Art of Deception (The Black Diamond Series Book 4)

by D. Camille

  “She’s always been their flunky Daddy,” Shana said looking at Isabelle.

  Isis watched in amazement as her sister walked over to Shana and stared down into her face.

  “Let’s get something straight right now. Stay out of my business. I know what you tried to do to me and if you try anything like that again, I guarantee you will not get another chance.” Isabelle stood over her waiting for a response.

  Shana turned to their father. “You’re just going to let her bully me like this?”

  “Isabelle…” Milton began.

  “Be quiet Daddy! This does not concern you.” Isabelle told him in her no nonsense voice.

  Isis’ eyes widened even more. She’d never seen this side of Isabelle. Yes, she’d known it was there but she’d never witnessed it firsthand.

  Milton turned red flabbergasted at Isabelle’s display. Shana looked back up at Isabelle. “I don’t care about you anyway.”

  Isabelle shook her head and stepped away.

  “Daddy only married your mother for her money anyway,” Shana spat and Isis gasped.

  Isabelle froze for a moment then slowly turned back around.

  “What did you say?”

  “Shana!” Milton bellowed.

  Shana stood slowly. “At least Daddy loved my mother when he got her pregnant.”

  Isis stood to her feet and went to her sister taking hold of her arm. “Let’s go Isabelle,” she said gently.

  Isabelle stood her ground for a second more before remembering her mother’s upbringing. She turned to her father.

  “You’re going to get everything you deserve Daddy,” Isabelle whispered.

  Milton looked at both women. “Isis? Baby girl…”

  Isis shook her head. “Not now Daddy…I can’t even look at you.”

  Isabelle and Isis left the room and Milton turned to Shana. “Do you ever keep your damn mouth shut?”

  *********

  Later that night Isabelle was awakened by a hard, warm body behind her in bed. She snuggled closer and smiled.

  “I'm hoping this is the Sun God who's keeping me so warm in my bed,” she whispered.

  “Tell me who else would be warming your bed Goddess,” the baritone responded.

  Isabelle responded to the hand sliding underneath her nightgown. “The only person it could be shouldn't be here because he's supposed to be spending time with his mother.”

  “She went to bed early,” he explained caressing her skin.

  “Mmmmm...so you snuck out of the house to see me.”

  He turned her in his arms. “I would move a mountain to see you beautiful.”

  Isabelle smiled at him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

  “How was your day?” he asked staring into her eyes.

  She sighed. “I am happy to see you. My day was not the best.”

  Ray touched her face. “Do I need to kill somebody?” he asked raising a brow.

  “No. Although I think you already want to.”

  “Your father,” he commented dryly.

  Isabelle nodded. “Yes. He says that Sean and Jordan are trying to kill him.”

  “What? Why would he tell you that?”

  She shook her head. “He asked me and Isis to come over and Shana was there as well. He said that Carl Harrison was blackmailing him to bring down Jordan and Sean and he had no choice but to help him. Then Shana said something very rude to me, which she always does, but this time I gave her my Sage imitation.” She smiled. “I think I actually scared her.”

  Ray listened intently before smiling at her. “Your Sage imitation?”

  “Yes,” she said happily. “I walked right up to her and I said, 'Let's get something straight right now!'”

  He laughed softly. “Really?”

  Isabelle nodded seriously. “Yes, and then I said, 'I know what you tried to do to me and if you try anything like that again, I guarantee you will not get another chance.'”

  Ray shook his head. “Hmmmm...”

  “Then I told my Daddy to be quiet,” she finished in awe.

  “Damn...”

  She nodded again. “I think Sage and Lily would have been proud of me.” She smiled broadly.

  Ray smiled to himself. This woman was something else. She was so proud for standing up to Shana and the truth be told he was damn proud of her himself. Her Sage imitation...he smiled at that thought. Sage would have told Shana she was going to kick her ass and then probably proceeded to do it. He was glad Isabelle hadn't gone that far. One Sage was more than enough.

