Locked Away (Living With Lies Book 2) (29 page)

Now, I’m hoping Isabelle likes the house as much as I do. “We’re here,” I add before kissing the back of her hand. Her eyes widen when she understands that I’m referring to a house. “I hope you like it, but don’t get too excited. We’re only renting it. When we buy a house”—I squeeze her hand and smile “—we’ll pick it out together. In the meantime, I thought this house would make for a nice place to live.”

Her eyes go back to the house. “Can we go inside?” she questions without taking her eyes off the house.

“Of course.” I dig out the house key as we get out the car then walk up the porch. Once I get the door unlocked, I push the door open and motion for her to step inside.

She gasps and places her hand on her chest. “It’s beautiful.” It’s moments like these that I’m reminded how incredibly wrong I originally was about Isabelle. She doesn’t need fancy things or a lot of money to make her happy. She wants the same thing out of life that everyone does: to be surrounded by love.

“I’m glad you like it. I put a deposit down already.”

Isabelle walks through the rest of the house with a huge grin on her face. “We can put up the crib you bought,” she says, looking into the extra room.

“Yep. We can move in today if you’d like.”

She looks at me as her smile slowly vanishes. “Have you talked to Alex yet about this? I mean ...” She pauses to clear her throat. “He’s my brother, and I can’t live with him forever, but I don’t want him to feel like I’m deserting him.”

I walk over and place my hand on her chin then tilt her head back. “You’re not deserting him. You two have a lot of time to make up for, but you both need to live your own lives while doing that. He might be a little disappointed, but he’ll understand, not to mention, he can come over here anytime he wants.” I told Alex I was looking for a place for Isabelle, the baby, and myself. He didn’t look excited but he is okay with his sister moving out.

Alex isn’t anywhere near the level of a man whore I once was, but he’s been with his fair share of women since I’ve met him, and I know living with his sister has put a damper on his sex life. The way I see it, us moving out is a win-win situation for everyone involved.

“I know you’re right. Now that I’ve gotten to know him, I feel guilty.”

I pull her body tight against mine. “But you shouldn’t. What happened wasn’t your fault,” I say, telling her something I’ve probably said a thousand times already. Unfortunately, the only thing that’s going to help them is time. “Let’s head back to the apartment and start packing our stuff.”

Isabelle smiles then nods. It’s funny how life gave me the exact thing I’ve spent years avoiding, and now that I have it, I’ll do anything to keep it.

****

“Uncle Kiran, I want you to move back in with me,” Callie whines. After we broke the news to Alex—who was slightly upset but still understanding—we made the trip over to Gavin and Kate’s to inform them of our plans.

“I know you do, sweet pea, but I’m not going to live very far from you. I’ll still see you all the time.” Callie gives me a sad smile before wrapping me up in a hug.

“Do you have a security system installed in the house yet?”

Gavin’s question causes Isabelle’s nose to scrunch. “I think we’ll be fine. I’ve been back in Denver for close to six weeks now and not once has anything happened.” From Isabelle’s tone, it’s clear she thinks we’re referring to her father—who I know she secretly hopes is alive—but Gavin and I are worried about that punk kid that screwed her family over.

“Isabelle,” I softly say, hoping to lessen the blow of my next comment. “Your friend spent years planning a life with you and you’ve robbed him of that. You could live ’til you’re a hundred years old, and as long as Manuel Ramos is still alive, we’ll need to be careful.” Isabelle’s mouth drops open and her breathing picks up.

“I don’t think we need to live our lives in fear, but I agree with Gavin. We should have a security system installed before we move in.”

Isabelle slowly nods her head. “Okay.”

“Can I name the baby?” Callie asks, causing everyone in the room to laugh.

“What’s your suggestion?” I challenge.

“Hans,” she proudly says as both Gavin and I groan at the same time.

“Sorry, kid. I’m not naming my son after the prince in
Frozen
.” Callie narrows her eyes and sticks out her lip. “The pouty lip isn’t going to work this time. When your parents start spitting out kids, you can try all you want for your own Hans.”

