The Love She Craves: Selling Her Soul to Declan (5 page)

Declan’s face became stony. “Is he your boyfriend?”

“Jimbo? No, he’s just a customer. I see him five days a week, but I don’t even know if he’s married or single.”

Instinctively, Declan knew the man was single and hoped the kindness would culminate in a closer relationship. No married man would hand over his credit card without his wife’s permission. And few single men would lend it to a waitress without motive.

“You can give the card back to Jimbo. You’re my responsibility. I will pay for your meals and anything else you need,” he said. “Now pick out what you really want.”

In the end, she ordered stuffed French toast
with strawberry topping and he ordered an egg-white Denver omelet and half a grapefruit.

“Thank you for this, Dr. Stryker
,” she said, tears forming in her eyes. “I wish the kids could be here. They would love this.”

Declan’
s breath caught when he saw the look of vulnerability in her expression. And he wondered if that was how she would look after being punished. God, he needed to get control of himself.

“
Sir
,” he corrected. “We’ll get takeout for Cody when he’s out of the coma and when you get your kids back; we’ll all come here to celebrate if you’d like,” he said as much as to distract himself as to try to remove that expression from her face that made him want to fuck her.

“Thank you,” she said. “May I ask you something?”

He quirked an eyebrow drawing her attention to his eyes. She’d never noticed anyone with eyes like his before. It was as if the deepest layer of his iris was the color of gray steel, but the lens cast a green transparent layer over it. She looked deeply at his eyes to see if he was wearing contact lenses, but could see he wore none. Amazing.

“That’s why we’re here.”

It took her a moment to gather her thoughts and remember what she wanted to ask. “Is there a timeframe on our relationship? Or does it end when I get my family home?”

Declan press
ed against the vinyl seat back. “There’s no guarantee about the kids,” he reminded her. “How much do you earn in a year?”

“When the economy is good, I make maybe sixteen or seventeen thousand. Last year less.”

“Really? You support all four of you on so little money?”

Her eyes dropped and she shrugged. “I do the best I can. I dropped out of high school. It’s probably the only kind of job I can get.”

Declan frowned. It surprised him that she dropped out. Unlike the other students in the cafeteria who socialized after lunch, Onyx always pulled out her textbooks and studied when she finished eating. But he supposed even then, he knew it was her way of not drawing attention to the fact she always ate alone. “I’m not judging you. I’m actually impressed,” he said reaching out and interlacing their hands together. “Let’s round it up and say for every twenty thousand the lawyer charges, I get you for one year. All overages round up to the next year. So if it costs $21,000, I get you for a full two years. Deal?”

She hesitated. “If it’s that small of an amount, I’d like to have the option of repaying you the overage rather than automatically rolling over to another year.”

The muscle in his jaw twitched. “Only up to five grand. After that, the option is off the table.”

“Deal,” she said quickly pulling her hand out of his grasp and then extending it for a handshake. “So are we keeping this on the D.L.?”

He laughed. “I have to say that’s an expression I never thought I’d use, but yeah. Everything having to do with the lifestyle is strictly on the down low. And for now, I don’t want the hospital to know more than we knew each other in high school.”

The waitress brought their food a minute or two later. Declan pulled two clear packets filled with capsules from the pocket of his white dress shirt.

“Vitamins,” he said simply ripping open the first packet and handing her the contents. “You belong to me for the next year. It’s my job to care for your needs.”

As he took his first bite, his phone went off. “It never fails.” In a glance, he looked at the display and slid his finger across. “Dr. Stryker….Did you call Dr. Patel? He’s the attending….Of course….Let’s not take any chances. Give him a unit of blood and get ultrasound down there. Don’t let them put you off until later. I want him seen within the hour….Call me back as soon as his results are in.”

He hung up without saying goodbye.

“Is it Cody?”

He nodded as he cut a bite of eggs with his fork. “His blood pressure dropped a little. It’s not major, but I’ve ordered an ultrasound to look for blood in his abdomen.”

Nyxie put her napkin on the table and started to slide out of the booth when she realized he intended to keep eating. “Shouldn’t we go back to the hospital?”

“He’s fine in Rachel’s care. She’s a bitch, but she’s good at her job and she’s not going to let ultrasound put him off,” he said picking up his phone again. “While I have my phone out, give me your cell phone number.”

“I don’t have one. My landlady put an extension of her phone into our apartment for emergencies. I can give you that number or the number at the truck stop where I work.”

“We’ll get you a cell phone after breakfast.”

