Jenna squealed as Jackson picked her up and placed her over his shoulder, then swatted her bottom.
Logan took Cassie from Luc. “You can play poker later. Luc and I told Cade we’d drive over the land where he wants to build the new office building for The Larkin Agency. We’ve narrowed it down to four places and we want you to help us decide.”
“Sounds like fun,” Cassie said, then waved at Ravyn and Marisol as she left the room with Luc and Logan.
Marisol smiled at Ravyn, then pointed to the back door. “Go grab a sunhat, then let’s take a walk.”
Isabella came out of the pantry. “There’s a collection of hats hanging on the back porch. You’re welcome to choose from them.”
Marisol led the way toward the back porch, and she and Ravyn each chose a hat, then left through the back door. As soon as they were a few feet away from the house, Marisol took her arm and led her toward the rose garden.
“Let’s look at the roses.” Marisol stopped at the first rose bush, then bent over and smelled a coral bloom. “Cade has the entire place wired for video and audio. Be careful how loud you speak and be sure to look down so they can’t read your lips.” She smiled, then stood up and pointed to the roses.
Ravyn smelled them, then said, “Have you managed to get a message to your father yet?” She stood up and smiled then moved to a large, yellow rose bush and carefully pulled a bloom toward her and sniffed it. “This one is lovely.”
“I sent the information to him last night. He’s going to have one of his best men check into the situation.”
Ravyn nodded. “I’ll never be able to repay you and your father for your help.”
Marisol took her arm and moved toward a red rose bush with a bench beside it. She leaned down and smelled the roses. “No need. My father loves to mess with Mendez. He’s going to free all of the prisoners and destroy the house.”
Ravyn sat down and smiled as she fisted her hands on her lap, then smoothed them out and made herself appear relaxed. She wanted to fidget or scream, but knew to control herself. “This is wonderful.” She saw Marisol smile and knew she realized that she was actually commenting on her father’s plans.
“Yes.” Marisol grabbed a closed bloom. “Peaceful. Hopefully, no ringing phones will disturb us.”
Ravyn understood that everything that could be done was being done. She nodded, then changed the subject. “Have you ever been to Club Mystique before?”
“I’ve toured it, but it wasn’t open at the time.” Marisol examined a red bud.
“My ex-husband took me to a club in Houston once. He went off with one of his women to play in the dungeon. I sat in a booth with a couple of his bodyguards standing over me. It was a little scary.”
“Club Mystique is nice and not scary.” Marisol plucked the rose and held it to her nose, then handed it to Ravyn. “The Ramseys have a large booth, and we’ll all sit there together.”
“It’s big enough for all of us?”
Marisol laughed. “These men are true Texans. They don’t do small.”
Ravyn smiled, then looked toward the house when the back door slammed.
Addison waved at them as she walked toward them. Her flip-flops made a slapping sound on the sidewalk as she reached them. “Cade fell asleep and I snuck out. I swear, I sometimes wonder which one of us is pregnant.” She smoothed her gown over her tummy and turned sideways. “What do you think? Do I look bigger today?”
“Huge,” Marisol said.
Ravyn laughed. “Humongous.”
Addison laughed, then said, “ah oh,” when Cade yelled her name. “Caught again. I swear he has a buzzer or something that lets him know when I move more than ten feet away from him.”
Ravyn looked toward the back door where Cade stood with his arms crossed over his chest. “Why do you let him boss you around, Addison?” She laughed, then added, “I mean, other than the big, bad Dom thing.”
Addison looked in Cade’s direction, then back at her, and Ravyn thought she’d never seen the tiny Irish beauty more serious.
“There’s things you don’t know about Cade. Things even his brothers don’t know—about what happened to him when he was younger.” Addison looked at Cade again, then moved to the rose bush and leaned over and smelled it. “Did you know when Jake and Katherine Ramsey adopted them that Cade didn’t talk to the Ramseys for several years? He began talking to Jake when he was thirteen, but he didn’t talk to Katherine until he was fourteen.”
“Why not?” Ravyn held the bloom to her lips. “Couldn’t he talk?”
