IF I WERE YOUR WOMAN

by LaConnie Taylor-Jones

  “So player recognizes me and drops dime to Evangeline, right?”

  Alex shook his head. “I was able to get a hold of his phone records. Bryant doesn’t have a connection to Evangeline. He dropped dime to someone who used to work for Evangeline.”

  “Who?”

  “Ever heard of a Dave Nelson?”

  The coffee in Ray’s hand dropped against the countertop and his eyes flared when he recalled Laney telling him that the CEO who’d given her a hard time at the presentation was named Dave Nelson. In turn, he’d dropped his company from consideration. He then shared the information with Alex. “So that’s how Nelson was able to make the connection between Laney and O’Reilly Enterprises.”

  Alex nodded. “Bingo and that was the nail in the coffin, so to speak.”

  Ray frowned. “Why do you say that?”

  Alex chuckled. “After the presentation, Laney had him investigated.”

  Ray groaned. “So how are Nelson and Bryant connected?”

  “Nelson’s mother and Bryant are sister and brother.”

  “Mon frère, none of this makes any sense. Why would Bryant go to Nelson and tell him about me?”

  “You’re getting ahead of me, partner,” Alex chuckled. “I’m trying to paint the entire picture for you.”

  “Well paint faster!” Ray ordered.

  “I was able to determine that Nelson and Evangeline communicated regularly until O’Reilly Enterprises initiated the buyout.”

  “So why did they stop?”

  “Ray, it’s hard to fend off a buyout when the SEC is on your tracks at the same time.”

  Ray’s eyes never wavered from Alex. “How’s the SEC involved in all of this?”

  “You know the boys snoop around when the probability of manipulating stock options is at a record high.”

  “Daaayuuum!”

  Ray had heard rumbles through the corporate grapevine about how corporate executives, most times without board approval, would backdate stock options, which netted them inflated profits. He narrowed his eyes as the scenario of events became clearer. “I’ll bet everything I own Evangeline was planning to pull the same shit at Universal Entertainment when she and Perry landed there.”

  “You think! What she hadn’t counted on was Les Croisés not staying on.” Alex paused and sipped his coffee. “Also, got a chance to check out girlfriend’s employment record, too. It was her last two gigs that caught my eye. Two employees were always hired shortly after she arrived. Anton Perry and —”

  “Nelson,” Ray interrupted.

  Alex nodded. “Nelson worked as the CFO at Evangeline’s last gig. He, along with the general counsel, were her foot soldiers. Between the three of them, they kept half the board of directors in their hip pocket because they wanted them to rubber-stamp everything they presented.”

  “This Nelson character. Is he shady?”

  “Pitch black is a better term,” Alex snorted. “Friend is known for cooking the books.”

  “So how did Nelson end up with his own company?”

  Alex chuckled. “Patience, counselor. I’m getting there. Apparently, before Evangeline got fired from her last gig, she netted a five million dollar paper profit and I’ll bet dollars to doughnuts Nelson and Perry had their hands out for a piece of the action. I’ve got to give it to girlfriend, though. She put a new spin on the game.”

  Ray frowned. “How?”

  “Unbeknownst to several other board members, Evangeline waited until the label announced they’d signed several top artists. Of course, she knew the news would send the price of stocks through the roof. Plus, all of this conveniently went down around the time she was due to receive a performance reward. Basically, she got a fat payday based on performance because it appeared she’d increased profits—”

  “When in actuality she hadn’t,” Ray finished off the sentence. He frowned. “What I’m not getting is why no one has caught on to Evangeline yet?”

  “Aaah, that’s where the plot thickens and you get the answer to your question about Nelson. From all indications, a red flag went up with a couple of the board members who never got along with Evangeline from day one. They asked for a review of the books. When one and one added up to three, they got enough votes to send her packing. The general counsel sees the writing on the wall and high-tails it out of Dodge. That leaves Nelson holding the bag, but he wasn’t going down empty handed. Quiet as it’s kept, Evangeline used her contacts to help him get his label off the ground along with some start-up money from his family. The problem was that he could never attract the big name artists and in turn, didn’t make the profits he thought he would. And when the label starts to go belly-up, his family starts getting shaky and puts the pressure on him to turn things around and get some well-known artists. That’s the reason Bryant past your name along to Nelson.”

