Beautifully Broken (The Broken Series Book 2) (27 page)

“Yes.
I remember,” I responded tightly.

“Don’t
you see,
mon coeur
? I was already planning to propose. I was just
waiting for New Year’s Eve because I wanted it to be special. My entire life, I
have lived like this.” Michael waved his hand around the property. “No one but
you has ever told me no. I wanted you to know how much I loved you. So I bought
the ring, and the house, and two tickets to Boca Raton, never thinking for one
minute that you would say no.”

“Boca
Raton? That’s where you sent the postcard from, when I began working for Senator
Rockefeller,” I interjected.

Michael
nodded. “Yes. I have a house in Boca Raton. I purchased plane tickets so we could
celebrate our engagement there. The jet was being refurbished. When you refused
to marry me, I went alone, although I did delay the trip until after you moved
to Virginia.”

I
couldn’t resist interrupting again. “But, Michael, that would mean you
purchased the house before our third date. Don’t you think that was a little
early to be buying me a ring and a house? Can’t you see how that would scare me
away?”

Michael
sighed. “I couldn’t see past my love for you. I told you, I fell in love with
you the first moment I saw you. It’s true, Kristine. I don’t know how I knew,
but I did… and it’s not like I was some young kid who doesn’t know what love
is. I was thirty-five years old when I first proposed to you. I dated a number
of women before you, and not a single one of them made me feel like I couldn’t
breathe without her.”

Regret
nipped painfully at my heart. Michael hadn’t been able to see beyond his love
for me, but I was stuck behind a wall of fear and distrust. Not once had I
taken Michael’s feelings into consideration. Not once had I given Michael the
benefit of the doubt. I had completely discounted his feelings for me and had
assumed the worst about him at every turn.

Michael
stared at the fountain. “This house was to be my wedding gift to you. I still
had every intention of marrying you, so I spent some time here overseeing the renovations.
I wanted to make sure the house was perfect. You know me well enough by now to
know that I don’t do anything halfway. I flew back to Montana a few times so I
could see you. I wanted to make sure you were okay. That’s when I learned you
were awarded the fellowship in DC. The house was still being renovated, so I
went to Boca Raton. Once the house was finished, I was going to fly to DC to convince
you to give me a second chance; but pulling the house together took longer than
I expected. I was worried about you being alone in DC, so I sent Rafael to watch
over you while I managed things here.”

My
eyes widened in disbelief. “Rafael was watching me in DC?”

Michael
nodded. “That’s how I learned you had been kidnapped. That night you went into
work late, Rafael followed you to the office. Once he made sure you were safely
inside the building, he sat outside and waited for you to leave. He watched you
walk to the parking garage. When you entered the building, he drove to the back
of the garage so he could follow you when you came out. He wanted to make sure
you made it home safe. He didn’t know your tires had been slashed. When you took
too long to drive out of the garage, he ran inside to look for you, but you
were already gone. I flew back to the states as soon as I heard. We were trying
to find you, but your soldier beat us to it.”

I
blinked back tears as memories of the abduction bit at me.

Michael’s
eyes grew sad. “I was so afraid you were hurt. I felt so helpless. I wanted to see
you… to hold you… to make sure you were okay the second you returned to DC, but
you were never alone, and I didn’t want to screw up another chance to work
things out with you. I was concerned that the kidnapping would only make you
more afraid of me. So I stayed in DC, and I waited. I waited for you to heal.”

Michael
rose from the bench. “I’m not proud of it, but I did follow you to the Bahamas.
I couldn’t bear to have you out of my sight. I was insanely jealous of this
soldier of yours. It killed me to see him kiss you. I should have been the one
protecting you, the one helping you heal, and the one who made you smile when
you wanted to cry. When I saw the two of you together in the Bahamas, I
realized I was running out of time.”

Michael
stood staring at the fountain with his back turned to me. “Still, you were
never alone. I could never seem to find a good time to approach you. I knew
your soldier went to work early at the Pentagon. So that morning, when the news
broke about the car bombs, I saw an opportunity to force your hand. I knew I had
to convince you that I was responsible for planting the bombs, otherwise you
wouldn’t come with me. The phone I showed you that morning was simply a
disposable phone. I bought it off a day laborer, who was sitting outside a convenience
store near your apartment.”

“You
didn’t plant the car bombs at the Pentagon?” I asked incredulously.

He
walked back to the bench and knelt down in front of me. “No. I hadn’t a clue who
planted the bombs. I heard the news on the radio when I was driving to your
place. After you were kidnapped, Rafael and I took turns following you to and
from work. I wanted to ensure you made it okay. I couldn’t bear the thought of
anything more happening to you. As far as the car bombs go, the U.S. government
issued some press releases about two months ago that linked them to an anti-government
extremist group. I can show you the news reports if you would like.”

I
stared slack-jawed at Michael. “Americans planted the bombs at the Pentagon?”

Michael
nodded.

I
shook my head. I was relieved Michael hadn’t planted the bombs, but there was something
about his story that still didn’t add up. “What about investing and washing
money for terrorists in Portugal?” I finally asked.

“That
is partially true. When I initially applied for a position as a financial
analyst with this investment firm in Lisbon, they had a very good reputation. I
had to prove my worth managing hedge funds, so I wasn’t assigned to those particular
clients that first year. I had no idea the firm was investing money for a
terrorist organization. I am very good at what I do, so after I worked there for
a year, the general partners shifted some of those accounts my way. I grew
suspicious when I learned the firm was laundering money for these clients. I asked
Rafael to investigate. When he discovered these clients were connected to a
terrorist organization, I left the firm and reported the partners to the
authorities.”

