Untouched Perfection

by Mayer, Kristin

  The man Garrick described was not the man sitting beside me. “You were never that way with me.”

  “Because you’re different. More. So much more. And I can’t explain why.”

  “Me, either.”

  More. So much more. And tomorrow, everyone would know Garrick was taken when I went as his date to the gala. I was grateful I already had a dress to wear because exhaustion was settling over me, and I was too tired to think. “What time do we need to leave for the event tomorrow?”

  “We should get there about thirty minutes early to go through all the details before everyone arrives. If that works for you.”

  “That’s fine. I’ll be ready. Do you need to work tonight? Is there anything I can do to help?”

  “No, I want to spend the evening with you. Work can wait.” Garrick seemed completely relaxed.

  “I understand you need to work a lot. It’s okay. You don’t have to entertain me. I’m not like the other women.” The thought of anyone else having this with him made me uneasy.

  “For the first time, I find I’d rather not be working.”

  Wow.

  Just wow.

  I laid my head on his shoulder, and he tightened his arm around me. After the emotionally exhausting day, being in his arms, just like this, was exactly what I needed. I felt cherished. “Do you have any questions about what I told you at the cemetery today?”

  Ice clattered in Garrick’s glass. As it was empty, he set it down. “Is marriage on the table for you, one day, if you meet the right man?”

  That seemed like a fair question. “Yes, it is.”

  “Would you ever consider trying to get pregnant?”

  This topic automatically made me nervous, and I sat up, tucking my hair behind my ears. Garrick gave me a little space, but left his hand on my knee, keeping the contact. Is that because I told him his touch calmed me? “If my husband wanted to, then yes. But it’s a risk he would have to be on board with. Losing a baby isn’t something I would wish on anyone. It might break me to go through it again, but I do want children. Do you?”

  “Yes, I do. But if it’s not in the cards, it’s not. There are always other options.”

  I knew there were, but I wanted to experience feeling a baby inside me—have the indescribable love women talk about. Only time would tell.

  “Why do you let Vivian treat you poorly?”

  Vivian. The name brought a knot to my stomach after all the cruel things she’d said. “Because she’s hurting. Dylan was her only child. We never got along, but I never stopped him from having a relationship with her. Jealousy ate her alive, and it pushed him away. Part of me felt like I deserved her hate when I lost the baby. Every year, she sends me a birthday card that tells me all this. I didn’t open it this year, which was a huge step for me.” I remembered Garrick was able to stop her with one sentence today. “What did you say to her?”

  “I told her with one phone call, I could ruin everything for her. And if she ever contacted you in any way, I would follow through on my threat.”

  I sat up straighter. “Garrick, you didn’t.”

  “I did. No one is going to harass you. Not Vivian. Not Hastings. Not anyone else. People need to understand this, or they will try to use you as leverage against me. If I let anything slide, it will be a shit storm.”

  I was filled with a combination of trepidation mixed with headiness knowing someone wanted to protect me with such ferocity. I was now Garrick’s weakness. Internally, I vowed to be strong enough and listen when something needed to be done. “Do you mean only the Monroes?”

  “No. This is the big leagues. I’m worth billions, Knoah. And people will stop at nothing to take a piece of it or manipulate their way to the top. As soon as Vivian realized who I was, she gave me no choice. If I hadn’t, she would have made phone calls, and I’d have a hundred assholes circling by morning, wanting a piece. You would be used against me in business deals and who knows what else. People play dirty when they sense a weakness.”

  “Weakness?”

  “Yes. You are the one thing I don’t want to live without. People will know this. They’ll sense it. What we have is too palpable.”

  Geez. People were ruthless. After Dylan’s death, so many people had wanted a piece of the inheritance. They’d smelled blood in the water. If not for Kurt, I wasn’t sure where I’d be. He’d protected me—and Dylan’s legacy—through it all. “I get it.”

  “Good. I don’t want to scare you, but being in a committed relationship is going to cause people to push the boundaries. I will be fiercely protective of you.”

