Crazy For You (13 page)

He slipped his hand over the top of hers, his thumb gently stroking her skin. “You don’t need to stay and keep me company. I’ll be all right.”

“Nonsense.
I enjoy being with you.”

He squeezed her hand. “And I enjoy being with you.”

She sighed heavily. “I was just thinking of everything ahead of us, everything that has to be accomplished before we can get you out of here.”

“I wish I could help you. Unfortunately, everyone in this facility thinks I’m crazy. Doctor Goodwin is the only person who knows the truth.”

Once again, his eyes misted over and heaviness gathered in her chest. “Joshua, we will get you out of here.
Soon.”

He nodded and rubbed his eyes. When he met her gaze again, he smiled. “Is it too soon to tell you I think I’m falling in love with you?”

Humor laced the tone of his voice and, although heat rushed to her cheeks, she laughed. “I think you’re getting that emotion confused with gratitude.”

“Maybe...maybe not.”

He winked, and she cursed herself for thinking of Eli in that instant.

* * * *

The next morning,
Kendra
opened her front door to find her father standing there, his face void of color and worry etched in his eyes.

“We need to talk.” He pushed past her and walked into the apartment.

She closed the door and met him in the living room. “What’s wrong, Dad?”

“I don’t want you going near
Terrel
ever again. Is that clear?”

Suffocation tightened her chest. “Why? What did you find out?”

“My FBI friends are still checking things out, but if it’s as bad as it looks,
Terrel
isn’t a very good person at all. He just might have connections to the Mafia.”

Her heart lodged in her throat. She held onto the corner of the wall to keep from collapsing to the floor. “Are you serious?”

“It’s looking that way. Remember those names you gave me the other day?
Thomas
Pett
and Lance Monroe?”

She nodded.

“This morning, I received a call from my friend and he told me to warn you.
Pett
and Monroe are linked to the Mafia. If
Terrel
connects with them,
I’m worried what will happen to you
when his illegal operations are revealed. T
he FBI will not only arrest him
but
the
others linked to him.”

She covered her face with her hands. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

“It is.”

“Does
Terrel
know he’s being investigated?”

“Not yet. But he will soon.” He wrapped his arms around her. “So please be careful.”

“I will, I promise.” She paused,
then
asked, “What about Doctor Goodwin?”

“He’s also being investigated. I think he’ll be losing his job here shortly.”

“Why did he put his job on the line for
Terrel
?”

He patted her cheek. “Are you sure you want to know?”

“I think I already do.”

“Doctor Goodwin is a cocaine addict.
Terrel
is his supplier.”

She shook her head.
“Figured.”

“
Kendra
, honey, I’ve decided to hire a bodyguard for you. I don’t trust
Terrel
.”

“Do you really think he’s going to hurt me?”

“I don’t know, and I’m not going to find out.” He motioned his head toward her front window. “Outside in an unmarked vehicle is a man I’ve hired to protect you.”

“You think all of this is necessary?”

“Do this for your old man. Once this is all taken care of with
Terrel
, I’ll let Shane go, but for now Shane is here to protect you.”

He kissed the top her head, turned, and left. She let out a ragged sigh and leaned her forehead against the cold wall. What had she done in her life to become involved with such a man as
Terrel
Montgomery? Had they met by chance, or had he sought her out because of her father? It didn’t matter any longer. She must break it off with him immediately
, and
without
an audience…which meant she couldn’t have the bodyguard around. As long as she didn’t go into details with
Terrel
, she would dump him and leave and all would be well.

With her heart beating like an Indian drum
preparing for war
, she hurried and readied herself for the day, preparing to tackle the
Terrel
problem. It had to be done today, no matter how frightened she was of telling him.

She called George at the office to let him know she’d be coming in later. Thankfully, her friend understood. When she hung up the phone, her hand shook. She clasped it with her other and held it to her jumping stomach. She closed her eyes and breathed slow and deep, fighting for control.

This must be done.
Today.

She called the cab company and gave them an address one block away from
her house. She slipped out of
he
r
bedroom
window and fell into the bushes. Cursing, she jumped up and wiped the small branches off her clothes.

She peeked around the corner of the house and, thankfully, Shane still sat in the white Ford Taurus, acting as if he were reading the newspaper.

So far, so good.

It didn’t take long for the cab to pick her up. She gave the cabbie directions and told him to drive slowly. Peeking over her shoulder every other mile, she checked to see if Shane was following. Once again, she was in luck.

They arrived at the Montgomery Mansion within twenty minutes. She paid the cabbie,
asked him to wait, before she
climbed out, and walked up to the front door on shaky legs. Within seconds, the butler came to the door.

“I need to speak with
Terrel
. Is he here?”

“Yes. I’ll let him know you’re here.”

With a ragged sigh, she wandered into the parlor and to the liquor bar. She should pour herself a good amount of whiskey, but decided against it. She needed a level head right now, and although the alcohol would calm her nerves, she needed to think clearly.
Funny how she used to
want
a glass of liquor whenever she was with
Terrel
.
Now she didn’t.

