“It was just a cadaver, Mina.”
When my eyes widen in disbelief, she frowns, then glances around to make sure no one is looking at us. “Instead of judging me, you should consider the fact that, by getting in their limo, technically I saved Talia and Sebastian’s lives that day.”
“But why—” Clamping my eyes closed for a second, I refuse to let her see how upset she’s making me. “You know what…I don’t want to know about the past. Why come out of the shadows now? Why have you been following me for weeks?”
“You’re my daughter. I miss you. I’ve been waiting for the right time to approach you. I understand I might not be able to be your ‘mother,’ in public, but maybe I can be a close friend? Someone you met and clicked with? We can meet for lunches, maybe go to the movies together. Don’t worry, I’ll dye my hair to a dark shade before we’re seen together. No one will ever have to know.”
“I will know!” I snap under my breath.
She sighs beside me. “You’re in shock. You’ll come around once you think about it. I want to see my granddaughter.”
Not going to happen. “How have you been living all this time?”
“Regan.” Her low chuckle grates my ears like a dentist’s drill. “It’s unfortunate she got caught and had to go on the run, but she always was a social climber.”
Regan must’ve shared some of the money she stole from Blake Industries. That explains how my mom could afford expensive plastic surgery, but not why my friend wanted to meet in a crappy hotel. This woman with a different face is saying things I can’t reconcile with my mom. Where did Isabel Blake go? It’s like my mother died twice. I blink back emotional tears. “Why did Regan help you?”
“Regan was always about helping herself first.” Mom shrugs, then waves her hand dismissively. “I saw her name mentioned on the news today. Something about a burning car found at the park?” Her lips twist. “Seems she got what she deserved in the end.”
I can’t believe my mother orchestrated her own death, let her entire family mourn, and now she thinks she can waltz back into my life, and not only will I accept her, but I’ll keep her secret too? I press my lips together and shove the card back in the rack. “I can’t do this.”
My mom tries to grab my arm, but I dodge her grasp and bolt out the door. The moment I’m on the sidewalk, I take off in a fast run.
The worried look on Theo’s face as he races across the street to be by my side makes me feel bad, but also relieved. As long as he’s with me, my mother won’t attempt to continue our conversation. Thankful I wore jeans and comfortable low-cut boots today, I slow my stride to a regular walking pace and give him an appreciative smile. “You sure are fast.”
“Are you alright?” His eyebrows pull together under his baseball cap, his gaze scanning the crowd. “You were booking it like you were being chased.”
“Everything is fine, Theo.” I clench my purse’s strap to keep my hands from shaking. First, I find out some stranger has left teas—potentially laced with God knows what—for me to consume, and now my dead mother isn’t really dead. And, oh yeah, she and Regan schemed together to solidify that lie.
More than a bit paranoid, I glance around to make sure no one appears to be watching me. It takes everything inside me not to look back to see if my mom’s following us. If she knows what’s good for her, she’ll keep her distance. “I’m just ready to go back to the office now.”
Chapter Fifteen
Mina
“Why do you carry a phone if you’re not going to look at your messages?”
Den’s standing just outside the elevator at BLACK Security, a deep scowl on his face.
“I had it on silent mode.” I tilt my chin so I can see his angry gaze. “I was in a store and didn’t want it going off.”
“What were you thinking leaving here without me? Now’s not the time to go gallivanting around.”
“Weeeell, then. Looks like it’s back to paperwork for me.” Theo shoves his hands in his coat pockets and walks away, leaving me to Den’s annoyance.
“I’m waiting for an answer, Mina.”
He hasn’t moved, nor has the frown on his face.
“Then you’ll be waiting awhile,” I say and stroll around him, heading for my brother’s office.
Den’s right behind me, his muscular build and six-five height rumbling the floor under my feet as he follows me into Seb’s office. Once he shuts the door, brackets form around his mouth while he folds his arms and waits for me to answer.
“And as I recall, you planned to hand my security off to my brother. You no longer have to worry about me. I’ll just wait here for Seb.”
“Sebastian and Talia are still at the police station, giving the police all their documentation on potential leads as to who might’ve killed Regan. After what she did to Blake Industries, she’s bound to have a few skeletons in her closet.” He unfolds his arms and sighs. “Waiting for Sebastian is a moot point. I’m your security.”
“What?” I blink my surprise, my heart racing “What made you change your mind?”
“With Simone on the loose, your brother has enough to worry about,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’ll continue your security until she’s back in prison. It’s just a matter of time before they find her.”
My heart sinks a little that his decision to remain my guard had nothing to do with us, but before I can say anything, he continues, “Elijah told me that he couldn’t find any clips of you anywhere near the hotel, so we’ll pick Josi up after the church event, then head over to your place—”
“No,” I say quickly, shaking my head. The last thing I want is to bring my child home right now. Now that she’s made contact, I know my mother will show up on my doorstep the moment I’m alone. “I’m going to ask my father and Helena to look after her for a couple more days.” I need some time to figure out how I’m going to tell my mother she has to stay dead. For all our sakes. But I can’t tell Den about her. I can’t tell anyone. It’s bad enough what she did to Sebastian in the past, which died with her, but this revelation could implode our family.
