by Ophelia Bell
I share a look with Baz that tells me he’s picked up on this detail as well. We didn’t hire any new people once Drake brought us on—no time—but we did look closely at all the files of the security staff we have. Nothing popped out about Karl, but his remarks make me want to take a closer look to see if there’s anything we need to worry about.
“Well, you’re doing a fine job,” he says, his tone only slightly patronizing.
“Better than Hagler?” I ask, taking care to watch his expression.
There’s a minute twitch in his brow and his lips tighten slightly. “Hagler was a good man. I was sorry to see him go. But I think you have the advantage, since there are two of you doing the job of one man. There’s really no comparison.”
“Where did he land, anyway?” Drake asks. “He didn’t ask for a referral. I just came in one morning to a letter of resignation, and that was the last I heard from him.”
The elevator door opens and Karl moves through, carefully checking the hallway beyond before holding the door open for us. Elle steps out first, then Drake, with Baz and I following close behind.
Karl’s expression is inscrutable now. He gives a noncommittal shrug. “No idea. We were friendly but not close. He was always all business. I was as surprised as you were when he left.”
The elevator opens onto a balcony overlooking the massive museum space, within which are suspended a variety of aircraft in all sizes. The biggest ones are outside, but it’s still an impressive display and hard not to marvel at. Karl leads us down a short hallway that curves behind the elevator to an empty conference room, which he unlocks with a keyring on his belt.
Inside, Elle moves to sit primly in one of the chairs while Karl unlocks a case resting on the table, producing a pair of handguns. Baz sets down his laptop case, which he brought in the event we needed to do some quick investigation while we’re here, then reaches for one of the guns. We check the chambers, then load magazines in each one before removing our jackets to strap on shoulder holsters, inside which we stow the guns before putting our jackets back on.
I catch Elle watching with interest and wink, which earns me a smile and a raised eyebrow. I wish I could read her mind, but I think she likes what she sees. My brother and I are usually pretty in sync when we’re on the job.
Finally I insert the tiny earpiece in my ear, and Baz and I test them, receiving confirmation that they work from whoever’s currently manning the security booth.
Karl nods at us once we look up. “If that’s everything you need, I’ll get back to the security booth. The men are already at their stations ready for guests to arrive. I’ll be in the booth monitoring radios while the guests arrive, then on the floor like you requested. If you need me, just say so.” He taps his ear, where he likely has his own earpiece.
“Oh, and before I go…” He lifts the keyring from his belt and peels off two keys, which he hands to each of us. “So you can get back in for your things later.”
When the door clicks shut behind him, Elle starts to ask, “Is it just me, or is he just a little too on point?”
Drake shushes her with a shake of his head, then whispers, “He’s just doing his job. We know who to look out for already, anyway.”
“How long until we can go down?” Elle asks. “I can smell the food already, and I haven’t eaten since breakfast.”
“Soon,” I say. “As soon as we get word from the valet that the first guests have arrived.”
“Want me to keep you occupied?” Drake asks, propping himself on the edge of the table and leaning down to cup Elle’s cheek. He starts to brush his lips across hers, and her breath hitches, but she turns away quickly.
“Nope. You’ll mess up my perfect makeup if you kiss me.”
He lets out a growl that goes straight to my groin, but recovers and nuzzles against her throat instead. Elle’s eyelids flutter closed, and she sighs as he kisses her neck, then leans back, admiring her bodice.
“This fucking dress,” he mutters. He lifts a hand to trace a fingertip over the perfect mound of the top of one breast, then bends and kisses her there too.
“Drake,” Elle says. “You’re not making it any easier on me, you know. Let’s survive tonight. If we catch the guy, we can celebrate, but not until then.”
“You’ll be ready for us, right?” he asks, pulling back, but still cupping her cheek and gently stroking it with his thumb.
“You’d better believe it,” she says. Her red lips curl into a smile that makes Baz utter a soft curse beside me.
Fucking hell is right, brother.
