Her words are thrown directly at Isaac.
“But he’s your father, he’s family,” Isaac bounces back.
“Family only goes so far,” Vic responds fiercely.
“Still, family,” Isaac says with a little smirk.
“What is going on?” Grace interjects.
“I’m hungover,” Vic responds immediately.
“Must be a bitch of a hangover,” Grace replies to Vic, a little stung.
As though to prove her point, Vic summons the waiter and orders a dry gin martini with a twist.
The waiter nods and disappears.
“The thing about family is that no matter what you do, they’re always going to come back to haunt you,” Vic says crisply.
“I think I agree,” Isaac raises his glass to her.
They study each other intently for a few moments, and then, finally, clink glasses and smile at each other as though there’s not a thing wrong.
Grace seems appeased.
But, I see the vicious smirk on Isaac’s face.
I excuse myself to call Lucius.
His phone goes straight to voicemail, so I assume he must be on a flight to New York already.
Damn it.
I need him.
If Isaac has mentioned Isa, my mother’s undercover madam name, then undoubtedly he’s tied up with the deadly trio that seems to be hellbent on the ruin of my family.
There’s nothing in the world that will make me let that happen.
I’ve got one last shot.
I call Aidan who picks up on the second ring.
“Evan,” Aidan says into the phone.
“I need a favor,” I say automatically.
“No time for pleasantries. I like that. It’s sort of shit when someone calls and makes small talk when all they really want is a favor,” Aidan quips.
“I’m not into small talk,” I reply.
“Good. What’s up?” he asks.
“Victoire’s sister just married a guy by the name of Isaac Miller. I’ve got an amusing notion that he was somehow tied up with International Sporting Affiliates before any of this. Do you know the name?” I ask.
“Never heard it. Could be a cover name,” Aidan suggests.
“I saw his passport, so unless that’s a forgery I don’t think so,” I tell him.
“Could be,” Aidan pauses.
“I’ve got a guy at the precinct that will send me the list of the old contacts in that case. I can start there,” he’s on the ball.
“Start there then,” I say.
Then I pause.
“Any word on my mother?” I venture.
“Well, Lucius went to Switzerland in pursuit. I’m not sure who exactly because the Swiss police are about as useful as a third tit, but someone managed to break in, empty your father’s Swiss accounts, and leave three people dead,” Aidan reports.
“A third tit?” I ask.
It’s all I can manage.
“Yeah, who needs a third tit? Or nipple, or whatever, right? Just like the Swiss police were either clueless, or your mother already had them paid off to ignore the whole thing. Lucius is on the trail, but his attempts to get security footage have been fruitless for the most part,” Aidan is serious now.
“Whatever your mother, Lauren, and Olivia have planned, I believe this goes far deeper than ISA,” he says.
This statement shocks me.
“Really?” I reply.
I can’t help the tone that creeps into my voice, a mixture of tension and apprehension.
“Positive,” Aidan replies.
“Either way, I’ll look into this Isaac Miller,” Aidan scoffs.
It’s like he doesn’t believe this is anything, but it could be something.
“Thanks,” I reply.
“It’s probably an issue, but no problem,” Aidan says sarcastically.
Then, he’s gone.
I stare at my phone for a few minutes.
I rejoin the others at the table.
Grace and Isaac have gone off for a walk along the beach, so I finally get some time alone with Vic.
“Who did you call?” she asks automatically.
“There’s no slipping anything past you, is there? I called Lucius, but he didn’t pick up, so I called Aidan instead,” I answer.
“Oh?” Vic says with a raised eyebrow.
“Yeah, apparently some Swiss bankers are dead because my mother, or Lauren or whoever the fuck it was, wanted access to my dad’s Swiss bank account. They’re apparently going to look into it further. Aidan, however, said that the Swiss police are about as useful as a third tit,” I laugh.
“A third tit could be useful if you’re breastfeeding triplets,” Vic offers, shrugging.
I smirk at her.
“I can’t imagine that,” I snort.
Vic just starts to laugh.
“It’s good to hear you laugh,” I tell her.
“I miss that laugh,” I whisper, my voice low in her ear.
“So do I,” she whispers.
I can only imagine what Vic has been through, with her father and I.S.A., and beyond that.
“I’m here for you,” I tell her.
Then I wrap my arm around her, and she leans in against me.
“That might just not be enough,” she admits.
She’s right.
In the end, I must face that I can’t protect her from everything.
Whatever Isaac is tied up with, with my mother?
That I can protect her from at least.
15
Victoire
December 29, 2017
Isaac doesn’t wait to get me alone, the minute Grace retreats to their room to get ready for our volcano hike, and Evan is nowhere in sight he sneers at me.
“What do you want?” I ask with barely restrained rage.
“Don’t hate me, I’m just here to deliver a message,” he shrugs.
“You married my sister to deliver a message? Right,” I sigh.
Isaac slowly forms a little smile, and I know whatever he wants from me isn’t going to be easy.
