Secrets of the Fall Read online

  “I’d like to go there to see your mother, check up on her in person, as Nat asked us to, but maybe later?”

  “Sure,” Drew said, more perceptive than usual. “I know how weird it is right now with you coming over with me, and us seeing Nat’s room, my Dad’s room and all.” Drew raised his hand to his temples. I could see the frustration he had then, as well as all the burden he suddenly inherited with his family. It was a lot for a carefree guy like Drew to take in, and I felt my heart reach out to him.

  “Hey Drew, it’s okay,” I said. “Whatever works is fine with me. If you want to go there first or go to Donovan Dynamics or even just go to a café to relax, I’m fine.” I touched his shoulders, and it was as if Drew was brought back into the moment. He smiled a sweet genuinely happy smile with his beautiful blue eyes crinkling.

  “If it’s alright with you,” he said. “I want to spend more time just being with you…no one else.”

  If my heart was made of butter, it melted then and ran to my knees where I felt the earth shake. Drew, who blew hot and cold, who was never downright sweet on purpose, but cocky and so sure of himself; made my heart melt into a puddle of goo. I don’t know if it was because of Nat not being here or because Drew and I became so intimate, but I suddenly had the urge to pull him to me, tippy toe up, and kiss the living daylights out of him.

  “Is that what you want?” I smiled, lowering my eyes so he couldn’t see how much I wanted it too.

  Drew pulled me to him so I was looking up into his chiseled face. His blue eyes bore through me, piercing me in place as though I was hooked onto him by an invisible line. I could drown in those sea-blue eyes. If his eyes drifted off of me, breaking that intense bond we have, I would go crashing down into an ocean of muddled emotions and pattering hearts.

  I’ve loved Drew before, was deadly attracted to him physically and emotionally, but now there was something else, and it scared me. It made me suddenly self-conscious around him.

  “You know what I want, Summer,” Drew said huskily. “I don’t think I’ll ever get over this wanting of you.” His eyes skimmed my face, and he cupped my chin with one hand while his thumb played with my lower lip. Gosh, that was sensual…him touching my lip like that and looking at me with such hunger.

  “So…” I found my voice again, shaking my head so I could think straight. “Wha…”

  Drew had entwined his fingers through mine as he pushed me up against the car door. His hips pressed into mine, and I could feel his wanting, feel his heart beating furiously against mine, and taste his lips, slowly, tantalizingly sweet and thorough devouring mine. I moaned a deep throaty moan that got swallowed up by his mouth, but not before Drew gave a low groan.

  “I take it,” I broke off from between his kisses, “you want to go somewhere else before we go in?”

  “Hmm…” Drew muttered, licking the skin behind my ear, his tongue swirling in circles, causing me to shudder.

  I wanted to hop onto Drew and straddle my legs around his waist, while pushing him close to my breasts. But then I realized, we were out there in the parking lot, in front of the building. No doubt if anyone looking out the window took a look outside, they would be seeing something close to PG-17 or even R going on. I pulled back. “Drew, we have to go. We can’t be doing this right here in front of your family’s company building. What must everyone think? They won’t take us seriously now.”

  I was mortified.

  But Drew just slowly pulled away and flashed me his signature cocky grin. “Oh, I forgot,” he said charmingly. “You see, Summer, when it comes to you, I can’t even think straight.” He grabbed my hand and reached into the car for my purse, handed it to me, then started leading the way into the steel and glass building taking up the entire block.

  “Aren’t we going to go somewhere first, freshen up, change?” I asked while walking with him.

  “Nope,” Drew said as we walked into the impressive lobby with a large waterfall marble sculpture in the center, and headed into an elevator. “I’m as refreshed as I can be…thanks to you,” he smirked. When the elevator door closed, he stopped smiling, and his face scrunched up in frustration. “I don’t think I can take any more of it…being alone with you without wanting to go further. This…,” he said, straightening his white polo shirt and his jeans and indicating the building, “is the distraction I need. Because unless you’re willing to go further with me, Summer, I’m having a tough time holding back.”

