“Mom, it’s too late. Sleep here and head back tomorrow. Besides, I might talk you into cooking breakfast.”
She and I both gave a small laugh.
“That sounds more like my son.” Her wide mouth pulling back into a sweet smile. “I’m already ahead of you. If you’d looked in the fridge, you’d see I brought you some croissants from the bakery, honey butter and a big bowl of cut fruit.”
He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Thank you.”
“Now,” she stated, “If I’m staying the night, we can break out a bottle of good red wine. Leese, would you like a glass?”
“Oh—no—no thank you, I don’t drink. I was actually kind of tired. I was going to take a bath and get some sleep.” That wasn’t exactly the truth. I’d had a pretty good nap earlier in the car, but I felt it was time to excuse myself from their ‘family’ time.
“You don’t want a swim?” He asked with a surprised expression.
“No, not tonight, but if you hear something splashing around out there in the morning, that’ll be me.”
“Good night, Leese,” Celeste said softly, “We’ll see you in the morning.”
Whew! That meant that she had definitely decided to stay the night.
I walked down the long hallway that led to the bedroom where he had placed my bags. I closed the door and began removing the items, tearing off tags and stickers as I did. I folded everything with the exception of the night clothes and placed them inside the ornate large dresser. All the toiletries, I gathered and placed in the bathroom, glad that the room was a suite and I didn’t have to go out of the room to take a bath.
I really liked the bathroom; it reminded me of home. I had planned to sink into the garden tub and let the jets pound against my bucket-seat-for-four-hours body, but I changed my mind and decided to go with the faster route and take a shower. It didn’t matter anyway because the shower was just as luxurious as the bath. It was a rain shower and water poured from the walls and ceiling, washing away my horrific day.
I wrapped my hair and dried off, then slipped on the cotton top and shorts I picked out for nightwear. I was certain, after all the time I had spent in the shower, they would have gone to bed. I slipped out of my room and went quietly down the hall. I just wanted to sneak into the kitchen and find something to drink before going to sleep, but as I got closer I heard low voices. He and his mother were still in the family room and they were talking very quietly. Now, I know all the remarks that are made about eavesdropping and it wasn’t something I wanted to do, but I couldn’t move, I had to listen because the conversation was all about me.
I could see them sitting by the fireplace, each of them with a glass of wine and they were very close.
“…Son, this isn’t going to turn out well. I saw the way you were looking at her, and I’m afraid you aren’t going to be able to do what you have to do.”
“I know my job, Mom. You don’t have to tell me. It’s just that I was given a total of six weeks and I didn’t expect her to hire me to find out what was going on.”
“I know you want to help her, but you’re getting too close to this one. No one is going to come after you if you don’t finish what she asked you to do—but, Micah, D’Angelo won’t hesitate for one second to send someone after you if he thinks you’ve quit.”
It was quiet for a moment and then he spoke even lower than before, “But what if it’s wrong this time?”
“You knew when you took this job that it was a civilian, and even worse, you knew it was a young woman.”
“I just never expected…”
I couldn’t hear what he said as his voice trailed off.
“I think you should at least talk to David.”
“No!” His voice rang out clear on that note, and then lowered again. “You’ve got to trust me that I can kill her when the time comes, but I’m going to solve this first.”
As soon as he said that I felt the tears begin to flow. He wasn’t going to forget what I asked him to do. He would figure out a way for me to prove what Robert was doing and stop him from taking everything away from my mother. I knew he would also try to find out about the mystery woman who decided I needed to die immediately. A jolt of fear surged through me; what if the person was Celeste? What if she knew he was struggling and decided to take matters into her own hands?
“David said he was coming out to see you sometime tomorrow anyway.”
“No, Mom, I don’t want him here. He won’t understand why I can’t finish this job until I do what she’s paying me to do. If he gets in my way, I’ll kill him.” There was no emptiness to the threat.
I was completely frozen in place. What was going on and who was this David that Micah was threatening to kill?
“Don’t do anything foolish. I’ll stay tomorrow and I’ll talk to him first. Micah, she’s beautiful and I can see why this is so hard, but I’m afraid I’m going to lose my son—I can’t lose you, Micah. Please, son…”
He set down his glass and wrapped his arms around her thin shoulders. I turned silently and returned to my room.
I laid there the rest of the night praying that God would show me the purpose of this test. I had decided there was a solution that would save Evan anymore anguish, but I knew it wasn’t God’s plan, it was my own and I knew it was wrong.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
I dozed off about an hour before dawn, but as soon as the sun began to color the eastern sky, I had to get up. I brushed my hair and quickly made one braid down the back. I slipped on my bathing suit and grabbed a robe from the bathroom. I needed a swim to clear my head. Last night had been one of the roughest yet, and I couldn’t shake my thoughts just before I had fallen asleep.
The house was quiet and it appeared that I had made it up before anyone else. I walked into the kitchen, found a small glass, and poured myself some cranberry juice, opened the package of croissants and removed one. I wouldn’t take time to butter or warm it, I’d just slip out onto the back porch and have a bite to eat, then jump into the pool. When I got to the door, I realized there was a problem; I stared at the blinking red light on the alarm panel. Before I could turn around to step back into the kitchen, a muscled arm reached around me and entered the code. I almost dropped my glass.