  “So you believe Nelson’s been blackmailing Evangeline?”

  “Absolutely. Think about it, Ray. Nelson has sunk millions of his family’s money into a label that’s hanging on by a thread and needs to right a sinking ship. He’s got the goods on the kind of activity that causes blackmail to reach an all-time high and that will also bring in some major cash quick. Things took a nosedive for Nelson when O’Reilly Enterprises initiated the buyout.”

  Alex sipped the remains of his coffee. “Here’s my theory. Evangeline couldn’t keep Nelson’s palms greased any longer when the buyout began and he’s desperate. Then he discovers Laney owns O’Reilly Enterprises. Between him and Bryant, they make the connection back to you and get pissed that their plans for a financial road to recovery has gone up in smoke. The bastards who showed up at your house weren’t after Laney per se, but you. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

  He paused, deep in concentration. “Now getting Bryant and Nelson to admit all of this…well that’s an entirely different story. If we can substantiate their involvement, it’ll lead us to finding out the hood rats they sent after you. But the problem in unraveling all of this is that you’ll need to deal with Evangeline.”

  Ray snorted. “Uh…mon frère, there’s no problem. There are only two things on my agenda right now.” He touched one finger to the other as he named them. “One, getting Evangeline to spill her guts. And two, finding out the names of the bastards who hurt Red. That’s it and that’s all.” He turned sideways on the stool to get up.

  “I wouldn’t confront Evangeline if I were you,” Alex warned, yanking the tail of Ray’s shirt to halt his movement.

  Ray peered at Alex over the top of his glasses. “Roll that by me again?”

  “As for Bryant, Nelson, and the bastards who attacked Laney, I say go for what you know. Things are a little more complicated when it comes to Evangeline,” Alex explained.

  Ray cut the detective a savage look, indicating he thought his last statement was utterly ludicrous. Although it went against his grain to back down from trouble, this wasn’t about him. It was about Laney. By God, the persons responsible for laying their hands on her would answer to him. “Hold up, mon frère. Two thugs rolled up on my woman at our house and hurt her, not to mention that Evangeline can lead me to them. And you’re sitting here telling me I can’t make her tell me what I want to know with the information I’ve got on her?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m telling you.”

  “Oh, hell no!” Ray threw his hands in the air, frustrated. “Mon frère, you’ve got me mixed up and confused with somebody else. I plan to get the truth out of Evangeline and put Bryant and Nelson on full blast.”

  Alex swallowed hard. “Ray, you’ve only heard the first part of my investigation.”

  “What do you mean the first part? There’s more?”

  Alex nodded stiffly. “Evangeline part two. Several years ago, Evangeline changed her name.”

  Ray stared confused. “Changed her name? Why?”

  “Does the name Candice Powell ring a bell?”

  “Yeah. A teenager named Candice Powell was responsible for the
accident that killed her meŕe.”

  “Ray, that Candice Powell and Evangeline Williams are one in the same.”

  Ray slumped back on the stool and ran both hands down his face. He blew out a hard breath and made the sign of the cross. Finally, he glanced over at Alex. “Daaayuuum…” he whispered in a feeble voice. Then he shared with Alex everything Laney had told him about the accident except Laney’s breakdown. That piece of information was a private matter between the two of them and one he’d carry to his grave.

  When they’d first met, he’d never expected to be involved with an intelligent, amusing, and sexy woman who loved him. She hadn’t pressured him into giving her more than he could. She simply loved him and never hid the fact from him or anyone else. “Do you think Red knows this?”

  Alex blew out a hard breath. “With the team of PI’s Laney had Charles hire? What do you think?”

  ~ ~ ~

  He was mad enough to commit murder, Laney thought.

