Swept Away: Resolution Part 14

"Should we go into another room? Or find somewhere private?" I said quietly as I saw a couple looking at us with curious eyes. "We're drawing attention to ourselves," I said and looked at Jakob, my eyes darting to Steve and then back to him, hoping he was understanding the message I was trying to convey, that Steve was unbalanced and this wasn't a good place for us to be has.h.i.+ng anything out.

"We're not going anywhere," Steve snarled, his eyes manic as he gazed at me. "You're not going to ruin this for me, like your father ruined my life." His voice rose again. "I don't care how embarra.s.sed you get."

"That's not quite true, you know," Blake interjected, looking at Steve with narrowed eyes. "It's true that Oliver was in love with Jeremiah. And it's true that he wanted them to be together. He slept with Macy to show Jeremiah that Macy wasn't faithful. He had hoped that Jeremiah would leave Macy and be with him instead. He wanted Jeremiah to come out of the closet and admit their love to the world."

"My father was gay?" Jakob said softly. He had a glazed look on his face and was obviously struggling to process this revelation.

"Penny thinks he was bis.e.xual," Blake said, and it was then I realized that he must have been in contact with Penny again. I wondered why she'd been able to open up to him when she hadn't wanted to open up completely to me and Jakob. As if Blake could read my mind, he looked at me sheepishly. "I was going to tell you what I'd found out right away, but I forgot with so much stuff going on."

"That's okay." I could barely keep everything straight myself.

"She's pretty sure that Jeremiah didn't love Oliver," he continued. "He was using Oliver so that he could get what he wanted from him, just like he used everyone else. But Oliver was so impressionable. He fell for Jeremiah the first moment he met him. He became his staunchest supporter, his number one fan. He wors.h.i.+pped him. He loved him as he'd never loved anyone." He looked at Steve sympathetically.

"How do you know this?" I asked him softly.

"Penny sent me an e-mail. It contained copies of letters that Oliver had sent her from school. Oliver was a prolific writer, and his sister was the only one who knew he was gay. She was the only one he could confide in," Blake said matter-of-factly, but I could see from the way he was staring at me that there was something he wasn't telling me. Something he didn't want Steve to know. Only I had no idea what it was.

"That's what she tried to blackmail Jeremiah with, isn't it?" I said thoughtfully. "That's why she asked for a million dollars all those years ago. To keep her mouth shut. It had nothing to do with Steve being in a foster home or being Jeremiah's long-lost son. It was about his affair with Oliver. That's what he'd do anything to keep secret."

"Yeah." Blake nodded. "She said she realized after Oliver's death that he'd been used. She said that the second-to-last letter she received from Oliver told her that Nick had walked in on him and Jeremiah in bed. He'd been shocked at first, but then happy because he thought it would be a reason for them to come out, maybe live a happier and more honest life. But Jeremiah was angry and insisted he was going to do no such thing. He said that he was going to pay Nick to keep quiet. He'd been confident Nick would take the money because he was still grieving over his wife's death."

"My dad would never do that." I shook my head, knowing in my heart that my dad would never accept a bribe. He had been a good man. I truly believed that. Whatever had happened all those years ago had been a setup. And my father had paid for it with the loss of his wife and his own life.

"No, he didn't." Blake nodded. "He didn't accept any money. He wasn't trying to hurt your father, Steve."

"He stole my father's inventions and pa.s.sed them off as his," Steve shouted. "And then he ruined my father's relations.h.i.+p. And then, then he said I needed to stay away from Bianca. As if I wasn't good enough for her. I'm good enough. I'll show him I'm good enough."

"What are you talking about, Steve? Calm down." Blake touched his shoulder. "No one has said you're not good enough."

"He's not good enough," Jakob spat out, and put his arm around me. "Go back to the loony bin, Steve."

"Jakob!" I gasped, and saw Blake's eyes widen in fear as Steve's face grew angrier. Jakob had said the absolute worst thing he could have said in that moment.

"Sing a song of sixpence," Steve said as he glared at Jakob.

"What?" Jakob's voice was harsh. "What are you talking about?"

"Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall," Steve said, and Jakob, Blake, and I looked at one another. I could feel my skin growing clammy. Steve was even more unbalanced than I'd thought.

