Wild at Heart (18 page)

T
he ride up in the elevator felt like it took an eternity. For once in my life I couldn’t get to my parents’ apartment fast enough.

My father had started this and he was going to end it.

Today.

Dare and I hadn’t slept at all—we were both too worked up, too anxious to get to my father first thing. So two hours later, with Rex still sleeping in my living room, here we were.

The doors opened to an empty foyer. Taking a deep breath, I laced my fingers through Dare’s and stepped out. The white walls seemed even more colorless with Dare by my side, and I felt embarrassed to have him witness this mausoleum of a home. There was no warmth here, nothing inviting.

We paused for a moment as he took the place in.

“I just can’t quite picture you here,” he said.

“That’s because I never fit in.” I tried to see the place through his eyes. “I was always a stranger in my own home.” I tilted my head to the right. “Come on. He’ll be in the dining room.”

We walked down the pristine hall, the shiny floor spotless, our footsteps making the only sounds in the whole place. It had never felt so quiet here.

Never felt so on the verge of a life-changing moment.

My hands started to shake. Facing my father with what we knew felt earth-shattering in immensity.

Dare gave me a little squeeze. “It’s okay, Ree. I’m here with you.” His quiet voice bounced off the walls, carrying down the length of the hall.

About halfway down, I turned and led Dare into a room on the left. My father sat at one end of a long table, his coffee cup on its way to his mouth when he looked up at us from the Times. His eyes flicked from me to Dare, and his expression darkened.

“I can only assume you are here to apologize for your behavior last night, Reagan,” he said, setting his cup down and leaning back in his chair. “And I have no idea why you brought
this
—” He waved his hand at Dare. “—with you.”

“This,” I said, “is Dare.”

“I know.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I am waiting, Reagan.”

“Then you’re going to be waiting for a long time. I didn’t come here to apologize. I came here to tell you that you are going to put a stop to this. Today.”

“Now, Reagan, you already know my terms.”

I pressed my lips together, and nodded once. “I do. But there’s something you forgot to factor in.” I held his gaze in silence for a moment. “Stanzi.”

My father’s face blanched, surprise flashing in his eyes for a brief moment before he recovered his bravado. With false calm, he raised his eyebrows. “Stanzi? I have no idea what—”

“We
know
that you know,” I said. “And for this one we have proof.” A lie, but he didn’t know that. The omission of Stanzi in his files was not evidence that would hold up in any court. I only hoped he would assume I’d gotten hold of some information. My father wrote down EVERYTHING. There would be a file…somewhere.

His face had turned to stone, and I’d never seen so much anger in his eyes. But he didn’t say anything. Neither confirming nor denying my accusation.

It was the lack of denial that meant we had him.

“Accessory to murder, if this gets out. Of an undercover cop, at that.” I let go of Dare’s hand, pulled out a chair, and sat down, never taking my eyes off of my father’s face. “You stop this now. You supply Stanzi’s whereabouts to the police in an anonymous tip, he gives Daren up for murder. You ensure Dare is either kept out of it or granted total immunity, and that his dad will never see freedom again between this and the murder of Arianna Saxon.”

“
Who?
“ My father said it like she was nobody, his eyebrows knitting together.

“The woman who died in the gallery explosion.” My throat felt thick. “Who died in my place.” I swallowed hard, and glared at him. “And if you know where Daren is, you give them that, too.” It felt surreal to be talking to my father like this, to finally have the upper hand.

He didn’t speak for the longest time, and I thought we might’ve lost him. But then he took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and said, “Anything else?” His voice sounded rough, raw.

“You accept Dare,” I said.

“You have no idea all of the things he has done. Reagan, he’s—”

“I have
every
idea, Dad. I know all of it.” I pulled Dare over to me, gripped his hand tightly. “This man is not the person in your files. That’s not who he is anymore. This man is an incredible artist, a kind, caring, generous, and loyal person. He’s amazing, and I love him. He’s my heart.” Dare’s other hand squeezed my shoulder. “You accept Dare AND you ban Jackson Fitzgerald from every aspect of your life. I don’t ever want to see him again.” I leaned forward, my eyes boring into his. “You fucking
owe
me that after everything you did.”

He started shaking his head. “You’re asking for a lot—”

“That’s the deal. Take it or lose your political career, and likely your freedom, too.”

My father pointed at Dare. “He would lose his as well, if this came out. He would face the same charges. Are you willing to risk his freedom, too?”

“Fuck, yes,” Dare said, and pulled out his phone. “Should we call right now?”

Searching my face, my father said, “He would go to prison for a very long time.”

“Maybe he would,” I said. “Maybe he wouldn’t. He was a minor at the time and under the influence of his father. A good lawyer would argue that he could not be held responsible. It’s likely he would walk.” I paused for a moment to let that sink in. “The same cannot be said for you.”

My father’s shoulders sagged, the fight gone out of him. “Fine. I’ll take care of everything.”

“Today,” I said. “This morning.”

“Yes.” He nodded. Then he looked at me, a mixture of respect and disappointment coloring his expression. “You would have made a damn fine lawyer, Reagan. You are wasting your true talent.”

“She’s going to make a damn fine gallery owner,” Dare said as he pulled me to my feet and pressed his lips to my forehead. “Her talents are limitless, and there is no waste when you’re doing what makes you happy.”

