Wicked Lovers 06.5 Wicked All The Way (11 page)

“Gordon will be here,” she added. “He does not work on
Christmas Eve and does not speak to his brother, which is the last of his
family.”

“Definitely a miserable prick,” Caleb commented.

His face asked how she could have stayed married to such a
jerk for so long. Carlotta knew that if she had to do it all again, she would
find some other way to support her children. Go back to school, pound the
pavement for a better job. She might have taken the help that Eduardo’s parents
had offered after his death. Then she’d been too scared and proud and worried
that his wealthy, influential family would take the children from her. Those
fears had largely been in her head, and because she had been too frightened to
ask questions, she had withdrawn into herself—and made an easy mark for Gordon.

No more stalling. She wanted to start this holiday season
with a lighter load, a brighter future. Time to jettison the past.

“I will be back shortly.” She opened the car door.

Before she could step out, Caleb put a firm hand on her arm.
“So long as we understand one another. You do not go in the house and allow him
to shut the door behind you. You don’t place yourself at his dubious mercy.”

Carlotta nodded. They had talked about how to keep this
confrontation safe. He didn’t like that she needed to do this, but he respected
it. She leaned forward to kiss him. “He will not lay a hand on me. I will not
allow him to put me in a vulnerable position. I will be back in two minutes.”

He nodded, the strong angles of his face tight. “And I’ll be
watching.”

With a little smile, she stepped from the car and shut the
door behind her. Yes, she might have been motivated to do this eventually, but
Caleb…wonderful, solid Caleb, had given her the strength to both see that she
needed to exorcise this part of her past and the will to do it.

Up the long curved walkway, Carlotta found her stomach
tangling into knots. The familiar hollow feeling emptied out her chest.
One foot in front of the other.
Breathing was difficult as she knocked on the door.

Gordon answered a minute later in a pair of slouchy sweat
pants and a dingy undershirt. His grouch expression morphed into something
curious, almost gloating, when he caught sight of her.

Leaning against the portal, he smirked. “Seen the error of
your ways finally? Did Kata’s father-in-law see how worthless you are, too? Did
he kick you to the curb? Aww, and on Christmas Eve.”

“No, Gordon. For once, you are not dictating the conversation.
I am, and you will listen to me. I never want to see you again. Stop calling my
place of work. If you happen to see me in public, ignore me. I will do the same
to you. Nothing that comes out of your vile mouth is of interest to me. You
have never respected me in the past, but I am demanding you to respect these
wishes.”

“Why? For the sake of our fabulous years of marriage?” he
sneered.

“I would like to say because you are a decent human being
with a heart, but since I know better, I will instead tell you that you no
longer have the power to hurt me. Once, I may have been made of glass and you
might have broken me into little pieces at will. Now, I refuse to let you crush
me. You will never see my shards again.”

“Pretty speech, bitch. But I don’t believe it. You’re still
the same pathetic woman who hobbled around my kitchen and clung to me the
second I walked in the door every night.” He glared. “So, did that big asshole
you were with when I last saw you tell you how much he values you and what a beautiful
woman you are so that he could fuck you? Did you believe him? Are you feeling
all strong and mighty now that he pumped you up to pump his way inside you, you
stupid whore?”

His contempt angered Carlotta, but it didn’t hurt her.
Gordon was like a child lashing out because someone else wanted the toy he had
cast aside.
He
couldn’t hurt her, not
ever again. “No. Caleb knows how to love. He knows how to be a true partner. He
would never tear me down to build himself up. Of course, I am certain that was simply
your way of compensating for your very tiny penis. But I no longer care. I will
not say good-bye, Gordon. I wish you nothing well. Instead, I think I will
leave you with a very cheerful fuck off.”

She had never uttered that word in her life, and saying it
now felt so damn good. So freeing. She smiled as she turned to leave.

Gordon grabbed her by the arm and yanked her back. With a
terrible snarl and wide, maniacal eyes, he curled his arm around the front of
his body, like he meant to backhand her across the face. Fear surged. Carlotta
tried to tug herself free, but could not budge his grip. Instead, she kicked,
hitting him in the shin, earning a nasty curse from him. But he gripped her
tighter.