“Declan, I can’t afford that—especially since I’m missing work.”

He rolled his eyes. “I’m taking care of you now. I’m going to put you on my plan. Eat up. We’ve got a lot to do this morning.”

“We do?”

“Lawyer, cell phone.”

“Oh.” She picked up a piece of bacon with her fingers, swiped it through her syrup and bit it in half.

“It’s my turn to ask you something,” he said and waited until she made eye contact before asking his question. “What do you remember after CPS took the girls?”

She paused in her chewing as she stared off into space. “I remember you—you touched my back. I remember yelling at some nice man to go fuck himself. I kind of woke up before we went into Cody’s room.”

“Has it happened before?”

She seemed reluctant to answer. “A couple of times,” she said slowly.

“Do you have any idea how much time passed?” She shook her head. “Do you remember peeing in front of me?”

Color stained her cheeks. “I didn’t….”

“Afraid so,” he said with a chuckle.

Her hands flew to her burning cheeks, her eyes clenched tightly. “I’m so sorry. Oh, my God, I can’t believe I did that.”

“I didn’t look by the way.”

“Thank you.”

He pulled her hands away from her face and tilted his head waiting until Nyxie slowly opened her eyes.

“Do you have any control over it?”

“I don’t know. When Lotus called to tell me Cody got hit, I felt confused and on the verge, but I knew I had to stay in the moment because the kids needed me. But I barely remember the ride into Lubbock. Thank God, Jimbo took charge.”

Declan’s ire worked his jaw again. “I bet he’s just a good ol’ boy, isn’t he?”

She shrugged. “I appreciate him stepping up. I’m sure he was late getting back to work and everything.”

“Maybe they’ll canonize him.”

Struck by his sarcasm, Nyxie realized he didn’t like her talking about another man and tried to minimize it. “Jimbo is twice my age and three times my weight. He always tips me one dollar no matter what the ticket is.”

“I bet he’s sweet on you.” Declan pulled out his wallet and placed some money on the ticket.

“I don’t know. I never noticed. Men are so far off my radar, it usually takes another waitress to point out when a customer is flirting with me.”

6

“So,” he said as they stepped into the parking lot. “Was IHOP everything you were hoping for?”

“Yes. Absolutely. Thank you, sir.” She smiled widely at him then felt guilty for smiling when her whole life was in chaos. “The closest thing to fancy breakfast food we eat is when I make Elvis pancakes.”

He glimpsed the fleeting smile and felt caught off-guard. It took him a moment to realize he couldn’t remember seeing her smile before. Surely, that wasn’t true. But if it wasn’t, how could he have forgotten the shape of her lips when she smiled? Her lips were naturally dark against her alabaster skin and her bottom lip bowed out in a pout that looked sexy as hell and revealed her white teeth and narrow jaw.

“I’ve never even heard of Elvis pancakes.”

“You put cooked bacon in your pancakes and heat your syrup on the stove with some bananas and peanut butter. I like to make it for the kids for their birthdays.”

“You do like peanut butter. I wasn’t sure.” A crooked smile flashed across his face.

“What do you mean?” She eyed him suspiciously almost knowing what he was about to say.

“It took you two or three days to take home the jar of peanut butter I put in your locker.”

She stopped dead in her tracks and stared at him. “That was you? You were the one putting food in my locker? It was embarrassing enough to think a teacher put it in there, I would’ve been mortified to know it was a student.” Even now, she could feel the shame of accepting his charity.

“I couldn’t ignore that you were hungry. I’d see you in the cafeteria squirreling away food in your pockets. I always wanted to share my lunch with you, but I didn’t know how to do it without everyone finding out.”

“I took the food home for Cody. After Mama disappeared, we never had food in the house. I didn’t mind going without, but I hated to hear him crying because his stomach was empty.” Nyxie turned her face up to him and smiled sadly. “Thank you. We ate like kings while the peanut butter lasted.”

Declan compelled her forward and helped her into the Jeep.

What could one say to that? A jar of peanut butter was hardly a food of kings, but it obviously meant a great deal to her. If he had known, he would have found a way to put a jar of peanut butter in her locker every time one showed up in their pantry.

Had his father not been a coach, he might have skipped athletics after school and followed her home. But his absence would have been noticed. He couldn’t even fake sickness because his mom would have been all over him, hovering in her overbearing military exactness. And what would he have done if he had followed her home? If he knew about Cody, he might have increased the amount of food he put in her locker. But other than that, there wasn’t much he could have done.

