She sighed. “All right, but why couldn’t you tell me in the office. . . ?” Her words slowed down as realization filled her. “The place is bugged?”
He nodded.
She jumped away from the car. “How much? I mean did they see us or just hear us?”
“Both,” he admitted.
“Great, those Peeping Toms watched when I kissed you. Don’t they have any sense of privacy?”
“Honey.” He took her by the hand. “They know I trust you. They’ve watched and seen you do nothing illegal. They’ve seen when you’ve come in after hours and worked on the Innovative Trust project.”
Red crimson stained her cheeks.
“Honey, I know it’s embarrassing, and obviously I’ve been told about your coming in. But they’ve come in after you and have looked over all your work. They know you’re not the guilty party. Innovative Trust is a phony company. It’s a sting I’ve been planning with the FBI.”
“What? I–I spent all that time on, on. . .” She sat down on the curb and buried her face in her hands.
He sat beside her.
An agent approached. “She’ll have to remain in my custody.”
Renee raised her head. “Who are you?”
“Agent Wyman, Miss. I’m sorry, but your knowledge about the operation. . . I have to stay by you.”
“You heard our conversation?” Renee asked and glanced over to Aaron.
“Yes, your car is—”
“I suppose my apartment is also?”
“Only with listening devices.”
“Aaron?” she questioned.
“I’m sorry. They insisted. And that’s how the emergency services came to your aid so quickly when Benny attacked you.”
“You mean I was never in any real danger of being arrested?”
Aaron bowed his head and shook it no. “The local police weren’t aware of the situation at the time. So the threat was real from their perspective. Harvey set them straight without exposing the federal agents.”
“Aaron, I love you, but I don’t know what to do here. I thought you trusted me. I thought—”
“Begging your pardon, Miss Austin, but Mr. Chapin needs to make his appointment if this sting is going to work.”
“Renee, believe me, I love you, and I’ve trusted you all the way.”
For some reason his words seemed hollow, trite even. If he really trusted her, why didn’t he protect her from this invasion of privacy?
“Agent Wyman, can I go in and get my purse?”
“Yes. Then I’ll take you to a secure location.”
“Fine.” She had little choice in the matter. She loved Aaron too much to stand in the way of this investigation. Wounded pride aside, she’d do what she could to help him.
“Renee, I’m not leaving until I know you believe me,” Aaron persisted. “I don’t care about the sting. I care about you and me and what the Lord’s been building between us. Please tell me you’ll let me explain?” He caressed the top of her hand with his thumb. His dark orbs penetrated her senses.
She nodded. She couldn’t speak, not and control her tongue.
“Thank you.” He kissed the top of her forehead. “I’ll be back as soon as possible. They’ll take good care of you. I love you.” He waved as he ran toward his van.
She stood there frozen for a moment, then turned and headed into the office. The phone rang. Without thinking, she picked it up. “Sunny Flo Designs, Renee speaking.”
“Renee?” She could hear Brent’s anger.
“Brent, what’s the matter?”
“You know what’s the matter. I trusted you. I thought you were a Christian. I never in a million years would have thought you would do this to me, Renee. Okay, I admit I ended our relationship badly, but did you have to steal from me?”
“What are you talking about?” Renee collapsed in her chair. “Steal what?”
“Don’t give me that sweet innocent talk. I don’t buy it, not anymore. How could you do this?”
“Will you stop talking in riddles and tell me what’s happened?”
“You know perfectly well what happened. Why would you break in and steal my proposals? You used to be so creative. Did you steal from others when you worked for me?”
“Look, Brent. I’m not sure what you’re talking about but—”
Agent Wyman picked up the phone. “Mr. Cinelli, this is Kevin Wyman. I’m an associate of Miss Austin. Could she call you back in a minute?”
“You tell that woman to stay away from me, you hear?”
“Yes, Sir.”
How could Brent think I would ever steal from him. Why? I was his best designer. This doesn’t make sense.
Agent Wyman hung up the phone. Renee heard the electronic hum of a disconnected line. Her life seemed to be singing the same annoying hum.
“Miss Austin, we need to leave. Please come with me.”
The bell over the door rang.
