by K. T. Tomb
He’d sensed during their last meeting that the girl was growing fond of the American and in the back of his mind, he had started to wonder if it would become a problem; however, the grandparents had been his trump card. When all of that came crumbling in on him, he realized that he had waited too long. No matter, he was secure where he was. Once he had the American, he could remove him from Caracas and have him held somewhere that would avoid discovery of his hideaway until the ransom was paid.
The ransom was really his only chance for survival. His position in Caracas would certainly be taken away from him by SLG and he’d be sent off to somewhere that allowed him to be watched while they decided his usefulness. But at least the ransom would buy back his life, he hoped.
Deep in thought behind the secure door with the magnetic lock, he didn’t hear the four soft puffs of two silenced Sig Sauer P226 pistols that neatly placed two bullets between the eyes of each of the two men who had just left his office; neither did he hear the device that deactivated the magnetic lock on the door being put into place. The first indication that he was not alone was when he saw the door being pushed open.
“I told you not to come back here until you had…”
Those were Andres’ last words. Two soft puffs delivered two more .22 caliber rounds directly between his eyes and ended all of his thoughts. Covering the two holes, an ace of spades was neatly placed, leaving a message for whoever found him.
After a quick sweep of the rest of the building, the men who had located and penetrated Andres’ “safe” location withdrew into the darkness and were soon being transported away from the scene. They slipped out of their dark clothing that had been worn over their civilian clothing, placed it in a bag and ditched it in a culvert along a deserted road as they started back through Caracas on the Autopista.
When they were well away from the scene, one of the men pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number that he’d been given earlier. He heard the call connect, but no voice offered a greeting.
“Dinner is served and Falcon is Di Di Mau.”
Chapter Fifteen
Thorn Industries,
Alpharetta, Georgia
“Robin?” Aurora was shocked by the presence of the middle brother stepping through the door to her office. “Not to be rude, but you are the very last person that I expected to see in my office.”
“I know,” he replied. He had a sad, humbled look on his face. “I haven’t exactly been, I don’t know…” He was struggling to find the words to explain that he felt badly about having never taken her in and accepting her; not just as his brother’s new wife, but as an integral cog in the Thorn Industries’ wheel.
“Sit. Sit, please.” Aurora came to his rescue. She pushed the intercom button to ask Rebecca to bring them some coffee, but just as she started to speak, the very same assistant was coming through the door with two steaming mugs in her hands. “Well. The service around here is certainly top rate.”
The comment made Robin crack half a smile as he accepted the mug and thanked his former assistant. Once Rebecca had left, he decided to dive right in.
“Aurora. I know that you and Natalia have been in contact and, well, I hoped that you could fill me in on how she’s doing and all.” It was the best lead into the uncomfortable conversation that he was about to have with his brother’s wife.
“She and her grandparents are very safe and doing very well. In fact, she has been asking about you as well. I do apologize for cutting off communication, but we needed to be certain that things are secure and the contact wouldn’t put either of you in further danger.”
“Yes. I understand.”
There was a long, uncomfortable silence; neither was certain how to begin the conversation that would build the bridge between the two of them. They had never gotten on well and the forced conversation was faltering.
“You’ll be glad to know that Natalia’s kidnappers’ operation had been crippled significantly. The leader of the branch of SLG that was based in Caracas is dead, along with several of the men who were his major lieutenants. It caused something of a stir, but was totally deniable, so we are waiting to see how things settle out.”
“Do you think there will be retribution?”
“We don’t think so. Since their leader had failed at his assignment, he and his boys were likely to have been executed anyway; at least that is my understanding of how those things work. I’m not really an expert.”
“That’s actually probably a good thing.”
“You’re telling me.”
They sipped their coffee silently, each rehearsing words in their mind that would set things right between them, but neither coming up with the exact ones they wanted or needed to use.
“When do you think we’ll know that things are safe again?”
“I would think that they are safe right now, but we probably need to be cautious and make sure that everyone’s personal security is a top priority for a time. That basically means no driving alone, security details at our residences, higher alert here at the office. We’ve been through it before.”
“How is she doing?” Robin whispered, after a long pause. His eyes had a touch of mist in them.
Aurora had the lead that she needed in order to start the healing process between them. She seized it, knowing exactly how to reach out to him. “She loves you, Robin. She might not have at first, but there is no doubt of it now. I have sat with her many times and dried the tears that she cried for what she thinks was a betrayal on her part, for the guilt and for fear that she’s ruined everything. You are a lucky man, Robin Thorn. There is no other woman in this world that could possibly love you the way Natalia does.”
“Why, Aurora?” A couple of renegade tears slipped over the rim of his eyes and made their way down his stoic face; the ultimate in betrayal for his typically stone demeanor, especially in front of Aurora. “Why did all of this have to happen? Why couldn’t I just find the woman that was meant for me, fall in love and have a happy life, like you and Will?”
