Midnight with You
Page 20
When she’d reached baggage claim, she tapped her foot as she waited for her luggage. The way her day had gone, her bags might have ended up in Pittsburgh.
Stay strong. Have hope.
Someday. Someday they’ll be here.
She’d always figured if a person paid for first class then her luggage should be off the plane first. Never seemed to work out that way.
Of course, her two hard shell suitcases came up the conveyor belt last, but at least they’d made it to Phoenix with her. She secured her luggage and headed out to catch a cab.
The airport wasn’t exceptionally busy, and within fifteen minutes she was on her way to the AAA Five Diamond Scottsdale Princess Resort in North Scottsdale. One of Celine’s select few friends, Meredith, had told her she had to go to the Princess when she came to Scottsdale. Meredith knew fine resort living and knew it well.
The sunshine and the warmth didn’t surprise Celine—she’d never been to Arizona, but she’d seen plenty of photographs. What did surprise her was just how much she liked the view. She’d thought the Phoenix desert would be far too barren for her tastes. But what she saw through the cab’s windows, between the airport and the Princess, called to her in a way that mystified her.
Clear blue skies and an endless stretch of land that went on for miles, gave her an aching desire to explore this place, so different from any location she’d been before.
Breathing room. She had none of that in New York City. She couldn’t begin to imagine what it would be like to live in a place with so much space.
And it was a dry heat. No humidity to cause her hair to go curly or melt her insanely expensive designer, supposedly un-meltable, makeup.
Bonus points for Arizona.
Celine tapped her fingers on her purse. She needed to focus on the commercial shoot and the print ads. She’d been doing her best to not think about what had become a complete headache. She had to go to a ranch tomorrow, for however long it took to get the commercial done. A ranch somewhere in the middle of nowhere.
And horses. I’ll be near horses.
Her throat ached and she shoved the thought aside.
Why couldn’t Rod have found a place in North Scottsdale instead of going for Monty’s lame rustic ranch idea? From everything she’d read, Scottsdale was much more civilized than Prescott. But she’d only get to spend the one night here, and then off to the Arizona wilds—or so she imagined.
Celine leaned back in her seat and sighed. To top it off, the location had ended up being selected on a bet, and she’d heard the cowboy who owned the ranch was none too happy to have them. Well, she certainly wasn’t happy about the situation, either.
She pictured the owner. What was his name? Something like Jack? Jerry? No, it was Jayson. Likely the man was an old, weatherworn cowboy with skin as tough as leather and wrinkles like sand dunes. Probably walked bow-legged on top of that.
At least Trevor, her photographer, loved the ranch. He had visited the original location and said this one was superb—far better with more opportunities for a great photoshoot and commercial.
The models had complained about the smell of cow manure until Trevor had threatened to take shots with the models shoveling shit. Celine smiled to herself. Apparently that had shut them up.
Damn, but she loved Trevor. He was a complete pain in the ass, but he was sharp, knowledgeable, artistic, and just flat out the best in the business. He was worth every damned penny she paid him. And yes, he had assured her, he did shit gold bricks with perfect edges.
She braced her elbow on the cab windowsill, put her head in her hand, and stared out without seeing.
Celine wasn’t sure how she was going to do on the ranch. It had been a long time since she’d been close to horses. Her belly took a dive and the wine and cheese she’d had in first class curdled. It would soon come back up.
It had happened so long ago. How could the pain still be so deep? She should be over it now.
She should have forgiven herself, but she never had.
Do I deserve to be free of that guilt?
She didn’t think she ever could be. Or if she even wanted to be free.
* * *
Celine reclined on her hotel bed and idly stared into a glass of Chardonnay that reflected the bedside light. The stack of papers from Monty lay scattered on the comforter beside her. She’d been putting off looking at them.
No doubt, more money out than in.
She needed another drink.
Celine idly played with the soft material of her burnt sienna dress. She loved silk, and she loved the soft flowy outfit she had designed. One benefit of her career—she could create whatever she wanted to wear.
Her phone rang and she picked it up from the nightstand. Monty lit up the screen.
She sighed. Lately hearing from Monty meant more bad news than good. She wanted to answer with “What now?” but settled for, “Hi, Monty.”
“Bad news.” He sounded dead serious.
Then she did say, “What now?”
“I don’t suppose you’ve listened to the news today?” he said.