“Shhh,” He whispered. “Let’s not wake my mom.”
That was when I realized he wasn’t dressed—well, let’s just say much less dressed than I’d ever seen him. All he was wearing was a pair of board shorts.
“How’s the—your side?” I was trying desperately to come up with something.
He twisted slightly to look at the angry red line. “Your glue work is still holding,” he said with a smile tugging at his mouth.
I remembered the night I had sealed the wound for him. The night I looked into the mirror and realized that he was no boy. The heat began to pulse up my neck and onto my face. I was like ice cream in July, melting rapidly. Suddenly my robe felt as if I had just pulled it out of a dryer. He noticed my momentary befuddlement.
“You shouldn’t eat before you swim,” he mused, pulling a piece off the croissant that I was holding and putting it in his mouth.
“Yeah, well you aren’t supposed to scare the crap out of someone who’s getting ready to go swimming either.”
“Sorry. Come on. Let’s go before we have company.” With that he pushed open the door and I stepped outside.
We sat at the patio table sharing the bread and cranberry, which wasn’t helping my problem with temperature.
“Time for a swim,” he grinned, rising quickly and charging across the deck, diving in like a knife. He had done it so well, he barely made a splash. He motioned me to join him. I was about to remove the robe when I realized he wasn’t swimming. He was at the edge of the pool treading water and staring intently at me.
“Look the other way,” I finally hissed. “I can’t take off the robe if you’re watching.”
“What does it matter? You’re going to have to take it off to get in. Leese, I�
�m going to see you in your bathing suit eventually, take off the robe.”
I’d never been self-conscious about wearing a bikini. I had never cared who was around when I had one on, but why was this so different? Why was it so hard to disrobe in front of him? I knew why and it went right back to the temperature issue. I couldn’t stand there forever like an idiot, so I untied the knot and slipped it off, placing it on the back of the chair.
He was staring even harder, if that is actually possible. I walked around the deck to enter at the waterfall and he took off through the water trying to beat me there. I was quicker on land. I reached out my hand to feel the water. It was perfect; not too warm, but not freezing cold. I stepped under the fall. By this time he was waiting at the base for me to jump in. I went to the left of him and dove. He wasn’t the only one who could execute a perfect dive. I came up on the other end of the pool, pleased to notice that it was deep almost all the way around. I turned to look for him and he came up right beside me.
“Good morning,” he said, but his voice was thick and husky. His eyes were getting that wild look in them that told me he was having just as much trouble with seeing me in my suit as I had when I looked at him.
I could feel his hand coming to rest on my bare waist, the fingers gripping me and getting ready to pull me toward him.
“You—you promised,” I spluttered. “A perfect gentleman.”
The eyes never changed in intensity and he was getting closer.
“I’m getting out,” I swam backward to get away from him, but he continued to advance.
“I know what I promised,” he finally responded. “Just give me a minute to wish I hadn’t agreed.” He was closing in and I was almost to the pool wall. The panic on my face must have been apparent. “Don’t get out, Leese. I won’t touch you. I’ll just watch you swim.” He drew his hands back and held them both up to show his resolve, “But I want to tell you one thing.” And then he drew very near, his cheek against my cheek as he whispered, “Vous êtes au-delà de la beauté.”
I had never heard it spoken that way, but I translated it roughly to the effect that he felt I was beyond beautiful. Then I told him in French that he was a beautiful man and I swam away from him. He didn’t bother me anymore. He did as he promised and only watched as I made laps in the pool. Fifty laps later, I was ready to get out and dry off. He was on a lounger by this point. He had brought out a few more croissants, the butter and fruit and had them on a table beside him. He was motioning me to join him. I dried my face and hair, ready to grab the robe when he asked me not to.
“It’s a beautiful morning, plenty of sunshine. Don’t put it on just yet.”
It was starting to bother me because I knew what he was doing; he was purposely torturing himself. I didn’t know if it was to see exactly how strong he was, or if it was punishment he was storing up in memory for when I was gone.
I sat down gingerly, picking up half a croissant and spreading a little honey-butter on it. “So your family must have several houses,” I began.
“This is my house,” he revealed. “Our family home is the one in the city. But they maintain one in Vegas, Chicago, New York and San Francisco, also.”
I smiled, “My mom doesn’t like that level of commitment; she’s like the rental goddess.” I rolled my eyes. “Except for our home in Palm Beach, we only have one other and it’s on Maui.”
“I like Hawaii, but we don’t get too much business that takes us there.”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” I laughed. “Great aesthetics give a kind of endorphin rush. Who wants to kill someone when their so happy?”
I watched a look of revelation cross his face. “That’s what it is,” he stated as if he had discovered the solution to a puzzle.
“Well, it’s true. It has waterfalls and…”
“No, not the island,” he stopped me. “That must be what I get when I’m close to you. I get an endorphin rush and it makes me feel,” he paused, trying to find the right word, “odd.”
I believed it was something much different happening, but perhaps it would be better if I led him to believe that was all it was. “Yeah and—and when I’m gone, you can go back to feeling normal.”
