Blood Rose

by P. T. Michelle

  “Don’t blame yourself. Celeste learned from the best. Phillip was the master manipulator. The question we have to answer now is: What does she gain from trying to kill you?” He pauses, his gaze narrowing on the road ahead. “We have the advantage for now, because she doesn’t know that you didn’t die in that explosion.”

  He releases my hand on the gearshift and slides his thumb down the side of my neck, his steely gaze locking with mine. “This is far from over, angel. No one attacks the woman I love and walks away. Going after a Blake was Celeste’s fatal mistake.”

  Just as we reach the town of Beacon, a text pops up on Calder’s phone from Sebastian.

  Meet me at Marrows, a restaurant on the west end of town.

  We quickly drive through the picturesque town on the edge of the Hudson, then we walk into the quaint restaurant, Marrows. I’m surprised that it’s empty. Sebastian is sitting at a big round table in the far corner of the room.

  As we follow Ben and Den across the room, Calder clasps my hand and keeps me close.

  Once we reach the table, Calder waits for Den and Ben to settle on Sebastian’s left, then he pulls me on the other side of the table next to Sebastian before he slides into his seat beside me.

  Sebastian raises his eyebrow at Calder, but doesn’t comment. Glancing at his watch, he says, “We have one hour to ourselves before the restaurant opens for dinner. Den gave me a summary, but let’s debrief on the details of what the hell just happened so we can plan what to do next.”

  “You first.” Calder looks at Ben across the table, who’s feeling the bridge of his swollen nose between his thumb and pointer finger. “Start by explaining why you’ve been visiting your father in prison, a man you profess to despise for what he did.”

  “I don’t owe you any fucking explanation,” Ben snaps. “You broke my nose.”

  “Bill me,” Calder says curtly. “My question still stands.”

  Sebastian looks at Ben as he glares at Calder. “I realize there’s tension between you two, but I’m asking as your employer who’s had to deal with the fallout your father caused. You visiting your father seems to completely go against what you’ve said to us.”

  Ben takes a deep breath, his nose wheezing. “My mother has been sick for a month. She continues to believe in my father’s innocence and it stresses her that she hasn’t been well enough to go see him. She asked me to go for her. I did, because I love my mother. End of story.”

  “You could’ve just said that,” Calder says, his tone more subdued.

  Ben folds his arms. “Like you would’ve believed me.”

  I put my foot on top of Calder’s under the table and nod toward Ben. He frowns, then sighs. “I’m sorry I broke your nose.” Glancing my way, he runs his knuckles along my cheek. “Thank you for saving Cass. I can never repay you for what you did to keep her safe.”

  “She’s family,” Ben simply says, drawing both our gazes. He smiles at me, nodding when I smile back. “At first I couldn’t figure out how Cass got inside, but then when I saw a red light turn on the moment she moved into the room, I noticed the wired black box to the right of the door. Then the red light started to blink. Whatever it was, my gut told me I had very little time to get Cass out.” He shrugs. “So I just reacted the best way I knew how.”

  “Now that we have proof there was a bomb, we need to find her,” Den says, pushing his phone to the center of the table.

  “Cass and Ben,” Talia’s voice comes through Den’s speakerphone. “I’m so glad you’re both all right! I’ve sent each of your phones the photo of the man I believe may be the person who’s been following Cass. Dan Matthews is ex-military, whose special skill was infiltrating computer networks. He’s also known as a man-for-hire. He wasn’t listed among Phillip’s visitor logs. He’s too smart for that. He sent a go between, whom I traced to him via their preference for frequenting the same bar. He and his contact person weren’t covert enough while staggering their entrances and exits. Thanks to cameras outside the bar, I figured their connection out pretty quickly.”

  “What do you think he wants with Cass?” Sebastian asks.

  “I think Cass is a means to an end,” Talia says. “Since Phillip didn’t kill Celeste, he knows someone framed him.”

  Ben nods slowly. “My dad has always maintained that he’d been set up to take the fall.”

