Kept Secrets (Secret, Love & Betrayal Novel Book 2) Page 8
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Six hours later, Kalon downed the remainder of his Miller Draft. Instead of going home, he had headed to his office and tried to focus on work. His mind was in turmoil. Throwing his laptop into a bag, he headed straight to Marlow’s Bar & Grill, a place that had helped him to drown out his pain over the last few months.
Sitting at the circular bar he beckoned the bartender and slid the empty bottle forward.
“Another one, sir?” the bartender asked.
Kalon nodded, and seconds later the grey-haired man had swapped the old bottle for a new one.
He took a swig of his new beer. Taylor was tripping big time. He hoped things would’ve been different when she got out of the hospital, but things were still the same. “Games,” he muttered. Her body was much fuller than he remembered, but the extra pounds she had stacked on hit her in all the right places. Especially that voluptuous ass. His dick stood at attention just thinking about how good her ass felt in the palm of his hands.
Goodness.
He scanned the area and found that he was in good company—a full house of basketball fans. The Chicago Bulls were playing on several plasma flat screen televisions mounted on the walls around the downtown sports club. Everyone whooped it up when Derrick Rose hit a three-pointer and created a foul.
Kalon tore his gaze away from the screen, and his eyes landed on a beautiful woman, who was sitting at a round table for four. She gave him a flirty smile and a wink before putting her focus back on her weave-wearing girlfriend sitting on her right side.
He kept his gaze on the beauty and took another swig of his beer. He figured, to hell with love, and to hell with Taylor, too. To even think about throwing in his player’s card to settle down with one woman was absurd. His mother and Ephraim could now get off his case about finding someone and settling down. He had given it a try, and being in love was overrated.
He would ride this bachelor life out and see how far it would take him. At the moment, he felt like having them write bachelor for life on his headstone just so everyone could see how serious he was about this whole thing.
Kalon glanced at his watch, picked up his beer, and slid off the stool. Closing the distance between him and the woman, he slipped into the chair on her left side.
“Hey, sexy,” Kalon said over the loud screams of the people engrossed in the basketball game.
She gave him a sideways glance. “Hi.”
“You want to get out of here?”
She flamed red around the cheekbones, and her gaze narrowed at him. Then she whispered something in her friend’s ear and took a sip of her wine.
Kalon waited patiently for her to figure out if she wanted to do this one-night stand. Most women tried to act insulted or like they “weren’t that type of girl” but they were all the same in the end. The promise of dick was better than having none at all.
She snatched her purse from the table and stood.
Suddenly, Kalon felt a hand land on his shoulders and he glanced behind him.
Dang.
Ephraim had bad timing. He had called and told Ephraim to meet him at the bar, but he thought Ephraim was going to be a no-show after the first hour had passed.
“Ephraim,” Kalon mumbled, trying to hide his disappointment.
The beauty glanced between Kalon and Ephraim, and asked, “What is this? I’m not going with both of you.”
Ephraim smirked.
Kalon stood and apologized to the woman, “I’m sorry, but I just remembered I made other plans.”
The woman rolled her eyes and snapped, “Jerk!” She strutted away from the round table with her friend, giving him the “stink eye” on the way out the door.
This was the second time today that Kalon had been called an offensive word by a woman. If things kept going in that direction, he would have to turn in his player’s card for real.
Ephraim led Kalon to a table for two that had a better view of the plasma screens. Ephraim was a die-hard Bulls fan, and Kalon was surprised that he actually came out on a game night.
“Man, your timing sucks,” Kalon said, shaking his head.
Ephraim chuckled and gave a sidelong glance at the area the women had just vacated. “It seemed like I was right on time. You were about to make the biggest mistake of your life.”
“Are you crazy? That was me in action, about to get some ass. How is that a mistake?”
Ephraim never took his eyes off the screen as he said, “Because you’re in love and hurting right now. You don’t know how to work out your problems with Taylor, so you go find some booty to solve your problems. Then, in the morning, you’re going to feel guilty.”
