A few seconds ticked by, the light breeze creating a rustling sound.
“How do you stand it?” she asked, her voice filled with reverence.
“Stand what?”
She brushed hair behind her ear while looking at me. “You’re rich and evidently famous, but you need a tight security system and weapons. My guess is you have some kind of safe room. You’re always on edge and you look behind you everywhere you go.”
“That would be my brother with the panic room.” I tried to laugh off her concerns, but I could tell she was really bothered. “Because it’s necessary to be prepared.”
“Yeah, I do understand. Maybe that’s why I just grew tired of living in fear and being forced to stay behind locked doors.”
“You sound like my sister-in-law.”
“Which one?”
She had me laughing. “You’re right. All three of them. Emmeline as well. Sometimes I don’t think they fully embrace the world we live in. We do what we need to do to keep those we care about safe.”
“Somehow, I think Zorro can take care of himself.” She threw me another look that was quite challenging.
I placed the mug on the deck and lifted my gaze toward the roses.
“Talk to me, Jaxon. You have so much inside the big head of yours. Just like you promised not to hurt me, I will make that same promise to you.”
She was something else.
“When I was in college, I fell in love with this wild child of a girl. Her name was Rose. She walked into my economics class and had to sit near me. I was hooked and she wanted nothing to do with me. Not a damn thing. Now, as a Prince boy, I thought I was all that and several bags of chips. You’ve heard that expression. Right?”
She giggled in response. “I can see that about you.”
“Yeah, I was that arrogant prick. Maybe I still am. It took me two months before she agreed to have coffee with me. I pulled out the stops too and she hated me. She had no problem telling me how much. Another two months and I finally broke her down once again. Just before Christmas.”
“You do wear on people.” Anastasia nudged me with her elbow. “I mean grow on people.”
“Very funny.” The memories were as bittersweet as the ones she’d had. “After a much-improved date, we were inseparable.She even came and spent one summer with me here in New Orleans. We talked about getting married.”
She obviously noticed my face falling. “What happened?”
“The spring of our senior year. We walked everywhere together and one night, we were teasing each other and Rose darted out in the road just as a drunk driver rolled down the street exceeding the speed limit.” I took a deep breath and Anastasia grabbed my hand, squeezing my fingers. “Hit her straight on. She died instantly.”
“My God. I’m so sorry.”
“I couldn’t believe it. She was laughing, blowing me kisses just a few minutes before and suddenly she was lying in a pool of blood. I just went nuts. I pulled the driver out of the car. I didn’t care who he was or what excuse he had. I beat the shit out of him.”
My sweet angel didn’t pull away, instead lifting my hand to her face, using the warmth of her skin to keep me from falling into despair.
“All I know is that I ended up in jail that night. Can you believe it? Of course the stupid kid was the police chief’s son. He was only sixteen years old. Got drunk and stole Daddy’s fancy SUV.”
“Jesus. What happened to him?”
“Not a goddamn thing. All our power and influence meant nothing in Connecticut. In fact, I was almost tossed out of the university. My father had to pull in several favors to keep me there. Not that I gave a shit. My Rose was gone. My life was over. If it hadn’t been for my older brother, I wouldn’t have graduated. After that, I shut down and worked. That’s it.”
“That’s why the tattoo?”
I held out my arm, nodding. “That’s why there are several of them. Getting another piece of ink etched in my skin was my way of coping instead of drugs. That and violence. I was the enforcer for the family for a little while. Against my mother’s wishes. I volunteered any time there was an issue. And I learned that caring about someone is a weakness I can’t handle.”
Telling the story didn’t cause the reaction I’d believed. I ached, but not for Rose as much as for fear of losing an opportunity of being with Anastasia.
“Rose would want you to live,” Anastasia offered.
