by Lena Hart
“Why? What is it?”
“I was able to trace a Laurie Fiori at the old restaurant Judith used to work at but she split Vegas a few days ago.”
Carlos frowned. “Do you know where she went?”
Tristan shook his head. “Back east, I’m guessing. But it doesn’t matter because we can’t prove shit and going after her would be a waste of time. For one thing, she could decide not to say anything even if we had her. And for another, the only way to force her back here is to go through the legal channel. You know, filing charges, sending warrants, the whole bit.”
“Fine, let’s do it.”
“Yeah, then we would have to drag Judith through the same process. Sorry to say, but her hands aren’t clean in this either. If we want anything to stick on this woman, we’ll need her accomplice so to speak.”
“Who? Judith? She’s not—”
“I know,” Tristan interrupted. “But no one forced a gun to her head and made her do it. In the eyes of the law, she’s just as culpable. And right now, it’s basically Judith’s word against hers.”
Carlos cursed. He didn’t want to implicate Judith just to catch a woman who probably wouldn’t give up anything. It was too big a risk and she had too much to lose if he did. That brought them back to square one.
He cursed again.
“What the hell do I do then?” Carlos asked, running his hand through his hair in frustration. “Carrone isn’t going to let this go and I have to get Judith out of this mess.”
When they reached his SUV, Tristan popped open the trunk and handed him an envelope.
“Maybe this will help,” he said. “It’s information about the restaurant, particularly the owner. When you said Laurie may have had a thing going on between them, I did some digging and you won’t believe what I found.”
Frowning, Carlos pulled out the documents and sifted through them. “What am I looking for?”
“The restaurant, Mia Bella, is owned and managed by a company called Diamante Enterprises. And the owner, or rather owners, of that company are women. Izabella and Rachelle Silva—a mother-daughter duo.”
“Okay, so Laurie wasn’t sleeping with the owner.” Maybe. “Where does that leave us? Or are you saying these women put her up to it?”
“What I’m saying is that this is all one hell of a coincidence.”
Carlos frown deepened. “How so?”
“Diamante Enterprises recently became an investor for Royal Courts,” Tristan explained. “I pulled all the other names of those on the payroll there. I find it odd that Laurie, the woman connected to this whole thing, was once an employee for a company that only months ago became an investor for Royal Courts. It’s either one hell of a coincidence or your boss got in bed with the wrong people.”
Carlos stared down at the documents. This was good. Exactly the kind of proof he’d wanted to bring to David and now he had something more tangible to bring him—besides Judith. Whoever at this company was behind this had scoped out the most vulnerable employee, with the most access around Royal Courts, and landed on Judith. Maybe being the executive assistant to the co-founder and CEO had always made her a target, and the bastards got lucky in using her past against her.
“Thanks for this, man” Carlos said, stuffing the documents back into the envelope. “This really helps.”
“There’s one more thing.” Tristan handed him another envelope, this one with more weight to it.
Carlos reached for it. “What’s this?”
“The other favor you asked me for,” Tristan said.
Carlos stared down curiously at it before it dawned on him. “So you found them?”
His cousin nodded, but his mouth was set in a grim line. “Yeah, I found her parents, but unfortunately they’re both dead.”
Carlos released a heavy sigh. He’d wanted to do this for her the moment he’d seen the look on her face when she’d told him she had tried to find her birth parents. There had been a faint yearning there, one she hadn’t managed to mask. Now he didn’t know what to do with this information.
“Are you going to tell her?”
Carlos looked at his cousin. “I don’t know.” He didn’t like the idea of keeping this from her, but neither did he want to bring her unnecessary hurt. She had enough of that in her life. “Any updates on Tate?”
Tristan shook his head. “Nothing new. He’s still in California, doing what he’s supposed to. How was your week playing house.”
Carlos knew what his cousin was doing and he let him change the subject. “Nice. You should try it sometime.”
Tristan chuckled and began unloading the party favors from his car. “I would but I’d hate to disappoint the ladies.”
They headed back to the banquet hall, carrying the boxes of party favors that still needed assembling. Carlos instantly spotted Judith with his uncle near the glowing tree sculpture, a frown marring her pretty face. The thing looked bigger and brighter than it had at the store. It was the prettiest yet gaudiest thing in the room and the pulsing lights only drew more attention to it.
“Good God,” Tristan muttered. His words had traveled.
His uncle turned to them and shot Tristan a glare. The look on Gil’s face dared them to say anything about the flashy gift.
“It’s not too much, is it?” she asked them anxiously.
They all shook their head in unison.
“I told you it’s lovely, cariño,” Gil said, patting her hand. “Rosa will love it.”
Carlos couldn’t help the smile that tugged at his lips. He wasn’t the only one with the affliction of wanting to protect her feelings. It was those eyes. And that smile. Something in them brought out the urge to keep her safe.
He thought of Kenneth Tate and the muscles in his jaw tightened as the fury smoldering inside him began to boil. How any man could hurt a woman like that was beyond him, but to think the woman he loved had suffered that kind of abuse—that kind of physical and emotional trauma—was enough to send him into a rage. For the first time, he was glad Tristan hadn’t given him the bastard’s location.
