Deep Blue Forever (Deep Blue Series)

  Deep Blue Forever

  by Amie Nichols

  Copyright 2014

  Chapter 1

  Aubrey

  I was sitting at the Denver airport waiting for Rex to pick me up when Ian texted me: Just want to make sure you made it to New York. What I wanted to reply was Go to hell you piece of shit, lying, asshole, but I didn't. Instead I texted: Yes. That word was going to be the last word I ever spoke to Ian Brady. I wasn't going to demand an explanation. I knew better than to trust someone so much that I just met. I went back on my one rule - no relationship; people change people in relationships. Ian Brady sure changed me, I was a blubbering mess. My heart was in a 1000 pieces, my whole world seemed different.

  I didn't want to go back to New York. The castle was being remodeled with the thought that Ian and I were going to live there. We had only been together for two months, and I was remodeling it for us to live in. God, can one get any stupider.

  "Baby girl!" Rex yells to me as he rushes toward me, taking me in his strong arms and holding me tight. He's so much taller than me that the top of my head barely reaches his chin. "I'm going to kill him," he grates not letting me go. I was able to get out enough of the story over the phone so he had a general idea of what was going on.

  "Thank you for coming. I hope I didn't take you away from anything," I say through sniffs as he reaches down grabbing my bag then leads me to the exit.

  "Baby girl, I would have been in the middle of playing the super bowl and I still would have walked off of the field for you," he says looking down at me giving me a smile. It makes me chuckle between sobs. He leads me to his red Aston Martin that he has parked in the red zone. A female airport officer is looking at the car and speaking into her walkie about needing a tow when we walk up.

  "Sorry ma'am, I was in a hurry," he says to the thirty something woman, who goes flush instantly when she sees who she is talking to.

  "Oh, that's OK, Mr. Olsen." She coos at him fiddling with her walkie.

  "Thanks sweetie." Rex flirts with her as he places me in his car, putting my bag in the trunk. Once he's in the driver seat and revs the engine, he leans over me giving the turned to goo officer a sexy Rexy wink before he drives off. I look in the side mirror seeing the woman fanning herself as she watches us pull out of sight.

  "Works every time," Rex says, grabbing my hand and giving it a squeeze.

  "What do you do if it's a man?" I can't help but laugh at the way he uses his charms to get what he wants.

  "Oh, offer to sign a football for them." He nods toward the back seat, and I turn to see NFL footballs lining the back of the car.

  "Does it ever not work?" I shake my head at his candor.

  "Only with you, baby girl." He turns giving me that same sexy wink and I just roll my eyes. "See, nothing. If you were any other girl you would have your shirt off by now." He laughs. I'm so glad I decided to come to Colorado. No one can make me feel this good when I feel so bad.

  Chapter 2

  Ian

  She left me, and the way I acted when she said she needed some space was horrible. I handled it all wrong not knowing what in the hell to do. I never in my life have felt so helpless. I wanted to grab her, tie her down so she couldn't leave. At the same time, I'm mad as hell at myself for the way I treated her in that boardroom. I was mad at her for not excepting my apology, for wanting space from me, and like the stupid dense fuck that I was, I stomped out the door not even saying a goodbye.

  That night I didn't sleep, I drank and I wallowed. I had to get to her. I had to plead for forgiveness. I was going into work to tie up a few loose ends before heading to New York.

  After throwing my phone last night, I tell Tae I need a new phone pronto when I walk into the office. I don't like the feeling of Aubrey not being able to get a hold of me. I check my e-mails, seeing one from Dean who says that Jim Olsen came and left the cemetery in a cab. Well that is just fucking great! He could be anywhere, and Aubrey is out there unprotected. Just freaking swell!

  There's a knock at the door. I bellow, "Enter!" Michelle saunters in like everything is business as usual.

  "How's Aubrey?" She asks in that low voice that really pisses me off now. It's because of her that my girl left.

  "She's gone back to New York."

  "I'm sorry, Ian. I'm sure it's for the best." She casually says, sitting on the edge of my desk.

