by Erin Wade
Alex opened her mouth to defend herself but snapped it shut when I shot her a silencing glance.
“Do you trust your handlers?” I asked Ross and Amy.
“Yes,” they answered in unison.
“Do you have any idea who my handler is?” I said, my eyes begging for a yes.
They both shook their heads.
We all sat lost in our thoughts. I knew Ross was lying, but I didn’t know why. He’d answered my cell phone when I called him at the safehouse.
“Let’s see if there is anything on the news about Makin’s death.” Amy pushed the button on the remote.
We continued to talk as the news played in the background.
I turned my attention to the TV when Alex gasped.
“In a surprise move today,” the newscaster read, “the parents of Alexandra Roland Cartwright have filed papers in court to take over their daughter’s vast cosmetic empire.
“The Roland’s have filed to have their daughter declared legally dead and have asked the courts to give them power of attorney over her assets. We are fortunate to have Alex’s mother, LaRue Roland, with us today.”
Alex’s mother put on a fake smile as the newscaster turned to her. “Didn’t your daughter and her wife, Sloan Cartwright, co-own the cosmetics company?” the woman asked.
“Last year, Alex had the good sense to divorce Sloan Cartwright,” LaRue Roland said, flashing a smug look at the camera. “Alex took everything and left Cartwright with nothing but her stellar reputation. I still can’t believe she cheated on my daughter.”
LaRue patted away her crocodile tears with a tissue and turned her best side to the camera.
“Son of a bitch!” Alex said. “Leave it to my parents to go after the money. Sloan, how can we stop this?”
She continued before I could comment.
“And telling the world you cheated on me?” Alex seethed. “The lying bitch!”
“Let them spin their wheels, honey.” I slipped my arm around her shoulders. “She thinks we’re dead, and that’s just fine. It will take seven years for the courts to declare us officially dead. Hopefully this nightmare will be over long before then.”
“Could this get any more screwed up?” Ross groaned as he raked his fingers through his hair. “They’re coming at us from every direction.”
We continued to watch the news as Alex fumed beside me. “They legally disowned me when I married you,” she said. “They haven’t even spoken to me since then. They are selfish, self-centered vipers.
“My father has cheated on my mother for as long as I can remember. She knows how I hate that. She thinks I’m dead and still has to sling hurtful arrows at me and my relationship with you.”
“She’s a bitter woman,” I said.
I had hated LaRue Roland from the first moment I met her. An incredibly beautiful woman, she was supercilious and cruel. She was a grotesque caricature of Alex. Her beauty hid a heart as black as sin. The pain she had caused my wife was something I would never forgive. I had often daydreamed of ways to humiliate her, but then I realized the woman had no shame. I concentrated, instead, on ways to show Alex how much I loved her and to make her feel secure in my love.
Alex’s father, Raymond, was a career politician. For the past twenty years, he had been a state representative, and LaRue acted as if he were president. She was certain she would make the perfect first lady.
I had flashes of Raymond’s smug face. He was as egotistical and condescending as his wife. I suspected he was also a petty crook. I often wondered how such self-centered, callous people had produced a woman as wonderful as Alex.
Alex never discussed her parents, so my knowledge of them was the little bit I had gleaned from my first and only meeting with them and what I saw on television. The more I learned about them, the less I liked them. Their latest shameless actions had reinforced my contempt for the couple.
“I must let our corporate officers know I’m alive,” Alex said. “It’s bad enough that they’re forced to run the company without me. They shouldn’t have to deal with my parents too.”
“Honey, it’s good that most of the world thinks we’re dead,” I said. “It lessens the number of people trying to kill us. If you show your face, I’m afraid they’ll come after you again to get to me.
“You could call your parents and let them know you’re alive,” I suggested.
“Seriously?” Alex snorted. “They would tell the world I was alive just to put me in danger. No, you’re right; it’s best we remain dead.”
Amy had been sitting in silence, watching our reaction to the TV interview. When we stopped to catch our breath, she jumped into the fray. I guess she just couldn’t stand it anymore.
“So, why did you divorce Sloan, Alex?” she asked.
“It’s complicated.” Alex shrugged and looked away. “I’d rather not discuss it.”
##
Chapter 36
It was after midnight when Alex and I returned to our loft in New York. Wearing hoodies and dark caps, we hoped we would be unidentifiable on the security cameras around our building.
Alex unlocked the door, and we both breathed a sigh of relief as it snapped closed behind us.
Huge stacks of mail and packages covered our foyer table. “Looks like our mailbox ran over,” Alex commented.
We quickly checked to see if any of the mail was from me. There was nothing. We kept a post office box for our personal mail and decided we should check there too.
“I just want to crawl into bed with you and forget about the rest of the world,” Alex leaned against me.
“Don’t tempt me.” I chuckled as I pulled her into my arms for a much-needed kiss.
“Then don’t kiss me like that,” she whispered.
I nodded and backed away from her. We walked through the loft, peeking in closets and flipping on lights just to make sure everything was okay. It was.
##
We located a twenty-four-hour store that carried prepaid phones and purchased six of them. A check of our post office box revealed nothing. Our last stop was at our favorite Chinese restaurant where we picked up an order we had called in earlier.
