“Have you heard anything from the detectives?” Liberty asked, interrupting Nate’s thoughts.
When he hesitated, she leaned back and looked up at him.
“I just got off the phone with one of them.”
Now fully awake, Liberty straightened. “Did they find her?”
“Yes.”
“Oh thank, God. I didn’t think they’d find her that fast.”
“She didn’t do it.”
Liberty froze. “What? What do you mean she didn’t do it?”
“Angel has been in Atlanta for the past two weeks. Seems she put in for a transfer with her company and relocated. The detectives spoke with her and her supervisor. She has a solid alibi.”
“Then who did this? Who would destroy my car?”
“They’re still investigating but…”
“But what?”
“But they’re going to look into Isaac.”
Liberty remained quiet before saying, “He wouldn’t do this.”
Nate frowned. “What do you mean he wouldn’t do this? Why not? He could still be angry about the divorce. Hell, he’s done worse.”
Liberty shook her head and moved to the side of the bed, lowering her feet to the floor. “Isaac is all about playing mental games with people. He wouldn’t stoop to damaging someone’s vehicle. And with my car, he’d assume it was of no value to me, and wouldn’t bother. No, if Isaac wanted to get to me, or get inside my head, it wouldn’t be like this. He would go after something that meant the world to me,” she paused and raised her gaze to Nate. “Or he would go after someone I love.”
They stared at each other for a minute before Nate said, “Does he know you’re in Cincinnati?”
Liberty shrugged. “I don’t know. Since the divorce, I haven’t heard from him. Though, I didn’t tell him I was relocating, he has the means to get any information he wants. Even with my name change, if he wanted to find me, he would. I don’t think it’s him.”
Nate sighed, closed his eyes, and pinched the bridge of his nose. How the hell could he protect either of them from an unknown enemy?
Liberty curled up against him. “What are we going to do?”
“I don’t know, babe, but we’re going to get to the bottom of this.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
“You look absolutely stunning tonight. I’m the envy of every man in the room,” Nate whispered close to Liberty’s ear, his arm possessively around her waist. She was wearing a short, navy blue cocktail dress that Demi and Christina had helped her find during a shopping trip earlier that day. The wide neckline and fitted bodice vintage outfit was different from what she would have normally chosen.
Liberty smiled up at Nate. “Thank you.”
They were attending a networking banquet hosted by Cincinnati’s local business owners club. Weeks ago, Nate had asked her to be his date, and at first Liberty had been hesitant. After being ostracized by Isaac and key players in Chicago’s business world, she wasn’t sure she was ready to put herself out there again. But lately, with Nate by her side, she felt invincible.
Despite the past week of looking over her shoulder and being chauffeured around by him or other men in his family, Liberty’s life was perfect. Daily she had to pinch herself to ensure she wasn’t dreaming. Her and Nate’s reunion had blossomed into a relationship that had exceeded her expectations, and Liberty believed in love again. After the divorce, she’d been in survival mode. Trying to do all she could to prove that she wasn’t a failure. Fate had indeed surprised her.
“Excuse me, ol’ protective one.”
Liberty and Nate turned to find Christina standing with her arms folded across her chest and a smirk on her face. Tonight, she had her long curly hair pinned on top of her head in an intricate style. Her pretty face was makeup free except for lipstick and she too was dressed in a vintage dress. The black A-line, lace dress was cinched at the waist and flowed into a full, tulle skirt that stopped mid-calf.
“Are you going to let Liberty out of your sight at all tonight?”
“I hadn’t planned on it,” Nate said seriously, and Liberty shook her head. “Where’s your husband? Shouldn’t you be bothering Luke instead of trying to steal my date away?”
Luke, a defense attorney who had grown up in New York but relocated to Cincinnati to be with Christina, was like no lawyer Liberty had ever met. Martina referred to him as the family’s thug lawyer. He was a nice enough guy, and crazy intelligent, but there was definitely a lethal edge to him.
