Trust in Us (Forbidden Love Book 1) Read online

  “I… We’re not…”

  I raise an eyebrow. “Okay, let me ask it differently. How long have you been in love with him?”

  She looks down at the tissue she is destroying in her hands. She takes a deep breath. “I’ve been in love with that man since the first time I met him. He had this way about him. He was so tough, so strong, so demanding, but also so damn sweet and loving with his four-year-old running around the shop. I thought he was a complete asshole the first time I walked into his office looking for a job…until a tiny J came in asking about ice cream. That tough guy façade cracked and I saw what he hid underneath.

  “Does he know?”

  “Yeah, he knows.”

  “I may not know shit, but I can see that man loves you. I wouldn’t doubt that if I were you.”

  “If only that were true. I’m good enough when he needs someone in his bed, but not when… You know what? Never mind.” When she tries wiping her eyes with the shredded tissue, I lean forward and grab the box from the table, holding it out to her. She takes one, placing her hand on my arm. “Please, Cole. You can’t say anything. J doesn’t know about us. She can’t find out.”

  Sitting back, I see the hurt in her eyes. This poor woman is crushed. “Your secret is safe with me, Nan.”

  “Now, let me ask you something. How long have you been in love with J?”

  I’m surprised by the question. “I’m not in love with her. She’s stubborn and hotheaded. We fight more than we get along. She doesn’t trust me, and I don’t do relationships.” I look at her, then the door, seeing a crying J standing there. I stand and pull her into my arms.

  Nan stands. “Tell me what you were saying again.” She winks as she walks to the door. “I’m running to the ladies’ room. I will be right back.”

  “What was she talking about?” J leans back and looks at me, sniffing.

  “Nothing… Nothing at all,” I say, pulling her back to me and placing my chin on top of her head. “How’s he holding up?” I lead her over to the couch, sitting beside her.

  “He’s so bruised and battered. Cole, it doesn’t even look like him. How could this have happened? Pop is the best rider I know.”

  “I’ve been thinking about that. I need to get to the garage and look into something. I am going to take the wrecker out to the police lot and get Mikey’s bike. I want to do a full search and see if anything was tampered with. Do you have any idea why your dad was driving it?”

  “I have no idea. I don’t think he’s ever taken it before. He has his Harley at the house. You’re thinking it was DiMarco, aren’t you?”

  “Don’t you?” I sigh and run my hands over my head. “Look, like you said, Darren is a great rider. I think someone messed with the bike, but I don’t know if it was meant for him or Mikey. While I am at it, I am going to check your Jeep, too. When I leave, I’m taking it with me. I’ll leave you my truck keys, just in case.”

  “My Jeep? You think they fucked with my Jeep?”

  “I just want to be sure. I texted Ash. It’s almost five, so he should be getting up for work soon and will see it.”

  “Oh god. This is all my fault. If I would have just said something…”

  “It’s not your fault. You didn’t do this. You thought you were doing what was best at the time.”

  “He’s going to hate me for keeping this from him. He deserved to know he was in danger.”

  I grab her hands, making her look at me. “This isn’t your fault, J. We will get a handle on it. Okay?” I say, rubbing my thumbs across her hands.

  She looks from our hands to my eyes. “Yeah, okay.”

  I kiss her forehead before I stand, looking down at her. “I’m heading to Z’s to see what I can find out. If you need me for anything, and I mean anything, J, call me.”

  “Please let me know if you find anything.” She digs her keys out of her purse, handing them to me. I drop mine into the blackness of her bag.

  “Do you need anything before I go? Coffee? Pepsi? A snack?”

  “No, I’m good. When Nan gets back, I am going to take a walk to stretch my legs until I’m allowed back in.”

  “Do me a favor… Let Nan go in soon. She needs to see he is okay.” She nods as I head for the door.

  “Cole?”

  “Yeah?” I say, looking over my shoulder.

  “Thank you.”

  “Anytime, babe. Anytime. I’ll text you later.”

  I softly close the door behind me, taking a deep breath before I head to the exit. I see Nan leaning against the wall. “What are you doing out here?”

  “Giving you some space.”

  “Not necessary.”

  “Listen, I am not trying to get into your business, but I will say this. I love that girl in there. She may not be mine, but she means everything to me. I love her like my own, so when she hurts, I do, too. Be patient with her. She was in a horrible relationship and it broke her. I don’t know if she will ever be whole again. I like you, Cole. There is something good in you that you don’t let a lot of people see, but I see it. If you don’t want her, please, don’t let her fall in love with you. She can’t handle being broken again. I know what’s it’s like. For almost twenty-five years, I’ve thought maybe if I just do this, it will be the time he stays, the time he announces to the world that I’m important enough, that he cares. I will love that man until the day I die, even though I know he will never reciprocate those feelings. After all this time, I still wait. I’m pathetic, I know, but I love him. I don’t even know if he would notice if I walked away. I’m too scared to even find out. I don’t want to see J go through the living hell I’m putting myself through right now. She deserves better.”

