Silk

by Heidi McLaughlin

  Rolling my eyes, I groaned and held up my hands to stop him from going further. “Okay, we don’t need those sordid details, Mase. The last thing I want to hear is how you got her to speak. You didn’t tell her who you were did you?”

  Mason scoffed. “Of course not. What kind of detective do you think I’d be if I did that? Seriously, Mel, you have to give me more credit than that. Anyway, I was given a few names and I did some digging. It appears Daniel’s reach is farther than I imagined. He has a lot of people in his circle, and I’ll bet everything I own that he has them in his pocket. But what I can’t gather is how he has the money to do everything he does and buys. He makes a lot of money, but he spends out more than he makes. Unless he’s embezzling it from his investors, which is something I have my people looking into. That would explain why he wants the properties on the vineyard to be built quickly so he could sell his portion and get the money back into his clients’ accounts.”

  Galen leaned forward in his chair and cut in, “So what should we do? If we put off the project then it might draw suspicions, but I don’t want to waste resources by starting early. Do you have any concrete evidence that could put him away?”

  Mason shook his head. “Not yet. The only way we can get that is to openly bring out this case and bring in more people. What we really need to do is get in touch with Daniel’s sister and find the real copy to his mother’s will. I also wouldn’t mind finding the lawyer that helped him in this scheme to interrogate him. That is if he even had a lawyer help him like he said he did. If we can just find the real will and have Daniel’s sister cooperate then we can definitely bust his ass.”

  Korinne spoke up, directing her question to me. “Have you been able to talk to her yet?” she inquired.

  “I’ve tried calling her, but she hasn’t picked up her phone. I don’t know how else to get in touch with her other than show up at her doorstep,” I remarked, glancing from her to everyone else.

  Mason shrugged and closed the folder on his lap. “Well, it looks like we’re going to California to hunt her down.”

  “And I’ll be going, too,” Brett acknowledged. “I can make it look like I’m starting early.”

  Reluctantly, Korinne cast Brett a sympathetic smile and recommended, “Well … If you’re going to go out there, Brett, then you need to give Daniel a heads up if you’re supposedly going to be on his land. If not, it’ll look suspicious and we don’t want that.”

  Brett gritted his teeth and scowled. I knew it was too soon for him to be able to put on a front with Daniel but he had to. “Fine, I’ll handle it,” he said heatedly. “Apparently, the bastard has been calling nonstop.”

  “There is one thing …” Mason began, averting his attention to me and Brett. Hesitantly, he moved forward in his chair and leaned his elbows on his thighs. He sighed before adding, “And I know you’re not going to like it.”

  Brett and I exchanged wary glances before turning our gazes back to my cousin. “What is it?” I asked skeptically. Brett wrapped his arms around my shoulders and held me tight while we waited on Mason to continue.

  He explained, “We’re close to figuring out the shady dealings with Daniel, but it still doesn’t keep you out of his sights, Mel. Maybe if you and Brett…” He paused, releasing a heavy sigh, “… separated for a while it would make Daniel cockier if he doesn’t have to worry about you spilling the secrets to him. Mistakes happen when the culprit thinks he’s invincible.”

  Brett’s grip on me tightened and his voice was laced with anger when he spat, “I refuse to leave her alone when that fucker can get to her anytime he pleases. What all of you don’t know is that Daniel broke into her house and violated her. He’s lucky I haven’t killed his sorry ass for what he did.”

  Korinne and Galen gasped while Mason stormed to his feet. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me?” he shouted. “Did he rape you?”

  “No,” I shrieked, holding up my hands. “He didn’t and I know for a fact he would never try to do that to me anyway. Just let me explain,” I pleaded.

  Fuming, Mason sat back down and I took a deep breath before telling the story. I didn’t go into full details, but I did tell them about Daniel tricking me and left off the sexual parts. I wasn’t about to say that out loud. I felt like the hugest fool for falling for it.

  “So now you understand why I won’t leave her by herself, right?” Brett argued.