  It was a half past ten that evening when Raphael made it back to Olivia. Laney sat in the middle of the bed with her knees drawn to her chest. Her gaze connected with Raphael’s the moment he opened the door. He was in a rage, his face set and hard.

  “Why the hell didn’t you tell me you had Nelson investigated not to mention you knew Evangeline was Candice Parker?”

  Laney wrinkled her nose. She respected his temper, but she didn’t fear him. “You didn’t ask,” she answered calmly.

  Ray inched his way to the middle of the room and a muscle jerked in his jaw. “I didn’t ask,” he repeated sarcastically. “Red, don’t play angel with me!”

  Laney let the insult pass. “That’s not what I’m doing.”

  She uttered her words in such a mater-of-fact tone Ray had to ball his hands into fists to keep from hitting the wall.

  “Logic said if I triggered them they’d cease their inquiries into you and the other members of Les Croisés,” Laney stated.”

  “You triggered them, all right,” Ray roared.

  “And it gave you enough time to recuperate and defend yourself.”

  Ray was so enraged he could barely see. In the span of a heartbeat, he’d crossed the room, closing his hands on her slender shoulders. He wanted to shake some sense into her so she’d realize she needed to be frightened. She dove into his arms and clung to him with surprising strength.

  He held her and felt her trembling. The red haze left his vision, and that’s when he realized she was frightened. It was her take-on-the-world attitude that had made her do what she felt was right in order to protect him. Nothing rattled his nerves more than the call he’d gotten that someone had attacked her. She’d placed herself in harm’s way on his behalf. Smoothing back a strand of hair from her face, he lifted her chin with a finger.

  Ray forced himself to sit down next to her. Finally, his brain and mouth cooperated with each other. “When did you find out about Evangeline?”

  Laney went on to explain everything she’d learned when she met with her grandfather, including the fact she knew Evangeline was Candice Parker. She reached up and stroked the side of his face. “Raphael, it was never my intent to do anything against your wishes, but I couldn’t stand around and let Evangeline blackmail you and the other members of Les Croisés into doing something you didn’t want to do. Besides, you were in the fight of your life. Maybe if the circumstances had been different, I wouldn’t have done what I did, but they weren’t. Whatever you do from this point on, I won’t object. Nor will I interfere. I started the race off until you could catch up. Now I’m handing the baton to you.”

  Ray trembled. Knowing her fiercely protective nature was one thing, but it was the first time he’d been faced with the true extent of it. She had a willingness to do whatever was necessary to protect those she loved. What she learned and had gone through for him was nothing short of gut-wrenching. Her faith and love in him was staggering. She’d loved him enough to chance going against the one person who’d caused her the greatest pain in life. Not only that, she’d put him before herself. As far as he was concerned, that was the true measure of love.

  Ray tightened his arms around her waist. She was always indomitable and although slight and delicate, invincibility was woven through every fiber of her being. The very idea of defeat was foreign to her, and she’d moved through life arranging it to achieve success because nothing less would do. His angel had fought like a tiger for him and run the first leg of the race until he was back on his feet. Like she said, the baton had been passed to him. It was left up to him to get them across the finish line. “Mon ange?”

  “Yes?”

  For the first time, the controlled nature Ray had displayed all his life was gone and he stumbled over his words. “How can I ever repay you for what you did?”

  “My love for you is always free.” Laney was silent for a moment. “Do you think Evangeline knows you had cancer?”

  Ray shook his head sideways and proceeded to share the theory he and Alex had deduced earlier in the day.

  Laney scowled fiercely. “If either of them tries to blackmail you…”

  “Settle down, tiger. That’s not important anymore.” Ray effortlessly lifted Laney onto his lap. “I’m responsible for what happened to you, Red.”

  “No you’re not, Raphael. You’re being too hard on yourself.”

  “Not hard, just honest. At least I try to be.”

