Unable to help herself, Jeisa asked, “What are you doing here?”
“You must be Jeremy’s little image consultant,” Alethea said sarcastically.
The disappointment of waiting for a man who never came swirled and meshed with suspicion. “And you must be the woman who only comes to see him when she needs something.”
Alethea rolled her eyes. “Don’t go getting your panties in a wad. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t important. I’ll have Jeremy back in a couple of hours.”
Oh, no, you don’t. You don’t get to come here and ruin everything. He loves me, and all of the arrogance in the world isn’t going to change that. Jeisa said the words she desperately wanted to believe. “He’s not going to leave with you.”
Alethea sighed impatiently. “I’ll let him explain it to you.”
Jeisa stepped closer, real panic making her heart race. “Why did you come here? Can’t you let him be happy? Or are you afraid you’ll lose your meal ticket? Everyone knows you built an entire career on his hacking skills, but he doesn’t want you. He wants me. So whatever you ask him to do, he’s not going to choose you.”
Red spread over Alethea’s face, and her claws came out as she snapped back, “The only reason you’ve had him at all is because I didn’t want him until now. But I might just take him from you to prove that I can.”
“That’s enough,” Abby’s authoritative voice rang out across the foyer. The click of her heels echoed in the heavy silence that had enveloped the room. “Alethea, you need to leave.”
When Alethea realized her comment had been witnessed by a growing crowd, she deflated a bit. “I don’t know why I said that.”
Abby stepped between Jeisa and Alethea. “You said it because you don’t care who you hurt as long as you win. But this time you didn’t check to see if you were alone.”
Alethea looked around and sought the support of her best friend. “Lil, you know I didn’t mean it. You heard what she said to me. I just lost my temper.”
Near tears, Lil joined her sister and stood beside Jeisa in support. “You should go, Al. We’ll talk later.”
Jeremy came rushing into the foyer. “Jeisa, there you are!” He reached for her, but she stepped back.
Time froze and for a moment everyone else disappeared, leaving only Jeremy and a question that could not be denied. “Is it true, Jeremy? Are you leaving with her?”
Despite the audience of people, he kept his focus on her as he said, “Yes, but only for a couple of hours. I’ll be right back.”
Jeisa’s stomach flipped painfully. “That’s all I need to know.” For a moment she thought she might pass out, and the voices around her grew faint and distant. Her greatest nightmare had become a reality—and a humiliatingly public one at that. “Go. Don’t let me stop you.”
He grabbed her hand. “Jeisa, if I could explain this to you I would. I swear I would.”
She ripped her hand out of his and was instantly enveloped into the protective arms of her father, who said, “You little bastard. Get out before I wring your neck with my bare hands.”
Stepping into the mix, Marie said, “Romario, there has to be a reason.”
Above his daughter’s head, Romario growled, “Do you have children?” Marie shook her head slowly, sadly, and took a step back. “If you did, you would understand why I don’t care what his reasons are. I’m getting my daughter out of here and away from this toxic place.”
Still in shock, Jeisa numbly let herself be led away by her father.
Dominic cursed and said, “I’m going to kill him.”
Jake asked, “Which one?” Dominic glared at the departing Romario and Jake said, “I’m with you on that one.”
In a few long strides, Dominic crossed the room to Marie’s side and pulled her into his arms. For once the woman, who usually fussed when being touched, welcomed the embrace, knowing it meant Dominic loved her.
Abby stepped aggressively toward Alethea. “Are you finished here, or is there anyone else you’d like to upset before you go?”
A cold determination fell over Alethea’s face. “Come on, Jeremy.”
Therese clung to her son’s forearm. “Don’t go with her, Jeremy.”
Jeremy looked around the room helplessly, gently removed his mother’s hand, and straightened his shoulders. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
As they walked away, Jake hurried after them and said, “I sure hope whatever you’re doing is worth it, Jeremy. Do you need help?”
