Striker's Waltz (Seattle Sound Series Book 6) Read online

  I sucked in a breath as I laid my fingers over the keys. I knew the actions I was about to take were wrong. Unethical. I took a deep breath and fired up her e-mail account, no longer caring about her privacy. Not if I was right. Not if…

  I scrolled through her messages. She’d said two weeks ago, she had a one-off job. One that paid well. But she’d been here two weeks ago, tending to me after my breakup.

  There. The name caught my eye as a noise of despair spewed from my mouth. Nausea flashed up my throat. Lucia Romero de Cruz. Teo’s mom. The woman who didn’t like me. The woman who threw the big party when Teo returned home a few days ago.

  Brenna corresponded with Teo’s mom. Multiple times within that five-day period before we broke up. Before I could change my mind, I typed out a message.

  To: Lucia Romero de Cruz

  From: Brenna Lansing

  Re: Urgent! Preslee knows

  She knows we wanted to break up Teo and her. She also thinks I’m the one who leaked the information about his hamstring.

  I left it unsigned. I wouldn’t break Brenna’s trust—my ethics—more than I already had. Now the waiting began. I walked into the kitchen and poured a cup of the expensive decaf Brenna brought home last week. I drank it out of a mug she’d given me ten years ago when I first started drinking coffee.

  I placed my hand against the large picture window in our kitchen, tracing the small raindrops that slithered across the glass, the ache in my chest expanding with each breath.

  I picked up my laptop and sucked in a breath. After releasing it slowly, I opened the lid. Brenna’s e-mail program was still open…with a new message from Lucia.

  My fingers shook, but I managed to open the message.

  You’d better keep her quiet about the brat. If not, I stop all further payments.

  The front door opened.

  “Since you didn’t seem like you wanted to meet me for lunch, we could…” She caught a look at my face. “What’s wrong? Did something happen to the baby?”

  I dropped my laptop into her hands. She read the message before closing it. The click of the laptop snapping shut made me flinch.

  Brenna heaved a deep sigh. Her breath shuddered then broke as she collapsed back into the same chair she sat in earlier. “I wanted this to end so differently. But I should have known better.”

  “You knew I loved him. I told you that.”

  Brenna picked at her linen skirt. “I know you do, but Lucia was dead set on keeping you two apart. I figured, all things considered, it was better to go along with what she wanted. You’d get over Teo and come back to me.”

  “Don’t lie to me.” My voice stayed low, but I used that dead-serious tone my brothers—and Brenna—feared. My temper might be slow to build, but I held a grudge like no one else.

  “He’s a man. He would’ve hurt you eventually. He—he already did!” She flapped her arms, her face more animated by the moment. “He walked out on you at the hospital.”

  “Because you practically forced him out! Yeah, he told me that. You and that fucking nurse teamed up and made him leave,” I yelled. Oh, it felt amazing to yell. I picked up one of the throw pillows and threw it as hard as I could. It landed on the bar, sending my coffee mug crashing to the floor. The dark liquid mixed with shards of ceramic bits, splattering the fridge and white cabinets.

  “Did you press the call button to get her to come in? You did after you—what?—bribed her in the hall. Didn’t you?”

  I turned back toward Brenna, my chest heaving. I picked up another pillow and threw it, too.

  “Calm down,” Brenna pleaded. “It’s not healthy for the baby, Pres. He broke your heart.”

  “Wrong!” I screamed. “He struggled to come to terms with the fact I was pregnant, something I totally understood because I felt the same way. But you took the decision from him. From me.”

  “Only because I want you to be happy, Preslee.” She crept nearer. I backed up, glaring. “He can’t make you happy.”

  “That’s my decision to make—my life. I broke up with a man who loved me because you colluded with his mother! You knew I’d be upset. You, of all people, knew I’d think it was Oren all over again because I shared how much his cheating, his attack hurt me.”

  “Don’t be angry, Preslee. I protected you.”

  “From what?”