The tile outside the parlor thudded from someone’s shoes, and she turned just in time to see
Terrel
strolling through the double doors. Wearing a three-piece, pinstriped gray suit, he looked as if he were on his way to work...or running for President of the United States. He smiled as he walked up to her and wrapped her in his arms. Hard to believe she preferred the
gruffy
look of Eli compared to
Terrel’s
perfect appearance.

“It’s about time you came out of your hole.” He kissed her lips, but she turned her head.

“What do you mean by that?” she asked.

“You’ve been holed up in your apartment for the past several days. Have you been sick?”

How does he know I’ve been in my apartment?
“Uh, yes, I was having my migraines again.”

“You’re feeling better, I hope.”

“Yes.” She stepped away from him and over to his sofa. “
Terrel
, I think we need to talk about the wedding.”

He lowered to the sofa, pulling her with him. “All right, honey-bear.”

She cringed, hating when he called her that name.

“What is it you need to talk about? Aren’t the plans going on schedule? Are you having a problem with the wedding planner? Do you need me to fire anybody?” He chuckled.

She rolled her eyes. He was so full of himself, thinking he had to do everything for her. She cocked her head to the side. “Actually, there is someone you could fire for me.”

His brows rose.
“Really?
Who is that?”

Here was her chance—she had to take it.
“My fiancé.”

It only took a second before he laughed out loud. He took her hand and stroked it. “Oh, honey-bear, I know I haven’t been very attentive lately, but the company has picked up business and we’re getting ready—”

“I don’t care about how inattentive you’ve been lately,
Terrel
.” She took a deep breath
, pulling her hand away from him
. “The reason I’m here is to...to...to cancel our engagement.
To stop everything.”

The laugh lines around his eyes and mouth disappeared, his brown eyes turning icy. “This is a little sudden. Are you getting cold feet perhaps?”

She moved to the window. Pulling back the white lace curtains, she gazed out to the green lawn and manicured hedges. She’d always thought this was a beautiful home. If it weren’t for Lisa and
Terrel
living here...but then Joshua would take over his house once he got out of the hospital.

She cleared her throat. “At first I thought I was getting cold feet, but the more I pondered about it, the more I realized—” She looked back at him. “I realized I didn’t really love you.” She shrugged. “I don’t believe I was in love with you before.”

A nerve on his cheek jumped, and his hands balled into fists but his expression remained calm. Too bad she couldn’t feel that emotion right now. Her heart was
playing leap frog with her other organs
so frantically
right now
, she thought she might have a heart attack.

Finally, after several earth-shattering silent minutes passed, he sat back on the sofa and rubbed his chin. “What made you decide this?”

She sighed heavily.
“Oh,
Terrel
.
Everything made me decide that. I’d been having really bad headaches, and I knew I wasn’t happy. I don’t like the way you belittle me, and I especially don’t like the way you never put me first in your life. All you and your mother wanted to do was control me, and I can’t have that kind of marriage.”

He stood and walked to her, his gaze burning right through her. “So, there’s no other man in your life that helped you come to this decision?”

Her heart jumped to her throat. She hoped he didn’t know about Eli. “No,
Terrel
.”

He nodded and folded his arms, wearing that all-too-familiar cocky, smug expression. “My brother Joshua didn’t sway you at all, huh?”

She sucked in a quick breath, and the blood drained from her face. Her tight throat made it impossible to swallow, so she gritted her teeth and held onto the edge of the window. “Joshua?” She shouldn’t have said anything, because she knew the quiver in her voice would tell him the true story.

It had. He arched a condemning eyebrow. “Yes, Joshua. You know, my brother.”

“The brother that died right after your father did?”

He reached out and took a lock of her hair, rubbing it through his finger and thumb. She tried not to flinch, but her body stiffened automatically.

“You know Joshua isn’t dead.”

She tried to steady her quick breaths.
“
Terrel
?
What are you saying?”

He narrowed his eyes on her. “Doctor Goodwin recognized you from our engagement photo. He thought I might like to know my future wife is visiting my loony brother.”

She slapped his hand away from her hair and scowled. “If anyone is loony, it’s you,
Terrel
. You know as well as I do Joshua isn’t crazy.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe what a greedy
man
you really are.
All of this because you had to be the president of your stepfather’s company.
All of this because you couldn’t stand to be second best.”

He released a growl before his claw-like fingers bit into her shoulders. He shook her. “Don’t ever talk to me like that. I deserve more respect.”

She wanted to spit in his face, but refrained for now. “You deserve every terrible thing you’ve done to your brother...and more. You’re the one who needs to be locked away from the rest of the world.”

His mouth twisted in an evil smile as he pulled her body against his, crushing her with his steel-like arms as they wrapped around her. He placed a not-so-tender kiss on her mouth and she squirmed.

“Oh, why, why did you have to find out?” he mumbled, pulling away just enough to glare into her eyes. “You know I can’t have you running around telling everyone about my brother. Soon, the right people will start asking questions and all hell will break loose.” He paused, his jaw hardening. “And I can’t have that, can I?”