Sultry Storm (Kimani Romance)

by Norfleet, Celeste O.

  He turned, drawn to the sounds of laughter as finally the passengers began to disembark. He walked back over to the ship’s gangplank and stood with a ship officer to offer comments and answer questions about the port. He was afraid he failed miserably to match his usual enthusiasm.

  His assignment was easily a no-brainer and just what he needed after last night and this morning. He strolled the full length of the moored ship, bow to stern, to make sure all the passengers had gotten off. When he returned to the dock he ran into his friend Lucas. Apparently his fiancée hadn’t come down, but had sent someone in her stead. The beautiful woman beside him whom Lucas introduced as Doreen. Surprisingly Lucas didn’t seem to mind. As a matter of fact, he seemed happier than he’d been in a long time, and the two of them strolled the pier, leaving Stephen to his assignment.

  For the remainder of the afternoon Stephen did his job supporting the local police. But did so in complete mental absence. He went through the motions, but that was all. His thoughts were miles away with Mia. He’d called his home several times, and her cell, but she hadn’t picked up.

  “I love you, too.” Her words repeated in his head but his heart was troubled. He knew instinctively something was wrong. She’d either read the rest of the file or she’d somehow found out the rest of the story on her own. Either way, it was not how he wanted her to know the truth. He knew he should have told her, that way he could be there and explain. His feeble attempt to come clean earlier was pathetic. He had the perfect opportunity last night, but when she’d stripped, he’d lost all senses. Now his time was up and taking the call from dispatch only delayed telling the truth. How could he just walk out and not finish what he started? He called her cell again, and she picked up instantly. “Mia, it’s—”

  She cut him off right away. “Why didn’t you tell me the whole story last night?”

  Stephen stood silent. He knew she’d figure it out eventually, he’d just hoped it wouldn’t be like this. “Leo wrote the article about my father. The company was—”

  “And why didn’t you tell me who you were in the beginning?”

  “It didn’t matter.”

  “It didn’t matter? Are you joking? You and your father harassed my father for years. You ruined him.”

  “That’s not quite how it happened, Mia.”

  “That’s exactly how it happened, Esteban. My father wrote the article and your father went after him. Tell me, did my father even know who you really were?” When he didn’t respond, she pressed on. “He didn’t, did he? You tricked him, didn’t you? You lied and betrayed him just like you did me. I guess that’s the ultimate revenge on him.”

  “Mia, it wasn’t like that. Leo knew me. We were friends.”

  “Did he know your father, too? Were they friends also?”

  “My father has nothing to do with this.”

  “He has everything to do with this. He isn’t some kind of martyred hero, and my father wasn’t an overzealous hack. My dad was a good man. He was honest and truthful. If he wrote that your father cheated and lied, then he did. You and your—” She paused to take a deep breath and collect herself. “Four years ago you and your father deliberately ruined a good man’s reputation just because he wrote the truth.”

  “Mia,” Stephen said, knowing there was nothing he could say to explain what actually happened. “Leo wasn’t perfect, he had flaws. I know this isn’t easy for you to hear, but he did.”

  “I’m done listening, Stephen. You really had me fooled. All that charm and charisma. I actually fell for it.”

  “Mia, stop, just listen to me,” he said calmly, hoping she’d calm down, too.

  “Listen to what? Is this considered police brutality?”

  “No, this is considered love.”

  “Oh, please, don’t you dare talk to me about love. You don’t have the first clue what love is. Love isn’t betrayal and lies and deceit. Love isn’t stealing someone’s home and hiding behind a badge, and love isn’t…you.”

  “Please, Mia, just listen to what I have to say. If you still want to walk away, then fine.”

  “There’s nothing you can tell me that I haven’t already figured out.”

  “How about the truth?” he asked. “You’re right, there’s nothing I can tell you. But you are your father’s daughter, so do him one last justice. Find out the truth for yourself.”

  “I already know that truth.”

  “You’re not even close.”

  She hung up. Her first thought was to find Stephen and rip his heart out. But then she realized that he probably didn’t even have one. Liars and betrayers didn’t, or if they did it was either frozen solid or solid stone. Either way she was through.

  Stephen was just like Neal. They’d do anything and say anything to get what they wanted. They both used her and manipulated the truth to their advantage. She knew Neal’s reasoning. He was a spineless mama’s boy with visions of grandeur. Stephen’s reasoning was still a mystery. But then Janelle was probably right. Perhaps he wanted the ultimate revenge and she gave it to him. She’d fallen in love and he’d crushed her.

  Mia stormed into her bedroom and began packing. She slammed her clothes into the open suitcase. This was over. She’d lost the house and she’d lost her heart. There was nothing left for her here. She intended to get as far away from Key West as possible.

  As she packed, Stephen’s words echoed in her mind over and over again. “You are your father’s daughter, so do him one last justice. Find out the truth for yourself.” She didn’t have to find out the truth. She knew it and he confessed it. The only question was why.