“He’s on his way. He told me to hang out with you guys until he arrived,” she said to Nate. “Now, getting back to you. Liberty’s too sweet to say this, but you’re smothering her.”
“Whoa, wait,” Liberty chimed in. “Yes, he might be a little overprotective, but smothering is too harsh of a term. With that said though, I do think he can loosen up some. Right, honey?” She batted her eyes at Nate, knowing the gesture would get a rise out of him. Sure enough, the left corner of his lip inched up into a slight smile.
“Good, it’s settled. Lib, I wanna introduce you to the woman I was telling you about earlier. The one who owns a chain of vegetarian restaurants throughout the Midwest.”
“Oh, wow. I didn’t know she would be here. Definitely introduce me.” Liberty started to move away from Nate, but he held tight and she sighed. “Really, Nate? I’m not leaving the building. I’ll meet the lady and then come and find you. Okay?”
“God, you are such a worrywart,” Christina said to her cousin and looped her arm through Liberty’s. “Let’s go.”
Liberty glanced back at Nate who was still staring after her, his face stoic. It wasn’t until she smiled and blew him a kiss that he seemed to relax.
*
Nate grabbed a drink from the bar outside of the banquet room. He thought about going in search of his uncle who was also attending the event. Instead, he roamed around the atrium, stopped and chatted with a few people before moving on.
Still a little concerned about Liberty’s safety, he glanced around in search of her and Christina. He spotted them near the bar at the other end of the hall, each holding a glass. He wasn’t worried about Liberty drinking. True to her word, she hadn’t had alcohol since that night at the bar.
Nate released a contented sigh. Who would’ve known that rescuing her from a stranger at the bar months ago, would catapult her back into his life?
He sipped his scotch and watched as she spoke to a woman standing next to Christina, and a bout of pride gripped him. He was so damn proud of his woman. Strong and determined, Liberty had truly reclaimed her life. She was thriving at work, juggling several projects, and in less than a month, she would take the bar. In his eyes, she was a modern day Super Woman.
Nate took one last look in their direction before heading into the banquet room to go in search of his uncle. He spotted Ben speaking with two other men, and as if sensing his presence, Ben glanced in Nate’s direction.
“I didn’t mean for you to stop what you were doing,” Nate said when Ben approached him.
“No problem. I’d been trying to get away from those two for the last thirty minutes. You know how attorneys are when they get together. All they do is talk shop.”
Nate laughed. “You do remember that you’re a lawyer, right? And you probably yap as much as they do.”
Ben took a sip of the dark liquid in his glass. “Don’t be a wise ass. I’m not as bad as they are.”
“Uh, yeah, right.” Nate chuckled again and glanced around at the small groups of people spread about the large room. “The last time I attended this event, there hadn’t been this many people here.”
“You’re right. Each year the event gets bigger and better. Probably because they’ve been able to attract more prominent keynote speakers.”
Ben gave a nod of greeting to a senator whose name Nate didn’t know. His uncle seemed to know everyone in the city. They had yet to go anyplace together where Ben wasn’t recognized.
“Well, it looks lik
e the Jenkins family is well represented tonight.”
Nate and Ben turned at the sound of the gravelly voice to find one of their grandfather’s golfing buddies.
“Benjamin Jenkins. How the heck are you, son?”
“I’m well. How’s it going, Mr. Evans?” Ben shook the older gentleman’s hand. “Do you remember my nephew, Nathaniel?”
Evans squinted instead of using the glasses that were tucked into the breast pocket of his suit jacket. “Aren’t you one of Sarah and Lewis’s boys?”
“Yes, sir.” Nate shook his hand.
“How is everyone? I haven’t been to one of the Sunday brunches in a while. That’s how I used to keep up with all of you.”
“Everyone is doing well.”