  She quieted down and looked at him. “Then Shana told us that Daddy only married our mother for her money,” she whispered. “And Daddy didn't deny it.”

  Ray's heart was pierced as he heard the sadness in her voice. He pulled her closer.

  “I'm sorry Goddess,” he soothed her.

  “I think I don't know my Daddy at all,” she said against his bare shoulder.

  He rubbed his hand over her head. “Your father is burning a lot of bridges. It may come back to haunt him.”

  “I know.”

  “I don't want you to be hurt by anything your father has done and I'm going to protect you in every way; even from him if I have to,” Ray told her.

  She looked at him. “I'm worried about Isis.”

  Ray nodded. “I will protect her too.”

  “Thank you.

  “You know that you don't have to thank me Belle.” He kissed her gently grabbing the hem of her nightgown.

  Isabelle returned his kiss running her hands along his warm skin. “I'm glad I got to see you tonight. I was going to come by your house tomorrow to talk to you.”

  Ray paused. “About?”

  She swallowed. “I'm leaving town for work.”

  He lifted a brow. “When?”

  “Monday.”

  Ray pulled back. “For how long?”

  “Well, the Art Dealer in New York has taken the position in Atlanta that was left open by Bernard Pearson. He's the one we met with when we went to Atlanta,” she reminded him.

  “Yeah, I remember him.”

  She nodded and continued, “So the New York office needs someone to fill in until they get a replacement.”

  “How long Isabelle?” Ray asked again more pointedly.

  She shrugged. “At least a month, maybe longer.”

  “A month?”

  Isabelle rushed on. “I figured with your mother back it would be a good time for me to be gone so that I don't infringe on your time with her.”

  Ray sat up and the covers dropped to his waist. He turned to her with flashing brown eyes. “First of all you're not infringing. Secondly, you don't have to leave town for me to spend time with my mother. And lastly, how in the hell are they asking you to leave in two days?”

  Isabelle sat up too. “I volunteered.”

  He turned to her. “Why would you do that?”

  She quickly scrambled from the bed and grabbed her robe belting it tightly around her. “I did that Ray because this is my job and my career. Therefore it's my choice.”

  “So you want to leave?” he questioned.

  Isabelle folded her arms. “What is here for me Ray? I can barely stand the sight of my father. I have a sister who practically wants me dead and my boss tried to blackmail me into having sex with him.”

  Ray put a hand to his mouth while he contemplated silently. “Are you coming back?” he asked finally.

  Isabelle turned her back to him and wrapped her arms around herself. “I don't know,” she whispered.

  He moved from the bed to come and stand behind her wrapping his arms around her. “You know that I will come for you.”

  “I don't want you to do that.”

  He kissed her neck. “I have no choice.”

  Isabelle broke away and turned to him. “As much as I love being with you Ray Parker, I've realized that I can never be satisfied with just making love to you.”

  “Isabelle...” Ray sighed trying to summon the words tha
t she wanted to hear.

  When he failed, she smiled at him. “It's fine Ray. No questions...no drama.”

  Ray took a seat on the bed. This was not what he was expecting tonight. Isabelle was throwing down the gauntlet and he wasn't ready to pick it up. He wouldn't cheat her by saying something simply because it was what she wanted to hear. On the other hand, he couldn't just let her walk away.

  Isabelle came and placed her hands on his shoulders. “I know you've probably heard this a million times but... I love you Ray Parker. I love you for how you've helped me to grow into the woman I am now. I love you for how you've made me feel and for helping me through one of the most difficult times in my life. I love you enough to not get in the way of you finding your Moon.”

  Bright brown eyes locked on hers. “I don't want a Moon, Belle,” he said roughly.

  She smiled at him. “I know.”

  Ray's hands went to her waist. “What do you want of me Goddess?”

  Her hands went to his face. “I want this beautiful man to find what he's looking for.”

  “You are what I'm looking for Isabelle,” he told her.

  Isabelle shook her head. “If I was what you were looking for Ray, I've been in front of you the entire time.” She lowered her head and kissed him.