  Hi eyes burned into mine, and I knew he was dead serious.

  “How many girls have you had sex with since you told me how you feel about me last summer?” I had to know. Was it just pure sex for him or a lot more? Did we have anything more than this lust we both feel for each other? I knew I lusted after him…my body always respond to him no matter what I was feeling or what my situation, but did we have more than that? Like what I have with Nat?

  Drew looked uncomfortable as he shifted his feet. “You know Summer how we weren’t together…how I feel about sex…it doesn’t mean anything to me.”

  “Oh?” I couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed. So having sex with me didn’t mean anything to him?

  Drew didn’t answer, but ran his fingers through his hair. I took his silence to mean that he had slept with a few girls since he told me he loved me last summer. My heart dropped. I felt as though a rug had been pulled out from under me, but then again…what right did I have to be jealous? I wasn’t with him. I still wasn’t with him.

  “That’s the thing, Drew,” I said shakily, trying to control my emotions. “With Nat, I never had any doubts where I stood with him…once he told me how he felt about me…I felt secure in knowing he meant it.”

  “Summer,” Drew said urgently. “It’s not that I didn’t mean it. It’s not that I have or haven’t slept with anyone since letting you know how I feel about you. It’s just…” He threw up his hands and faced me…his face filled with such anguish, love, hurt, and pain. “You’re still Nat’s girl…in your heart and in person. I could try everything to change that, but deep down, we both know you will always love him.” He moved in close to me where his lips almost met mine. “As much as I love Nat, Summer, I want closure, too. For your sake, as well as mine. Because I can’t go on loving and wanting you like this, while you love him, too.”

  I bit my lips and moved a step away from him. Being this physically close to him was clouding my judgment. I knew if I was to make a choice at this moment, I would jump him, and worry about consequences later. If I gave into my feelings and my passion, I would be all over him. I would let him have me through and through. I wanted Drew to ravish me, to use me, to take me. I wanted him to play dirty with me, to bring out the wild side in me. I wanted him to bring me to the edge, to stretch me until I couldn’t give any further. I knew there was so much within him, so much that he felt but had to restrain that if we were to completely let go and lose ourselves in each other, we would be utterly and deeply gone. There would not be a Drew or a Summer, but just one entity. That kind of passion and love was dangerous.

  I wasn’t sure if I wanted to take that leap. I wanted a safety net…and that net had always been Nat. Love with him was safer and expected. I wanted to cry. Why did Nat have to go missing? I loved him more than I’ve ever loved a man, but now with Drew always around me, having been my hero so many times…I can’t help having strong intense feelings for him, too.

  *****

  The door of the elevator opened just in time for me to walk out and seek a far enough distance from Drew. He was temptation…especially one I could not fall for in the midst of the security team we were supposed to be working closely with to help get Nat and Mr. Donovan safely back.

  Drew looked a little hurt as he noticed me stepping away from him, creating a distance between us. He didn’t have time to say anything though as Timothy Childs, one of the executives I met last time came up to us and shook our hands. Tim, a man in his early 40s with dark wavy hair and grey eyes, talked to Drew for a bi
t before he turned to me. “Summer,” he said. “How’s everything? I’m glad you and Drew took down Sloane, but anything else came up?”

  I shook my head. I haven’t been looking nor have I been on the computer much. Since Nat’s news, I was fortunate enough for Astor and sometimes a few other actors Astor rung up to help teach and run the academy. “I tried to avoid looking. I’ve been too much of a wreck these past couple of weeks. So I couldn’t really tell you if anything came up,” I answered truthfully.

  “That’s perfectly fine,” Tim said. “In fact, we don’t want you to look at any of that. Before Nat left, he had us set up a monitoring system and also a team who manually went in and address any of that, including taking legal action when we have to…all without you needing to get involved.”

  My mouth flew open in astonishment. “Wow, I never even knew.”

