Deceiving Bella: Book Eleven In The Bodyguards Of L.A. County Series

by Beauman, Cate

  He tilted his wrist, looking at his watch. “In about an hour and a half.”

  “Oh,” she said again, not looking forward to an unexpected long, quiet night alone.

  He exhaled again. “Bella, I’m going to miss Abby’s event tomorrow night. I won’t be back until Saturday.”

  She barely suppressed a sigh as she stared into his apologetic eyes. Two unexpected quiet nights alone. “All right.”

  “I know you were looking forward to us going together.”

  She nodded, averting her gaze to the floor, not wanting him to see her disappointment. “I was, but maybe next time.”

  He lifted her chin with a gentle nudge of his finger on her jaw. “You know I wouldn’t go if I didn’t have to.”

  “I do.”

  “I’m so sorry, Bella. This is an awful time for me to be leaving, with the stuff going on with your dad. There’s nothing I want more than to stay right here with you.”

  She wanted him to be here too. For so long, she’d depended on herself during tough times. It was nice having Reed to lean on. Tonight she would be walking the beach on her own when the only thing she needed right now was the comfort he brought her so easily. “I know you do.”

  “My shitty schedule… This will be over soon.” He stroked his knuckles along her cheek, then tucked her hair behind her ear. “Things should start settling down eventually, and we can get back to the way things were when we first started dating.”

  She hugged him, closing her eyes and holding on, still raw and shaken after this morning’s news. “That sounds really good.”

  He wrapped his arms tight around her. “I’m a lucky guy.” He kissed the top of her head. “Not everyone would be as patient as you.”

  “You’re worth it.”

  He winked as he eased back. “I’m going to call you. Tonight, tomorrow night, Saturday. We can talk for hours. It’ll be like I’m lying in bed right next to you.”

  She sent him a wry smile. “Not quite.”

  He gave her a gentle jostle. “Sorta.”

  She grinned. “Sorta. I’m going to miss you.”

  “I’ll miss you too. So much.” He kissed her, drawing out their tender embrace with several teasing dips of his tongue.

  She moaned, savoring his taste and the way his arms felt wrapped around her.

  He pressed his lips to hers once more and rested his forehead against hers. “As much as I’d rather do this all day, I need to get to the airport.”

  She nodded. “Okay.”

  “Make sure you take a picture in your dress tomorrow.”

  “I will. Fly safe.”

  He kissed her again and stepped back, opening the door. “See you Saturday.”

  “See you Saturday.”

  He paused in the doorway. “Oh, Luke is going to be staying at my place for a couple of days. He had some flooding issue or whatnot at his apartment—water damage.”

  “Okay.”

  “I’ll call you tonight.”

  “It’s a date.” She watched through the window as he jogged to his truck. Then she tidied up her space, preparing for her next client. Plastering on a bright smile, she moved to the waiting room. “Mindy, it’s good to see you.”

  Mindy stood. “It’s good to see you too.”

