“Of course I can. There are other ways …” Roxanne wiggled her skinny shoulders. “So, if I get this right. You want me to feed Declan through a syringe and convince him to sign the divorce papers.”
“Yep, and also get him to sign an affidavit that he’ll never sue Cade for his injuries. After all, if he hadn’t had his jaw wired shut, he would never ever have met you, Roxanne.”
“You’re talking, girl.” Roxanne flipped her hand, limp wristed. “You just give me the papers and directions to his house and I’m on it.”
“I don’t have the papers, but you can go online and fill it out. I don’t want any of his money.” Andie shuddered as if the money were a big pile of steamy dog poop. “Just make sure it’s no fault, no exchange of assets, and done as speedily as possible.”
“You got it, sis.” Rox tapped Andie’s shoulder and stood on her spindly heels. “I’ll also get the adoption papers ready for you to sign.”
“I get a baby and you get an actor, what a great deal.” Andie whooped. “I knew me and you make a great team.”
“Woohoo! I can’t wait to tell my brother, Rob. I get free access to his lawyers, so I can make this happen. You’re the best, and I wish you and Cade many happy returns.”
She kissed Andie on her way out, but forgot all about the sweet, little blue-eyed baby in Andie’s arms.
Andie shut the door as Red and Gollie growled their farewells.
“Is it just me, or did you two smell a skunk?”
Chapter 21
Broken, and out for six weeks, at least. Cade swallowed the pain killers and watched the doctor buddy tape his pinkie to his ring finger. Granted it could have been worse, but the thought that his own teammates were gunning to injure him without any repercussions galled him.
If this was the culture of the LA Flash, he wanted no part of it. Cade texted a message to Rob. I want out of the Flash. Free agent. Try to get me a deal with the New York Warthogs.
He didn’t know how it would all work out, but one thing was sure, Andie would not be able to stick around Hollywood for long. She missed her father, despite her brave face about making him proud of playing Michal in that farce of a project Ronaldo was running. Sooner or later, the movie project would be cancelled, and Andie would have to make a decision.
Cade returned to the football field and took his seat on the bench. He wasn’t about to miss the rest of the game. Maybe the third-string rookie quarterback would outperform Todd and get the starting dibs. Someone had to knock that glory hog down a peg or two, although to be fair, if Dick had played favorites, then Todd had every right to complain.
Rob took a seat next to him and pointed to his hand. “Broken?”
“Just a finger. It could have been a lot worse, torn ligaments and my entire hand—career ending.”
“Got your message.” He shifted in his seat. “I thought I already told you. It’s unlikely any other team would pick you up.”
“Not true. I know I didn’t do anything wrong.” Cade bristled at the implications. “Why is it so important for Dick to pin this on me? I’ve been over the videos in detail. Devon screwed up, and everyone made me believe I was the one who threw for the end zone on a whim.”
“You did. No one made you do it. You could have thrown an incomplete.”
“That’s not how it works. The refs would have gotten me for intentional grounding.”
“Still, a penalty’s better than an interception.” Rob stroked his mustache. “You’re in a shit situation. You’re lucky Dick’s keeping you on. It’s why I worked the deal with the baby. Of all my players, you needed it the most, and luckily you and Dick resemble each other enough to pull it off.”
“You know what?” Cade patted his knees and stood. “I don’t need your rescuing. Consider yourself fired. I’m getting another agent.”
“Good luck. No one’s going to touch you with a twenty-foot pole.” Rob sneered, his eyes blazing with hatred.
Cade turned away. What the hell was that about? What had he ever done to Rob?
# # #
Andie and her mother were already asleep by the time Cade returned to his house. Where was Bret? He peeked into the room Roxanne was supposed to stay in and found it empty. No suitcase, nothing.
Red and Gollie followed him from room to room as he searched for his son. A spear of adrenaline made its way down to his gut. What if Roxanne had taken Bret? What if she’d had a change of heart and decided she and Dick should raise the baby together?
