Wyne and Chocolate (Citizen Soldier Series Book 2) (20 page)

She
needed to stall him. Maybe Mason or one of the Wynes would come by. They
usually did in the mornings. “So…you
did
torch my shop.”

“That’s
old news, Jill. Keep up. I need money. Big money. Now. So, I suggest you greet
me like we’re old lovers…well, we are, and head on over to the bank with me to
get the cash. Now.”

She
cocked her head, forcing her gaze to hold his. “And if I said no?”

“That
would not be wise. You give me the money, and I won’t torch your new place.” 

She
stared into his blank, fathomless eyes. God, he was serious. Her heart dropped
to her feet. He would do it.

“Use
your head. I know you’re smart. You wouldn’t want anyone here to get hurt. A
fire in this shop could result in more than chocolates going up in flames.”

“Donny,
my God, would you listen to yourself?” she whispered. “You’re threatening innocent
people. Children.”

“No,
you
are by not cooperating. If anyone gets hurt, Jill, it’s on you. Now, give me
some goddamn money. You know how bad these bookies can get.”

She
couldn’t believe this was happening, that he was trying to blackmail her into
handing him money.

“I don’t
have access to money from this shop. I’m not the sole owner.” She hoped he’d
listen and back off. As for the insurance money, it was gone, most of it,
invested back into renovations and labor. She had some in her savings, but…

“Then
give me the insurance money from the other one. Rob a bank. I don’t fucking
care,” he threatened with a sweet smile on his face so as not to draw
attention. “Let’s get going, and, Jill,” he added, his gaze darkening. “Don’t
even think about trying to alert the cops. You know I can smell them a mile
away. And if you’re thinking about running, forget it. You’ll never make it to
the door. Besides,” he said, patting his coat. “Let’s just say, I have a very
flammable package in my pocket, and it would be a shame if it went off in here
like it did in your other place.”

After
studying his menacing glare, she knew what she had to do. Get him out of the
building. Away from the Wynes. Her store. Her workers. The guests in the
resort. Now. Do whatever he asked to make him leave.

“Ah,
that’s better. I can see it in your face. Good girl. You’re going to help your
husband.”

Her chin
rose. “You are not my husband anymore, Donny.”

“True,
but you are going to act as if I am. Starting now. Stay on the phone with me
while you grab your coat and your checkbook. I’ll be listening.”

Operating
on automatic, she did as he asked and went into the back to fetch her things.
“I have to run to the bank,” she told Teresa who glanced at her.

“Good
girl,” he said through the phone, and a satisfied grin covered his face when
she walked back out. “Now, come here and give me a hug and a kiss. And make it
look real.”

Her
stomach rolled. But when she hesitated, he patted his coat as a reminder to
what was underneath.

“Do not
push me. I have nothing to lose. Unlike you. So, if you want to keep it, I
suggest you get your pretty little ass over here. Now.”

She had
no idea if he was lying, but she was not willing to gamble with everyone’s
lives, or the resort. Her past and all the shit he put her through came rushing
back. He’d burned her store with no regard to others being hurt. He’d watched
his bookie’s thugs beat her…was willing to watch them do more. He didn’t care.
Drugs must’ve rotted away the compassion receptors in his brain.

Falling
into survival mode, she ended the call, pocketed her phone and rushed into his
arms, with one thought on her mind: Get him out of the resort and away from
Mason and his family.

She
didn’t give a damn about herself, but she would do anything to keep everyone safe
at all costs.

M
ason couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Jill running into the
arms of another man, and kissing him in the middle of her shop.

Their
shop.

In his
resort.

How the
fuck could she? Betrayal pierced his heart, gripped his spine and yanking it
through his gut.

Who was
he? Some slick lawyer or something judging by the expensive clothes. Probably
came in from New York.

God, had
she had this guy on the side the whole time?

Unable
to watch, he pivoted around and started walking. He had no destination. Just
needed to walk. To get out. Before he realized it, he was halfway up one of the
trails, heart pounding, throat hot from the excursion. At least he knew he was
alive, because all he felt was numb.

He’d
trusted her. Shared with her. Took a chance on her. She knew he had issues with
trust and had smiled her sad smile, claiming the same thing.

Christ
.
Had she lied about that, too?

His mind
reeled so much he was having a hard time discerning reality. He picked up his
pace and ran full out, thankful he’d been dressed for a hike. The ground
beneath him was real. The trees surrounding him, they were real. The smell of
new growth and spring was in the air. He could count on leaves sprouting from
the buds dotting the trees. He could count on the sun to set behind
Chancellor’s Bluff.