  Then she thought about the file Stephen had insisted she read the night before. She’d only read the first few articles. They’d shed a light of some of what her sisters said, so she wondered what else might be inside. She knew there had to be more to the story. As her father always said, knowledge was ninety-nine percent perceptions. If you want to find information, you have to research. But if you want to find the truth, you have to get dirty and dig for it.

  Fine, she was ready for the truth.

  Chapter 17

  Mia went back to Stephen’s house and found the file still where she tossed it the night before. She sat, opened it, flipped past the first three articles and began reading the rest of the hefty file.

  The more she read the more questions she had and the harder it was to wade through the convoluted mess of charges, countercharges and childish finger-pointing. None of this made sense. What was a simple exposé turned into a major conflict. In newspaper lingo, blood had been drawn and the battle between her father and Carlos Morales and his company had begun.

  Tirades on both sides were extreme and apparently the ethical damages to careers were irreversible. The ensuing rampage resulted in libel and defamation lawsuits from both sides. There were accusations of ethical corruption, allegations of perjury, bribery, corruption and fraud. But the last and final blow was leveled by Stephen. It was disastrous and ultimately career-ending, resulting in her father being quietly discharged from his publisher, and thanks to Stephen, no other publication would touch him.

  Mia closed the file, stunned by what she’d read. She had no idea any of this had gone on. Her father had told her that he’d decided to leave his job. She’d never quite accepted his reason of wanting a quieter lifestyle. He was too addicted to print and investigative research. Even then she’d suspected there was more. Apparently she’d been right.

  She left Stephen’s house, but instead of going back to her father’s home, she headed into town. Her father had a good friend on the local newspaper staff and she hoped he could tell her more. She went to the newspaper office, but unfortunately her dad’s friend was out covering a story. She hung around for a bit, and then decided to dig into some of the old newspaper files herself.

  She inquired about past issues and was directed to the archive section. She spent the next two hours reading everything pertaining to the legal battle. There were dozens of articles, by
other reporters, about the Morales family, more particularly Carlos Morales. By all accounts he wasn’t the kind of man with whom you made enemies. Her father had done exactly that. Carlos had a serious reputation in and out of the business for being tyrannical, heartless and vindictive. He was stubborn and pigheaded, just like her father. No wonder they didn’t get along.

  Her father continued writing his exposés on Carlos Morales and Morales fired back. The ongoing attacks waged back and forth for months. With the added pressure he sparked with his articles, city planners, the building commission and construction regulators had been scheduled to inspect the hotel. But one week before the inspection the hotel—in mid-construction—conveniently burned down. The final report stated accidental, but her father didn’t buy it. He accused the department of corruption and accepting bribes.

  Attacks on both sides continued, the final blow pushing Leo into permanent retirement and damaging the Morales name and reputation.

  Mia was stunned. She couldn’t believe what she was reading. The more she learned, the less she wanted to. By all accounts it looked as if the Morales family, with their extended resources and influence, pushed her father out of the business and systematically ruined his career.

  “Mia.”

  Mia looked up from her stack of old newspapers and files, to see Helen from the clerk’s office standing at the counter beside her. “I thought that was you. What a coincidence seeing you here. I was just dropping off your papers for the public announcement. I just now found out from the bank that the bid for your house was accepted. Congratulations.”

  Mia was devastated, but she tried not to show it. She knew saving the house was a long shot at best. “Thanks, Helen. Did you ever find out who bid on it?”

  “Yes, but it’s of course confidential.”

  “I see. Well, thanks for all your help,” Mia said.

  “Well, I’m sure it won’t do any harm to tell you now. Besides you’ll have to sign some papers in the morning and the buyer will be there. As a matter of fact I’m sure you’ll even be happy that the property will be in such good hands.” She looked around secretively and then leaned in closer to Mia. “Stephen Morales put in the highest bid. He used considerable pull to win this particular bid. He paid a lot more than anticipated. I’m sure you can expect a nice sum after all the debts are paid.”

  Mia tried her best not to scream. This was impossible. How was this real? Stephen, the man she fallen for, the man she’d been with for the last three days, had stolen her house from under her and never said a word. She looked at him and his father smiling in one of the newspaper photos in front of her. Suddenly it all made sense.

  Stephen’s cell rang. Hoping it was Mia, he checked the caller ID. It wasn’t her. He answered with a barked-out, “Yeah.”

  “Don’t ‘yeah’ me, what’s going on?”

  “Not now, Gnat, I’m busy. I’m on duty.”

  “I know you’re on duty. If you weren’t you’d be here seeing what I’m seeing.”

  Stephen shook his head and sighed heavily. At times Natalia had a way of cutting straight to the point of any conversation. Then other times she was completely cryptic. This was one of those times. “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m in town. Mia’s here and she looks pissed.”

  “Why is Mia there?” he asked. Even so, he was almost afraid to hear the answer.

  “I have no idea. I saw her coming out of the newspaper office. The expression on her face was murderous. She knows, doesn’t she? You told her and she’s pissed.”

  “One expression told you all that?” he asked.

