Elena waited.
Marta glanced to see if anyone was about. ‘Horrible old man,’ she whispered conspiratorially. ‘Sullen and self-centred. He’d keep dinner waiting for hours and then be unhappy when it wasn’t perfect.’
Elena frowned. ‘Do you think he’s really in Belize?’
‘He could be anywhere.’ The cook shrugged. ‘As long as he doesn’t come back here, I’m happy. Master Alex is much better to work for.’
Come back. That possibility hadn’t even occurred to Elena. He wouldn’t dare, would he?
She was hiding here and nobody had found her.
She swirled a piece of toast in the puddle of syrup on her plate. ‘It would be too big of a risk for him to come back, even if he is still in the country.’
‘True. Although if he does, his room is ready and waiting.’ Marta nibbled her lower lip. ‘Come to think of it, I should make sure it’s dusted.’
Elena’s chin snapped up. ‘His room?’
‘It’s right upstairs.’ The cook pointed overhead. ‘Above the kitchen, in fact.’
‘His things haven’t been packed up?’
‘Oh, no,’ Marta said, shaking her head. ‘Master Alex told us to leave everything just the way it was. For the investigators.’
It had been a year and a half since Alex had gone to prison. It had to be more than two years since Bartholomew had last been seen. For real. He’d gone on the run right about the time her dad had died.
Elena’s fork clanked against the fine china. She wasn’t going to go there.
She scurried off the high stool. Her head was spinning so fast, she nearly forgot Marta was in the room. ‘Thank you,’ she called over her shoulder.
‘Are you done, dear?’
She was already in the hallway, heading for the staircase.
‘Oh, dear,’ Marta mumbled behind her. ‘Maybe I shouldn’t have told you about that.’
* * *
The room wasn’t hard to find. It was at the opposite end of the hallway from Alex’s room – and the only one on the floor with the door closed. Elena approached it determinedly with her fists clenched and her jaw set. She reached out and grabbed the handle. She was surprised when it offered no resistance. The room wasn’t locked.
She pushed the door open but hesitated on the threshold.
The place was musty. It was the first thing that hit her. The stale air made her nose wrinkle, although the room was clean as a whistle. There wasn’t a thing out of place, but it was a scene stuck in time. A suit jacket was draped across the back of a chair. A book lay on the nightstand, along with a set of gold cufflinks. It looked as if an old man had just stepped out.
The floor creaked when she entered.
Her heart was pounding. She didn’t like the feel of the room, but she supposed it only reflected her feelings about the man. She moved to his desk. It was the messiest place in the room.
She thought of the investigators who must have gone through every piece of paper in the house. Had they found anything here? Had they taken it away as evidence? She didn’t know what she was looking for, but there had to be something.
Something to explain why. Something to show how.
Her hands were rock-steady as she began flipping through the paperwork. She was spying again, only this time she did it without compunction. He had all the advantages in the world, yet this old man had intentionally stolen from people. He’d taken away their money and their futures.
She scanned every scrap she could find on the desk and in the drawers. She looked at the calendar, flinching when she saw the date she’d lost her father.
Nothing.
There was nothing that gave her the satisfaction she craved. Feeling almost desperate, she flung open the closet door. The musty smell nearly knocked her over. The closet was filled with clothes. Bartholomew couldn’t have taken much with him when he’d run.
Of course, with that kind of money he could buy anything he needed.
She let out a sound that was nearly a growl as she stared into the wardrobe. She wanted to scream at the egotism … the sense of entitlement …
Grabbing hold of the door, she gave in to the impulse to slam it … except that, a moment after she released it, she stopped it with the tips of her fingers. Something had caught her attention.
Confused, she opened the door wide again. There were scuff marks on it. She tilted her head to make sure it wasn’t just shadow play. No, the closet door was pockmarked and scuffed on the bottom half. Paint had peeled off in places.
