Indulge

by E. B. Walters

  He entered the elevator ahead of the others and punched in the code. No one spoke, but thoughts continued to zip through his head. Troy’s actions didn’t make sense. Why bring Jillian back to the penthouse? What was his end game?

  Aiden, Cade, and Rake looked up when they entered the penthouse. They looked somber, like they were at a damn funeral.

  “She’s okay,” Cade added as though he’d read his thoughts. Cade could be so intuitive sometimes.

  Seated on one of the dining room chairs was Troy. That he didn’t have a single mark on him said no one had taken a swing at him yet. Lex had wanted to rearrange his face, but all he cared about now was Jillian.

  “Where is she?” he snarled in a voice he didn’t recognize.

  “The bedroom,” Aiden said.

  Lex stormed down the short hallway, his heart pounding so hard each breath he took hurt. He wanted to burst through the door and confirm Cade’s words. Instead he stopped, took a deep breath, and blew it out slowly, striving for calmness. For once, the stupid breathing technique wasn’t working. He was a mess. His palms sweated, vision swam, and vertigo hit him. He swallowed, or tried to, but his throat had gone dry.

  Man, get your shit together. She is okay. She must be.

  He glanced over his shoulder and caught Dom watching him with concern. Aiden and the others joined him. Dom cocked an eyebrow as though asking Lex if he needed help. If the situation were different, Lex would have given him the finger. He turned, slowly opened the door, and peered inside.

  Jillian lay on top of the covers, hair in disarray and covering half her face. As he got closer, he noted her chest rising and falling as though she was in deep sleep. She’d changed into the dress he’d left her. He had a whole trunk filled with new things her personal shopper had picked up at his request. Dresses. Pants. Jackets. Lingerie. Sandals and boots. Jillian loved boots and pants, but he’d told the woman to cover all bases. Now her dress was ripped, and her stockings ran as though she’d struggled.

  Maybe he would rearrange Troy’s face after all.

  Lex sat on the edge of the bed, reached out an unsteady hand, pushed her hair out of the way, and bared her face. Her makeup was smudged from tears, yet he’d never seen a more beautiful sight.

  Troy had made her cry. He would pay dearly for that alone.

  He rested his hand on her neck and closed his eyes. She was warm. He pressed two fingers to the pulse at the base of her neck. He was no doctor, but her heartbeat was strong. She was okay. She was going to be better than okay by the time he was done. His lips replaced his fingers, then moved to her lips and her closed eyelids.

  “I’m so sorry I couldn’t protect you, sweetheart,” he murmured. “I’ve failed you, and because of that, I’m letting you go. Not forever. Just for a little while.” He lifted Jillian’s arm and untied the bandage around it. The cut wasn’t deep, and Troy had cleaned it. Lex wrapped it again and dropped a kiss on her temple.

  He went to the bathroom for a face towel, wetted it with warm water, and came back to the room to clean up her face, removing tearstains. Warwick wanted a target? Lex would give him one.

  Lex pulled out his phone and called Sloan. He needed a doctor knowledgeable about Warwick’s drugs and their effects. “Can I borrow the doctor who flew to the island? I need someone to keep an eye on Jillian until she regains consciousness.”

  “That’s Henry. We were in college together.”

  Lex frowned. “I don’t remember a Henry.”

  “He was kind of quiet. When and where do you want?”

  “Van Nuys Airport. In an hour. I’ll need him for two to three days because of the time difference, and he must be willing to fly out of the country.”

  “Will he need a visa?”

  “I’ll take care of it.” After hanging up, he called the Montage and was connected to Mrs. Petrosian’s room. “Are you ready to leave?”

  “Yes. There will be six of us. I’m taking my brother-in-law, his son, and his daughter-in-law. I hope that’s okay. The rest of the family will fly back in a few days.”

  “We’ll pick you up on our way to the airport. Jillian is not well, and I need a visa for the doctor flying with her.”

  “I’ll call the consulate.”

