Fire & Desire (Hero Series) (14 page)

“I doubt you’ll be happy to return my call, Tiffany. I can
understand why, but if you could just give me a chance to explain…
please
?”
Trevor knew he was begging, but he couldn’t help it. He was willing to crawl to
Tiffany on his knees and grovel if that’s what it took to get her to hear him
out. He just wanted to explain. Then maybe she would give him another chance
once he told her everything.

This wasn’t how he had envisioned the truth coming out. He had
made plans at a restaurant for that evening, specifically for the purpose of
confessing. By the looks of things, those needed to be canceled.

When Tiffany had walked out of the governor’s office, he’d known
at that moment he might have lost the best thing that had ever happened to him.

“Man,” Trevor berated himself. “I shouldn’t have lied to her. I
should have told her the truth a long time ago and trusted what we had
together.”

Trevor started his car, pulled out of the parking lot and into
lunch hour traffic.

After the news he’d gotten from Tim Patterson, he should be
celebrating. There was no way he could be excited when he didn’t know if there
would ever be a place for him in Tiffany’s life.

Fourteen

“Tiffany, come in!”

A soft voiced greeted Tiffany. Her pastor’s wife, Paula, had been
a confidant since her mother’s death.

“Hi, Mrs. Paula, I hope I’m not disturbing you.” Tiffany entered
the house and was enfolded in a warm hug by the other woman. It always
astounded Tiffany that she could pull so much comfort from Paula, who was much
shorter and petite.

“Never. I was just making a list of the things I need to pack for
Pastor and my annual trip to Italy. We’re headed to Venice this time.”

Tiffany envied Paula’s joy in her relationship.

“That’s great,” Tiffany followed her through the house.

“Your timing is perfect; the tea just finished boiling. Have a
seat.”

Tiffany sat quietly as she watched Paula putter around the
kitchen, grabbing cups and saucers and dessert plates.

Paula joined Tiffany at the table and served them both tea and a
slice of her famous pound cake.

Even with all of the emotions churning inside of her, Tiffany
couldn’t resist a bite of the cake.

“Hmm, that’s good.” Tiffany’s eyes closed of their own volition as
her mouth savored the bite.

“It always pleases me that you like it,” Paula spoke softly. “Now
tell me what’s wrong.”

Tiffany laid her fork down next to the plate, not wanting to ruin
the cake by fidgeting with it. “I look that bad, huh?”

Paula placed a reassuring hand over Tiffany’s. “No, you don’t. But
I can see you’ve been crying.”

“I’ve been a fool.”

“Oh, that’s hard for me to believe. You’ve always made very sound
choices.”

Tiffany snickered. “I used to think I was capable of making wise
decisions. Then…”

“Then what?”

Tiffany could no longer stop the tears from welling up in her eyes
again. “Then I met a man who made me lose myself.”

“Oh, honey, that’s not always a bad thing.” The minister’s wife
reached over and rubbed her shoulder. “Who is this man?”

Tiffany reached for a napkin off the table and wiped her eyes,
then began to fidget with the edges of the napkin. Paula would only be the
second person she had told about her marriage to Trevor.

Paula sat quietly at the table, waiting for Tiffany to speak.

Looking at the older woman, she said, “He’s my husband, Mrs.
Paula.”

Tiffany waited for the censorship, but it never came.

“If you got married without Pastor performing the service, it must
have been a spur of the moment decision.”

“It was.”

“Tell me about this man that swept you off your feet.”

Tiffany gave a smile and a small laugh, thinking of Trevor always
put a joyous feeling in her heart, even when she was mad at him. “Mrs. Paula,
honestly, we got married in Vegas under a weird set of circumstances. It was
attraction at first sight…but not love at all.”

“Is it love, now?”

“Yes.” Tiffany took a breath, reached for her tea and sipped.

“That’s all that matters, Tiffany,” Paula said firmly.

Rising from the table, Tiffany stood behind the chair, feeling too
anxious to be still.

