The Last Bride (DiCarlo Brides #6)

by Heather Tullis

  She sighed, thinking of everything she still needed to do. “You’re right. I really have to stay for work tomorrow, but call me anyway, okay?” She pressed a soft, lingering kiss on his mouth. “Sleep well.”

  “I hope so.” Regretfully, he released her and Jonquil went in to her room. A moment later she heard a chorus of goodbyes and the front door closed.

  As Jonquil dressed for bed, she thought about how their relationship had changed from being just friends—or at least saying that’s what they were—to something distinctly more in just a few days’ time. He said he wanted no part of dating or marrying her—not that she was ready to jump into marriage anyway—but if he’d changed his mind about dating, could the other part come eventually too? Assuming things continued to go well for them.

  She considered what it would do to her if she got even more attached and he didn’t change his mind. Could she convince him that he couldn’t live without her? She didn’t know, but decided to worry about it another time. When her brain was working. She set her alarm to wake her early and drifted off to sleep, knowing the next day would be busy.

  Jonquil dragged herself out of bed at six a.m. She could really use an hour in the exercise room across the hall, but made herself take a shower and head into work instead. She had a ton of work to take care of.

  She was on her second cup of coffee and her third bouquet when Lana came into the floral center, her baby boy, Ash snuggled over one shoulder. “You’re up? I wasn’t sure you’d make it in before ten.”

  “I had too much to do today.” Jonquil yawned and wondered if the coffee would be enough to keep her moving. Seven hours of sleep had not been enough. “I take it Ash rises with the sun?”

  “Yeah, he’s better than an alarm clock, and he doesn’t want to be put down.”

  Jonquil stood. “Can I snuggle him for a few minutes? I haven’t made it up to your place for a while.” Her nephew was barely a month old and she usually visited for at least a few minutes every day. She loved babies.

  When Lana handed her son over, Jonquil snuggled him close, breathing in the fresh scents of baby powder and diaper cream. “I swear he’s grown in the past three days.”

  “Not that much, I hope,” Lana said with a laugh.

  “Is he letting you get any work done? He seems like a greedy Gus who wants to be held a lot.” Jonquil touched his tiny cheeks and nose with the tip of her finger, smoothing down a wisp of hair and adjusting the blanket around his sleepy form.

  “Blake takes him sometimes so I can work, and there seems to be plenty of auntie love to go around.” Lana sat in a chair, looking tired. “Still, nap time is nice.” She brushed the auburn hair from her eyes. “And how are you doing?”

  “Are you asking as my boss or as my sister?” Jonquil asked, glad the rest of her crew wasn’t scheduled to come in for another twenty minutes. “It looks like we’re ready for the wedding tomorrow. The supplies are supposed to arrive this morning. I’m working on timecards next so Harrison can get checks cut and the rest of the paperwork can wait until things settle down again.”

  “There are only two days to get everything together for the money drop for Natalie. Gage seemed really on edge last night.”

  “Can you blame him? If it were just his mom, it would be bad enough, but having Natalie abducted at the same time? Honestly I don’t know how he’s managing to stay in one piece.” It was why Jonquil wished she were going back to the hospital with him again that day. She couldn’t stand the thought of him having to face it alone.

  “It helps when you have friends,” Lana said. “Speaking of which, you two seem rather more chummy than I expected.” Her eyebrows curved.

  “We’re good chums now.” Jonquil focused all of her attention on Ash, glad for an excuse not to look Lana in the eye. “That often happens when you go climbing together—you have to be able to trust the other person so you develop a friendship.” She would leave the private dinners and the kisses out of it.

  “He’s a good guy. Not as extroverted as some of the guys in our group, but I like him.”

  Jonquil felt the pressure of Lana’s unspoken question. It wasn’t like anyone missed the way Gage held her hand last night, or the fact that he walked her down to her door. All things considered, she should be grateful her sisters weren’t all standing there demanding a relationship update. They were usually nosy like that. “I like him too.” She smiled when Ash sighed a little in his sleep. “So, what’s the word from corporate? Anything interesting? When is Alex supposed to arrive?”

  Lana’s expression turned arch, but she let the change of subject happen. “Alex will be here in a few hours. He sent a text when he got on the plane to say he had the money.”

  “Good. Tell him I’ll fill out any necessary paperwork tonight.” Jonquil was grateful for the reprieve and even more glad when Lana left a few minutes later, even though it meant she took her son with her, so Jonquil could get work done before Gage called. Maybe she would even finish the bride’s bouquet.

  Gage was up by eight and felt almost human, despite the nightmare that had woken him at three. He was on the phone two minutes later getting an update on his mom from the hospital and a minute after that call was speaking with the detective over his sister’s case. When he finished with all of the calls, he finally got out of bed and moved through his morning routine, his thoughts on what was ahead more than what he was doing.

  He handled a few details at work and withdrew money from his bank account for the payoff, and took it to Blake at the hotel, who was collecting it from everyone and stashing it into the hotel safe where they could access it quickly when the time came. Then he made his way through the halls to Jonquil’s department.