Shoving the violent thoughts aside, Carlos focused on the woman before him, letting her lightness and warmth soothe away his rage.
Between him and his family, he’d make sure she only knew joy—and no one would ever hurt her again.
****
Quite a crowd had turned out to celebrate Rosa Delgado, both young and old, and Judith was glad to see the big smile the surprise party had put on the older woman’s face. The best part of the evening had been the actual surprise. Just thinking of the random, un-unified chorus of ‘happy birthday’—in both English and Spanish—and the lone ‘Feliz Navidad’—almost made Judith laugh again. Their friends and family had a great sense of humor.
But as much as she was enjoying herself, she had stolen away to one of the empty tables at the far end of the room, needing a moment to herself. Watching the crowded dance floor, and witnessing the carefree laughter and fun, brought on an unexpected flood of resentment and nostalgia. If there was one thing she missed after the accident, it was dancing. Though it wasn’t as if she’d been forbidden from ever entering a dance floor, dancing just wasn’t the same for her anymore. She missed how she used to move, how she used to let the rhythm transport her someplace else for a while, as she let her body take over.
No, it would never be the same…
“Having fun?”
Judith turned to Carlos and her heart warmed at the sight of him. Despite the fatigue that was settling in, she was enjoying herself.
Carlos pulled up a seat beside her and she slipped her hand into his. He gave it a gentle squeeze.
“My aunt really likes your gift,” he said. “It makes it easy for her to get all the attention without doing a thing.”
Judith laughed. She’d noticed the looks some had given the sculpture and knew this was his way of saying her gift was a bit flamboyant but she didn’t care. Rosa seemed genuinely delighted by it and that was all that mattered.
Carlos fell silent for a moment, then said, “I’m going to see Carrone tomorrow.”
She tensed, but he squeezed her hand reassuringly.
“Tristan was able to find a connection between Laurie and the casino and I just set up a meeting with him to go over everything.” He paused before adding, “I need to bring you with me so you can explain your role it in to him. Carrone values transparency and the only way to get him on your side is to be upfront with him.”
She nodded stiffly, forcing her anxiety aside. She’d known this moment would come and she would have to resign herself to it.
“What did Tristan find?” she asked.
“Another name. This one a company and apparently one of Royal Courts’ investors. We just need to know who from Diamante Enterprises wanted—” She tensed at the name and his tone grew sharp with concern. “What is it?”
“Nothing,” she reassured him. “I just remember seeing that company name on Mr. Kristensen’s calendar one day. He had a meeting scheduled with them the day after I received the envelope.” The name had stuck with her because she remembered thinking her semester of Italian had come in handy because she understood that diamante meant diamond.
Carlos was silent for a moment. “Do you remember if there was anyone specific he was meeting with?”
She shook her head solemnly, wishing she could give him more. “I don’t even know what the meeting was about. I could only see what was on his calendar. I never actually set up his meetings.”
“It’s okay,” he said, squeezing her hand again. “This is a start. Once I bring this information to Carrone, maybe he can shed more light on all this.”
Judith hoped so. She wanted desperately to put this all behind her. Maybe she could release some of the regret and anxiety in her.
Then that would leave only the quiet panic that wasn’t too far from her sanity. The not knowing what Laurie or the people she was working for had done with the information of her new identity, or if Ken had access to that information, was frightening.
They spent another hour at the party until Carlos, who must have sensed her weariness, called it a night. They said their goodbyes to Gil and Rosa then made their way through the crowd and toward the exit. The party was in full swing as people gathered on the dance floor. Though some people were also on their way out, more continued to pour into the lively banquet hall.
Carlos had a firm hold on her hand as they walked into the cool night air. They ran into a couple that appeared to be friends of his and she immediately recognized the big, tattooed man from the photo in Gil’s home. She vaguely remembered Tristan mentioning Gil training the large man to becoming a mixed martial arts prizefighter.
Judith glanced at the beautiful woman with the bright red lipstick at his side and waited for the men to introduce them. Neither did. Instead, Carlos told the couple where they could find his uncle and aunt and she couldn’t help the annoyance that came over her when he referred to her gift as the “big, flashy thing” that they wouldn’t miss.
As she and Carlos made their way to his car, Judith let him know that she didn’t appreciate his underhanded insult. At her glare, Carlos lost his grin. Just a little.
“Okay, I apologize for insulting your gift,” he said, chagrined, though he didn’t seem all that bothered by it. In fact, he didn’t seem all that affected by her annoyance with him. If anything, he appeared a bit pleased with it.
“Why are you still smiling?” she snapped.
“Because you’re angry with me.”
She frowned. “And you’re happy about that?”
“No, I’m happy that you’re telling me how you feel. And that you’re feeling comfortable enough to finally show me your temper.”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, I have a temper. I just know how to keep it under control.”
He looped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to his side. “But that’s the thing, muñeca. I want you to lose your control with me.”
