In the Name of Glori (The Redemption Series: Book 3)

by Maeve Christopher

  The others had pretty much finished their meals, so I figured I could bring up the topic of murder and mayhem. “So was Darla right? Are there assassins after you and Debbie and the babies, David? Can you stop them?”

  He looked across the table at me with a strange look in his eye. “You mustn’t worry, Glori. We will stop them.”

  “Cool.” I couldn’t bring myself to delve into it anymore. Despite his outward confidence that everything would be fine, there was uneasiness in the room. I got the feeling Cat hadn’t spilled everything.

  Eduardo had a knack for changing the subject just at the right moment. So he immediately began teasing David about our pending trip to Carmel the next day. That’s where David and Debbie spent their first time alone together, and probably where they conceived their babies.

  It wasn’t the best subject for him to banter about. I could tell David was back in Carmel with the wife he loved above everything else. He left the table in short order to call Debbie.

  ***

  After tossing and turning all night, I decided to get up and get some juice, and sit by the window in the alcove to watch the night brighten into day. I was barefoot and groggy, and I bit my lip as I came upon Cat and David.

  She was in the window seat covered in a long, lush terry robe, her notepad beside her. He must have interrupted her, as she wrote those lyrics that would change the world.

  He was seated on an ottoman with his back to me, but he was still in the same clothes—probably never went to bed. I ducked back around the corner, hoping they wouldn’t notice me. This was a perfect opportunity to eavesdrop. I held my breath so I could hear everything. Unfortunately, they were chattering in German, and like I said, my knowledge of the language was pitiful. I closed my eyes and scrunched up my face, as though that would help it sink in better.

  I suddenly had a hand over my mouth and an arm drawing me in. I almost had a heart attack.

  “Hush.” It was Eduardo whispering in my ear.

  He relaxed his grip on me when I quit wriggling, and we stood there listening until we heard Cisco beginning to stir. Eduardo led me to the kitchen.

  I broke free of his grasp and rummaged though the refrigerator for some orange juice. He found an apple and took a seat at the table with me. Eduardo was big on fruit.

  I realized I was gaping at him. He looked damn sexy for this hour of the morning. And it’s not like he tried. His hair was mussed, but it didn’t matter so much because it was short. He wore a beat up tee shirt and old sweatpants. I guess I was just a sucker for muscles. And he had plenty of those.

  I pulled my silk robe tighter, and dragged my nails through my hair. “You scared the shit outta me, you know.”

  He chomped on his apple and smirked at me, wiping the juice from his lips with the back of his hand. At least he found me entertaining.

  “So what were they talking about, Eduardo?”

  “You heard them.”

  “Yeah. That doesn’t mean I understood them.”

  “Serves ya right for spying.” He winked at me.

  I stuck my tongue out at him. He just grinned. So I pushed. “Well, I heard Cat talking about Darla. And other women. Who are the other women?”

  He shrugged. Eduardo was sure not going to give me any information.

  I tried to rev up my brain cells with the orange juice. “Well, Cat sure sounded scared—terrified. Something about David shaking hands with the women.” I rolled my eyes. “Like he just shakes hands with them.”

  Eduardo spewed his apple.

  Chapter Fourteen

  That morning bright and early, Eduardo wheeled my luggage out to the car while I hugged and kissed everyone goodbye. We were heading for Carmel and Monterey, before going to Chicago and on to New York for the opening.

  Cat and Cisco were staying at the Ross Hotel until it was time to head to New York. They had plenty to keep them busy. Our record company, Berkley, was nearby.

  Who knew where David was going, or when? Ditto for Alain. Everyone was careful not to speak of him in front of me.

  As we started on the road, Eduardo checked in with Nita, still on the beach in Spain. She filled us in on all the family news. Eduardo started in on the spa experiences we would be having, and then related the importance of exfoliating. No doubt, Nita was on the floor, hysterical, at that point. I got the impression Eduardo would be able to run his own spa by the time this tour ended. Not that it would enter his mind—it’s just that he had a natural curiosity about everything.