  “From another messed up relationship.” Brenna leaned forward, her voice sincere. “Look, Lucia already dug into your past and found out about Oren and the beating at Northern. I didn’t want you to relive that time with Oren, so I told her I’d take care of your relationship if she didn’t hurt you by dredging that back up.”

  I inhaled deeply, trying to untangle the emotions barreling through me. Anger, frustration, fatigue, and betrayal warred through me.

  “Well, it came out anyway,” I snapped.

  “I didn’t know Oren would come after you. I swear I didn’t.”

  I stepped back. These revelations kept getting worse. “You told Oren I’d be at the symphony.” The words came out breathy, barely audible as the ache in my throat increased.

  “It’s not what you think,” she said, tripping over her words.

  “You told Oren where I’d be that night. The man who took away all my dreams. You told him. After you heard him threaten me.” I breathed the words, unable to get enough air in my lungs to do more.

  “He wasn’t supposed to go crazy, just frighten you. You always come back to me when you’re scared or hurt, so you would’ve left Teo, and we could be the family we’re supposed to be.”

  I stared at her, too shocked for even the anger to break through. Finally, the ringing in my ears calmed. I swallowed, trying to moisten my dry mouth.

  “I almost lost my baby because of his attack. Did you think about that, Brenna?”

  “Contacting Oren was a mistake. I see that now. But, Pres, I did it out of love.” Her eyes were beseeching.

  I sank into one of the chairs just before my knees gave out. No way this was real.

  “Look…I love you enough for both of us.” Brenna’s eyes were adamant. She came forward, slid onto her knees in front of me. She clutched one of my hands, the other resting on my belly. I froze, too shocked to move.

  “I want to be your everything, Pres. I’ll take care of you and the baby. We’ll make this work. We’ll be a family.”

  “Get off,” I breathed, recoiling as my body went taut. “Stop touching me.”

  Brenna stood, her eyes defiant. “What about when you’re fat from pregnancy or you haven’t slept in a week and are covered in baby shit and stale breast milk? Who’d want you after you’ve been sick with the flu for a week, after watching you try to puke up a lung? He won’t want to see that. It’s not sexy.”

  I stood, too, needing to feel on even footing with Brenna.

  “That’s what love is,” I said. “And I had that with him. I would still if you stayed out of my life. He cared about me; it wasn’t just about the sex.”

  “I’ve loved you for years. I’m the one who’s held your hand, from Corey when he lied about having sex with you at prom, to Oren, and even your breakup with Teo. I’m the one who got you through all those relationships. I see you, Preslee, and I love the woman you are. I don’t want to change anything about you. I just want to be with you.”

  The words were heartfelt, romantic even, but each one filled me with deeper dread. She’d twisted everything we were for years into an unhealthy relationship.

  “Just give me a chance.” Her voice carried urgency, her eyes bright with need. The way she looked just as she awoke. I shuddered, wondering if she’d been dreaming about me some of those times. “I’ll make this up to you.”

  “You can’t. Ever.” I swallowed down bile, but just barely. “Our friendship meant something to me, and you dirtied it.” I took a deep breath and severed our shared secrets, hugs, tears, and every critical moment for the last twenty years. “You need to leave.”

  Her mouth gaped wide, her e
yes bugged.

  “You can’t mean that. I’m the one who got you through the morning sickness for fuck’s sake.”

  “And you’re the one who set me up with Oren originally. Did you know he beat up on women? Is that why you suggested we hang out at that party? Then…then you said we should move in together. It’d be fun.”

  “We had fun,” she choked.

  “I’ve spent the last six years miserable. What you’re talking about—that isn’t love, Brenna. You’re selfish and cruel, and I’m not sure I’ll ever forgive you for it.”

  She looked like a fish taking its last breath. Something inside me twisted and died with her in that moment, but I didn’t break eye contact. Finally, she firmed her lips, set her shoulders and slunk into her bedroom.

  29

  Teo

  “Matteo!” My father kissed both of my cheeks before pulling me into a bear hug. His skin shone with its normal sun-kissed bronze.