Kalon laughed. “You should’ve waited and let me see how guilty I would’ve felt.”
The game went to a commercial and Ephraim focused on Kalon. “You called me because you want my advice.”
“Oh, I do?” Kalon asked.
“Yep, and I’m about to give it to you,” Ephraim said, flagging down the nearest barmaid. He placed the order, and the moment the big-breasted woman walked away, he said, “Work it out.”
“That’s it. Work it out?” Kalon asked, more angry at how disappointed he felt that the advice was so simple than he had been over the fact that his friend had interrupted an evening of play.
“See, Kalon, you’ve never been in love, so at the first sign of trouble you ran.” He glanced around the room when someone shouted. “You didn’t even try and talk to her, did you?”
Kalon mulled that over for a few moments. He didn’t actually say anything to Taylor, he just pounced on her—and that was the best sex he’d had in a long while.
“Whatever, Ephraim,” Kalon said with a shrug. “This stuff is just too hard. It’s simpler to just hit it and get out. All these emotions and feelings are too much. I don’t know if I’m up for the challenge.”
The waitress came back with Ephraim’s beer and he took a swallow, focusing his gaze back on the Bulls game.
“Kalon, that’s what you’re going to have to figure out.”
Ephraim took his attention away from the game again. “You have to ask yourself if you’re really in love with Taylor and is she worth fighting for. I watched you the other night, when we were out with the fellows ...” Ephraim paused.
“Go on,” Kalon urged.
“You ignored every woman who tried to push up on you. I know you, and that’s not how you get down. You’re not ready to move on.” He took a swallow of his beer and wiped his mouth. “You have unfinished business with Taylor.”
Kalon chuckled and took another swig of his beer. “You’ve got all the answers, E.”
Ephraim reared back in the wooden chair and raised the corner of his mouth in a slight smile. “Nope, I don’t have all the answers; I have a lot of knowledge.”
Both men laughed in unison.
“Whatever, man,” Kalon said, still chuckling.
“All jokes aside, if you want this girl, then you are going have to fight for her.”
“How do you fight for a married woman?” Kalon asked, tilting his bottle sideways to see how much beer was left.
Ephraim scratched the crown of his head as though contemplating the greatest mystery in the world. “You have to show her who’s the better man.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Ari and Jay were parked across the street from a two-story, red brick bungalow with a white picket fence around the perimeter. Ari scanned the address jotted down on the slip of paper he was holding and focused on the silver numbers tacked on to the front of the house.
He gestured toward the house. “This is it.”
“How can she afford this?” Jay asked, frowning as he scanned the area, taking in the manicured lawns and upscale homes.
“I don’t know,” was all Ari could say, staring at the house. “What should we do now?”
Jay turned his head toward Ari and said, “We wait.”
* * *
Ari had dozed off and on, causing Jay to nudge
him awake several times. Jay was used to doing stakeout in his previous line of business, since people often required his assistance, so he’d relish this type of work. Ari had to be careful about not being fully rested since his job as a pilot meant he had hundreds of lives in his hands. Rest was the key thing for pilots; airlines wouldn’t let them fly without it.
Finally, Jay gave up and let Ari have a little time to get in some real sleep.
Twenty minutes later, another shove jolted Ari from his nap. He yawned and stretched his arms above his head.
He glanced over at Jay. “What?”
Jay pointed at a white Honda pulling into the garage. The minute the garage door closed, Jay and Ari were making their way up the cobblestone driveway and up the three paved steps to the door.
Ari rang the doorbell. Ten seconds passed before a short, chubby, dark-haired Mexican woman opened the door. Her eyes flickered back and forth between Ari and Jay.
“Si?” she asked in a thick Spanish accent.
Ari motioned his hands in the air, trying to convey the message he wanted.
“No Es-pan-yol,” he said to the woman.
She shook her head. “No Eeeeenglish,” she replied with a shrug.