"If you're not going to tell us why we're here, or introduce us to whoever it is you want us to meet, then we're going to leave." Jakob drew me to him protectively "No!" Steve shouted adamantly. "Mary had a little lamb."

"Yes, she did," I said, and touched his hand. "Its fleece was white as snow," I said with a smile, though inside I felt like crying. I didn't understand what was going on, but I knew that I had to try and reach Steve in some way. Try and show him that I understood where he was coming from, and this was the only way I could think of in the moment.

"You could love me, couldn't you?" His eyes glazed over as he looked down at my hand on his. "You could love me with all your heart?"

"You are deserving of love, Steve," I said carefully. I didn't want to lie to him. I wouldn't do that. Not about love. He'd been hurt enough in his life. I couldn't toy with his emotions and make him think that there was that possibility. At least not now. Not unless he pushed me to and I had no other option.

"So was my father." He nodded. "All I want is love. All I need is love."

"And you deserve love."

"Steve, you need to understand that we're here to help you." Blake spoke up again. "Your father was a good man. Jeremiah should have proven his love to him if he loved him, but he didn't. You can't blame anyone but Jeremiah for what happened." Blake's voice was increasingly urgent, and I could see that he was worried. What was he hiding?

"How do you know so much?" Steve looked at him and frowned. "No one knew they were gay. Only me and Aunty Penny. No one else knew."

"We spoke to Aunty Penny," I said to Steve. "She sent Blake some e-mails, remember?"

"She's gone." Steve looked sad as he stared at me. "She went to France."

"She can send e-mails from France, Steve."

"She's gone to Paris." He looked at Blake. "Do you speak French?"

"Je ne parle pas francais," Blake said, and I wanted to groan. Now was not the time for him to play smart.

Steve frowned at Blake and turned to me. "She asked me if I wanted to go with her. She said I could have a good life in France. We'd be family."

"Why didn't you go with her?"

"Because I haven't gotten what I want yet," he said matter-of-factly.

"What do you want?" I asked him softly, trying to let him know that I cared. Maybe, just maybe, he would be on our side if he thought we legitimately cared about him.

"You." He spoke the word so softly that I nearly didn't hear him. His eyes softened as he looked me over, and I stifled a shudder as his fingers stroked my arm. "I want you, Bianca."

"Well, you're not going to have her," Jakob said, and moved so that he was between us. Steve's arm dropped to the side, and he glared at Jakob. "She's mine."

"If it had been just me and her on the island, it would have been us. There would have been no you." Steve's hatred for Jakob was written all over his face.

"No, Steve," I said, but then stopped as I felt Jakob's hand on my lower back.

"Who do you want us to meet?" Jakob said. "Is my father still alive?"

Steve looked at him and laughed. His laughter grew more and more hysterical until he was practically gasping for breath, and if it weren't for the fact that he kept his eyes pinned on us the whole time, I would have fled. As it was, I didn't trust that Steve wouldn't pull a knife if we tried to run. I could feel all eyes on us in our immediate vicinity. Steve had drawn a lot of unwanted attention to our group, and I could see a man approaching us.

"Come with me," Steve said abruptly as he eyed the man. Stepping directly in front of him, he barked, "Go away," in a tone that made the man do an abrupt about-face. Guess there'd be no help from that quarter. He nodded to me and Jakob. "We have to go," he said, all traces of laughter gone from his voice, and then he looked at Blake. "Not you, though. You can't come."

"Okay." Blake looked upset, but he didn't challenge Steve. Who knew what he would do in this erratic emotional state?

Steve turned to me and Jakob. "Put on your masks, and let's go."

"Where's Rosie?" I asked him, surprised that I hadn't seen her yet. "Where is Rosie and where is David?"

"They're waiting for me to tell them you're here," Steve said, and I watched as he pulled out his phone. "Let's go." He turned his back, presumably to conceal his text to Rosie and David, but I couldn't see for sure.

"What do you think?" I whispered to Jakob, but I could see him staring at something on the other side of the room very intently. "Jakob." I grabbed his arm. "What should we do?"

"I don't think we have a choice," he said quickly, still staring across the dance floor. "Blake, I need you to do me a favor." He handed Blake a card. "Call this number if you don't see us in two hours."

