Vanessa made notes. “Does your daughter have a stake in the casino as well?”
Lydia nodded. “Yes. Since she’s only eight, I hold it in trust for her. Mitchell was always big about investing in property. He left a list of suggestions on how to invest her money and one suggestion was actually a casino. He considered casinos recession proof. Though I think he meant a casino in Lousiana and not here. But I thought, why not go where casinos are big business? So I came to Reno and met Miss E. So here I am and they are not taking my daughter.”
When she smiled, her face lit up and Hunter found himself smiling with her. He wanted to protect her, to keep her safe. And Maya was becoming important to him, too.
“We need to look into their finances.” Vanessa made a couple of notes in the notebook, a slight frown on her face.
“Mitchell has only been gone two years. David and Leon couldn’t possibly have gone through their inheritance already.”
Vanessa sort of laughed. “You have no idea, Lydia, what people can do with a lot of money.”
“What we really need is a plan.” Hunter had already started making lists in his mind.
“Calling Scott is number one on your list,” Miss E. said. “If anyone can think like the bad guys, it’s Scott.”
“Then we definitely need him,” Vanessa said. “And who is he?”
“My brother,” Hunter replied. And a badass himself, even though he’d never gotten into trouble, or at least trouble anyone could prove. As a child, he’d always thought Scott was like Teflon. Nothing stuck to him, no matter what mischief he got into. Hunter had taken the fall for him more than once.
“And get him here as quickly as you can,” Miss E. added.
Hunter didn’t think that would be a problem. The last time they’d spoken Scott had mentioned he was tired of his job and looking for a change. He pulled his cell out of his pocket and even though it was after midnight in Washington, D.C., Hunter knew his brother was probably up.
Scott answered on the first ring. “Yo, bro.”
“Are you busy?” Hunter asked.
“Just watching a seventy-six-year-old senator getting his groove on with a twenty-one-year-old cheerleader from Georgetown University. All while his wife of fifty years is waiting at home thinking he’s in a budget meeting.”
“Not what I wanted to know,” Hunter said. He’d have to have that image burned out of his mind.
“Yeah, that was my response. What’s up?”
“You know how you’ve been wanting a change of jobs. Something a little closer to Grandma.”
“I’m listening.”
“I need you.”
“I’m there.” A short pause occurred and then Scott said, “A flight is leaving from Baltimore in few hours. I’m on it. I have to change planes in Chicago, but I should be there around noon.”
“Text me your flight info and I’ll pick you up,” Hunter said, relieved to know Scott was coming. Scott was the security expert, not Hunter.
“See ya.” Scott disconnected.
“He’ll be here noon tomorrow,” Hunter said.
Miss E. looked relieved.
Vanessa put her notebook away. “Then I’ll be back tomorrow afternoon around three and we’ll all talk again.” She stood up and smoothed the front of her suit. “Until then, Lydia, if your stepsons approach you, make sure you have someone with you. Do not let them force you into being alone with them. I’ll start the ball rolling on the DNA testing.”
Lydia stood to walk Vanessa to the door. Vanessa hugged her. “Stop worrying. That’s my job now.”
Lydia closed the door after Vanessa, leaned against it and burst into tears.
Chapter 3
Miss E. jumped up and put her arms around Lydia. “It’s going to be all right.”
“This is not going to affect Maya in a positive way. During my marriage, I walked a fine line trying to get along with David and Leon. Maybe I should just pay them. After all, it’s the money they want.”
Hunter held up his hand. “Whoa. There is no chance you will lose your daughter; you’re not paying them a dime.”
“I want them to go away.” Lydia felt crushed beneath the weight of David and Leon’s threat.
“Give them money and they’ll just keep coming back. Now that their daddy is gone, they see you as their next ATM. You have to shut them down. Permanently.” Hunter wasn’t about to let Lydia be blackmailed.
“Maya thinks her half brothers love her.”
“And you’re not going to disabuse her of that,” Miss E. said firmly.
“Somehow, someway, she’s going to find out what’s going on and I’m afraid of what it will do to her.”
“Children are more resilient than we think,” Miss E. replied. “She’ll be hurt, but in the long run, she’ll be okay. She has you.”
Hunter clenched his hands. He wanted to beat the crap out of those two men. They were tearing apart a good woman and making her life miserable.
Lydia wiped her eyes. Even though she was in the middle of a meltdown her posture was perfect. Where did that thought come from? Hunter wondered.
Lydia sat down, a vulnerable look on her face. He wondered if she were a little too delicate to handle this situation.
“You are not going to let them defeat you.” Miss E. patted Lydia’s hand. “Now, you’re going to get a good night’s sleep and tomorrow, we’re going to put on our war paint.”
Lydia smiled. Hunter wanted to gather her up in his arms. The urge to protect her was so strong, he took a step forward before he stopped. He wanted to kiss her. That thought shocked him. He’d avoided romantic entanglements for a long time. The women he’d dated over the years just didn’t have long-term potential, yet in a couple days, he was already half in love with Lydia. Usually he didn’t care for fragile, frail-looking women. But something about her brought out all his need to safeguard her from life. Though, he suspected she didn’t need protecting as much as he wanted to think she did.