While the two caught up, Nate tuned out, thinking about the conversation he’d had with the detective that was on the case. The Jenkins family was fine, but whoever had vandalized Liberty’s car was still at large. Nate found it hard to believe that no one saw or heard anything that night, not even him and Liberty. So far, there hadn’t been anymore incidents, but the nagging feeling of dread crept into Nate’s body periodically. He wanted whoever had done this found.
He tuned back into the conversation between Ben and Evans in time to catch the old man discussing the event’s keynote speaker, Aubrey Mahan. Nate looked forward to hearing Aubrey speak again. He had first met the multi-millionaire a few years ago at a business symposium in New York. Impressed with his presentation on how he made his first million, Nate had sought him out at the end of that event. Turned out that Aubrey was a down-to-earth guy and whenever Nate was in New York, they hooked up for drinks.
“It’s too bad he couldn’t make it tonight. He—”
“What? I hadn’t heard,” Nate cut in. “Aubrey’s not here.”
The old man shook his head. “I heard earlier that he had a family emergency and had to cancel, but the organizers were able to find another speaker.”
“Who did they end up getting?” Ben asked, draining his glass.
“A guy out of Chicago. Have you heard of the Culpeppers?”
Unease radiated through Nate, and Ben cast him a steely glance, probably thinking the same thing.
“One of the kids, a big-time lawyer,” Evans continued, not noticing Nate and Ben’s discomfort. “I think the name is Ian…no, wait. Maybe it was Isaac. Isaac Culpepper.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
“I’ll be back,” Christina told Liberty. “I need to call Luke to see what’s keeping him. He should’ve been here by now. Where are you going to be?”
“Actually, I’m going to the lady’s room. Then I’ll probably go and find Nate. I think I saw him walk into the banquet room. We’ll meet you in there.”
“Sounds good,” Christina said before hurrying away.
“Hello, Kayla.”
Liberty startled at the deep voice she thought she would never hear again. She whirled around, causing her club soda to slosh over the rim of the glass.
“Isaac,” she said flatly, holding her arm away from her body, hoping she hadn’t gotten any pop on her dress.
Wiping her wrist with the small napkin she’d had around the glass, Liberty realized the hatred she’d harbored for this man for years had subsided. She no longer had the desire to claw his eyes out or throat punch him for treating her like trash.
“What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing. Do you live in Cincinnati now?”
She studied his eyes and knew immediately he was asking a question he already knew the answer to. Another uncomfortable thought filtered into her mind. Had he been the one to destroy her car?
Liberty shook the thought free. Vandalizing vehicles was child’s play to someone like Isaac.
“What are you doing here?” Liberty asked again.
“Would you believe that I missed you? That I’m here to beg for your forgiveness in hopes you’ll come back to me?”
“No. Try again.”
He chuckled, the sound as irritating as his presence. “I’m the keynote speaker this evening.”
Oh, that’s just great.
Liberty tried schooling her expression, but wasn’t sure if she pulled it off considering the smirk on his face.
“Good for you.” He might’ve been a jerk, but he was a masterful business man. If those in attendance could learn how to make even half as much money as he’d made, more power to them. She didn’t know if she could handle sitting through dinner with him speaking to the group, but no way would she give him the satisfaction of leaving. She’d have to stick it out.
Oh crap. Nate was going to blow a gasket for more reasons than one. He’d been looking forward to hearing Aubrey somebody speak. Now, not only would he find out Isaac was there, but that he was also the guest speaker.
“I never thought you would leave Chicago. I know how much you loved the city,” Isaac said. “I guess living on the streets gets old after a while, huh?”
“And I guess being an asshole is still how you roll, huh?”
He threw his head back and laughed as if she had told the funniest joke. Anyone looking at them from a distance would think they were old friends catching up. They would never guess how far from the truth that was. This man, dressed in an expensive suit that was tailored to fit his slim body and make him look every bit the wealthy man he was, was actually the devil in disguise.