  “Right,” Talia continues. “So my guess is, Phillip thinks Cass might know who that could be, hence him hiring Matthews.”

  “But why now?” Calder’s gaze pings to all of us. “Why after all this time has this guy started following Cass?”

  “How long has your credit card thing been going on, Cass?” Talia’s voice comes closer to the speaker.

  I try to think back. “The first time was at your baby shower.”

  “Ah, okay,” Talia says. “It’s possible that Cass’s credit cards weren’t the first place Celeste tried to get money. We have no idea how long her money issues were going on.”

  “I see where you’re going with this.” Ben sets his arms on the table, leaning in. “You think Celeste might’ve tried to use an old credit card or an old account, and my father had people watching the accounts.”

  “That matches with what Elijah told me,” Calder interjects. “He said that someone else was in the credit card company database looking at Cass’s information.”

  “Which means this Matthews bloke might also know about the bottled water delivery address and could already be here.” Den rubs his hand on his chin, his brows pulled together in deep thought. “What I find odd is that Celeste made this kind of misstep. She had everything sorted. She’d done everything right. She didn’t contact family. She stayed off the grid. The need for money might’ve driven her to use Cass’s credit to get by, but why did she sign up for a delivery service?”

  “That does seem inconsistent with someone trying to stay under the radar,” Talia muses. “We may never know why, but that answer doesn’t explain how we locate Celeste now.”

  Sebastian looks between Ben and me. “Is there anything you saw in Celeste’s house that could give us a clue as to where to look for her?”

  I start to shake my head, then jerk my gaze to his. “The medical bills!” Frowning, I continue, “Ugh, but I didn’t bother looking at her name.”

  “Where was the bill from, Cass?” Talia asks.

  “I remember a red half heart merged with a white cross, on top of a light-blue shield. It was from a hospital.” I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to remember. “Saint—”

  “Got it. It’s Saint Andrews,” Elijah’s voice booms through the speaker. “Give me a minute to dive into their system.”

  “Scan their database for the Beacon address,” Talia says in the background. “Then we’ll be able to determine what name Celeste used as a patient there.”

  “She’s so good,” I whisper to Calder.

  Sebastian nods. “She is, but Celeste didn’t count on a whole team coming after her. We’ll find her.”

  We all wait in tense silence until Elijah speaks again. “She’s going by the name Cassandra Roswell.” When I grunt my annoyance, he says, “And we don’t have to bother looking any further. She’s at the hospital, currently admitted as a patient.”

  “What’s she being treated for, Elijah?” Ben asks.

  “I’m scanning the doctor’s notes. There are a lot of codes on here. Lupus is mentioned earlier in the notes, then chemotherapy. It looks like she’s being treated for kidney issues related to the chemo drugs.”

  Beth would be so upset to know her sister is going through this alone. My sad thoughts must’ve shown on my face when I glance Calder’s way, because he shakes his head in a fast jerk. “Don’t feel sorry for her, Cass. Not one ounce of sympathy. The woman tried to take you out.”

  “I know.” I rub my forehead, my hand shaking. “I can’t help but think about Beth.”

  He wraps an arm around my shoulder and kisses my temple. “Beth has already buried her sister. This
guilt you feel, you have to let it go.”

  I take a deep breath and nod. “So what’s the plan now?”

  Calder looks at me, his expression determined. “We’re going to pay her a surprise visit.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Cass

  While Ben, Sebastian, and Den remain in their cars to stay in touch with Elijah and Talia as they try to determine a current location on Phillip’s guy, Matthews, Calder and I walk into the hospital to “visit” with Celeste. Even though Sebastian and Den didn’t like us going in alone, we all agreed it would look less suspicious if just two people went to see her.

  “As much as playing the grieving, vengeful fiancé appeals in order to put the fear of God into Celeste…” Calder reaches for my hand as we get off the elevator on the fourth floor where Celeste is staying. Folding his fingers with mine, he continues, “It’s a little too close to home for me, Cass. I imagine Celeste’s, ‘Oh, shit! I didn’t kill her like I thought,’ reaction when we walk into her room will yield some telling results before we drill her for the full truth.”