  Then he asked about Cindy and Raphael and their pending parenthood. Yeah, they were fine and still ecstatic. Still way too early to know if it’s a girl or a boy, and do they really want to know that anyway. Debbie and David didn’t even know yet. Maybe we should just ask Cat.

  By the time he hung up the phone, we were pretty much up to date on everyone’s business. I figured I was next, but Eduardo surprised me.

  “I wish Nita would decide it’s time for a baby.”

  “Really?” That was a shock. But then again, he was just a big kid himself. He’d like to have someone to play with.

  “Yeah. That’s the only thing we ever argue about. But I understand her point of view, I guess. She’s busy with this music career. She’s got a lot going on.” He shook his head. “But it’s not like she wants to go on the road touring. You know she prefers recording at home, doing those concerts in Salzburg that Joe arranges. I guess she’s just not ready.”

  “Oh.” I was kind of speechless, but I wanted to tell him about Christina.

  “Christina is the name you want to give your baby girl someday?”

  “Yes. When did you turn psychic?”

  He laughed. “When I heard you were callin’ your new charity the Christina Fund, I kind of realized this wasn’t some chick you were sleepin’ with.”

  I couldn’t help giggling. “You’re so twisted, Eduardo.”

  “Me? I’m the normal one.”

  “Maybe so, God help us. But one thing I know, hon, you and Nita argue about everything. When she’s loud, you’re louder. Then she’ll go another decibel higher. Then it gets quiet because you two are off somewhere having make-up sex.” Yeah, I knew something about that.

  Eduardo gave me that impish, incredulous look he was so good at.

  ***

  We checked in to a lovely resort that was not the one David and Debbie stayed at. The place was booked solid, and already a bunch of fans had gathered in the lobby. We got all kinds of questions like “Where’s Alain?” or “Where’s Nita?” “When’s her next album coming out?”

  Fans thrust everything in my face from CD’s to Glori Cosmetics, to just the packaging for me to sign. I did as much schmoozing as I could, and then Eduardo politely extracted me from the crowd. He was good at that.

  I had a little time to unpack and regroup before I faced the staff and clients in the spa. I decided to wander a bit. The view of the ocean was breathtaking. The inn itself was very nice, and they were in the process of renovations. I found myself entranced watching the men work.

  “Here you are. What are you doin’ in here? You’ve got one of the nicest views on the planet outside, and a mob of fans dying to see you in the spa, and you’re in an empty utility room?”

  “They’re spackling.” I pointed to the construction guys working on the walls.

  He looked at me like I was nuts. “Ahhhh. I get it. Spackle for Ladies, the newest, most revolutionary product from Glori Cosmetics.”

  I whacked him on the arm. “You’re cracked, Eduardo. You need spackle for your brain.”

  Yeah, I didn’t have to tell him I needed it for my heart.

  ***

  I was ready to call it quits for the day. I could tell even Eduardo was tiring of skincare and cosmetics and flirting with fans. I made my way through the swarm heading back toward the lobby and then, hopefully, to my quiet room.

  The hotel manager had every staff member he had on duty to handle crowd control. Fortunately, they were effective
and the elevator and hallway were free and clear.

  “Eduardo, I’m gonna get changed and go for a run on the beach. I need to clear my head.”

  “Sounds good.”

  “You don’t have to come with me. It’s plenty light out. I’m fine.”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  We argued all the way to my room, and then all the way to the beach. I tried to run ahead, but that was useless. The guy was up at the crack of dawn every day doing some maniac martial arts workout. This was like a walk in the park to him.

  “Okay. Okay. You can come with me. Just don’t talk about exfoliating, or moisturizing, or anything.”

  “Cool.” He winked at me. No wonder Nita was ready to kill him half the time. Well, sometimes.

  The tide was low and rocks jutted up every which way, but there was plenty of space to run on the packed sand. We began to make our way to the water.

  I heard a shot and a whooshing sound. Before I could understand what that was, I was hurtling through the air. I landed with Eduardo on top of me behind some boulders. His gun was already out. How’d he do that?