That was odd. Everything in this house was kept in perfect condition. Even the inside of a closet should have merited the attention of the maintenance staff. She knew Alex had left everything for the investigators to search, but the damage looked old. Why hadn’t –
Her breath caught in her throat until it felt like a knife jabbing.
Oh, no. Alex!
Her knees wobbled and she sank into an unsteady crouch. Her hand shook as she reached out. The marks were all low on the door … about the height of a child. She remembered the way Alex had kicked and clawed when he’d been trapped in the bathroom downstairs. Her hand pulled away as if burned.
Horrified, she looked into the interior of the tiny space. It wasn’t a walk-in closet. The house was over a hundred years old. The storage space was small and dark. There wasn’t even a bare light bulb hanging from its ceiling.
The elevator dinged just across the hall and she jerked. For the first time since she’d entered, Elena felt like she was invading. She lurched to her feet and turned towards the door.
She heard movement, but it was too late to hide.
Her gaze locked with Leonard’s when he turned into the room and, for a brief moment, she felt relief.
It quickly fizzled.
‘Oh, Miss Elena.’ The butler wrung his hands in discomfort. ‘You can’t be in here. You mustn’t –’
‘What is that?’ she demanded. Her finger shook as she pointed at the still open closet.
She knew what had happened. The evidence was clear, but she wanted it not to be true.
Leonard’s gaze started to go in that direction, but he couldn’t look. Her heart died a little when his woeful face turned back towards her.
‘How long?’ she asked, her voice barely above a breath. ‘How long did it go on?’
The butler blanched until he nearly disappeared against his crisp white shirt. ‘Miss Elena, I shouldn’t betray –’
Her spine snapped straight and she took two steps forward. ‘How dare you defend that monster!’
‘Master Alex,’ he said, reaching out to catch her arms. He looked sad and ashamed. ‘He wouldn’t want me talking about this.’
So it was true. Alex had been locked in tiny rooms before. Her stomach squeezed threateningly. She remembered his desperation and agitation when he’d been trapped inside the gym bathroom. His claustrophobia went way back before his time in prison.
No wonder it was so bad.
Her eyes started to well. ‘Why?’ she simply asked.
‘Master Bartholomew was a difficult man.’ Leonard let go of her arms and clasped his fingers together. They turned so white, it was obvious he didn’t want to talk about the matter. ‘He didn’t have much patience for children.’
The lake house. It hadn’t been a place for hide-and-seek. Alex had hidden there to get away.
‘Tell me you stopped it.’
‘I did – when I caught it. There were times I’d take the boy to my own home.’
But he obviously hadn’t caught it all the time.
Elena’s stomach curdled. It had happened more than once. She dashed back the tears that threatened to fall.
‘Master Alex stopped it himself,’ Leonard admitted. ‘When he got big enough.’
‘Why did his parents keep sending him?’
‘They didn’t know. He wouldn’t tell them.’
That damn stoic mask he put on.
For protection. She got that now.
Leonard glanced
worriedly at the open doorway. ‘You really mustn’t be in here, Elena.’
No, she mustn’t. Suddenly, she couldn’t bear to be in the room one second longer. She pushed the closet door back to the way she found it, but couldn’t bring herself to make it finally click shut. Leaving Leonard there, she ran into the hallway.
She was standing statue-still when he firmly closed the room behind them. She looked at her old caretaker. He’d left her as a toddler to go care for another, older child. A child who’d needed him much more than she had.
Their gazes locked and the butler let out a very undistinguished sound. It had come from the pit of his throat.
Impulsively, Elena clutched him in a hug.
‘He’s a good man, Miss Elena. It’s a good match, the two of you. You can get past the barriers he puts up. I’ve seen it.’ Again, Leonard let out the anguished sound. ‘When I think of what he did … what he sacrificed …’
She clutched him tighter, but he shivered and pulled back. Shaking his head, he blinked fast and straightened his tie. His chin wobbled as he tugged the sleeves of his jacket. She touched his arm. ‘Leonard?’