  “Are we going to call the police after we talk to her?”

  He looks at me. “Yes, we will. She has crossed the line.”

  I agree it’s the right thing to do, but I squeeze his hand. “I’m so afraid Phillip will somehow be released from jail once this comes out.”

  Calder pulls my hand to his lips and presses a kiss to my knuckles. “He will never touch you. Not as long as I’m breathing.”

  “But who’s going to protect you?”

  His smile is full of confidence. “Family, both the business and personal one.”

  We reach Celeste’s room, just as an older doctor with thinning hair and a curly-haired nurse come from the opposite direction. She smiles to acknowledge us. “Are you here to visit with Miss Boswell?”

  When we nod, the doctor stares at me, a look of pleased surprise on his face. “I wasn’t aware that Cassandra had a sister.”

  Ugh, why does her face have to look like mine? I quickly make up an answer. “We um…haven’t been super close in the past, but now that she’s sick, I think it’s time to try to mend fences.”

  He inclines his head in approval. “I’m Doctor Patterson. I’m glad she’ll have someone to talk to. This week will be rough with a battery of tests that will exhaust her. Once I’m finished going over some of her lab results, you’re welcome to visit.”

  The nurse gestures to the waiting area just down the hall. “You can wait there.”

  We thank her, then walk down the hall to sit in uncomfortable chairs.

  “I don’t like this,” Calder mutters and texts Sebastian an update the moment we sit down. Two seconds later, his phone rings. “Yeah, we’re here until the doctor’s done.”

  My phone buzzing in my purse distracts me from the conversation. I retrieve it from the tote and see that it’s my doctor’s office calling, I can’t believe it. Of all the rotten timing. With Calder talking in the background, I want to be able to hear, so I walk farther down the hall and answer the call. “Hello?”

  “Is this Cassandra Rockwell?”

  I glance back at Calder to see his gaze pinging between me and Celeste’s room, while his phone is to his ear. “Yes, this is she.”

  “This is Rachel from Doctor West’s office. We’re just calling you with your test results.”

  I exhale quickly. “Yes, please let me know the results.”

  “Doctor West wanted to call you himself, but he got called into an emergency C-Section, and he knows you’ve been anxiously waiting an answer. Your AMH level did come back on the low side, but…he wants you to know that that doesn’t mean you can’t conceive, Miss Rockwell.”

  My heart sinks and it’s hard to take a breath. “I know that means it’ll be a lot harder. He explained it to me, but at least now I know.”

  “The doctor would like for you to come in for a follow up and he’ll discuss your fertility options with you. Would you like to make an appointment now?”

  I look at Calder, who’s off his phone and already headed in my direction. “No, I’ll call back later. Thank you for calling.”

  “Bash said Elijah tapped into as many cameras as he could and he caught the Matthews guy driving out of town in the same direction we did earlier.”

  “Do you think he’s coming here?”

  Calder shrugs. “We don’t know for certain, but Elijah is now plugged into the hospital’s security cameras to be our eyes around the hospital while we’re in here.” He tucks my hair behind my ear and nods toward my phone. “I could tell that call bothered you. Who was it?”

  I glance over his shoulder and once I see the hallway is still empty, I drop my phone in my purse and nod. “I didn’t want to say anything to you before now because I wanted confirmation.”

  Calder takes my hand. “You’re shaking, Cass. What’s wrong?”

  I exhale and try not to let the tears I feel burning behind my eyes fall. “I know we haven’t been trying for children, but I couldn’t understand why we haven’t gotten pregnant considering I haven’t been on birth control for months. I wanted to know if I was the problem. That was my doctor. My AMH levels are low. AMH measures the health and quality of my eggs. Low isn’t good. It means, it’ll be much harder for us to get pregnant.”

  “It’ll happen when it’s meant to, Cass.”

  When Calder cups the back of my head and pulls me close, the tears start to fall anyway. I look up into his handsome face, loving him so much. “I wanted you to know this before you married someone who might not be able to give you children.”

