Addicted to Him; the New Yorker Book 5 Read online

  ADDICTED TO HIM

  The New Yorker Book Five

  MO Kenyan

  .

  Chapter One

  Danny felt the wetness of her tongue as it smoothed over her lips, her fingers biting into the plush couch as she watched her brother DJ swirl the golden liquid in his whiskey glass. She swallowed a yelp when he threw his head back and tossed the contents into his mouth. Her gaze still fixed on him; she watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed.

  Oh God! She was slowly losing the leash she had placed on her need for booze. Danny had made a promise to her parents, one she’d kept breaking over and over again for the past couple of months. She’d sworn her parents to secrecy, because she had no intention of telling her brothers her secret. DJ would only blame himself, and she didn’t want to disappoint her new, big brother Reno.

  Danny had recently come out of a posh rehab clinic. Rehab, a place she never thought she would see the inside of. However, once you let your boyfriend introduce you to cocaine, after which he dies in bed, at your side and you don’t notice until two days later…rehab was apparently the place to go. Reno had been livid. DJ just kept looking at her with disappointment, shaking his head every few seconds. Her mother had cried, and her father had been rendered speechless. Her boyfriend, the football star who everyone thought was a saint, was just a nightmare with a dreamy smile.

  DJ got up and Danny’s gaze tailed him. The clink of ice hitting the bottom of the glass was followed by the familiar sound of liquid pouring. Danny chewed on her bottom lip and swallowed hard. Once she’d left rehab, she’d had to replace one addiction with another. At least she wasn’t taking drugs anymore.

  “Don’t you think that’s enough?” her father bellowed.

  DJ glared at their father, probably wanting to say something terrible but holding himself back. Their father had been DJ’s hero growing up. DJ modelled himself after the man he had been named after. DJ hissed after gulping his drink. Danny scratched her neck. She could almost feel the sensation, the hot burn of the honey liquid as it ran down his throat, heating up his insides with a glorious fire she wished she could embrace.

  “DJ, I said that’s enough?” their father asked once more.

  “I don’t think you are in a position to tell me what enough is.” DJ threw back another shot and filled his glass once more. “Reno is twenty-three years old. You lied to my mother…or did you know?”

  Danny was barely hanging on to the conversation. DJ’s glass had caused her to go into a trance.

  “Of course not!” their mother exclaimed. “Do you think I would let my children’s siblings live on the other side of the country without looking into their welfare? Do you think I would have left your sister to whatever fate she is in now?”

  “I’m here—no, wait—you must be talking about the other sister. The one father abandoned and has now disappeared. Her name is Rhyne, right?” Danny slurred her words. This part of the conversation had caught her attention. It was hard for her, now that she wasn’t the only little girl in the family.

  “I think you should be telling Daniela what enough is,” DJ said as he sat back down. Danny glared at him, envious and mad at the same time. She looked around the room and immediately, she knew they could tell she was far from sober.

  “DJ, that’s enough,” Reno said, his tone cool but daring disobedience. DJ’s hand froze with the glass on his lips, and Danny whimpered.

  “We need clear heads if we are going to discuss this. Daniela, I think you should go to your room,” Reno said.

  “You won’t tell me what to do,” Danny said.

  “Go!” Reno’s firm bass didn’t get any further arguments from her. “We’ll talk about what it is you are taking and figure out a way to deal with it together, as a family.”

  “I could have used your help for the past seventeen years. Oh! How could I forget? I couldn’t because our father had abandoned you.” Danny heard DJ say as she left the room.

  “DJ, it wasn’t that simple.” This time it was their father speaking.

  “It wasn’t? Because to me, it does sound simple. Take care of your children. You abandoned them, and now my sister is gone.” DJ again.

  “Don’t you think I know that? No one in this room is tortured about Rhyne’s disappearance as much as I am,” their father shouted.

  “I think Reno is. He was six years old when his sister was stolen from her bed and sold by her junkie mother. The one person who should have been there for him wasn’t.” DJ now. Danny wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol or the volley of words that had her head spinning.

  “I know the consequences my actions brought. I went to Hawaii for some time off, a boys’ trip. Do you think I expected to meet the only woman I would love?” The statement shocked Danny enough to slap her out of her stupor. She didn’t know how her mother managed to stay in the room. Hearing the man, you loved proclaim he was only in love with one woman—another woman—must have hurt.

  The room went silent, and Danny thought the revelation must have made them all spontaneously combust. But then her father spoke up again. “I don’t expect you to understand DJ, leaping from one bed to another like you do. I was in love with a beautiful, island girl. She was everything I ever wanted in a woman: strong, gentle, and supportive and determined to face every day with a smile. And when Reno was born, I never thought I could be happier. This was the family I always wanted as my family.” The earnestness in her father’s voice pierced through her heart. She wished one day, she could fall in love. She wanted to be dedicated to someone who could make her need for him greater than her desire for drugs and alcohol.