“He could, but he only talked to his brothers and even then, only when they needed something. He said the teachers used to yell at him because he couldn’t answer them. Jake told them Cade would talk when he had something to say and not one damn day before then.” Addison laughed, then her smile disappeared and she crossed her arms over her chest and clasped her elbows with her hands as she looked in his direction.
“But what about the tradition they have of celebrating the anniversary of their adoption every year? Zane told me Cade started it when he was twelve,” Ravyn said, then explained to Marisol that the five brothers celebrated the date of their adoption by the Ramseys every year with cake and iced tea, sometimes beer.
Addison smiled. “He started it because he knew his brothers were safe with Jake and Katherine. He told me there were many times he wanted to run away because he didn’t feel worthy of Jake and Katherine’s love for him.”
“I know their mother was an alcoholic and she neglected them, but was she physically abusive? Did Cade have to protect his brothers from her?” Ravyn asked, then watched Addison’s blue eyes darken with rage as her hands fisted.
“He protected them. Except one time when Luc was sick and stayed home from school. Joan got drunk and took a belt to Luc. She left cuts on him. Cade said he should have known to stay home that day, but there was a birthday party at school and he wanted to go. They had cake, you see?” Addison blinked her eyes to clear the tears from them, then glanced toward Cade as she stroked her hands over her belly. “He was really happy about the baby at first, but now he worries that something will go wrong and he’ll lose me. I need to reassure him. Can you all help me do that? Please?”
Ravyn glanced in Cade’s direction again, then stood and hugged Addison. “Only happy baby stories with happy endings. And, definitely no teasing. Okay?”
Marisol laughed. “You realize he has this whole place bugged and might have recorded part of what you’ve just said?”
Addison smiled, then nodded. “Of course,” she said and her smile turned secretive. “Cade’s an amazing man, but I’m going to have to change him. Just a little.”
Marisol and Ravyn laughed as Marisol took Addison’s arm. “It’s probably time for lunch, and you and Limo need to eat. Then, after lunch, you can teach me to play poker.”
The three of them walked back toward the house, but Ravyn’s mind wasn’t on lunch or poker. Instead, it was on the Ramsey brothers. Cade was one of the toughest men she’d ever met. At first, she’d wondered if he was really capable of loving Addison. Being with them, though, had convinced her that he loved his wife with a fierceness that couldn’t be broken. It made her wonder, though, what kind of childhood baggage Zane was carrying around and how it would affect his chances for a happy future. With someone else, she reminded herself, because sooner or later, her phone would ring and she’d have to destroy any chance she had of ever being with him.
* * * *
Zane paged through the brief in front of him, then looked up when his boss, Harry Jennings, cleared his throat.
“We’ve set the date for Charles Dolman’s trial. There’s no evidence that his ex-wife had any intention of having him killed,” Jennings said.
“What about Dolman’s allegations that his father-in-law, Douglas Benson, was laundering money for Carlos Mendez?”
“There’s no evidence that either Benson or his daughter were involved in that.” Jennings flipped through hi
s file, then asked, “What last name is Ravyn Dolman going by now?”
“Templeton,” Zane said.
Jennings wrote something on the inside of the file, then nodded. “The FBI is investigating Dolman. I’ve met with the special agent in charge of the case, Jan Michaels. She hasn’t been able to find Ravyn Templeton to speak to her. She did track down the Bensons’ previous housekeeper, Ellen Clark. She had a lot to say about Dolman and none of it was good.”
Zane sat forward, eager to hear anything that would clear Ravyn of any involvement. “Like what?”
“Ms. Clark said Dolman was a friend of Ravyn Templeton’s mother, Margaret Templeton. He moved to Texas and began working for Benson after Margaret Templeton was kidnapped and murdered fourteen years ago.”
“What?” Zane knew his surprise showed on his face. “I didn’t know her mother was murdered.”
