but that wasn’t happening. “Well, have a good time,” I replied, pretending I didn’t know what she was asking.

Kate gave me a puzzled look, and I put my hand over the bottom of my phone and said, “It’s my mother.”

She nodded and went into the kitchen, I presumed to give me privacy, until Trent walked in the room. I hadn’t even realized he’d returned from work. He sat next to me and took my hand without saying a word. He always seemed to know what I needed, and dealing with my mother, I definitely needed his support.

“Antonia, are you listening to me?” she demanded, gaining my attention again.

“Sorry, I got distracted. Have a nice evening with Mr. and Mrs. Santos. I’m not really sure why you’re calling to tell me about it,” I continued to feign ignorance. I knew it wouldn’t work, but she wasn’t the only stubborn woman in the family.

“I do not appreciate your sense of humor, young lady. You know perfectly well your father and I expect you to attend. Now, we’ve given you a few days to apologize on your own, but since you haven’t, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to bring our families together.”

Taking a deep breath, I steeled myself to have it out with her. I reached out and grabbed Trent’s hand, borrowing some of his strength. “Well, now I know where I stand. Good-bye, Mother, don’t call me again.”

I hung up before she could say anything else and started to shake. “Why is he more important to them than I am?” I sobbed.

Trent pulled me to his chest and rubbed his hand down my hair. “I’m sorry, Wildcat. I wish I could fix this for you. They don’t know what they have, but I do. I love you, and I’ll be here next to you through the good and the bad.”

I held on to his shirt, holding on tight. He should really run as fast as he could in the opposite direction from me, but I wouldn’t tell him that. I was selfish enough to keep him as long as he wanted to be with me. I just lost my family; losing him too would crush me.

He took a deep breath. There was something on his mind, and I tensed waiting for him to start talking. “I talked to Zack when I got here.”

Ah, he wanted to talk about Trinity. “So he told you what happened this morning?”

He gripped my hair and pulled my head back until I was looking him in the face. His jaw was clenched. “What did she say to you?”

“She didn’t have time to say much before Zack escorted her out of the room,” I replied and shrugged. It really was a short exchange, but that didn’t mean it hadn’t left me uneasy. Not that I wanted to let on how upsetting it was. Fighting about Trinity was getting old, and I didn’t want to reopen that Pandora’s Box.

“Toni,” he growled my name. “I want to know what she said, even if it was only a short conversation.”

“She said she wanted to know why everyone was trying to get to me. I don’t know what she meant by that, but she made it clear she isn’t giving up her hopes of being with you. Basically, she told me that she would always be your first priority,” I answered in a hushed tone.

He sighed. “I have run to her every time she’s said she’s needed me. She was a broken little girl when she came to live with us. I had my mom, but my dad had left when I was little. Trinity didn’t have anyone, and it called to something in me. But nothing I’ve ever done for her has helped, and she’s more broken as an adult than she was when I met her.”

Trent let go of my hair and took my hand. “I know I’ve fucked up a lot with you. I’m glad you’ve given me another chance, and I won’t waste it. Trinity is traveling down a dark path, and nothing I have ever done has steered her away from it. I can’t help her, and I won’t destroy my life trying.”

Zack, Reed, and Kate entered the room together. Kate carried a tray of hors d’oeuvres, while the guys brought the drinks.

“We overheard what you were talking about, because we were listening really hard at the door, and Reed thought if we brought in food we could interrupt,” Kate said, smiling.

I rolled my eyes and smirked at her. “I think I’ve been a bad influence on you.”

She laughed, but the humor didn’t extend to her husband. Reed’s expression was tense and contemplative. “What did Trinity mean by everyone?” he interjected.

Ah, so I wasn’t the only one bothered by that statement. Good to know I wasn’t getting paranoid. What is that saying?
It isn’t paranoia if everyone is out to get you.
Yeah, I was starting to feel like that.

Trent let go of my hand and leaned forward, focusing on Reed. “Do you think Trinity is involved with Miguel?”

“What?” I shrieked. “How would she even know him?” And why hadn’t I thought of that?

Trent rubbed the top of his head. “Something about seeing Miguel in front of the bar yesterday has been nagging at me. We all assumed he was there stalking Toni, but what if we were wrong?”

“What do you think he was doing there if he wasn’t watching her?” Zack asked.