Unbreakable (Heart of Stone #7) Read online

  “Then what’s wrong? As long as we’re together, we can handle anything.”

  She lowered her gaze to meet mine and gave me a look so serious for a moment I didn’t know if I wanted to hear her answer. But then she spoke and my heart squeezed at her words.

  “I’m just afraid of what’s going to happen. The police are after me, I still don’t know why all that happened with Hailey and Justin…” Her voice trailed off and she shook her head. “I’m just afraid.”

  Wrapping my arms around her, I held her tightly to me and pressed a kiss onto the top of her head. “I promise you don’t have to be afraid from this moment on. Not of those two or the police. I’ll make sure of that.”

  I felt her sigh against my chest and whisper she loved me, but a nagging thought in the back of my mind bothered me. I wanted to believe I could protect her from anything and anyone that would come after us. Even if it meant giving up my life for her, I would protect her.

  But what if the worst danger to us being happy wasn’t from outside the two of us? What if it was whatever made that look of sadness cross her face every so often when she looked at me?

  Chapter Two

  Jordan

  The phone on the nightstand next to me rang for the third time, rousing me from a sound sleep. Not quite awake, I grabbed the receiver and pressed it to my ear, semi-confused about answering a phone like that since I hadn’t used a rotary phone in years.

  “Hello?” I mumbled, my eyes still closed. Who the hell would be calling a room at a roadside motel in the middle of the night?

  “Jordan Wright?”

  “Yeah. This is Jordan Wright. Who is this?”

  Instantly, I felt the phone yanked from my hold and opened my eyes to see Gage slam it back down. “Jordan, get up! We need to get out of here!”

  He hurriedly slipped into his jeans and grabbed his t-shirt as I tried to figure out what was wrong. “Why? What happened?”

  “That call! Whoever called knows we’re here because I registered under a fake name. We need to get out of here!”

  Adrenaline raced through my body at the realization of what he’d said. How had they found us? And who? The police or Hailey and Justin? My heart slamming against my ribs, I quickly threw on my clothes, my fear nearly exploding out of me.

  Gage held out his hand as he opened the motel room door a crack to look out into the night. “Come here. All we have to do is make it to the car. Did you recognize the voice of the person on the phone?”

  I tried to remember the voice, but utter terror and the remnants of sleepiness filled my brain. “It was a man, I think. I don’t know. I wasn’t really awake.”

  He turned toward me and put his finger to his mouth to tell me to be quiet. “I’m going to take a look outside, but I don’t see anyone here yet. Wait here and don’t move. And don’t open this door!”

  Before I could protest and tell him I didn’t want to stay in that seedy motel room while he possibly risked his life seeing if the coast was clear, he slipped out the door and left me alone with nothing but fear and dread.

  Every terrible thing that could happen tore through my brain, making things even worse. He could get hurt out there. Or killed. Oh God! My stomach dropped at the mere thought of anything happening to him because of me. Please God, don’t let that happen.

  As I stood there behind the door bargaining with God to let Gage be safe and return to me, I saw headlights shine in our direction and heard tires squeal at the opposite end of the parking lot. Terrified someone had run him down, I opened the door to look out and ran into Gage.

  “I told you to not open this door. You don’t listen well,” he grumbled as he took my hand. “We need to go. I don’t know who that was who called, but whoever it was, they know you’re here.”

  I followed him as he led me to the car, my head moving left and right to look for the person who’d called. “What was that squealing noise? It sounded like tires.”

  Gage let go of my hand and ran over to his side of the car. “It was. Just some kids running out on a wrecked motel room, I’d guess. Get in the car. We need to leave now.”

  He started the engine and tore out of the parking lot just like the kids had done a few minutes before. In seconds we were back on Route 80 driving west toward his parents’ house in Wyoming, but I couldn’t think that was a good plan anymore. If someone had tracked me to some dump motel in Nebraska, they certainly could find me at his family’s home, and if they did I’d have put them in danger too.

