Breathless (22 page)

Tara approached
Keith and took his hand. Kissing his cheek, she said, “Your speech
was beautiful. I know they loved it.”

“Thanks.”

Keith didn’t
know why he felt so melancholy. Maybe because Tara had been doing
her best to keep him at arm’s length the past few weeks. They’d
been sharing a bed, but whenever he told her he loved her, her only
response was a smile. He didn’t know what more he could do to win
her over.

“Are you okay?”
she asked, squeezing his hand.

“Yeah, I’m
fine.” He watched Ava and Brent dancing. Brent’s head was bent and
he was whispering something in her ear that made her smile. They
looked so happy, so in love. Keith wondered whether he and Tara
would ever get to that place.

The M.C. asked
the bridal party to join the bride and groom, so Keith led Tara to
the middle of the grand ballroom. Taking her in his arms felt so
right, but she still seemed to be wearing a suit of armor, and he
didn’t know how to break through it.

Laying her head
on his shoulder, she said, “It was a beautiful wedding, wasn’t
it?”

“Yeah, it was
great.” Keith knew he wasn’t very talkative, but he didn’t know
what to say. No words could express his frustration, especially
because he’d promised to be patient and wait as long as it took for
her to come around. He’d only invested a few weeks and was already
discouraged. What did that say about him?

“It’s been a
crazy day.” She tilted her head back to look at him. “I’m pretty
tired. How about you?”

“Not really.”
He was too restless to even think about sleep. The nights he’d had
her in his arms, he’d never slept better, yet it still wasn’t
enough. He wanted Tara to look at him the way Ava looked at Brent,
as though she couldn’t imagine her life without him. He was
beginning to wonder whether that day would ever come.

Tara said, “I
didn’t intend to bring this up tonight, but…”

Anxiety
tightened Keith’s gut. He knew whatever it was, he wouldn’t like
it.

***

“My uncle
called me earlier. My parents told him about the fire.”

“And?”

“He has a
place…” Tara’s heart beat so hard, she was sure he could feel it.
She didn’t want to lose him, but she couldn’t pass up the
opportunity. If things didn’t work out with Keith, she may never
get a similar chance, and she would always regret not taking her
uncle up on his generous offer.

“Go on.”

“It’s a little
house, not far from the downtown core. He’s been renting it out for
years, but the tenants gave their notice last night.”

“I see.”
Keith’s arm tightened around her waist, almost as though he was
trying to prevent her from slipping away. “What did you tell
him?”

“You know I’ve
always wanted a little house of my own,” she said quietly. She
couldn’t even look him in the eye. “He’s offered me a great
deal—the same as I was paying in rent. He even said he’d waive the
first month and security deposit and work out a lease-to-own deal.
He and his wife want to retire to Florida next year, and they don’t
want the headache of owning a rental property in another state. He
said I’d be doing them a favor by taking it off their hands.”

“So you’re
moving out?” The muscle in his jaw flexed as he stared at the bride
and groom to avoid looking at her.

“I hope you
understand.”

“Does this mean
you’re ending it? You don’t want to be with me anymore—”

“Excuse me,
guys. I need a word with you.” Derek McCall stood beside them and
put his hand on Keith’s shoulder. “I hate to do this here, but it’s
important.”

Keith stepped
back and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Is this official police
business, Chief?”

Looking at the
couples dancing around them, Derek lowered his voice. “I’m afraid
so. It’s about the fire investigation at your apartment, Tara. It
was turned over to my department when it became a criminal
investigation. Let’s take this outside.”

Keith and Tara
exchanged a look before they followed Derek through the ballroom’s
double doors. Sprinting in five-inch heels to keep up with their
long strides was not an easy feat, but Tara didn’t want to miss out
on anything.

“Okay, let’s
have it,” Keith said, crossing his arms. “We’re obviously talking
arson. Who’s responsible? What was the motive?”

When Derek
looked at Tara, she got a sinking feeling it had something to do
with her. Had she been the target? Did her landlady lose her home
because someone had a grudge against Tara?

“We arrested
Biagio Colletti earlier this evening,” Derek said.

