by Mia Knight
Blade’s phone rang as Lyla walked into the next room. He stayed outside to take the call as Lyla spied an old man sitting up in bed reading a newspaper.
“Hello. How are you?” Lyla asked with a smile.
He narrowed his eyes. “You aren't a nurse, what are you doing in here?”
She was a bit taken aback by his rude tone, but she reminded herself that he was in pain and probably going through a lot. “Today we opened up a new wing of the hospital and we're spreading a little joy, one flower at a time.”
She offered the flower.
“If you want to spread joy, there’s something else you can do for me.” He looked pointedly at his lap.
Lyla retracted the flower and gave him a tight smile. “I don’t think anyone can help you with that.”
He cackled. “You got some spunk. Maybe you're not a blonde bimbo after all.”
It was a good thing she was the one who entered this room and not Alice. Alice would have blushed, encouraging the asshole to be even more outrageous and inappropriate. Remembering Alice’s boundless optimism, she decided to ignore his awful first impression.
“How is your recovery going so far?” Lyla asked.
“Lousy. It’s one fucking thing after another.”
“What brought you in here in the first place?”
“A run in with an old acquaintance.”
She frowned. “Meeting with an old friend made you sick?”
“I never said he was a friend.”
The bathroom door behind her opened. She turned and saw a strange looking man with angular features, sunken cheekbones and protruding eyes. They widened comically when he spotted her. He was leaning heavily on a cane, which slipped, causing him to topple face first to the floor.
“Oh my gosh!”
She placed the flowers on the old man’s bed and leaned down to help the man to his feet. It was an easy feat since the man appeared to be emaciated. Something tickled the back of her memory and then it hit her.
“You’re Rafael’s brother,” she said. “We met at Lux.”
Rafael’s brother was dressed much the same as he had been the first time they met at a bar. That felt like a lifetime ago. He wore a button up shirt tucked into slacks. A thin belt circled his tiny waist. She picked up his black cane and held it out to him.
“Are you okay?” she asked and noticed that his hands were trembling. Too much coffee or nerves?
“You know my sons?” the old man asked.
“Sons?” she echoed and turned to face him. “Rafael’s your son?”
“Was,” the man said sourly. “He’s dead.”
She put a hand against her chest. “Oh, I’m sorry.”
She didn’t know much about Rafael other than the fact that he was good looking, Gavin loathed him and he ran a prostitution ring. She glanced at Rafael’s brother who still had yet to say a thing. He didn’t look like Rafael or his pervert father.
“Who are you?” the old man asked sharply.
“I’m Lyla. The Pyre Foundation is putting on an event today. I’m helping.”
“Pyre?” the old man asked sharply.
“Yes, Pyre.”
“What’s your last name?”
She had been trying to avoid that tidbit. She lifted her chin. “Lyla Pyre.”
The old man’s expression became chillingly hostile. “You’re Gavin’s wife?”
Something about the way he said it made her hand inch towards the pocket in her purse holding her gun.
“You know Gavin?” she asked cautiously.
“He’s the acquaintance that put me in here in the first place,” the old man said. “He shot me in the shoulder and wrist.” He held up his wrist so she could see an angry red scar on his otherwise pasty skin. “He doesn’t care that I’m old, that sadistic fuck.”
It was hard to feel sympathy for him after his perverted welcome. “Why’d Gavin shoot you?”
“Because he was pissed.”
“So he shot you?”
“I pulled a gun on him, he dodged the bullet and I hit Steven instead.” He nodded at his mute son with the cane.
This man tried to shoot Gavin when his back was turned? Lyla reached into her purse and closed her hand around her gun. This bastard could have killed Gavin. Of course, the one room Blade didn’t check had to be occupied by Gavin’s enemies. Did Steven and his father run the prostitution ring? Steven looked like a nerdy professor, not a part of the underworld. Steven didn’t fit in with his family. No wonder he was so... odd.
“Who are you?” she asked.