“Take your hand off of her right this fucking second or I’ll
do this world a favor and take you out,” Caleb growled behind her.

Instantly, Gordon let go. Then he shoved her away, smirking
when she stumbled.

Caleb caught her, then turned her to face him. The familiar
comfort of his blue eyes, his searching gaze full of concern, set her at ease.
“I am fine.”

He kissed her forehead. “Go to the car, Lottie.”

“Let us go together. I have nothing more to say to this
scum.”

“I do.” His jaw tightened. “Wait in the car.”

“But I have said my piece.”

“I haven’t. Gordon and I need to be crystal clear, baby. Go
on.”

Careful
, she
mouthed to him. He nodded and sent her off with a guiding hand at the small of
her back.

Carlotta did not like leaving Caleb with Gordon. Not that
she thought her man incapable of defending himself against the weasel. More
that she worried Caleb would not see Gordon’s sneaky manipulation until it was
too late. But he had respected her need to speak her mind. She could allow him
no less.

In the car, she waited, wringing her hands, watching with an
unblinking gaze. They exchanged some low, heated words—nothing she could hear.
Suddenly, Gordon paled and stepped back. Caleb smiled, gave him the
one-fingered salute, and marched back to the car.

When he hopped in, she stared, mouth agape. “What did you
say to him?”

Caleb just grinned, supremely satisfied. “Let’s just say he
understands now that if he bothers you again he’ll have a sniper, two SEALs, a
former Army Ranger, and a former CIA operative willing to end his miserable
life and hide the body so it will never be identified. I might have described
just a bit how that could happen. Just for a minute. Nothing too over the top.”

Carlotta thought she should probably be horrified or maybe
even angry that it had taken Caleb’s threat to make Gordon understand. But she
wasn’t going to change the little bastard. The important thing was that she had
changed herself. And even when she had not let Caleb hold her hand for every
part of this journey, he had been with her in spirit, showing her from the
beginning what a true man should be.

“You really are a wicked, wonderful man.”

#

Later that evening, Caleb sneaked a kiss as Carlotta put the
last of the accessories in place. For the last two hours, she’d been running
from room to room, checking drapes, fluffing pillows, straightening out area
rugs, flipping on lights…

“It looks perfect, baby. You’ve done a terrific job. Come
have a glass of wine and enjoy how great the house looks before everyone
arrives.”

Earlier in the day, Tyler, Deke, Jack, and Logan, who had
just gotten leave, brought over all Hunter and Kata’s furniture, setting it
perfectly in place. Carlotta had packed a few of their clothes and essentials
into boxes and brought them over as well. Kata and Hunter would no doubt move
the rest out of their old apartment. But everything in the house now looked
fresh and organized and like something out of a magazine—a far cry from the
house they’d walked into a few weeks ago.

“Everything you did to the house,
querido
, made it a much better place to live. I merely added
color.”

“Along with a lot of love.”

He hugged her tight as Logan shoved open the front door,
holding Tara’s hand. They both looked around the house with big smiles,
stopping in front of the towering Christmas tree decorated entirely in red and
gold, a shimmering jewel in an otherwise sleek great room.

Caleb approached his younger son and clapped him on the
back. “Good to see you.”

“Hey, Dad.” He turned, and they bumped shoulders.

Then Caleb broke away and leaned over to Tara. As always,
she was such a tiny thing, and he was careful as he wrapped her in a gentle
hug.

“Everything looks great,” Logan’s wife said with a wondrous
smile. “Hi, Carlotta.”

She bustled forward, looking sexy as hell in a black V-neck
sweater with gold flecks, a short black skirt that showed off those legs he’d
become addicted to getting between. It hugged her luscious ass…and damn, he’d
better stop this train of thought or he’d be sporting a hard-on when the party
started.

After Carlotta hugged both Logan and Tara warmly, his son’s
wife handed Lottie some of the drinks they’d brought for the party. The two
women immediately went to the kitchen to chill the cans and bottles.

Logan sent him a speculative glance. “Still just looking at
Carlotta?”

“Nope.” He grinned widely.