Sniffing, he straightened his shoulders and wiped the remaining emotion from his face. ‘I need to get back downstairs. The gardeners have just arrived. If you need assistance, could you please find Marta?’
That was all she was going to learn from him.
It was already too much.
Without another word, she and the butler parted ways. She watched him walk stiffly to the elevator. Wrapping her arms around her waist, Elena turned. She knew they’d never have this discussion again.
She wondered if Alex would ever tell her himself.
Then again, why should he? She’d given him little reason to trust her.
She wandered down the hallway with her chin tucked into her chest. He hadn’t been in cahoots with his grandfather. There was no way. She’d felt the hatred he had for that man, and now she understood why.
But money was a powerful incentive.
Could he have partnered with his grandfather and her father solely for the payoff?
She didn’t want to think so.
Although all indicators pointed to yes.
She turned into the room they’d shared last night. Like a robot she walked to the closet. She was afraid to open it. When she did, her shoulders sagged in relief.
Not here. Not in this room.
Without really knowing what she was doing, she turned on her heel. Her footsteps gathered speed as she went back the direction she’d come. Halfway along the passage, she turned and headed up the staircase. She was practically jogging by the time she made it to the tech room. As always, the door stood wide open.
Breathless, she stared across the room at Alex.
He was bent over a raised workbench, looking at the shiny computer he’d shown her last night. At the sound of her panting, he raised his head. Their gazes locked for a long moment.
He frowned. ‘What’s wrong?’
The ache in her throat turned into a knot. She couldn’t tell him what she’d done. ‘My computer,’ she finally managed to squeak.
His eyes narrowed, but she braved the examination to cross the room. That intense grey gaze swept over her, and her body grew warm. She stopped next to him. Close. She laid her hand on his bare forearm and heat passed between them. Her fingers tightened. ‘Was it …’ She struggled for a moment to get her head on straight. ‘Was it salvageable?’
‘I think I saved your data, but you’re going to have to check.’
At the moment, she couldn’t have cared less.
Still, she took the wireless mouse from him and began looking through the file manager. Distracted as she was, it was hard to tell if anything was missing, but most of it seemed to be there. She opened a few files. Nothing looked corrupted.
She looked at him and their noses nearly brushed. She stared into his handsome face with his spiky hair and rough stubble. A complicated man with a prickly exterior.
‘Thank you,’ she whispered.
‘You’re welcome.’ That icy gaze slid to her mouth and then back up to her eyes. He was bracing himself against the table, and the position left him leaning over her. ‘It meant a lot to me that you trusted me with that. I know what that computer means to you.’ Unable to hold back any longer, Elena leaned into him. Closing her eyes, she wrapped her arms around his middle and kissed him. Slow and deep. Everything she was feeling came out in the kiss, and she felt him rock back in surprise.
It didn’t take long before his arms wrapped around her. His hands fisted in her hair and their mouths locked. The heat turned into a slow smoulder. Her fingers dug into his back and he pressed closer. Her head dropped back and she clung to him.
When he finally pulled away, he was breathing hard. His eyes narrowed. ‘Are you sure you’re OK?’
She wasn’t sure of anything, other than the fact that she was going to stop fighting what was between them. Stop ignoring the need. ‘I’m just tired and stressed,’ she said honestly. ‘It’s all starting to get to me.’
He drew his thumb over her cheek. ‘Well, it’s a good thing I made plans for today,’ he replied softly.
‘Plans?’
‘To pamper you.’
She smiled softly. She’d already had the good food and the fine wine. All she wanted right now was to hold him. ‘There’s no need. The new laptop is more than enough.’
His face turned cloudy and his jaw hardened. It was the same expression he’d taken with him to bed. ‘That’s where you’re wrong. There is a need, pretty siren. There’s going to be no more settling for you.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘You’ve done without for too long, and it stops now.’ He punctuated the hard sentence with a kiss that seared her down to her toes. ‘I’ve invited some people over to change that.’