34
Elle
Ben and Baz seem to fade into the shadows once we head down to the pavilion where the gala is set to take place. I’m a little disappointed they don’t remain close. I know they’re still there, but I thought they’d do more than just be bodyguards tonight. But Drake is acting as a dutiful date, and I suppose it would be overkill if all three of them were hovering around me the entire time, especially with my brothers due to arrive at any moment.
“Do you need anything?” Drake asks, leaning close to my ear.
“I’m good. I can take care of myself.”
“I know. But I’m going to be preoccupied when the guests arrive, so I don’t want you to feel neglected.”
“Trust me, I’ll be fine. Especially now.” I point to the entrance, where a large group has just arrived. Drake looks and his eyes grow wide.
“Did they take a bus? I didn’t expect them to arrive en masse,” he says.
Half my family has just arrived, and my heart leaps into my throat at the sight. I rush over, grinning. Maddox is the first to sweep me into his arms.
“Good god. Who are you, and what’ve you done with my sister?” Maddox says, squeezing me tight for a beat before holding me at arm’s length. He gives me a critical once-over, his eyes narrowing. I brace myself for him to disapprove of my dress, but Celeste interrupts him when she pulls me into a tight hug.
“You look beautiful, Elle. Don’t let these idiots tell you otherwise.” She glares back at Maddox, who just shakes his head and smiles. His smile quickly turns to a scowl at Leo, who’s unabashedly checking me out, much to Celeste’s amusement.
Mason purses his lips as he hugs me. “You’re gorgeous, Elle,” he says in a gruff tone.
“He knows he can’t say a thing,” his fiancée, Callie, says, gesturing at her equally low-cut gown. She’s a vision in red, her long blonde hair flowing around her bare shoulders. “Wait’ll your mom sees how grown-up you look.”
“Is she coming?” I ask, eyes widening. “I didn’t think she was well enough.”
“She rode with Flores and Elena,” Mason says. “We pretty much took a motorcade down the 405. I think theirs was the last car. Of course, with our two best babysitters attending, we had to enlist Mrs. Vega from across the street to watch Zoe for the night.”
“I can’t imagine she minds a bit,” I say. “Mrs. Vega’s house was always a safe haven for us growing up.” One of my few regrets is losing touch with Mrs. Vega’s daughter, Rose, who was one of my closest friends in high school. We still email once in a while, but that’s it.
“And your mother is fine,” Callie says. “She’s my star patient. I’m even thinking of writing a paper on the benefits of dance as therapy for stroke victims. I can tell you about it another time, though.”
Drake is right beside me for all the greetings, shaking hands with my brothers, hugging my sister and my soon-to-be sister-in-law like we’re all family already. When he looks at me, the anxiety has faded, and he looks truly happy to be accepted by them all.
“Where’s Sam?” I ask. “You invited him too, didn’t you? And I still don’t see Marco.”
“I did. He and Toni live close by, so I suppose there isn’t as much urgency to get here early and beat traffic. Marco will be here a little later, but I promise he’s coming too.”
Soon my father appears with two beautiful women at his sides. I almost don’t recognize my
own mother, dressed to the nines herself in an understated blue dress of flowing silk with a matching sheer wrap. She’s almost as tall as Flores, her fair skin shining and healthy and her shoulder-length dark hair just a little grayer than the last time I saw her. She’s wearing it down, which is unusual, and she looks amazing.
On Arturo’s other side is Elena Quiñones, more diminutive, though just as beautiful, looking poised, but slightly out of her element in a simple floral gown that accents her darker features.
I rush to my mother and envelop her in a hug. “Mom! I can’t believe you came. I am happy you did, though. So happy.”
She laughs, and it’s the most beautiful sound after the ordeal she’s been through, not to mention her hard recovery since having a stroke at Christmas and spending about a week in a medically induced coma.
“Arielle, you look beautiful,” she says, her diction just shy of perfect. The stroke impacted her balance and speech, but she’s worked so hard at her therapy any disability is nearly impossible to notice.