  “That’s what we do,” Tim said. “Especially since Nat was so behind it, you’re one of our priorities.”

  “I wouldn’t be surprise,” Drew said walking up to me and putting his arm around my shoulders to lead me over to a group of people, with Tim following. “Summer,” Drew said, friendly and confidently, “I want you to meet the team who is working on international assignments. Top secret highly-classified stuff.”

  My eyes flew up, realizing how complex Donovan Dynamics really was. Nat did mention to me that they received lots of contracts from the U.S. government and maybe even from other countries. Mr. Donovan had truly built up one of the most impressive internet and intelligence companies I’ve ever seen. I didn’t even think there were any companies out there that could compare to what they could do. No wonder why it was a multi-billion dollars corporation.

  But did they have what it takes to get Nat and Mr. Donovan their founders back?

  Drew led me into a conference room that looked like any conference rooms I’ve seen on television. A basic meeting room with tinted glass walls, a large round table in the middle, a white board in front, and a small bar in the back. Nothing too fancy nor too plain. When I walked into the room, the five people sitting around the table stood up.

  I glanced over at Drew, and he had a straight business-like face on, completely different than I’ve ever seen him. “Gentlemen and ladies…” he nodded at some men in their early forties and fifties wearing dark suits and a woman in her late thirties or early forties with sleek auburn hair to her shoulders, red lips, and a grey skirt suit. “This is Summer Jones.”

  “Hello,” I said, feeling self-conscious amongst this group of distinguished-looking people. They all looked like they could be my professors at USC. My hands automatically went to straighten my skirt, but Drew came over, put one arm around my waist and led me to meet and greet each person.

  “Summer,” he said, “This is Kevin Soboski, Director of International Operations,” he said in front of a large man with brown cropped hair and a strong jawline. After greeting Kevin, Drew moved to a medium-sized man slightly balding and wearing glasses named Joseph Conrad. I greeted him and we both mentioned how his name sounded like the classic novelist, but he said he was far from anything literary. He was a techie, and his entire world revolves around high-tech espionage equipment and security systems.

  “Robert Frost,” a man with spiky grey hair and a large build said with a deep voice. He shook my hand. “Not the poet,” he said again, when I opened my mouth to ask. “I handle logistics and sensitive information.”

  “Hi, I’m Timothy Childs,” Tim said. “You already know that. I handle U.S. operations. But I’m helping with coordinating this entire operations.”

  “Nothing but the best for our boss,” the woman said with a deep and firm commanding voice. She came around and shook my hand before crossing her arms and walking to the front to join Drew. “I’m Karen Waters…I’m working with Tim and Kevin with getting clearance, getting documents and everything from the country so we can move in further. In other words, I’m the one handling the details, the legalities so to speak, and the relations.”

  I stood up straighter while I listened to Karen talked about some of the complexities of the mission. What it was and how Donovan Dynamics got involved. “You see, we got a contract from a Turkish company to help build their company security system. They specifically asked for Mr. Donovan. When he arrived there with a few of our international-based team members, instead of finding a company building, they found an abandoned warehouse.”

  “It was a set up,” Karen went on, “by an international cyberspace crime ring.”

  “An elaborate setup,” Tim added. “We couldn’t even detect foul play. Everything checked.”

  “But as I said,” Karen continued. “The entire operations went south. Apparently it was a kidnapping scheme to obtain Mr. Donovan to open a vault somewhere.”

  “Like obtaining a black book,” I said. “Of clients’ intimate information.”

  “Exactly,” Karen went on. “Only there isn’t one physically with Donovan Dynamics. He didn’t keep a black book.”

  “So they wanted Nat,” I said

  “As leverage to get Mr. Donovan talking,” Robert Frost chimed in.

  My stomach churned with nervous anticipation, hearing about Nat.

  If Nat had gone through any torture, anything like that, I couldn’t bare hearing about it.