It was Aurora’s turn to have misty eyes. “Robin, you have found the woman that you love. No, the circumstances might not have been exactly the best to get things started, but the love is there now. It has survived the wright’s hammer, as my father used to say. It has only made things stronger, if that’s what you want.”
“It is what I want, but I don’t know how to start it all over again.”
“How about not starting over and just picking things up where they were before you discovered all of this?”
“Can that be done?”
“Why couldn’t it? What has truly changed between Natalia and you since you saw each other last? Sure, water has flowed under the bridge, some of it bitter water, but it’s gone now.” Aurora chose her words carefully. “You remember the story of Joseph and the coat of many colors from Sunday school, right?”
“Yeah. I’ve been hearing that one a lot lately. What started out as evil has been turned to good.”
“Well?” She spread her hands and shrugged her shoulders.
“Do you think Natalia sees it that way?”
“Yes, I think she does. We’ve had some very long talks about this. She was in a very difficult position and she did the very best she could. But there is a bright side to this, Robin.”
“Now you’re really pushing it.” He looked up at her with eyes that challenged her statement.
“Natalia would never have walked back into your life if she hadn’t been kidnapped, contracted to seduce you and threatened to continue to carry it out. She told me that your first meeting had been dreadfully dull and that she had gone back to the agency to respond to an invitation for another match.”
“Dreadfully dull? It was a frickin’ disaster.” Robin recalled how frustrated he had been during that first arranged meeting.
“Well, now it’s water under the bridge, something you can look back on and laugh about with your children and grandchildren.”
Robin studied his feet for
a few moments, allowing the image of him and Natalia in their old age with children and grandchildren all around them. He was also beginning to allow the reason for his father and brother’s adoration of Aurora to take root.
“Speaking of water under the bridge,” he began tentatively. “I haven’t ever been very welcoming or accepting of you. It was stupid jealousy mostly, I think. I was blinded by it. I allowed myself to believe that you were a gold digger trying to seduce my father into becoming his mistress and then turning that same falsehood into believing that you were not good enough for Will. It was all wrong. In fact, in many ways, you have been the only person in this company who has been steady and stable.”
Aurora let him finish. She had hoped that someday there would be an apology and reconciliation between them. It made her heart leap inside of her chest and the tears build up in her eyes to the point where she couldn’t keep them from overflowing and drawing a path through the light powder make up on her face. She didn’t wait for his request. “I forgive you Robin.” The release of those words brought the full force of the tears to her eyes. She stood up from her desk and went around it to meet him in a brotherly embrace that had been long in coming.
“When can I see Natalia?” he asked as he held her and they allowed the tears to flow.
“You can see her right now, if you let go of your sister-in-law for a moment.” Rebecca’s voice cut into their moment and they both turned toward her. There, standing in the doorway of Aurora’s office was a teary-eyed Natalia and an equally misty-eyed Rebecca.
“Oh my God, Amor, I have missed you so much.” Robin let go of Aurora and swept Natalia into his arms. For a very long time, they did nothing but hold each other and weep softly.
Aurora looked over at Rebecca, raising her eyebrows.
“I called to have her brought in the moment I saw Robin come in this morning,” Rebecca whispered. As ugly as she had been to Natalia in the beginning, she was as touched by the obvious depth of the love between the two of them and took a swipe at the tears under each of her eyes with her fingers.
Seeing Rebecca’s response and needing to tend to her own onslaught of moisture, she reached for two tissues from the box on her desk, handing one to Rebecca.
After a few moments, Robin and Natalia turned away from each other, yet still kept at least one arm wrapped around the other.
“Thank you, Aurora. Thank you, Rebecca,” Robin said, addressing each in turn.
“Thank you both,” Natalia added.
“Do you think I can take her home?” Robin asked. “Is it safe?”
“I think so,” Aurora smiled. “Y’all get on out of here.”
Chapter Sixteen
Stone Mountain,
Georgia
For the third time in the past several hours, Natalia had coaxed Robin into an erection and then positioned herself above him to lower herself down onto his throbbing member. As she rolled her hips in a slow and sensual rhythm, her large breasts rolled in a way that hypnotized Robin as he watched the chocolate nipples swirl and dance.
The security team assigned to ensure the couple’s safety had had an easy task over the past three days; the two of them hadn’t left the house the entire time, they barely even left the bedroom. The greatest challenge for those watching over their welfare was to check the various delivery people that approached with the latest takeout order, which was paid for and delivered inside the front door with no more than a call that their food was there before the lucky team member retreated to his post.
In the entire time that they had been reunited, they had barely gone a moment without some portion of their naked skin in contact with the other. Much of that time, especially when they were making love, they were gazing into each other’s eyes and soaking in the fullness of the love they had for each other.