As Declan pulled out into the street, he noticed she seemed fascinated by the way he shifted gears and he suspected she had little or no experience with manual transmissions. “So, why did it take you so long to take it home?”

“I couldn’t figure out how to get it home without everyone seeing me with a giant jar of peanut butter. I had enough problems without drawing more attention to myself.”

“Ah,” he said nodding sagaciously. It never occurred to him, the food he put in her locker embarrassed her. Since his father worked at the school, he’d been forced to ride to school early with him. It afforded Declan time before most of the kids arrived to put the food in her locker. Usually, he’d just grab an extra cereal bar or package of cheese crackers out of the pantry, but he rarely waited around in the freshman hall to see if she found them. He didn’t know if she arrived at the last minute, or didn’t go to her locker first thing, but the few times he’d watched for her, he’d been late to class and that wouldn’t have cut it with his father. But everything would be gone the next day—everything but the peanut butter.

“Dr. Declan, were you crushing on me in high school?”

“If you’re just now figuring that out, I’m going to think you were dropped on your head as an infant.”

Nyxie turned to face the window. “It wouldn’t surprise me.”

They made it to the cell phone store just after it opened and before any other customers arrived. There were four employees in the shop. Declan moved to the middle of the floor and announced in a loud voice, “I need four phones, all the same, with something like a Ballistic case or an OtterBox. If you can get us out of here in fifteen minutes, I’ll give y
ou fifty dollars to buy some pizza for lunch. We need each of the phones programmed with the names and numbers of the other three phones and my number. Also, you have to download the family locator app and turn on the GPS.”

Nyxie watched in awe as he took control of the situation. She liked his decision-making and self-assuredness. He knew what he wanted and easily commanded the situation. It amazed her that four people jumped to do his bidding. He was a natural born leader. She wished she could be like that. She only led her family. In most things, she was a follower. If difficult decisions had to be made, she had to deliberate and weigh her options. The only time she ever made a quick decision was when her family’s welfare was
clearly at stake.

“You’re getting four phones?”

“How else can the girls call their favorite aunt?”

Neither one mentioned Cody, it was just too soon to hope.

Declan put his arm over her shoulder as the clerks worked frantically to beat their deadline.

She stood stiffly trying to decide how she felt about the contact. It felt completely foreign, but not unpleasant. No, not unpleasant at all. She kind of liked it.

Nyxie wondered if he had a particular protocol he wanted her to use when she wanted to express her gratitude. She tilted her head down. “Sir, thank you.” She brought up her head and frowned. “Is that the way I’m supposed to do it? That didn’t feel right. I’m extremely grateful and I don’t think that conveyed it at all.” 

“How about a hug instead.” He already had his arm over her shoulder, so it only took a minor adjustment in their positioning before she was ensconced in his embrace.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you, so much.”

He chuckled stepping away. “You’re very welcome.”

“How are we going to get the phones to Lotus and Reina?”

“The lawyer can figure it out. But I guarantee my lawyer is a pit bull and he’ll get the phones to them. You’ll be talking to them in no time. And with the family tracker, we’ll also know where they are.”

It took twenty-two minutes before they finished and left the store, but he rewarded the workers with the pizza money anyway.

As they drove to the lawyer’s office, Nyxie fiddled with her phone, calling each number and listening until one of the phones in th
e bag rang then she dialed Declan’s number.

He frowned at the unknown number. “Dr. Stryker.”

“Did I remember to say thank you?”

Declan escorted Nyxie through the bank lobby to the row of elevators in the back. He punched the button to the fourth floor in one of the few buildings in Lubbock that provided a piddly excuse for a skyline against the flat landscape.

Nyxie tightly clutched the bag containing Lotus and Reina’s cell phones as she stepped into the lawyer’s outer office a pace behind Declan.

“Dr. Stryker,” the woman behind the reception desk greeted warmly. “Mr. Vaughn didn’t tell me you were coming in.”

“I’m afraid he’s not expecting me, but I need to speak with him on an urgent matter.”

The woman looked past Declan to Onyx quickly taking in her day old appearance. “This is my friend, Nyxie. Her brother was hit by a truck yesterday.”

The woman’s eyebrows lifted with recognition. “Oh, it was on the news last night. In Chimera Flats, right? How is he?”

“Critical.”

The woman smiled sympathetically at Onyx. “I’ll keep him in my prayers.”

“Thank you,” Onyx said politely knowing people in the Bible belt didn’t take their prayers lightly.