  “Let’s go get started.” She glanced out the glass door as Reed pulled into traffic, and she buried another wave of disappointment, remembering that he was worth it.

  ~~~~

  Reed sat buckled in one of the plane’s plush leather bucket seats while Collin flew them east toward their destination. He bobbed his leg up and down as he glanced out the window, then at his watch, noting that they’d been in the air only an hour when it felt like a damn century. He looked at Vinny asleep in the chair next to him and muttered a curse, debating whether or not he should tell Collin to turn the jet around. Vinny’s color was way off—jaundiced—and his face was more drawn than usual. Luckily, his portable oxygen wasn’t a problem for the flight, but Reed would be holding his breath for the next forty-eight hours, praying like hell that everything went according to plan. Bella would never forgive him if something happened to her dad.

  Vinny opened his eyes. “I can feel you staring at me.” He frowned as he sat up. “What’s your problem? You look like you’re about to piss your pants.”

  Reed unbuckled his belt and stood, walking the short aisle of the cabin. “I don’t like this. I don’t like that you’re on this plane or that we’re lying to Bella.”

  “We’re doing this for her.”

  “I don’t like it,” he repeated. “I hate leaving her alone when I know she needs me—fucking disappointing her all the damn time.” He clenched his jaw, remembering the way the light had left her eyes when he told her he was heading to New York. “I’m always apologizing for something, constantly letting her down.”

  “You’ll make it up to her. When those bastards can’t touch her, all of this will have been worth it.”

  He jammed his hand through his hair, knowing Vinny was right. He never would have agreed to any of this if there had been another way. But there wasn’t. “You just keep yourself healthy. You’re going to bed as soon as we get to the hotel—taking it easy as much as you can tomorrow. You’re going to do exactly what I say.”

  Vinny raised his brow. “We’ll see about that.”

  He sat down again, not bothering with his seat belt. “Just what I say, Vinny.”

  “Jesus, you’re wound up tight.”

  “Damn straight. Go back to sleep. Rest.” He sighed as he rested his head against the cushion and stared out at the vast blue sky. Everything was on the line for the next two days. If anything went wrong, he had no doubt he would lose Bella.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Reed breathed in the earthy scent of fresh dirt as the backhoes did their digging. He watched small teams of Evidence Response Agents continue their search in the original hole Vinny had pointed out down by the creek, but it was Skylar and her crew huddled around an area seventy-five yards from where he stood that had his attention. He glanced toward the clouds threatening rain in the late afternoon sky, then tucked his chin into the collar of his warmest jacket when another nasty gust of wind blew in off the water. “Jesus, it’s raw out here.”

  “I don’t know, boss,” Joey said, standing by his side in a sweatshirt and hat. “I’m thinking California living’s turning you into a pansy ass.”

  “I guess I’m a pansy ass too, then,” Collin commented, crossing his arms tighter across his chest on Reed’s opposite side.

  Vinny chuckled, bundled up under a half-dozen blankets in the passenger seat of the four-person ATV their small group had driven around in for hours, rolling over brush, grass, and mud in their search for potential burial sites to flag for the ground-penetrating radar teams. “I’d say their blood’s thin.” He chuckled again, then coughed.

  “Bullshit,” Reed said. “It can’t be more than forty-five degrees.”

  “Pansy ass,” Joey confirmed.

  Reed let Joey’s insult slide as he focused on the men and women walking their GPR machines in long, straight rows farther out in the field. One of the men stopped and shoved a red flag into the ground, signaling a probable find, then kept moving—an excellent sign in a massive area with dozens of orange markers waiting to be checked. There was no way each designated spot Vinny had pointed out was the location of a buried body, but Vinny had been instructed to let them know if anything about a particular landscape caught his attention and mark it with one of the orange flags. So far their long, cold day was paying off. Right after lunch, a body bag had been exhumed and whisked off to the lab for examination. They were still waiting for news on the findings, but things were certainly moving in the right direction.

  “We sure were ballsy,” Vinny said as cars rushed by on the parkway a hundred yards above, while a train moved on the tracks three hundred yards to their east.