“But
the newspapers said you were being investigated…”

Michael
sighed. “That press release was issued for my own protection. The Lisbon
authorities were concerned I would end up dead if the general partners
discovered that I was the one who reported them. By listing me as one of the
suspects, they were protecting me. I told you before. You don’t just walk away
from people like that. That’s why I went to live in Montana for a while. The
authorities encouraged me to disappear until all of the people involved were
incarcerated. Montana was the most obscure place I could think of.”

Michael
slid next to me on the bench. He looked completely exhausted. “
Mon coeur
,
what you need to understand before you marry me is that two of the general
partners managed to escape prosecution. They are still missing. I’m sure they
have their suspicions about me, which is why I have all of this security… not
to mention the fact that the terrorists could discover I was the one who
destroyed their money laundering operation. They lost billions when those accounts
were frozen.”

He
grasped my face. “Kristine, do you understand? By falling in love with you, I
have put you in grave danger. If they come for me, they will hurt you. This is
why Rafael behaved the way that he did when he forced you into the safe room.”

I
pulled his hands away. I needed to process what he said, and I couldn’t do it
while looking at him. I forced my eyes from his face as I rose from the bench.
I walked up to the fountain. I shivered, then hugged my chest as I watched the water
churn around the lovers’ feet. Slowly, I tried to fit each piece of information
into the right box.

First,
the terrorist box. Michael wasn’t connected to the car bombs at the Pentagon; he
didn’t knowingly invest funds for terrorists; he quit the firm when he learned
they were involved with terrorists; he reported the firm and the terrorists to
the government of Portugal; and he risked his life to shut the operation down.
I glanced over my shoulder at Michael. He looked wrecked. This spoke volumes
about Michael’s character and his integrity. He was an honorable man, not a
criminal.

I
turned back around to face the fountain. My eyes lingered on the sculpture. Now
for the Kri and Michael box. Michael had loved me from the very beginning. I
refused to let him prove it. He tried to make me happy… he proposed, he offered
me a ring, he planned an engagement trip, he bought a house he thought I’d like,
he stocked the house with things he knew would comfort me, and he gave me time
to heal from the abduction even though it was painful for him to do so. Michael
had also tried to keep me safe. He sent Rafael to watch over me, and he searched
for me when Justin kidnapped me. So, what had he done wrong? Michael
manipulated me and Mickey when he feared he was losing me to Kadyn. I sighed
heavily. Being manipulative was the only real strike against him.

Michael
walked up behind me. He rubbed my arms before wrapping his arms around me. I
could feel the tears on his cheek as he pressed his face to mine. “I don’t want
to add more fear and pain to your life; but, Kristine, I have tried to live
without you. I… I just can’t. Can you still love me? Can you still marry me,
knowing all of the risks?”

Fear
crept through my veins and chilled my blood. Still, my heart thumped a painful
objection at the thought of walking away. I sighed as I relaxed into Michael’s
arms. “Michael, everything you have told me has only made me love you more. I
can’t bear to be parted from you anymore than you can stand to be separated
from me. I won’t lie, Michael. I’m terrified. I’m terrified of what they might
do to you… terrified you might not be here one morning when I wake up… and I’m terrified
of what they would do to me or any children we might have.”

Tears
slid down my face. “I have spent my entire adult life living in fear. Fear has
stolen years from me, but I’m done being robbed. I won’t allow fear to control
me anymore. I love you, Michael. I love you enough to overcome this fear.”

Michael
didn’t respond. He couldn’t respond.

I
caressed his cheek. “We can do this, Michael. We can find a way to work through
these fears together.”

Michael
nodded. His lips brushed over my neck.

I
looked back up at the sculpture and marveled at how closely it reflected us in
this moment. “Can we go upstairs,
mon chérie
? I’m really tired, and I’d
like to eat something before I lie down.”

Michael
turned me around. He held my face in his hands as he gently kissed me. “Of
course,
mon amour.
I’d like to lie down with you and hold you for a while
if that’s okay.”

As
we walked back to the house, I thought about how my feelings toward Michael had
changed with his confession. I was already deeply in love with him, but the
threats we were facing added a layer of desperation to that love… the kind of
desperation that comes with knowing your days together might be numbered.

*
* * * * *

The
next morning, Michael lie next to me in bed, lightly running his finger down my
forehead, nose, and chin, then around each temple and cheekbone. I watched him
as he watched his finger trail over my face.

“I
think I know how we might be able to fix some of my mistakes,” he murmured as
his fingers repeated their previous path.

“Oh?
And which mistakes would those be?” I asked tentatively.

Michael’s
finger stopped tracing my face. “Taking you from your family and threatening the
office manager.”

I
propped myself up on my elbow and gave Michael my full attention.

Michael’s
brows furrowed as he considered the merits of his plan. “What if I send Rafael
to smooth things over with the office manager? You said her name is Mickey?”

“Yes...”
I admitted hesitantly. I wasn’t sure I liked where this plan was heading.

“What
if Rafael goes to her and explains the situation, extends my apologies, and
offers some support or assistance to make up for what happened?”

I
frowned. “Shouldn’t
you
be the one apologizing?”

Michael
shook his head. “She would be too afraid to listen if she saw me.”

My
eyes narrowed skeptically. “What kind of assistance would you be offering?”

Michael
shrugged. “Therapy if she needs it. If she doesn’t, then maybe there is some
other way I can help her, like setting up an education fund.”

My
frown deepened. “Isn’t that considered bribery? You’re offering money so she’ll
drop the charges.”

Michael
ran his finger over my forehead as he tried to smooth the worry lines away. “I
don’t know. There is a fine line between gifts and bribery. If Rafael can
convince her that I regret what I did to her, that I haven’t hurt you, that I
love you, that you love me, and we are happy together; that information alone
might be enough for her to drop the charges, especially since I didn’t hurt her.
The financial assistance would simply be a form of remediation.”