  “But I guess money was more important than family.” The steel in Reno’s tone slashed through the room, and Danny rethought her last thought. Maybe vices were the only thing a human being could hang on to. For her father it was money and as for her…

  “I was going to give it all up. I did for a few months. But my father froze my accounts and the money I earned as a bartender couldn’t support us. Do you know how demeaning it is for a man not to be able to provide for his family? So, I came back to New York. I didn’t tell my father about my son. I told him Kono, and I were done. I worked at the firm and every chance I got, I would fly out to Hawaii to see my family.”

  Danny leaned in as her father’s broken voice bounced off the walls of the house. Sacrifice. Maybe there was hope for love, after all.

  “Is that where you went? You told me you were going for business trips,” Issadora said.

  “How did my mother fit in all this?” DJ asked.

  “My father wanted an alliance with her family. We dated, then got married, then had you and your sister.” Their mother’s nod affirmed her doubts.

  “So, if you were here with mother and with Kono and Reno, when did you decide the double life was too much for you?”

  “Before you were born. Father had threatened to disown me. And I knew I couldn’t be able to provide for Reno and Kono if I didn’t stay in his…good graces. This is what happened.”

  Danny almost toppled over, her curiosity superseding her drunken legs’ ability to hold her body up.

  “What do you mean? DJ asked.

  “I went back to Hawaii and Kono told me she was pregnant. Then your mother called to tell me she was expecting you…”

  Danny thought she would nod off at that moment.

  “So it was my fault!” DJ shouted, making Danny jump back and bump into the wall unit behind her.

  “It’s not,” Reno and their father said in unison. The boom in their voices drowned out the sound of the disturbed furniture. “What he means to say is marrying into your mother’s family money was more important than his poor family on the island.”

  “It was my fault,” their mother spoke up. “I knew that your father wouldn’t commit without a push. So, I got pregnant intentionally.”

  “So, he was sleeping with both of you at the same time?” DJ asked.

  “You’re one to judge,” his father snapped back.

  “The difference between you and me is that I wear a condom each time. Or wasn’t it invented when you were making your rounds?”

  “Don’t you think I know I broke my family? I destroyed Kono and turned her into… If I had been brave, my son wouldn’t have grown up in the environment he did. My daughter would be here about to celebrate her twenty-second birthday with you. I only spent two years with my daughter. Kono didn’t want anything to do with me, once I told her that I had married your mother. I broke her heart, and my own.”

  “Oh, poor you. We should all feel sorry for you, right? Your heart got broken. Well, Kono’s broken heart led to her death and to my sister being sold off. So, forgive me if I don’t feel sorry for you,” DJ said, his voice thick with sarcasm.

  “DJ—”

  “What I don’t understand is this: grandfather has been dead for ten years. What stopped you for looking for your children?”

  “Shame, and the fact that I am a coward.”

  “Well, at least we agree on one thing. You were my hero. My entire life, all I ever wanted was to be like you. But now that I know you, I’m ashamed to be your son.”

  “That’s fine, you can be ashamed. The important thing right now is to find my daughter.”

  “Why?” Reno asked. “So, you can take care of her? Daniela, the one living in your house, is as high as a kite right now. Neither one of you noticed. You can’t take care of anyone but yourself, Dennis
Kent. I’ll find my sister on my own.”

  “Our sister. Of course, with Daddy’s money,” DJ said.

  “One thing you can depend on is unlike my father, I will support you in everything you want. So now, what do we do about our sisters?”

  It was like a tribal meeting; one Danny wasn’t invited to. They would sit there discussing and deciding her life. It was ridiculous. Danny walked into the room, clapping slowly. They all turned to face her. “This is better than a telenovela.” She laughed. “This family is so screwed up. And you wonder why I’m an alcoholic.”

  “I thought it was cocaine,” DJ cut in.

  “Fuck you!” Danny turned to her parents, feeling betrayed for the second time that night. “Not only can’t you keep track of your children, Daddy, or realize your husband has never loved you, Mommy, you also can’t keep your mouths shut.”

  “They are your brothers. They deserved to know what was going on with you,” her father said.

  “The big one over there has been hula-hooping for the past seventeen years and the other one had his face buried so deep into cleavage, they didn’t care what I was doing.” Her mother grabbed her hand and Danny pulled out of her grasp, stumbling once she was free. “And then you two: Daddy has been mourning Kono while Mommy has been chasing Daddy. Everyone was too busy to notice me. Now you want to hold hands and kumbaya. Things aren’t that simple.”

  “We are trying to move forward,” her mother said.

  “How?” Danny looked around the room and wondered if the rest of them were as drunk as she was. “DJ just realized the almighty Daddy is human. You, Mommy, I don’t know if you noticed, but your marriage is a farce, and Reno, he lost his sister. And I’m this… There is no ‘forward’, Mommy. The sooner you get your head out of your ass and into some fresh air, you will realize that.”

  “Stop it!” Reno yelled as he grabbed her arm.

  This time, Danny wasn’t able to get free at all. “Let go of me!”

  “I haven’t been here the past few years, but I sure as hell don’t intend to leave you. You are like this because you wanted to be. No one forced you to become a junkie, but I am going to force you to sober up.”

  “There is nothing you can do,” Danny squealed as she punched his arm. It didn’t matter, though. The harder she punched, the more tired she got, while Reno didn’t flinch at all.