“No,” Gavin hollers, causing both Isabelle and Kate to burst out laughing.

Before we moved to Denver, Callie was on a
Frozen
kick. She watched—and by default, so did Gavin and I—that movie all the damn time. With the move and school, she doesn’t watch it nearly as often as she did, but she’s still stuck on the characters. Maybe for her next birthday I should find a new movie to buy her.

“Let’s go to lunch soon. We can go baby clothes shopping afterward,” Kate says, causing Callie to jump up and down. “Me too. I wanna go.”

“I would love that,” Isabelle tells both of them.

“Do you guys want to stay for dinner?” Kate asks, looking at the two of us.

“Sure, but we can’t stay long. I told Alex we’d be back soon.” I wish Isabelle could move past her guilt where Alex is concerned, but something tells me it’s going to take a while for that to happen.

****

“I think I want to learn how to drive,” Isabelle says as we’re walking out to the car. We’re going out for a quick lunch before picking up the last of the things Isabelle claims we need for our son.

“You want to drive,” I breathily say over the top of the car as my anxiety begins to increase.

Isabelle’s eyes narrow. “Yes,” she snaps. I swear my heart gets caught in my throat at the idea of her driving.

“Do you think that’s a good idea?” I stupidly ask, causing her to huff before sliding into the car and slamming the door shut. “Shit,” I mumble to myself.

In the last few weeks, Isabelle has finally dropped the last of her outer shell. Her cute, feisty, and very hormonal personality, is always front and center, and I’m almost positive I’m about to have my ass handed to me.

I open the driver’s side door and climb in, but I make no attempt to start the car. I glance over at the only woman who can make me angry and happy within the same breath, but she’s keeping her harsh stare pointed out the passenger window. After a deep breath, I reach out and take her hand in mine.

“If you want to drive, then I’ll teach you,” I say, hoping she’ll look at me, but she doesn’t. I sigh and try again. “There are crazy fucking drivers on the road and the idea of you and my son out on the streets with them scares the crap out of me. Once you learn how to drive, I know you’ll be great.” Slowly, she turns her head and gives me a small smile.

“Let’s wait until the baby gets here and we’re settled then I’ll teach you. I promise.” We have less than four weeks before Isabelle’s due date, and while I’ll never admit this to her, her hormones are all over the place. Teaching her to drive right now is a recipe for disaster.

“This summer. I want to learn before the snowy season hits.” Growing up in Mexico, Isabelle acts like the world stops for snow, and in Denver, I assure you it doesn’t, but I would rather her not get out when the weather is bad so I won’t push the issue.

“Perfect. Now please forgive me for being an ass.” She cracks a smile before leaning over and kissing me.

I didn’t know couples could fight this easy. Growing up, my parents screamed and yelled, and my mother always stormed off crying. On the rare occasion when I imagined what my life would be like if I had a family of my own, I pictured my childhood, which was reason enough to never want a family.

I haven’t known Isabelle for very long, and life can always throw us a curveball, but I think if you pick the right person from the start, then even the bad days are ones worth remembering.

Isabelle

“This crib is beautiful,” Kate says, rubbing her hand across the edge. “You still haven’t picked out a name yet?” she questions with a smile.

I shrug. “Not really. We both come up with ones but end up hating the name within a day.” I chuckle as I waddle my ass to the kitchen for something to eat.

Kiran and I moved into our house about a month ago. I know Kiran will always worry about my safety, but it seems like my old life has moved on without me, and thankfully, that’s caused everyone to relax. We have an alarm on the house that Kiran keeps set at all times, but other than that, our life feels almost normal.

Alex still stops by more than an average brother probably does but I think that has less to do with my past and more to do with the future he’s building with me and his soon to be nephew.