“Hey, Renee, what’s happening?” John said as he bounced into his seat.
“Not much. I need to go with Mr. Wyman. Can you lock up when you leave?” she asked.
“Sure, where’s Aaron?”
“He has a three o’clock with Innovative Trust.”
“Ahh, I hope they buy it. We worked hard on that one.”
“Yeah.” She tried to sound hopeful, but knew she was failing miserably. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Sure. Don’t forget I go home on Saturday. I’ll be back after the new year.”
“No problem. If I don’t see you tomorrow, have a good visit.”
John knitted his eyebrows but said nothing. “See ya.”
She waved and led Agent Wyman out the door. Thank the Lord he didn’t have a trench coat or a field jacket that had FBI written across the back in big bold letters. Instead, he wore a pair of jeans and a light cotton jersey.
“Am I under arrest?” she asked after they crossed the parking lot.
“No, it’s more like protective custody. Miss Austin, we need to contact Brent Cinelli. It sounds like he’s been experiencing some of what Mr. Chapin’s been going through.”
The man was a regular genius. “Yeah, but I don’t think he’d believe me. I hope you catch this creep. Someone’s trying to make me look bad, and I want to know why. I don’t have any enemies. This doesn’t make sense.”
“It’ll work out. And we know you’re not responsible. We’ve watched you too closely.”
“Thanks, I think,” she snickered.
❧
“Mr. Chapin, so glad you could come. We at Innovative Trust believe in doing business differently. Please, join me and Mr. Sutton.”
Aaron kept a straight face. Sutton was a young executive type with styled hair, perfectly pressed suit, and a pin-shaped nose that chiseled his face tensed. Was this the man? He’d never seen him before. Why would he attack my business, Lord? What have I ever done to him? He playacted along and shrugged his shoulders. “Mr. Yang, I’m sorry, but I thought we had an appointment for me to show you—”
Yang cut him off. “Yes, yes, Mr. Chapin, we do, but Mr. Sutton had an appointment before yours, and I dare say the time has gotten away from me. He was just presenting his proposal. I think you’ll be quite impressed with his work.”
Sutton’s forehead beaded with sweat. He rose to leave. “I should be going.”
Agent Yang came up behind him and placed his hand on the man’s shoulder. “Please stay, I think you’ve done a wonderful job on your proposal.”
David Sutton cleared his throat. “Thank you, but I wouldn’t want to impose on Mr. Chapin’s time.”
“Nonsense,” Aaron grinned. “I’d love to see your work. I’m sure it’s fine, but it can’t compare with mine.”
Sutton’s eyes moved back and forth in rapid fire. He looked to be planning his escape.
“Very well.” Sutton coughed.
“I’m sorry, are you coming down with a cold?” Agent Yang asked.
“Something’s just caught in m
y throat.” He fumbled over his words.
“Mr. Sutton is with B&J Advertising,” Yang offered.
Aaron nodded and rose. “You’ve obviously impressed Mr. Yang. Perhaps I should let the two of you work out the details of your contract.”
A narrow smile slithered up the finely chiseled face of David Sutton.
“Nonsense, Mr. Chapin. I’d like you to see it.”
Aaron stopped at the door. “But Mr. Yang, if you like his proposal so much, I’ll spare you the time and let you settle things with Mr. Sutton.”
“Better luck next time.” Sutton stood tall, extended his hand to Aaron, and even sucked in his gut a bit.
Aaron put his hand to the doorknob, then paused. “You know, Mr. Yang, I think I will take you up on your offer. I’d love to see what got you so excited. Guess I’m more curious than I thought.”
Sutton’s shoulders slumped.
“Excellent decision, Mr. Chapin. Sit, sit.” Yang pushed the keys of Sutton’s laptop. Aaron glanced over to see the poor man visibly shaking. As the Power Point presentation ended, Yang hit a key to pause the demonstration. “What do you think, Mr. Chapin?”
“I think it’s an excellent proposal.” Aaron turned to Mr. Sutton from B&J Advertising. “I’m just curious how he stole it from my company.”
“You’re daft,” Sutton squeaked.
“Am I? So if I go over here and click a couple keys, nothing will happen, right?”