  “Yes. It wasn’t the expression so much as her blank stare. It was unmistakable. It looked like she’d been sucker punched, knocked down and just got up looking for blood. Believe me, I know the look. I’ve had it a few times myself.”

  He sighed again. “You’re right that she knows, but I didn’t tell her.” He whispered, “I tried to, but I couldn’t.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I don’t really know. She’s angry, so I’m giving her some time, some space. I told her to find the truth for herself.”

  “One more thing, I ran into Helen Parker from the county office. She mentioned that she ran into Mia at the newspaper office a few hours ago when she was posting the foreclosure listings. Apparently Mia wanted the name of the new owner of her father’s property to see if she could make a deal.”

  Stephen went still. “Don’t tell me she told her.”

  “She would have found out anyway.”

  Stephen ran a hand over his face as he began to pace. “But now it looks like I did all this on purpose, for spite or even revenge. I didn’t want her find out about the house being auctioned to me.”

  “That option, dear cousin, is no longer on the table. The question now is what are you going to do about it?”

  “I asked Mia to marry me this morning.”

  “Did she accept?”

  “We were supposed to talk about it this evening.”

  “I’d say that’s probably off the table, as well.”

  He looked around. “I’m just about done, so I’ll check out from here.”

  “Yeah, you do that. I’ll see you later.”

  Stephen closed his cell and walked away. It was time to confront his past and hopefully his future.

  A half hour later, after a brief stop at his home, Stephen knocked on Leo James’s door. He got no answer. Knowing Mia was there, he turned the knob and walked in. The first thing he saw were her suitcases sitting by the front door.

  Chapter 18

  After leaving town, Mia spent the rest of the afternoon in the attic going through her father’s boxes. They had now become her main source of information on his life. As Stephen had said before, her father kept everything—every article he’d ever written, every letter he’d ever received. She plowed through the boxes trying to keep his ordered system in place while searching for anything related to Stephen and his father. What she found was far different than she expected. Her father, the perfect man she thought she knew, was a man she didn’t know at all.

  By reading his journals, she found her father’s Pulitzer Prize–winning career had ended with alcoholism, plagiarism and perjury. He’d changed and he had destroyed everything around him. The scandals had humiliated and broken him in the end and he’d lost everything, including her.

  By all accounts, it wasn’t until a year before his death that he came to terms with his troubles. That was also around the time he had become friends with Stephen. The change in him and his writing was evident. But by that time she herself was still too angry, stubborn and wrapped up in her life. In the end she’d missed the best part of her father and would always regret that loss.

  The last journal stated that medical and legal expenses had completely wiped him out. He was broke. He had a second mortgage on the house and a lien and was basically living day-to-day. He was too proud and stubborn to say anything except to his friend Stephen, who often helped him out, both financially and emotionally. Stunned, she read the paragraph again seeing in her father’s own writing that he considered Stephen a friend. She closed the last journal and just stared out the window.

  Mia heard knocking at the front door. She knew it was Stephen. She didn’t answer, knowing that he’d let himself in and find her. Moments later she looked up to see him standing in the doorway. He held an envelope in his hand but she didn’t speak. She was way past anger and retribution. She just looked at him blankly.

  “Mia,” he began, then paused and looked around seeing open boxes and Leo’s journals on the desk. “Did you find what you needed?” he questioned. She nodded once. “And now you’re leaving?”

  “What are you doing here?”

  “We need to talk.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “You know just about everything, Mia, but—”

  “Just about?” she interrupted.

  “There are things not in the articles
and journals that you don’t know. The truth—”

  “The truth is that you and your father went after everything my dad had. The truth is he was sick and you didn’t care. It wasn’t enough that you got him fired and banned from writing. No, you sued him for libel then took everything he had. You even put a lien on this house. Then after he died I guess you came after me.”

  “Mia, you know that’s not how it happened. I know it looks that way, but believe me—”

  She laughed. “Are you joking? Believe you? So wait, are you going to stand there and tell me now that everything is a lie? You didn’t have anything to do with any of this?” she asked, holding up the newspapers announcing his father’s retirement.

  “No.”

  “Good, at least you manned up about that.”

  “I did exactly what the articles say I did. I went after Leo because I thought he libeled my father and my family. I believed that he lied in his article and I did everything in my power to bring him down. But what the articles don’t say is that—” He stopped and looked away.

  “Is that what?”

  He just stood there shaking his head knowing that anything he said would be wrong. He’d never have Mia if he told her the real truth. Her father wasn’t the hero, the perfect man she always made him out to be. She needed to learn it on her own. “I’m sorry about everything.”

  “Sorry?” she said calmly. “You and your father destroy people and ruin lives and all you can say is that you’re sorry? So tell me, did you get a big laugh out of me telling you that I loved you this morning? I bet that was the topper on the humiliation meter. It added the cherry to your already perfect day. You got his house and you got his daughter. You must be feeling pretty good right about now.”

  “I didn’t tell you everything because I didn’t want to scare you away.”

  “Scare me away from what?”