Jennings nodded. “I looked up the case. Fourteen years ago, Margaret Benson was kidnapped while she and Ravyn were vacationing at their beach home near Corpus Christi. The investigators said the only reason they didn’t get Ravyn was because she was at a friend’s birthday party. Benson paid the ransom against the FBI’s advice. His wife’s body was found on the beach a few days later. Ms. Clark told the FBI that Douglas Benson became obsessed with keeping his daughter safe after that.”
Zane sat back while he thought about this new information. “That answers why she didn’t have a social life of any kind. Might also explain why she married Dolman.”
Jennings shook his head. “Ms. Clark said Benson had been diagnosed with cancer and was afraid he wouldn’t be around to protect her. He forced her to marry Dolman. After a very private ceremony held at their home, Dolman took Ravyn to Colombia for their honeymoon. They were supposed to be gone for a week but they ended up staying longer and only returned to America after Benson died a year later.”
Zane could feel his anger with Ravyn growing. She’d lied to him when she’d said she thought Dolman had had her father killed. “So Benson died of cancer?”
Jennings shook his head. “He died in a hit-and-run accident when he was crossing the street after meeting a client at a restaurant. Ms. Clark told the FBI that Benson gave up control of his company to Dolman right before his death.”
“Did she say why he did that?” Zane asked.
“No, but she said that Dolman and Ravyn lived in a home owned by Carlos Mendez during the year they spent in Colombia.”
Zane was beginning to get a clearer picture of Ravyn’s life with her father and Dolman and none of it looked good. “Where did Dolman live before he married Ravyn? Did he have a home of his own?”
“Ms. Clark said when he first moved to Texas, he had an apartment, but by the time Ravyn was fourteen he’d moved into the Benson home.”
“Do we know anything about Dolman before he moved to Texas?”
“I’m sure the FBI is looking into that.” Jennings glanced at his watch, then slid a card across the table to Zane. “That’s Special Agent Michael’s contact information.” He stood up. “I promised my wife I’d be home for dinner on time, for once.”
Zane gathered his files and followed him to the door. “Looks like you’re already late.”
“As usual.” Jennings nodded. “Keep me in the loop. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Zane stuck his files beneath his arm, then headed for his office. He had a lot to think about before he drove to the ranch Friday night to see Ravyn.
Chapter Five
Zane slammed through the saloon-style doors at Club Mystique. What the hell did Ravyn think she was doing, going to Club Mystique without him?
The receptionist, Carly, smiled at him, then lowered her eyes and let him pass without the usual sign-in process. In the main room, he turned to the left, then stopped. Hands on his hips, he stared at the new half-moon table that had replaced the booth he and his brothers usually shared. It seemed there were a lot of things going on that he hadn’t been consulted about, and his anger increased.
Ravyn sat in the middle, facing him, with an empty chair to her right. Addison sat on Cade’s lap with Jackson next to them. Jenna’s back was to him as she straddled Jackson and nuzzled his neck. There were two empty chairs at their end of the table. Luc and Logan sat to Ravyn’s left and apparently, Luc’s turn to hold Cassie had just ended as he was in the process of passing her over to Logan. The two chairs next to them were occupied by Isabella and a man he assumed was Nate Grant. When he saw the matching outfits the women wore and the club collar around Ravyn’s neck, he clenched his fists and gritted his teeth until they ached.
Ravyn saw him, smiled, and waved. He glared and wondered how many drinks she’d had tonight as she dropped her hand and the smile on her face disappeared. He stalked toward the table and planted his hands on the smooth top, then leaned over until he was almost nose-to-nose with her. “Get up. We’re leaving.”
Ravyn leaned back, then lifted her glass of wine and took a sip.
“Did you hear me?”
She licked a drop of wine from her lips as she set the glass down. “Yes, but I don’t want to leave. I’m having a good time, Sir.”
Zane glanced at Cade and Jackson. “How many drinks has she had?”
Before the men could answer, Ravyn said, “This one.” She held up the almost-full glass of wine. “I’m happy to see you, Zane.”
Zane ignored her and focused on Cade. “You shouldn’t have brought her here.”
Cade smiled, then spoke to Ravyn. “Do you have a contract with Zane?”