  “Arrogant’s more like it,” Joe said.

 
“For a long time, we all thought we were untouchable. Things changed eventually. When RICO happened—” He held up a finger, signaling for one minute when he began coughing again.

  Reed tore his gaze away from the progress on the field, not liking the way Vinny sounded. “Are you staying warm enough?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Let me know if you want another blanket.”

  “You keep piling these things on me and we’ll have to worry about me smothering to death instead of catching a cold.”

  “You came here in reasonably decent condition. You’re going home the same way.”

  Vinny rolled his eyes, shaking his head. “Bella would approve. You’re like a damn mother hen. I sure as hell can’t say you don’t love my daughter.”

  Reed made a sound in his throat as he glanced at his watch, thinking of Bella as he’d done for much of the day. He’d slept like crap last night, barely catching more than an hour or two of decent rest. And his jaw ached from the constant clenching he couldn’t seem to stop. He’d talked to her before she went to bed and this morning before work, but he wouldn’t be able to relax until he dropped Vinny off in Reseda. “Just let me know if you need something.”

  “Sure thing.”

  Reed focused on Skylar’s group when activity started picking up by the hole.

  “We have something,” she hollered, giving them two thumbs-up.

  “Fuck yeah,” Joey said. “Bring us up another one.”

  Skylar spoke to the dig coordinator, then hurried over to them, slightly breathless. “They’ve got another one. We’re off to a great start. You should head back to the hotel. There’s nothing more you can do here.”

  Reed shook his head. “Vinny’s going, but I’m staying.”

  Skylar held his gaze, then looked to the sky as rain started falling. She crouched down next to Vinny and smiled. “Mr. Pescoe, I’m going to get you some footage of the areas we couldn’t access today because of the mud, but I’m sending you back to the hotel for now.”

  “You got another one for sure?”

  She nodded. “For sure. They’re going to take some photographs for processing before we lose the light, and get it back to the lab. I just got news on the first body we brought up this afternoon—a bullet wound to the forehead. New York driver’s license in his wallet claims he’s Al Marini.”

  “Little Al—definitely one of Alfeo’s.”

  “He’s pretty well-preserved. There’s lots of blood residue on the clothing, but they aren’t sure if it’s useable."

  “What about a bullet?” Reed asked.

  Standing again, Skylar shook her head. “No, but this is a great start.”

  “We were right to come,” Vinny added, then started coughing, violently this time.

  Reed winced, his shoulders growing tenser as he studied Vinny’s paling complexion and tired eyes. Today had been a lot for everyone—and only one of them was dying. “Are you all right?” he asked, handing him a water.

  Vinny nodded, wheezing with every breath. “I’m fine. This happened last night too.”

  “Why didn’t you say something—call for me or something?”

  He uncapped the water and took a sip. “What would you have done about it? Are you an MD?”

  “We could have taken you to the hospital. We are taking you to the hospital. Your lungs—”

  “Bullshit you are. You’re taking me back to the hotel so I can rest for a few minutes—without you hovering over me. Stop worrying about getting in trouble with Bella for five damn seconds and do what you need to for her safety.”

  “We can’t ignore your health, Vinny. She needs you around for as long as you can be here.”

  “I’ll be fine. Just get me out of here.”

  Collin hopped into the driver’s seat of the ATV where Reed had once been sitting. “I’ll take him to the hotel.”

  Joey settled in back. “I’ll go with them, boss—help them get settled in, make sure there’s no trouble. Call me later.”

  Reed leaned close to Vinny, giving him a final eagle-eyed appraisal. “Are you sure you don’t want to go to the hospital?”

  “I just need to rest—maybe try some soup.”

  “We’ll get you some ordered up,” Collin assured him and drove over to their waiting van.

  When they were settled in, Reed dialed Collin’s number.

  “Yeah?”

  “If he keeps up the coughing, take him to the hospital. His lungs are probably getting worse.” He would rather deal with Bella than watch something happen to Vinny because he’d been more worried about covering his ass than doing what was right for the sick man helping them.

  “I’ll take care of it.”

  “Thanks.”

  Joey got in the driver’s seat and took off, heading toward Manhattan.

  Reed rubbed at his jaw, swearing as he met Skylar’s bright blue eyes.

  “I had no idea you were in love with Nicoli’s daughter.”