  I saw another bullet hit a rock near us. I screamed and covered my ears. He pushed me down farther underneath his body, and started talking on his phone. We stayed there until I heard sirens, and the police arrived.

  Another mob scene, and no one knew who was shooting, but that first bullet went right through my sweatpants. Thank goodness they were kind of baggy. Otherwise I could’ve been shot in the butt. How attractive, huh? Yeah, the headlines would have been good. “Businesswoman and pop icon, Glori Coulson, shot in the ass by an unknown hit man.”

  As I stood there in the middle of my bathroom with my finger through the bullet hole, I realized—someone was after me. It wasn’t just David and Debbie and their babies.

  I rushed to Eduardo, standing in the doorway to my room, still chatting away with a local cop whose wife was a big fan of Nita’s. I shook his sleeve. “They’re after me. They’re after me, too.”

  He wrapped me in a big hug. “I know, honey. You’re okay.”

  Well, I wasn’t okay. And I wondered about Darla. I wondered if she was dead, too.

  ***

  I was so freaked out by what had happened, I told Eduardo we were going to leave the door to our adjacent rooms open that night. Then after that big announcement, he ordered room service for dinner and left. Some secret agent, huh?

  I got on the phone to Cindy.

  “Honey, are you okay? They said the bullet grazed you. Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m okay, Cin. I almost got shot in the butt. But it missed, thank God. I’m scared, Cin. I think they’re after me, too. I think I should’ve paid Darla Wilde.”

  I heard her groan. “Glori, they think that we’re all in danger. We’re leaving for home in an hour. Roberto has an army of guards with machine guns. Raphael’s had enough. We’re going home.”

  “Home? Is it safe?”

  “Yes. We’ve got every security measure. You know the way Alain built your house. They’re all top notch when it comes to security. And General Pearson is making more arrangements for us. Nita’s going to stay with us till Eduardo gets back. Probably Aubrey will be coming to stay with us, too. Just for the time being until this gets straightened out.”

  “Where’s Debbie? Is she okay?”

  “Yes, they won’t say where she is, but I’ve talked to her and she’s okay. Jimmy is pretty much handling everything in Austria. Debbie doesn’t know where David is, but she’s talked to him. So at least she’s not in a total panic. Eduardo is with you, and you said Alain was there too?”

  “Yeah. Was. Don’t know where he is now, though.” I decided I wasn’t supposed to say anything about David until I spoke with Eduardo. I knew he called Debbie from the Ross Hotel. I just didn’t know if I was allowed to say, if he didn’t even tell his wife where he was.

  So we both blabbered about our assurances that everything would be rosy, and then hung up the phone. I’m sure we both felt real confident by that point. Kind of like the way you feel after telling ghost stories all night.

  Eduardo’s laughter echoed in the hall. “That was some scary assassin.”

  “A little shit garden-variety punk.” I’d know that voice anywhere.

  They both laughed, and my insides turned inside out. I ran to my door and strained to see through the eyehole. Why was he here? Why?

  I heard Eduardo’s door open, and I jumped practically six feet into the chair in front of the TV. Then I remembered I looked like crap decked out in old gym shorts and a tee shirt. My hair was everywhere, and I could only imagine what my makeup looked like.

  “Glori?” He poked his head through the door, and glanced at a blank TV screen. “Are you okay?”

  I clenched at my stomach so it would hopefully behave. “Hi Eduardo. What’s going on?”

  He repeated his question. I couldn’t play dumb another second. “What scary assassin are we talking about?” My eyes started to tear up, damn it. I couldn’t imagine I had another drop in me.

  Room service knocked at Eduardo’s door, and I heard Alain take care of it. Eduardo knelt in front of me. “What do you want me to do?”

  I couldn’t help it. I wiped the drips off my cheek and curled into a ball. “How should I know?”

  “I need to talk some business with him, and that’ll be that. You want some dinner now? Or I can join you in a while.”

  “I’m not hungry.”