“Your father cost us a lot, you know, especially with that little trick with Noah Stone,” he says.
Isaac’s words chill me to the bone, despite the heat of the day.
“What are you on about?” I stutter.
Even though I know exactly what he’s about to say.
“The island, in Fiji? Or are you really going to pull that ‘poor innocent little Victoire’ stunt with me?” Isaac gloats.
How does he even know!
“Why don’t you tell me what I already know then?” I urge him to come out with it.
“Your father, the real estate mogul, had an island that was supposed to go towards some investments for my people. Instead, he lost it to Noah Stone at a poker game, in the darkened back room of a Vegas casino,” Isaac reports.
I knew that was going to be trouble.
Fuck.
“He’s a gambler, what do you expect. He likes high stakes,” I retort boldly.
“Listen to me, you little bitch, we’re not happy, and one way or another, you are going to pay for your father’s mistakes,” Isaac replies stung.
I just turn my head away from him and snort again.
It’s easier if I don’t believe him than to consider the truth.
Yes, Noah Stone managed to get that wretched island from my father, because my father, Michael Bishop, is an idiot.
I knew that island was tied up with something, but I have no idea what.
It’s a few measly million dollars at most!
Whoever Isaac works for, I’m sure they won’t miss it.
Unless, there’s more to the story?
Perhaps they were running some sort of operation out of the island, that was brought to a screeching halt because of my father?
God damn it!
That’s it!
“What was the operation?” I venture.
Isaac laughs harshly.
; “Wouldn’t you like to know,” he scoffs at me.
“Well, at least I know what this is really about, thanks for that,” I say with a little smirk.
Isaac starts to laugh.
That is, of course, when Grace floats out of her room.
“What’s so funny?” she raises an eyebrow at the both of us.
“Oh, you would’ve had to be there,” I say smoothly.
Isaac and I merely smirk at each other, like this is all a big game.
Really, it is a game.
It’s a massive con game that I must play wisely.
Of course, Evan can’t find out about this latest development.
Then, I’ll have to explain that I knew his father got my dad into trouble, and that’s why I ended up in I.S.A. Inc., because my father had debts to pay to Elizabeth, and I was the one that was too willing to drop in to help him out.
There’s more, of course.
I’m apparently the most unknowing woman in the world because when Elizabeth told me part of my job was to keep Ava James away from Noah Stone, I did not think anything of it.
I didn’t see it as a problem.
I was just a pawn.
Ava and I became friends, and it was just easier not to ask questions about her family, or try to put two and two together.
Not one part of me wanted to know why Elizabeth wanted Ava and Noah as far away from each other as possible.
It all sort of fell into place, after I’d done everything I could to keep them apart, only for Elizabeth to force them right together, to force Noah’s hand.
Look how that turned out!
As far as I’m concerned, Noah Stone has been part of my problem from day one.
It was that fucking island that stirred the pot so hard I didn’t have a choice!
What else was I going to do?
I didn’t have any marketable skills other than seduction, I only dated strings of fabulously wealthy men for the loot, and I was barely a high school graduate.
There was nothing left for me to do but play into Elizabeth’s game.
So, I can’t love Evan, I just can’t.
It’s too complicated.
It turns out that an active volcano isn’t that exciting when you’ve got too much on your mind.
Evan, Grace, and Isaac take turns with their phones, to snap pictures and marvel at a wonder of nature while I smolder in my own mess.
God damn Noah Stone!
If I didn’t respect him as much as I do now, then this wouldn’t be such a big issue.
But I do.
Noah managed to earn my respect.
“Vic come here!” Evan calls me over.
I approach them with my arms crossed, quite a distance away from the hot flow that howls beneath the surface.
The rest of the tour group is in awe.
Me?
I churn like the lava below us.
“Isn’t this great!” Evan exclaims.
“Sure is,” I tell him.
I fake my best PR smile, and he does his best not to frown at me.
The tour group wanders a little further from us, so the four of us are alone, and I decide I should take a few steps closer to the steep drop below.
It refreshes me, to be in some sort of danger like this.
I’m so focused on the view below, phone in hand to snap a few pictures, that I don’t notice Isaac creep up behind me.
His hands are suddenly on my arms, and I can’t move.
I freeze instantly.
“What are you doing?” I whisper.
“Wouldn’t it be just terrible if you fell?” Isaac hisses in my ear.
My heart begins to pump wildly, adrenaline courses through my body, and I know I must get away from him.
Now!
I step back forcefully, and Isaac whips me around so fast I can’t stop my feet from stumbling, and I begin to lose my balance.
I’m going to fall all the way down a volcano!
“Isaac!” I scream.
I don’t know where Grace and Evan have suddenly gone, but Isaac grasps my arms at the last second, and we both tumble to the ground.
He uses his feet to skid us to a stop before we almost careen off the edge of a cliff.
Tears pour from my eyes as Isaac manages to stand and shake himself off.
