Chapter 14

 

Charlotte wiped down the counter and draped the cloth over the sink. She stared out the window at Ren as there was a soft buzzing noise behind her. His cell phone was on the table and she hesitated before walking over to it. Vince’s name was on the screen and with a small frown, she hit the answer button.

“Vince? What’s wrong?”

“Charlotte! Honey, it’s so good to hear your voice.” Vince said delightedly.

“It’s good to hear yours too, Vin.” She replied. “But, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong. I was just calling to check in.”

Charlotte breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s good. No problems here. How are Darlene and Mark? Ren said they were getting out of the hospital.”

“They did. I haven’t heard anything new so I’m assuming they’re both fine.” Vince said cheerfully.

“How are Mel and the kids?” Charlotte asked anxiously.

“Oh good, good. Jade’s leaving next week to go back to university and – “

“What?” Charlotte interrupted.

“I said, Jade’s leaving next week to go back to university. It’s early but she’s thinking of - ”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Charlotte interrupted again. “What if – what if someone that Steve hired tries to hurt her to get back at you? Is she even allowed to leave the safe house?”

There was a long silence and she frowned. “Vince? Are you still there?”

“Yes. Charlotte, didn’t Ren tell you?” Vince asked.

“Tell me what?”

“When I called last week, it was to tell him that Steve was dead.”

“What?” Charlotte whispered. She gripped the phone tightly as her knees began to shake. She staggered to the window and stared out at Ren. He was still working on his bike and she stared grimly at him before turning away.

“Steve’s dead. Didn’t Ren tell you?” Vince repeated.

“No.” She whispered. “No, he didn’t.”

“I – well, Steve was killed by another inmate. We left the safe house last week, and Rita and Darlene are in their own homes as well.”

“What about the men he hired?” Charlotte whispered again.

“They tracked down the last two men he hired. One of them left town the day Steve was murdered, and the other was killed in a robbery by an undercover cop.” Vince said. “Charlotte, you really didn’t know? Ren said he was going to tell you.”

“He didn’t.” She couldn’t hide the bitterness in her voice and Vince cleared his throat nervously.

“I – I thought maybe you were just staying with Ren at the cabin because you needed more time to get over what had happened.”

“No.” She sighed. “Ren lied to me.”

“Charlotte, I’m sure he had a good reason to – “

“Vince, I have to go.” Charlotte said abruptly. “I’m coming home today and I’ll call you and Mel tomorrow, okay?”

“Charlotte, wait! Just talk to Ren, alright? I know he has good reasons for – “

“I’ll call you later, Vince.” Charlotte hung up the phone as Ren walked through the door. He smiled at her as he walked to the sink and washed his hands.

“Who was that?”

“Vince.” She whispered.

He stiffened and dried his hands quickly before turning toward her. “Charlotte – “

“You lied to me.” She said softly.

“I’m sorry. I should have told you about Steve and that it was safe to go back home but I was worried about you. I thought you needed more time to process what had happened and I – “

“Don’t.” She held her hands up and backed away when he moved toward her. “Don’t make this worse by lying again.”

“I’m not.” He said anxiously.

“You are.” Her voice was rising and she took a deep breath as she wrapped her arms around her torso. “You kept me here like a – a prisoner because it’s what you wanted. You think you’re in love with me and you thought if you kept me here long enough, I’d fall in love with you.”

“I am in love with you.” He whispered. “I just wanted to keep you safe, honey.”

“So you lied to me?” She said angrily. “You don’t lie to the person you love, Ren.”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have – “

“You’re sorry! You’re always sorry!” She suddenly shouted. “You had no right to keep this from me, Ren! Do you get that? Do you realize how badly you’ve fucked up?”

“I do and I promise if you just give me a chance to make it right, I’ll – “

“No!” She shouted again. “I trusted you and you lied to me! I have a life, Ren! I have a life that maybe you don’t think is great or you think would be better with you in it, but that’s my decision to make! Mine – not yours!”

He opened his mouth and she glared at him. “Don’t. Don’t say another word. I’m packing up my stuff and I want you to take me home. Right now. I don’t – I can’t be around you anymore.”

He stared miserably at her as she stormed out of the kitchen and into the bedroom. She slammed the door behind her and he cursed under his breath and slammed his fist on to the kitchen table. Christ, he had really fucked up this time.

* * *

 

“Charlotte, wait!” Ren yanked his helmet off as Charlotte dropped hers on the back of the seat and hurried up the walk of her house. He ran after her and touched her arm lightly, wincing when she yanked it away from him.

“Please, I’m so sorry.” He said quickly. “Can I call you tomorrow and – “

“No.” She shook her head as she dug her keys out of her purse. “Don’t call me, Ren.”