  He made a face and got up. “I’ll be back in a few minutes, and you’ll eat some dinner.” He shut the door behind him.

  ***

  Eduardo slammed the door.

  Alain paced the length of the room and back. “Is she all right?”

  He shrugged. “Physically she’s fine. I’m not so sure it’s a good idea for you to hang around if you two aren’t gonna make up.”

  Alain sat on the edge of the bed and put his head in his hands.

  Eduardo took him by the shoulders and glared down at him. “It’s this marriage thing that’s been buggin’ you all along. You’re afraid you’re gonna be as big an asshole as your father was. So you’re finding a way to make Glori leave.”

  “Our new shrink—Eduardo Freud.” Alain returned the glare and removed his hands from his shoulders.

  He had to let go of her. “I shouldn’t have come. You could have handled this yourself.”

  He took a card from the pocket inside his jacket, and handed it to Eduardo. “These are the ones Lambrecht thinks we should focus on. He said you’re familiar with all of them. I’m going through town on my way, so I’ll wrap things up with the police.”

  Eduardo scanned the names on the card and nodded.

  Alain gave his friend a weary slap on the back, and left. He thought about his instructions to Clint Carlisle. Maybe he should take his own advice.

  ***

  It turned out the guy that shot at us was some hoodlum that fancied himself a hit man. Eduardo said he’d have to learn how to shoot a gun first. I’m not sure it made me feel any better, but at least it wasn’t the professional, wrath-of-hell assassin Darla predicted.

  Meanwhile, I cried myself to sleep, and woke up the next day ready to tackle the spas of Monterey. Eduardo forced breakfast on me. He said the car wouldn’t go till we ate. So there I sat, scraping as much of the butter off the toast as I could. He was amused.

  “So is there any word about Darla Wilde? Did anyone try and kill her?”

  He took a gulp of coffee and became strangely silent.

  “Eduardo?” I flailed my arm, as if I needed to, to get his attention. “Eduardo?”

  He did one of those big sniffs that guys do. I didn’t bother finding a tissue for him. One day he’d learn.

  “Yeah. Some prisoner managed to get close to her and stabbed her, caught her in the spleen. She’ll recover, though.”

  My mouth hung open but nothing came out.

  “We don’t have any control over the prison system, Glori. I’m so
rry.”

  “Stabbed her? They…they have knives in prison?”

  He grinned. “They sharpen the toothbrushes.”

  “Toothbrushes?”

  So the day got off to an auspicious start. We drove to Monterey with me looking over my shoulder every five minutes, and Eduardo explaining how we were in a specially made car. Yeah, that made me feel way better.

  Monterey never saw such a mob of people. It’s a wonder we didn’t cause an earthquake. The spas had people falling out the doors, and media everywhere. Yeah, Glori Cosmetics was catching on. The good news—I didn’t have to lift a finger to sell out every product they had. Basically, I signed autographs, and Eduardo and the staff tried to keep order.

  That night we were on a plane to Chicago, which was more of the same, only less scenic.

  ***

  By the time we reached New York, I was frazzled. Eduardo seemed to be his usual self. He was incredible at keeping a lid on things, I’ll give him that.

  We were both happy and relieved to meet Cisco and Cat at the hotel. They’d been settled in for a couple of days, and the security was intense, but there had been no violent incidents since that day in Carmel.

  Diana Black joined us for dinner, and gave me a pep talk for the big day. She was more than thrilled with the sales figures so far, and she and Cisco discussed the finances at length. The company couldn’t keep up with demand for the products, but she assured us that would improve going forward. She said the scarcity boosted the exclusivity of the Glori brand.

  She was sympathetic about me almost getting shot in the ass, but I knew she had to be secretly tickled at all the extra publicity. Every gossip show in the world led with my “Glori Tour,” especially since that occurrence.

  Since I was falling asleep in my dessert, I excused myself and went to bed. Not that I could sleep when I got there. I made calls to everyone at home, who fortunately were early risers. (I never could keep track of the time changes.) Everyone told me they were safe and sound and wished me luck on the big day—and “get some sleep.”