by Ivy Nelson
“No extra work, Isabelle. I meant it. I’ll clean this up.”
“Sorry, Sir,” she whispered, watching as he moved around the room shirtless, picking things up. The table had a shelf underneath with cleaning supplies which he used to wipe down the leather chaise lounge and wipe down the magic wand vibrator. He tucked his toys back into his bag, then handed Isabelle her clothes.
“What time is your reception shift?” he asked.
“Midnight, Sir.”
“Good girl. We have a couple hours to socialize then.”
They left the alcove holding hands to mix and mingle with others at the party.
Chapter Seventeen
“Aunt Izzy, wake up.”
Isabelle blinked her eyes several times as she struggled to wake up. It was Monday morning and she was back home after a wonderful weekend at Solitaire with Garrett. She missed sleeping next to him.”
“What’s wrong? Did I oversleep?”
Sarah shook her head. “No. There’s a man sitting in our driveway and he’s freaking me out. He has a camera.”
Isabelle’s heart lurched. Had Darren finally found them?
She rolled out of bed and jogged to the large window that faced the driveway.
She didn’t recognize the car and she didn’t see a camera, but Sarah had no reason to lie. Maybe it was security from Garrett. She picked up her phone to text him.
Do you have a security guard in our driveway?
She paced while she waited for him to respond. He was an early riser, so she knew he was probably already up.
His name lit up her screen and she quickly answered.
“You’re up early, Isabelle. What’s this about security in your driveway?”
“There’s a car I don’t recognize parked in the driveway. I can’t see the driver, but Sarah saw him first and said he had a camera.”
“One second, Doll.”
She heard him talking to someone else, maybe on his office phone. “Do we have someone sitting in Isabelle’s driveway?”
The response was muffled, but Garrett came back to her seconds later. “Our guy should be across the street. Look for a black town car.”
Isabelle went to the window again.
“I don’t see anything, Sir. The car in the driveway is a silver Honda.”
“Damn it. Hang up and call nine-one-one, Isabelle. I’m on my way.”
Isabelle turned and smiled at Sarah who was still sitting on her bed.
“Sarah, sweetheart. Why don’t you get ready for school, OK?”
The girl looked as if she wanted to argue but didn’t.
She called the police when Sarah was gone. At first the operator was confused, but finally understood and said they would send a patrol car by as soon as possible. Five minutes later, she saw a police car slowly drive by. The mystery car backed out just as Garrett’s driver turned the corner.
Knowing Garrett would be upset if she went outside, she went downstairs and waited for his knock.
As soon as his knuckles hit the door, she jerked it open.
“Did you even bother to check and see who it was?” he asked sternly.
“I’ve been watching from the window,” she murmured.
His gaze softened as he stepped into the house and pulled her into his arms.
“Who was that?” she asked after a moment of silence.
“I don’t know, but we got a license plate, so we’ll be running it down ourselves as well as passing the information to the police. Jax will be at the office this afternoon. What time are we supposed to be at the prison to talk to Carmen?”
“Nine. We’ve got some time. I need to get the girls to school.”
“I’ll be in the living room then.”
Isabelle opened her mouth, intent on objecting, but he silenced her with a finger to her lips. “Not a word, Isabelle. I’m not leaving you alone, end of discussion.”
She sighed and nodded her head toward the living room. “I’ll be upstairs getting ready.”
He stared at her, caressing her cheek gently before turning toward the living room.
Instead of going upstairs, she went to the kitchen and filled the coffeemaker with water and grounds. Soon, the hot dark liquid was filling the pot while she rummaged through the kitchen, which had been stocked with groceries before they moved in, and came up with some toaster pastries for the girls and a frozen breakfast sandwich for herself.
She took down two mugs and filled them both, making one the way Garrett liked.
When she brought it to him, he smiled kindly at her. “Thank you, Doll. You didn’t have to do that,” he murmured as he took a sip. “Excellent memory.”
“What anything to eat?” she asked, feeling uncomfortable with his praise.
He shook his head. “I’m fine, thank you, though. Go get ready for work.”
He leaned over and picked up the remote on the coffee table. The news came on as she walked back up the stairs.
“Everything OK, Aunt Izzy?” Catarina asked as she stepped out of the bathroom.
Isabelle gave her a tight smile. “Yeah. All good. I set some toaster pastries on the counter for you guys.”
The teen started to walk down the stairs in her pajamas.
“Mr. Oliver is in the living room waiting to take me to work, so you might want to get dressed and comb your hair,” Isabelle said with a smirk.
Catarina’s mouth dropped open, but she ducked back into her bedroom to change.
In her own room, Isabelle dug through the closet in search of something to wear that wouldn’t be too flashy for prison. All the clothes Garrett purchased for her were tasteful but clearly expensive. In the end, she went with a simple black dress from a secondhand store.
She brushed her hair and ran a mascara wand over her lashes before checking on Sarah.
Garrett was still watching the news when she came back into the living room to check on him. Her father had joined him.
She could feel the awkward tension in the air as the men sat silently staring at the screen.