  “I thought you were in the hospital. I planned to go there after I changed.”

  “Come sit. Eat. You traveled all night again?”

  I nodded, feeling numb. I ran out of Preslee’s show, expecting my father to be intubated, sickly. Close to death.

  I ran my thumbs over my dry eyes. “Mother texted me you were unwell. That your physician admitted you to the hospital.”

  My dad’s brows drew down. “Clearly not true. I’m healthy as an ox. You, however, look older than I.” His eyes mirrored my reflection, but I was even more broken than the unshaven, rumpled man in them.

  “It’s been a rough couple of weeks,” I sighed. I tilted my face up to the sun, needing the warmth. My father’s hand clamped on my shoulder, giving it a little squeeze.

  “Your mother will join us shortly. We’ll talk to her about this misunderstanding.”

  “It wasn’t a misunderstanding. She knew I went back to Seattle. She came into your study while I was making the travel plans.”

  “Why were you there?”

  “To meet with the Timber owner and talk to Jorge.”

  “But you planned to come back to River Salado.”

  I shook my head. “I want to stay in Seattle. I want to be near Preslee. She’s pregnant.”

  A smile tugged at the corners of my lips. That, at least, was a positive from our relationship. If I could just get Preslee out from under Brenna’s orbit, I knew I could talk some sense into her. Talk her into moving in with me. Where she belonged.

  “Pregnant?” My dad rocked back on his heels. “That’s unexpected.”

  I nodded. “For all of us.”

  He grunted, his eyes narrowed. “But you’re happy about this?”

  My grin grew. “Oh, yeah. She’s the only woman I could want to mother my children.”

  I must talk to Noah again, try to get him to see reason. I planned to stay in Seattle, against his wishes. But we shared family now, if only through my connection to Preslee. My forever connection.

  “When will I meet this young lady who’s stolen your heart?”

  “Never. She’s no longer Matteo’s girlfriend,” my mother’s clipped voice came from the edge of the patio. Her red lips curved up in a knowing smile. “They broke up. And now your son is home, where he belongs.”

  I met her eyes, saw the same flat triumph in them that I saw in Brenna’s just last night. “What did you do?”

  My mother’s linen-clad shoulder raised in a negligent shrug.

  My father came to my side. “You involved yourself in our son’s relationship?” My dad’s ruddy complexion turned darker, his nostrils flaring.

  “She’s just trying to get our money, Raul. That’s why she fell pregnant. I wouldn’t have said anything, but she knows I worked with that other American, her friend.”

  “What?” My father demanded.

  “You destroyed her faith in me—you and Brenna.” Several pieces of the puzzle clicked into place. But one piece remained missing: my mother’s motive. “For what? To ensure my continued unhappiness? What am I being punished for this time, Mother? Talking to Dad about my love life instead of you? Wanting to be happy?”

  My father’s eyes narrowed as he looked at my mother. “I will deal with you later.”

  “Raul, really, there’s no reason to chastise me like a naughty child.”

  “Then quit acting like one,” Dad snapped.

  I settled into a wrought-iron chair; my spinning head clamped tight between my two hands.

  “Matteo? You look unwell.”

  “I fucked up, Dad. Big time.”

  “No more so than I. I worried about this young woman and how tangled into her you were. I should never have spoken of her, of my concern, to your mother. If Preslee is what you want, the woman you love, I’ll do what I can to help fix my part in this. For you. And my grandchild.”

  His smile wavered, but his eyes filled with happiness. He began pushing for me to find someone to love, to marry, for the past few years. The idea of a grandchild appealed to him as much as having a baby with Preslee appealed to me.

  My mother stormed off, slamming the door behind her so hard one of the glass panes fell to the patio, shattering.

  “That’s the mother I know.”

  “She’s this bad with you?”

  “Always? No. But she was never happy.”

  My father rubbed his fingers along his jaw. “Because of my…indiscretions?”