Jeremy looked to Alethea, who vehemently shook her head. “No, this is something I have to do alone.”
With that, Jeremy stepped outside with Alethea and motioned to the helicopter pilot to start up the engine. He gave him instructions to head to Corisi headquarters and helped Alethea into the main compartment. Once they were both settled into the flower-ridden seats and had left the ground, Alethea said, “You couldn’t tell them, Jeremy.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Jeremy turned away from her to watch the Andrade mansion quickly disappear behind them. Would Jeisa wait for him? For the first time since they’d met, he wasn’t sure.
“We’ll fix this,” Alethea said. “You’ll get a message to our people. We’ll warn Alvo so he can live one more day, and then we’ll pull out of this deal. No one needs to know what we’ve done if we cover our tracks well enough. Jeisa’s angry with you now, but she’ll forgive you.”
“I hope you’re right,” Jeremy said tiredly, staring out the helicopter window.
During the silent ride into the city, Alethea had a lot of time to regret her impulsive words. Jeisa had been right in part. When Jeremy had announced his love for another woman, it had shaken her. Not because she loved Jeremy, but because she’d always assumed that he’d be there for her.
Selfishly. It hurt to admit that to herself.
Abby’s harsh words hadn’t hurt as much as the look in her best friend’s eyes had. Lil should have defended me. Who stood by her when she found out she was pregnant? Who risked everything to make sure Abby was safe when Dominic’s motives had been questionable?
I did that.
But sitting across from Jeremy, amid the evidence of his love for another woman, knowing that she might have ruined his chance with her, Alethea was struck by a real sense of shame that she had never felt before.
I used this man.
I took advantage of the feelings he once had for me.
I risked his life more than once without giving it a second thought.
What kind of person am I?
I could have reassured Jeisa. She could have come along.
But I didn’t care about how this hurt him or her.
I wanted what I wanted.
Maybe I’m exactly the person Abby has always said I am.
Her voice husky with emotion, Alethea said, “I am so sorry, Jeremy.” Sorry for more than I could even begin to apologize for.
He didn’t acknowledge her words, and she didn’t repeat them. She just let them hang in the thick, rose-scented air of a ride that would forever change how she saw herself.
Alone with her father in the library, Jeisa struggled to find her emotional footing within an embrace so tight she could barely breath. No matter how many times she ran the foyer scene over in her head, it felt surreal. Why would Jeremy go to so much trouble to convince her that he wanted her only to pick Alethea?
“Get your purse, Jeisa. We’re leaving. I’ll get a car to take us straight to the airport. We’re going home.”
“No.” Jeisa pulled herself out of her father’s arms. Her mind was still spinning with what had just happened, but she wasn’t going to run back to Brazil.
“No?”
“I’m going back to Boston.”
“I cannot allow—”
His words stung like a bucket of cold water to the face. Normally, this was where she’d retreat and despise him for not understanding her. Never again. “Dad, you’re making things worse.”
Unaccustomed
to criticism from his daughter, Romario grew angry. “Worse? Worse than what I just witnessed? These people are not good for you.”
The pain his words caused drove Jeisa to be honest. “And you think you’re better? You just insulted a woman who has done nothing but help me since I came here. Marie didn’t deserve what you said to her.”
Romario looked away, his jaw tight with emotion. The sight of her proud father at a loss for words, even temporarily, touched Jeisa’s heart. She’d created this situation—it was time for her to take responsibility and try to explain it to him. “I know you don’t think I’m safe here. You think someone will try to hurt me, but these people are my friends. I did make the mistake of trusting someone I shouldn’t have and you met him. Reese is an awful man who preys on women like me. Women who have been protected so much they are vulnerable. I don’t want to be that person anymore, Dad.”
Romario rubbed his temples. “I just wanted to keep you safe.”
How can I make him understand? “I know, Dad, and that was okay when I was a little girl. But I’m a woman now. I can’t live like that anymore. I want my own life.”