“Good morning, Daddy,” she said, trying to sound cheerful. “Can you get the girls to school? Mr. Oliver and I are going to see Carmen this morning and I haven’t figured out where to put them on a bus from here.”
Garrett turned his head toward her. “I’ll send them with my driver and call a car service for us.”
She shook her head. “That’s really unnecessary.”
“It’s the safest option. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner. We still don’t know who might be watching you. It would be best not to put your father or the girls in any additional danger.”
She sighed, her shoulders sagging. “You’re right. Thank you.”
He smiled at her as he lifted his phone to his ear to talk to his driver. While Garrett wasn’t paying attention, Jacob leaned forward and picked up the remote, switching the channel to the news station he preferred.
Isabelle stifled a giggle as she went to the kitchen to check on her nieces.
An hour later, she was in the back of a car with Garrett, content to lay her head on his shoulder while he typed into his phone. He’d been preoccupied for most of the drive, but Isabelle was fine being left with her own thoughts.
When they pulled into the parking lot of the prison, Isabelle told him to take off his belt and jacket.
“You should leave your phone in the car too.”
He stared at her, bewildered.
“I promise, Sir. It will make the screening process faster if you just leave those things here.”
He reluctantly agreed.
“Make sure your pockets are empty too. You really just want to bring your ID and that’s it. I’ve got quarters for the vending machine so we can get her some snacks while we talk,” she said, holding up the clear plastic bag of coins.
“Seriously?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
Isabelle gave him a mirthless laugh. “Seriously. It’s not pretty or comfortable.”
One of G
arrett’s attorneys was already waiting inside for them and had managed to pull some strings to get them in a little before normal visiting hours started.
It was going to be an interesting conversation, and she hoped her sister would cooperate.
When they had been screened and were led into the large visitor center, Isabelle went straight for the vending machine to get her sister the snacks she knew she would want.
Ten minutes later, they brought her in looking a bit sleepy. She scowled when she saw Isabelle.
“I didn’t know you were coming too. Everything OK with the girls?”
She nodded. “They’re good. They’ll be back next month.”
“So, what’s this all about? I got a call saying a lawyer and a big shot want to talk to me about my time at the Colorado Logistics warehouse.”
Garrett nodded. “I guess I’m the big shot. Garrett Oliver. This is my attorney, George Perry. We’re wondering what you can tell us about why you were fired and how Darren Gunn was involved.”
Her sister’s eyes went wide at the mention of Darren and Isabelle knew there was something she didn’t know.
“I’m not sure what this is about, but I don’t want any part of it. That fucker Darren can rot in hell.”
Garrett propped his elbows on the table and steepled his fingers beneath his chin. “That would be my preference as well, but I’ll be content to see him rot in jail, and I think you can help us with that.”
“I don’t see how.”
George Perry spoke. “Why don’t you start by telling us why you were fired. There isn’t anything in your employment file about the reason.”
Carmen snorted. “That’s because any reason listed would be bogus. I may not be entirely innocent of the things that landed me here, but I damn sure didn’t steal money from that place. It was those damn accusations that led me to doing the things I did though.”
Isabelle looked down at her hands, trying to keep her mouth shut. This wasn’t her meeting, she was just the facilitator.
“So, you’re saying he fired you for stealing money from Colorado Logistics?” the attorney said.
“That’s what they said. Darren told me if I left without incident, he wouldn’t call the police.”
Isabelle couldn’t keep quiet anymore. “How did you getting fired cause you to commit credit card fraud?”
Her sister turned and glared at her. “I don’t want to talk about that. I’m doing my time, that’s all you need to know.”
Isabelle folded her arms over her chest and looked away. This is why she usually sent Henry or her dad with the girls to visit. Carmen had always stonewalled about her reasons for committing the crime. It seemed to Isabelle that she’d just gotten mixed up with the wrong crowd, but now it looked like there might be more to the story.
Garrett spoke in his velvet smooth voice—the one he sometimes used when scolding a sub. “If I’m understand your criminal record correctly, your sister and your children are some of the people you defrauded as part of your crimes. I would think that absolutely makes this her business.”
Carmen leaned back in her chair and fixed her glare on Garrett. “What are you, her knight in shining armor or something? We get the gossip channels in here too, you know, Izzy. That was some kiss.”
Garrett stood. “I came here hoping we could help each other but you’re clearly not capable of being reasonable. We can just leave.”
Carmen jumped up. “Wait. Can’t you just let me finish my snacks first? They make us throw them away.”
“I’ll stay,” Isabelle said quietly. She knew Garrett wouldn’t be happy with her, but he lowered himself back into his chair.
“Your sister has more patience than I do.”
“Izzy always has been the saint of the family.”
“Isabelle,” he said, putting emphasis on her name, “is a wonderful person who loves your children very much. You should be grateful she’s there for them.”
Carmen’s face fell. “I am,” she murmured. “I love my girls. That’s why I can’t talk about what happened. I got fired for something I didn’t do, and it led to some unfortunate circumstances. I have a lot of regrets.”