  Why in the hell is that for the best?" I shout, but she doesn't seem to notice. She is calm as she crosses her legs. She has on a short skirt, and the way she is sitting causes the skirt to ride up to her mid thigh.

  "I'm sure it was hard for her to see us that way. I mean, at least you see it now, right?" She says, moving my laptop back so she can slide over in front of me.

  "Michelle, there is nothing between us. Not anymore, and never will be again." I roll my chair back from my desk to put some distance between us.

  "Oh Ian, really, don't fight it. It was so obvious in the meeting the other day," she says, staring deeply at me to make her point.

  "Look, Michelle, apparently I'm an idiot..." She interrupts me.

  "No you're not. I knew you would come around eventually." She smiles uncrossing her legs, she spreads her thighs so her skirt inches up even more and I can see her panties from this angle.

  "No, I mean I'm an idiot for not seeing what you felt." I stand instantly, moving around the desk. "I love Aubrey, and I have never loved you." Michelle slides off the desk, coming around she lets out a low laugh and stands in front of me.

  "Oh really, that's not what it was like in the conference room when you ignored her and only paid attention to me." She steps closer putting her hand on my chest, and before I can move she has her lips on mine. I feel like I'm going to vomit. The gut-wrenching guilt of another woman's mouth on mine that is not Aubrey's actually feels like poison in my stomach.

  I push her away with haste causing her to stumble, but she catches her balance. The obscenities that spew from her mouth fall on deaf ears. I have one mission right now and that is to get to my girl. I leave my office as Michelle follows screaming like a banshee, saying things like I was throwing away the best thing that ever happened to me, and some other shit that I don't listen to.

  I stop by Tae's desk long enough to grab my phone. Just as I am about to walk out the door, Michelle says something that stops me in my tracks.

  "What did you say?" I turn to her wild eyes, and she starts back tracking instantly. In her rampage she let something slip.

  "Nothing," she says. Even though she has had years of training in lying and covering up her tracks, I can see right through it. I know what I heard, and she had said, "You should've not wanted her after you heard what was out there, she's disgusting." The realization of that statement hit me like a train.

  "Did you find Jim Olsen? Did you bring him out?" I shout at her as Sam walks into the office. Standing behind me, he quickly catches up on the situation.

  "I was only trying to protect you, Ian. When Sam told me you were head over heels for someone after your Vegas trip, I did some digging." I feel like I have been hit between the eyes.

  "I trusted you!" I scream in the middle of the office with all my staff looking on. "Is there a tape or did you and your sick twisted friend make that up?"

  "Yes, there's a tape, and I don't know where Jim is now," Michelle confesses. "After the initial contact, he went off the deep end saying he could get so much more money." She is pleading with her eyes telling me she is sorry. "I'm so sorry, Ian, it wasn't suppose to go that far. I just thought you would, I mean, I thought you wouldn't want someone with so much baggage.

  "So you sent a psycho loose on her, who has a tape of him assaul
ting her?" I can't even see straight I'm so mad.

  "I didn't know it was an assault. I thought it was a consensual sex tape, I swear, Ian." If it wasn't for Sam's firm grip on my shoulder, I'm pretty sure Michelle would be on the ground right now by my fist.

  "Go, Ian, get to New York. I'll take care of things here," Sam says, and all but pushes me out the door.

  I was driving like a mad man to the airport when I got a call from Miry. She was insisting I come to her house before I leave. Desperate to get to Aubrey, I argued with her. She told me that it had everything to do with Aubrey and that I needed to see something before I left. Finally giving in to her pleas, I swung the SUV around and made the journey to Sam and Miry's a short one.

  "What, Miry, I have a flight to catch." I was frantic as I entered their house.

  "You need to see something," she said, holding up her phone to me. It was a text from Aubrey that read:

  Spoke with Michelle. Do me one last favor and you will never have to hear from my stupid ass again. Please burn the painting. Don't think Ian's wife would like it hanging around. Thanks Miry. I will always remember how kind you were to me, but the knowledge of what I just learned hurts and it hurts too bad to be in contact with you.