I cling to her hand, nearly in tears over the fact that she’s well enough to come to a party. “How are you feeling? Come, let me show you to our table so you can sit. Drake pulled some strings so all of us can all sit together.”
“I spent the last two hours sitting,” she says. “Let me look around. It’s been a long time since I’ve been here.”
“I’ve never been,” Elena says. “I think I’ll join you.” She slips her arm into my free one and leans closer. “How are my sons? I’m not getting an answer out of Arturo, so I thought I’d appeal to you for news.”
“They’re here,” I say. “No reason not to ask them yourself… except I suppose they’re working, so technically we probably shouldn’t bother them. But hopefully they’ll come say hi. If they don’t, I’ll just have to make them.”
The three of us meander through the museum, reading the plaques beneath each of the aerial exhibits and viewing the smaller exhibits in the outer ring of displays before making our way back to the pavilion. The security staff are easy to pick out from the guests, being the only men and women in plain dark suits, whereas everyone else is in ball gowns or tuxedos. The twins are the only ones dressed in tuxes, but I don’t see them at first glance.
Mom’s gaze rises to one of the aircraft mounted on a pedestal high above us. The plaque identifies it as a Bell AH-1E Cobra Helicopter. She stops and lets out a small sigh. “That one was Julian’s favorite. He said it was the first engine he ever worked on.”
I look at her, surprised by her mention of the man I believed was my dad all these years. She meets my gaze and presses her lips tight. “I’m sorry, honey. It’s easier to let myself remember the good times. Coming here was one of his favorite day trips when we were younger—when things were good. I know you don’t think of him as your father anymore, but he was always bigger than life to me, so passionate about the things he loved.”
After years of wishing for love from Julian Santos, it’s strange listening to her talk about him as if he was ever more than a brutal, violent man.
I refuse to lie to my mother about how I feel, though. I squeeze her hand, and in a voice tight with emotion, say, “I know you loved him, but I will never forgive him for what he did to you and my brothers. He’s the reason Arturo stayed away—did you know that? I don’t blame you for keeping him close. I know you did it to protect him, but did you consider the fact that I never knew a true father because he was there? Julian was never a dad to me. He was worse than nothing to the boys. And if you’d just left him, I might have had the chance to have a real father before now.”
Elena is a few discreet steps away, pretending to look at the plaque beneath another aircraft, but she turns to us, her brow creased with concern.
Mom’s carefully constructed façade cracks when she meets my gaze, the lines on either side of her mouth deepening as tears spring to her eyes. She lifts a hand to my cheek and strokes lightly.
“My beautiful Arielle. You deserved so much more than I gave you. I am so, so sorry I didn’t try harder. I could have done more—for all of you.
“I did try… I thought if you learned to dance, you and Celeste would have an excuse to spend time together, even if you never knew you were sisters. But you were so far apart in age. Arturo did seek you out whenever he came to Celeste’s dance classes, but he kept his distance, because I was afraid it would just be too confusing to you if he tried to build a relationship with you. I see now how wrong I was.
“I will forever regret those decisions. But despite it all…” She steps back and looks me over, her eyes brightening so much it’s like the sun coming out after a storm. “Despite it all, you have exceeded my wildest dreams in the woman you’ve become.”
“It means a lot to hear you say that. And please don’t think I love you less. You were more than enough of a parent to me all these years. I couldn’t have asked for a better mother.”
I pull her in for a hug, and Elena rejoins us as we continue our slow tour while more guests continue trickling in.
“I admit I wanted to come even more once I knew where this party would be held. But why did Drake choose this as the venue?” Mom asks.
“It might seem a little incongruous, but renewable energy research is one of his pet projects, especially where the shipping industry is concerned. The Typhon research arm intersects quite a bit with the aeronautics industry, and with NASA, when it comes to their methods of powering their aircraft. He has an entire presentation on it to show everyone later. I promise it’s way more interesting than I make it sound, but I hear the dessert is delicious, so if you get bored, you can just focus on the dish instead.”