A scowl crossed his face. “That’s the problem. I didn’t feel things before you came along. It’s like you said that day on the track about living life; it feels like I haven’t been until now. You know that can’t be right,” he remarked, his mind was back on the puzzle. “I’ve been around plenty of beautiful women. It can’t be endorphins.”
I took a big bite of the bread hoping I could come up with something profound before he figured out he might actually be falling in love with me. Love, for him anyway, would completely complicate his situation. As far as I was concerned, it was only making things clearer.
“If I wasn’t around you so much, it would be easier for you—you know, when that time comes. Maybe I shouldn’t be here. If you just rented me a place to stay for the next few weeks, you could finish solving my problem and then—well, it just might be easier, that’s all.”
He was still scowling and very much deep in thought, “I think I know who the woman is.”
I swallowed and wondered if he’d come to the same conclusion as I had. That was a relationship I wouldn’t want to see damaged through all of this. If he suspected her, how would that change the dynamics of his family? Dear God, I prayed, don’t let him say her name.
“Mom…” he began.
My heart went to hyper-drive and I was opening my mouth to rebut, when he continued.
“…told me last night that she’s been tracking his credit cards. There are a lot of hotel stays that…”
I shook my head immediately, “He travels on business all the time so there would be a lot of hotel entries.”
“Leese, I know that, but I also know men. If we have to spend the night, alone, we don’t rent the suite, we just get a room. Many times in the last several months his rentals have been suites. His dining is for two…”
“He has partners,” I reminded him.
“Once again, if you’d let me finish, the quality of the restaurants has dramatically improved. It all points to a mistress.”
“I just can’t see it,” I frowned. “I mean this whole business over the money is one thing, but my mother is beautiful.” I watched the smile spread across his face. “And, besides that, Robert is just—well, he’s plain.”
“First of all, you are thinking about him in Dad mode again. You would have trouble understanding the attraction part. And, even if he is plain, money can make even the plainest of all look like prince charming.”
“Well then you must have a double dose of prince charming,” I gave a little laugh. “You got them both going on.”
He smiled again. “Mom is starting to cross check the female partners. She’ll find out if someone has charges that she can connect with his.”
The sound of the kitchen door opening startled both of us from our conversation.
“I guessed I’d find you two out here. Discussing theories?” She glanced at me and I suddenly felt the need to put on the robe.
“Thank you for the breakfast,” I said, rising and slipping the robe over my swimsuit. “I’m going to go change,” I said turning to Evan.
“You don’t have to leave on my account, Leese,” his mother was starting to say when we all heard the sound of a car door and a male voice calling out Micah’s name.
“Get in the house!” he ordered me. “Go now, Leese.”
“Son, it’s okay…”
“I said now!” he snapped, completely ignoring his mother.
Suddenly I had the feeling that I needed to run. I turned and flew through the kitchen door heading for the safety of my room. Yet, as I entered the protection of the hallway, I turned and watched through the family room windows to see who would appear by the pool. Within moments a man, fairly young but older than Evan, appeared. He was slightly taller, but had the same muscled build. His hair was lighte
r, but the face left no doubt about his identity.
I heard the name David, and I realized the person that he threatened to kill last night was his own brother. David kept glancing toward the house, making me uncomfortable as if he could see through walls. I decided to head to my room and dress.
I put on a pair of jeans and a tank top, brushed my damp hair and went ahead and put on my makeup. If I had to meet his brother, I might as well, hopefully, make a good impression. But I would wait in the bedroom until Evan came and told me it was safe. I kept replaying the fear in his voice when he told me to get in the house. It wasn’t fear for himself; it was all for me.
I laid back on the bed, my hands folded across my stomach and my ankles crossed. It was quiet enough that I could almost doze, especially since I only got about an hour’s worth of sleep before dawn. But then I heard the angry male voices rising, and the sound of a door slamming. I sat bolt upright as the argument became louder and the words became clearer. I could hear their mother trying to calm what was escalating, but she didn’t appear to be having any effect.
David’s words were like acid in my ears, filled with the worst vulgarity possible. He wanted to know what had gotten into Micah. Why did he bring me here, when I could now tell others where I had been? The shouting increased and I realized they were coming down the hallway. I thought about the fact that David could very well over-power him, especially since his side was exposed and his brother sounded like the type of person who would use that weakness against him.
Now I was feeling panic; trapped panic. I went to the window and turned the latch, pushing it open yet wondering if I should slip out. It wasn’t far to the ground, perhaps six feet. I could easily make the jump, but should I? Where would I run? I didn’t know this place. The only thing I was wishing at the moment was that I had the keys to Ryan’s car.
The bedroom doors swung open, smacking the walls, as the three of them entered the room.
I must have looked like some frightened animal caught in the roadway that didn’t know which way to turn. I could see a small stream of blood coming from his side, apparently from trying to restrain his brother from getting to where I was. I knew the sting of the glue tearing and the wound trying to reopen must have been agonizing, but he showed no signs of pain. They both were terrifying to watch. These were two trained killers and the battle was only going to get worse.
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