  I met his gaze, holding it for a long moment. “Losing my nanny was pretty hard on me.”

  Papa pressed his lips together in a firm line, dipping his head in acknowledgment. “She loved me once.”

  “Honestly?” I said, turning back to stare at the broken door. “I think she always has.”

  “That doesn’t excuse her behavior toward you.”

  “No, it doesn’t.” I dropped my head to my thumbs, rocking back and forth a little. “I need to get back to Pres. I left to come here because I was worried about you. But she hasn’t answered any of my messages. Leaving last night destroyed her already fragile trust in me. As did my leaving her in the hospital when she told me she was pregnant.”

  “And she is angry?”

  “Worse. I hurt her, and I don’t know if I can fix it.”

  My dad’s blunt fingers wrapped around my wrist. I lifted my head, uncaring all my emotions were there, swirling for my dad to see.

  “Tell me, son. Between us, we will find a way.”

  30

  Preslee

  After snatching my keys and phone from the counter, I ran into the hall, my focus on one thought.

  “Slow down there, champ.” Clay steadied me as I bounced off his chest.

  “Whoa! What’s wrong, Pres?” Abbi grabbed my hands.

  “I have to find Teo.” His name came out in a wail.

  Clay glanced between the shut door of my condo and my wild eyes. He rubbed his palms up and down my arms, trying to calm my shuddering.

  “Let’s go in your place and talk,” Abbi said, sounding all calm.

  My back bowed straight. “No! I’m not going back in there while Brenna’s there. She lied to me,” I gasped. “She lied to him. I need to go…I need…”

  “We’ll go up to our place.” Clay wrapped an arm around me as we walked down the hall. The farther we walked from Brenna, from her lies, the more my mind whirred with all the ways I’d let Brenna manipulate me.

  Once in the elevator, I lunged across the space and pulled Abbi into a hug as my breath caught on a sob. “I’m so glad you’re here!”

  “Are all pregnant women this emotional?” Abbi asked. “I don’t know if I can go through this ever, if I’m going to cry each time someone brings me a mocha.”

  “You brought me a mocha?”

  Abbi shoved it into my hands. “Decaf, skim milk, extra chocolate. Just the way you like it.” I took a sip, let the sweetness slide across my tongue, the heat calming my raging nerves. I smiled at her as I knuckled tears from the corner of my eyes.

  “I would do dangerous things for a
mocha, but that’s not why I’m glad to see you.”

  Abbi’s face scrunched down into a scowl as she took my hand. “What’s going on, Pres?”

  I sucked in a breath. I pulled my phone from my purse and clutched it and my mocha like they were lifelines to a sane world.

  “You’re scaring me, Pres,” Abbi whispered.

  I turned to meet Abbi’s shadowed eyes. “Brenna plotted with Teo’s mom to break us up.”

  Abbi’s mouth popped open, and her eyes narrowed to slits. Clay cursed loudly, and I nodded in agreement.

  “Holy hell. Brenna?” Abbi squeal-sighed. She fiddled with the hem of her shirt. “That’s—well, that’s horrible.”

  I logged into Brenna’s e-mail application from my phone. Pulling up the message, I handed my phone to Abbi.

  After reading, she handed the phone to Clay and grabbed my hand. Clay read the message, running his finger over his top lip.

  “That bitch,” Abbi growled, sounding exactly like Lia as she marched down the hall. She opened her door with a slam before whirling back toward Clay and me. “She’s not ruining your life.”

  “She already did.”

  “Want me to stay?” Clay sounded nervous.

  Abbi hugged him, laying her head against his chest. Their intimacy made my chin wobble. My face crumpled when Abbi whispered something in Clay’s ear. He kissed her temple and headed back out the door, relief flooding his features as he escaped my presence.

  “When’s the next flight to Buenos Aires?” I asked, stomping around their living room.

  “On it.” Abbi slid her butt onto a bar stool. She turned back, caught my quivering chin and stood again, ready to wrap me in a much-needed hug. “Ah, honey, I’m so sorry.”