He could
count on Jill to sucker him in, use her smile and sweet curves to fog his
judgment. Get him to offer his resort as a place for her new shop...

Son
of a bitch!

He
halted, and his heart stopped as pain fast and fierce pierced his chest.

God, had
she
been the one to torch Confection Connection in a calculating move to
get him to make that offer?

His mind
was too numb to think clearly, but the seed of doubt weighed a ton, and he
wasn’t ready to face that possibility. At least, not sober.

Retracing
his steps, he headed for Timbers and a bottle of Jack. So what if it was still
morning. It was five o’clock somewhere.

T
hree excruciating hours later, Jill walked back into the
resort, keeping a tight rein on her feelings and control. She couldn’t lose it
yet. Not yet. God, she needed to see Mason. Burrow into his warmth and draw on
his strength. See with her own eyes that he was okay, even though she knew he
was, because she’d gotten Donny away from the resort, away from Mason, and did
what she was told.

A tremor
shook through her body. She clamped her jaw and kept moving.

After
cleaning out her savings and some of the store’s money with Donny at her side
watching every damn move she made, even taking her cell phone and shoving it in
his pocket, she had been forced to hand him her car keys and watch as he drove
out of town.

Hiking
it to the police station, she spent the next hour detailing the events to
Jeremy and signing a statement as another cop had taken off in his cruiser to
try to catch her ex before he crossed state line. Jeremy felt they had a good
chance of catching Donny this time. Between the security footage at the resort
and the bank backing up her statement, and as long as Donny didn’t ditch her phone
or shut it off, Jeremy said they had a good shot of finding him and taking him
down.

At this
point, she didn’t care. She just wanted to see Mason. Sink into him and not
surface for a good long time. Jeremy had let her use his phone to call him, but
he hadn’t answered. She figured he was probably out taking guests on a hike.
The handsome, sweet cop offered to drive her to the resort, but she wanted him
to get right to work and nail Donny before he got too far, so she grabbed a
cab.

A
half-hour later, having knocked on Ethan’s door with no answer, checking her
shop, the gym, the locker area, the rental area, the restaurants, Jill headed
to Timbers hoping he was there, and resigning herself to sit and wait if he
wasn’t because her legs were beginning to feel like lead.

Walking
into the bar and grill, she fought back the urge to cry. She found him. Mason
was the only one there besides the bartender. He sat at his usual corner table,
and hope lit her heart. She momentarily closed her eyes and let out a half-hearted
giggle. Figures he’d be in the last place she looked.

Doing
her best not to run, she walked over to him and smiled. “Mason, I’ve looked
everywhere for you.”

He
glanced up, eyes glossy and…cold.

“You
found me.” He held up a half-empty bottle of whiskey in a salute before putting
it to his mouth for a drink.

“You’re
drunk,” she said inanely. Why was he drinking? “What’s wrong?”

“Wrong?
What could be fucking wrong?” He let out a harsh laugh and took another swig.
“Did you enjoy your rendezvous with your guy?” He shot to his feet, and moved
away a little unsteady. “Don’t bother to deny it, Jill. I saw you kissing him
in your shop.”

Really?
Was fate so cruel to send him to her at
that
horrible, awful moment?

She took
a step toward him, wanting desperately to reach him, but he moved back,
grabbing the back of a chair for support.

“It
wasn’t what you think,” she said. “I can explain.”

He
snorted. “Don’t bother. I heard that one before…
Renee
,” he sneered,
looking at her like she was someone he detested. “What I’d like to know is if
you torched your own damn place so I would offer you space here? Huh? You took
advantage of me and my family, Jill.”

“No.”
She shook her head and leaned forward to place her hand on his shoulder.
“Please, Mason, just listen to me.”

“I don’t
want to hear it.” He brushed her hand away.

Her
throat closed up. So tight she couldn’t talk. She stared up at him, silently
pleading, searching for a softening in him, but found only contempt and anger.
He’d seen her with Donny, whom he obviously hadn’t recognized, and immediately
jumped to the conclusion she’d cheated on him and had been stringing him along
all this time so she could set up shop in his resort.

God, how
could he think that?

She
didn’t know what hurt worse, the fact he thought so low of her, or the fact
he’d never really bothered to look into her heart, the one she’d opened up and
bared for him, because if he had, they wouldn’t be having this conversation. He
would’ve seen through what was happening in her store and maybe helped her stop
Donny.

