Back To The Start Box Set: Five Full-Length Novels by Aly Martinez
I swung my head to face him, my eyes bulging in disbelief. “You did not!”
He shrugged.
“You didn’t even ask me yet. I have the right to refuse.”
He twisted his lips and gave me a teasing side-eye. “You were gonna say yes.”
“You don’t know! I could totally say no.”
This time, he laughed, throwing his head back and everything.
“Roman, I’m serious,” I scolded.
Still laughing, he looked back at me and said, “I have no doubt that you are, Lissy. But I also know you would have said yes at the police station if I’d asked.”
“I would not!”
“You would.”
“I would not.”
“You would.”
“I would not!”
He leaned in close. “You would.”
“Roman…” I was preparing to let him know exactly what I thought of his proposal assumptions when he suddenly produced a huge diamond ring out of thin air and lifted it into my line of sight.
Any further objections died in my mouth.
“Like I said.” He smirked, taking my hand and sliding the ring on my finger. “You should probably put on your engagement ring before my parents get here.”
My vision swam, and my lungs seized.
He’d proposed—kinda.
He wanted to be my husband again.
And I wanted to be his wife more than I’d ever wanted anything.
It might have taken us some time to figure it out.
But we’d fallen in love in less than a day.
Not even utter devastation and two years apart could erase that.
A love like ours wasn’t measured in years, distance, or time apart.
It was never-ending.
An electrical current traveled through me, prickling the hairs on the back of my neck the same way it had the first time I’d laid eyes on him and then again that day at the police station.
Only, this time, I realized that it was the overwhelming sensation of right.
The diamond was gorgeous, but that feeling had less to do with the stone and more to do with the man who had given it to me.
He was right.
We were right.
We’d always been right.
So, with absolute certainty—and despite the fact that he hadn’t asked—I laughed a throaty, “Yes.”
His smile grew exponentially. Then he pressed his smiling mouth to mine and taunted, “See? I told you you’d say yes.”
I slapped his arms and wiped a stray tear on my shoulder. “Don’t be an ass right now. I’m too happy to give you any attitude.”
“Okay, Elisabeth Leblanc—with an S and a lowercase B—I won’t be an ass right now while you’re feeling happy.”
The familiar words turned the waterworks on full force. “God, don’t be sweet, either. Just stand there and tell me you love me.”
“I love you.”
He did. I had not one single doubt about that.
I threw my arms around his neck, buried my face in his neck, and mumbled, “Never mind. That just made it worse.”
His shoulders shook as he laughed, and he smoothed his hands up and down my back, his lips peppering kisses anywhere his mouth could reach.
It was then that I understood what he’d meant when he’d said that his lungs had inflated for the first time since he’d found me sitting on the couch the night I left.
Because, for the first time since I’d made the decision to leave, I took my first real breath. I clung to his shoulders and basked in the beauty of it all.
After a few minutes, he murmured, “Baby, you gotta let me go if I still need to go dig up some sweet potatoes.”
I sniffled and sat up, staring down at my ring. “Nah. I think this will be enough to distract them from the lack of carbohydrates on the table.”
“Probably.” He grinned just as the front door swung wide open and Kristen sauntered in with Devon on her heels, carrying a huge tray of pies.
“Damn it, Kristen,” Roman barked, shoving away from me and striding toward his sister. “He’s a bodyguard, not a bellhop.”
“Oh, shut up, Roman. He offered to help. Besides, he’s going to be eating some of it, too.” She batted her eyelashes. “I made extra since I’m sure a big, strong guy like Devon has quite an appetite.” She bit her lip and shot Roman an exaggerated wink.
While Kristen did think Devon was hot (and he was), she really just enjoyed screwing with her brother.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” he bit out, snatching the tray from Devon’s hands.
“Roman!” Cathy scolded as she came through the front door. “It’s Thanksgiving. Can you give the cursing a rest?” Her hands were filled with a million bags, and a huge smile covered her face as her gaze met mine.
I hopped off the counter, straightened my dress, and headed to help her. I was pulling bags from her hands when I was wrapped in a hug from behind.
“My girl came home,” Rome mumbled to himself before releasing me. Taking the bags from my hands, he grumbled at his wife, “Woman, I told you I’d get the bags.”
“And I told you…” She kept talking, but I lost her words as she bustled to the kitchen.
As I watched the man I loved—who, only minutes earlier, had slipped a ring on my finger—as he argued with his sister in the kitchen, his parents chattering under their breath, and one lost and confused bodyguard skillfully trying to make his escape out the back door, I realized that Rome was not wrong.
I was home.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Roman
“Shelly,” I called to my secretary. “Where is the new offer from Wells?”
She peeked her head around the corner. “I’m assuming it’s on the table with the rest of your mail. I didn’t open anything that was personally addressed to you.”
I groaned, cutting my eyes to the table that had to be moved into my office sometime over the last week, for no other purpose than to hold all of the mail I’d received while I’d been out.