“I’m Paul Vega.” He waited for a reaction and when he didn’t get one, he said, “I’m offended your husband didn’t think to warn you away from us. Is he here?”
“Yes, he’s on his way,” she lied.
“That bastard has ice running through his veins.” Paul shook his head and leaned back against his pillows. “He kills Santana two hours ago and then comes to an event his charity puts on. Fucking genius.”
Lyla’s tightened her hold on her gun.
“He poked the hornet’s net on this one.” Paul’s eyes gleamed. “Santana's the biggest drug lord in Mexico. He set up shop here a couple of month’s ago.”
And Gavin killed him two hours ago? Her stomached clenched.
Paul tried to look innocent, but didn’t pull it off. “I thought as his wife, you’d know such things.”
“I don’t need to know what’s happening in the underworld.”
“You’re missing out.” Paul inclined his head at Steven who was doing a great imitation of a statue. “He just started talking again.”
“Excuse me?”
“Your husband broke Steven’s jaw and shattered his kneecap. He’s had two surgeries and still has a fucking cane.”
Lyla couldn't care less about Paul, but she didn’t understand why Gavin would attack Steven. She turned to him. “Are you okay?”
Steven didn’t answer. His face was still as a lake. When they were at the bar, Steven had been awkward when he offered to buy her a drink and now he was just... blank.
“Why did Gavin attack you?” she asked.
“Steven walked in after Pyre tried to choke me,” Paul answered for Steven.
Reluctantly she turned back to Paul.
“Pyre gave what he thought was a fitting punishment when Steven tried to defend me.” Paul snorted. “Look at him. He’s no match for Pyre.”
“When did this happen?”
“Six months ago, give or take,” Paul said and winced as he shifted his thigh. “He still hasn’t tracked down the new crime lord, huh?”
That surprised her. “You want to track down the crime lord who killed Manny?”
“I don’t give a fuck about Manny,” Paul spat. “I tried to kill him myself, but he had a sixth sense for a set up. Wily fucker.”
Lyla tightened her grip on her purse and resisted the urge to beat him with it. “If that’s so, why are you looking for the other crime lord?”
“He killed my son.”
“He killed Rafael?” That rocked her world. Other than Manny, she didn’t know Sadist made more hits.
“Rafael was killed a couple of days before Manny.”
“What makes you think it was the crime lord?”
“He likes knives,” Paul said, eyes gleaming. “I hear you know something about that.”
Her chest scars tingled. “And Gavin knows this?”
“Pyre thought Rafael had taken over. That’s why he showed up in my office,” Steven said.
“He shot you in your office?”
“That’s Pyre for you.”
Gavin did this when she was pregnant with Nora, she realized. “Did the crime lord kill anyone else besides Rafael and Manny?”
“There were a bunch of mutilated bodies that turned up around the city, but no one of note. I think he got a taste of blood and liked it,” Paul said.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Vega?”
Blade walked into the room, pocketing his phone.
“If it isn’t the mighty Blade, Pyre’s sidekick,” Paul said.
“I’m Lyla’s bodyguard now.” Blade’s eyes shifted between the two men and a glint of amusement lit his eyes. “Looks like you two had a run in with some sort of criminal. Someone I know?”
Paul bared his teeth. “I hope someone guts him.”
Blade focused on Lyla. “Let’s go.”
Lyla didn’t argue. She didn’t say a thing to Paul or Steven as she walked out. She paused in the corridor and took a deep breath to fortify herself.
“What the hell were you doing?” Blade snapped.
She jolted. “What?”
“The Vega’s are sick fucks.”
“I didn’t know that.”
He shook his head. “If Gavin finds out they’re here, he might finish them off. He isn’t in a good mood.”
“Is it because he killed that drug lord?”
Blade looked at her sharply and then glanced back at the hospital room. “Fucking Vega’s.”
“Did Gavin really kill him?”
Blade clasped his hands behind his back. “You should ask Gavin.”
“Paul said Gavin is responsible for their injuries.”
“You should talk to him about your concerns.”