  I couldn’t do that.

  “Gage, maybe we shouldn’t go to your parents’ house.”

  He turned to look at me like I’d just said something hurtful, so I tried to explain. “What if the person who found me at that motel tracks me to your house? Your family could get hurt, and it would be all because of me. I don’t want that for them or for you.”

  “We’ll be fine, Jordan. Between my brother and my father, there’s enough firepower at that house to chase away the entire Wyoming National Guard.”

  He said that like it was a good thing. “I don’t think some gunfight at the OK Corral is something to look forward to, Gage. What about your mother and sisters?”

  “They’ll be fine. Don’t worry. Even Lily can shoot pretty well, so don’t worry.”

  All this talk of guns and shooting people was completely foreign to me. True, I’d lived in Brooklyn for years and experienced the crime that came with a big city, but other than seeing Gage’s guns, I’d never seen one in all my time in New York.

  And what kind of people were Gage’s family if they kept that many guns in their home? My imagination ran away with me as I thought about a whole houseful of people toting guns as they sat down for dinner or watched TV. For a moment, all I could imagine was a family like the Hatfields or McCoys.

  “I see by the look on your face you’re worried. Don’t be,” Gage said in his most reassuring tone, his deep voice soothing some of my fears.

  “Actually, I was just thinking about what your family is like with all those guns.”

  For the first time since we’d raced out of that motel room, Gage smiled one of those crooked grins that I loved. “It’s not like they sit around with holsters and guns on their hips, Jordan. It’s not like that. I know you. You’re probably thinking they’re mountain people with two or three teeth in each of their mouths and all wear overalls.”

  I couldn’t stifle the giggle that bubbled up at the picture he’d painted me. I hadn’t gone that far, but now that he’d described things that way, I felt a little foolish. Wyoming might not be Brooklyn or Connecticut, but it wasn’t the 1800s Wild West either.

  “I didn’t think that. Well, not the teeth part.”

  Gage reached out to take my left hand in his and raised it to his lips. Giving it a tiny kiss, he looked at me and smiled. “They’re just like me, so they’re going to love you. As for their safety, don’t worry. I’m thinking we’ll only stay there for one night and then head up to the cabin we have in the mountains.”

  “Camping? You know I love camping. If only I wasn’t on the run and could enjoy it.”

  “We’re on the run. It’s you and me, baby.”

  He gave me a sexy wink and kissed my hand again as the memory of my dream came rushing back to me. I hadn’t had it since Gage and I had gotten back together, but now I wondered if that’s what my nighttime brain was trying to tell me. That I should get back together with Gage instead of marrying Brock. That might have been what it meant, but my mother knew Gage’s name, so why wouldn’t she have just said Gage was outside the tent?

  I was too tired to unravel the mysteries of my dreams as we tore down the interstate at nearly eighty miles an hour, so I closed my eyes and tried to push everything out of my mind, except how safe I felt next to Gage. He’d willingly jumped into this mess to stand by my side, and he was right. Now we were both on the run.

  I just hoped that it wouldn’t end in a hail of gunfire somewhere in Wyoming.

  “Jorda
n, we’re here. Wake up.”

  Opening my eyes, I tried to get my bearings and saw the car had stopped in front of a big house that reminded me of the traditional homes in the suburban Connecticut neighborhood I grew up in. Where were we?

  I sat up straight in my seat and asked, “Where are we?”

  With a smile, he said, “Riverton, Wyoming. My family’s house.”

  “Oh. It doesn’t look like the Wild West. It looks like back home. I thought it would look different.”

  Unhooking his seat belt, he smiled at my comment. “I told you they’re just like me. What did you expect? A ranch with horses and livestock?”

  “Nice. Make fun of the groggy girl,” I said as I checked my face in the visor mirror. “No, I didn’t expect a ranch with livestock. Maybe horses, but that’s only because I like them. I just thought it would look different than this.”