Ari turned toward Jay. “Maci is very fluent in Spanish.”
Jay frowned, then quickly rattled off words like hola, buscando, Maci, para la nina ...
Ari’s head whipped to his brother. When did he learn Spanish? The conversation continued, and Ari glanced back and forth at the show taking place in front of him.
Jay ended the conversation with, “Gracias.”
Ari knew exactly what that meant, and could only hope that all of the Español had gotten them some good Intel.
Jay jogged down the steps with Ari on his tail. He took long strides toward the car and jumped in.
“What did she say?” Ari asked.
Jay placed the car in drive and said, “Maci’s at the park around the corner.”
Ari nodded and cracked his knuckles. He was one step closer to seeing his daughter again. He had a lot of questions for Maci. She must be some type of psychopath to just up and disappear with his daughter that way.
Jay turned the corner and the park came into full view. The red sliding boards, several swing sets, and a seesaw sat in the middle of the tan sand with kids pushing up and down off the ground. A few kids played soccer in the open field to the left of the park, giggling and kicking around a black and white ball.
Jay cruised down the street as Ari scanned the playground for his little angel. Spotting a yellow T-shirt and capri blue jeans, Ari’s anticipation heightened. Adrianne’s long, curly hair whipped about her shoulders as she changed direction and skipped toward the swings, and Ari got a good view of her face. My baby. A glimmer of hope flooded his heart.
“Pull over right here,” Ari barked to Jay.
Jay punched the brakes, but didn’t come to a full stop before Ari was already out of the vehicle.
Ari picked up speed, but the footsteps behind him meant Jay had barely parked the car before getting out.
“Wait!” Jay warned Ari, but he kept moving forward. Ari stood right behind his daughter. Adrianne was playing with another little girl, but stopped suddenly to look over her shoulder. She locked eyes with Ari and yelped in surprise.
“Daddy,” she screamed, and took a running leap into his open arms.
Ari was sure his wildly pulsing heart was about to explode and kill him. He swung Adrianne around, her legs dangling freely, and he kissed the tot on her forehead.
“Get your hands off my daughter,” a woman screamed out from a distance. He didn’t notice the women who were sitting on a nearby bench.
He glanced up at Jay, whose mouth hung open as he stared straight ahead at a point beyond the trees.
Ari lifted his gaze to lock eyes with a woman he thought was Maci, but couldn’t be quite sure. Who the hell was this woman?
The long, curly hair that once hung to the middle of Maci’s back was now replaced with a short, blonde, spiky style.
Ari stood slowly from his squatting position as Adrianne wrapped her tiny arms around his legs and clung to him.
“Get your hands off my daughter,” Maci shouted again.
Maci weaved through the countless kids on the playground, walking at an accelerated speed until they were mere inches apart, nose to nose.
Ari narrowed his eyes to slit.
“How dare you give me orders?” Ari shifted his weight to his left leg because Adrianne was wrapped around his right leg. “You just up and disappeared with my daughter.”
Maci reached out for Adrianne, but the little girl resisted and shifted so she stood behind Ari. She wrapped both of her arms around his legs from behind and tightened her grip.
“You tried to kill me, Ari!” she spat like a raving lunatic. “You’ll never get a chance to do that again.”
Maci pointed her finger directly into his face to prove her point, and Ari took a few steps back.
Dealing with Maci’s finger pointing and head roll was pissing him off. She took several steps, until she was right up in his face again; stabbing his chest with each word she spoke.
He glanced over at Jay, who stood with his arms folded, but kept his focus in Maci’s direction.
Ari had the notion to reach out and choke Maci again, but he had to get ahold of his emotions. “Can we go somewhere and talk?”
Maci placed her hands on her hips. “No, we can’t talk at all,” she growled. “You did all your talking when you put your hands around my neck. I’m the mother of your child. How could you?”
Ari bent down and lifted Adrianne in his arms. He walked toward the only empty bench on the playground.