Lyla opened her mouth to argue when Alice ran towards her.
“Do you hear that?” Alice exclaimed.
She linked her arm through Lyla’s and raced down the corridor as enthusiastically as a five-year-old. Lyla was glad she hadn’t worn ridiculous heels like Carmen so she could keep up. On the lawn Mariah Gearthart sang acapella. Patients, visitors and medical staff opened windows or made their way outside so they could listen to her angelic voice. Alice led her to the front of the crowd and put her arm around an older woman and began to sway. Alice got the whole crowd going. Mariah sang several songs before she bowed. Everyone clapped and rushed forward to take pictures with her.
Somehow, Lyla ended up on the basketball court with the NBA star and was obliged to take a shot at the basket in front of a crowd of onlookers. Thankfully, she made the shot and settled on a bench on the outskirts of the crowd and watched the festivities with a smile on her face. She wished Nora were here. How would she be in a crowd? Would she cry or be fascinated by all the activity?
“Lyla.”
Lyla glanced behind her. Her smile vanished. Jonathan wore a cap, sunglasses and high collared jacket. She faced forward and glanced around for Blade who was ten feet away, talking to another member of her security team. She gripped the edge of the stone bench as it hit her. Jonathan called her Lyla. He knew her real name.
“You shouldn’t be here,” she said, staring straight ahead.
“Because your husband is a mob boss?”
Lyla stiffened. Apparently, Jonathan had done his homework. But, if he believed the rumors about Gavin, why was here? “You don’t know anything about my husband.”
“Is your real name Morgan or Lyla?”
She didn’t answer for a long minute and silently willed him to walk away. He didn’t. She promised Gavin that she wouldn’t talk to him, but she owed him her name at least. “Lyla.”
“And you created a new identity when you left him? Is that it? Is that why you tried to warn me off?”
He was too perceptive for his own good. She wanted to turn around, but didn’t dare. She felt Blade’s gaze on her. Jonathan stood back far enough that he was coasting beneath the radar. “What are you doing here?”
“I needed to see you.”
“Why?”
“Because I need to know the truth.”
“About what?”
“Why you called yourself Morgan, why you left.”
“I can’t talk about it. I think you should go.” The answers to those questions didn’t matter anymore.
“Are you afraid of him?”
“I’m not afraid of my husband, but you should be. If my husband sees you, he’ll—” She broke off as Blade started towards her. “You better go.”
“Problem?” Blade asked.
She turned casually and saw that Jonathan faded into the crowd. Lyla shook her head and got to her feet. “I’m hungry.”
“There’s a spread in the lobby.”
Like the day at the casino, her day wasn’t turning out exactly the way she imagined it. First the Vega’s and now Jonathan. She grabbed a sandwich and bowl of fruit and settled on a settee in the lobby. Her guards settled around her. When Janice joined them, Blade moved one seat over to accommodate her.
“This is fantastic!” Janice said as she pocketed her phone.
“You and Alice have done an amazing job,” Lyla agreed.
“I think she’s trying to outwork me, but I won’t let her.” Janice stole some fruits from Lyla’s plate. “Who’s watching the princess?”
“Carmen’s mom.”
“I still haven’t seen Nora yet. When are we going to get together?”
“When are you and Alice free? You work around the clock.”
“We’ll figure out a day,” Janice said and sipped from Lyla’s drink.
“Can I get you something?” Blade asked.
“No, thank you,” Janice said as she continued to pick at Lyla’s food.
Lyla didn’t have friends aside from Carmen because it was too dangerous, but as employees of Pyre Casinos, Janice and Alice fell into a different category. Janice and Alice went all out when they threw her baby gender party and baby shower. Lyla wished she could spend more time with them. Also, she wanted Nora to have aunts that doted on her.
Janice’s phone rang. “We’ll talk later, okay?” Janice rose and pulled out her phone. “Yes, this is Janice. How can I help you?”