But
thanks to the scars Renee had left behind, he’d already made up his mind about
her. Already labeled her a liar and a cheat. Would never trust her, and God,
trust was so important. She’d trusted him. And that had been her mistake,
because now…now came the part she’d always knew would arrive.

He was
leaving. Abandoning her.

His jaw
tightened. “You’re not even going to deny it?”

“Why
bother?” Another tremor escaped the tight hold she had on her emotions. “You’ve
already made your mind up about me.”

Yeah…she
could force him to sit and listen while she explained what happened with Donny,
but like she told him, why bother? His mind was made up. He did not trust her.
Would
never
trust her, and without that trust, there could be no
relationship.

He
stared at her as if she was a stranger. “Don’t try to put this all on me.
You’re the guilty one. You’re the one who cheated.”

“No,”
she said quietly. “I didn’t. But if that makes you feel better, gives you a
justified reason to leave me, to walk away from our relationship—which you were
going to anyway—then go ahead. Believe what you want, Mason.”

“The
hell with that, Jill.” He scowled, slamming his bottle on the table, causing
the bartender to glance their way. “I told you, I don’t abandon. But I also don’t
stick around when someone is playing me for a fool.”

She
shook her head slowly, numbness starting to set in. “You’re doing a good job of
that all on your own.” She sank down onto the nearest chair, her mind barely
registering his muttered curse and the fact he’d left the room.

Left
her. Just as she’d always feared.

Expected.

It
could’ve been five minutes, could’ve been five hours, Jill had no idea how much
time had passed before she roused herself and walked out of Timbers and
straight out of the resort. She needed to be alone, had no desire to talk to
anyone. Knew she could be tracked down if she hid in her office, or bought a
room, so she started out on the five mile trek to her house.

It
wasn’t cold out. The temperature was in the fifties. It was still daylight, so
she had a few hours before risking the possibility of being hit by car while
walking down the wooded road. At this point, all she could think about was
getting home and falling onto her bed where she could curl up and have a good
cry. She needed one. Between her ordeal with Donny that morning, then Mason,
she was running on pure adrenaline, and was just about empty.

The warm
sun on her face, cool breeze reminding her it was spring and the sound of birds
chirping in the trees accompanied her two miles before a car approached from
behind. Jill moved to the side of the road to let the vehicle pass, but it
slowed next to her and the passenger window slid down.

“Jill?”
Gwen stared at her from behind the wheel of a beautiful Lexus. “What in the
world are you doing out here? Get in.”

She
hesitated a moment. It was possible one of the Wynes could be in the next
vehicle that drove by, and she was not ready to deal with questions. She opened
the door and got in. “Thanks. My car’s…not here.”

“Obviously,”
Gwen remarked. “Where were you headed?”

“Home.”

The
blonde reeled back. “Jesus, woman. That’s a few miles from here.”

“I
know.”

Her
friend studied her a moment, then gave a nod and put the car back in drive.
“Men are jerks.”

No
argument from her.

“You
want to talk about it?”

“Not
really.”

Gwen
nodded as if she understood. God, she hoped not. She hoped her friend had never
gone through what she had the past few hours. Not something she would wish on
anyone.

“You
want to share a pint of death by chocolate?” Gwen slid her a sideways glance.
“I have one in the freezer at home.”

She
smiled, despite the tears dripping down her face. They’d fallen the past
quarter mile. “Thanks, but no,” she replied, swiping at her wet cheek. “I can’t
eat chocolate without thinking of…”

Gwen
grumbled a curse, and if Jill hadn’t been so miserable she would’ve found it
funny to hear such language coming from the beauty.

“Why is
it if you’re born with a penis, you lack common sense? It’s either testosterone
or brain cells. Unreal.”

Jill did
chuckle on that one because it was sometimes true. Although, not all men she
knew had that issue. “I’m going to miss you.”

“Miss
me? Why? Are you talking about me going to Texas soon, or are you leaving?”

She
shrugged. “I heard back about my pitch.”

“Oh my
God. Your chocolate? What did they say?”

“That
they want to build a big factory. Ship bars and stuff to grocery stores and
other outlets throughout the country, and want me to oversee production.”

“Congratulations,
Jill! That rocks.”

Yeah.
Saying it out loud sounded great. But, it didn’t feel great. She needed to make
it feel great and was contemplating that when they pulled into her driveway.

“Thanks
for the ride,” she said, forcing a smile to her lips.

Gwen
touched her hand. “You sure you’re going to be okay?”

“Yes.”
She nodded. “I always am.”