He patted his male Irish Setter, the one who hated Roxanne the most. “You wouldn’t have let her take Bret, would you?”
Red only wagged his tail while Gollie lay on the floor, spreading her legs and begging for a tummy rub—just like the way Andie’s mother had described her—gullible and too affectionate.
What if Andie’s mother were right and he was taking advantage of her? After all, Andie hadn’t moved to California to be a baby’s substitute mother, and he had waylaid Andie when she first arrived, pretending to be the limo driver and practically kidnapping her to stay at his place.
But then, this entire Love Lives of King David movie was a farce—something Dick funded to make him take on the baby. What sucked was his so-called buddy Ronaldo going along with it. Had that guy ever truly produced a real movie or mini-series?
His parents were Hollywood icons, but all Ronaldo had done was a cancelled motorcycle reality show. His only other claim to fame was crashing on the motorcycle racing circuit and pissing off the engineer who built the specialized bikes—to the point he refused to make him another one, no matter how much money he was offered.
Cade swallowed his frustrations and tip-toed up the spiral staircase. His baby had to be somewhere in this house. Why had he trusted Roxanne? What if Andie went with her mother to Pinball Alley and Roxanne was left alone with Bret?
The door was locked. He could jimmy it, but with his luck, Pam would wake up and accuse him of stealing into the room while two women slept.
Cade sat on the landing against the door and wrapped his arms around the two dogs. “Is Bret in there? Can you tell me?”
They wiggled in his embrace and licked his face while he texted Roxanne. Do you have Bret? Let me know.
He couldn’t very well call the police on her. She was, after all, Bret’s mother.
Sighing, Cade lay on the carpet and made himself comfortable. Bret would be awake in two hours for his night feeding and his cries would wake him if he were ensconced in there with Andie and his mother. Otherwise, he would have to trust Roxanne with her own baby. At least she wasn’t a junkie.
# # #
Cade woke with a start. Sunlight streamed through the skylight overhead, and his two dogs were missing. The door to the bedroom Andie and her mother shared was wide open.
“Andie? Pam?” Cade peered into the room and his jaw dropped to the floor. They were gone. Why didn’t they wake him?
He picked up the note from the middle of the bed. It was in Andie’s handwriting.
We took Bret to church. You were sleeping so soundly we didn’t want to wake you. Roxanne moved in with Declan. I should have good news soon. Andie.
Cade re-read the note. Unbelievable. Why would Roxanne move in with Declan? He texted Andie, I have to go somewhere. Thanks for taking care of Bret. Talk later.
When she didn’t reply, he glanced at the time. Nine forty-five. She was probably inside the church and had silenced her phone.
He’d have to trust them to look after Bret. He had to visit his sister and find out what she knew about the gambling mess. As it stood, he’d hardly have any time left before visiting hours closed at the prison. What a shit show.
Four and a half hours later, he pulled up to the Valley State Prison in Chowchilla with only half an hour to spare.
His sister, Joanie, was two years younger than him. Her father had been one of a long list of drug dealers his mother had slept with—another mystery man who supposedly had ties to organized crime.
He
stepped into the visiting room and faced his sister across the security divider, forcing a smile on his face at his sister’s sullen appearance. She was of mixed blood, part Asian, although she also had no clue who her father was.
She shuffled to the counter across the divide from him and picked up the phone receiver. “What d’ya want?”
“Just checking up on my baby sister,” Cade drawled lazily, not giving her any indication of how anxious he was inside.
“You springing me from this joint?”
“Maybe. But you gotta tell me who you took the bets for.”
“Can’t.” She snorted.
“They treating you okay in here?” He raised his eyebrows and glanced around.
“Sure, I’ll be out on parole in a few months.”
“Still … you got enough spending money?”
She narrowed her eyes and flared her nostrils, leaning forward. “What do you want?”
“Can’t I visit with my baby sister?” He folded his arms and cradled the phone receiver between his shoulder and ear. “You know, Mom’s in rehab again.”
Joanie’s mouth gaped and she slapped her hand on the counter. “What’s wrong with her? Why can’t she keep clean?”