  I nod, not knowing what the hell I am supposed to say. I don’t do relationships. I can’t. The baggage I carry around drowns me. I can’t ask someone else to shoulder that burden. It’s safer this way. I care about J. Hell, I’m in a constant state of arousal every time she’s around, and even when she isn’t. She’s starred in more dreams than I care to think about. That ass is engrained in my brain for future spank bank material, but do I love her? No. Do I care about her? More than I probably should.

  Nan rubs my arm on her way past, pulling me from my thoughts. “Nan, keep an eye on her. Make sure she eats something today. Please.”

  She smiles for the first time all night, lighting up her face. Nan is a beautiful woman. The way she looks at this moment, I can see what draws Darren to her. He is a fool if he lets her walk away. She’s tired. I can see it in her eyes. If he doesn’t do something to make it more permanent, he’s going to lose her.

  “I will,” she says, winking.

  I head to J’s Jeep and pray we figure this fucking shit out. I’m walking a fine line and don’t know which way I’m going to fall.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Cole

  As I drive to the shop, my head is all over the place. I can’t stop thinking about J, Justin, the damn DiMarco brothers, and my conversation with Nan. I’m mentally making a list of all the things I need to do today when my phone rings. Ash.

  It’s about time.

  “Ash, I need a favor, man.”

  “You do realize it’s, like, five thirty in the morning, right?”

  “It’s Darren. He was in an accident last night. I am about ninety percent sure his bike was fucked with. I’m willing to bet it was DiMarco.”

  “Well, shit. How bad is it?”

  “It’s bad. He’s at St. Margaret’s in the ICU. I am just leaving there, headed for the shop. I’m going to get that bike up in the rack, check that shit with a fine-tooth comb. If they touched it, I’ll find it.”

  “Where’s J?”

  “I left her and Nan at the hospital. It’s been a rough night, man.”

  “I’ll see what I can find out from our man on the inside.”

  “Thanks, brother,” I say as I pull into the parking lot of the shop.

  “If you find anything wrong with Darren’s bike, call me. K
eep your nose clean, man. Don’t go trying to be the fucking hero here. You are so close to the finish line.”

  “I know. I know. I’m at the shop now. I’ll call you later.”

  I pull J’s Jeep right up to my bay door and park. I look over and see Mikey’s Harley up on the wrecker in the lot. I didn’t expect it to be here already. Since it looks like I’m the first one in today, I’ll have to wait for Todd to come in and ask if he knows how it got here. I know he was going to grab a few hours’ sleep, but he should be here soon. I check my pockets, remembering I gave my keys to J. Shit. I hope her shop key is on this ring or I’ll be sitting until someone else shows.

  Luckily, the key ring has the one I need. I get the door open, put my code into the alarm panel, then walk to the coffee pot and get that started. I’m running on fumes, but there was no way I could go home and sleep without checking out the bike. I also wasn’t about to let J drive her Jeep.

  Just as I get the bay door open, I see Todd pulling in. Good, he can deal with the day-to-day shit. I have my hands full right now.

  “What’s the word?” Todd asks.

  “Same. Nothing’s changed since you left last night. He’s in ICU now. J’s been able to see him…” I look at my watch, “twice by now. She gets a few minutes every hour. Her and Nan are holding up as well as can be expected.”

  He nods at her Jeep. “Something wrong with J’s Jeep?”

  I knew this question was coming, but I’m still not really sure how I am going to answer. I guess as honestly and as vaguely as possible. “Told her I’d check it out. She said she heard some noises.” When his eyebrow raises, I know he doesn’t believe a word I am saying, so I decide to change the subject. “Hey, do you know how Mikey’s bike got here and why Darren had it?”

  “I went and got it after I left the hospital. The cops were still on the scene and had it pulled up from the ravine. I just had to load it on the wrecker. Stupid to have someone else take it, then have to move it again.” He heads to the coffee pot. “Oh, I forgot to ask when we were at the hospital. What the fuck is going on between you and J?”

  Why do people keep asking me that? “Nothing. Why?”

  “Don’t give me that bullshit. I saw you two. Just be careful.”

  “Man, there’s nothing to worry about. She needed a shoulder. I offered. End of story.”

  “Sure thing,” Todd says, walking into the office, coffee in hand, to see what is on the books for today.

  I go out and pull J’s Jeep into my bay. No idea what I am looking for, but I’m going to go over every inch of it.

  *

  I have been over every single piece of this Jeep. I know the guys are curious as to what is going on, but I haven’t really said anything, other than she wanted me to check it. I’m tired and cranky, so they are staying away from me.

  Forty minutes into my inspection, I found a small device attached to the side of her engine block. I called Ash, who came out to look at it, telling me it was a tracking device. I suspected as much, but couldn’t be sure. Ash didn’t want me to do anything with it right away. For now, the Jeep is staying at the shop. Asher is coming later to have the device removed and deactivated.