Amy and Ross acted like we had procured an eight-course gourmet meal for them, as we all shared the various Chinese dishes.
“What now?” Ross asked as he examined his new cell phone. “Can I call my wife? As far as she knows, I’m still in the safe house.”
“They’ll have her phone tapped,” I pointed out.
A look of sadness flashed across Ross’s face. “You’re probably right,” he said.
Alex and I cleaned up after our meal while Amy and Ross sat down in front of the TV. All the news stations were reporting on how quickly the Roland’s were moving to force A&S Cosmetics into receivership. They were arguing that with Alex dead or missing, there was no one to manage the affairs of the company. They were petitioning the court for the authority to manage the company until Alex either returned or was pronounced dead.
The newscaster who was interviewing Raymond and LaRue glanced at a note someone handed her. “Our research department has come up with an estimated worth for A&S Cosmetics,” she said. “According to the latest issue of Fortune 500, your daughter’s net worth is somewhere near thirty-five billion dollars.”
Silence blanketed our hotel room as we watched the Roland’s salivate over the wealth of the daughter they had disowned.
“I’m going to take a shower.” Alex nudged me. “Want to join me?”
I gulped, avoided making eye contact with my cohorts, and followed her out of the room.
“Sometimes you are just evil,” I whispered in her ear as we made love in the shower.
“Um, just for you.” Alex moaned.
##
Alex was restless. Her constant wiggling and sighing told me something was bothering her.
“Do you want to talk about it?” I whispered.
“What?”
“Whatever is keeping you awake.” I turne
d on my side and slipped my arm around her waist, pulling her tight against me. “Something is troubling you.”
“My parents,” she mumbled. “They are the most greedy, despicable people in the world. Why couldn’t I have loving parents like yours?”
“You do deserve better parents than LaRue and Raymond,” I said.
“Some people simply aren’t meant to be parents,” I continued. “But look at the bright side. If my parents had been your parents, we would be sisters. And despite how hot you are, no way would I be making love to my sister.”
“You always have such a unique perspective on everything.” She laughed, raised up on her elbow, and kissed me. Tears fell from her eyes onto my face. I raised my head from the pillow pushing our lips into a deeper kiss. “Make me forget them, Sloan,” she whispered.
##
Afterward, I held Alex stroking her back as she slept with her head pillowed on my shoulder. I had seen Alex cry only twice during our years together. The fact that her parents hurt her that deeply made me hate them even more.
##
My first move of the morning was always to reach for Alex. I hated it when she left our bed before I awoke. This morning she was gone, and my hand rested on a cold sheet where a warm, soft body should have been.
I lay there for a long time, listening to the murmur of voices from the common area of the apartment. Ross and Amy were discussing something in low voices. I didn’t hear Alex’s voice so I knew she was just listening.
After half an hour of trying to jolt my memory, I decided to get dressed. No matter what I did, I couldn’t jump-start certain segments of my life. There were still big holes concerning Alex and me. I did have a brief flash of me punching her father in the face, but then it was gone. I wasn’t sure if that was something that had happened or just wishful thinking.
A disturbing vision of me and Leigh played through my mind. In it, I was kissing her intentionally and with a seriousness that almost alarmed me. I wondered if Leigh was okay.
I tucked in my pastel-blue blouse, fastened my jeans, and opened the door. Ross and Amy looked at me, their eyebrows raised as if waiting for me to answer a question.
I looked around the room. “Where’s Alex?” I asked.
Amy and Ross exchanged glances. “She left about an hour ago,” Amy said. “She said she had to take care of some business.”
“Did she take the car?”
“Duh,” Ross answered, as if I were a dullard.
I called Alex on her burner phone, and the call went straight to voicemail.
“Did she say where she was going?” I asked.
“Just that she had to protect her company.” Amy grimaced. “Do you think she would endanger all of us?’
I shook my head but wondered what Alex was doing. I returned to our bedroom and walked out onto the balcony. The New York morning was crisp and cold. I googled the law firm of Masters and Wilde then pushed the phone number on the screen.
The woman who answered was cheery and professional. “May I speak to Marty Masters, please?” I asked.
“I’m sorry. Miss Masters is in a meeting with a client. May I ask her to call you?”
“Tell her Sloan is on the phone,” I insisted.
“She’s with an important client,” the receptionist insisted. “She gave me strict orders not to interrupt her. Please give me your number, and I will have her call you.”
“Is her client the most beautiful woman you’ve ever seen?” I asked.
“Maybe,” the receptionist whispered.
I hung up. I was certain that client was my wife. Marty Masters had nursed a crush on Alex since college, but she was an excellent attorney. I dialed Uber and requested a pick up at the intersection a block from our apartment. I rummaged through sacks of clothes Alex had purchased and found a nice blazer. It made my jeans and blouse look like I had put a little effort into dressing.
“I’ll be back shortly,” I informed Amy and Ross as I walked to the door. “I think I know where Alex is, and I need to get to her before someone else does.
“Her parents and the news media trumpeting her wealth will give our enemies another reason to abduct Alex. Poachers and smugglers are not above kidnapping women for ransom.”