Jay and Maci followed closely behind.
Ari placed Adrianne on the wooden bench and turned toward Jay. “Can you wait here with Adrianne? Maci and I need to talk.”
Jay nodded, but Adrianne reached out for him.
“Nooo, Daddy,” his daughter pleaded, gripping his leg to hold him in place. “Don’t leave me again.”
Ari held his little angel’s hand and kissed it. “Daddy isn’t going anywhere again, baby. Stay here with Uncle Jay.”
Adrianne beamed with happiness and crawled into Jay’s lap, but kept her eyes on Ari.
Ari put his hand under Maci’s elbow and guided her to Jay’s parked car. He leaned against the car and folded his arms across his chest.
Maci stood in front of him and mimicked his actions.
“How did you find me?” Maci asked.
“Don’t worry about how I found you. I need to know how the hell you just packed up and left, taking my daughter. And how can you afford that nice home? And—”
“How the hell do you know where I stay?” she demanded.
Ari smirked. “That doesn’t matter. Who’s helping you? And how the hell did I end up at my home after the fight that night?”
Ari fired off so many questions that he couldn’t keep track, even though he didn’t expect Maci to give him any real answers.
Maci stood her ground, listening before she started to laugh hysterically; the kind of laugh that the Joker bellowed before he tried to take down Batman.
“Are you crazy?” Ari asked.
Maci let out a few snorts and doubled over laughing again. She slapped her hand on Ari’s chest, and he immediately stepped to the side.
He was positive that she had just lost it.
Stifling her giggles, she said, “You will never know because I’ll never tell.”
Ari felt a flutter in his chest by Maci’s tone when she said the words, I’ll never tell. Her voice was high-pitched, but creepy. Evidently she had some mental issue that a doctor had missed.
“Ari,” she shouted.
He faced her again. “What?”
Maci smiled. “I have another secret.”
Ari wiped the sweat from his forehead. He heard a car horn blast and glanced to his right. A mother was signaling for her kids to get in the car. F
acing Maci again, he frowned. “What is the secret, Maci?”
“I have full custody over Adrianne,” she spat. “So technically you’re not supposed to be here and your visitation rights are revoked.”
“You bitch!”
Maci stood on the side of Ari and leaned her hip against the car. “No need for the name calling. I’m sure we can come to some type of … arrangement.” She trailed her fingers down the middle of his chest.
“And if we can’t?”
She moved her finger back up to his chin, grasping it lightly.
Ari moved his head back slightly.
“I’ll just up and take Adrianne again. And this time you will never find us,” she said, trying to dip her index finger into his mouth.
Ari slapped her hands away.
“How did you get full custody?” he asked.
“That doesn’t matter!” She poked at his chest. “All you need to worry about is how to make me happy.”
Ari took two steps to the side. “Maci, I’m not about to play games with you. So whatever you got brewing in that little twisted mind of yours, you can just forget it.”
Maci moved closer to Ari. “Are you sure about that? Because it will be in your best interest to play by my rules if you want to see your daughter.”
Ari pondered Maci’s ultimatum. He couldn’t run the risk of Maci disappearing again. She was right, this time he might not find her again. He needed to find out who was helping Maci and why. Who cared about his situation this much to keep him away from his daughter? That would take a little time, and that meant playing her game for a hot minute.
“All right, what do you want?”
Maci twined her fingers together, as if she just had a naughty thought. “Well, first you can start by being a littler nicer to me.” She tilted her head and said in a softer voice, “And second, can we go back to having hot, passionate sex?”
Ari sliced his hand in the air. “Not going to happen, Maci.”
She dropped the smile and simply said, “Then kiss your daughter good-bye, because this is the last time you will see her again.” With that, she turned and walked back to the play area.
Ari watched in disbelief as Maci fled from him. Glancing around at the fathers playing with their kids at the park made his heart swell. He loved Adrianne more than anything on the earth. The thought of being without her was killing him.