  I reached up and kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”

  Garrick’s mouth was nearly on mine when the doorbell rang. “If it’s my mom, she’s getting the nickname cockblocker.”

  His frustration with the situation made me laugh.

  Garrick made his way to the door. “Evening, Joe. Perfect. Thank you for getting these today. I understand. I will. Shit.” I wasn’t able to hear Joe’s side of the conversation. “Nothing else will be needed. That would be great. Thanks.”

  Joe was the head of the security team Garrick had in place now.

  Moments later, Garrick closed the door and returned to sit beside me. His demeanor had grown tense, which had me stiffening. Something was wrong. “Did Joe have bad news?”

  Garrick rubbed the bridge of his nose before taking my hand and pulling me closer. “He brought pictures from the crime scene at Jessica’s apartment. The police refused to divulge any information, regardless of the route I took. So I took matters into my own hands.”

  “Why?”

  His face became more serious. “Remember when I said I would be fiercely protective?” I nodded. “This is me protecting you. I need to know if you were the target.”

  Target? I hated that word.

  From the tone of the conversation, my guess was that Garrick knew. “What did Joe tell you?”

  “Let me look at it first.”

  “I want to know. I need to know. Don’t keep this from me if it’s about me.” I saw the internal struggle in Garrick’s eyes. “Garrick, don’t start with the secret keeping. We’ve come so far. Our relationship will self-destruct if I’m constantly suspicious that you’re hiding something from me.”

  Massaging his temples, he appeared to think about it for a moment. “You have to talk to me, too, Knoah. It’s a two-way street. I don’t ever want to wake up to a note again. Ever.”

  I scooted into his lap, and he hugged me to him. “I promise.”

  Beneath my ear, I felt his chest expand. “Joe believes the hit was a warning meant for you.”

  “Hit?” The word sent me into a near panic, my heart nearly beating out of my chest.

  “You will be safe, Knoah. The Monroes have a rival mob family named the Navarros. They’ve had a beef with Hastings and his family for years. The Monroes are new money. The Navarros didn’t think they’d earned their territory. That’s all I know.”

  My mouth grew dry. The mob was after me. They knew about me. “Why were they warning me?”

  “I don’t know. We haven’t gone public with our relationship. When Jessica was killed, we were barely seeing each other. No one knew. Not even Hastings. The black SUV passed through the parking lot before I came over. It doesn’t make any sense. None. I’m not sure what piece I’m missing.” Frustration rolled off Garrick in waves.

  “What was in the picture that helped Joe make the connection that Jessica’s death was a warning?” I shifted and focused on Garrick’s touch. Someone was after me and it prickled my nerves. What did this mean for me?

  “They left a lily on Jessica’s body. A message was scrawled on the wall in her blood.”

  Blood. They used blood to write a message? The thought sickened me. I wasn’t ready to know what the message said. “A lily?”

  “It’s Navarro’s signature flower. He leaves it at the scene when he kills someone.”

  I gasped. Then remembered the card. I darted off
the couch to get my purse.

  “What is it, Knoah?”

  “I thought… I thought it was someone linking me to Dylan after the concert.” At the bottom of the purse, I found the crumpled card and handed it to Garrick.

  I saw a flash of panic across his face. “When did you get this? I need to know everything.”

  Dread coursed through me and my hands became clammy. I tried to remember every detail from that morning. “It was when I had coffee spilled on me. Chelsie received the delivery and handed it to me as she left. I opened the card, thinking it was someone wanting to expose my marriage to Dylan. Then I never gave it another thought after I ran into you.”

  Garrick turned over the card. “Did you see the number on the back?”

  “What number? No, I crumbled it up and threw it in my purse.”

  Garrick turned over the card and saw a number scrawled across the back. How could this be happening? To me? I took a steadying breath. I was in the apartment.

  “I need to give this to Joe.” He already had his phone out and began relaying what I’d told him. Poor Jessica. She’d been caught in something she didn’t understand—that I didn’t understand. The situation made my heart hurt. Michael was without his soul mate because of something neither one of us understood. I wanted these people to pay.