I held tight to Dare the whole way home, my arms around his chest, my front pressed against his back. I’d thrown my arms around his neck and grinned like a maniac once we were in the elevator, but it wasn’t until he parked the motorcycle outside his apartment and we’d gotten off that I crowed.

Literally. And loudly. On the street in Queens at seven o’clock in the morning.

“Shut the fuck up!” Someone yelled from a nearby window, and Dare and I grinned at each other as he grabbed my hand and we stumbled through his door. He scooped me up into his arms and kissed me hard, until I was breathless.

“You were AMAZING,” he said.

“Oh my god. Did you see his face? I have never seen my dad beaten by anyone.” I gazed up at him in wonder. “I can’t believe we did it. But we DID IT.”

“
You
did it.” Dare laughed.

“WE did it.” I kissed him again. “Two parts, one whole.”

Victory was sweet. This high—of winning, of defeating his father AND mine—it felt so huge I was sure it would never wear off.

We’d beaten them both in one move. Check-fucking-mate.

“I just wish…” No, I was wrong. It was wearing off fast.

He cupped my face between his hands, searching my eyes. “What, baby?”

“I just wish we’d won a little sooner. Arianna…” And I couldn’t stop the tears this time. I was wracked with guilt, my chest heaving, my entire body shaking as the wound of her death opened anew.

“I know.” Dare pulled me into him, smoothing my hair. “Me, too.” He was quiet for a moment, then said, “Move in here, Ree. Today. You and me, we’ll make a new start together.”

I nodded into his shirt. “I don’t want to ever let you go again. I’ll go pack up my stuff at Rex’s and bring it over this morning. You want to come?” I held him tighter. “I’m not quite ready to let you out of my sight.”

He groaned and squeezed his eyes shut. “Oh shit, I can’t. I’m supposed to be heading downtown to the police station. They called yesterday. They want my statement. I have to leave now if I’m going to make it.” He pressed his forehead to mine and inhaled. “But I can do it another day if you want?”

I did want.

But I shook my head. “No. You should go. Get it over with. Bring Ari’s killer to justice.”

“Why don’t you head over to Rex’s now,” he said, “and I’ll meet you there and help you pack and carry things back here when I’m done?”

“Sure.” I hated the idea of him going someplace without me right now, but there really was no good reason to keep him here. It was over. The danger had passed. “I suppose I should let Rex know as soon as possible anyway. He still needs help setting up his stuff.”

“We’ll both help,” Dare said. “We’re not abandoning him, you’re just moving a few blocks away.” He tipped my chin up to kiss me again. “And tonight,” he said, “I think we should talk about the future.”

“As in…?”

“As in us. Together. Committed.” Love filled his eyes. His hands slid down to my stomach and rested there. “Maybe some other future things, too.”

Oh, my god. Was Dare actually hinting at what I thought? Wow. Sometimes life made you realize just what was important, and helped you sort out what you really wanted.

And I wanted a life with Dare.

I smiled up at him as his fingers traced my lips. “You have the most beautiful smile in the world,” he said.

“You put it there. You have filled my life with beauty, Dare Wilde. In every possible way.” I pulled him into a hug one more time even though I knew he needed to get going. It was just so hard to let go…after everything.

“You want a ride over to Rex’s?” He leaned his chin on top of my head, relaxed his arms around me.

I shook my head. “I’ll walk.”

I sank into his embrace, feeling like everything was finally going to be okay. It wasn’t perfect, but it would be soon. After everything we’d gone through, things had to get better.

Because, really, how could they get any worse?

twenty-two

A
s I set Rex up in his studio like I always did, I recounted everything that had happened that morning. I expected him to rejoice about our win, but he was very reserved.

“I’ll relax when Daren is safely off the streets,” Rex said, sitting down on the stool in front of his easel. “I’m sure your father will do what he’s promised, but it’s not over until Daren is put away.” He pointed at me. “You still need to be careful. As does Dare. Don’t celebrate your victory until you actually have it in hand. Or behind bars, in this case.”

Wrapping my arms around Rex, I gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you for everything, Rex,” I said. “You’ve been my guardian angel through all this, and I love you for that.” Taking a last glance at his setup to make sure he had everything he needed, I started toward the stairs. “I’m going to go pack up my stuff. If you need anything, just shout.”

“Ree, I’m serious.” His brow furrowed. “I’ve known Daren a very long time. He won’t go down without a fight.”

“And I know my dad,” I said. “Things are already in motion. This is going to be over before you know it.” It had to be. There was no more room for pain in our lives. From now on, we’d be free to enjoy every moment of the happiness that awaited us.

I slowly climbed the stairs, running my hand on the banister, feeling like I was saying goodbye to my home. Opening the door, I paused for a moment to take in the space. Dare had lived here seven years ago. Wow. I’d never thought about the fact that when Dare had been getting his life together, mine had just started to unravel.

Seven years later, here I was in the exact same place, seeing my life finally come together as well. I didn’t know if it was Rex or this space, but I was grateful all the same.

I couldn’t help picturing Dare at eighteen, determined and maybe a little scared, and I wondered if we’d met back then, if our lives would have turned out differently. Would we have fallen just as hard for each other?

A big part of me believed Dare and I were meant to be—always had been, always would be—so even if our paths had crossed at another time, we would have undoubtedly recognized something within each other, would have been drawn into each other’s fire.