  Lex hung up and phoned Douglas. He didn’t wait long before Douglas entered the room. “We’re leaving for the airport. We’ll pick up six other people at the Montage.”

  Confusion flashed in Douglas’ eyes, but all he said was, “Yes, sir.”

  Lex carried Jillian out of the room, his eyes zeroing in on Troy. “Did you give her the same cocktail your people gave me?” Lex asked, his voice whipping across the room.

  Troy flinched and nodded jerkily.

  Lex glanced at his friends. “Get everything you can from him,” he said and followed Douglas to the elevator.

  Douglas took one of the limos and rode shotgun while Lex settled in the back with Jillian. He cradled her close, his eyes not leaving her face. He had no idea when he’d see her again, but he never wanted to see her vulnerable like this again. This was not who she was. Jillian was vibrant, full of life. She was not a victim. He had done this to her by making his enemies hers.

  They drove in silence, but he felt tension coming from Douglas. Lex could imagine how Douglas felt. He’d trained and selected Troy for the job and was stewing in his own guilt. Lex didn’t try to ease it. There was a fair amount of self-recrimination going around. He felt it. Dom did. Hell, he was sure all his friends felt it. Troy had fooled all of them. Lex had a simple code he expected his employees to live by: you screw up, you own it and learn from it. Do it again and you were out the door. He didn’t believe in babying his employees.

  They were close to the Montage when Douglas cleared his voice and said, “May I say something, sir?”

  “Go ahead.”

  “I’m sorry I slipped up. I should have dug deeper into Troy’s background before I chose him and when I started having doubts about him. Whatever decision you make is fine with me.”

  “You had doubts?”

  “He didn’t tell me what happened to you and Ms. Jillian while I was in the hospital. I only found out last night from Ms. Jillian. I also believe that he must have poured the venom in the pomegranate tea while the chef was showing us around. I must have missed it while I was talking to her.”

  Maybe he’d make an exception with Douglas. The man was a loyal, discreet, and dependable employee. This was his first fuck up, and Lex knew he would learn from it.

  “Troy fooled us all, so there’s no point beating ourselves up over it. Besides, there wasn’t much you could have done overnight. I’m sure you would have revealed Troy’s true identity if you had more time, so there’s nothing to decide. We have work to do to shut down Warwick. In the meantime, I’m sending Jillian to Armenia with her grandmother.”

  Douglas’ eyes met his in the mirror. He couldn’t mask his surprise. “For how long, sir?”

  “For as long as it takes to bring down Warwick. I will not have the bastard use her as a bargaining chip in his mindless games.”

  The Armenians were waiting when they pulled up at the entrance of the Montage. As soon as Mrs. Petrosian sat, she reached out and stroked Jillian’s hair.

  “How is she doing?” she asked.

  “I don’t know.” It pained him to even admit that much. “But she’ll be okay. Did you get the visa for the doctor?”

  She patted her purse. “The consulate faxed a signed and stamped copy, but left it blank for us to fill out.”

  “Jillian’s passport is on the plane. She already has a visa because I was going to surprise her with a visit after our honeymoon. I’ll join her as soon as I can.”

  From the confusion on the others’ faces, Lex knew they wanted to ask about Jillian. He appreciated their restraint when they didn’t speak.

  Mathews, a temp copilot, and a flight attendant were already on board when they arrived. Dr. Bates was the last to arrive. By then Lex had already explained
everything to Mrs. Petrosian. He studied Bates as he checked Jillian’s vitals. He couldn’t remember him from college.

  “Her vitals are good,” Bates said. “I’ll contact you as soon as she regains consciousness.”

  Lex gave him the visa papers, then closed the door so he was alone with Jillian. Saying goodbye was a lot harder than he’d thought. He wanted to hold her and never let go. Wrap her up in damn bubble wrap. He’d known that loving Jillian would be a full-time occupation and had looked forward to it. He hadn’t factored in living without her for even a second. It was about the scariest thing he’d ever contemplated, and not knowing how long they’d be apart was screwing with his head.

  Douglas knocked on the door. “Mathews says it’s time.”