“What’s going on?” Den steps close and rests his hands on my shoulders. “Elijah said you’re in the clear. Your place should be safe for you and Josi.”
Even the thick sweater I’m wearing can’t keep his warmth from spreading through to my skin. It’s hard not to wrap my arms around him. All I want to do is inhale his masculine scent and lean into his strength, but I take a deep breath and straighten my spine. “I know you wanted me to wait, but I needed to know. I went to see Laura.”
“What did she say about the teas she left you?”
“That’s just it. She didn’t leave them.” When he frowns, I sigh. “For all you know, Regan could’ve dropped off those teas.”
“Or someone else knew about the peppermint connection, and they used that information so you’d trust who the tea was from.”
“If it was Regan, I have no idea why she would’ve done that. And if it was someone else, I’m a bit freaked. Who was it, and what have I been drinking all this time? Did you give my tea samples to your friend?”
“I went to see him after Calder showed up at the police station and relieved me. Travis will get back with us later today.”
Sebastian and Talia walk in, pausing our conversation.
“I’m glad you’re here,” Seb says to Den. “Did you get the lab results on the blood your friend uncovered in the hotel?”
Den walks over and hands him a piece of paper from his suit’s coat pocket. “It appears to be Regan’s, but as you know, blood itself isn’t enough to prove she was killed there. For all we know Regan could’ve been in that room before and the blood is there for an entirely different reason.”
“The fake name and room number written in their customer comment book proves she was there. I’m sure they erased her booking in the computer, but I’m so glad I recognized her handwriting.”
Talia looks at me, auburn eyebrows raised. “Sha
rp eye, Mina. You’re right. The on-line records showed no one had booked the room for that day.”
“Elijah caught a clip of it when he went to the hotel. I just happened to catch it while watching the playback. By the way, the name she signed in the book sounded a bit um…yonic. He wondered if she was just being ironic with that choice or if it was some kind of anagram.”
“Yonic, huh?” Talia says. “That’ll definitely get your attention. Well, two heads are better than one. I’m going to call Elijah now to see if it was meant to be figured out.”
“If you need any help deciphering, I’m happy to take a look,” Seb says as she walks toward the connecting door to her office.
Pausing at the open doorway, she turns back to catch his smirk. “I’ve got it covered, Mr. Nosy Pants. Don’t forget, the police won’t take into account that correlation doesn’t mean causation.”
“What did she mean by that?” I ask.
Seb sighs and nods. “She’s saying that even though the evidence we have so far places Regan in a dangerous scenario in that hotel just hours before her body ended up in a burning car, we’re not going to share that part with the police.”
I gape at him. “Why not?”
“We don’t know for sure if she was dead when you saw her, Mina. To Den’s point, we can’t assume that’s where she died.”
“It’s where she was stabbed many times and lost a lot of blood,” I say, flinging my arms wide in frustration. “My friend was murdered. No matter her sins, she deserves justice.”
Seb walks up and places firm hands on my shoulders. “You’re the only witness who can place her there. You’re the last person to have contact with her, the last one she called. As far as we can determine, she’s had no contact with any other family, and with no suspects—of which the police have none right now—by sharing what we know, we’d be giving them one. You. Until we know more, I don’t want to do anything that could help them implicate my sister in her murder.”
“I didn’t think of it that way.” I swallow and look at Den, who nods his agreement of Seb’s assessment. “I understand what you mean.”
I know for a fact that I’m not the only one who has seen Regan since she went on the run. Mom had to have contacted her at least once for Regan to give her some of the money she took. Which begs the question, why would Regan help my mom? It’s one thing to try to get in her good graces like she always did, but another thing entirely to share stolen money with her. Did my mom figure out what she was doing and blackmail her for a cut? And what’s really bugging me is: how did my mother fake her own death? She’s not strong enough to lift a dead body. And where did she hide it? In the trunk of that limo at Seb and Talia’s wedding rehearsal? To do all that, she had to have had help.
We saw her getting into the vehicle right before it pulled away from the curb. Footage around the church proved that. But before the car got very far, it blew up. Holy shit, it just occurred to me: did she actually cause the explosion and not Simone? But how did she get out without us seeing her? Regan wasn’t included in the wedding party that day, so I guess she could’ve helped prior to the event, but my mom was alone in the car. Wait, the limo driver was there too. He had easy access to the vehicle. Is it possible he helped?
“Earth to Mina.” Seb waves his hand in front of my face. “Theo mentioned that you raced out of a store earlier today. Is everything okay?”
Pulled out of my chaotic thoughts, I blink at him. “Sorry, yes. I was at Laura’s store. She’s been promoted to manager there. I was just in a hurry to get back.”
He shakes his head, his mouth quirking. “You know you could’ve had a driver take you straight there instead of walking several blocks.”
“I wanted to walk. It felt good to get back to my old routine for a little bit. Speaking of drivers, whatever happened to the limo driver that you saved from that explosion? I know he survived and was in the hospital for a long time. Is he all healed now?”