“Jesus, you need to watch where you’re going,” he says.
“You could’ve died,” he adds.
No thanks to him.
But I don’t say a word as Evan kneels in front of me.
I am scratched up and bruised, but otherwise okay.
“Holy shit!” Evan mutters.
He looks from me to Isaac.
A frown crosses his face, then a scowl.
“Are you okay?” Evan asks, worry creeps into his voice.
“Just a little stunned,” I lie.
Isaac could’ve killed me if he wanted to, only more proof that if Elizabeth wants me alive, there’s a lot more I must do to please her.
I need her off my back!
Away from me!
Gone!
How did that wretch get out of jail!
I have so many questions that I can’t form a complete sentence, and my throat begins to close because my heart is pumping so hard I can’t get a deep breath in.
“Vic, it’s okay, I’m here,” Evan comforts me.
His familiar embrace is all it takes for me to sob uncontrollably in his arms.
The tour guide finds us, takes one look at me, and decides that it’s time to end the tour.
It’s been a few hours anyway.
So, we all file back on the bus, Evan’s arm draped across my shoulders, and head back towards the hotel.
“Lunch?” Grace suggests carefully.
There’s something off about her.
Maybe it was that little scene?
Or, maybe it’s her husband?
“I need to lie down,” I shake my head.
“I’ll go with you,” Evan doesn’t give me room to say no.
“We’ll see you later,” he adds.
Evan glares at Isaac, who returns the sentiment.
Grace twiddles her goddamn thumbs.
It’s like my older, wiser, lawyer sister only sees what she wants to.
I glance back as Evan, and I walk towards the suite and see Grace and Isaac laughing about something.
She’s probably mad I almost killed her husband.
“It’s okay, Vic. We’re going to figure this out,” Evan says.
He locks the door to the room behind us.
“I know, can we just not talk about any of this?” I plead with him.
He pauses for a moment, then nods.
“Whatever you want,” he tells me.
Evan pulls me into bed, underneath the blankets, and undresses me down to my sports bra and panties, then wraps his arms around me.
“I almost lost you, again,” he says.
“It’s not a big deal,” I lie.
“It’s a big deal to me,” Evan replies.
He finds my lips, and I let him kiss me.
I let his lips melt away the fear and cling to him, my legs wrapped around his waist.
Evan moves his body over mine, and I wonder if I like where this is going.
This isn’t the territory where I am submissive to him.
We’re equal.
One-on-one.
I inhale an unsteady breath, and bite my lip, as his lips move against my skin.
“Evan, maybe we shouldn’t,” I whisper.
“You don’t want to?” he asks.
He pulls away, and I can’t help it, I pull him back against me.
“This is different,” I tell him.
“I know, what’s wrong with different?” Evan’s voice is husky as he nibbles at my neck.
“Do you want that?” I ask.
“I just want you, no matter what,” he whispers.
I want to resist, I want to make him let me go because that is inevitab
le.
He will let me go.
But for now, I can’t help but succumb to what I want from him.
If I can’t imagine a life together without all the troubles that come with my life, I can certainly give him this.
“Vic,” he whispers my name.
“Evan,” I whisper back.
I give myself three seconds to push him away.
One.
Evan unzips the front of my sports bra, his mouth moving against my nipple as his hand creeps between my thighs.
Two.
His fingers sink between my legs, and he growls at my wetness.
My back arches as Evan sinks his fingers inside me, his thumb on the button of my clit as my nails dig into his back.
I’ve lost count.
There’s no going back.
My lips find his in hot, needy kisses and we are desperate to get to each other.
We rip our clothes off and then I remember where I was.
Three.
Evan moves against me, between my legs, and then I’m wrapped around him again.
I’m lost.
“Evan,” I gasp.
“Vic,” he mutters in my ear.
Our hands find each other, and he pins them above my head, his lips firmly against mine as he sinks deeper inside me.
I moan, desperate for more of him.
When Evan wraps his arms around me, his slow thrusts torture every single sense in my body.
“Don’t stop,” I plead.
“I need you,” my whisper is low.
The emotion between us is so thick that I can’t turn away from his steady gaze.
Somehow, Evan manages to take me away from all the messiness that surrounds my life, and our lips meet hungrily.
It’s no longer chaos inside my head, just my raw attraction to Evan and how much I want to be around him all the time.
The part of my brain that can’t think clearly when he’s around takes over.
Wrapped up in each other like this I am blinded by what we could possibly be to each other.
“I just want you,” he mutters against my skin.
“I’m here,” I reply breathlessly.
“I’m here, Evan,” my voice is soft.
It’s a slow, beautiful thing; ravaged by the man that I want to be with.
I know with certainty, right now, that I do love him.
I love him.
And, I know right then that I always will.
Instead of an admission of the truth, I merely press my lips against his and moan into the kiss as Evan begins to move against me harder.
Heat_A Stone Billionaire Series Novel Page 12