  Lex heard him, but he couldn’t summon the willpower to leave her side.

  “Sir?”

  Hell! What was he doing? Sending Jillian away was a stupid idea. What if Warwick found out and went after her? She’d be alone and vulnerable. They could weather this storm as long as they were together. Reaching a decision, Lex stood, slid an arm under her shoulder blades, and another under her knee.

  A hand landed on his shoulder before he could lift her up. “I know this is hard, Lex, but letting her go right now is the right thing,” Mrs. Petrosian said. Lex glanced at her, feeling tortured and helpless, both feelings foreign to him. “She’ll be fine with us. Just don’t stay away too long. She gets impatient.”

  Lex let Jillian go and stood. He scrubbed his face and threw Mrs. Petrosian a brief smile even though he didn’t feel like smiling. “You’re right. Patience is not one of her virtues. Thank you.” He left the room before he could lose his resolve.

  He and Douglas stayed on the tarmac until the jet disappeared into the horizon.

  “Ms. Jillian is not going to be happy when she regains consciousness, sir,” Douglas said.

  That was an understatement. Lex had twelve hours before she called to read him the riot act. A lot could happen in twelve hours. “Then let’s get to work. I have several calls to make.”

  ~*~

  Lex was on the phone during the drive home. If things were different, he would have called his uncle with LAPD and let him deal with Warwick and Troy. Even Eddie still had connections with his former colleagues. Warwick’s case was special. As an inmate, he was under the jurisdiction of a different law agency. Troy, on the other hand, was another story.

  “Did he give out any information?” Lex asked when they arrived back at the penthouse.

  “Every question we asked, he answered by talking about his brother,” Dom said and leaned in to study Troy as one would a bug they wanted to crush. “We should take him to my oil rig. No one would hear him scream.”

  Troy looked defeated and miserable. He didn’t even flinch at Dom’s words. The urge to beat him to a pulp had waned now that Jillian was safe. Or maybe it was the fact that Troy had brought her to the penthouse, an act that made no sense whatsoever.

  “We have his deposit and withdrawal history and have linked large withdrawals to the people working with him,” Cade said.

  “The four dancers and some guy in Santa Barbara,” Rake cut in. “He’s refused to tell us who the guy is and what he’s doing for Warwick. I agree with Dom. Let’s fly him to the rig.”

  “We don’t even have to go to the rig,” Cade said. “Let’s just dangle him from the helicopter.” He glanced at Aiden and smirked. “No comeback? I thought you had a thing against torture.”

  Aiden shrugged. “In most situations. This is an exception.”

  “No, not torture. As much as I’d love to hurt him, it won’t get us anywhere.” Lex pulled a chair and sat facing Troy. He studied the younger man. Troy looked like shit, but Lex didn’t feel sorry for him. Not after what he’d put Jillian through. Sweat drenched his armpits, and he looked dehydrated.

  Instead of grilling Troy, Lex got a glass of water and gave it to him. Troy hesitated before taking the water. He guzzled all of it, then placed the empty glass on the table.

  Lex pulled out his phone and made a call. He pressed the speaker button, so everyone in the room could hear his conversation. “Nora, looks like I’ll need twenty-four hours before I hand over my source to CDCR special agents,” Lex said.

  “Not good enough,” a woman said. “I already called the warden and told him to place the inmate, uh, what’s his name?”

  “Preston,” Lex said, his eyes not leaving Troy. “Luke Preston.”

  “Right,” the woman said. “To place Luke Preston under protective custody. I’ll need more than ‘his life is in danger’ to keep him there, so I hope your source comes through. I ran on the platform of transparency and can’t issue blind orders just because I’m the governor, Lex. Not even for a friend. CDCR special agents will need more than a directive from me before they open an investigation. Who is your source? How does he know Preston needs protection and that Warwick is involved? What the hell is going on?”

  Lex chuckled. The others joined him.

  There was a reason Nora Corrigan was the first female Governor of the State of California. She didn’t take crap from anyone, including campaign contributors like Lex and his friends.