  He had never been there until a few days earlier, since he’d been avoiding her. His attraction to her from the first time he’d seen her photo had been strong, strong enough to make him stay away, push her away at every opportunity. Even now, with the lure of memories from their kisses drawing him in, a stubborn something inside him whispered that he didn’t want it to go any further. This was far enough and her father’s vision for the two of them would never happen.

  But he couldn’t regret the time they’d already spent together or the way she made him feel when they were together. The two sides tugged at him, baffled him. He should have taken a step back until he could figure it out but he’d promised to talk to her before he went back to Denver, so he pushed open the door to her domain.

  He found her surrounded by four staff members while she held up a bridal bouquet of yellow roses and pale peach daisies. A few sprigs of greeneries and purple flower spikes added contrast. Her face glowed and the room smelled heavily of flowers. Light from the window behind her glowed off her blond curls, making her look almost angelic. He threw off the thought and pushed the rest of the way into the room.

  Tara, a woman who lived down the street from him, smiled and greeted him. “Hey, Gage. Looking for flowers for your latest girl?”

  She made it sound like he dated often, like Jeremy had before he and Delphi got together. Gage had dated on and off, but he had never been a player. He forced that smooth, easy grin that he’d learned to use in high school to cover his discomfort. “Nah, just here to chat with your boss.”

  Jonquil smiled when she saw him, rising immediately and setting the bouquet on a stand. “How are you doing this morning? Any news?”

  “Not since last night. You have a minute?”

  “Yeah.” She glanced at her office door, which had a large window in it, then gestured to the hallway, which would give them slightly more privacy.

  He opened the door he’d just come through and let it close tightly behind them.

  “You look like you slept well.” Jonquil took his hand in her smaller, daintier one.

  “I feel mostly human now, so that’s good. You look a little tired, yet.” He touched the wrinkles beside her eyes that had grown more pronounced through the previous day, but had eased up a little.

&nb
sp; Her smile was wan. “I had too much to do today to sleep in. Are you heading down to Denver now? Is your mom awake and answering questions?”

  “The detective went down there last night and spoke to her, but he said she couldn’t remember what happened.” He ran a hand through his hair and leaned against the door. “The doctor says that’s normal and she may remember more later. She needs to stay another day, but he hopes she’ll be released tomorrow morning.”

  “Just in time for the hand-off for Natalie. Do the police have any leads on what happened to her at all?”

  “No. Jeremy has one or two more of her friends he’s going to try to talk to today while I’m in Denver, but so far it’s been a dead end.”

  She nodded slowly. “You need some company today?”

  It touched him that she was willing to drop everything to help him, but he couldn’t do that to her, not two days in a row. He knew she was needed at work, even if he would appreciate having her there. “You better take care of things here instead. I know you’ve got a big wedding coming up with lots of flowers.” When she looked startled, he smiled. “You mentioned it when we were climbing. I’ll take care of business and see you later.”

  “Tonight? Call me when you head back. I’ll bring over dinner and we can chat,” she suggested.

  “Just chat?” he asked, moving in closer.

  “Maybe slightly more. Like this.” She leaned in and pressed her lips to his. Her fingers slid up around the back of his neck, drawing him closer and sending warmth through his veins. He shifted her against him and tipped his head to take it deeper, happy to drown his worries and fears in her soft skin and fresh scent. With her, he could ignore everything around him and just dive in.

  And yet he couldn’t afford to do that. Not at her work. And not with everything else he had to do today. After a long moment, he ended the kiss, regretting the need to do so. “I’d love to do dinner. I’ll let you know when I’m headed back to town.” He took one more brief kiss, unable to help himself, then pulled away again.

  She let him go, though her grip on his hand lingered for a few seconds longer. “Tonight then. Drive careful and take care of yourself.”

  He agreed and left before he changed his mind.

  Gage was sorry to leave Jonquil behind. Being with her seemed to make the terrible things going on in his life a little more bearable. But he had a life, and so did she, so he had to focus on what came next. And next was his mom. He left the hotel and headed for the freeway, wishing he could actually do something to make things better instead of sitting on the sidelines, waiting.

  It seemed like all he had done since he got the call from Natalie’s kidnappers was sit and wait. When was he going to be able to do something real, something to fix things or make them better instead of twiddling his thumbs and hoping that everyone else did their jobs? That his mom would heal and remember something useful. That his sister was okay and the kidnappers weren’t hurting her. He thought of how traumatized she would be after the ordeal, and wondered how any of them would ever be the same again. Was it even possible to return to a ‘normal’ life after this?

  He flipped on his signal to go onto the freeway when his cell phone rang. He pushed the Bluetooth button at his ear. “Hello, this is Gage.”

  “You didn’t follow directions.” A familiar low male voice said. “We know you’ve been talking to the cops. It’s going to cost you. Now we want a hundred-thousand dollars. Don’t be stupid. I’ll call tomorrow afternoon with directions for the drop-off.”

  Gage’s mind raced. The police were tracking his incoming calls. He needed to keep the guy on the line so they’d have a chance to trace the call. “I can’t come up with another fifty grand by tomorrow. There’s not enough time for that.”

  “You’re going to have to make it work or your sister will pay the price.”

