In a voice that almost tore me apart, he pleaded, "Nina, don't leave me. I can't lose you."
I couldn't answer him. I needed to get away from all the words he was saying and all the emotions he was causing in me. I heard him call my name as I ran through the house to the garage, unsure of where I was going but knowing that I needed to go.
Four cars sat parked in the garage, but the only choice was the BMW because I didn't know how to drive a stick shift. I'd noticed Tristan kept the keys in the cubby under the dash once and as I climbed into the car, I saw he hadn't changed his habit, thankfully.
I hurriedly started the car, turned the heat up high, and drove away as fast as I could, shivering in the late fall weather in just my shorts and t-shirt. My mind was racing faster than the car was tearing down the deserted dark road that led away from the house. Everything I'd thought I'd found in Tristan had been a lie. I'd let myself believe that a man like him would want to be with someone like me just for being me.
What a fool I'd been!
I looked over at the passenger seat and rummaged through my bag for my cell phone. A swipe of my finger across the screen showed me I still had no service. Tossing the phone back onto the seat, I pressed my foot on the gas, taking the car to sixty and then past seventy.
I didn't know where I was going or how to get there. As much as I wanted to go to Jordan's, it wasn't like there were parking lots or parking spaces all over Brooklyn and I didn't know where I'd park the car. The thought of driving around for hours hoping to find someone going out in the middle of the night was definitely not what I needed at that moment.
The car was equipped with GPS, so at least I was able to find out how to get to my sister's. Kim's house was further away, but I needed somewhere to go and hide out while I tried to figure out what to do about Tristan. How could I ever believe anything he said after what he'd done?
And how could I ever love the son of the man who'd taken my father from me?
The thought of life without him made me feel empty inside, and I finally let out the emotions I'd been holding in. I sobbed uncontrollably as the car flew by the trees and fields near Tristan's home, the tears blurring my vision in the darkness. In one night, all that I'd had and loved had been ruined. My heart felt like it did the night I found out my father had been murdered.
Empty and numb.
I wiped the tears from my eyes as even more continued to flow. A car headed toward me flashed its high beams, startling me, and as I moved my hand from my cheek to the steering wheel, it slipped off. The car jerked into the path of the oncoming car, and I swerved to miss it, sending my car off the right side of the road. Everything flew by so fast and I was airborne before I could do anything to stop it.
And then everything went dark...
Epilogue
Tristan
"Jenson, find out where the BMW is headed. Now!" I ordered into the intercom as I dressed to go after Nina.
"Yes, sir. Immediately."
Pressing on the intercom button again, I barked, "And Rogers, I want all her favorites on the table when we get back."
"Should I order flowers also?"
"Pink roses. I want only the best and dozens of them. Do you understand?"
Rogers understood more than he let on with his simple answer of "Yes." I heard the madness in my voice and knew he did too. He'd been with me long enough to know there had never been anyone like Nina in my life. I couldn't lose her. I couldn't let what my father had done ruin the best chance I'd ever had for happiness.
"Sir, she seems to be headed toward Pennsylvania," Jenson intoned over the speaker.
Her sister's outside Philly. "Get my car out and ready for me to leave in less than five minutes."
It wouldn't be difficult to catch up to her. As fast as the BMW was, the Jag was faster.
As I thought about what I'd say to her, Rogers appeared in the hallway outside the bedroom. "Tristan, may I ask what you plan to do once you find her?"
"Bring her back, Rogers. She belongs here. With me."
Running my hands through my hair, I checked out my look in the mirror and turned to see him standing in my doorway with his arms crossed, as if he were silently judging me. "What is the look you're giving me?"
"I just have to wonder if it's not a better idea to let her go for the night. Chasing her down on a dark road out here might not be your best move. Perhaps she needs time to let everything you told her sink in."