“That was one thing I always liked about you, Kayla. Your quick wit and sassy mouth.” His gaze settled on her lips and made her skin crawl. No one could argue that he wasn’t a nice-looking man, but everything about him made her want to puke.
Recalling the times she’d lay there and let him kiss her while her mind was on Nate made her disgusted with herself. Though she couldn’t stand Isaac, she hated herself for making that ridiculous deal with him. Foregoing her happiness to take care of her family was a sacrifice she had to make. But had she been stronger and smarter, she would have thought out the situation better. She could have delayed law school and found a job somewhere to help cover her mother’s medical expenses, as well as help get them back on their feet. Instead, she sold her soul to the devil and went through life ashamed of her decision.
“Funny, I received a call from some detectives on your behalf earlier this week,” Isaac interrupted her thoughts. “I can’t believe you would think I’d waste my time ripping apart a damn car. Don’t you know me better than that?”
“I know you better than I care to admit, and all that I know, I’m trying to forget.”
He flashed that wicked grin that reminded her of The Joker from the batman movies. “Same old Kayla.”
Liberty hated that name, especially when it came from his mouth.
“I have to admit, though. You’re looking good. I guess life is treating you well…for now. I’m sure with your luck it won’t last.”
“Is that a threat, Isaac? Are you back to undermining everything I set out to do for your own pleasure?” Anger bubbled inside her. For years, especially after she lost their baby, she allowed him to talk down to her. After a while she started to believe the nonsense he spewed. Now was different. She was different. Funny how when you’re surrounded by people who love you, everything looked and felt brighter.
He moved in closer, but Liberty stood her ground. “I never threaten.”
Liberty nodded. “You’re right. You don’t. I know firsthand how evil you are and what you’re capable of, but I survived. So whatever else you have planned for me, bring it. I’m not afraid and I sure as hell am not running from you.”
There was that grin again. The darkness of it sent chills through Liberty’s body. She braced herself for whatever he planned to say. He might have held her down in the past with nasty words, but she refused to give him that same power ever again.
“Someone as beautiful as you shouldn’t keep company with bastards who tend to suck the life out everything in their reach,” Nate said in an intense, low voice as if straining to stay in control. Li
berty hadn’t heard his approach, but was glad he was there. His arm slid around her waist, and his gaze nailed Isaac in place.
The arrogant smirk that had been covering her ex-husband’s mouth since invading her space moments earlier fell. Liberty didn’t miss the way his breathing changed and how his jaw clenched hard enough to shatter his teeth.
“Well, Kayla, I see you found your way back to your college crush. You couldn’t handle a real man so you’re settling for a punk-ass boy-toy. Figures.”
Nate dropped his arm from around her and made a move toward Isaac. Liberty stopped him by fisting the back of his jacket within her hands. There was no way she was letting him stoop to Isaac’s level. Her ex-husband thrived on getting a reaction out of people. He wouldn’t let Nate get away with hitting him again the way he had years ago. No, Isaac would do everything in his power to ruin Nate.
Seeing people looking in their direction, Liberty spoke in a low voice to Nate. “Not here. Besides, he’s not worth the trouble. Let’s go in and find our seats.”
With herculean strength, she pulled Nate in the opposite direction.
“We’re not staying,” he ground out and redirected them toward the closest exit holding her hand tight enough to crush it.
“Nate, we’re staying,” she hissed, and put on the brakes. He looked at her as if she’d lost her mind.
“What do you mean we’re staying? There’s no way in hell I can sit through a minute of anything his pompous ass has to say.”
“I know, honey, but I can’t leave. I can’t give him the satisfaction of knowing that he rocked me by showing up here tonight. I can’t let him win.”
Nate saw the pleading in her eyes, but that didn’t slow his heart from practically beating out of his chest. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for her, but this… He didn’t know if he could share the same room with the bastard knowing all that he had done to her.
Proposal for Love Page 18