With tormented eyes, Romario said, “I can’t lose you, too.”
Jeisa touched her father’s cheek. Not since the day her mother died had she seen his eyes shine with unshed emotion. She was so used to seeing him as strong and inflexible that she often forgot he was also a man who had suffered a great loss. She wrapped her arms around his waist and just held him. When she lifted her head, she sniffed loudly and said, “You’re not going to lose me, Dad.”
He buried his chin in her hair and admitted, “I was scared when you stopped answering your phone. I thought something had happened to you. I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if it had.” Jeisa hugged him tighter. “And then when I found out it was a lie . . . that you’d made up everything you’d told me for the past few months . . . I was angry.”
“I know,” Jeisa said. Seeing the events through his eyes filled her with both regret and a deeper understanding of how much her father loved her. “I was wrong. I should have told you as soon as I found out that Reese was a liar. I just didn’t want you to—”
“Come here like I did.”
Jeisa nodded. Tell him. Tell him how you feel. “I’m going to get hurt, Dad. I’m going to make mistakes. But you have to let me make them.”
He gently pushed her back from him and asked, “Are you okay?”
In the past she would have lied and said she was. This time, Jeisa let out a long shaky breath and chose the truth. “With what happened with Jeremy?” She shook her head sadly. “I don’t know, Dad. I keep going over the scene in my head and I don’t understand it. That wasn’t the Jeremy I know. He would never deliberately hurt me.”
Romario tensed a bit. “You think he’s in some sort of trouble?”
“I wish I knew,” Jeisa said and turned to look out the window.
She was too emotionally spent to say more, or to care when she heard her father leave the room.
Only Abby’s hand on his arm stopped Dominic from crossing the room and strangling the man who had, in one day, made his short list of those worth risking jail time to hurt.
Without so much as a glance at Dominic, Romario crossed directly to where Marie was standing. Abby stopped Dominic from intervening, softly saying, “Marie can handle this, Dom, and she knows she’s not alone.”
Romario stood before a tight-lipped Marie as everyone in the room collectively held their breath. “I didn’t mean to lash out at you earlier.”
Marie took a deep breath and chastised him softly, “It was rather cruel and poor manners for a man who should know better.”
He inclined his head in concession to her point.
Relaxing a bit, Marie conceded, “However, I know you were concerned for your daughter and that can make a man say things he doesn’t mean.” Ignoring the fact that they’d become the center of attention, Marie asked, “How is Jeisa?”
Romario’s jaw clenched. “Understandably upset.”
Marie nodded. “My father loved to sail. He always said that children are like boats—they cannot reach their potential while tethered to the dock.”
Looking less than pleased, Romario countered, “How very American of you. My family made their money from mining. I would say that when you have something as precious as a child, you must guard it as diligently as you would a diamond.”
Marie raised her chin, looked him directly in the eye, and said, “You may have hoped for a diamond, but you birthed a boat. Denying it won’t change the truth.”
Romario straightened his shoulders and glared down at Marie. “Don’t tell me how to raise my daughter.”
Marie stepped closer, her hands going to her hips. “She’s a grown woman. The raising part is finished. What she needs from you now is acceptance of who she is.”
Romario growled down at her, “This is none of your business.”
Marie held his eyes, her face flushed with emotion. “Yes, it is. I care about your daughter and her happiness. She loves you. I’d hate to see you lose her just because you’re too stubborn to hear what she’s trying to tell you.”
Jake murmured to Dominic, “You tell him, Marie.”
Dominic made a guttural sound in his chest.
Abby took her husband’s hand in hers. “I’ve never seen Marie look at a man like that before. I think she likes him.”
Dominic swore beneath his breath when Jake agreed.
“Does that mean we can’t punch him?” Jake asked blandly.
Dominic growled, “Not right this second.”
Abby leaned over and asked, “What are you two conspiring about?”