“I can’t believe he’s gone,” Kate finally says as her voice cracks. “I barely knew him, yet his death was almost as hard on me as my own parents.” Kate looks away from me and out the window. I could ease her pain and tell her what I think—that Damian is alive—but even if he is, there’s a good chance neither of us will see him again. While Kate is in pain, she appears to have accepted his death. Giving her false hope will only hurt her more in the long run.

“What was he like?” she finally asks, turning her eyes back to me.

A small laugh escapes me. “I used to hate you—or I wanted to hate you. Did you know that?” Kate’s eyes flash before she shakes her head no.

“I wanted to hate you because Damian fell in love with you from the day he knew you existed.” Her eyes water. “That’s the kind of man he was.” I pause, pushing down my own tears. “A lot of people might call Damian horrible things, but to me, he’ll always be my daddy.”

Kate sniffles. “I love that. I love that he was everything you needed him to be. And thank you ...” I give her a baffled look. “Thank you for being everything he needed in return. He might have taken the wrong baby, but he didn’t regret you for a second because you were and always will be Damian’s little girl.”

I wipe away a tear and chuckle. “You always make it so darn hard to hate you,” I joke.

“Good, because you might have to beat me off with a stick after that baby is born,” she adds with a smile.

“I’m sure we’ll need all the babysitters we can get,” I tell Kate as she starts walking toward the door. She picks up her purse and gives me a serious look. “Thanks for listening to me. It’s hard to talk about him with Gavin. He sees everything so black and white sometimes,” she adds with a shrug.

“Damian lives in a gray world. Believe me, I understand.”

Kate gives me a weak smile. “I need to get going.”

“Thanks for coming over.” I give Kate a hug before she walks out to her car.

I eat a light snack before wandering back to the baby’s room. I’m sorting through all the thousands of things everyone has purchased for him when I hear a knock at the door. I glance out the window but I don’t see anyone. I start to walk away when I hear a knock again. Deciding Kate must have returned, I open the door. Instantly, my heart sinks to my stomach. Standing before me is Manuel Ramos—my childhood best friend, the man who threatened to kill me—and I just willingly opened our front door.

“What?” I barely get out before he slams his hand over my mouth. Manuel starts dragging me out of the house and toward a dark van. Panic sets in as I realize what’s about to happen. I latch my teeth down on his hand, causing him to scream before he backhands me.

“You bitch,” he yells as another man I’ve never seen before jumps out of the back of the vehicle and helps Manuel drag me into the van.

The door slams shut as a third man drives us away. Manuel looks down at my stomach with disgust on his face. “I can’t believe you’d do this to me. You of all people.” He shakes his head and clenches his teeth. I suck in a breath as fear sets in.

“I had plans for us. I was going to make you fucking happy,” he growls. I learned a lot of things growing up in my father’s home, and one of them was to know when to keep my mouth shut, which is what I’m doing now.

“Everything is screwed the fuck up and it’s all your damn fault.” The vehicle continues racing down the road as my eyes spot the man next to Manuel pointing a gun at me. I swallow and bring my eyes back to Manuel.

“You knew he was alive, didn’t you?” Manuel frantically asks, but again, I stay silent. This is the second conversation in the last hour I’ve had about him, only this time I have no idea what in the world Damian has done.

The vehicle slows down then comes to a complete stop before the back door is opened. “We’re here,” the driver says in Spanish.

An evil smile crosses Manuel’s face. “It’s time we finally have some fun,
friend
.” The other man grabs my foot, drags me to the edge of the van, and then yanks me out of the vehicle as hard as he can, which causes me to fall to the ground. I scream as pain shoots up my back.

The driver starts ranting in Spanish about keeping me quiet as Manuel grips my hand, forcing my arm painfully behind my back. “Shut
the hell up,” he breathes into my ear before shoving me in the direction of the other two men.

My eyes scan the area around us but nothing looks familiar. I’m guessing we weren’t in the van for more than ten minutes so we can’t be far from home, but seeing as I don’t drive anywhere, everything still seems foreign to me.