She finally turned to face him, staring gravely at him. “Thank you for saving my life. I’ll never be able to repay you for it, but I want you to know that I am well aware I would be dead if it wasn’t for you.”

“Charlotte, you don’t have to thank me. I – “

She shook her head. “I can’t be around you right now, Ren. You lied to me and you did it for your own selfish reasons.”

She sighed loudly. “The awful part is that if you had just told me the truth when Vince called, I would have stayed with you at the cabin for a while longer anyway.”

He reached out to touch her and she held her hand up before quickly opening the door. “Please don’t, Ren.”

“Will you call me in a few days?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think so. I need to be alone right now.”

“Charlotte – “

“Take care of yourself, alright?” She said softly.

He nodded in defeat. “Be careful, please.”

“I will. Goodbye, Ren.”

“Goodbye, Charlotte.” His shoulders slumped as she shut the door and he waited a moment before slowly trudging back to his bike.

* * *

 

“Look at you!” Charlotte clapped her hands when Darlene opened the door to the salon and slowly limped in. “No cane!”

Darlene gave a short bow before making her way to the reception desk. “It’s about time. It’s been over two months since the car accident.”

Charlotte leaned against the desk. “Are you done with physio yet?”

“No. I’ve still got a few months of that.” Darlene eased herself into the chair before turning on her computer. “How are you doing?”

“Fine.” Charlotte smiled at her as Darlene gave her a searching look.

“Really?”

“Yes, really.” Charlotte replied firmly as the bell over the door jingled and Rita came sweeping in.

“Morning, ladies!” She said cheerfully.

“Morning.” They replied in unison.

“What’s the schedule look like today?” Rita leaned over Darlene’s shoulder and peered at the screen. “Ugh, Mrs. Munz is coming in. That woman drives me crazy. Her hair is so fried from those wretched perms she keeps making me do but she insists that it’s our hair product that’s doing it. Why she keeps coming back here, I’ll never know.”

Charlotte grinned as she walked to her station. “It’s our sparkling personalities, Rita.”

“Yes, that must be it.” The older woman said dryly. “But if – “

She stopped as the door opened and a man walked into the salon.

“Good morning.” Darlene said brightly. “How can we help you?”

“I’m wondering if I can get a haircut.” He gave her an engaging smile. “I’m afraid I don’t have an appointment.”

“That’s fine. We do walk-in’s as well.” Darlene pointed to the coat tree. “You can hang your jacket there and we have coffee or tea if you’d like.”

“No thank you.” The man hung up his suit jacket as Charlotte stared at him curiously. He was short with thick blond hair and he was dressed impeccably in a dark suit. His white shirt looked very bright against his tanned skin and he straightened his tie as Darlene smiled at her.

“This is Charlotte. She’ll be cutting your hair today.”

“Hello Charlotte. I’m Gareth.” The man held out his hand and she shook it quickly before leading him to her station. He sat down and she smiled brightly at him.

“How much would you like taken off?” She asked.

He stared at her in the mirror. “Just a trim today, thank you.”

“Sure. Come to the back and we’ll give it a quick wash first.”

* * *

 

“So, I’ve just moved to the area and I wondered what there was to do for fun in the city?”

Charlotte paused with her scissors in her hand. Gareth had kept up a steady stream of chatter while she had washed his hair and started cutting it. She had been only half listening and she gave him an apologetic smile.

“I’m sorry?”

“Just wondered if a pretty girl like you knew what people did for fun around here?” Gareth gave her a warm smile and she gave him a small one in return.

The man was handsome enough but there was something about him that made her nervous. She didn’t know if it was because the warmth in his voice and his smile didn’t reach his eyes, or if it was the tattoos she could see on the back of his neck and through the sleeves of his thin shirt.

Don’t be ridiculous. Are you really going to judge someone because of tattoos? Ren has multiple tattoos and he’s the kindest, gentlest –

She shut down her inner voice with a snap. It had been over a month since the cabin and Ren had respected her wishes and not tried to contact her. Of course that didn’t mean she didn’t think about him way more than she should have.

She sighed to herself. The problem was that she wasn’t thinking about the fact that he lied to her but about how much she missed him. As the days passed, her anger over his deception was fading more and more and she had to stop herself from picking up the phone and calling him. She made herself harden her heart toward him. What Ren did had crossed the line, and did she really want to have a relationship with a man who tried to control her like that?

Don’t be an idiot. He did it because he loved you and because he wanted to give you more time to recover, not because he was trying to control you.

That might have been partially true but she wasn’t stupid. His biggest reason for keeping her there was to try and convince her that she loved him too and –

You do love him. So what’s the big deal? You’re miserable without him and it isn’t just the sex you’re missing. You really are stupid if you think that’s all it is.