Sutton looked over to him, to Yang, then bolted toward the door. Two agents in black field dress with bulletproof vests appeared in the doorway.
“You’re under arrest, David Sutton.” The agents proceeded to read him his rights.
Aaron took a deep breath and sat back down. “Just answer me one question. Why did you try to implicate Renee?”
“She got me fired from Brentwood Designs. I had a perfectly good career going, then she became Brent Cinelli’s lover and, boom, I was out the door like yesterday’s trash.”
Aaron shook his head.
“You just wait. She’s a vicious witch of a woman. And she’s got you wrapped around her finger.”
With any luck he’d have something wrapped around Renee’s finger that had nothing to do with dishonesty and deceit but had everything to do with honesty, love, and grace.
The next few hours were spent going over details of the case with the agents in charge. They informed Aaron how Brent Cinelli’s company had been compromised and that David Sutton had also left a trail there implicating Renee. Thankfully, the agents were able to counter Brent’s accusations against Renee and show him the evidence against David Sutton. Brent Cinelli provided employee documents and records.
As Aaron worked his way through the city traffic back to his home, he prayed Renee would be there when he arrived. He’d asked the agents to drop her off at his house.
His cell phone rang. He slipped on the headset and pushed the button. “Hello?”
“Daddy, Daddy, I’m scared,” Adam cried.
Eighteen
“What do you mean you can’t find Adam?” Renee screamed.
“He disappeared,” the female officer informed her.
“Disappeared! Little boys don’t just disappear. Come on, we’re going to find him.” Renee ran out the hotel room’s sliding glass door and onto the beach. He could be anywhere. She scanned the area.
“You’ll have to stay here, Miss Austin,” Agent Wyman protested.
She turned back to him. “Am I under arrest?”
“No.”
“Then I’m leaving.” She ran down to the edge of the shore. “Adam,” she hollered. The female officer assigned to Adam came up beside her. “Okay, show me where you lost him.”
“I didn’t lose him,” the officer protested.
“My foot, you didn’t. It was your job to protect him, watch him, to make sure no harm came to him. I’d say you blew it.”
“I bent down to tie my shoe, and the kid disappeared. He’s fine; I’m sure of it.” The officer’s hands shook.
Renee wasn’t going to argue with the woman. She didn’t have time. “Adam,” she called again.
She went into a full jog. He couldn’t have gone too far, she hoped. “Father, keep him safe.”
“Adam,” she called again. Other parents stood up on the beach, drawn to the commotion. She stopped to talk with a young father playing with his son, who was building a sand castle. “Did you see a small boy, dark hair, Hispanic, come by here?”
“No,” the man answered, rising from the sand. “We’ve been at the water’s edge for about thirty minutes. If he passed, I would have seen him.”
Then he must have gone the other way, she reasoned. “Thanks.” She turned and ran harder back in the direction she’d come from. “Adam,” she called again.
A swarm of police officers and agents huddled near the patio of the hotel room. “You could help find him,” she yelled as she ran by.
After a minute of hard running down the beach, she saw him, at last, standing with another family. “Adam!” Tears filled her eyes.
“Renee!” he shouted and ran toward her.
She scooped him up and hugged him hard. “Thank You, Lord.” Tears ran down her cheeks.
“I was so scared. Mr. Mike let me use his phone to call Daddy.”
“Thank you.” She looked over to middle-aged man with three small girls playing around him.
“You really ought to be more careful,” he kindly chastised.
“Someone else was supposed to be watching him. Thank you, I’ll take him back to the hotel.”
“His father’s on his way here,” Mr. Mike informed her.
“Granddad, can we play with our new friend?” the oldest of the three girls asked.
“Can I?” Adam wiggled in her arms.
She didn’t want to let go. “Sure, Buddy.”
“Apparently he wandered off,” she murmured, keeping her eyes focused on Adam.
“He said he was chasing a seagull.”
Renee nodded. “Thanks for rescuing him.”
“No trouble. As you can see, I have three granddaughters of my own. They can move quickly.”
A nervous chuckle escaped her throat. “Yeah, they sure can.”
“Ms. Austin,” the female officer called, approaching them, “Mr. Wyman would like to speak with you.”