  Regretfully, Mason nodded but didn’t relent. “Yeah, I understand that, but if she stays somewhere else or has someone staying with her it’s going to draw suspicion. Melissa can take care of herself, and she knows how to use a gun; I taught her how myself.”

  “He’s right,” I agreed, glancing at Brett. “We’ll never pull this off if I’m seen with you. As much as I hate this we have to make him believe that I’m not a threat anymore. And I know you’re not going to like this, but if I pretend to get back together with him it could possibly give us some information we need.”

  Brett’s eyes went wide and he snarled, his voice laced with animosity, “That’s the worst idea I’ve ever heard. You do realize what you would be putting yourself through, right? Not to mention what it would be doing to me.”

  I swallowed hard and nodded. “It won’t be for long. If I can just make him believe me, then I can see what he’s really up to. I could definitely lower his guard.”

  Mason spoke up, “I loathe the idea of this, but Mel has a point. It could work.”

  Aggravated, Brett tugged at his tousled hair and growled, “What about California? I’m still going out there with you no matter what. How are you going to get away with that?”

  Brett was like a ticking time bomb: angry and on the verge of exploding. Taking his hand, I lifted his palm and laid a calming kiss to the center. His breathing slowed just a bit, but he was still coiled tight like a snake.

  Softly, I murmured, “All I have to do is tell Daniel that I’m going to Kori’s cabin in the mountains for a few days if he calls me. I’m pretty sure that we’ll get our answers when we go to California. Besides, I’m sure he isn’t going to be making any appearances for a few days with his face the way it is. I hit him pretty hard.”

  Galen’s voice boomed throughout the room, “Then it’s settled.” Next he spoke to Brett, “This isn’t going to be easy, but we all know you can do it. When you feel ready, I want you to call Daniel. Tell him about how you want to get started on the planning and that you want to make a trip to California as soon as possible.”

  “Also,” I stated, “try to sound angry and upset since we just broke up. Tell him that the reason why you want to get started is so you can get away for a while. Daniel will eat it up.”

  “I don’t think you have to worry about me not sounding angry and upset, firecracker,” Brett said.

  Rolling my eyes, I lifted up on my toes and kissed his lips. “We’ll get through this … I promise.”

  Sighing, Brett pulled me close. “Yes we will, and we might as well start now.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  We had decided to wait an extra day for Brett to get his head straight before calling Daniel to set up his plans to visit California. Since the weekend was almost over, I called and informed the principal of my school that an emergency had come up and I would need my substitute for the next week, apologizing whole-heartedly. Thankfully, he understood and told me not to worry about it.

  Brett was adamant on not letting me stay alone in my house, so he opted to ride with me in my car instead of driving his Jeep. He was going to call Daniel as soon as we got there and the closer we got, the antsier he became.

  “You know, I think we deserve a vacation,” I muttered playfully, hoping to get his mind in a better place.

  Even though he hadn’t talked to him yet, he had his flight all scheduled for the next morning to head to California. Mason and I had ours scheduled for the day after that. We did it so if Daniel got suspicious he would see that I was still in town while Brett was gone.

  Brett smir
ked. “Yes, a vacation would be great. If we didn’t have to hide out right now and pretend we weren’t together it might actually be possible,” he remarked dryly. His abrasiveness had me taken aback, and when he noticed my scowl he sighed and patted my leg. “I’m sorry, firecracker. I don’t mean to be this way it’s just … the thought of hearing his voice and trying to stay calm isn’t going to be easy. Not to mention the fact that you’re going to pretend to get back together with him. It makes me so goddamn sick I can’t think straight.”

  I took his hand in mine and squeezed. “I know, babe. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can let him go and expose him for what he truly is.”

  All he did was nod, remaining quiet for the rest of the ride back home. As soon as we got inside of the house, he pulled out his phone and stared at it. “Be prepared for him to call you as soon as I get off the phone with him. The second he thinks you and I aren’t together he’s going to pounce on you.”

  “Yeah, I know,” I replied, fully aware that Daniel would call me soon afterward.