Elena didn’t understand. He sounded truly angry.
They’d been hiding out, trying to avoid people. They’d gone to great lengths not to be caught together. Tabitha hadn’t betrayed their trust, but they couldn’t keep taking chances like that. ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea, Alex. I appreciate the gesture, but the press will find out I’m here. Someone is bound to talk.’
‘Not at the rate I’m paying them. If they want to continue getting my business, they’ll keep their mouths shut. So get ready. You’re about to be pampered from the top of your shiny head to the tips of your pink toes.’
‘Alex.’
‘Deal with it.’ He looked at the Rolex on his wrist. ‘Now. They should be here.’
They?
He caught her hand and pulled her from the room.
‘But Alex,’ she protested as they rode the elevator down to the first floor. She tugged nervously at her T-shirt. When she’d called him down to the lake house yesterday, she’d been working. She wasn’t dressed for company – especially his type of company.
‘But nothing. You look fantastic.’ He lowered his head closer to hers. ‘Relax. You’re going to enjoy this.’
Feeling nervous, Elena straightened her spine. This seemed important to him. She didn’t want to disappoint him, but she’d thought they’d been on the same page about shutting out the real world. Why had he done this?
They turned into a first-floor room she’d walked by many times. The first thing she noticed was that it was different. The furniture had been removed. All that remained was a tufted armchair with a small table at its side. Across the room was a Japanese-style folding partition, screen-printed with cherry blossoms. Between the two was a free-standing cheval glass, something she’d always wanted.
‘I don’t understand,’ she said.
He waved to the racks of clothing that stood at the back of the room, the ones she’d walked right by without seeing. ‘You’re going on a shopping spree.’
Elena looked from one rack to the next, her eyes rounding. They took up the entire back half of the room. She walked to the nearest rack of dresses a
nd looked at the labels. ‘These are designer.’
He signalled at someone in the hallway. ‘Jorge?’
A thin man in an exquisite grey suit came into the room. His dark hair was sleeked back and a pencil-thin moustache rode on his upper lip. Those lips were curled upwards in a smile as he extended his hand. ‘Hello.’
‘Hello,’ Elena said, returning the handshake. She rubbed her ankles together. She felt like such a bag lady in front of these two men who were dressed like power brokers.
‘Jorge, this is Elena. Elena, this is Jorge Cruz. He’s here to show you a few of his creations. It’s up to you to decide what you like.’
‘Oh, I –’
Alex’s gaze narrowed and he shook his head in warning. They were going to do this.
She rubbed her toe against the calf of her other leg as the designer’s gaze swept up and down her body.
‘You are gorgeous, my dear. Petite, but sleek and well proportioned.’ His eye didn’t linger on her curves with sexual interest. ‘Alex, you didn’t do her justice.’
‘How could I?’ he asked, going to take his seat. He opened the laptop that was on the table and started browsing business sites.
‘I have many pretty things that should suit you perfectly,’ the designer said. There were party dresses, gowns and suits. Jorge kept pulling her along, though, until she was staring at a flat table with an assortment of smaller pieces.
Much smaller pieces.
Lingerie. A hot blush settled into her cheeks. She looked over her shoulder. ‘Alex,’ she hissed.
‘It’s something I know you like,’ he replied, his gaze steady.
‘There are more designers waiting to show you their work.’ Jorge gestured to the table. ‘Lingerie is my specialty.’
Elena tucked her fingers into her pockets, but eyed all the gorgeous pieces in silks, satins, Spandex and every fabric in between. She felt like a kid in a candy store, wanting to touch but knowing she shouldn’t. ‘They’re beautiful.’
‘Which do you like?’ Jorge asked.
She pointed at a baby-pink set in front of her.
‘Ah, soft and sweet. A good choice.’ The designer picked up a bra and matching bikini-style panties. ‘Why don’t you try it on?’
She stared at him.
Solace in Scandal Page 14