  “Nope. And my family is just like everyone else, so don’t worry. And stop fussing over what you look like. You’re beautiful.”

  I pushed the visor up and turned to see him staring at me with that look of pure love he gave me sometimes. At that moment, I really needed it too. I had the face of a woman who’d spent far too much time in a car. Not exactly the way I wanted to look to meet his family for the first time.

  “I look like shit, but thank you anyway.”

  “No, you don’t, but we’ll have to agree to disagree. Now hang on and I’ll come around to get you.”

  Come around to get me? What was he talking about?

  I watched in confusion as Gage walked around the front of the car and came to my side to open my door. Swinging my legs out, I stood up and as he closed the door asked, “What’s this about? You haven’t opened a door for me since we went skiing that time in Vermont.”

  He leaned down and kissed me sweetly. “First of all, we haven’t been in a car together since until this trip. And second of all, every time we’ve had to get in or out of the car on this trip, we’ve been racing away from somewhere. Not a whole lot of chance for chivalry. You know why I open your car door for you, but now that I’m home, if my parents saw you get out of a car without my opening the door, I’d never hear the end of it.”

  That all made sense. Gage had always been a perfect gentleman in public. I guess I just hadn’t remembered the kind of man he was with little things like opening doors for me.

  “Well, I’ll be happy to tell them you haven’t forgotten your manners, except when we’ve had to flee from the police and two maniacs out to kill me.”

  Gage leaned closer and whispered in my ear, “About that. Let’s go easy on the fleeing talk. I didn’t tell them anything about that.”

  I stared up at him. “What did you tell them, Gage? If I have to lie to them, I should at least know what I’m supposed to say.”

  “Call it a sin of omission. I just told them you and I needed to get away so we were coming to Wyoming and wanted to see them. So not really a lie.”

  “For someone who says very little, you sure do know how to parse the truth. What if someone finds us here? Then what?”

  He took a deep breath of fresh air and let it out slowly. “I’m hoping that won’t happen. We’re just going to stay here until tomorrow and then we’ll head up to the mountains. If something happens, I guess we’ll have to deal with it, but I hope it won’t.”

  Laying my head on his chest, I thought about all that had happened and then realized something even more frightening was about to happen. “I don’t know which is scarier—being on the lam from the law or meeting your family.”

  Gage tilted my head back so I looked up at him and smiled. “That motel room was definitely the scariest part of what we’ve dealt with so far.”

  “Don’t joke around. This is serious. I’m a fugitive and I’m meeting your family for the first time.” And then another thought popped into my head. “Do they know we broke up?”

  I saw by the look on his face that they did. “I told my sister Denise. To be honest, I don’t know if she told anyone else, though. She doesn’t live here like Lily and Shane.”

  “Well, at least there’s that. Anything else you want to tell me before I walk in there?”

  He thought about it a long moment and then said, “My father’s just like me, so you’ll have no problem with him. My mother hasn’t been protective of me since I left for the Navy, so don’t worry. And Denise just came out, so it’s likely that will come up in conversation if she’s not around since from what she told me, my parents don’t know what to think about it. To say it was a surprise was an understatement. Ready?”

  I wasn’t ready for any of what he’d just said, but I didn’t tell him that. The eager look in his eyes told me he couldn’t wait to introduce me to his family, so I took his hand and a deep breath of fresh Wyoming air and hoped to God I could carry off this sin of omission he’d told them.

  Chapter Three

  Jordan

  We’d barely taken two steps on the sidewalk toward the house when the front door opened and a young female came rushing at us with her arms wide open. Tall, thin, with long wavy brown hair, she looked like Gage. As she got closer, I saw she had his same dark blue eyes, except surrounded by makeup, they looked like colored contacts. Her smile beamed her happiness at seeing us, or more likely, her brother.

  “Gage! I can’t believe you’re finally back!” she squealed.

  “Lily! You’re almost as tall as me! I can’t believe you’re all grown up now,” Gage said sweetly as he enveloped her in his arms.