I quietly cursed myself for having made the rule about mail after Shelly had opened a blow-up doll Kristen had sent to the office for my birthday. Only it hadn’t been my birthday and she’d only done it because she was pissed and knew that my secretary opened all my mail. She’d ordered it on her cell phone while impatiently sitting in the chair across from the desk, waiting for me to get off a business call.
Taking two weeks off to spend time with Elisabeth had been amazing. Part of it had been spent working with attorneys to figure out the best course of action in getting custody of a child who I couldn’t even prove was mine. However, the other part, where I’d gotten to know Elisabeth again and then convinced her to marry me again, had been worth every minute of coming back to mountains of work at the office.
Less than two seconds after walking into my office, I made the decision that I needed to hire someone to help me run things.
I’d worked a lot since starting Leblanc Industries, but now that I had Elisabeth back, I had no interest in spending eighteen hours a day away from her. It was time I started living again, and what better way than with the woman I loved at my side.
“Thanks, Shelly,” I said, dismissing her and moving toward an only slightly smaller version of the Alps made out of unopened boxes and envelopes.
Twenty minutes later, I was still searching for a more-than-likely-shit offer from Wells when my hand landed on a padded envelope with no return address. I flipped it over to check the back, but besides my address and a postmark from nine days ago, it was completely blank.
Curious, I ripped the top off, slid the contents out, and then stopped breathing.
My entire body turned to granite when I realized what I was holding.
Two plastic baggies filled with four Q-tips each.
Another filled with curly, blond hairs.
Another with darker-blond locks.
And, finally, a toothbrush.
I frantically tore the
One was a generic consent to DNA testing that had to have been printed off the Internet, but the only thing that mattered was that it had Tessa’s name at the top and it had been signed by Clare Noir.
The second paper caused a heavy weight to sink in my stomach.
Hand-written on an otherwise blank piece of paper was a note that said:
Roman,
You were right. I should have gotten in the car. Unfortunately, you were wrong too. There’s nothing that can be done to help me anymore, but I’m begging you to use this DNA and do what I can’t.
Save Tessa. Get her as far away from Walt as you can, even if that means away from me too.
I wasn’t sure exactly what you’d need, so I swabbed each of our mouths with the Q-tips. The toothbrush is Walt’s.
All I ask is that, one day, when I’m gone, you’ll remind her how much I loved her.
Please hurry.
-Clare
I felt like someone had kicked me in the stomach even as my mind celebrated the breakthrough.
That woman was handing me a child she loved.
My child.
Elisabeth’s child
Clare’s child.
Despite the fact that it meant losing her.
My stomach wrenched at such a selfless sacrifice.
My conscience exploded with guilt.
I couldn’t leave her hanging in the breeze.
But I had no idea what the fuck I could do.
I slid the contents back in the envelope and marched over to my desk. Then I snatched the receiver up as I dragged my wallet from my pocket and found his card.
“Light,” he growled in greeting.
“I just got a package in the mail from Clare Noir. A legal consent for testing, baggies full of possible DNA for her, Tessa, and Walter, and a letter begging me to save the girl.”
Silence.
“Heath! Did you hear me?”
“Walt’s DNA won’t be admissible in court,” he said, emotionless.
“Hers will though. And, if we can confirm that Tessa is Elisabeth’s, that’s all we need to prove foul play, right?”
He didn’t answer my question. “You at the office?”
“Yeah.”
“Hang tight. I’m on my way.” Then he hung up.
Keeping the phone to my ear, I hit the button with my hand then released it and dialed again. “I need to speak with Detective Rorke immediately. It’s an emergency.”
After I’d relayed the story to him, he too stated that he was on his way over to my office then disconnected.
I debated calling Elisabeth, but I didn’t want to get her hopes up. I had no fucking idea what the hell this meant for us. Yes, we now had the DNA, but I had a feeling getting custody of that little girl wasn’t going to be an overnight process.
With restless legs, I spent the next fifteen minutes pacing my office as I reread the letter from Clare over and over again. Each time I finished, my anxiety and my resolve to help her grew stronger.
By the time Heath came striding through my door, I was roaring with adrenaline.
“Letter!” he demanded.
I handed it his way then fisted my hands on my hips and watched him read, recounting each word by memory as his eyes scanned the page. His jaw clenched, the muscles twitching as he ground his teeth.
I waited. And waited. And waited.
He had to have read it at least four times. But he never looked up.
“What are my options here?” I finally asked.
He said not a single word as he dropped the letter to the floor and headed right back out my door.
“Light,” I called after him.
His long legs swallowed up the distance to the elevator as I marched after him.
“Where the fuck are you going? I need some help here.”
His blue gaze swung to mine, causing me to flinch when I caught sight of the hollow orbs staring back at me. He shook his head, raked a hand through his hair, and boomed, “Fuck!” His fist slammed into the metal doors just before they slid open and revealed Rorke standing inside.
The air turned thick as the two men saw each other.
“You are not here,” Heath said dangerously.
“Light,” Rorke warned.