Lyla watched Janice walk away and searched for Jonathan, but it was impossible to pick him out of the crowd. What did he hope to accomplish by researching her? Appearing at the event today was out of character for him. He wasn’t one to pursue or obsess over something, but then again, he probably couldn’t resist the mystery. If he really suspected that Gavin was a mob boss, he should have the sense to stay clear.
“Hey.” Carmen took the seat Janice vacated and ate the rest of Lyla’s food.
“Where’s Kody?”
“Restroom.”
Lyla gave Carmen a sharp glance, but she was too busy munching to notice. “You didn’t go to the restroom with him, did you?”
Carmen gave her a very catlike stare. “Why would I do it in a bathroom when there’s beds everywhere?”
Lyla blanched. “Please tell me you didn’t.”
Carmen crossed her legs. “Then I won’t.”
“Having fun?”
Carmen nodded. “Fun, draining, entertaining.” Carmen got to her feet. “There’s Kody. We’re going to head out, okay?”
Lyla watched Carmen rush across the lobby towards Kody who had a foolish grin on his face. Lyla watched them leave with a heavy heart and continued to watch the crowd while she checked in with Aunt Isabel.
“Hey, honey!” Aunt Isabel said.
Lyla relaxed. “Hey, Aunty. How’s it going?”
“We’re having so much fun! She is adorable. I can’t wait for all my friends to meet her. She’s so much cuter than some of the babies I’ve been seeing.”
Lyla laughed. “That’s mean, Aunty.”
“Telling the truth is a necessary evil, baby. Everything going good at the event?”
“It’s great. So many people volunteered to help.”
“That’s good to hear. There’s so little good to report these days.”
“Yes. How’s Nora? Did she cry?” Lyla bobbed her foot nervously. It was the first time she had ever left Nora with someone and she couldn’t enjoy herself fully. Of course, after all she had been through, it was a miracle that she left Nora at all.
“No, she’s such a good baby. She’s very loving. You’re doing an excellent job, Lyla.”
That warmed her heart. Aunt Isabel filled the space left by her own mother. All her parents cared about was each other. Nora didn’t rank on their list of priorities unless she was a way to get back into Lyla’s inner circle so they could ask for money. Aunt Isabel and Carmen were all she had and all she needed.
“I’ll be home in an hour or two,” Lyla said.
“Take your time. We’re doing just fine.”
“I love you. Thank you.”
“No problem.”
Lyla hung up and took a fortifying breath. Nora was safe and being smothered with love. She looked around the lobby and watched celebrities mingling with patients and their families. Spirits were high. Alice flitted from group to group to make sure everyone was having a great time. It was clear that this is what Alice was meant to do. It wasn’t an act. It’s who she was.
Gavin walked towards them. People gave him wary or curious looks as he passed. Despite the fact that Gavin killed a drug lord less than five hours ago, his suit didn’t have any suspicious splotches and he was perfectly groomed. Gavin didn’t appear to be worried, guilty or anxious about his recent activities. On the contrary, the only thing he was agitated about was her. He came to a stop in front of her and she got a whiff of his cologne. He smelled delicious. How the hell could he walk into the underworld smelling and looking like a million dollars? That would irritate the hell out of the criminal underclass for sure. Maybe he used his polished appearance to his advantage. No one who looked the way he did should possess the skills of an assassin.
“Time to go,” Gavin said abruptly.
Lyla narrowed her eyes. “After lunch we’re supposed to take a group shot on the lawn.”
“You’ve been here long enough.”
The director of the hospital approached, beaming. He inclined his head respectfully to Gavin.
“Mr. Pyre, you’ve done so much for our hospital. I hope you know how much we appreciate your contribution and all that you’ve done today.”
The director held out his hand. Gavin hesitated a second before he took it.
“We’re happy to help,” Gavin said.
“And you,” the director reached for her hand and she gave it, “you are a godsend.”
Lyla raised her brows at Gavin before she smiled at the director. “You’re so kind to remind my husband of that.”
The director laughed and waved his hand. “Would you like a tour of the new wing?”
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