The woman fidgeted uncomfortably as she turned her attention back to Declan. “But we don’t normally take personal injury claims.”

“This isn’t personal injury. CPS took custody of her nieces and they’re taking Cody, too.”

In minutes, they were sitting on an overstuffed couch in Junior Vaughn’s richly appointed office with Junior sitting across in a leather wing chair, a legal pad resting on the chair’s arm.

As they explained what transpired the day before, the lawyer scratched at his closely shaven cheek. “This is not going to be easy. There is not a law in the state saying how old a child must be to be left alone—let’s face it; some ten-year-olds are more mature than many fourteen-year-olds.”

“Well, certainly that’s a point in our favor,” Declan said hopefully.

The man crossed his legs, putting the side of his black tooled cowboy boot on top of his knee. “Perhaps we can get letters from teachers and other adults in positions of authority to attest to his maturity level—and your nieces’ as well.”

“I’ll make a list of every teacher and neighbor,” Nyxie said.

Junior tore off a sheet of yellow paper and handed it to her along with a pen from his shirt pocket. “Good. Now, we have to start voluntarily doing all the things CPS will demand you do. When you get back to the hospital, drug test Ms. Carmichael for everything you can think of.”

“Done.”

“Make sure your home is clean and adequate to raise three children. Take parenting classes. Enroll in college or vocational classes to show them you are striving to provide a better living than you do now.”

“I didn’t finish high school. Bob said he’d hire me to work when I turned sixteen, so I quit school on my sixteenth birthday. I’ve been providing for Cody ever since. I paid the rent. I bought the food. I kept the water and electricity turned on. If the city keeps records, you’ll see those bills rarely went delinquent after my sixteenth birthday, but they never shut them off after I started paying.”

“Who watched Cody then? He must’ve been young when you started working. Surely, you weren’t leaving him home back when he was small?”

“No. At first, I worked while he was in school. I’d take him to school as early as they’d let me, then I’d run to work. I talked the school bus driver into waiting until she dropped everyone else off then taking him to the truck stop. She was happy to do it for a to-go cup full of ice water. He’d sit at one of the tables and I’d split my meal with him before the dinner crowd came in and then he’d do his homework or read a book or play solitaire until I got off work. We’d walk home together after my shift ended. If we were lucky, Daddy would be passed out before we got there.

“But summers were hard because there was no school,” she continued. “He spent a lot of time at the library. Bob would let me leave work in the middle of the afternoon so I could go get him before it closed. Sometimes, I asked the parents of his friends if he could spend the day. I pretended his babysitter was sick or I’d been called into work unexpectedly. Sometimes, I had to leave him with Daddy.”

Her eyes didn’t meet the lawyer’s as she spoke. She didn’t lift them from the carpet. She didn’t know what else she could have done but it felt shameful to admit how much time Cody spent alone during the summers. Every sacrifice Nyxie could think of, she made gladly so her brother had food, water and a place to lay his head at night.

The man scribbled all sorts of notes as she spoke. “When did the girls come to live with you?”

“It was spring of last year, so, just over a year ago. Lotus was nine and Reina was seven. Melinda showed up with some sleazebag, both of them covered in tattoos. My sister couldn’t sit still like she needed a fix. She just left them there. I’d never even seen my nieces before. The only time I could get Reina to put down her teddy bear was when I sent her into the shower and even then, Lotus had to promise to hold it the whole time. I could barely afford to keep us all fed and I had to buy clothing right away for the girls because they only came with the clothes on their backs, nightgowns and a change for the next day. I started working more doubles, but there was no money for daycare. They watched each other.”

Declan’s phone suddenly rang. He slid his finger across the display and answered the phone “Dr. Stryker….Okay….Commandeer an OR. Prep him for surgery….Yes, all the usual pre-surgery tests. I’ll be right there.”

“Is it Cody?”

“There’s more internal bleeding. This is not uncommon in these severe trauma cases.”

Nyxie popped up like a cork ready to leave.

“Sit down,” he said sharply. “Cody’s in good hands and we still have to finish here.”

She reacted instantly to the tone of his voice and sat back down, but did not settle into the seat. “But Cody….”

Ignoring her, he reached into his back pocket for his wallet and pulled out a credit card. “What kind of retainer are we talking about?”

“Fifteen will get us started. CPS loves these high-profile cases, so I don’t think they’re going to back down quietly.”

“Officer Lewiston told me the chief doesn’t want to press criminal charges,” she said.