  Joe came to the door and took the card. Then we were alone. “Anything else happen?”

  I thought about the times since the concert that I’d felt something dark looming over me. “My feelings of unease were right. I kept feeling weird, like someone was watching me, since the concert.”

  Again, his face drew tight and he stiffened. “Did you notice anything? See anyone?”

  I shook my head. “I looked around but noticed nothing each time. I thought it was because of the reporters trying to get the scoop on Kurt. I never imagined this. Wait! There was a dark SUV in the parking lot the day I hid in Jessica’s apartment. Do you think it was them?”

  He had his phone to his ear. “Pull the feed for any cars coming and going from the apartment complex on Thursday. I want to see how many times they entered before the cameras were disabled.”

  This was worse. So much worse than I imagined. “The cameras were disabled?”

  Garrick tossed his phone on the table and then wrapped his arms around me. “Yes, around eleven that night.”

  I closed my eyes for a second to gather myself. “What did the message in Jessica’s apartment say?”

  “Last chance.”

  My eyes shot open. “Last chance?” I disentangled myself from Garrick’s hold and began to pace. “Last chance for what?” On my next rotation, I ran into Garrick, who steadied me. “I’ve never met the Navarros. I don’t know them or the Monroes. The first time I ever met Hastings was with you.” I shook my head. Last chance. The words echoed through my head, and I felt the bile rise. “I’m going to be sick.”

  My stomach rolled, and I raced to the bathroom to throw up. Acid churned, only making things worse. Of course, Garrick was there, rubbing my back.

  “I don’t have all the details, but we’ll figure this out. You’ll be safe. Security will need to be tighter than what we initially planned.”

  I sat down on the cool tile. “They’re the mob. They have guns. They killed an innocent girl. They’re dangerous.”

  “Yes, and they’ll pay for it. I’m not a saint, Knoah. I can be one mean bastard if I have to. And I will protect you. No matter the cost. Understand?”

  “Yes, but Garrick—”

  “No buts. They will pay for what they did to Jessica. I just have to outmaneuver them.”

  Later, I would have more questions. Now I just wanted to process what I knew. I brushed my teeth as a wave of weariness came over me. Part of me wanted to go back out to the living room, but since I was still nauseous, I decided on bed instead. “Will you lie with me for a bit?”

  “Of course. Do you want me to stay with you tonight?” His breath tickled my ear as he scooted in behind me.

  “Yes. Please”

  He turned off the lamp, and the darkness engulfed us. The heat of his body penetrated mine.

  “Garrick?”

  “Yeah, Knoah.”

  “I don’t want to see the pictures. I don’t think I can stomach seeing Jessica like that. Just tell me if you find anything.”

  “I will. I promise. I will keep you safe. I won’t let anything happen to you.” He nuzzled my neck where my broken-heart birthmark was. “I won’t let them break us. You’ll never have a broken heart again.”

  He sounded so sure of himself. Instead of arguing, I snuggled closer, focusing on our connection. Garrick rubbed my arms in a soothing manner that slowly worked the tension out of my muscles.

  There was something big we were missing—something I couldn’t put my finger on. So much had happened over the week that it was all a jumbled mess, too much to sort out anything that didn’t belong.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  I woke in the middle of the night. The other side of the bed was empty. “Garrick?”

  Nothing.

  Beside me, the bed felt cold, long abandoned. I pushed the covers aside and got out of bed. The bathroom was empty, too. In the hall, I saw a light on in the office. The tile was heated down the long corridor. Wow. Garrick’s deep voice carried a little, so he must have been on the phone with someone. What time is it? I wished I had checked the clock.

  Peering inside, I saw Garrick at the couch with an array of photos in front of him on the coffee table. His phone was in the middle of the pictures with the speakerphone on.

  “Joe, why have they targeted her? Do you think they realized I was at the concert because of Knoah? I told no one.”