  I looked over at Drew, and he had a stone face expression. I’ve only seen him once or twice before with that expression. Once when he was determined to win a race on the beach, and another time right after hearing about his mother Nadine Donovan’s suicide attempt on Fourth of July. I knew Drew was worried about Nat and his father, too.

  I took a deep breath and prepared myself mentally and emotionally for any further news about Nat. Oh God, please let Nat be alive and fine. And please let Mr. Donovan survive, too.

  In moments like these, you could taste your own mortality. You could feel everyone’s own mortality.

  Drew spoke up, commanding the room with his undeniable stage presence. “Have we located Nat and my father yet? Any progress on this?”

  Joseph said, “I saw a light go off in the distance and another online. They seem to be heading across borders, but the good thing is…the signal is still on them, and it’s moving. Which means…”

  Drew said, “They are still alive.” I saw him punch the air and bend over onto the table. When he stood up, there were tears in his eyes, and I went over to place my arms around him. Tim was there, patting Drew’s shoulders too.

  “It’s okay, son,” he said. “It’s okay. We’re all happy about the news and hopeful for something better.”

  Drew took a deep breath and contained himself. “How the hell are we going to get them out of there?”

  “We have some inside help,” Karen said. “Locals there. But we also have our own version of Special Forces. Men who used to be in Special Forces and Navy Seals.”

  “Other than the lights and some blurry images, poor audio, and satellite mapping, we can’t get into the details without someone reporting back to us,” Joseph said. “It’s difficult at the moment to know what is exactly going on.”

  “When can we know for sure, and when can we get them out of there?” Drew asked.

  “We’re trying as hard as we can,” Tim said. “Our teams there and here have been working thirteen hours straight or more these past few weeks. We are as dedicated towards finding Mr. Donovan and Nat as you are. Believe me, the survival of this company depends on it.”

  Drew looked at Tim and everyone else in the room and he stood up straighter. “Tim, Karen, Joseph, Kevin, and Robert, thank you for all your efforts and dedication. I appreciate it, and I’m sure if Nat or my father was here, they would be appreciative of your efforts, too. But we need to get them back here as soon as we can. If it takes another Special Forces to move in to get the job done, then we’ll hire them. When it comes to the safety and lives of my father and brother, I’m not taking any chances.”

  The team looked at each other, and Drew crossed his arms,
taking full control of the room. I could see the star quarterback in him rise at the moment, the charming natural leader whom guys liked to hang out with and girls wanted to go to bed with. I could see Nat in Drew…the resemblance strong as Drew looked more and more like a sexy young billionaire CEO in training.

  “Let’s get a second team of ex-Special Forces hired and dispatched today.” He looked at his watch. “We don’t have much time. The day is almost over. So, let’s get to work.”

  Chapter 4

  As tired as we were, we spent the rest of the day and night in that conference room with the team, working on getting another team of Special Forces assembled and ready to go. By the time Drew and I walked back to his car, it was almost time to get up for breakfast.

  “Look Summer,” Drew said. “I’m too tired to drive to my parents’ house. There’s a nice hotel nearby. How about we just go there?”

  “Sure,” I said. I wasn’t in any mood to talk or do anything except sleep then.

  “Good,” Drew said, starting the car. We pulled out of the parking lot and within three minutes was pulling into the valet parking area of the Four Seasons.

  “The Four Seasons?” I asked.

  “Yup,” Drew said. “The nearest nice hotel. I can’t put you up in anything else. Plus, it was so close by.” He grinned a tired grin and leaned over to give a quick peck on my cheeks. “We should rest while we’re here, Summer. Take care of ourselves. Be good to ourselves. I know we’re under a lot of stress, worries, and what not, so the best thing for that is to be kind to ourselves when we could. So here we are.”

  I couldn’t help smiling at Drew and the sweet side of him that came out in the most unexpected but appropriate times. He was a gem, and spending time today with him only made me love him more.

  “When did you plan this?” I asked.

  “When I took a break between meetings,” Drew said. “My mind’s going in all different directions. It’s like I have to keep going. I’m driven to see this through.”