by Leonie Gant
“From what he said it seems Catarina Badal had stolen some necklace which belonged to his mother from him. Seems he was one of the men she was dating. She also owed him money from gambling debts. The guy who kidnapped me had been sent to the funeral to get back what she owed Dominic. When he saw me at the funeral and then in Las Vegas only a day later it seems he panicked. He thought that I was following him and decided to kidnap me.”
“Did Caldwell hurt you?” asked Bradford.
“I lifted up my arm and pointed to the wrist. He grabbed my wrist when I didn’t want to tell him about the notebook that Catarina had.” Bradford looked confused.
“Catarina Badal had a notebook that listed and rated all of her lovers” Griffin supplied.
Bradford chuckled. “Dominic Caldwell would not have liked that one little bit” he said.
“Who is he?” I asked, the frustration evident in my voice.
Bradford leaned back in the chair. “Dominic Caldwell is a very powerful man who does not believe that the law applies to him. Most of his businesses seem to be legitimate but there are some areas which various law enforcement agencies are convinced are not so legal. Caldwell is powerful enough not to be bothered by what we believe. It is probably the reason that he could be so mixed up in your kidnapping and still not have any concern at all. Unfortunately that bruise on your wrist is not going to be nearly enough for a conviction. I don’t think anyone is going to be willing to try to prosecute him. If we take him down we want to take him down for something big.”
“So, they get away with it” I said bitterly. “He wasn’t going to let me go until I gave him answers, doesn’t that make him part of the kidnapping?”
“He’s saying he was concerned for your wellbeing and was just ensuring that you were okay” Bradford said. “It’s classic your word against his and he has deeper pockets and far better lawyers. However we do have security footage of one Roger D’Angelo carrying you out of your hotel which gives us a better chance against him. We’re looking for him at the moment but he seems to have gone to ground.”
I must have looked worried because Griffin squeezed my hand. “Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to you” he said.
“Speaking of which Griffin, you want to pop out of the room for a bit” Bradford said casually.
Griffin’s head snapped up.
“I need to speak to her without you hanging around” Bradford said gently. “You know I do buddy. Why don’t you go and grab something to eat. I won’t leave her until you get back.”
Reluctantly Griffin stood up and kissed me on the head. “Don’t upset her” he growled at Bradford and stalked out of the room.
Bradford watched him leave and then turned around and looked at me thoughtfully.
“What?” I asked.
“Just wondering what it is about you that has Griffin tied in knots. I know the man and until today I could have sworn that there was nothing on this Earth that could make him lose his cool. Then today I get him on the phone telling me that some woman has not been where she is supposed to be and he wants me to get my ass on the case straight away while he flies from LA. He almost lost it completely when we found that security footage of you being carried out by D’Angelo.”
“How do you know Griffin?” I asked.
Bradford shrugged. “Met him a few years ago at one of those interagency conferences. Kept in touch since then, helped each other out when cases crossed over between Vegas and LA. Is there anything else Dominic Caldwell said to you that could help me build a case against him?”
I shook my head. “He didn’t make any threats as such and he only really got angry when he found out about the book and that Catarina had been seeing other men.”
Bradford grinned, “I can’t see him taking that too well. He’s not the kind of man that likes to lose to anyone.”
“So how did you find me?” I asked.
Bradford shrugged. “Lucky break more than anything else. We managed to track D’Angelo to Caldwell’s house using traffic cams but we lost him after that. I went to Caldwell to see if D’Angelo had been there. Wasn’t really expecting to find you chatting with him.”
Bradford stood up. “I’ll send Griffin back in, I’m pretty sure he’s right outside the door waiting for me to go.”
“Thanks” I said. “And thank you for finding me.”
Bradford was right and Griffin came back into the room still looking worried. When he sat down on the bed next to me I raised a hand and pushed back the hair from his forehead.
“I’m okay” I said hating the look in his eyes. “You should go and get some sleep. I’ll be fine here. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“I’m not going anywhere” Griffin said as he settled in the chair beside the bed. “I’ll stay right here. Not the first time I’ve sat in a hospital chair with you.”
I shuffled over on the bed and patted the space beside me. “Lie down here, there’s enough room for the two of us” I said.
He toed off his shoes and got on the bed gathering me in his arms.
“This is nice” he said.
“Yes” I agreed.
As I drifted off to sleep I felt safer than I ever had before.
Chapter Eighteen
Waking up the next morning I panicked at first as I forgot where I was. Turning my head I found Griffin watching me.
“You know you’re beautiful” he said softly and I remembered why this man took up so much of my emotional energy.
At that moment a nurse bustled in.
“It’s about time you two woke up, doctor’s going to be here in a second and this isn’t a honeymoon suite. You’re lucky I was on duty. Most of the other nurses would have kicked your behind out of that bed and out of this hospital.
“Yes ma’am” said Griffin stretching his long frame as he got up out of the bed.
“What is it about men that think they will get out of trouble if they just say, yes ma’am” the nurse grumbled.
Griffin’s cell phone rang and he indicated he’d be stepping out of the room. The nurse closed the door firmly after him.