Isabelle’s heart twisted for her sister and she wished Carmen would open up. She’d already been tried and convicted, but if it turned out there were extenuating circumstances, maybe they could get her released early.
The attorney leaned in and said, “I understand if you don’t want to give names, but if you pointed us somewhere, it would help our investigation. Mr. Gunn has been embezzling funds from Mr. Oliver’s company for a long time now, but we don’t have all the evidence we need. If you can help us, I can go to a judge and work out a deal to shave some time off your sentence.”
“I want to help. But if I say anything, they could come after my girls.”
Garrett leaned forward and picked up Carmen’s hand. “Listen to me. Isabelle means a great deal to me and that means her family is important to me. I can assure you I’m doing everything in my power to keep them safe. They’re all living in a safe house and I have security watching them twenty-four seven.”
Carmen glanced back and forth between Garrett and Isabelle. “Dang, Izzy. I never expected you to fall for a rich boy’s bling. Dad must be pissed.”
Isabelle rolled her eyes. “He’s coping.” She didn’t want to correct her sister in front of Garrett. They hadn’t fallen for each other… had they?
Carmen opened a Danish and bit into it. “You really think you can keep my girls safe?” she asked, eyeing Garrett with concern in her eyes.
He nodded, his expression grim. “I promise you, Carmen. You have nothing to worry about.”
“Tell that to Helen Peters,” she murmured.
“Who is Helen Peters?” Isabelle asked.
“Someone else who took the fall for stealing money at the warehouse. She’s dead now.”
Isabelle’s stomach lurched and she clutched at her abdomen.
“What do you mean, she’s dead?”
Garrett reached for her hand. “I just found out about her myself. It’s one thing I’m going to have Jax look into.”
“Fuck,” Isabelle whispered.
“Tell me how you were fired,” Garrett said, still holding Isabelle’s hand.
Carmen looked down at her lap. “I actually stumbled into a conversation I shouldn’t have. I think that’s why I became his fall guy. I was training to work in the office when I walked in on Mr. Gunn having some kind of phone conversation. I didn’t recognize the voice on the other end of the call, but they were discussing what to do about red flags in the books. The mystery voice told him to find someone else to fire. Darren said he’d already done that once and didn’t know if he could get away with it again. I remember Helen Peters getting fired unexpectedly, so I started asking about her. That’s when I found out she died. But before she died, she was facing criminal charges that would have put her in prison.”
“Like you,” Isabelle murmured.
Beside her, she could sense Garrett’s anger. If what her sister was saying were true, Darren wasn’t running things. He was simply a puppet for someone else.
“So how does any of this put the girls in danger?” Isabelle asked.
“That’s not something I’m ready to talk about. You come in here and just expect me to spill my guts to two strangers. That’s hardly fair, Izzy.”
They had kind of ambushed her.
“I will say one more thing. When Uncle Henry told me you and some of the other family got fired, I really thought it was someone sending me a message that they can still hurt my family.”
“OK, Carmen. We’ll let it rest for now. You’ve given me some things to look into. We would like to come back, though, and see about having a longer conversation,” Garrett said.
“Fine.” She popped the top on a can of soda and opened a bag of chips, the last of her snacks.
Isabelle wanted to ask who ‘they’ were, but she didn’t want to pressure her. For the next tw
enty minutes, the group made small talk while Carmen ate.
“Is there any way you can put money on my account? I need some things and I wouldn’t mind getting some more paper so I can draw something for the girls.”
Isabelle smiled. Carmen was a talented artist.
“I can spare twenty dollars. Is that enough?”
Carmen nodded and Isabelle didn’t miss the tears glistening in the corners of her eyes.
“Thanks, sis. Come see me again soon.”
They stood and Isabelle hugged her sister tight before they left. When they were through security and on their way to the parking lot, Garrett quietly slipped his hand into hers and squeezed.
Garrett’s driver was waiting for them. In the car, he pulled her close and she let him. “I always feel so bad for her. At the same time, I feel bad for the people she hurt with her actions.”
Garrett pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Thank you for setting that up for me. I know it was difficult, but at least we know Darren wasn’t working alone. It will give us somewhere to look, even if we have no idea who he was working with. It will give Jax someplace to start.”
“Did you talk to him already?”
He nodded. “He’s supposed to have his first update for me later today.”
“I just want to go back home,” she murmured.
“I can take you. You can work from home and take a nap if you want.”
She shook her head. “No. I mean I want to go back to living in my apartment. The house is nice, but it’s a symbol that my family is in danger and I want everyone safe.”
He kissed her head again. “I do too, Doll. I can’t say I want you going back to that apartment complex—not in the state it’s in—but I definitely want to rid you and your family of the current danger you’re in.”
Isabelle rolled her eyes. Her apartment complex was perfectly safe and had been for years.
“Let’s just focus on making things safe for you again and then we can discuss your living situation,” he said as he turned her chin upward and pressed his mouth to hers.
If he hadn’t taken her breath away with his kiss, she might have objected to any discussion of where she would live. For now, she let herself get lost in his taste.