"And tell them what?"

"They'll know what to do."

"What are you three whispering about?" Steve's eyes looked beady as he turned around to face us again.

"Nothing." Jakob grabbed my arm. "We're coming with you now, Steve. We trust you and know that you won't do anything to harm us."

"I'm not the one you have to worry about," Steve said with a small smile, and then he gazed at me, his eyes looking almost apologetic. "I'm sorry, Bianca. I, more than anyone, understand what you're going through. I, more than anyone, know what it's like to have a father that has let you down."

"What are you talking about?" I said, but he just turned around and walked away. Jakob and I followed behind him, and I saw Jakob's eyes narrow as he gazed at someone across the room. I stopped still for a second as I thought I recognized Larry. But why would Larry be here? Wasn't he in jail? My heart thudded, and I banished the thought from my mind. I wasn't sure what was going to happen, or how this was going to end. But there was one thing I knew for certain-no matter what happened, Jakob would be by my side. And we'd do whatever we had to so we could both make it out of this victorious.

twelve.

"What are you thinking right now?" I asked quietly as we waited in a small dark room. There was one very dim light on in the corner that kept flickering, and the setting felt like the opening of a horror movie, just waiting for the arrival of a vengeful ghost. I was starting to feel panicky. "Do you think we were set up? Do you think Steve is coming back?" I kept mumbling to Jakob as I stared at the closed door. I was starting to feel claustrophobic. "And who did you see in the ballroom as we were walking out?"

"I think Steve is crazy." Jakob sighed. "And perhaps we are too, for coming in here with him. However, I think Steve is the key to this whole mess."

"You do?" I made a face.

"Yes, Steve." Jakob nodded. "He's unbalanced, but he's not dumb, Bianca. I think he's been playing all sides for a long time now."

"I guess that's true." I nodded. "But whose side is he on? Larry's?"

"I don't know." Jakob shrugged. "And I don't know if I saw anyone in the ballroom. I thought I saw Larry, but I'm not sure."

"He can't have gotten out of jail, already, can he?"

"I don't know," Jakob said, and sighed. "I'm sorry, Bianca. I wish I knew what to say."

"Should we leave?" I said softly. "I don't think the door's locked."

"We've come this far, there's no point in leaving now." He shook his head. "Let's wait." He grabbed my hand, and we stood there in the dark room holding hands and waiting. The only sound in the room was that of our labored breathing. I s.h.i.+fted closer to him as I heard a loud creak in the corner of the room. Finally I'd had enough of the silence and spoke.

"What are you thinking right now?" I asked him, needing to hear his voice.

"I'm thinking about my mom," Jakob said softly. "I'm thinking about what she would say about us being in this situation."

"What would she say?" I said, and gasped as the dim light went out, plunging us into total darkness. I felt Jakob grabbing my arm and pulling me closer to him. "What just happened?" I said as my heart started racing. Why had I been so stupid as to believe Steve and Rosie could be trusted for even a second? My skin felt cold, and my throat felt heavy as tears built up in my eyes. "Maybe Blake will come," I mumbled, but I knew that even he couldn't save us in this moment. If anything, he'd be walking into the trap with us.

"It's okay, Bianca. The bulb just went out. I'm here. I'll protect you." He rubbed my back, and I tried to concentrate on breathing in and out to control my nerves. "Before my mother died, she handed me a poem on a piece of paper. It was a poem that wasn't in her notebook." Jakob's voice cracked as he continued speaking. "She handed it to me and she told me to always keep it close to my heart. To read the words and to live my life according to what it said. She said the worst thing in life is to die with more regrets than not." He rubbed the top of my head, and his voice was soft as he spoke. "I want to recite it to you. I want us to think about my mother's words as we stand here. We're not waiting in vain, Bianca. We're here for a reason. We're here with a purpose. That's all that matters."

"I know." My voice sounded as squeaky as a mouse's. "I'm just glad that I'm here with you."