  He smiles and wraps his arms around me. “I love you, Cass. That’s all I care about.”

  I push back a little. “I want you to have your family, Calder. That’s what you said you’re ready for, remember? And after everything you’ve lost, you deserve to have your own children and raise many little hellion Blakes. I won’t be the reason that never happens.”

  He locks his arms around me, refusing to let me pull away. “You’re just going to have to trust in us, Cass. And if it doesn’t work to have our own, we could consider adoption.”

  I shake my head. “While I believe adoption can be wonderful, you deserve biological children too. Your own blood, Calder. I don’t want to take that opportunity away from you. That way your branch of the Blake family can truly live on and flourish.”

  “My branch is so twisted and full of knots, the Blake part no longer exists anyway,” he says in a dry tone.

  “I’m serious, Calder.” I say, my heart hurting. “I won’t be the reason you don’t have your own children.”

  “Are you deciding for me, Cass?” He frowns, his hold on me flexing with tension. “It sounds an awful lot like you are.”

  “No, that’s not it. I—”

  “Then what are you saying?”

  I look away, my gaze blurring with renewed tears. My heart hurts so much. “I don’t want to fail you.”

  Calder cups my cheek and turns my head until my eyes meet his. “You will never fail me. Not fucking ever. I love you more than life itself, Cass. If it’s just the two of us until we’re a doddering old couple, I’ll still consider myself the luckiest man alive.”

  He presses his lips to mine and the tenderness makes my heart trip. Pulling back, he meets my gaze. “Whatever future we face, we’ll make plans that work for us. We’ll do this together.”

  I let out a relieved breath, tears trickling down my cheeks.

  Calder swipes the wetness away with his thumbs, his green gaze searching mine. “Okay, Raven mine?”

  I nod, and as we exchange a smile, the nurse we saw earlier walks past us, then pauses and turns back. “Have you seen your sister yet?”

  When I shake my head, she smiles. “Then go on in. We finished up a little bit ago. I’m sure she’ll enjoy your company.”

  “Probably less than you think,” Calder murmurs as she walks off. Wrapping his arm around my shoulders, we walk together to Celeste’s room.
/>
  I knock, but when Celeste doesn’t call us to come in, I open the door anyway. Calder’s right behind me as I step into the room, but then we both exchange a look of alarm. The bed’s empty. My heart races as he quickly checks the bathroom. No one.

  As I ask, “Where did she go?” he pulls his phone out and makes a call.

  “Elijah, start checking every camera from the fourth floor down. Celeste bolted before we could talk to her.” Hanging up, he makes another call. “Bash, Celeste is on the run. Elijah’s scanning the hospital for her. Stay in touch with him. Between you, Den, and Ben, try to cover all the exits. Cass and I will work our way down. If she gets out of this hospital, we may never find her again.”

  As soon as he hangs up, his phone rings. Calder closes the room door and puts it on speaker. “Have you found her, Elijah?”

  “Not yet, but we’ve got another problem. Matthews is here. I just caught him on camera walking into the hospital from a side door.”

  Calder frowns. “How did he find us? And why did he enter the hospital that way?”

  “Give me a minute, let me rewind the video.” Calder and I wait while he’s typing in the background. “Yep, he walked through the parking lot on that side of the hospital.”

  “Did he look at or hang around any car in particular?” I ask. “Could he have traced Celeste through the car she’s driving?”

  “I’ll bet that’s exactly what he did, Cass.” Talia jumps in. “Elijah and I think he got her address from your credit card…and that’s how he showed up in the town while you guys where there. Den said he remembers a car like Matthews’s driving past him as he pulled Calder’s car down the driveway toward the house.”

  “His hacking skills are as good as mine,” Elijah says. “He probably tapped into the local DMV and crossed referenced that Beacon address. Damn, we should’ve thought of that, but there wasn’t a car there. Anyway, my guess is once he saw the house was up in flames, the DMV data gave him everything else he needed, from her car’s VIN number to the alias she’s living under. All he needed was the VIN number to trace her car’s GPS straight to the hospital.”