  “I promise to call you with answers as soon as I have them, Nora,” Lex said. “If you don’t hear from me by tomorrow evening, the warden can put Preston back with the rest of the inmates.”

  “Not good enough my friend,” she said. “Give me something.”

  “My source is his younger brother. Troy Preston.”

  “Okay. You have your twenty-four hours. Like I told you, I’m still determined to significantly lower the population in my prisons during my first term. I’m not keeping anyone in the system if they deserve to be out in the real world. On a different note, sorry I missed your wedding. Just flew in today from the convention and saw the invitation, completely blindsided me.”

  “That’s okay. We pushed the date forward, but I promise you’ll meet my wife as soon as I can arrange it.” Lex hung up and traded a glance with his friends. They were all on a first-name basis with the governor and had contributed heavily to her campaign, practically handing her the victory.

  During the drive from the airport, the governor had given Lex a crash course on the prison system without asking why. CDCR was the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. They were in charge of the state prisons and parole system. Like any law enforcement agency, they had officers—sergeants, lieutenants, and captains among others—and special agents who investigated crimes committed by prisoners and parolees. Warwick committing crimes while behind bars fell under their jurisdiction. Placing Troy’s brother in the SHU—secure housing unit—meant that Warwick had no access to him for twenty-four hours.

  “How did you know about my brother?” Troy asked, speaking slowly.

  “It didn’t take much to figure that out. He was about to be released when he killed another inmate, and Warwick was a witness. Why would you work for the man responsible for putting your brother on death row? He is either threatening to hurt him if you don’t cooperate or to help him if you do. Which one is it?”

  “Both,” Troy said. “He told me he would recant his testimony and ask the other two witnesses to recant theirs, too. All I had to do was follow his instructions. If I didn’t, he’d make sure my brother got shanked.”

  Lex’s gaze met Cade’s then Rake’s.

  “I’m on it,” Cade said.

  “Me too,” Rake said. “Court records should have the list of witnesses.”

  Troy looked confused. “What’s going on?”

  “They’re checking more bank accounts. If the two witnesses who testified against your brother were paid off by Warwick, we will know shortly. Their money and yours should come from the same account. We get the person funding Warwick and hand everything to the special agents.”

  “He’s on death row already. Where could they possibly send him?” Troy asked.

  “The SHU,” Lex said. “He will be isol
ated in a four-by-four,” Lex continued. “He won’t have contact with anyone except the guard bringing him meals.”

  “Which means he won’t be contacting anyone outside,” Aiden added.

  “Or recruiting relatives of inmates to work with him,” Rake added.

  Troy’s face grew red.

  “Let’s talk about Jillian and what you meant to do with her,” Lex said. Troy looked down. “Look at me!”

  Troy looked up and swallowed.

  “You don’t get to look down when I talk to you about her. Jillian liked you. She cared about you. When Douglas was angry with you for keeping secrets, she defended you. When Chris was giving you a hard time, she chewed his ass. Told him how hard it is to make it in Hollywood and that those who have should always try to help the others. That’s the person you betrayed, you piece of shit!” He was losing it. Lex blew out a breath. “You hurt her, Troy. You hurt a lot of people.”

  Troy’s face was ashen. “I didn’t hurt her. She slipped, knocked over the champagne glass, and cut herself.”

  “What is your end game?” Lex snarled. “What does Warwick want?”

  “I don’t know. I was supposed to call the people in Santa Barbara to pick her up. Instead I brought her here.”

  “Why?” Lex shot back.

  Troy glanced at the others, then sighed. “I saw the wedding guests,” Troy said, speaking so fast his tongue tripped. “When I put the drug in the drink, I thought the people would be knocked out. Like Jillian. Instead, they were hurt. I didn’t sign up for that. I want to help my brother, but not when it means hurting people like that. So I brought her here.”

  Lex shook his head. “I don’t buy it. You put venom in her tea at the restaurant.”

  Troy looked down. “I’m sorry. Warwick asked me to do it. I was following orders. I was thinking only about my brother at the time.”