“Oh my God.”
Tara gripped a large stucco pedestal for support when she feared
her knees might buckle. “Why would he do that? Why would he burn my
home down?”

“He wasn’t very
forthcoming when we hauled him in for questioning, but when we
found evidence at his house, he started talking.”

“Evidence?”
Keith practically spat.

“Let’s just say
he wasn’t an experienced criminal, or very smart for that matter.”
Derek leaned in closer. “It seems as though he thought if Tara
didn’t have anywhere else to go, she would stay with him.”

“He’s
delusional,” Tara said quickly. “I don’t want anything to do with
him. I’ve told him that a dozen times.”

“Evidently he
wasn’t getting the message. We think his next step was to take
Keith out of the equation. He hates that you’re moving on with
someone else, so he wanted to get rid of him.”

Tara’s stomach
pitched, but she forced herself to ask, “What do you mean?”

“He had the
crude elements on hand to construct a bomb,” Derek said. “When we
seized his computer, we found Internet searches for constructing
car bombs and a lot of information about Keith and his family.”

“That son of a
bitch was gonna come after my family?” Keith shouted.

“Sssh!” Tara
rested her hand on his back. “We don’t want to draw attention to
this. I don’t want to ruin Brent and Ava’s wedding reception.”

“I want to see
him,” Keith said, his nostrils flaring. “Can you arrange that,
Chief?”

“I don’t think
that’s a good idea,” Derek said.

Keith asked,
“How would you feel if some psycho was targeting the people you
loved? Wouldn’t you want five minutes alone with him?”

“Fine,” Derek
sighed. Reaching into his pocket, he extracted his cell phone.
“I’ll call the station and let them know you’re coming, but I can’t
get you any time alone with him. I know what would happen.”

“Don’t do
this.” Tara begged Keith as Derek put the phone to his ear and
stepped out of earshot. “Please.”

Keith didn’t
even look at her when he said, “I have to.”

“Just let the
police handle it. They have him in custody. He’s—”

“Don’t you get
it?” He scowled at her. “This is personal.”

“It’s all set,”
Derek said.

Tara reached
for Keith’s hand. “Let me come with you.”

He wouldn’t
even let her touch him. “Not a chance. This is between me and your
ex-boyfriend. Tell my brother and Ava I’m sorry I had to bail
early. I’ll call them before they leave for Fiji in the
morning.”

***

Tara was
sitting on an upholstered bench outside of the restroom when Ava
spotted her. “Hey, what are you doing out here all by yourself?”
Ava asked. “Where’s Keith?”

“He had to
leave.” Tara looked at her clenched hands, praying she had the
strength to get through the night without crying. Ava had been
waiting her entire life for that day, and it had been magical so
far. The last thing Tara wanted was to bring Ava down with her
problems. “He had an upset stomach.”

“You’re lying,”
Ava said, positioning her dress so she could sit down beside her
friend. “I can always tell when you’re lying.”

“Please…
don’t.” Tara looked away when her eyes filled with tears. “I don’t
want to lay this on you. Not today. It’s not fair.”

“Tell me what’s
going on,” Ava said. “You know I won’t leave you alone until you
do.”

Sighing, Tara
said, “Derek told us Biagio was responsible for the fire at my
place. Keith went to the police station to have it out with
him.”

“Are you
serious?” Ava asked, wide-eyed. “I knew that guy was a little off,
especially when he kept calling and texting, but I never really
thought he was dangerous.”

“Neither did
I.” Tara leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees. “If I
had, I would have taken out a restraining order. Not that I think
it would have done much good. It sounds like he was pretty
determined.” Tara would share the rest of the story another time.
Ava already knew more than enough.

“Why didn’t you
go to the police station with Keith?”

“I wanted to be
here for you guys.” That was true, but the reception was winding
down, and Tara and Keith could have left without being missed by
most of the guests. She hadn’t gone because she suspected he
couldn’t stand the sight of her.

Tara would
never forget the disgust in Keith’s eyes right before he got in the
limo. He must blame her for inviting that madman into their lives.
She would be gone before he returned home. She’d spend the night at
a cheap motel and make arrangements with her uncle in the morning.
Keith wouldn’t have to see her again… At least, not until Ava and
Brent returned from their honeymoon.