“Now young lady, if you want to get out of here I would suggest a quick shower and getting dressed. Nothing tells a doctor that you’re good enough to get out of hospital if you look like you are more prepared to face the day than he is.”
Wholeheartedly agreeing to the sentiment I had a quick shower and threw on some clothes that Crystal had brought me the night before. Walking out of the bathroom I found Griffin standing in the room, his smile approving as it looked me up and down, although it darkened at the bruising on my neck from the rough entry of the needle and the obvious bruising on my wrist.
“Bradford just called. They’ve managed to pick up D’Angelo” he said.
“Great” I smiled.
“I’m just going to go change my clothes, I’ll only be a half an hour and I’ll be right back” he said.
I walked up to him and wound my arms around his waist and laid my head on his chest.
“I’m fine” I said. “Go do whatever it is that you need to do. The doctor will take a while to get here and then the paperwork to get me out will take a while. Go have a shower, get changed and I’ll see you when you get back here and then we can go home to LA.”
“Is that what you want to do?” asked Griffin.
“Like you would not believe” I said.
“I’ll be right back” he said, kissing me on the forehead.
After the doctor had arrived and pronounced me fit to leave, I sat on the bed and waited for the discharge paperwork to be completed. Hearing a noise at the door I looked up to see Dominic Caldwell in my doorway with a large bunch of flowers and that unnerving smile of his.
I scrambled off the bed and reached for the nurse’s buzzer.
“Please don’t Trudie, I’m not here to hurt you” he said. “I just wanted to make sure you were recovering from yesterday’s unpleasantness.”
“Which part?” I asked. “The part
where I was kidnapped, or when I spent nine hours on your floor and could have died. Or maybe the part where you wouldn’t let me go when I woke up until you got the answers you wanted.”
Dominic smiled. “I know that in the cold light of day you may be feeling some anger towards the situation, but I had hoped that some time and space would give you a bit of clarity.”
“Your colleague is with the police” I said.
“Yes, it was suggested to him that his actions were a little badly thought out and that it would be in everyone’s best interests that he take responsibility for them. A plea deal will be worked out and he will be punished according to the laws of the state” Dominic said.
As if he suddenly remembered, he put the flowers on the end of the bed, being careful not to approach me as if I was a highly strung thoroughbred who would bolt if he got too close.
“These are for you, I hope you like them.”
I barely looked at them. Something was happening here and all I knew was I did not like it at all.
“All expenses you have incurred while in Las Vegas have been taken care of” he said, that smooth voice scraping over my already jangled nerves.
“Why?” I croaked wanting to shrink back as he walked slowly towards me, but standing still and holding my ground.
Dominic reached forward and grabbed my hand gently, raising it and pulling back on the sleeve to show the mark that he had put on my wrist yesterday. His thumb gently stroked the bruise.
“I do not apologize often. In my world it is seen as a sign of weakness.” He looked me in the eyes. “But for this I am sorry. My pride was damaged and I allowed that to hurt you. For this and no other reason I am in your debt for the hurt I have caused you.”
I pulled back my hand. I badly wanted to step back because he was way too close but I didn’t want to appear weak and afraid, even though I really was.
“I don’t want you to be in my debt, I don’t want you anywhere near me. I want to leave this city and never think about what happened here again.”
“The thing is” Dominic continued as if I hadn’t spoken, “you’ve piqued my interest. You’re not like the women I usually meet.”
Oh this was bad, very, very bad. I can honestly say that I did not want to pique this man’s interest at all. I was getting to the point where I was going to say to hell with my pride and run out of the room when a voice came from the doorway.
“Would you like to explain what you are doing here Mr Caldwell?” Griffin was standing there and I almost sagged with relief. He had cleaned up and he filled the doorway with his size and cop demeanor. The frown on his face was directed solely at Dominic. Most people I knew at least felt a little trepidation when having Griffin’s cop face focused at them. Dominic just smiled.
“I was just making sure that Trudie was fully recovered after her traumatic day yesterday.” He turned to me. “I look forward to the next time we meet” he said smoothly and walked out, not even skirting around Griffin.
Griffin’s forehead furrowed. “What’s going on here?” he barked at me.
“You’re yelling at me” I said. “He came in here and freaked me out and you’re yelling at me.”
Griffin ran his hand over his face. “I’m sorry.”
Look at me, getting apologies from two men in five minutes, there has got to be a prize for that.
“What did he want?” asked Griffin.
“He wanted to give me flowers, pay my bills and tell me I’d piqued his interest, all of which are guaranteed to freak me out, so can we go, before I have a complete meltdown and they decide to keep me here indefinitely” I said.
“Crystal and Edwin are waiting downstairs in the cab” Griffin said. “Bradford called, D’Angelo is taking a plea deal so you don’t need to do anything. I think we should get out of here before anything else happens” he said grabbing my bag.
Following Griffin out I looked at the flowers which were still lying on the bed and shivered. Dominic had arranged everything, just as he said, and I had a very bad feeling that he wasn’t finished with me yet.