Miss E. stood and Hunter followed her. “If you need anything,” he said, “I’m just down the hall.”
“Thank you, Hunter, Miss E.” She smiled at them and Hunter’s heart skipped a beat.
Out in the hall, Hunter walked his mother to the elevator. “Do you think she’ll be all right?”
“She’s a lot stronger than she thinks she is. And she’s got us.”
“We don’t really know her.”
“I know her,” his grandmother said. “She’s a good person.”
“This is not someone sitting across the poker table from you while you’re plotting to take their money.”
“True. I can tell what type of person she is because of her daughter. Maya is sweet, engaging child, who’s going to start breaking hearts pretty soon. She’s polite, fun and smart. You don’t get to have a daughter like that if you’re not a good person, too.”
Hunter was impressed. Miss E. had a tendency toward cynicism. “I can see you really like Maya and her mother.”
Miss E. pushed the down button on the elevator. “You like her, too.”
“Maya’s a cute little thing.” Like her mother, Maya brought out his protective instincts.
“I’m not talking about Maya,” Miss E. said.
Maybe it was time to be a little evasive. He liked Lydia a lot. Maybe more than a lot. “What’s not to like?”
“Indeed.” The elevator doors slid open and Miss E. stepped into the cabin.
“Good night, Miss E.” Hunter kissed her on the cheek. She smiled at him as the elevator door closed.
* * *
Hunter waited at the baggage carousel for his brother. Scott’s plane had landed ten minutes ago and passengers were filing in. Scott should have been one of the first off the plane. He almost always flew first cla
ss. Instead, he was almost last.
Hunter gazed fondly at his brother. Scott was tall and muscular. Close-cropped black hair framed his face and his erect posture was a testament to his years in the army. He never seemed to leave the military behind.
“Good to see you, Hunter.” Scott put out his hand and Hunter grabbed it and pulled him into a hug.
“Back at ya, bro,” Hunter said. “It’s been too long.”
“I see Miss E. is getting into trouble again.”
“She won a casino in a poker game.”
“So I heard.” Scott’s laughter was a deep rumble that had everyone turning to look at him. “I’m not sure how I feel about that.”
“Wait till you see it. It’s a Spanish hacienda on steroids. I’m always surprised the staff doesn’t hand out capes and matador hats the minute we walk through the door.”
Scott grabbed his duffel bag off the carousel and followed Hunter out into the afternoon heat. The sky was clear, brilliant blue. The summer sun had baked the ground to a hard shell. Parched-looking trees lined the sidewalks and straggly grass grew between the cracks in the asphalt.
“What’s the situation?” Scott asked once they were in the car, the AC cranked up on high and the car moving out of the parking lot. Heat waves shimmered in the distance.
“One of Miss E.’s partners in the casino is being blackmailed by her stepsons. They want custody of her daughter and are willing to smear the family name to get it.”
“Have you reported this to the police?”
“It’s not really a police matter.”
“When is blackmail not a police matter?”
“Right now, it’s only at the threat stage.” The police would consider it a civil matter.
“Start from the beginning,” Scott ordered.
Hunter did. By the time they got to the hotel, Scott knew every detail. Hunter felt a weight lift. The Montgomery boys weren’t going to get away with anything, not with Scott on the job.
“Lydia is more concerned about what damage the custody suit will do to her daughter.” Hunter pulled into the parking lot adjacent to the casino and sat for a moment looking at it.
“Then we need to find a way to make them drop the suit.”
“That will be easier said than done. There’s a lot of money at stake here. Money those two want, and from what I’m seeing they’ll do anything to get their hands on it.” Hopefully not to the extent that Maya and Lydia would be collateral damage. But just seeing those two walking through the casino as though they already owned it set Hunter’s teeth on edge.
“Wow! This is beautiful,” Scott said with a low whistle.
“Yeah.” Hunter studied the hotel, with its rounded balconies and Spanish mosaic tiles. “Miss E. has it in mind to leave us all a legacy.”
“I don’t think I want it. How do Kenzie and Donovan feel about being handed a legacy like this?” Scott spread his hands wide.
Hunter shrugged. “Haven’t talked to them again. Miss E. called, but didn’t tell me what they said. Structurally, the building is sound. A little paint and spackle and it could be the jewel of Reno.” Hunter turned off the car. “Come on, Miss E. is waiting for us.”
* * *
Lydia stepped out of the elevator. Every time she entered the lobby, she paused to look around for David or Leon. Too often one of them was sitting where he could see the elevators. She didn’t know they had so much patience. Though they kept a certain distance from her, she was always aware that they watched her, distracting her from her thoughts.
She wanted to get started on the spa, to make it an island of serenity in the midst of the chaos that was Reno. Her notebook was never far from her hand as she sketched ideas, made notes about colors and websites she checked. The spa was all about pampering and it was going to be the best in the whole United States.