  A hard, hot ball formed in Gage’s stomach at the thought of something happening to Natalie. “How do I know she’s okay? How do I know you haven’t killed her already? I need to know she’s still alive and well.”

  “You’ll get a chance to talk to her tomorrow. Screw anything up and your sister won’t be coming home.” He hung up.

  Gage nearly drove off the road in shock at the call. He corrected into his lane again, causing the driver of a big truck to lay on his horn as he passed.

  His phone rang again almost immediately.

  “This is Deputy Carlson. We picked up the phone call. Get to the sheriff’s office, now.”

  Gage’s brain clicked back into place. “Kay, I just got on the freeway so it’ll take me a few minutes. See you soon.” He hung up and made himself focus on the road. There were a few more miles to the next exit. Thanks to the DiCarlos, he’d scrounged the cash for the first payoff amount. How was he going to come up with this, though?

  It seemed to take forever, but twenty minutes later he pulled into the parking lot at the sheriff’s office. Trent was already standing outside waiting for him.

  “Glad you could meet us so quickly,” Trent said. “Come on in.”

  He led Gage back to a small room. “This is Detective Carlson’s office. He’s talking with someone about the call and will join us in a minute,” Trent said as he gestured for Gage to take one of the padded chairs sitting in front of the desk. He took the other in the utilitarian room dominated by the small desk, a computer and a set of file drawers.

  Gage felt like his whole body was connected to a live wire. He was taut and ready to blow. Where was he supposed to get the money, and was Natalie really okay? Would they really let him talk to her tomorrow? What were they doing to her?

  The detective came into the room and sat heavily behind his desk. “We tracked the number, but it belongs to a burner phone and the call only bounced off of one cell phone tower, so we can’t triangulate his position. We can’t find your sister’s phone anywhere, so they either turned it off or ditched it.”

  “Do you have any idea where they are?” Gage asked.

  “Based on the cell tower they were bouncing off of, they’re in the area somewhere, but without an idea of who is behind this, it’s going to be nearly impossible to track them.”

  Gage slumped farther into his seat and listened to the latest report with only tidbits of new information in it. He answered more questions and felt like he was floundering, or worse, sliding backwards into the mess instead of moving forward.

  When he left the station, he called Vince.

  “Hey, any news?” Vince answered his phone.

  “Just that the kidnappers found out the police were involved and doubled the ransom. Any luck talking to Natalie’s friends last night?”

  “No. The ones I could track down knew nothing about it. Or claimed not to. The others must have been out because I couldn’t find them.”

  Gage leaned back against his car. “What am I going to do?”

  “Have you checked on your mom yet?”

  “I was headed there when the call came.”

  “Then go to Denver, see her. I’ll round up some more cash for the drop-off and check with the others. I’ll be at your place tomorrow morning.”

  “Thanks. I appreciate it.” Gage slid into his car and rested his forehead against the steering wheel. This little fiasco held him up by nearly two hours and he needed to get to Denver. Sucking in a fortifying breath, he turned the key in the ignition and pointed the car back to the highway. Just a day and a half to go and this would all be over.

  He hoped everyone survived that long.

  It took all Jonquil could do to focus on work that day. She created bouquets and center pieces, directed staff as they stripped stems and created boutonnieres. Sprays of flowers and bursts of color filled the coolers and Jonquil’s fingers grew stiff from overwork, but she pushed on.

  Tomorrow would be the hand-off for the money. Gage would need her, and she needed to be there for him. That meant she needed to get work out of the way so she could feel confident about being ready for the wedding. She refused t
o give less than the best to her clients, either. Especially when her reputation was at stake—and this was going to be a big wedding with lots of publicity and a huge guest list. It was the kind of event that would probably only arrive at their door once or twice a year and she intended to make sure the flowers were flawless.

  She’d been relieved when Gage had said to stay and work that day. If she’d gone with him, it would have meant spending the night finishing off the bouquets and double-checking her employees’ work. Though from the looks of things, they had it well in hand.

  Jonquil finally left the office at eight. She hadn’t heard a word from Gage—though Vince had been by to update her on the increased ransom—and had to restrain herself from calling him several times as she wondered what was going on. Wishing she could just go to bed, but remembering her promise to him, she headed home and put together a hearty beef stew. Something that would be ready quickly, but would be fine if she left it to simmer for a couple of hours.

  Then she stretched out on the living room sofa, plopped an arm over her eyes and let herself doze.

  The front door opened and closed and Jonquil roused, rolled over and slept some more.

  Voices woke her from sleep sometime later. She heard Delphi and Angela speaking in low tones somewhere nearby, but it was the third voice that joined them which made her eyes flutter open. Gage?

  She sucked in a breath and stretched her muscles, trying to wake up.

  “She awakes,” Angela said in a sardonic tone.

  “Hey, I wondered if you’d changed your mind about me coming over,” Gage teased, “but Delphi pointed out the note about not eating all the soup.” He came down the steps to the living room, looking a little rough.

  Jonquil rubbed her eyes a little and smiled up at him. “I couldn’t have them eating our dinner. What happened to you calling me?” She sat up and patted the spot beside her.

  “I did.” His eyes held amusement. “It went straight to voice mail.”