  “We already took her to rehab, Reno,” her father said.

  “I intend on taking her to a different kind of rehabilitation centre. This time she won’t have any money or phone access, so no calling Mommy and Daddy to get you out.”

  Fear clenched her heart. He actually meant it; she could see it in his eyes. Danny looked around, and the family that had given in to her every whim her entire life had backed down with tails between their legs. Reno was the Alpha now and no one was challenging him. DJ walked up to her, gave her a kiss on the head, and left the room. That was it. Her ally was gone. The only person who could talk Reno out of his decision had left.

  “Daddy?”

  “I think he is right, sweetie.”

  Danny had been abandoned into the arms of a madman.

  ***

  Six years later…

  “Don’t leave me here! Don’t leave me here! Don’t you love me?” Reno teased. “Now you don’t want to leave.”

  Danny punched him in the gut and Reno moaned, pretending the hit had hurt. She hopped onto her big brother’s back and hugged him as tight as he could. “If it wasn’t for, I’d probably be dead by now.”

  “That is something I would never let happen, monkey. Now get off. My flight is about to take off and you have a job to get back to.”

  Danny hopped off and moved to stand in front of Reno. She hated this part. For the past six years, it had been the same thing. He would come visit and they would look for leads on Rhyne together, then it would be time for him to go back to Lisette and the kids. Danny always found herself standing beside the taxi, crying her eyes out. She never wanted him to leave, but as if on cue, DJ would call her, listening to her cry her way home. Then she would fall asleep and begin her new day. Danny always thought that to survive one addiction, she would have to latch on to another. This time, she’d grabbed hold of her brother’s love and never let go. Later, once she was ready, she let her parents back into her life. This was her new addiction, the love for her family.

  “Grow your hair back!”

  “No!”

  Reno backpedalled until he reached the security gate. Danny fisted her dress, as if holding herself in that spot. This was the part that had more than thrice made Reno delay his trip. You are a big girl now. Hold yourself together. Danny cursed her phone for not ringing. Where was DJ when she needed him? Her eyes clouded and Danny could feel herself losing the battle. She had to wait long enough for Reno to get through security, the point of no return.

  Reno smiled at her, waited a beat, then nodded.

  Danny nodded.

  Tears flowed freely and Danny took a step back. It was better than running into Reno’s comforting arms. She nodded once more, this time steeling her features. At least one of them had to be convinced she could do it.

  Reno blew her a kiss and that was when she rethought her decision of not going to New York. DJ was in Nice, but Reno, Lisette, her new niece and nephew, and parents would be there. But then she would remember how far she had gotten and assure herself she could do it.

  Danny’s phone vibrated and she answered before it rang. “Has he taken off yet?”

  “No, he is going to the check-in counter right now.” Reno turned around and waved goodbye.

  “Has he said bye yet?”

  “Yes,” she cried.

  “You are a big girl, monkey. Come on, get into the cab and go home.”

  “Okay.”

  “Honey, are you still standing there, crying?”

  “No.” Danny turned toward the cab and noticed the man staring at her. Normally, she would take time to do more than notice, but this time, she was too sad to.

  “Come on, get in the cab.”

  Danny did as she was told. She listened to the sound of DJ’s comforting voice until she got home.

  ***

  Christian Henry had stood there watching the girl as she grabbed on to her sundress as if trying to anchor herself down, then as she put on a brave face as her male companion left. She had been crying into the phone for a while before getting into the taxi that was obviously waiting for her. Kit had to overcome the overwhelming urge to take the girl in his arms and console her. His other option had been to force the man to stay. The dude was huge, but Kit trusted his military training to give him the ability to bend a man’s will.

  When she got into the cab, he wanted to follow her, hold her, and…he didn’t know what else. But he couldn’t. He was waiting to pick up his twin brother, who had flown in so they could spend their twenty-eighth birthday together. Christopher had invited his friends from New York and rented a posh club for the night. Everyone else was getting in the next night. Kit wanted to spend the day with his twin and show him the sights. His and Christopher’s relationship had become difficult when Kit had decided to become an individual and join the military. The corporate world wasn’t for him. In the military, the rules were simpler, and honour was something a soldier had to wear as a proud badge on his chest. It was different for the money-driven people. He had sort of followed in their sister Katherine’s footsteps; he and Kat had always been closer. Christopher and their older brother Duke had gone into the family business, and he and Katherine had gone into the business of saving lives. Katherine was a doctor and he’d become a Navy SEAL, career paths that their parents and Christopher didn’t understand. And as for Duke, he didn’t say much of anything. He was too busy being the emperor of the Henry Empire.

  “Stand at attention, Marine!”

  Kit didn’t bother correcting Christopher. As far as his brother was concerned, he was a G.I. Joe. He returned Christopher’s embrace and helped him with his bags. “How was your flight?”

  “Damn long,” he groaned. “I still don’t understand why you couldn’t fly down to New York. You could have even borrowed an F-22.”

  “I only got the weekend off. I report back on Monday. I already told you that.” Kit put Christopher’s bags in the trunk and exhaled the exhaust that had already begun to overwhelm him.