“This time it wasn’t her fault.”
“Of course it’s never her fault.” Joanie sneered. “She’s a master at putting the blame elsewhere.”
“True, but she overdosed. Almost died. If I hadn’t gotten there. I put her in rehab again.”
“What?” His sister shook her head. “Nuh uh, I don’t believe you. Mom’s street smart. She knows exactly how much to dose herself with. She’s always said to go a little lower than she’d like to. Besides, the stuff on the street’s shit these days. Nothing like the so-called good ol’ days, according to her.”
“Apparently someone wanted to give her a real high like the good ol’ days. You ever hear of packets marked ‘HEA?’”
“What the hell is that? I’ve heard of ‘DOA,’ but what’s it supposed to mean, happily ever after?”
“Whatever it was, it almost killed her. According to the police, it’s expensive stuff.” Cade watched his sister carefully.
She flinched and blew out a breath. Yep. She definitely had suspicions. For some reason, the kingpins behind her money laundering scheme wanted to get rid of his mother.
“I can’t believe it.” Joanie threw her hand up and wiped her hair back. “Do you think Mom’s safe at the rehab facility?”
He pursed his lips and shook his head. “It might be a glitzy place by the beach, but you know how lax security is. If we don’t find out who’s behind this, they could try again.”
“Dick.” His sister’s lip sneered. “I mean, what a bunch of dicks.”
“Oh, really? Are you telling me Dick Davis is behind this?”
His sister’s eyes widened, and she covered her mouth, shaking her head. Without answering him, she hung up the phone receiver and turned away from the booth.
Chapter 22
Andie and Sylvia preened in front of the dressing room mirror at Ronaldo’s grandmother, Amanda Silver’s estate. It was hard to believe that after everything that had happened, she was going to a party in Beverly Hills held at a luxurious house where the mirrors were trimmed with gold and marble covered every surface.
“We look like real twins, don’t we?” Sylvia put her arm around Andie and snapped a selfie.
“Only in the abstract sense.” Andie fluffed her teased hair. “More like yin and yang.”
“Yep, light and dark.” Sylvia twirled in her black lace dress while holding it up against Andie’s white lace dress. “Ready to jump out of the cake?”
“Sure, as long as there are breathing holes, and I don’t get frosting all over my hair.”
“Don’t worry,” Sylvia said. “It’s a fake cake, and we’ll have fans under our feet to blow out the confetti. Ronaldo always wants to make a grand entrance, and this year he chose me and you. I get Ronaldo, and you get his twin.”
“Who’s his twin, by the way?” Andie asked. “What do you mean by ‘get?’”
“Oh, nothing, just hang onto his arm and be his date for the evening.”
“Good, I guess.” Andie’s stomach squirmed at the thought. Had she and Cade had the “talk” yet about dating others or exclusivity? She wasn’t sure, but if it were him with a model hanging off his arm, she would definitely not be okay with it.
“Cade’s not going to be jealous, is he?” Sylvia asked.
Andie swallowed a lump. “No, he’s not coming to the party. He went somewhere and said he won’t be back until late.”
“Anyway, with you being an actress, he’d better get used to seeing you with other men.” Sylvia retouched her lipstick. “It comes with the territory.”
Gag. And to think she’d been so jealous when Declan had other women hanging onto him, except he’d slept with them. Andie had no plans to sleep with any man besides Cade. Guess a little hanging on didn’t count.
“Okay, time to climb into the cake.” Sylvia pushed the cap back on her lipstick. “You better pee, because Ronaldo likes to wait until all the guests are present before making his big splash.”
# # #
Cade sat at the cafeteria of the rehab facility with his mother. She was looking better and had regained some of her coloring. He’d let her eat a few bites before questioning her.
“I feel so useless here,” his mother said. “I miss Bret. Why didn’t you bring him?”
“He’s with Andie’s mom tonight.”
“It’s so unfair. Why do you have me stuck here?”