  I stood there praying to God I wouldn’t have to boldface lie to her since she clearly was happy to see us. She squealed about how much she’d been dying to see him, how she couldn’t wait to tell him all about school, and something about how jealous Denise would be when she found out she’d seen him first.

  And then she turned her attention to me and I received the same genuine smile she’d given her brother.

  “And you must be Jordan! Gage told me he was bringing someone home.”

  “Jordan, this is my sister, Lily. Lily, this is Jordan.”

  His sister wrapped her arms around me and pulled me close. “It’s so nice to meet you!” Stepping back away from me, she smiled. “Is this your first time in God’s country? You look nearly shell-shocked. Not used to being surrounded by all this country, right? I understand perfectly. Gage belongs here, but you look like a city girl if I’ve ever seen one.”

  I wasn’t sure if she’d insulted me, but I nodded and smiled, choosing to believe she was as good-hearted as Gage. “It’s nice to meet you, Lily. It’s lovely here.”

  “Lovely my ass. I know exactly what you’re feeling. I’ve been feeling it all summer. I can’t wait to get back to school in Denver in a few weeks. You should come to see me there if you and Gage are spending any real time here. We could have a great time!”

  “Denver? Now there’s a city I recognize. I’d love to see the Mile High City.”

  “Terrific! It’s a plan. For now, there’s an entire house full of Varos who are dying to see this guy after all these years. Not that they’re not wanting to meet you, Jordan. They’re definitely curious about you too. It’s just that Gage has never brought any female home, so we didn’t actually think it would happen.”

  “Enough, Lily. You’re going to make Jordan feel even more uncomfortable than she does already,” Gage said as he flashed a supportive smile at me.

  He didn’t have to worry, though. Lily was just wonderful, and as she hooked her arm in mine and began to lead me toward the house, I felt truly welcome. I just hoped that feeling would continue when we got inside the house and met the rest of his family.

  I walked through the front door into the living room of his parents’ home and saw four pairs of eyes staring at me. Not exactly the greeting I’d expected, but then again, when the oldest son and brother shows up after years away with someone in tow, it’s an occasion to get together.

  The male I assumed to be his brother Shane stood at the far end of
the room, and I couldn’t believe how much he looked like Gage. They could be twins, albeit twins separated by a few years. Dark haired with the same dark blue eyes as his brother, he even wore the same crooked smile as he studied me standing there.

  A female I assumed was his sister Denise sat on the couch directly in front of the door and stood to hug her brother hello. Pretty like her younger sister, she looked about Gage’s age. I hated that the only thing I really knew about her at that moment was that she had just come out to her parents as gay. It felt so intrusive to know that about someone before meeting them.

  “Big brother finally returned,” she said with a smile as she backed away from hugging him. “It’s about time we got to see you in the flesh again. Phone calls and texts are good, but nothing beats seeing you again, Gage.”

  I turned to face him and saw him beam with happiness. Being there did wonders for him, and he looked happier than I’d ever seen him before.

  “It’s good to be back, everyone. I’d like to introduce you to Jordan.”

  A chorus of voices said hi to me, and even though I felt a little overwhelmed by the welcoming party that had greeted us, I also felt safe there. Maybe it was the thought of all those guns Gage had mentioned a few hours before or maybe it was because I felt like I was in a house full of people like him, but I liked the feeling of warmth and security I found there.

  And then my eyes settled on Gage’s mother standing in a far doorway to what looked like a kitchen, her arms crossed and a stern look on her face. Like her children, she had dark hair and the familiar deep blue eyes, but unlike her daughters and younger son, she didn’t seem as enchanted by our arrival. On the opposite side of the room Gage’s father sat in a recliner with a sly smile on his face. Older looking than his wife, he had grey hair and deep wrinkles in his face that reminded me of the man who fixed the boiler at my apartment building every winter. He winked at me, making me think that even though Mrs. Varo might be a tough sell, he’d already decided he liked me.