“Mrs. Paula, if you understood what he has done over the course of
this
marriage
. You would probably be telling me to head for the hills
far away from Trevor.”

“Trevor. That’s a strong name. I had a friend once who named her
child that… if I remember correctly, it means prudent.”

A burst of laughter erupted from Tiffany, too quick to stop. She
sat back in the chair and reached for another napkin to wipe the tears of humor
away.

“Trevor is anything but…”

Paula glanced at Tiffany with a soft smile and a slight tilt of
her head. “You know most people hear the word prudent and think prude or
someone that is moralistic.” She reached her hand across the table to Tiffany’s
again, in a reassuring gesture. “It is the ability to govern and discipline
oneself by the use of reason. Therefore, it’s possible to an outsider that
Trevor might have married you on a whim, or that he has been reckless in the
handling of it. Just maybe this is all part of Trevor’s plan.”

“That’s a scary thought,” Tiffany mumbled. “With all this mess, I
couldn’t begin to figure out what his plan could be.”

“Well, you’ll never know what it entails until you talk to him,”
Paula said confidently.

Tiffany looked at her minister’s wife and smiled. “I know better
than to ask how you know I haven’t spoken to him yet.”

Paula answered Tiffany’s smile with one of her own.

“Well, I have held you up long enough. So I’m going to finish my
cake, then I’m out of your hair.”

Paula’s smile brightened. “I’ll even send you home with a slice
…or two.”

~ML~

Trevor slowly pulled his car along the curb in front of the fence
incased executive mansion in Capitol Square. He allowed his car to sit idle as
he looked through the gate at the house. The fact that he stared upon the oldest
continuously occupied governor’s residence in the United States didn’t even
cross his mind. There was no thought of being impressed with the past when he
didn’t know if there would be a future for him and Tiffany.

He was angry. Everything within him desired to walk up to the
house and ask if Tiffany was there. Earlier, he’d gone by her house and knew
she wasn’t home.

She was avoiding him.

He’d hoped she would be with her father, even though it could mean
possible disaster for his company and its newly won contract.

It would have been simple for him to turn his anger away from
himself and toward Tiffany for not revealing their relationship to her father.
But he couldn’t do it. More than half of this problem was his.

He was the one who’d sought her out in the beginning.

Deep down, he was the one who didn’t want to jeopardize his career
by allowing the truth to come out.

Tap, tap, tap.

Trevor was jolted out of his musing by knuckles rapping against
his passenger side window.

Damn.
The last thing he needed was some estate guard hounding him about
his presence in front of the property at night. With no one else out loitering
the block, he was an easy target for harassment.

Exhaling slowly, Trevor pressed the button in the center console
to roll the window halfway down.

“This is really pathetic,” the man said as he stooped down to
speak into the opening.

“Manning,” Trevor growled.

His was the last face Trevor expected to appear above the
half-massed glass.

“Trevor Wayne…you always seem to have a habit of being in places
you don’t belong.” A smug smile spread across Manning’s face.

Trevor desired to wipe it off.

“What brings you to
this
side of town…dreaming big again?”
Manning laughed.

That laugh sent chills of remembrance shimmering down Trevor’s
spine.

Trevor quickly undid his seatbelt and leaped out the car. Standing
in the door opening, looking across the hood, Trevor spoke to his old college
rival, “You’re the last person who needs to talk to me about my dreams.”

Manning began to take steps around the trunk of Trevor’s car. “But
I know your dreams…”

Trevor stepped toward him. “You don’t know a
damn
thing
about me.”

“Of course I do…. scholarship boy.” Manning stopped.

Trevor counted the two feet it would take him to reach Manning.

“You always make sure I never forget it.” Trevor could feel his
jaw muscles flexing as he clinched his teeth.

Manning took one step too many, as he came face to face with
Trevor. “You know, Trevor, there is no charity Pell Grant program that will get
you into Tiffany Selina’s panties.

Stay the hell away from
my
woman.”