“Charlotte?”

She forced herself to smile again at the man sitting in the chair. “Sorry. I’m afraid I don’t get out much so I’m the wrong person to ask about entertainment options.”

“I find that hard to believe. A gorgeous woman like yourself must have men knocking down your door to go out with them.” Gareth’s grin widened and an odd trickle of fear went down Charlotte’s back.

“Oh, you bet I do.” She said cheerfully. “My boyfriend’s getting tired of replacing the door.”

She didn’t know why she had lied but the hairs on the back of her neck were all standing up and she was gripping the scissors so tightly, her knuckles were white.

“A boyfriend. What a shame.” Gareth said lightly.

She gave him a tight smile and returned to cutting his hair as his gaze shifted to Darlene sitting at the reception desk. “What about you, pretty lady? What do you do for fun?”

Darlene grinned at him before patting her leg. “I’ve got a bum leg at the moment so not much, I’m afraid.”

“What did you do to your leg, Darlene?” Gareth asked politely.

“Car accident a couple of months ago.” She said briefly. “It’s doing much better now, though.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” Gareth watched as Rita began to sweep up the hair around Charlotte’s station. His eyes widened slightly. “Is this – this is the salon that had that trouble with the bike gang last year, isn’t it?”

Darlene nodded. “Yes.”

“It’s a miracle you all survived.” Gareth said.

“We didn’t.” Rita snapped shortly. Her gaze drifted to Helen’s station and Gareth gave her a look of sympathy.

“Of course, I’m sorry. I forgot about what happened afterwards. I remember seeing on the news the story about how the prisoner sent hitmen after the entire salon.”

Using a razor, Charlotte began to shave the back of his neck. Gareth raised his voice over the electric hum. “You must have been relieved when he was killed in prison.”

“You seem to know a lot about it.” Charlotte replied.

He shrugged. “It was all over the news. I suppose you wouldn’t have known that seeing as you were all tucked away in a safe house.”

“That’s right.” She gave him another tight smile before using a brush to sweep away the small hairs on the back of his neck. “All finished.”

She took the cape off and shook it briskly as Gareth stood and studied his reflection. He ran a hand through his hair before grinning at Charlotte. “Best haircut I’ve ever had.”

“Good. Thanks for coming by.” Charlotte busied herself with tidying up as Gareth gave her one last studious stare before paying Darlene. He left the salon without saying anything else, and the small knot of tension that had risen in her belly eased a little when he shut the door firmly behind him.

“Charlotte? What’s wrong?” Darlene frowned at her.

“Nothing. That guy just gave me the creeps.” Charlotte popped her scissors and comb into the jar of disinfectant. “It’s probably just me overreacting.”

Darlene shrugged. “He seemed okay to me.”

“Yeah, I guess. Although,” Charlotte paused as a thought struck her, “how did he know your name, Darlene?”

“I must have mentioned it to him when he first came in.” Darlene shrugged again.

“I don’t remember that.” Charlotte frowned.

“Maybe one of you said it.” Darlene stood and limped to the back of the salon as Charlotte pulled thoughtfully at her bottom lip.

* * *

 

“Charlotte?”

Charlotte turned and smiled broadly at Mel. “Mel! What are you doing here?”

Mel walked up the steps of the porch and held up the cups of steaming coffee she was holding in her hands. “I brought coffee.”

“You’re a sweetheart. Come on in.” Charlotte opened the door and Mel followed her in as she set her purse on the side table. She slipped her shoes off and handed one coffee to Charlotte as they walked to the living room.

“Were you at the gun range?”

Charlotte nodded as she sat down on the couch and curled her legs up under her. “I was.”

“How do you find it?”

Charlotte shrugged and toyed with the lid of her coffee cup. “It’s getting better. I don’t know if I’d ever actually be able to use it against someone, but it’s oddly comforting to know how to use a gun.”

Mel sat at the other end of the couch and sipped at her coffee as Charlotte glanced curiously at her. “Were you just in the neighbourhood and decided to drop by?”

“Sort of.” Mel replied. She hesitated and then gave Charlotte a soft smile. “We miss you, honey. You’ve been avoiding us for the last month.”

“I haven’t.” Charlotte protested. “I’ve just been busy.”

When Mel just continued to look at her, she sighed loudly and stared at her cup of coffee. “I have been. I’m sorry.”

“We really miss you and we’re worried about you.”

“You don’t need to be worried about me, I’m doing just fine.”

“Are you? You’ve lost weight and you’ve got dark circles under your eyes. You look like shit, Charlotte.” Mel said bluntly.

Charlotte laughed. “Thanks, Mel.”