##
I looked up at the skyscraper that housed the law firm of Masters and Wilde. Smartly dressed women and men in expensive business suits kept the revolving door whirling as they entered and departed the building.
I glanced down at my jeans and knee boots. I wasn’t exactly dressed for a meeting with our high-powered attorneys, but I knew Marty wouldn’t care.
The receptionist looked me up and down as I exited the elevator in front of her desk. Her shy smile told me she liked what she saw, even if I wasn’t wearing a Dolce & Gabbana blazer. “Nice belt accessory,” she said with a nod toward my bullwhip.
“I need to see Marty Masters,” I said. “Don’t bother getting up. I know where her office is.”
I practically sprinted to the lavish corner office and only slowed down when Marty’s secretary stepped in front of her door. The door opened, and a news team and cameraman walked out of the office.
I turned my back and busied myself with looking at the exquisite artwork Marty had on her walls. The news team thanked the secretary and entered the elevator. The secretary waited until the elevator had started downward and then spoke to me.
“Sloan Cartwright?” The woman asked.
“Yes. I need to see Marty,” I said in a tone that would have cowed a lesser woman.
“She just left,” the secretary said. “I’m surprised you didn’t run into her on your way up.”
“Was Alex with her?”
“Miss Cartwright, you know all of our client interaction is privileged.”
I took a step toward her and she squealed. “Miss Masters left alone.”
“That’s all I wanted to know,” I barked as I headed back toward the elevator.
I slipped into one of the many tiny coffee shops in New York and ordered a cup of coffee while I waited for Uber to come for me. I hated not having a car, but cars were almost useless in Manhattan anyway.
I called Ross to see if he had heard from Alex. He had not. A call to my wife resulted in another instant redirect to voicemail. She had her phone turned off.
By the time I reached our apartment, I was almost frantic. No one seemed to know where Alex was.
I walked onto the balcony of our bedroom and called Leigh.
“Leigh Redding,” she snapped into the phone.
“Leigh, it’s me. Sloan,” I said.
“Sloan, thank God! Are you okay?”
“Yes. Are you okay?”
“I’ll be much better when you come in,” she answered. “Sloan, I care about you. I worry about you. Please come in and let us straighten out this mess.”
“I can’t. Not yet.”
“Are you still with Alex?” Leigh didn’t try to hide the disgust she felt.
“Yes.”
“Sloan, please listen to me.” Leigh’s brusque tone commanded my attention. “Don’t trust Alex. Don’t trust anyone.”
“I don’t,” I said. And that included Leigh.
“Gunmen compromised our safe house,” Leigh continued. “They murdered Governor Makin, and we can’t find a trace of Ross. We think they have him.”
I considered telling Leigh that Amy and Ross were with me, but decided against it. “How is Amy?” I asked.
“How would I know?” Leigh huffed. “We don’t keep track of every woman who claims to be your wife.”
“Come on, Leigh,” I chided her. “I know Amy is one of us.”
A long silence passed before Leigh spoke again. “Amarosia is not one of our agents.” She was emphatic. “Don’t get involved with her. She is as dangerous as Alex.”
A firm knock beckoned me from the balcony as Ross stuck his head into my room. “Alex just pulled into the parking lot,” he whispered.
“I have to go,” I told Leigh.
I disconnected the call and walked into the living room.
“We’re going for a walk to make certain no one followed her.” Ross said as he and Amy left.
I sat down on the sofa and waited for Alex. I couldn’t remember ever being angry with her, but I was furious. She had left without discussing it with me and had endangered all of us. Most of all, she had put herself in harm’s way.
She opened the door with her usual flourish and stepped into the apartment. She was gorgeous. She had dressed for her meeting with the attorneys and was picture-perfect in her tight skirt, silk blouse, and dark blazer. High heels that always made her shapely legs look even longer were the starting point for my eyes as they inched up her body before coming to rest on her flawless face.
Her blue eyes sparkled as a sexy smile played across her glorious lips.
I realized I was holding my breath. What . . . ? Oh, yeah, I was furious with her. Maybe.
I shot her my most daunting look and watched as she sauntered toward me.
“Are you angry with me?” Her silky, soft voice sent a tremor through me.
“I think so.” I blushed as what I was thinking pushed everything else from my mind.
Alex settled on my lap and slipped her arm around my neck. Her other hand drifted across my breasts. Her kiss was slow and searching. Her tongue glided along my bottom lip, seeking a response from me. Damn me; my response was instantaneous and passionate. God, I love this woman.
“We should take this into the bedroom,” Alex whispered in my ear. “I would hate for Ross and Amy to walk in on us.”
I nodded and stood with her in my arms. “I love your strength,” she whispered, caressing my ear with her tongue. “So strong.”
##
I lay on my back, gasping for air. Alex snuggled tighter against me.
“I am sorry,” she whispered.
“For what?” I said, still mesmerized by the feel of her.
“For leaving this morning without discussing it with you.”
“Oh, that.” I tried to recreate the anger I had felt at finding her gone. I failed, realizing it hadn’t been anger but concern. “Please don’t do that again. I was worried sick about you.”