  "Wife? What the fuck, Miry, she thinks Michelle is my wife!" I'm screaming at her like it's her fault as I read the message again. "What painting?"

  Miry doesn't say a word. Instead she leads me to her art room where, on an easel, is a painting of my girl. It's beautiful, the most beautiful painting I've ever seen. She's naked, except for a silk blue scarf that hides everything ever so slightly. The only thing I don't like about this work of art is that I don't see those gorgeous green eyes.

  "Don't you fucking dare burn that!" I shout.

  "I'm not, Ian, but I wanted you to see the text. Michelle went to the house after you left. Told her you guys were married and getting back together."

  "Did you tell her it wasn't true?" I'm still shouting at poor Miry, but she doesn't even flinch in the slightest.

  "She won't answer my calls, Ian. If she thinks what Michelle told her is true, all she can see right now is how much you played her, lied to her, and how her heart is in a million tiny pieces. And my bet is that she is going to do everything to avoid seeing you. That's why I wanted you to know what she thinks, so you can know what you're fighting against," she says.

  Chapter 3

  Aubrey

  I wake up the next morning in Rex's guest room. It takes me a minute to realize where I am and what had happened. The sadness takes over once again as I remember. Rex and I spent most of the night talking about Ian and all the shit that had happened in the past few days. When I told him about the letter, and the picture of our son's grave, Rex cried. I cried. The words his father spoke about how we should be grateful for what he did was a hard one to swallow for poor Rex. I didn't tell him to make him sad. I had considered not telling him at all, but he asked, and the one thing I have never done was lie to Rex.

  I notice that the alarm clock says 10:00 am when I get out of bed. Walking out in some yoga pants and an oversize t-shirt, Rex is in the kitchen on the phone.

  "Oh yeah, you think you will." He has his back turned to me, and I'm pretty sure he is talking to a woman since he's using his sexy charm voice. He lets out one of his low sexy chuckles. I feel awkward standing there so I clear my throat. He turns to see me, holding up his index finger telling me he will be off in a second. I mouth to him to take his time. I only wanted my presence known, that's all. "Alright, I have to go, but I will call you later," he says, laying the charm on thick.

  "Good morning, baby girl." He leans over the counter kissing me on the cheek. "How you feeling?" He pours me a cup of coffee as I pull up a stool at the breakfast bar. I shake my hand to indicate so, so.

  "Was that the flavor of the month?" I ask after I take a sip of my coffee.

  "Heidi Dean, actually." I almost spit the drink I was taking out of my mouth.

  "As in super model turned actress Heidi Dean?"

  "That's the one." He raises his eyebrows up and down.

  "Oh."

  "That's not jealousy I hear, is it?" Rex leans on the counter. He is shirtless and his muscles flex as he moves. I tilt my head at him giving him an are you serious look.

  "No, I'm not jealous. Impressed yeah, but not jealous," I tease right back. For a few minutes I have forgotten about Ian. "So, is it serious or just Rex serious?"

  "We've only been out once, haven't even done it yet." I love how he's just so straight forward with me.

  "Rex Olsen went on a date with drop dead gorgeous super model Heidi Dean and didn't have sex with her?" I'm flabbergasted.

  "The date was last night," he admits, and I honestly think he told me to prove his point. That no matter what he will always be there for me.

  "Shit, I'm sorry. Was she mad?"

  "No, she was really cool about it. I just told her a dear friend needed my help."

  "Did you tell her that this dear friend was a girl, though?"

  "She was sitting across from me when you called, all crying and a mess. How many times do you think I said, 'Baby girl, calm down, so I can understand you?'" He points out, resting his chin on the palm of his hand.

  "Hmmm, well that is really cool. Do you have a second date tonight?"

  "I don't have anything as long as you are here and need me." He states taking his coffee cup to the sink to rinse it out.

  "What did I do to deserve you?" I come around the counter to give my best friend a hug.