Miss E. stood in a small alcove just off the main lobby. A woman towered over her in a manner Lydia at first thought was threatening. Lydia started toward Miss E., when the woman suddenly turned and stalked away. Lydia knew her. She vaguely recalled the woman was Jasper’s daughter. She’d been in the gallery, sitting across from Jasper during the poker game. The woman had looked angry and kept darting glances at Jasper as though he were the enemy. Once the game had been won, Lydia had dismissed her when she’d angrily left.
“Miss E., wasn’t that Jasper’s daughter? She was at the poker game. She sat in the gallery with Jasper and I.”
“She’s none too happy about the change in ownership.” Miss E.’s eyes narrowed and her cheeks were a little pale. Her hands had formed into fists.
“What’s she doing here?”
“Trying to steal from me.” Miss E. watched as the woman exited through the sliding glass doors after one last hard glare over her shoulder.
“I don’t understand.” Lydia frowned at her.
“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it. You have enough to worry about.”
Hunter walked into the lobby with a taller man, whose face resembled his enough for Lydia to know this had to be Scott. He was a nice-looking man, his skin a lighter shade of brown than Hunter’s and an alert look to him. His posture was ramrod straight with wide, muscular shoulders and strong hands. His short hair was in a military cut. He carried a green canvas duffel bag and walked across the lobby toward Miss E. as though he owned the moment.
“Miss E.” Scott kissed his grandmother on the cheek.
Miss E. threw her arms around him and hugged him, affection on her face. “Scott. Okay, now I have two little chicks back in the nest.”
The pleasure and love on Scott’s and Hunter’s faces told her how much they loved their grandmother. For a second, Lydia felt sad. Her own parents had not given her such unconditional love. Their love and approval had always come with strings attached.
Scott laughed. “Miss E., you’re always the optimist.” He turned to Lydia. “You must be Lydia.”
She smiled and nodded, a little intimidated by him. He took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. “You and I need to talk,” Scott continued. “I want to know everything about your relationship to your stepchildren.”
“I don’t have a relationship with them. They consider me an interloper, who took their mother’s rightful place.”
“Did you?”
“Mitchell and Gloria had been divorced for years before I came on the scene. Her loyalties to Mitchell were...shall we say, suspect.” She tried to speak kindly of Gloria. Lydia’s mother had always insisted that gossip was beneath the dignity of a lady. Mitchell, himself, had never said an unkind word about his ex-wife. Lydia got all the gossip, more than she wanted to know, from people who had worked for Mitchell and had disliked Gloria intensely.
“Delicately put,” Scott murmured.
“I only met her a few times, and I couldn’t gauge her.” Lydia felt uncomfortable talking about Gloria. And frankly, she wasn’t surprised by Leon and David’s ploy. Even though they acted unconcerned about the way the money was split, she knew they had been angry right after the reading of the will. Even Lydia had been surprised. She had not expected Mitchell to leave the bulk of his estate to Maya with Lydia as executer.
“Right. Let me get settled and we’ll meet in your suite in an hour. We have a lot to go over and I need more information.”
“Vanessa Peabody is my lawyer, and she’s coming at three.”
“Our meeting won’t take long.”
Hunter and Scott walked off with Hunter telling his brother they would be bunking together.
“He’s going to probe into every aspect of my life, isn’t he?” Lydia said to Miss E.
“Sweetie, how much trouble have you gotten into in the past?”
“I’m not perfect,” Lydia objected. “When I was seven years old, I stole a cherry red lipstick from Mr. B
enoit’s drug store.”
“Oh, the horror,” Miss E. said with a twinkle in her eyes. “Hunter stole a police car when he was fourteen. I always suspected Scott had something to do with it, too, but I could never pin anything on him. He’s very cunning. The police chief was a friend of mine and Hunter spent six months washing police cars every weekend.”
Lydia laughed. She tried to imagine Hunter as a juvenile delinquent. Interestingly it made her like him even more. Her heart hammered in her chest thinking about him being bad. She’d bet her last dollar he could charm himself out of any situation, if he so chose.
“Now that Scott was a sneaky kid. I know he was involved in a number of activities, but I could never catch him or prove anything.”
“Should I be nervous that he wants to help me?”
Miss E. patted her cheek. “No, dear, you should be grateful.”
Lydia glanced at her watch. “I should get upstairs. Maya’s tutor will be leaving soon and we need to have a talk about Maya’s progress.”
“When you’re ready I’ll take her off your hands while you talk to Scott,” Miss E. said. “I thought we might do something interesting.”
“Like what?”
“I have a friend who has a ranch just north of Reno. I thought we might look at ponies.” Miss E. grinned in delight.
“I’m going be purchasing that child a horse, aren’t I?”
Miss E. patted Lydia’s cheek. “She’s a wonderful, active child and you are invested in keeping her out of trouble. When my grandchildren were her age, I had them so occupied in sports, they seldom had time to think, much less get in trouble. Though they still managed a few misadventures.”
Lydia narrowed her eyes. “I’ve never been very sports-minded.” Her parents had wanted different things for her. The most sport she’d ever done was roller skating at a local rink and that had only been a few times.
Miss E. smiled. “I think sports for kids is a very good thing. For me, it’s not about the competition of good gamesmanship.”
Love Takes All Page 6
