Carly shook her head, preferring not to discuss it. “No, we don’t.”
“I think we should.”
She drew in a deep breath and stood to lean against the counter. “Fine. Let’s talk.”
She saw Lee’s gaze roam over her. While she’d slept, not only had he ordered breakfast from room service, but he’d also called one of the hotel’s boutiques to deliver her some clothes as well. He’d given the salesperson her approximate size and Carly wasn’t surprised that the dress was green since he’d said he loved that color on her. The woman had delivered a gift bag with panties, a bra and a pretty lemon-lime sundress. Everything fit her perfectly. She had been touched by his thoughtfulness and, not caring what the salesperson might have thought about his purchase, Carly had thanked him in what she hoped was the most delicious way he’d ever known.
She saw him swallow as his gaze returned to her eyes. “Besides the passion, Carly, the other reason I want to marry you is because I admire you.”
“You admire me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Even with all you had to endure in your life, you proved to be a survivor. You worked your way through college, refusing to accept money from your aunt. Instead, you took out student loans that you’re still paying for. Even with all that, you still have your dreams. That restaurant you want to own is one of them. Being a survivor is a strong, admirable trait, and it’s one I’d love to pass on to my child...the one I hope to have one day with you.”
Carly returned to her seat. It was either that or fall flat on her face. No one had ever given her that kind of compliment before. To say she was admirable was the most overwhelming thing anyone had ever said to her. For the first time in her life, her troubled spirits were soothed.
“Thank you.”
Lee shook his head. “Don’t thank me. I should thank you for proving there are some women out there with something more than class and sophistication.”
She swallowed. “What’s that?”
“Integrity.” He paused. “You thought whatever was in that report I ordered was damaging, that it painted you in a bad light. It was quite the opposite. You didn’t do anything wrong, but wrongs were done to you by your mother and stepfather. In the end, you were the bigger person. You were the better person.”
“There’s a lot about my relationship with them that you don’t know,” she said softly.
“I know all I need to. It was their choice not to include you in their lives.”
She didn’t say anything for a minute. “I remember the day I heard Gail make the decision that Mr. Thrasher wanted her to make. She tried explaining to Aunt Ruthie that this was her chance to live a life she’d only dreamed about. She said I would be fine. Years later, I figured she must have changed her mind. She would want to see me. I’d heard she’d had other children and just knew she would want them to know me.”
She took another sip of her orange juice. “I waited until I left for college and my first year there I wrote to her. She never wrote back. Mr. Thrasher showed up one day at my school instead. He told me, in no uncertain terms, never to bother him or his family again. He said if I did, I would be sorry. I took him at his word and never did.”
She nervously bit her bottom lip, remembering that day. It had taken her a long time to forget it.
“That report didn’t tell you everything,” she added. “It didn’t tell you about Nathaniel.”
“No, and if you don’t want to tell me about him that’s fine.”
“It doesn’t matter. You proved him wrong last night and this morning. He said I was unfeeling, a woman with no passion, which was why he had an affair. When I got upset about his cheating, he told me to get over it. He said I should be grateful that I had a man. Even a cheating one.”
A muscle ticked angrily in Lee’s jaw. “Those are strong words, especially coming from a minister. I’m glad you didn’t buy into what he said. As you can see, as far as you being unfeeling and dispassionate, he didn’t know what the hell he was talking about.
“My marriage proposal is still on the table, Carly. I need someone like you. I won’t lie and say there will be love between us. There isn’t, and there may never be. However, I do know there will be friendship, honesty and respect. And, most importantly, there will be passion. Only you can decide if that will be enough for you for the long haul.”
He reached for her hand. “And keep in mind too you will belong to a family. The Madaris family. You’ll never be a loner again.”
He was offering her the one thing she’d always wanted: to belong.
“What I need, Carly, is a life partner. Someone who will be by my side, in my bed. But I’m being honest about not looking for love. I don’t want you to enter into a relationship with me wearing rose-colored glasses. Those on the outside will see our marriage as one made in heaven. They will assume we have it all, especially the love. But we will know the truth.”
Carly drew in a long and deep breath. “I’m going to have to think about what you’re proposing, Lee.”
“And you should. I’ve made up my mind. It’s what I want to do. At first it was to best my grandmother, but now it’s because I want you in my life. No other woman will do.”
Carly tried not to get choked up over his words. He had spoken them with such meaning and conviction.
“You’re off work for the next two days. What are your plans?”
She glanced at the clock on the microwave. It was past noon. “Today is laundry and cleaning day. Tomorrow I plan to drive into Los Angeles. There’s a restaurant there I want to check out. I want to study the setup and layout and get some ideas of my own.”
He nodded. “I’m taking some time off tomorrow. Mind if I tag along?”
She arched a brow, surprised. “You would want to?”
He chuckled. “Yes. I think it will be fun.”
Carly smiled. She thought it would be fun too.