  “Will you stay with me tonight?” she whispered against his lips.

  Ray pulled her down onto the bed gently. “This isn't over Belle,” he vowed before capturing her mouth.

  Isabelle laid back as Ray removed her robe and nightgown. She closed her eyes as he began expertly loving her body.

  Not by a long shot Ray Parker...she thought as she gave herself to him.

  Chapter 22

  Trent returned to work the following Monday. He entered the office and felt his heart stopping as he neared Callie's desk. Looking straight ahead, he kept walking until he was inside his own office and shut the door behind him. He leaned back against the door fighting the emotions. Taking a deep breath, he went to his desk and sat down pulling out his laptop and setting it up on his desk.

  He turned to his work computer and booted it up preparing to start his day. On his laptop, he was still gathering information on Marc among other things. It seemed that Agent Marcus Graham had some secrets of his own and Trent was determined to uncover all of them.

  There was a brief knock on his door, Trent looked up as the door opened and Ray entered. He discretely closed his laptop as Ray walked over to the desk.

  “Hey Little Bruh.”

  “Hey Ray.”

  “You okay?” Ray asked studying him.

  Trent sat back. “I'm cool.”

  “You know you didn't have to come back until you were ready.” Ray told him.

  “I'm ready.”

  Ray nodded. “Well, I'm glad you're back. We got some new cases in.”

  Trent looked at Ray. “What's going on with the case of the missing women that you turned over to Marc?” he asked.

  Ray took a seat. “He's still following up on things,” Ray said slowly.

  Trent nodded. “When is he coming back?”

  Ray lifted a brow. “A couple of weeks maybe,” he answered. “I want you to know he took care of everything for Callie,” he said quietly.

  Trent felt his blood begin to boil again at the thought of Marc taking care of Callie and took a deep breath.

  “Do you know what happened down there? Why I lost Callie?” he asked Ray. “And please don't tell me that you all were protecting me.”

  “Trent, what happened down there was my fault. If you want to blame someone, blame me,” Ray told him.

  Trent leaned forward. “Ray if I can count on anybody to give it to me straight, it's you. Tell me the truth.”

  Ray looked at him. “Trent, Callie had a job to do and she did it. She wasn't only my assistant and I didn't just leave an employee down there. I left someone very special to me.”

  “I think there's more to it than you all are telling me.” Trent told him.

  “Little Bruh...” Ray began.

  “I hope that I don't find out that's true.”

  Ray lifted a brow. “What are you going to do?”

  Trent shrugged. “Callie was the strongest girl I knew and I'm not going to punk out on her. Whatever I need to do, I'll be prepared to do it.”

  Ray stood. “To who?”

  Trent stood too. “Whoever's involved,” he said clearly.

  The two looked at each other for a moment before Ray nodded. “Okay Little Bruh. Handle it.”

  Trent nodded. “It's handled.”

  Ray turned and walked out of the office closing the door behind him as Trent sat back down and opened his laptop again...time to handle his business.

  *********

  All the women including Silver, Lavender and Carolyn gathered to meet for breakfast as a send-off to Isabelle. They all sat in the elegant restaurant after placing their orders.

  Isabelle turned to Sage. “I don't know if this is the right thing to do.”

  Sage reached over and took her hand. “Of course it's the right thing to do Isabelle. I know my brother. We're just alike. When Jordan wanted to get me, he had to make a plan and stick to it. Remember?”

  Isabelle smiled at the memory of how anxious Jordan had been that night at the Gala.

  “Jordan had to force me to see how much I loved him. He also had to make me realize that I could trust him with my heart,” Sage explained. “He took me to the beach and told me we weren't leaving until we worked things out.”

  “But Jordan was completely in love with you by that time,” Isabelle interjected and every woman at the table looked at her in question.

  “Ray's been in love with you for a long time Isabelle,” Lily told her.

  Isabelle looked confused. “That's not possible.”