  “That’s what I love most about you.” Somehow, Laney sensed he needed to hear that. “Integrity, compassion, intelligence, courage, and sensitivity are qualities you don’t find in people every day. They mean so much more than fame, money, power, and success. We’re as different as night and day, but where it counts, we’re the same.”

  “Where does it count, Red?”

  Laney placed his palm against her heart. “Right here.”

  Ray doubted if any a word existed to express what he felt for her. He wanted nothing than to be inside of her warmth, thrusting against her heat, but with everything she’d been through, he wasn’t that selfish. With his fingertips, he brushed a strand of hair from her forehead. “C’mon, let’s go to sleep.”

  She shook her head. “No.”

  “You’ve got to be exhausted.”

  “I want to forget about what happened for now.” She caught his fingers in hers and lifted her mouth to his. He was everything she needed. His arms went around her, his lips opened, and she closed her eyes as his tongue slide between her teeth.

  “I don’t want to hurt you,” Ray whispered.

  She smiled, wishing she could laugh. “You’d never do that.”

  Ray stood and undressed, then slipped between the sheets. As a hand found her breast, his mouth found hers. One feathery kiss led to a much deeper one as he delved into her mouth. The kiss was hard, deep. When it ended, he pulled her gown over her head, their cool naked bodies intertwined. They didn’t speak. He didn’t want the spell to be interrupted with the reminders of what they’d faced yesterday. The present was all that mattered and was filled with need and passion.

  Ray smoothed his hands over her breast and stomach and followed with his mouth, arousing the taut nipples. He slid her on top of him, so it wouldn’t hurt so much and gently kissed the bruise on her wrist. “You sure you want to do this?”

  “Don’t stop.” She clamped her mouth shut as an insatiable longing welled up inside of her.

  “Close your eyes, mon ange. Don’t talk. Don’t think. Just feel.” Then he lifted her slightly and when she came down, he was in her.

  “Raphael,” she cried out.

  Aaah, this is what a man every man should hear at least once before he dies—his woman, calling his name. A shiver raced up his spine and back down again. This beautiful creation had given him the most precious gift any man could ever receive. She’d placed her mind, body, and soul in his care. If he never witnessed the dawning of another day, he wanted to know he’d pleasured her this time.

  Feeling the spasm rocking his own body, his a
rms tightened around her as he shook. He was so aroused it was painful, but not so much that he didn’t hear her moan as her climax approached. A masculine satisfaction spread over him when he felt a fine tremor rock her body. A thin cry of pleasure rang out and escalated to the sound of an angelic choir when she came. “That’s it, mon ange. Sing pretty for me.”

  They made love explosively and tenderly. Afterward, there was silence and stillness. Listening to her even breathing, Ray knew she’d fallen asleep. He’d done nothing in life to deserve this kind of unconditional love. Yet, Laney had given him all she had. Immeasurable guilt washed over him. What had happened to her was because of him. If he hadn’t been so caught up with his image and not wanting to share the fact he had cancer, everything that had happened would be a mute point.

  For months, he’d dodged the paparazzi with Laney’s help, but those days were over. Evangeline was the key to finding the answers he needed and in the process, his illness might be exposed.

  But he’d tell the world what he’d been through and then some to find out who’d hurt Laney and keep her safe.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  The next day, Charles O’Reilly arrived in Memphis. After he’d checked in on Laney, Ray asked if they could talk in private. As they walked along the grounds of Olivia, Ray listened as Charles briefed him on the details he’d learned on Candice Parker, aka Evangeline Williams.

  Ray halted mid-stride and looked Charles square in the eyes. “Before we go any further, let me make this clear to you upfront. I take care of what’s mine and Red’s my responsibility now. I want to know down to the last penny what O’Reilly Enterprises paid for Universal Entertainment.”

  Charles waved a dismissive hand. “Raphael, that’s not necessary.”

  “I want to know the amount by close of business. Tomorrow.”

  Charles nodded his consent and stuffed his hands into his pants pockets while glancing up at the home, which had been passed down three generations. “Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think Laney would have to relive the horror that almost destroyed her.”