* * *
Alex Maxwell stared across his desk at Preston Gause and Wilbur Woodman. Both were former colleagues of his, agents for the FBI. The three had started as agents around the same time. Alex had left the bureau years ago to form his own private investigative firm, but the other two remained. Preston was now the director for the domestic-terrorism division, and Wilbur was the director of the bureau’s Unsolved Crime Cases unit. Both worked closely with Homeland Security.
He had been surprised earlier in the week when the two had called and requested a meeting with him.
Alex leaned back in his chair. “Now that all the pleasantries are out of the way and family pictures passed around,” he said, “which one of you wants to tell me what this meeting is about?”
Preston smiled. “Sharp as ever I see, Maxwell.”
Alex shook his head. “Sharp has nothing to do with it. When two of the bureau’s top men pay me a visit, I can’t help but be curious.”
Wilbur nodded. He wasn’t smiling as he leaned forward in his chair. “We have a serious problem, Alex.”
Alex knew the “we” meant the bureau as a whole. “And what is the problem?”
“Organized crime is on the rise, and I mean to unparalleled proportions.”
Alex had heard that. “Any leads as to where?”
“All over the place,” Preston answered. “When we think we have a handle at one end, something new develops at another. Right now we’re concentrating on illegal gambling. We believe it’s headed back to Vegas.”
Alex chuckled. “Did it ever leave?”
Neither man responded because they all knew the truth. Organized crime had been present in Vegas since the forties. Progress had been made and it definitely wasn’t as prevalent as it used to be, but still...organized crime was organized crime.
“It’s become more sophisticated,” Wilbur said.
“And more ruthless,” Preston added. “There’s this one group, the East Coast Connection. We would like to shut them down because we also believe they are linked to street gang
s.”
Alex raised a brow. “Street gangs?”
“Yes. The Connection supplies funds to keep their bloody wars going.”
“Why?” Alex asked.
“Their rationale is that if we have a reason to concentrate on the street gangs, that’s less time we have to keep on top of what they’re doing,” Preston said in disgust.
Alex rubbed his chin in thought. What they were saying bothered him. In his free time, he counseled a group of teens, all of whom were former gang members. Some of the things they’d been asked to do as part of the initiation process had sent chills down his spine.
“I’m troubled by all this, but I don’t see how I’m connected.”
Preston opened his briefcase and placed a folder on Alex’s desk. “We have reason to believe that a hotel in Vegas that’s owned by your cousin-in-law, Lee Madaris, is being targeted.”
Alex shrugged. “Lee’s as honest as the day is long. He won’t go along with them.”
“We figured as much, but it won’t matter. We’re talking about a new breed of mobsters, Alex. They won’t think twice about taking on both him and his partner.”
Alex didn’t say anything for a long moment. The arms of protection for the Madaris family ran deep and crossed international waters. He’d found that out years ago. What these two men didn’t know was that the Madaris family had friends—former marines and CIA—that no one in their right mind, even mobsters, would want to deal with. They’d brought down a serial killer a few years ago when the FBI and local authorities hadn’t been able to do so. And now that they’d opened a tactical center and brought on new people, Alex could just imagine how powerful their forces were.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Preston said, breaking into Alex’s thoughts. “We know about the Madaris family’s connections to Trevor Grant, Drake Warren and Colonel Ashton Sinclair. Not to mention Sheikh Rasheed Valdemon.”
Alex lifted a brow. So they did know. He shouldn’t be surprised.
“In that case, why are you guys here?” Alex asked.
“Because we need Lee Madaris to go along with this organized-crime group so we can nail them once and for all.”
Alex frowned. “Are you saying you want to set up a sting operation using the Grand MD in Vegas?”
“Yes. He will have to resist their overtures at first to make it believable when he does come on board. We need to get in the door to see who’s behind it. We have a feeling this particular group has political connections and is being funded by several top businessmen.”
That bothered Alex even more. “Lee, as well as his partner, DeAngelo Di Meglio, run a clean operation in Vegas. They might not want to get involved.”
“If his hotel has been targeted, and we have every reason to believe that it has been, then they’re already involved. Like I said, we’re talking about a new breed of mobsters, ones who probably don’t care about the Madaris family’s arms of protection. This group won’t stop until they get what they want. The casino-gambling business is hot, and it’s the backbone of their operation right now. We need to stop them before they go any further,” Wilbur said.
Then he added, “And just so you know, one of our own has been missing for close to six months. He was our inside man, supplying us with vital information from their operations in Miami. He had a wife and two children. We have every reason to believe they found out about his duplicity and took him out, although his body hasn’t been found. Before they found out that he was one of our men, he was able to get word to us that they’re going after the Grand MD.”
Although agents knew the risks involved in every undercover assignment they took, the thought of one losing his life was something Alex could never come to terms with. And the man had left behind a family. That made it even worse.
“So what do you want me to do?” he asked the two men.
It was Preston who spoke. “We need you to set up a meeting between us and Lee Madaris and DeAngelo Di Meglio, and you need to do whatever you can to get them to go along with the sting. In the end, we hope to shut this particular operation down and bring all the men involved to justice.”