  Lily laughed. “Isabelle, whenever we were all together he could never take his eyes off you.”

  “Ray is so in love with you he can't see straight. He's just fighting it.” Sage told her.

  Lavender leaned forward. “That Ray, he is a very strong one, but his strength is also his weakness. He is accustomed to always setting the path, but now he must follow the path that the Universe has laid out for him.”

  Silver smiled at Lavender. “You are right Lavender. My son wants to direct his own heart, but in love that's not possible and he has to learn that.”

  Isabelle shrugged. “He insisted on driving me to the airport later, but other than that he seems fine with me going.”

  Sage laughed. “He's nowhere near fine. Right now he's probably plotting to kidnap you and bring you back to LA.”

  “If he shows up in New York, you can't let him sweep you off your feet and sway you.” Silver warned.

  “But...he's so desirable,” Isabelle whispered.

  Sage turned to her. “And a million other women think so as well. You're his Moon and he has to claim you, otherwise he doesn't deserve you.”

  “Was he upset when you told him you were leaving?” Lily asked.

  “I think he was more shocked.”

  All the women smiled.

  “You do your part in New York Isabelle, and we'll do our part here. It's going to take an army of Goddesses to conquer this Sun God.”

  Isabelle sighed. “I hope this works, because if it doesn't, I don't know what I'll do.”

  Silver took Isabelle's hand. “It's going to work out fine and I'm expecting some little brown eyed grandchildren out of this.”

  “I'd like that.” Isabelle smiled at her then at the rest of the women around the table. “You all are so incredible. I thank you for everything you've done for me. I've never had women friends before.”

  “We're not friends Isabelle. We're family,” Sage told her and everyone nodded.

  Lily smiled. “We'll include Isis as well, but Sage won't let us claim Shana.”

  Isabelle laughed. “That is fine with me.”

  Sage lifted a brow. “Has she given you any more problems?”

&n
bsp; “She tried, but I gave my best Sage imitation.” Isabelle told her.

  “Oh no,” Lily commented.

  Sage's eyes widened. “What did you do? Did you kick her a....” Sage looked at her mother and the other older women. “Did you hurt her?

  “No, but I scared her.”

  Sage smiled. “Progress...”

  Lily shook her head laughing. She didn't mind Isabelle getting a little backbone, but she hoped she wasn't going to have another Sage on her hands. Lily loved Sage dearly, but she could be a handful at times.

  Sage lifted her glass in toast and the other women followed. “May the best laid plans of Moons and Goddesses never go awry.”

  *********

  Ray entered Jordan's office where both Sean and Jordan were waiting for him.

  “We got a problem,” he said taking his seat.

  “No kidding and his name is Trent Harris,” Jordan relayed.

  Sean shook his head. “He's determined to find out what happened to her.”

  “We can't let him do that,” Jordan warned. “We don't know what he might do.”

  Ray sighed. “Honestly, I don't think we're going to be able to stop Little Bruh. He looked at me today like he was ready to kick my ass.”

  “Hell, he was questioning me like he was the damn CIA,” Jordan added.

  Sean looked at them both. “Maybe we should just tell him the truth.”

  Jordan shook his head adamantly. “No! It's too risky. His ass would take off and get killed.”

  Ray rubbed his face looking at Sean. “I've got to agree with Jay. Right now, we know he's mad but at least we know where he is. If he wasn't so damn smart this would be easy.”

  “Plus the fact that he loves her so much.” Sean told them.

  Ray looked at Sean and Jordan. “I guess being in love makes you lose your damn mind.”

  Jordan studied Ray. “Yeah...it does.”

  “It's a good thing I don't suffer from that particular malady,” Ray said looking back at Jordan.

  “No, I think your particular malady is termed denial,” Sean explained and Jordan laughed.

  Ray shook his head. “Just because you two jumped in the boat doesn't mean that I'm done swimming.”

  “Your ass has drowned.” Jordan told him.

  Ray's eyes narrowed. “We have another problem as well,” he said changing the subject.