She wrapped her arms around his waist. “I don’t think you realize how much I already have.”
They made it to her apartment and like before, he walked her to her door. For a moment, they stood in her living room, staring at each other. She didn’t want him to leave and he obviously didn’t want to go.
“So,” she began, “will you pick me up to—”
“Come home with me.”
His abrupt words took her by surprise and she gaped at him.
“Now? Tonight?”
“Yeah,” he said with a shrug. “You could stay with me for a few days. While we get this whole thing strengthened out at Royal Courts.”
“But I have Prince…”
“Bring him.”
She was silent for a moment. “Carlos, I won’t leave if that’s—”
“I know,” he said, shaking his head with a short laugh. “Maybe I should just be more blunt. I want you to come home with me. I want to make love with you tonight and tomorrow night and the night after that. Then I want to hold you while we sleep. What do you want?”
She couldn’t deny her elation at the thought of spending another night with him. She had come to treasure those quiet moments and she wasn’t going to deny herself that pleasure. A wide smile spread across her lips.
“I want that too.”
She didn’t have much to pack since everything was already in various luggages and bags. She quickly threw in some fresh clothes and supplies in a large, old suitcase and dragged it out of the bedroom. “Do you want to head down with these?” she said, handing him the luggage and another bag with Prince’s things.
He took the suitcase and shoulder bag from her. “That’s it?”
She nodded. “I just need to find Prince and get him in the tote then we’ll meet you downstairs.”
“Don’t be long,” he said, pulling her in for a quick hug.
It took less than a minute to track down her stubborn cat, but much longer to convince him to leave his comfortable perch from under her bed. A little bribery in the form of treats—a handful of them—finally got him to come to her. She clutched him to her as she reached for the tote bag.
She wasn’t surprised when the knock came at the door just as she began to place Prince inside his makeshift carrier. “I’m coming, I’m coming,” she muttered. She swung the bag over her shoulder and rushed to the door. “Carlos, I—”
The words abruptly froze on her lips when she saw who stood at her doorway. The blood drained from her body and the edges around her vision dimmed.
She was going to be sick.
“Hello Abby.”
Chapter Sixteen
The thing about fear was that it eventually evolved. So much so that one became numb to it.
That was the stage she was in right now.
Judith took a step back, vaguely surprised that she could still move, as Ken came into the apartment and quietly shut the door behind him.
The bag slipped from her arm with a soft thud. She barely spared Prince a thought as he dashed behind the sofa.
Her heart pounded in her chest, but she never took her eyes away from Ken. The grin on his handsome, light brown face stretched the angry scar that slashed across his left jaw. He seemed bigger too, broader around the shoulders. She hadn’t seen him in five years, since the night of the accident, and she absently wondered if the mark had been a product of his decision to end their lives that night.
“I’ve missed you, Abby.”
She had dreaded this moment for so long, wondering what she would do if she ever had to come face to face with her worst nightmare. Fainting had come to mind. Hysteria had also been a thought.
She did neither.
“You need to leave, Ken.” The strength of her voice surprised her. “Now.”
Ken sighed and came toward her. She took another step back.
“I know you don’t want to see me,” he said. “You haven’t come to visit me in five years, even after I sent you all those letters. You never responded to an
y of them.”
She shook her head, not at all fooled by his solemn expression. She knew what lay behind those earnest brown eyes and deceptively calm tone. It certainly wasn’t remorse.
“I didn’t get them.”
“Because you moved and changed your name.”
He said it as if she were to blame for breaking the communication between them. As if she had no right or reason to purposely avoid him.
“How did you know I was here?”
His smile was laced with satisfaction. “I told you I would always find you, Abby. And I did. You’re my soul mate and don’t forget that.”
He raised his hand to her face and she flinched and took another step back. His twisted with anger.
“See, that’s that the kind of shit that pisses me off,” he snapped. “I want to touch you, but you won’t let me.”
Bile rose in her throat. “You need to leave,” she repeated, keeping her tone calm, not wanting to agitate him. “I was on my way out and I can’t—”
His face hardened and he ran his hand over his short cropped hair. Her back stiffened at the small action. He was getting agitated.
“I’ve been waiting three days for you to get back. Where are you going now?” He looked at her sharply. “Who the hell were you with?”
She knew better than to respond to that. “You can’t be here, Ken,” she said calmly, trying to remain firm without aggravating the situation. Once she got him out of her apartment, then she would let herself feel something. For now, she would keep it all bottled inside her. “Isn’t part of your parole to stay…stay in California?”
He didn’t appreciate that reminder. “Is that why you changed your name?” he asked, eyeing her closely. “You didn’t want to see me anymore? You thought that would keep me from finding you?”
He rubbed the back of his neck again and shivers of dread moved down her spine.
“I…I’m glad to see you’re doing okay, Ken, but you really have to leave now. Before someone finds out you left—”
“Stop telling me to leave,” he snapped, his hands balling into fists. “I’m not going anywhere. Not without you.”