“Your life is in danger.” Cade tapped his fingers on the table. “I want to know what your relationship to Dick Davis is.”
“What?” His mother coughed on a piece of macaroni. She wheezed and spit it out. “Who’ve you been speaking to?”
“I think he’s behind the heroin gifts.”
“But why? He doesn’t even know me.” She rolled her eyes and wiped her lips with a napkin.
“Apparently, Joanie thinks he does.” Cade stretched the truth.
The skin on his mother’s face tightened over her high cheekbones as she gave him a stony glare. “Joanie knows nothing.”
“Maybe you’re the one who’s in the dark. You know of any reason why he wants to kill you? He mentioned he could put you in jail for embezzlement. Have you ever worked for him before?”
“Never. Why would the owner of the LA Flash have any dealings with me?”
“I agree. Except he’s rich enough to buy the drugs.”
“Oh, come off it, any guy on your team is rich enough to buy me drugs. Then there’s your friend, Ronaldo, don’t tell me he isn’t rich enough. Or Rob, or even Andie with her movie deal. Those packets weren’t that expensive. If anything, they laced it with fentanyl. That was my mistake, thinking it was pure white.”
“You’re blowing smoke, Mom. Throwing me off the trail.”
She grabbed his forearm. “Stop digging around. Isn’t there a party you’re missing? Go, enjoy yourself and leave me alone.”
“Party? Who told you about the party?”
“No one. Absolutely no one.” She crossed her arms and turned her face away from Cade, signaling the conversation was over.
# # #
Cade ticked off the suspects, making a list. Dick, Ronaldo, Rob, Roxanne, Declan, Todd Irvin, Devon Davis, Carmine Carmona. Each of these people seemed to have something against him and had behaved irrationally.
He wrote possible motives next to their names. His mother knew something and was a threat to someone. He only had to dig deeper.
Dick – the cover up with his baby. Why me? Wants me to take the fall for Devon?
Ronaldo – the screwy movie deal. Why did he bring Andie into it? Then mix her up with Declan?
Rob – not been responsive as an agent should. Why would he insist I’m damaged goods? Who is he protecting? Todd or Devon?
Roxanne – the entire baby thing. What’s in it for
her? Why pick me to be the baby daddy?
Declan – does he really want Andie back? How would he benefit if my mother was out of the way?
Todd – he wants the starting job. Does he have a separate deal with Dick?
Devon – did he throw away the Super Bowl? If so, who did he help? His father or his rich mother?
Carmine – purposely kicked my hand. Friend of Todd.
He scratched his head, but the answer wouldn’t come. Maybe his mother’s bank account could shed some light. He woke up his laptop and browsed to her online account. He’d already been through it and was unable to tell where she was getting the money. He clicked through her statements and looked through the checks she wrote. Most of them were for utilities, electricity, water, credit card. One of the checks had a memo line written, transfer to savings. He clicked on the back side of the check for the account number.
It was at a completely different bank. No wonder he hadn’t found anything. Cade copied the account number and went to the second bank’s website. He tried the same password and it worked.
Pay dirt. She had almost half a million dollars balance, but the transactions in and out were larger. He scrolled through the trail of money entering and departing the account, but most of them were wired in—anonymous. Dang it.
Large sums of money departed her account. Who was she paying? Again, there was no trail. Cade noted the dates and amounts. Gradually, a pattern emerged.
October and November of last year. That would be either before or when Roxanne got pregnant, since Bret was born early August.
February of this year. Right after he lost the Super Bowl.
June of this year. When Ronaldo and he discussed the King David concept to get Andie to come to California.
A week ago. Right before someone sent her heroin.
But, why would his mother pay off someone to hit her?
Or was the money for Andie’s movie contract? Her so-called promotion to playing Michal? Or could it be for Declan?
The last transfer was two days ago, while his mother was already in rehab.
She couldn’t have initiated this. There were no computers and cell phones, no electronic devices allowed for the patients.
Boxed Set: Intercepted by Love (The Complete Collection): Books One - Book Six Page 44