  "You must have been an angel in a previous life or something," he teases returning my hug.

  I don't know what triggers it, but my thoughts are all over Ian again. I am crying again as the sadness and the ache comes back. Rex takes my shoulders in his big hands pushing me back so he can see my face.

  "What am I going to do, how do you make this stop?" I cry putting my hand over my heart to signal the pain.

  "I'm afraid I don't know, Aubrey. I've only ever been in love with one girl, and I broke her heart seven years ago. I still have the pain, so once you figure it out let me know," Rex says getting serious, taking my face in his hands and using my name.

  "Oh, Rex, you didn't break my heart. I ran because I was young and scared. I needed to forget, and I know now that running doesn't make you forget. I'm sorry. You know I love you too. You also know why we would never work."

  "Well, I have found that having meaningless sex with many women has helped dull the ache." There he is, serious Rex gone, which I'm grateful for because this Rex makes me laugh.

  Chapter 4

  Ian

  Spent the whole night in the airport and finally I'm able to charter a plane, since all other flights were full. Sam had me on the phone telling me Michelle has lost it. She has disappeared. When they went to her house to find her, they found a full on obsession room. She had pictures of Aubrey and me with scratches on her face, and pictures of me all over the house. They even found an Ian box. There was everything from a used napkin to a pair of my underwear. At least Sam assumed it was a pair of mine, since it was in the box marked Ian with a huge heart on it. "Mate, this is some messed up shit. This is way worse than I could ever imagine," Sam said over the phone. "I think you better find Aubrey, because it would seem she is going after her by what I see here."

  "God damn it! How in the hell did I not see this?" I yell in the phone.

  "Don't beat yourself up. I thought she just had a crush, I didn't know it was a full on fatal attraction meets Rambo," Sam says. We'll find her. Where do you want me?"

  "Come to New York. I'm sure she is where ever Aubrey is. I just wish I was where Aubrey is. Damn, I hate this! I have Kory trying to find her, but he hasn't seen her. He's staking out the castle right now," I tell Sam and he says he will be there as soon as he can.

  I land in New York mid morning. I've been calling Aubrey about every 30 minutes and it goes straight to voicemail each time. One of my company cars is waiting for me whe
n I land, and with traffic, I make it to the castle in about an hour.

  I ring the doorbell then knock. No answer. Knocking harder, the door finally opens.

  "Ethan." I greet Aubrey's assistant as I walk into the foyer. "Where's Aubrey?" I ask, not waiting for an answer I start my search.

  "Ian, she's not here," Ethan says following me as I go from room to room yelling her name.

  "Ethan, I know she's mad, but I just need to explain. Please tell me where she's at." I reach the den, yelling out her name. Turning around, I almost hit Ethan head on.

  "She's not here, what is she mad about?" I turn to see the confused look on his face.

  "Didn't she call you and tell you she was coming to New York?"

  "Yeah, but then, like an hour later, she texted saying change of plans, that she wasn't coming," Ethan says as innocent as can be.

  "Shit, did she say where she was going?" I am headed for the front door.

  "Colorado," Ethan answers, and I stop dead in my tracks. Son of a bitch, she went to Rex.

  Getting back in my car, I dial Rex.

  "Well, if it isn't the dumbest man alive." Is how he answers my call.

  "Rex, can I please talk to her?" I keep my voice calm even though I want to reach through the phone and wring is neck.

  "Don't think she wants to talk to a lying bastard."

  "I didn't lie, Michelle did. I've never been married."

  "And why would Michelle lie about something like that?"

  "I don't know. She's crazy, delusional. Just let me talk to Aubrey, I have to hear her voice." I hear him sigh and then a muffled sound, like he is covering the mouth piece of his phone. I hear more muffled talking.

  "Hi." It's Aubrey's sweet voice. The voice I have been longing to hear since I stomped out of the house like a two year old.

  "Aubrey, please just listen. It's not true, none of it. We were undercover in Egypt as a married couple. She's delusional and thinks it was all for real."