"Bianca, you don't know how much it means to hear you say that." His voice was gruff. "I know we got off to an inauspicious start, but I've felt from the beginning of this journey that there was a deeper purpose to our meeting. And there was. It was for me to find you." He pulled me toward him, and I felt his lips pressing down on the top of my head softly. He caressed me with his lips and fingers as my body shook slightly. "I'm not one of those guys who's full of romance and strawberries. I don't always have flowery words or gifts, but I want you to know that this life, this love of ours, it's all I could have ever asked for. It's everything that I wanted that I didn't even know existed. You're the reason my heart is beating right now. You're my everything. We'll get through this, whatever this is. We'll get through it because we have each other."

"You know just what to say when I need you to say it." I reached up, pulled his face down, and gave him a deep kiss. "I wouldn't have chosen anyone other than you," I said against his lips as I pulled back.

"I know." His voice was soft as he faced me, and even though I couldn't really see more than the outline of his face in the dark room, I could feel that his eyes were burning a fire directly into my soul. I stood there staring back at him, and even though our eyes weren't meeting and focusing on each other, I knew we were staring at each other.

"Let me hear your mom's poem," I said softly, knowing how much her words meant to him and loving that he felt connected enough to me to share them.

Jakob started reciting his mother's poem, and his voice filled the room with strength and warmth. "'In the last minute of the last hour on earth, there will be three things I'll regret.'" I closed my eyes, even though the room was dark. I didn't want to concentrate on the dark unknown of the room. I wanted to focus on his voice and the poem and only those two things. "'I'll regret not telling you I loved you. I'll regret not getting to spend another minute with you. And I'll regret not saying no.'" Jakob's voice was heavy, and he paused as we heard a door open behind us. However, he didn't stop talking, and we didn't look around. This was our moment and even though I knew we both wanted to know who was with us, our being in this moment and seeing it through was more important. We were more important than everything else going on around us. "'In the last minute of the last hour on earth, there will be three things I won't regret,'" he said. "'I won't regret meeting you-'"

"'I won't regret loving you, and I'll never regret giving you my heart.'" A familiar voice completed the line. I felt Jakob freeze next to me, and as my eyes popped open, I let go of Jakob's hands and walked toward the door.

"Is it-?" I said, my heart racing as I felt my way toward the voice. The light suddenly came back on, and I stood there squinting in the brightness. I took a step backward as I gazed at the man in the doorway-and suddenly tears poured from my eyes. I couldn't stop them, and I couldn't even think as I just stood there, my body frozen like a statue.

"Bianca." He stepped toward me, his face looking older than I remembered.

"Dad?" I said, and I heard Jakob gasp.

"'In the last minute of the last hour on earth, there will be three things I'll regret.'" My dad continued Jakob's mom's poem as he stared at me, but as he went on the words seemed to change to a confession. "I'll regret not telling you I loved you every single day. I'll regret not getting to spend another minute with you even when my heart is crying out for you. And I'll regret not saying no to Jeremiah Bradley. In the last minute of the last hour on earth, there will be three things I won't regret. I won't regret meeting your mother and having you. I won't regret loving you with all my heart . . . and I'll never regret having to pretend I was dead to save your life." He stopped and held his arms open to me. "Come to me, my darling Bianca. Come to your dear old dad."

"Dad!" I said, crying out as I rushed into his arms. My brain was racing, and all I could think was, My dad's still alive? My dad's still alive? I heard Jakob's footsteps behind us, and I pulled back so that I could introduce Jakob to my dad, but then Steve and Rosie walked into the room and slammed the door.

"Well, look who we have here," Rosie said with a twist of her lips. "A dirty s.l.u.t, a dirty s.l.u.t's s.l.u.ttier boyfriend, and a dirty s.l.u.t's dad."

"Roma," Jakob's voice was harsh. "Enough."

"Enough?" She tilted her head back and started laughing. "Enough? Oh, no, dear Jakob. We're just getting started."

thirteen.

"Dad, you're alive?" I stepped back from him, my voice showing my deep hurt. "What's going on?"

"Bianca." His eyes looked at me sadly, his face but a shadow of what I remembered. "I did it for you."

"Did what for me, Dad?" My voice grew louder. "Pretended you were dead?"

"Guess he won't win Dad of the Century after all," Rosie said with a sneer.

"What the f.u.c.k is your problem?" I screamed at her, finally having enough of her snarky comments. "I thought you were my best friend!"