The Private Serials Box Set(98)
“The last time I was there I was completely broken. I don’t really want to go back there,” she’d told me in a whisper one night as she lay sprawled over me in bed.
I didn’t need any more convincing than that, so we flew into Seattle and Parker had no problem meeting us there for dinner. Parker and Lena hugged tightly when they reunited and, again, I was filled with gratitude, grateful he was there to support Lena when I couldn’t be.
We had dinner at a restaurant inside the hotel Lena and I were staying at that night, waiting for our morning flight. It was a sham of a dinner; the girls were pretending not to be sad, even though the grief of separation was weighing down the very air we breathed. Parker and I were trying to be sensitive to their situation, but all three of the women were shredded, knowing they’d be saying goodbye again for who knew how long.
When we could extend dinner no longer, the girls reluctantly stood and headed toward the lobby of the hotel, Sam already wiping tears from her eyes.
“Be safe,” Piper said as she wrapped Lena in a hug. My heart pounded just a little harder seeing the two women who meant the most to me in the world embrace. I’d give up everything for either one of them, and something felt right when I saw them together.
“Don’t be a stranger,” Sam said, still crying, as Lena hugged her. Lena was surprisingly quiet, and I assumed it was because she was afraid if she spoke, she’d just end up crying. Everyone took in her silence and didn’t press her. When she hugged Parker though, the two of them exchanged words in hushed whispers, quietly enough I couldn’t hear.
I hugged the girls, kissed Piper on the cheek as she murmured the same “Be safe,” to me, then hugged me again a little more tightly. I tried not to look in her eyes as we pulled apart; didn’t want to see the pain I knew would be lighting them up.
I shook Parker’s hand and clapped him on the back, stilling when he leaned in and whispered to me, “Once you get settled in the hotel room, meet me down here alone.” I nodded as I pulled away, knowing exactly why he wanted to see me.
After Lena had given the girls another round of goodbyes, I took her hand and led her back to our room. I could see her holding back more tears and as the doors to the elevator closed I pulled her to my side and kissed the top of her head.
“Everything will be all right, Lena. I promise.” She nodded slightly as her arms squeezed my waist tighter. The doors opened on our floor and we walked, still wrapped in each other, to our room. I led her straight to the bathroom and started filling the bathtub with warm water. I turned back to her and could hardly stand her tear-streaked face. “Turn around, sweetheart.” I pulled the zipper of her dress and watched as the fabric floated down into a pool around her feet. I reached back up and unclasped her bra, watching it too fall to the ground, leaving her nearly bare. She bent at the waist and slid her panties off, then, with the grace of someone so accustomed to wearing them, took her high heels off without a single totter.
She turned back to me with not one single piece of clothing marring her body, nothing to shield her from me at all, and with sadness in her eyes, asked me, “Will you join me?”
I framed her face with my hands, saying, “In a little while, love. I’m going to get some ice and settle in for a minute. But then I’ll join you.”
She leaned forward and pressed a small kiss to my lips, and I fought every urge I had to pull her in closer, to take her mind off her sadness by making her feel good again. But I managed to watch her pull away and slowly dip her perfect body into the steaming water, then I turned around and walked out.
I found my brother exactly where he’d said he would be, and to say he looked worried would have been a massive understatement. He looked nervous and uncomfortable.
“I will never, not ever, do this for you again. So you better make sure you get this right the first time, Preston. I know you’d go to the ends of the earth for Lena, and I’ll do anything I can to help you, but this,” he said, slamming a sealed manila envelope into my chest, “is outside my comfort zone.”
I grabbed the envelope and breathed out a sigh of relief.
“You don’t know how much I appreciate this. It’s all there?”
“Everything you asked for is in that envelope. This cannot come back to me, brother. You have to find a way to end this.”
“Trust me,” I said, looking my older brother directly in the eye. “I’ve thought this through and this is the only way we all get what we want, and everyone gets what they deserve.”
“You better be right,” he said firmly, his face a mixture of concern and apprehension. Then he clasped my shoulder and brought me into a hug, forceful and startling. “Keep her safe. And keep yourself safe too, Pres. I need you both to be okay when this is all done.” After a few hearty claps on the back I pulled away, trying not to let my surprise at his worry show on my face. I was trying to be stoic, to show him I had everything under control.
“We’ll be fine.”
In response, Parker reached out his hand, and I shook it.
“Call me if you need anything.” He paused, my hand still clasped in his. “I mean it.”
“I know, Parker. I will.”
With that, he turned and walked toward the exit of the hotel, head bowed.
I let out a harsh sigh. It was official. We were on our own. We were on our own and about to attempt something insanely dangerous and very illegal. But as I’d told Parker when I asked for his help, I didn’t see any other way out.