She frowned. “No time. Why?”
He sounded genuinely agitated. “Big ransom malware attack all over the damned globe.”
Her brow furrowed. “Speak English.”
“A hacker syndicate sends out a ‘bug’ that takes over a company’s computer systems and encrypts all their data. They demand money to give you back control of your own computers. That’s why they call it ransomware.”
Her heart nearly stopped beating. “And you’re telling me this because…”
“You got hit with it, Celine,” he said. “Twenty thousand.”
She almost didn’t dare to ask. “Twenty thousand what?”
“Dollars,” Monty said. “They’ve ransomed every bit of computer access to your financial records as well as all of your designs. If we don’t pay them, they’ll delete everything.”
“No.” The word came out on a moan. “Don’t tell me that.”
“I’m sorry, kid.”
Celine banged the phone against her forehead. Not now.
Her head hurt when she brought the phone back to her ear. “What do you recommend?”
“You don’t have a choice,” he said. “But I’ll make sure you won’t ever get hit again. I’ll get you the best computer protection money can buy.”
“Okay.” She sighed. “Do it.”
“I’ll take care of everything,” Monty said.
Celine hung up. The Bearer of Bad News kept giving her more bad news all the time. She should have thought to ask what “the best computer protection money can buy” would cost her.
“This sucks,” she said and dropped the phone onto the mattress. Now she couldn’t decide if she should review the papers Monty had given her, to get the bad news out of the way all at once—or ignore them in favor of drinking more wine.
The wine won.
She took a long swallow. Screw sipping.
What about my bank accounts? Business and personal? She frowned. Could they have been attacked, too?
Celine slid her laptop out of the tote beside her on the bed, then booted it up. Maybe she wasn’t the most tech savvy person, but she could find her way around a computer pretty well.
First, she checked her personal and business bank accounts. Her business account looked a little low, but then she’d had to spend money for one thing after another—necessary expenses per Monty.
Next, she did a Google search for software that would protect personal computers from outside attack. Multiple links popped up and she chose the most promising. When that company proved useless, she made her way through three more before she found one that could potentially work.
She never mixed her personal accounts with her business accounts. Monty had said he would be happy to take care of both, but she had declined. She needed to have control of something.
When she finished, she shoved the laptop into her tote and sagged against the pillows a
gain.
Hopefully she’d protected her personal accounts. But she was out the door already on the twenty thousand ransomed from her business accounts.
This sucks.
Her mobile rang again.
“Go away,” she wailed.
She glared at the screen, then relaxed when she saw Meredith.
“It’s so good to hear your voice,” she said in way of answering.
“You hadn’t even heard it yet.”
“I don’t care,” Celine said. “You could just breathe and I’d be happy.”
Meredith laughed. “What’s going on? Homesick?”
Celine didn’t know what it was like to be homesick. She shook her head. “Long day, that’s all.”
Meredith knew about Celine’s business and about a lot of the people in it, but Celine never shared financial issues. She never talked business with friends.
Not that she had many friends. A handful, if that.
“Come home and let Rod, Trevor, and Monty handle this commercial thing.” Meredith’s voice pressed into Celine’s head, forcing her to pay attention.
Celine sipped from the glass. “Liquid courage,” some said. Celine simply considered it to be a fluid way to deal with crap or just plain forget.
Meredith’s voice tugged Celine to the present. “I saw a gorgeous new pair of earrings at Tiffany’s.”
“I have to stay.” She wanted to cry at the thought of all the money she had to pay out, not counting the ransomware blackmailing thing. Instead, she swallowed the rest of her drink, then raised her empty glass. “Apparently, I need more wine.”
Meredith groaned. “Celine, what’s going on?”
“I’m okay.” Celine had never had a female friend like Meredith. She had made her way into Celine’s life until she had to admit that Meredith was a special person, and one of the best things that had happened in her life. “This is my career and I need to take care of business.”
Meredith’s sigh was audible over the phone. “I suppose you’re right. I just worry about you.”
“I know.” Celine smiled. “You’re a wonderful friend and I love you for it.” She set her wine glass on the nightstand. “I’m tired and I’m going to get some sleep.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Meredith yawned. “I didn’t realize it’s so late. It’s nearly midnight here.”
Celine laughed. “You knew exactly what time it is. You just wanted to check on me.”