His son laughed. “I kind of got that impression. I wasn’t
sure if we were going to have to leave the room quickly because you sure looked
like you wanted to undress her right that instant.”

“I did. I still do. But I can wait. At least five minutes.”

“That long?” Logan drawled, then he laughed. “Good for you,
Dad. I hope you two will be really happy.”

“I think we will. Time will tell, right?” He shrugged. “What
about you? How long is your leave?”

Logan’s smile fell. “A few days. I’ve been promised a longer
one in the spring. In the meantime, I’ve talked to Hunter. He’s going to let
Tara stay here with Kata while I’m on active duty, and it’s a huge relief to me
to know she’ll be with family, just in case.”

“That’s great. It’s perfect.”

“Almost. Yeah…”

Before Caleb could question his son on that comment, Kimber
clattered in on a pair of towering black heels, carrying bags of chips and a
couple of bowls of dip. Behind her, Deke entered with their son, Cal, balanced
on one hip. He held a twelve-pack of beer in his free hand.

Cal lunged out of Deke’s arms to reach Caleb, and he grabbed
his growing grandson, tossing him in the air just to hear the little boy
giggle.

Kimber kissed his cheek, and Caleb marveled again at how
beautiful she’d grown and how happy she looked. Never in a billion years would
he have thought she and Deke would be good for one another, but they’d both
seemed to flourish, their love almost a tangible thing.

“Good to see you, Dad.”

“You, too, little girl.” He smiled at his only daughter and
tickled Cal again.

Deke paused behind his wife. “Kitten, am I icing the beer
down in the kitchen?”

“Probably. Let’s go see.”

“Carlotta and Tara are in there, likely organizing
everything to perfection.”

“Great. I’ll go join the estrogen party.” Kimber laughed.

Deke shuddered. “I’ll, um…stay out here and admire the
Christmas tree. Damn, this place looks great. Much better than the day Tyler
and I first walked in.”

Caleb nodded. “It was a lot of hard work, but worth it.”

The door opened again before Deke could reply. Tyler
shouldered his way in. His son Seth started wriggling uncontrollably when he
spotted Cal.

“Down,” Caleb’s grandson demanded, so he set the boy on his
feet.

He skipped over to Seth and the two immediately took up with
some stuffed trucks that Tyler handed down to the boys.

Tyler’s wife, Delaney, blew in with a little shiver a moment
later, stripping off her coat to reveal her swelling belly under a lovely deep
green dress. Seth was not quite two and would have a brother or sister to love
shortly after his birthday.

With an indulgent grin, Tyler took her coat and draped it
over the back of the sofa, then settled a hand over her belly. “Active
tonight?”

“Yeah, our little sweet pea must know there’s a party.” Del
laughed.

Logan tripped out from the kitchen and shook both Deke’s and
Tyler’s hands, then looked at Del’s coat with a frown. “It’s not that cold.”

“According to you,” she returned. “Remember me? Thin
Southern California blood here.”

They all had a laugh, and Delaney kissed Tyler before she
drifted to the kitchen to join the other ladies. Her wedding ring winked on her
left hand under the gleam of the recessed lighting. Their wedding had been
rushed with another baby on the way, but it had been an intimate, joyous event
shared by this close-knit bunch a few months ago.

The doorbell sounded a moment later, and Tyler turned to
open the door. Jack Cole stepped in and greeted the other man with a hearty
handshake. He had a blue diaper bag with soccer balls and teddy bears draped
over his shoulder, and Caleb shook his head. He’d never thought he’d see the
day when big bad Jack toted baby crap around and doted on a gorgeous redhead.
Morgan Cole came in behind her husband, looking as lovely as always in a frilly
black dress and showing a lot of cleavage. Their sleeping son, just a few
months old, rested on a burp cloth laying over her shoulder.

Jack turned to take the baby from her and glowered at the
amount of cleavage the dress showed.

“Jack, it’s not like I can help it. When I’m breastfeeding,
boobs happen.”

“And only I’m supposed to see them,” he growled. “Remember
that.” He pulled gently at the lavish ruby collar around her neck.

“You’re such a caveman.” She rolled her eyes, but the
indulgent smile said that she didn’t mind his possessiveness a bit.