  “Our relationship”—he gestured between the two of them—“has always worked best on a need-to-know basis.”

  She grinned. “Sounds pretty serious. Is she the one?”

  “Yeah, she’s the one. If I can pull this off, she might decide I’m the one for her too.”

  “Well, you’ve certainly made one hell of a mess for yourself.”

  “I’ve always admired your determination to look at the bright side—really focus on the positive.”

  She chuckled. “If we have what we came looking for—and it looks like we just might—that seems pretty bright to me.”

  The dig coordinator signaled for Skylar as the team unearthed the next bag.

  Reed jogged over by her side, staring at the grody plastic fully intact as it started raining harder. “Another one.”

  Skylar gave his knuckles a bump in celebration. “We’ll have the lab get moving on this. Let’s get out of here for now. They’ll have to stop for tonight, but I’ll be back tomorrow.”

  He glanced toward the parkway and another train passing by as they headed to the makeshift parking lot. “You need to watch your back. There’s no way this is going unnoticed.”

  “I can take care of myself.”

  Skylar was five feet ten inches—a built blonde stunner and more than worthy boxing opponent in the ring, but she was no match for the brutality of Caparelli’s men. “Be careful anyway.”

  “You too.”

  “Will do.”

  They made it to Skylar’s government-issued car, both of them scanning the area before they left, making the long, soggy journey back toward Midtown.

  “So, I’ll keep you up to date on what we’ve got. Maybe they’ll get into this bag right away and let us know what’s what,” she said as she drove past the hotel forty minutes later.

  “No matter what, I’m taking Vinny back tomorrow. He’s done all he can for us here. I want him back in LA by early afternoon at the latest.”

  “Agreed. We’re waiting on Evidence Response and the anthropologists at this point anyway. They’ll put a rush on everything, but it’s still going to take time. I’ll get some video of the areas the ATV couldn’t get to—where Vinny thought there might be more. Hopefully you two can look that over sooner rather than later.”

  “Once you send it, we’ll take a peek.”

  “I’m going to fly out and get his formal statements on record—document each murder before it’s too late. I’ll bring Joey since you two worked in the Caparelli trenches. Maybe Vinny’s responses will spark thoughts from both of you—opportunities for more in-depth questions.”

  “Sounds good.”

  “It would be great if we have more bodies to work with—the more details we can link, the better.” She pulled off to the side seven blocks from the hotel, both of them well-used to extra precautions. “I’ll see you in California.”

  He opened his door. “Thanks for everything.”

  “Let’s put the bastards away for good.”

  He smiled. “Bye.”


  “Bye.”

  He shut the door and walked up an extra block to one of his favorite coffee shops. He ordered a large hazelnut with a shot of cream and took his drink to the quiet corner, sitting by the fire as he selected Bella’s number. She would like the ambiance here—warm, classy. Just like her.

  “Hello?”

  He smiled when he heard her voice and sank farther into his seat. “Hey. How are you?”

  “Good. My last client canceled her appointment, so I’m on my way to pick up Lyla. We’re heading over to Abby’s for a pre-fundraiser girls’ night.”

  “Sounds like fun.”

  “It’s going to be. Jerrod mentioned to Abby that you and Collin left for your last-minute assignment, so she thought we should get together for dinner. I offered to do their hair and makeup.”

  “They’ll look amazing.”

  “They already look amazing.”

  “You’ll give them the Bella touch.”

  She laughed. “It’s easy to add a little extra oomph to beautiful women. How are things going? How was your day?”

  “Pretty good. It’s cloudy and cold—raining.”

  “The sun’s shining and it’s seventy-seven here.”

  “Nobody likes a bragger.”

  She laughed again.

  He felt himself grin. “I wish I was there, Bella. I wish I could walk into that fundraiser with you on my arm and know I’m with the most gorgeous woman in the room.”

  “Aww.”

  “I mean it.”

  “Next time.”

  “It seems like we’re always waiting for next time.”

  “It’s a temporary situation.”

  He hoped so. “I want our time back—the way it was when this whole thing between us started.”

  She sighed. “Me too.”

  He closed his eyes, wanting nothing more than to be by her side. “Have fun tonight. Dance and laugh and don’t forget to take a picture in your dress.”

  “I can always put the dress on when you get home. Then you can take it off me.”

  He chuckled. “Now you’re talking.”

  “But I’ll take a picture anyway and send it to you—give you something to think about.”

  “You’re always on my mind, Bella. Always.”