Before Trevor realized what was happening, Manning threw a sucker
punch. Trevor barely moved in time to keep from being clocked. He sidestepped
then slammed Manning against the side of his car. Trevor’s sense of touch
heightened as he wrapped his hands around his nemesis’ throat.

Shock registered into his adversary’s eyes. Manning had always
been a coward.

“You know I could kill you.” Trevor’s hands squeezed a little
tighter. “I could snuff your life out…without taking a breath to think about
it.”

Manning’s body began to flail against the car as his hands gripped
Trevor’s in an attempt to remove them.

“Do you think anyone would miss you? How long do you think it
would take for them to find your worthless body?”

“You’d…never…get away…with it,” Manning croaked on raspy breaths.

“I wonder what my reward would be for ridding the world of a
parasite like you.” Trevor could taste the sweetness of revenge as anger
permeated throughout his body. This is what he’d dreamed about. This was what
he had always wanted.

“Jail—” Manning squawked.

“You think I care about that?”

Manning began to make choking sounds while frantically clawing at
Trevor’s hands.

“What I cared about, you took away. Do you even think about the
life you stole carelessly? Does she haunt you at night?”

Manning’s gasps continued.

Trevor looked at the man he held in his clutches. Christopher
Manning, the spoiled rich kid. The person who could kill someone and walk away
untainted. Manning took away one dream and one life and never paid. He was
poison.

Poison.
Trevor didn’t consider himself poison. If he killed Manning, he
wouldn’t be any better than the man he despised. He would have willingly
allowed the toxin into his blood like an eager junkie. Trevor wanted more than
that. He wanted a future unencumbered by any more nightmares.

Trevor let go and stepped back and watched Manning’s body crumble
against the side of his car.

“You’re not worth it.”

Manning coughed and choked on the gulps of oxygen rapidly filling
his greedy lungs.

Trevor turned and walked back toward his driver’s side door that
stood open, patiently awaiting his return. He slid into the car and was in the
process of closing the door when he heard Manning’s words.

“Rebecca was nothing but a high priced whore who could be bought
for any frat party entertainment. No one even said her name a month after she—”

The force of Trevor’s fist contacting with Manning’s jaw ended his
stream of words.

“I did.” Trevor turned back to his vehicle, got in and drove off.

Manning’s body lay unconscious in the street.

~ML~

The sanctuary was dim. The church’s lights were low, but it was a
representation of how Trevor felt. He walked to the front of the church and sat
down in the front pew. He chuckled sarcastically. He hadn’t been in a church in
years, and even then, he would have been fighting for the back row. Now that he
was in serious need of solace, the front pew appeared very welcoming to him.

Trevor sat down, closed his eyes and waited. He didn’t know what
he was expecting, but he knew he needed help.

He knew he’d messed up with Tiffany and didn’t know how to fix it.

A slight throbbing in his hand reminded him of his confrontation
with Manning. Looking down at his hand as he flexed it, he reflected on his old
mantra…
One day Christopher “Golden Boy” Manning, you’ll lose something that
you hold dear…I’ll see to it personally.

Trevor had always believed that when he began to serve Manning his
just desserts, it would feel good. He would get chills of vindication running
up and down his spine and he’d celebrate.

Tiffany’s face came to his mind. He hadn’t considered that he
could hurt the people who were associated with Manning.

No, he didn’t feel like celebrating.

“May I help you?”

Trevor opened his eyes and looked up to the ceiling when he heard
the melodic male voice, expecting Gabriel, the messenger angel, to have
appeared.

Shaking himself for the wayward thought, he turned around and
located the man standing in the center of the aisle, a few rows back.

 “I’m sorry if I’m trespassing. I just needed a place to think.”

The man moved closer. “This is one place no one could ever
trespass.”

As the man stood next to the seat Trevor was in, he could see him
more clearly. The man stood about a foot shorter than him and was casually
dressed in jeans and a T-shirt with a wool Ascot cap in his hand. Trevor
figured he was the custodian there to check up on the place during the week.

“Do you mind if I sit with you for a moment?”

Trevor slid down the bench a little further and turned back toward
the front of the church.