He took a giant step into the elevator, bumping his chest with Rorke’s. “You are not fucking here!”
I caught the elevator door before it closed and climbed inside. “What the fuck is going on?” I rumbled, squeezing in front of Heath, who had passed the point of anger and was teetering precariously on the edge of blinding rage.
“This man just cost you your daughter,” he growled.
My body jerked. “Excuse me?” I planted a hand on his chest and turned to face Rorke.
“I did not!” the detective assured, visibly shaken.
“You smoke your mole out yet?” Heath shot over my shoulder. “Because I guarantee Walter Noir has heard that his wife gave up DNA to the police and they are both probably dead or dying by now.”
Rorke cocked his head to the side and spat, “I kept it quiet.”
Heath turned and jabbed the L button, muttering under his breath, “If you know, it’s not quiet enough.”
My mind was spinning, and I couldn’t keep up. Finally, I’d had enough. “Somebody tell me what the fuck is going on right fucking now!” I seethed in a volatile whisper.
Rorke started with, “Light thinks—”
He didn’t get another word out before Heath dove around me, grabbed the front of his shirt, and slammed him up against the back of the elevator, snarling, “I know! I don’t think! I fucking know! You have a goddamn cop feeding Noir our every move. Now, once again, I have to figure out a way to clean up your mess.”
“You’re not cleaning up shit, Light. You go anywhere near that house, you’ll blow the entire investigation.”
“Fuck you. Fuck your department. Fuck your entire jacked-up investigation.” He gave him another hard slam into the elevator. “I swear to God, Rorke. One fucking uniform follows me, I’ll have your badge.”
“Really? Because it sounds like you’re about to lose yours.” Rorke pushed back.
Heath’s lips formed an angry snarl. “What’s he gonna do? Call the cops?”
The elevator dinged, and the doors opened to the lobby. Heath stomped out but stopped only a few feet away to turn back and look at me. “You coming with me or what?”
I was. I so was.
Even though I had no idea what the hell was about to go down.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Clare
It had been nine days since I’d mailed the DNA to Roman.
I hadn’t heard anything back.
I didn’t know if that was a good or a bad thing.
His face wasn’t on the news as a missing person.
But the cops hadn’t showed up to take my daughter yet, either.
I wasn’t positive that was the way it would work, but every night as I fell asleep with her in my arms, a knife under my mattress, Walt curled up behind me, I had the sweetest dreams about that moment.
It would kill me to tell her goodbye.
But the relief of knowing she was finally out of his reach would make it all worth it.
It was the day after Thanksgiving, and I was decorating the house for Christmas when I heard Walt coming down the stairs.
Tessa froze when she heard him, but I gave her a smile and a wink and tossed her a few of the plastic ornaments I’d managed to untangle from the lights.
I kept my back to him, hoping he’d ignore me.
I’d never been more wrong.
I felt him get close, and I steeled myself for his usual hug and kiss.
Only, this time, I felt his hand wrap around my neck, cutting my air off, as he spun me and slammed my back against the wall.
My scream was unable to escape past his grip on my throat.
I had always been afraid of Walt, but I’d never, not once, seen
His face was nearly vibrating as he exploded. “You gave the police our DNA!”
That was it.
The time had come.
It was my day to die.
And, as my eyes frantically flashed to Tessa, who was screaming on the floor, my only thoughts were that I’d failed her for the first, and ultimately last, time.
Roman
“What are you planning to do?” I asked, sitting in the passenger’s seat of Heath’s white Explorer as he gunned it toward the Noir residence.
“Haven’t made it that far,” he grunted, swerving around traffic.
Fuck. This does not sound good.
“Then maybe we should pull the fuck over and develop some sort of plan of action here,” I argued.
He ignored me and lifted a phone to his ear. “It’s Light. I need surveillance at Noir’s temporarily shut off for about an hour.” Pause. “Well, that’s up to you, but there’s about to be a fuck-ton of my face up in that shit.” Pause. “Then that’s on you. But I’d suggest you do it now.” Pause. “Right. I’ve got Leblanc with me.”
I heard the man on the other end of the phone shouting as Heath pulled the phone away and pressed the end button.
Fuck. That sounds even worse.
“Heath, man…I’m not sure about this. I want this done too, but I don’t think this is the way to—”
He cut me off. “He’s gonna kill her. If he hasn’t already.”
“Tessa?” I asked, my heart lurching into my throat.
He shook his head, keeping his eyes on the road. “Clare. Then he’s gonna pack up your kid and leave the city. We might find him again.” His haunting gaze flashed to mine. “But we might not. The one thing I can swear to you is that we do not have time to pull over and work out a plan of action. Now, I can pull over, drop you off, and you can walk away from all of this here and now. Or you can reach into my back seat, dig out my vest, put that motherfucker on, and follow me into the pits of Hell to retrieve your daughter.”
I gritted my teeth.
It wasn’t a choice at all.
If he was right, this might have been my only shot to bring her home to Elisabeth.