  Not wasting anymore of our precious time, Brett dialed Daniel’s number, placing it on speakerphone, and sat there. It was eight o’clock on a Saturday so there was no telling if he would even answer. When I heard Daniel’s voice come over the phone, Brett tensed and I held my breath, waiting.

  “I see you made it back from Texas in one piece,” Daniel said happily, sounding tipsy. There was a commotion in the background and it was most likely a party. A drunk Daniel was not a good thing.

  Brett clenched his teeth and muttered, “Yeah, I got back late the other night. Hey, listen … I wanted to see if it was okay if I flew to California to take a look at the property. You mentioned something about starting early, and it just so happens that I can this week.”

  Daniel hooted and hollered in excitement. “Hell yeah, you can go out there. That would be great.”

  “Good,” Brett replied hastily. His hands were shaking with anger, so I went over to him and knelt down, clasping his fingers with mine. “I have all your information so I’ll be leaving first thing tomorrow to check everything out.”

  “That’s wonderful news,” Daniel slurred. “Why don’t you come over and celebrate with us then? I’m having a party and I’m sure you’d enjoy it.”

  “I don’t think that’s such a good idea right now,” Brett informed him.

  “Oh,” Daniel replied sounding disappointed. “Well, bring your girlfriend. It’s a Saturday night so I’m sure she’s bound to be with you.”

  I waved for Brett to continue. It was the perfect entrance to tell Daniel that we weren’t together. Brett sighed heavily and sounded distraught when he spoke, “Actually, she’s not with me right now. We’re not together anymore.”

  Daniel spewed his drink and coughed loudly over the phone. “Are you serious? What happened?”

  Brett rolled his eyes and repeated what we’d talked about. “I did something to her and it pissed her off. She broke up with me and said she didn’t want to see me anymore. Not to mention, she said she thinks she might still have feelings for her ex-husband. So I guess you could say it was a mutual breakup.”

  Daniel stayed silent for a few seconds and then whistled. “What did you do, cheat on her?”

  Shaking his head, Brett remained quiet so Daniel could come up with his own conclusions. “Hey man, I know how that goes. I cheated on my ex-wife and she was a spitfire when she caught me. She doused me with the water hose in our own bedroom, and kicked the girl out naked in our front yard. Boy, she was a firecracker. I’d give anything to get her back in my bed again.”

  All Brett saw in that moment was red, and all I wanted to do was jump through the phone and punch Daniel in the face again. Hearing him call me firecracker just sounded wrong coming from his lips. Brett was the only one allowed to call me that and he didn’t deserve to have to listen to Daniel’s ranting. Daniel was drunk and I knew under normal circumstances he wouldn’t talk that freely about me.

  Without commenting on his last remark, Brett was fed up with the talking. “Okay, well I’m going to jump off here and get my week planned. Enjoy your party.”

  “All right, brother. Keep me updated when you get to California. I would join you out there but I have a ton of shit going on this week.”

  “Will do,” Brett agreed, before swiftly hanging up the phone. Once the call was ended, Brett paced the floor angrily. “I’m not calling that douche bag while we’re gone. I can’t believe he said that shit about wanting to fuck you again. It’s going to kill me being away from you tomorrow night while you’re here all by yourself. Whatever you do, don’t let him in this house with you by yourself. You understand?”

  I rolled my eyes and wrapped my arms around his neck. His gray eyes softened when I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him tenderly on the lips. “I’m not stupid, Brett. I have no intention of letting him in my house.” I was able to kiss him one more time before my phone buzzed in my pocket. “You have got to be kidding me?” I uttered incredulously.

  “I told you,” Brett said. “He’s going to pounce.”

  When I looked down at my phone, sure enough there was a text from Daniel.

  Daniel: We need to talk. Dinner tomorrow?

  Groaning, I shook my head and closed my eyes. “He wants me to have dinner with him.”

  Brett grumbled under his breath and ran his hands through his hair. “Please tell me you’re going to say no. I don’t want you anywhere near that fucker.”