Chapter Nineteen
Walking into my home I wanted to drop to my knees and kiss the floor. After a flight that had Griffin, Crystal and Edwin watching over me as if I was going to fall apart on them, I was happy to be in my own space again.
“Where did you want your bag?” asked Griffin.
Of course I wasn’t alone. Crystal and Edwin had managed to realize that I might need some alone time right about now. Griffin hadn’t quite worked it out yet and with the way he dropped himself into my couch it looked like he was taking seriously his threat not to let me out of his sight.
“So” I said as I dropped on the couch opposite him. “Is there a plan from here or are we just winging it?”
“Oh, there’s a plan” said Griffin and jumped up at a knock on the door.
I did not like the sound of that and I realized how much when Griffin came back into the living room followed by his father who was carrying a small duffel bag.
“What are you doing here Lee?” I asked with trepidation.
“I have to go to work” said Griffin, “so Dad is going to stay and keep an eye on you.”
I looked at the two men, the expressions on their faces so similar. “Can I please speak with you a moment, in private” I said.
Griffin followed me to my bedroom and when I closed the door he looked around the room.
“Took you long enough to get me in here” he grinned.
“I am not having your dad babysitting me” I hissed.
“And of course it has to be an argument” Griffin sighed. “Yesterday you were kidnapped. Dominic Caldwell, who despite appearances is not a very nice man, has taken a frightening interest in you. I need to go to work today because I have a feeling once I can solve the Catarina Badal case, you may be taken out of the firing line, and believe me sweetheart, at the moment that is the thing I want more than anything in the world. I can’t do my job if I am worrying the entire day about you. If I bring anything but my A game to work Ramos is going to have my hide. I am asking you, for my peace of mind, let my dad keep you company today.”
I hated when people argued logically. It totally took the wind out of my sails.
“I don’t like feeling like I’m not in control of my life Griffin. I really don’t react well when I feel someone is taking that away from me.”
Griffin took me in his arms “I know and that independent streak in you makes me hot.”
“I thought it annoyed you” I said looking up at him and smiling.
“Oh it does that too” said Griffin with an answering smile.
He dipped his head and slanted his lips over mine. I didn’t even bother fighting the feeling that ran all the way down to my toes. In no time the kissing had turned passionate and I could feel him moving me over to the bed as he started kissing me across my jaw and down my neck. Sanity prevailed and I pulled away.
“Your dad is right outside this door” I gasped.
Griffin groaned. “I really want to pick this up soon” he said.
“We will” I said, “but you have to go to work.
Griffin gave me another quick and hard kiss on the mouth. “I’ll see you tonight” he said, “we’ll have dinner together, just the two of us with no interruptions, and then we’re taking off right about here” he said holding onto my hips and curling them into his body.
“Just the two of us” I repeated feeling a little light headed.
“You might want to do those buttons up” he said, glancing at my chest as he tucked in his shirt. Seems we’d both got a little busy during the interlude.
Griffin left, leaving me facing his father who looked at me with a bemused smile.
“So” I said, “how are you doing Lee?”
“Fine, heard you went and got yourself kidnapped” he growled.
“I did not get myself kidnapped, I was kidnapped” I said patiently.
“So we’ll be putting it in the, it
could only happen to you, pile” said Lee.
“Oh this is going to be fun today” I said. “Do you want a coffee?”
“That would be lovely” said Lee.
Busying myself with the coffee machine Lee sat himself down at my table and studied me intently.
I put his coffee in front of him. “What” I said tiredly.
“Just looks like you two are moving along with your relationship” he said as he kept his eyes firmly fixed on the coffee cup.
Lee Griffin was an ex-cop. I had met him before and at first had decided that he hardly spoke at all. There seemed to be one topic where this did not hold true. Lee had an inordinate amount of interest in Griffin’s and my relationship. I had told him before to butt out but he seemed to be unable to help himself. I knew there was no way that he would ask his son these questions but he seemed to have no problem with dragging me across the coals every time I met him.
“We’re sorting things out” I conceded.
“You taking off the way you did was not good for his temper. The boy was like a bear with a sore head. He doesn’t have the nicest of dispositions to begin with. When he saw that photo of you with the little pop star I thought he was going to throw a coronary,” Lee said conversationally.
“You’re aware that the photo was just a media beat up” I said dryly settling in with my own coffee. I figured if I was going to get grilled by my new boyfriend’s father I was going to need the strong stuff.
“Knew that from the second I saw it, Jake did too. Just didn’t make him happy seeing as how you’d walked away from him, and you seemed to be enjoying the high life.”
I snorted. “I was dragging a bratty, spoiled teenager out of a strip club, trust me, I wasn’t living the high life” I said.
“Do you like your job?” Lee asked curiously.
I thought back to the night with Blythe Stanton and to some of the people I had met while working for Monique.
“It does have its moments” I said smiling. “No job is perfect and there are some days when it drives me crazy, but I would definitely say it has been worth it. Besides, I met Griffin through my job, if I’d had an office job somewhere we may never have met.”