“Busted.” Meredith’s grin was clear in her voice. “Good night, Celine. I’ll talk with you tomorrow. Got it?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Celine’s smile lasted until she said, “Good night,” and disconnected the call.
She looked at the wall across the bed while she sipped wine. She really didn’t know if she’d be able to sleep.
Maybe she needed to start going to a shrink. Mother had always thought therapists and psychiatrists, and the best possible meds, were the answer to everything. Mother would have been livid if she had known Celine spit out the meds they had forced her to take for so-called depression.
Celine had not been depressed. She’d been hurt, sad, in pain, and heartbroken…but mostly filled with devastating guilt. That didn’t mean she needed drugs. Some people did, and that was okay. But she hadn’t.
However, her mother had seen to it the psychiatrist prescribed some designer antidepressant that had cost a ridiculous amount every month.
And her mother’s voice—it rang in her head, as if she was in the room, with her correcting, criticizing, ordering, demanding.
Take your medicine, Celine. It’s for your own good.
Be calm and act like a lady.
Ladies do not cry.
Do what you’re told or you will regret crossing me.
Don’t wear that. You look fat in it.
A kindergartner could put on makeup better than that.
Celine gritted her teeth and closed her eyes. Stop it. Stop the mom-voice before it really gets up to speed. Her arm ached to throw her glass in the cold fireplace.
She took a deep, calming breath and let herself relax. She imagined tension leaving every part of her body.
In spite of brick walls she’d had to break through, she had started her own business from scratch and broke into a tough industry during a financial downturn. The success of her business had been amazing.
Now she needed to take amazing and boost it into incredible. She needed everyone’s eyes on her designs. With a successful launch of her latest line, her designs would be in stores across the country.
She smiled. She’d worked her butt off to get here without using the checking account Mother and Father had set up for her when she was young. She had taken what money she had used for college and repaid every cent back into that account, including interest.
It had been so important to pay her way, create, and become successful on her own.
And that was exactly what she’d done.
Celine set the wine glass on the nightstand and sank into her pillows. Part of her need for success was to be able to donate to a cause that meant more to her than anything. A charity that brought Arabian horses and underprivileged teenagers together.
She didn’t know a lot about kids, but she did remember what it was like to be a teenager, and how healing a relationship with a horse could be.
Her heart constricted as she thought about Sky. What an amazing horse she’d been. Her best friend, her confidant. And then she was gone…and it had been Celine’s fault.
In the future, she wanted to own a ranch that used horses for therapy with teens. She wanted kids to experience what she had when Sky was alive. And she wanted them to learn from her mistake.
Celine didn’t drift off for a long time. Eventually she slipped into a fitful sleep. She dreamt of Sky galloping in an open field, before darkness fell. In the black of night, the only thing she saw was the word Merf, scratched into a wall.
Also by Cheyenne McCray
(in reading order)
* * *
~Paranormal Romance~
“Dark Sorcery” Series
The Forbidden
The Seduced
The Wicked
One Breath (novella)
The Shadows
The Dark
* * *
~Contemporary Cowboys~
“Riding Tall” Series
The McBrides
Branded For You
Roping Your Heart
Fencing You In
Tying You Down
Playing With You
Crazy For You
Hot For You
Made For You
Held By You
Belong To You
* * *
Amazed by You
Loved by You
Midnight With You
Wild for You
* * *
“Rough and Ready” Series
The Camerons
Silk and Spurs
Lace and Lassos
Champagne and Chaps
Satin and Saddles
Roses and Rodeo (with Creed McBride)
Lingerie and Lariats
Lipstick and Leather
* * *
“Armed and Dangerous” Series
Zack
Luke
Clay
Kade
Alex (novella)
About Cheyenne
Cheyenne McCray is an award winning, New York Times and USA Today Best Selling author who is a rare native Arizonan.
In her spare time she loves to torture characters—whether they’re misbehaving or not—and kill off deserving individuals. She also has a blast blowing things up. All fictionally, of course.
Chey enjoys creating stories of love, suspense, and redemption, and she loves building worlds her readers can get lost in.
Cheyenne and her equally geeky husband live in the wilds of Arizona with their two dogs, Checkers and Nikki.
To catch up with Cheyenne
www.CheyenneMcCray.
com
chey@cheyennemccray.com