  “Hastings was there. Did he show any interest in her?”

  Garrick rolled his neck. “No. He surrounded himself with women.”

  I needed to be near him. Before I walked in, I knocked on the doorframe. He quickly flipped over the pictures before making room for me in his lap. “Just a second, Joe.” He muted the call. “Everything okay?”

  Garrick was in lounge pants, his hair a mess. He had my hormones racing, but this was not the time, so I focused on what he’d asked. “Yeah. I woke up and you weren’t there. Do you care if I listen?”

  “Not at all.” He unmuted the phone. “Hey, Joe. Knoah is here now, too.”

  “Evening, Ms. Knox.”

  “Evening, Joe. Please, call me Knoah.”

  “I’ll try.”

  Garrick turned to me. “Did you see Hastings at the concert, Knoah?”

  I thought back to that night. It was chaotic, but I didn’t remember seeing him or Garrick there. I’d sensed Garrick but also something unpleasant. “No, I didn’t. Sawyer said a man in a suit asked if I was single. I assumed it was you when you said you’d been at the concert.”

  His silence said otherwise. “Joe, can you try to get video feeds from the concert? I wasn’t the person who asked about Knoah. I kept my distance, especially after I saw Hastings there. Hastings was not wearing a suit.”

  Someone other than Garrick had asked about me. My skin crawled just thinking about who it could be, and I sank further into his chest.

  Over the phone, Joe asked, “Would Sawyer be able to identify the man?”

  “Maybe. I don’t know. She’d been drinking more than I had.”

  Garrick’s thumb moved back and forth on my leg while he thought for a second. “I want a new phone for Knoah. Secured. They may have tapped her line. I want completely restricted access to this floor. Not even my mother is allowed up here without my approval for the time being.”

  “Understood. I’ll let you discuss the other security measures with Ms. Knox. I’ll inform the team.”

  Other security measures? Once we were able to talk alone, I’d ask more about that.

  “I will, and I’ll let you know. For the event, increase security. We’ll need a couple of women as well. Make sure they are clean. No one is to be alone with her. I want at lea
st three people with her at all times if I’m not present. Understood?”

  “Yes, I’ll make it happen.”

  Garrick pressed on, barely giving Joe time to respond. “And we’ll need to formulate a plan to have Sawyer identify the person she saw if you can’t find anything on the video feeds. I’d prefer to use Sawyer as a last resort. The more she remains in the dark, the better. If you need any access, Kurt Hendrix will gladly grant it.”

  I heard fast clicking on the other side. It sounded like typing before Joe said, “Understood. Do you want me to maintain the residence across the hall with the team?”

  “Yes. Sawyer will most likely move in next door.”

  Joe would be close. He seemed like the type of person you wanted to be nearby. At least Sawyer would be out of state for another week while I worked on figuring out what I would tell her.

  Only a few seconds passed before Joe said, “Very well, sir. I’ll keep you posted.”

  “Thanks.”

  After he hung up, I waited for Garrick to say something. It only took a few minutes for him to start. “If the Monroes or Navarros are after you, we need to take the necessary precautions.”

  “Why would they want me?”

  I felt his chest rise and fall. “I’m not sure. At first, I thought it was to gain leverage on me, but I don’t think so now. The timing is a little off, but it’s not impossible.” He flipped over one of the pictures and handed it to me. “Do you recognize this man?”

  It was a photo of a man as he walked down the street. From the look of his expensive black business suit, he appeared to be of Garrick’s caliber. His coal-black hair added to the severity of his features. The dark bushy mustache would be hard to forget. “No, I don’t. I’ve never seen him before.”

  Garrick put his chin on my shoulder. “We’ll get this figured out. But I need you to be okay with the security precautions we’re putting in place.”

  “What kind of security are we talking?”

  “A lot for a while.” Garrick tensed, his hold on me tightening. “I don’t want you to feel trapped, but I need to get my hands around this a little more. There’s a chance the Navarros aren’t involved. I just don’t know.”