“No, Sir.” Ravyn smiled, then touched the club medallion that hung from the collar around her neck. “It’s just little ole me, all by my lonesome self.”
Cade smiled again and Zane thought he looked way too satisfied with the situation, which meant Addison was involved. He glanced at her and frowned when she smiled at him.
“Then Ravyn’s free to do as she pleases.” Cade smiled again. “Would you like to join us, little brother?”
Zane sighed, then nodded. As far as he was concerned, Addison was turning out to be a really bad influence on Cade and was causing him to lose his edge. “What the hell happened to the booth?”
“Logan and I decided it was too confining.” Luc smoothed his hand over the top. “This table is on hinges so we can flip it over if we need to, and it’s bulletproof.”
“Are you expecting trouble?” Zane looked around the club while wondering if they were being targeted, then gave himself a mental shake. God, his brothers, and their crazy women, were turning him into a paranoid bastard. He straightened up, then prepared himself for more of their insanity.
“Cassie likes to be prepared.” Logan pulled Cassie toward him. “Don’t you, sugar?”
“Better safe than sorry,” Cassie said.
Zane smiled when Luc and Logan nodded in agreement like well-trained monkeys. In his head, he pictured them wearing tiny red caps and holding out little tin cups with the words “Help, Cassie’s taken our balls” printed on them. He laughed and they looked puzzled. His attention moved to Cade when he slapped the table then pointed to Isabella and her companion.
“Zane, you’ve met Isabella, but you haven’t met Nate Grant. Nate, this is our youngest brother, Zane.”
Zane’s manners kicked in and he reached over and shook the large man’s hand before he turned back to Ravyn. Before he could say anything, Jackson stood up, then pulled Jenna to her feet.
“Dance with me, angel,” Jackson said as the band began playing a slow country song.
Cade stood up, then slid Addison down until her feet touched the floor. “We’ll join you.”
Zane loosened his tie and jerked it off as he walked around the table. He shrugged out of his suit jacket and hung it on the back of the chair next to Ravyn. Once he was settled, he scooted his chair closer to hers. “You shouldn’t be here and you know it.”
Ravyn twisted to face him. “Why not? It’s not like I’m breaking the law or anything.”
“Sir.”
Zane leaned toward her, crowding her. He grabbed her glass of wine, took a sip, and moved the glass out of her reach. “If you want to play at being a sub, then follow the rules. I’m sure the royals have taught them to you by now.”
Ravyn sucked in a deep breath. “How do you know about that?”
“I told you, Cade bugs everything. That includes the area around the pool.”
“Then I’ll be careful what I say anywhere on the ranch, Sir Jack.” Ravyn smiled, then sobered. “Why are you here?”
Zane frowned at the new nickname she’d given him. “Watch it, or you might find yourself over my lap.” He saw her shiver of arousal and had to force himself to remember why he’d wanted to see her tonight. “I want to talk to you about your ex-husband and the year you lived in Colombia after you married him.” Zane saw the color drain from Ravyn’s cheeks and a red flag went up. She was hiding something and didn’t like that he was closing in on her secrets.
Ravyn lowered her eyes. “There’s nothing to tell. I married Charles because my father insisted I marry him. He took me to Colombia for our honeymoon. He said it was a working honeymoon because he had some business to take care of there.”
Zane went on the offense. “Did you know you were going to stay in a home owned by Carlos Mendez?”
“No. Charles said he’d leased it for our honeymoon.”
“How many times did you meet Mendez?”
Ravyn leaned back in the chair and crossed her arms over her chest. “I only met him once, very briefly, when he came to dinner. He frightened me.”
“Did you know you were going to be in Colombia for a year when you went there?”
“No. Why are you asking me all these questions?”
Zane ignored her question. “Did you know your father turned his business over to Dolman right before his death?”
“He had cancer and he wanted to make sure his business would be okay.”
Zane felt his anger increase when Ravyn looked away from him, and he knew she was only telling him part of the truth. “What about you? Did he want you to be okay, too?”
Maxwell, Mardi - Zane's Choice [The Doms of Club Mystique 4] (Siren Publishing Allure) Page 10