“Are you angry with us? Is that why you’ve been avoiding us?”

“What?” Charlotte gave her a startled look. “Of course not! I love you and Vince, you know that.”

“We love you too. So why are you ignoring our calls?” Mel asked.

Charlotte sighed. “You’re close to Ren and I don’t want to risk running into him at your place.”

Mel gave her a sympathetic look. “We wouldn’t do that to you, Charlotte. If you don’t want to see Ren, we’ll respect that.”

Charlotte nodded. “I know. I just – you know.”

“No, I don’t.” Mel said. “I know Ren held back the information about Steve being dead but I also know he did it because he was worried about you.”

“Did he? Or did he do it because he was trying to keep me to himself, trying to – to force me to feel something for him that I don’t.” Charlotte asked.

“That doesn’t seem like the Ren I know.” Mel said quietly.

“He should have told me the truth.” Charlotte replied.

“Yes, he definitely should have and believe me when I say that a day hasn’t gone by where he doesn’t wish he had.”

“How is he?” Charlotte asked quietly.

“He’s miserable. Vince says he can hardly concentrate at work and he’s dangerously close to being forced to go on leave or be fired. He’s trying to pretend that he’s fine but, honestly, he looks worse than you do.” Mel answered.

Charlotte didn’t reply and Mel reached out and took her hand, squeezing it gently. “He loves you, Charlotte.”

“Did you come here to try and convince me to talk to him?” Charlotte asked.

Mel nodded. “A little bit. Mostly I came by because we miss you and want to see you, but there was a part of me that was hoping to convince you how much Ren needs you.”

“I thought you wanted me to be with Michael.” Charlotte said suddenly. “Vince said you thought Michael would be better for me then Ren.”

“I used to but that was until I saw how miserable Ren is without you and now, how miserable you are without him.” Mel said simply. “It’s killing the both of you to be apart.”

“This is so fucked up.” Charlotte groaned before rubbing her forehead. “I don’t know what to think or what to do anymore.”

“Do you love him?”

“I – I don’t know. The guy has saved my life numerous times and he’s made no secret of the fact that he loves me and yet, I don’t know if I love him or not. I just keep thinking about how we’re so damn different and I’m worried that eventually he’ll get tired of me. Rick and I were so compatible, I guess you could say, and I knew exactly what I was getting into with him. With Ren, there’s this feeling of being out of control and I – did you know that he killed a man in front of me?”

“I do.” Mel nodded.

“The man was about to kill me and Ren just broke his neck like it was nothing. I should be terrified of him but all I can think about is how gentle and sweet he is with me. He could have hurt me that day in the salon but he didn’t. I had to practically force him to have sex with me.”

Charlotte gave her a look of misery. “I feel so guilty, Mel. I slept with another man three months after I buried my husband, and,” she held up her hand when Mel opened her mouth, “I know there were reasons for doing it but I enjoyed it. I wanted it. At the cabin, we did nothing but fuck like goddamn bunnies and I loved every minute of it! I like sleeping with Ren more than I liked sleeping with my own husband. What kind of horrible person does that make me? How could I do that to Rick? How could I –“

She burst into loud wracking sobs and Mel slid across the couch and put her arms around her. She squeezed her tightly and pushed her head down onto her shoulder. She rocked her gently as Charlotte cried loudly.

After a few minutes, Charlotte sat up and gave Mel a watery smile. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Mel handed her a tissue and Charlotte wiped her eyes and blew her nose before taking back her coffee.

“Do you feel better?” Mel asked.

“Yeah, a little.” Charlotte said hoarsely.

“Honey, will you take my advice?” Mel asked hesitantly.

Charlotte nodded and Mel gave her a warm smile. “Personally, I think you love Ren and you’re finding that difficult because of your guilt. But, honey, I know that Rick wants you to be happy. He doesn’t want you living alone and mourning him for the rest of your life. If being with Ren makes you happy, then I know Rick would be happy for you. You can’t let your guilt keep you away from Ren. You and Ren are different, but I think you need to take a chance with him. You’ll spend the rest of your life regretting it, if you don’t.”

Charlotte nodded. “I know. I just – it’s difficult.”

“I know it is.” Mel said soothingly. “But from what I can see – living life without Ren will be even more difficult. You need each other.”

“I miss him.” Charlotte admitted softly. “I miss him so much I can barely think straight.”

“Then call him. Ask him to go for coffee.” Mel urged.

“Yeah, maybe I will.” Charlotte sighed. She gave Mel another hug. “Thank you, Mel.”

“You’re welcome, sweetie.” Mel took another sip of her coffee. “Does this mean I can convince you to have dinner with us this weekend?”

“Yes. I would love to.” Charlotte smiled at her.