  I curled my lip in disgust. “I don’t want to either, but think about it … if I go out to dinner with him, maybe I can get him to confess to some things if I pretend that I want to get back together. I can get Mason to wire me up and get him recorded on tape. It’ll be a good blackmail tactic, and hopefully save my ass if he decides to screw me over.”

  Brett clenched his teeth and sighed. “I still don’t like it, but unfortunately you have a point. If you decide to go I can’t stop you, but if you do I want Mason close by.”

  “I don’t think you have to worry about that,” I retorted with a smirk on my face. Typing up a reply, I sent a quick response back to my ex-husband.

  Me: What time tomorrow?

  His answer was almost instant.

  Daniel: Seven o’clock. You won’t regret it.

  Me: I look forward to it.

  I shut off my phone and laid it on the counter in my kitchen. Worry lines marred Brett’s face and I hated that I put them there. Taking my fingers, I traced over those lines and met each one with a light brushing of my lips.

  “Let’s go to bed, babe,” I whispered. “I need to get these lines off your face before they stay there.”

  Brett smiled and lifted me in his arms, holding me close against him. “I don’t need any more convincing than that. Let’s go.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  As soon as I dropped Brett off at the airport the next morning, I called Mason to fill him in on my plans to meet Daniel for dinner.

  “I think it’s a waste of time, Mel. Daniel isn’t going to expose any of his secrets to you over dinner. Maybe if you got him into bed, but we both know that shit isn’t going to happen,” Mason explained. “But I’ll wire you up and record your conversation. Who knows, you might get him to mention the whole blackmail scheme. At least that would help with your case if he were to try to fuck you over.”

  Enthusiastically, I nodded and replied, “Exactly. That’s why I’m even considering going out to dinner with him.”

  Mason sighed. “All right, well, I get off duty at five o’clock so I’ll see you at your house around then.”

  We hung up and I headed back to the house to get my things packed. It was a rainy, Sunday morning so after I loaded all of my things in my suitcase for the trip I decided to watch reruns of The Vampire Diaries and get a little reading in. It was two o’clock in the afternoon when Daniel decided to call. It was time to put my acting skills to use.

  “Hey Daniel,” I answered casually.


  “Well, hello there. What are you doing?”

  I turned off the television and settled into the couch. “Reading and watching a little bit of TV. How are you?”

  He groaned. “Just a little hung over, but I’ll recover. Were you serious about going to dinner with me tonight? I heard about your break up with Brett so I figured it would be a good time to cheer you up, and to apologize for all the shit I’ve put you through the last few weeks.”

  “Wow, bad news travels fast I see,” I chided. In a more playful tone I said, “But you are more than welcome to try to cheer me up and apologize. I love it when a man grovels.”

  Daniel chuckled. “Trust me, I owe you a bunch of groveling. How does seven o’clock at Marion’s sound? Or we could go somewhere different. It’s your choice.”

  Wow, he was laying it on thick with me. Where was the considerate gentleman when I was married to him? Clearing my throat, I sounded surprised when I remarked, “You must really be trying to suck up to me tonight. If you were like this all the time I might consider getting back together with you.”

  Yeah, right.

  “I told you I was going to try hard to get you back. I’m working on it. So Marion’s?”

  “Yes, that’s fine. I’ll see you there at seven,” I replied.

  “Why don’t I come pick you up?” he suggested. “I go right by your house on the way.”

  I froze in silence. I had no clue what to say or if I should agree to ride with him. To make the date seem believable to Daniel I knew there was only one thing I could do. I had to accept. For one night I had to play along, but I knew it was going to land me in some hot water with Brett.

  “Baby, are you there?” Daniel asked.

  Quickly, I responded, “Yeah, I’m here. You’re more than welcome to come pick me up.”

  “Sounds good, Mel. I’ll see you around six-thirty.” He hung up and all I wanted to do was crawl into a hole and disappear. Why did I think pretending with him would be such a good idea?