Their lovemaking varied in intensity as whatever desires came over them in the moment dictated. In one moment they were tender, barely touching and in the next, Robin was driving his cock into her from behind with the force of a battering ram breaking down the doors of a medieval castle. However, in each moment the union between them was a celebration of their unmatched love for one another.
As Natalia picked up speed and forced him deeper inside of her while she rolled her hips on him to get the very most out of the sensations that were building up in her groin, she felt his erection expand and heard the rhythm of his breath change, she began to squeeze him even tighter and whisper to him.
“Dame tu leche, Amor. Damela, Amor.”
It was impossible for him to hold back any longer and Robin let loose his orgasm, driving her into one of equal intensity. Collapsing onto the bed, they snuggled into each other and continued to lightly brush one another’s skin as they caught their breath.
“You took a telephone call earlier today,” Natalia began. “Good news?”
Robin chuckled softly. “Actually, I was going to keep that as a surprise. We’ve been invited to dinner with Will and Aurora.”
“That is the surprise?” When she was confused, her nose wrinkled in the most delightful way.
“No.” He was trying to decide if he wanted to tell her at that intimate moment or wait to announce it at dinner. He was so excited that it was difficult to contain himself.
“What then?” she pleaded with him. The sound of her voice changed when she pleaded with him and it was so adorable that he decided to drag it out, only so he could hear the accent and the little whine that went along with it. She even switched over to Spanish to add effect. “Digame pues. Digame. Tell me, Amor.” She slapped his chest playfully and pushed out her lower lip.
As much as he was adoring the scene that she was making and all of the delightful attributes that it brought out in her, he was simply too excited to hold it back any longer.
“The phone call was from Will and he not only invited us to dinner, but informed me that he was going to be sending a high ranking member of the management team to take care of business in the Caracas office and keep his CFO here at the home office.”
“What does that mean?”
He could see the wheels turning in Natalia’s mind, wondering if it would mean separation for them. He let her off the hook quickly. “It means that we’re already home.”
“We’re home?” All of her life, El Hatillo and Caracas had been home. It seemed strange to even think about having a home anywhere else.
“Yes. We have some paperwork and such to go through to make it official, but you’ll be able to stay here with me in Stone Mountain, Georgia.” His beaming smile faded a bit when he realized that she was struggling with the idea. “Don’t you want to be here with me?”
“Oh, si, mi Amor, but my Nana and Buelo. I can’t send them back to El Hatillo and I have to take care of them.” Her eyes held deep worry in them.
“That is another surprise.” He smiled.
“What is the other surprise? Tell me, Amor.”
Seeing the look in her eyes, he didn’t have the heart to make her plead a second time.
“Aurora has already started the process of granting them and you U.S. citizenship via political asylum.”
“But isn’t that a very difficult thing to achieve?”
“A piece of cake for Aurora.” He beamed. “She’s a whiz when it comes to legal matters.”
“She pees on cake?” She wrinkled her brow again, not understanding the meaning behind the two colloquialisms.
“It’s a term that means it is easy for her to accomplish,” he explained.
“Then why not just say that it is easy for her to accomplish?”
Robin’s mouth froze wide open, he simply did not have an adequate response to her question. Why don’t English speakers simply mean what they say instead of using those types of phrases? “I don’t know, Amor.”
“But where will they live? They have no money. They do not have a home…”
He pressed a finger to her lips. “Thorn Industries is taking care of that. In fact, Will told me tha
t when he approached them with the idea, they had refused at first. Seems that they did not want to accept our charity, so he gave both of them positions with the company here in Alpharetta.”
“What sort of work can they possibly do for Thorn Industries?”
“I think Will said that your grandfather was going to be working with the maintenance staff and your grandmother will be working in the kitchen.”
“Are you serious?” Her eyes lit up. “Mi Buelo, he loves to fix things and mi Nana, she loves to cook. It is perfect.”
“It’s almost perfect, but not quite.”
“What is not perfect, mi Amor?” Again, she had the deep worry in her eyes.
“We haven’t discussed your position with the company.”
“I have a position too?” Her eyes lit up with excitement. She couldn’t imagine what she could do for Thorn Industries.
“You have two positions, actually, if you accept them, of course.” He was beginning to enjoy the lead in to something that he had wanted to ask her for several weeks.
“Two positions?”
“We are putting you in charge of a newly formed bi-lingual department. Mostly, you’ll be working on Spanish-English translations, but that position will also include supervision of all of the bi-lingual personnel that work for Thorn.”
“But my English and my translation skills aren’t that strong…”
“So we have arranged for you to have private classes at the office to strengthen those skills.”
Natalia could hardly believe everything that she was being told. Out of the horrible experience that she had been through – worrying over the welfare of her Nana and Buelo and fearing that she was going to destroy Robin and all of the Thorns – it was nearly beyond her comprehension. Yet, there was a sudden relief that washed over her and she could no longer hold back the tears and the weeping that overtook her.