“Later. I’m waiting here for Mr. Chapin.”
The woman opened her mouth to protest, then clamped it shut.
A squeal of brakes turned Renee’s head toward the parking lot. Aaron. She smiled and waved. “Adam,” she called, “Daddy’s here.”
He jumped up and ran to his father. I love those two so much. Could it ever work out for me to be Aaron’s wife and Adam’s mother? The real question was, would he ever fully trust her?
❧
Aaron held his son tightly to his chest and shook. Thank You, Lord. He’s all right. Renee came up beside him, and he pulled her into their embrace. He kissed them both. “Adam, why did you wander off?”
“I’m sorry, Daddy. I was chasing the seagull.”
“You’re forgiven, but don’t do it again.”
“I won’t. I was scared. Mr. Mike is a nice man.”
“Yes, he is.” Aaron glanced over to the middle-aged man and smiled. “Let me put you down, Sport.” Aaron walked over to “Mr. Mike,” as Adam called him, and expressed his thanks once again. How fortunate Adam had been that Mr. Mike was a teacher at a local Christian school and had come to the beach with his granddaughters. Aaron couldn’t stop thanking the Lord enough for watching over his son.
Soon the small family made their way to his van. “It’s over, Renee,” he whispered in her ear. “We caught him.”
“Who was it?”
“Do you recall a David Sutton?”
“He used to work at Brentwood Designs. He couldn’t produce on our timetable.”
“Apparently he’s been blaming you for his job loss.”
“You mean all of this is becaus
e of me?” She stopped at the edge of the parking lot.
“No, it’s all because one man, David Sutton, was greedy and too lazy to work on his own. It seems to me that if he’d taken the time he spent breaking into our system and setting you up and applied it to his own job, he might not have felt the need to use you.”
Renee shook her head. “But what about the break-in? The robbery?”
“That we don’t know about yet. Maybe David hired someone. We should know soon. Right now, I’m exhausted. Let’s go home.”
Renee nodded and nibbled her lower lip. Aaron massaged her shoulder. “Later,” he mouthed the words. Renee smiled.
“Daddy, are the bad men gone?”
“Yes, Son, all gone.”
“Daddy?”
“Yes, Son.”
“Can we tell Renee our secret?”
Renee looked over to him. “Nope, she has to wait until Christmas.” Seven more days to Christmas. Can I wait that long?
“Okay.” Adam shifted his gaze up to Renee. “Renee, Daddy has a surprise, just like we do.”
“Hmm, should I try to find it?” She ruffled Adam’s hair.
“It’s wrapped and under the Christmas tree. You can’t touch wrapped presents. Daddy said so. It’s a rule.”
Renee chuckled. “Aaron, I’ll meet you at your house. My car is back at the office.”
“All right. Should I stop and pick something up for dinner?”
“Hmm, want to grill some steaks?”
“Yeah, I want steak,” Adam purred.
“Sounds like a wonderful idea.” Aaron held his son’s hand. He gave Renee a quick kiss and squeezed her hand before she ran off.
“Come on, Buddy, we’ve got some steaks to cook.”
❧
Since David Sutton’s arrest six days before, Renee’s life had seemed disjointed. How was it possible to have two men from her past hate her so much that they’d come after her years later? What was it about her that brought out this kind of hatred? Old doubts from when she was a child tried to resurface. Feelings that she shouldn’t be alive if her parents weren’t, that she’d caused their accident in some way. At eight years old, it had been hard to realize their deaths weren’t her fault.
Renee jumped up and started to run. Running had been her escape for many years. It gave her a chance to pour all her energy into something other than her nightmares. Self-doubt nipped at her senses. She should end her relationship with Aaron before any other demons from her past arrived. He didn’t need to suffer because of her. What other skeletons did she have in her closet? There had been no clue David Sutton had blamed her for his job loss. Benny was understandable. Sick, but understandable. David’s anger had come from so far out in left field, she still found it hard to believe, except for the memory of the look he’d given her the moment he received the news he was fired. Pure rage and hatred had brewed in his eyes. Looking back now, she could see it. Then, she simply figured he was angry. Who wouldn’t be after losing their job?
Cords Of Love Page 15