“I’m sure it’ll be as fascinating as you say,” Mom says. Then her eyes light up as she looks past my shoulder. A second later I feel a tap and I turn, only to be swept up in a pair of familiar strong arms.
“Hey, Ellie,” Sam says. “What’d you do to finagle an outing like this? And getting us an invite too?”
“We owe you,” Toni says, smiling at me from his side and hugging me once my brother releases me. She is absolutely stunning in a black satin dress decorated in red floral brocade that accents the inked designs covering her arms and shoulders. “I was going stir-crazy being funneled back and forth between work and home. I can’t wait for this to be over. But you’re looking surprisingly relaxed. You’re practically glowing. I guess living in captivity agrees with you?”
She lifts one eyebrow at me, and I can’t help but wonder if she and Celeste have spoken.
My brother narrows his eyes when my cheeks heat, and I just know he’s connecting the dots. “Speaking of which, where are your brothers?” he asks Toni under his breath. “I might need to have a word.”
Toni grabs his arm, shaking her head as a grin spreads across her face. “Don’t you dare. Can’t you see your sister’s happy? I told you to prepare yourself for this.”
Drake chooses that moment to appear, slipping up beside me and resting his hand on my back.
“Glad you guys could come,” he says to my brother and his girlfriend, reaching out his free hand to shake with Sam.
“We need to get everyone seated,” Drake says close to my ear so I can hear over the music piping through the speakers.
When he tucks a stray strand of hair over my ear, Sam’s look of confusion is all the reward I need. I shouldn’t be amused by it, but when Maddox revealed his relationship with Leo and Celeste to us, it was entertaining watching Sam try to wrap his head around the logistics.
“I’ll make sure everyone’s together,” I say, smiling up at Drake. “See you in a few?”
He beams down at me. “Sounds good.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I spot one of the twins lurking in the shadows. Elena catches sight too, and utters a soft sound of surprise before veering off toward him.
It’s Ben, looking every bit like a deer caught in headlights as his mother approaches.
“He’s in trouble,” Toni says under her br
eath.
“That’s what you get for ghosting your mom for a week,” Sam says, then spears me with a look. “So, Elle,” he says in a mockingly casual tone, “when were you going to tell me you were dating Drake fucking Stavros? Or is it one of Toni’s brothers? If so, which one? And please, for the love of god, don’t say all of them—ow!” He shoots Toni a dirty look. “What was that for?”
“For not minding your own business. Elle, we’re happy for you, no matter who you’re dating.” Under her breath, she says, “Even if it is all of them.”
I lean closer and say, “Did Celeste say something to you?”
She gives me an enigmatic smile and offers a small shrug. “It’s possible she gave me a heads up, but only so I could have your back. We’re rooting for you, honey.”
“Seriously?” Sam interjects, looking scandalized. “Are you seriously telling me that you’re…” He presses his lips tight, glancing toward our mom, who’s a few yards away, still looking at the helicopter above us. “You’re with all of them?”
Toni elbows him in the ribs. “It’s none of your business!” she hisses.
I sigh. “Come on, guys. We need to get to our table.”
I turn away, pointedly ignoring Sam’s question as I walk to Mom and hook my arm through hers to lead her back to the tables. I’ll come clean to him eventually, but it is neither the time nor place for it now, and I really don’t want my other brothers finding out all at once. It’s bad enough Maddox probably already knows.
On the way back around the fountain, I catch sight of Ben again, enduring what appears to be an emotional tirade from his mother, though I can’t hear it from here. Baz strides toward him from the other side of the pavilion, hopefully heading in for a rescue. When Elena spies her other son, her volume rises.
Sam chuckles, evidently enjoying watching the pair suffer, but at least he doesn’t have an opening to confront them. Knowing him, he’d dive in fists flying before trying to have a conversation with the twins, and they wouldn’t hold back either.