  I walk through the office to get what feels like my tenth cup of coffee, seeing Mikey sitting at Nan’s desk. “You sure that’s a good idea? She’ll kill you if you touch anything,” I say, a smirk on my face.

  “Do you know how many times this fucking phone rings? It’s been ringing off the fucking hook for an hour. People are needy as hell, man. ‘When’s my car going to be done?’ ‘How much does this cost?’ ‘How much does that cost?’ I don’t fucking know the answer to any of them.”

  The phone starts ringing, making me laugh. “See what the fuck I’m talking about?” He picks up the phone. “Z’s Service. What up?”

  Oh, Lord. Nan is going to kill him and I can’t wait to watch. I stand, drinking my coffee, waiting for him to finish so I can ask about his bike.

  When he hangs up, he just scratches his head.

  “Mikey, why did Darren have your bike last night?”

  He looks at me. “He’s been asking to borrow it for weeks. I’ve been looking to get rid of it and he was considering buying it. But I guess it’s gone now.”

  “Were you having any problems with it?”

  “No. It drove like a wet dream. That’s why I can’t understand what happened. He’s a better rider than that.”

  “Thanks, man.”

  I head over to Todd’s bay, seeing him working on Ms. Bradley’s brake job. “Hey, I’m not trying to tell you how to do your job, but if you want to have any customers when Darren gets back, you may want to pull Mikey out of that office.”

  “What’s that little fuck doing now?”

  “Well, the ‘Z’s Service. What’s up?’ greeting may turn a few people off.” I laugh.

  “Shit. I don’t have anyone else to put in there. How long is Nan going to be out?”

  “I’m thinking J and Nan are in it for the long haul. What about somebody’s wife, girlfriend, daughter, mistress? There has to be a woman better suited to answer these calls than Mikey.”

  “Ah, Cole, you’re a genius. I will figure it out. You taking a car now?”

  “No. I need to go over Mikey’s bike. There is something not right with this wreck. I want to find out what the fuck it is.”

  “Good idea. Let me know if you need anything.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  J

  “I’ve been all over this damn hospital looking for you. I finally convinced an uptight nurse to tell me where you were.” Jules sets the coffee cups on the table and flops onto the couch beside me. It’s just after seven thirty in the morning. I never thought she’d be up and dressed at this time of the day.

  “What are you doing here?” I ask, grabbing a cup of coffee, my third since I’ve been sitting in here. Hopefully, since it is Starbucks and not the hospital machine kind, I won’t feel like throwing up as soon as it hits my taste buds.

  “Nan, I got you one, too. I, um…heard you guys have been here a while, no thanks to you. I can’t believe you didn’t call me,” she says, not meeting my eyes.

  I turn to her and wait until she looks at me. “How did you know we were here?”

  She sits back on the couch and looks at Nan for help. When Nan just shrugs, she looks at me. “Jesus, fine. I was at Asher’s when Cole called this morning. Okay?”

  “Oh, my god, Jules. You’re sleeping with Asher?!” I say, a little louder than I intended.

  “Well, I can’t say there was a lot of sleeping last night, but yeah, I guess you can say that. I don’t know if it was a one-time thing or what. We kind of left it up in the air. When he told me what Cole said, I knew I had to get here for you.”

  I shake my head. She’s sleeping with Asher? I don’t know why I am surprised. She’s not hindered in her sex life at all. If she sees someone she wants, she goes after him. She lives in the moment, regardless of the possible outcome. We truly are opposite in every way.

  Looking up at the clock, I see it’s almost time for another visit with my dad. There really hasn’t been any improvement in the last couple hours, but there hasn’t been any decline, either. “Nan, it’s almost time for a visit. Why don’t you take this one? I need to fill Jules in on what’s going on.”

  She sits up straighter. “You sure, sweetie?”

  “Yeah. I have gone in the last couple times. You go, but just tell him I love him.”

  “Of course,” she says, heading for the door.

  “You are out of your fucking mind,” I say as soon as the door to the waiting room closes. I turn and face Jules. “I can’t believe you’re sleeping with Asher.”

  “J, seriously, it just happened. He asked me out to dinner and it just happened. Have you seen him? He’s gorgeous. I’d be a fool not to sleep with him.”

  “What does Cole think?”

  “I don’t know that he knows I was there, but it’s not like Asher sa
id, ‘Hold on. Don’t tell me about Darren yet. I fucked Jules last night.’ He just listened to what Cole had to say, asked a few questions, and that was it.” She looks at her coffee in her hands. “You know, he thinks it was the DiMarcos who did this to Papa Bear.”

  “Yeah, I know. When Cole left here, he headed to the shop to look at the bike, hoping to find something.”

  “Cole was here?” she says, her eyes lighting up.

  “Todd texted him after Nan called. They were both here. Don’t get your hopes up. It was nothing. He just wanted to check on Pop.”