“Nothing,” Dominic said quickly. Too quickly. Abby eyed him suspiciously.
When Romario turned to Jake and Dominic, he spoke with the calm authority of a diplomat. “My daughter thinks Jeremy may be in some trouble. Do you know why he left with that woman?”
Dominic’s temper flared. “Hoping someone else will take him out so you don’t have to?”
Jake injected, “None of this makes sense unless Alethea told him something that he felt he couldn’t share with us.”
Jake’s mother stepped into the conversation and said, “Maybe something to do with his work in Tenin?”
“What would he be doing in that country?” Romario demanded. “They are verging on civil war.”
Ever the voice of reason, Jake suggested, “Whatever’s going on, I suggest we find out where he went.”
Dominic motioned for one of his security men to approach as he asked Jake, “Did you bring your helicopter?”
“Never leave home without it.”
Dominic conferred with his security for a moment, then said, “Let’s go. I think I know where he went.”
Jake’s parents joined them. “We’re coming, too.”
As Dominic started to refuse them, Jake’s father said, “Jeremy has helped us more than anyone in our field. If the trouble he’s in has anything to do with hacking, you’re going to need us.”
“They’re right. We may need them,” Jake added.
Romario flexed his shoulders decisively. “I’m also coming.”
“No way in hell,” Dominic countered.
Nose to nose with Dominic, Romario said, “My daughter loves that man. If there is the slimmest chance that he is not as bad as I think he is, I need to know. This involves my family. I’m going to either save him or kill him. Can you tell me that you’d do any differently?” When Dominic didn’t waver, he added, “Besides, if this is a political issue, I may have some pull.”
Dominic tensed. God, I hate that man. I hate him even more when he’s right.
Victor Andrade put a hand on Dominic’s shoulder and said, “Strength is also shown in restraint, friend. Take him with you.”
Knowing that it’s the right thing to do doesn’t make the unpalatable more desirable. Dominic looked down into Abby’s trusting eyes and swore beneath his breath in concessio
n. “Is anyone else coming?”
“I’ll stay here. Jeisa will need someone,” Abby said.
Lil gave Jake a quick kiss on the lips. “Me, too.”
Victor Andrade bowed out gracefully. “I can wait to hear how it turns out. I’m getting too old for all this.”
Therese stepped forward and, with a hint of desperation in her voice, said, “Jeremy is a good boy. If he’s in trouble, you’ve got to get him out of it.”
Marie took the woman’s hand in hers to comfort her. “If anyone can, it’s these boys.”
Abby met Dominic halfway for a lingering, parting kiss. “Be careful, Dom. You don’t know what you’re walking into. I know you have to go, but”—she stepped back and put a hand on her belly—“just remember all the reasons you have to come home.”
He pulled his wife to him and gave her a long kiss that promised more than just his return. Marie cleared her throat behind him and said, “Enough of that, off you go.”
Dominic chuckled and reluctantly released his wife. “I’ll be back before you know it.”
Abby nodded and hugged herself.
With that, Dominic, Jake, Jake’s parents, and Romario—along with some of Dominic’s security—boarded Jake’s helicopter and headed after the elusive Jeremy.
Chapter Fifteen
A perk of being integral to fortifying Corisi Enterprises’ technology infrastructure was that building security was no hassle for Jeremy. He simply showed his high-level badge, vouched for Alethea, and walked into an area of the building that very few ever saw. Behind the access-controlled security doors was a room filled with rows of black racks. The hum of fans and blinking lights was familiar and calming to Jeremy. He and Alethea walked down one of the rows until he found the server he was looking for.
Alethea hadn’t said much during their trip over and he was grateful for that. He didn’t want to know if she had followed her usual behavior and made the situation worse rather than better. He was already having difficulty concentrating. He pulled a shelf out of the rack and flipped up a monitor. He took a seat in front of the console and started typing in codes.
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