“Why don’t you
go home?” Ava put her arm around Tara’s shoulders. “You look
exhausted.”

“Home.” A tear
slipped down Tara’s cheek. “Right.” She hadn’t told Ava about her
uncle’s offer. She’d given Ava enough to worry about on the biggest
day of her life. “Maybe you’re right. I should just go home.”
Except she feared those four walls would feel like a prison without
Keith sharing it with her.

“You worthless piece
of shit,” Keith hissed into the plastic phone. It was probably a
good thing a piece of glass was between them. Otherwise, Brent
would have to spend his wedding night bailing his brother out of
jail.

“What do you
want?” Biagio asked, his dark eyes as sinister as they had been
that night at Jimmy’s.

Keith cursed
himself for not realizing how dangerous Biagio was that night. He’d
missed the signs because he’d been too preoccupied to see the
obvious. “I want to know what the hell you were thinking. She could
have been killed in that goddamn fire!” Keith tried to get himself
under control when a guard glared at him.

“I knew she
wasn’t there. The house was empty—I made sure of it.”

“So it wasn’t
until you realized that Tara had moved on that you contemplated
murder. Did you really think you would get away with it? A car
bombing?” Keith couldn’t deny fear was lancing his cool façade. He
realized how close he’d come to losing his life.

“I don’t know
what you’re talking about.”

“So you’re not
stupid enough to admit it, huh?” Keith smirked. He didn’t think he
would be, but it was worth a try. “They’ve already got you, man. No
way you’re getting out of this.”

“We’ll
see.”

“What did you
hope to gain by burning her home to the ground?” Keith couldn’t
understand what would prompt someone to take such extreme
measures.

“She couldn’t
stay with Ava because she’d just gotten engaged. Her family lives
too far away. Tara wouldn’t have wanted to impose on her friends,
so staying with me would have been the perfect solution.” Biagio
shrugged.

“You really are
out of your mind.” Keith shook his head in disbelief. “She didn’t
want to date you, yet you thought she’d consider staying with
you?”

Biagio’s stare
was vacant when he said, “Desperate people do desperate
things.”

“Evidently,”
Keith muttered. The limo ride over had given him time to calm down
and think about what he wanted to say. Knowing he may never get
another chance with Biagio, Keith asked, “Why couldn’t you just let
her go?”

The fierce
possessiveness Keith caught a glimpse of at the bar came back.
“Could you?”

Keith thought
about it. He may well find himself in Biagio’s position—figuring
out how to let go of the incredible woman he wanted to spend his
life with more than anything. Thinking he may actually have
something in common with a criminal scared him.

Pushing to his
feet, Keith said, “I hope they make your life a living hell in
here. You deserve nothing less after what you put her through.”

“I love her!”
he shouted.

The guard moved
in behind Biagio. Keith could see the guard’s lips moving, telling
Biagio to calm down or he was going back to the holding cell.

“You should
have thought of that while you had the chance.” Keith could barely
spit out the words. “It’s too late for you now.” Setting the phone
back in its cradle, he wondered if it was too late for him as
well.

***

Tara wandered
through Keith’s posh apartment looking for anything she may have
left behind. She wanted to do him the favor of wiping any trace of
their relationship from his life. He would be furious when he
returned home. Rightly so. First she’d blindsided him by telling
him about her uncle’s offer, and then Derek told him some madman
wanted to take his life.

Tara shuddered,
wondering if she’d been a target the night of the fire. Derek had
claimed Biagio was trying to get her back, but was he really trying
to get back at her for rejecting him? When she was satisfied she
hadn’t left anything, Tara traveled to the ground floor to leave
Keith’s key with Stan at the guard desk.

Stan smiled and
tipped his hat when he saw her approach. His eyes fell to her
inexpensive black suitcase. “Going somewhere?”

“Yeah, it’s
time for me to move on.” Eager to change the subject, she said,
“The wedding was lovely. I just know Ava and Brent are going to be
so happy together.”