Chapter 8
Lee hung up the phone with a huge smile on his face. Sheikh Yasir, Sheikh Valdemon and Kyle Garwood had agreed to come on board as investors for the Grand MD Paris hotel. The three had been most complimentary about how the proposal had been laid out and the great time they’d spent in Vegas. He had just finished talking to Angelo, who had left a few days ago with Peyton to return to New York. Celebrations were in order.
Lee couldn’t believe how great things were going for him, in business and in his personal life. Better than he ever could have imagined. Now the only thing left was convincing Carly to go along with his marriage proposal. He had been quite honest with her about how things would be, and he believed that as long as they continued to be honest with each other, there was no reason they wouldn’t have a long and prosperous union.
She had left after breakfast yesterday morning to go back to her house, and he had dressed to attend an important meeting. He had cleared his calendar today so he could drive her to Los Angeles, and he looked forward to spending the entire day with her.
He was about to head toward the bedroom to get ready when his phone rang. It was Nolan. “Hey, man, what’s going on?”
“Nothing much. Remember that fish Mama Laverne has been dreaming about lately?”
“Yes, what about it?” Their great-grandmother was notorious for dreaming about some pretty weird stuff. She always claimed they were signs about one thing or another. One of those dreams was about fish, which, according to her, meant someone was pregnant. He had to admit that more times than not her dream was true.
“The mystery has been solved. It’s Christy.”
Lee’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Christy? She just had a baby.”
“That was close last year, Lee. Now she’s having another.”
Everyone knew Christy and Alex talked about having a large family. Evidently they were serious.
“Have you come up with a plan to deal with Mama Laverne? I need to know if I have to get lost for a few years,” Nolan said.
Lee smiled. Nolan was getting worried, and he definitely understood. “I’m working on it, but since you’re next in line, if I were you, I’d begin working on a plan of my own.”
“What do you mean?”
“Just saying.” He didn’t intend to divulge any details until his plan was finalized. Deciding to change the subject, he asked, “You guys still planning on coming out for a visit, right?” His cousins had planned to visit Vegas over Thanksgiving weekend.
“Yes, we’re still coming. We all need a break from work.”
Nolan was president and CEO of Madaris Electronic Corporation and he’d worked hard over the past two years to make MEC a very successful company. MEC, along with Chenault Electronics—a firm owned by family friend Nicholas Chenault—had designed and installed the majority of the computer and electronic software used at the Grand MD hotels.
After ending his call with Nolan, Lee went into his bedroom to dress for today, eager to see Carly again. She had slept in his bed for one night, yet he had found sleeping in it lonely without her last night. Housekeeping had been into his suite to tidy up the place and change the bed linens, but he was convinced he could still pick up Carly’s scent in his bedcovers.
He vividly recalled how his hands had skimmed over her entire body, how many times he had kissed her, made love to her, made her moan. Each one had fired something deep within him and made him want her that much more.
Lee could only shake his head. Never had he felt such deep, all-consuming lust for anyone. In all his years since reaching puberty, he’d never imagined he would desire any woman this much. That desire, which fueled their passion, was what would keep their marriage going.
Today, during their trip to L.A., they would talk. He was determined that when he went home in December, she would accompany him as his bride.
>
He couldn’t wait to see the look on his great-grandmother’s face when he hit her with the news that he’d selected a bride without her help.
He couldn’t wait.
* * *
“He asked you to marry him?”
Carly drew her legs up, placing her feet on the sofa while talking with Heather. She had told her best friend about everything, even the night she’d spent at Lee’s suite. Reliving those moments had sent emotions cascading through her.
“Yes, but not for love.”
“I understand.”
Carly raised one eyebrow. “If you do, then explain things to me.”
Heather chuckled softly. “First of all, physical attraction can be powerful. I remember the first time I saw Joel. The attraction was so strong I couldn’t move. I don’t think it was love at first sight for us, Carly. The attraction was physical at first.”
Carly saw where Heather was going with this and decided to put on the brakes. “It’s not going to turn into anything more. All Lee wants is a marriage based on passion. He’s not interested in love.”
“Who’s to say there never will be love?” Heather asked. “Friendships can turn into love, so I see no reason why passion can’t as well.”
Carly saw a reason. If the two people were dead set against it, as she and Lee were. She wasn’t sure about Lee, but she’d had her chance at love. She had bombed out and had no desire to try it again. If they married she knew what to expect, and so did he.
“I agree with what he said—marrying him will have its perks,” Heather said. “You’ll get the land for your restaurant for one and you’ll belong to someone, Carly. From what you’ve told me about him, he doesn’t sound like the type of man who’ll broadcast the reason the two of you married. So it won’t be anyone’s business. With that much passion between the two of you, you don’t have to worry about him getting into other women’s panties.”
Carly smiled. “I still don’t know, Heather. You’re talking about the rest of my life. There’s still a lot about him that I don’t know. What if he’s not what he seems to be?”
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