Sebastian shakes his head, his mouth turning downward. “He recently died, due to an unexpected complication after a successful surgery. It was a sad outcome, considering every indication was that he would make a full recovery after months and months of surgeries and rehab.” He pauses and holds my gaze, frowning slightly. “What made you think of him?”
I can’t believe the man died after all that. I glance at Den, then back to Seb. They’re looking at me with curious gazes, making my heart race. I want to say something about Mom, but I can’t. Ugh, my stomach is churning. “It’s just that…since the explosion, I haven’t felt comfortable using a driver, not for my own personal use anyway.”
My brother gently clasps my shoulders and looks down at me. “You know that Simone was responsible for all of that. She’s taken enough away from us, Mina. Don’t let her take away your peace. Live your life.”
“Unfortunately, she’s out there again,” I say, grimacing. Before he can respond, I put my hand up and continue in a calm tone, “Which is why Josi’s staying where she is for now and Den will continue to watch over me.”
“Simone will be caught and returned to prison.” Seb speaks with certainty even as his worried gaze scans my face.
“I know you’ll do what you can to help make sure that happens.”
“We’ll use every resource until she’s caught. I wish you’d agree to come stay with us.”
I appreciate that he’s not commanding me this time, so I give him a confident smile and gesture to the doorway where we can see Teresa taking Joey, with her mop of adorable red hair, into the office to see her mom. “You need to focus your energy on protecting your family. Den will keep me safe. Truly.”
When Seb sighs his resignation, I shift my gaze to Den. “Once I confirm with Dad that he’s okay to keep Josi for a bit longer, we’ll have to stop by my apartment and get some more things for her before we pick her up from church. I want to spend some time with my little girl, getting lots of hugs in, before I take her to my father’s.”
Chapter Sixteen
Mina
Den is standing just behind me as I wait for Josi to run up to me just outside her Sunday school classroom. She looks so grown up with her blond curls bouncing around her ears, and her green eyes sparkling with exuberance, but it’s the way her whole face lights up when she sees me that’s worth every bit of sacrifice I have made, and will make, all her life. That part, I do fully understand what my mother means. There’s nothing like the protective nature a mother has for her child.
“Mama!” she squeals and barrels into my waiting arms.
Picking her up, I stand and hug her close, whispering in her ear, “I’ve missed you so much, Josi-Bean.”
As I walk her out of the building, her little arms squeeze my neck tight, then she holds my face and smacks wet kisses on my cheek several times. “I’ve missed you sooooooo much, Mama.”
I set her down on the sidewalk outside, then squat to her level as other parents and kids stream past, heading to their cars. “I hear you’re having a lot of fun at Granddad’s house.” Tickling her belly, I continue, “Just so you know, my father was too busy growing the family business to do tea parties with me, so count yourself lucky that he’s doing them with you now, young lady.”
Josi grabs my fingers and tries to take a breath between giggles but fails, gurgling through her laughter instead. Her predicament makes me snicker and I finally stop the sweet torture. I’ve just missed hearing her giggles so much.
I realize she’s gone quiet because she’s staring up at Den with wide questioning eyes. “Josi, do you remember Den?” I say as I stand and gesture toward him standing there, looking handsome and intimidating to anyone who might dare to get too close. “Den used to work for your Granddad, but now he works for Uncle Seb’s company. He helps keep a watchful eye on your cousin Joey and Aunt Talia. He’s helping out today and taking us for a ride. Isn’t that great?”
Josi gives him the side-eye, then tries to hide behind me, saying in a loud-whisper, “He’s so big, Ma
ma.”
Before I can answer, Den says, “Do you want to see why I can do my job so well?” He smiles and holds his hand out, his tone understanding and gentle. “Let me show you what it’s like.”
Unsure, Josi looks at me. I smile and squeeze her hand. “Let him show you, Josi-Bean.”
As soon as Josi nods, Den quickly hoists her up onto his shoulders. Josi squeaks and grabs hold of his ears, yanking on them like a horse’s reins.
To his credit, Den doesn’t wince. He calmly tells her to hold out her hands and take his. When she does as he asks, she smiles and kicks her little legs in delight.
“You see, Josi…to be good at my job, I have to be tall. Look how much more I can see up here? Up on my shoulders, you’re even taller than me. I’ll bet you can see all the way to the other side of the playground back there, can’t you?”
When she nods with avid enthusiasm, he starts walking down the sidewalk. “Tell me what else you see?”
“Slides, swings and spin, spin, spin-y things. In red, yellow, blue, purple, green!” When she looks down at me, her eyes fill with excitement. “Tiny Mama,” Giggling, she releases one of Den’s hands to wave her fingers for mine. “Up, Mama.”
Laughing, I pat her leg. “I’m pretty sure I won’t fit on Den’s shoulders, but from that view, I know you can see many beautiful things.”
As she nods vigorously, Den glances my way and says quietly, “So many beautiful things.”
It’s dark by the time Den and I return to his home. He insisted that we take Josi out for dinner before we dropped her off at my father’s, which made me truly appreciate his thoughtfulness on a whole other level. It’s like he somehow knew Josi needed more time. Nothing was cuter than seeing my daughter tug on Den’s pant leg to get his attention while he talked to my father, except watching him bend down to her level so she could whisper in his ear.
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