by Alexia Adams
He didn’t bother to knock this time, easing the door open as quietly as possible. From the faint light through a crack in the curtain they could make out Grand-Papa laying on his bed, not moving. They both rushed to the side. Daniel had his phone in hand, ready to call for help.
If they weren’t too late.
“He’s still breathing,” Jacques said, having put his ear against his grandfather’s chest. “And his heart is beating but very faint and slow.”
“Grand-Papa, wake up,” Daniel said gently.
But there was no movement on the bed. Jacques touched his grandfather’s face, and still he didn’t move.
“Call an ambulance,” Jacques instructed.
A heavy weight settled on his chest, making it difficult to drag in a lungful of air. Why was life so goddamned determined to see him miserable?
“I’ll stay with him. You go get Maya,” Daniel said.
Jacques didn’t question him and raced from the room. He needed her. Desperately.
Chapter 18
The next two hours were the longest of Jacques’s life. The ambulance came and took his grandfather to the hospital. Grand-Papa regained consciousness briefly before slipping back into oblivion.
They sat in the hospital waiting room. Maya’s creamy skin was ashen, and she’d chewed at least three nails down to the quick. He shouldn’t have brought her. Would she try to avoid further heartache by distancing herself from Grand-Papa and him?
“I’m sorry, I should have thought. This must bring back bad memories. I can get a car to take you back to the chateau,” he offered as she wiped another tear from the corner of her eye.
“No. I’m fine. Well, not fine, but I want to be here. When Gran-Gran passed, I was alone. My grandmother didn’t have a phone so I couldn’t call her and my mom couldn’t afford to fly out. It was just me. I need to be here for you and Daniel.” She took his hand in hers. Of all their recent intimacy, this was the most touching. This wasn’t lust; this was partnership.
Daniel paced the corridor—restless, alone.
“Your being here means a lot to me, to us, and I’m sure Grand-Papa will be happy to see you as well.” He had to keep optimistic.
“Monsieur de Launay?” A doctor approached, his face devoid of emotion. Maya squeezed Jacques’s hand tighter, and he could tell she was holding her breath.
“Yes?” He stood, bracing himself for bad news.
“We’ve stabilized your grandfather. It was a combination of his heart rate being too low and his blood sugar being too high. If you hadn’t brought him in when you did, it could have been much worse. We’ll keep him here for a few days, change some of his medicines, and make sure everything else is in order. But he’s a strong man, and I’m sure he’ll be home again before midweek.”
Relief weakened his knees and Jacques fell back into the chair where he’d been sitting. Maya released his hand and rubbed his back.
Her voice wobbled as she said, “Can we see him now?”
“As long as you keep it brief,” the doctor replied.
They followed the white-coated physician down the hallway and into a private room. Grand-Papa lay with the head of the bed elevated, hooked up to various machines, a reassuring beep coming steadily from one of them. His eyes were open and he smiled as they entered. Maya let go of Jacques’s hand and raced to his grandfather’s bedside. She wasn’t even related, had only met the man two months ago, and still she cared for him like her own grandfather. Clarisse had never shown any affection for the old man, barely even spoke with him despite the fact they shared a house for three years. If Jacques had needed any further proof that Maya was the woman for him, he now had it.
“Charles, you gave us such a scare. Or was this all an elaborate ploy to hang out with some beautiful nurses?” Maya planted a kiss on his grandfather’s cheek before sitting on the edge of the bed.
“Ha, you caught on. Sorry to have worried you. I guess in all the excitement I forgot to take my medicines yesterday,” Grand-Papa said. “And pretty nurses aside, how soon can I go home?”
“In a few days,” Jacques replied. “They want to run some tests on you first.”
They stayed a few more minutes, but it was obvious even that small conversation had tired his grandfather. They left with a promise to return later in the afternoon.
As Daniel drove them back to the chateau, Jacques sat in the backseat. He tried to hold Maya’s hand but she pulled away and stared out the window. From the number of tissues she pulled out of her bag, the tears were flowing like the Seine. Was this all about his grandfather? Or was something else bothering her? She’d been on edge for the past couple of days, but he’d put it down to stress over the festival.
“Grand-Papa’s going to be fine,” he said.
A loud snuffle preceded her cracked voice. “I can’t do this again. I can’t live like this.”
The same chill that had run down his spine when he’d discovered his grandfather unconscious swept through him again.
***
Maya stared at the mural on the ceiling in the chateau’s hallway, blinking back more tears. Seeing Charles in hospital, hooked up to all those machines, reminded her so much of Gran-Gran that she’d barely kept it together.
The shock of Maya’s arrest had led to her great-grandmother’s death. She couldn’t let Charles pay the price as well. There was no other way; she’d have to leave before that happened. Jacques would never forgive her if he knew the risk she was taking with all of their lives. Pain radiated from her chest, numbing her limbs.
Jacques was explaining to the housekeeper about his grandfather’s condition, but he kept his gaze on Maya. He’d been so stoic, so concerned about Charles—it was a replica of what she’d felt for Gran-Gran. Having now met his mother, she could understand his devotion to his grandfather, the only adult who had loved him unconditionally through his life. She needed to support and comfort him, not dump her worries on him the second they returned from the hospital. Besides, she was way too emotional to shovel up the shit from her past now.
“I wasn’t sure when you would be back, so I prepared a cold lunch,” the housekeeper told Jacques. “I can bring it to the dining room if you wish.”
“Maya, are you hungry?”
“Yes.” The word came out a bare whisper. She really needed to get herself under control.
“And your mother is still here. She’s in the petit salon. Her friends have departed,” Marie said before turning to leave.
“Dieu, I thought she’d have gone by now as well. Let’s eat first. I can’t face my mother on an empty stomach,” Jacques said. He took Maya’s hand and led her to the dining room. His strong fingers laced with hers felt too good to pull away.
“Maybe she stayed to find out about your grandfather,” she suggested.
“Unlikely. She was never fond of Grand-Papa. After we eat why don’t you go up to the room and have a nap? Then I can get rid of Maman and join you.”
She was exhausted. And it would be easier to explain why she had to leave if her brain wasn’t so muddled.
After a quiet lunch that she hoped Jacques put down to her worry over Charles, they parted at the door to the sitting room. His face was grim and a muscle pulsed in his jaw. She squeezed his hand in silent support before she climbed the stairs.
Walking through the bedroom to the closet, she pulled out her suitcase. Then the enormity of what she had to do hit her like a bus and she pushed it back into place, resting her forehead on the wall. There was no way she’d be able to tell Jacques with grace and serenity. Oh, Gran-Gran, how did you do this? How did you rip out your heart and still live?
Back in the bedroom she stripped down to her underwear and crawled under the covers. Just a few minutes…
A faint pink light shone through a crack between the curtains when Maya woke. It took her a couple of moments to remember where she was and what day it was. Jacques wasn’t at her back, and, rolling over, she discovered he wasn’t even in bed.
“Has anyone told you how beautiful you are when you sleep?” Jacques’s deep voice came to her from across the room. He had his laptop set up on the table where they’d had breakfast a few times.
“I’d rather be told I’m beautiful when I’m awake,” she replied, sitting up.
“You are lethal when you’re awake.” As far as compliments went, that one was open to interpretation. “You walk into a room and I can barely remember to breathe.” Much better.
“What time is it?” Time to rip my life to shreds?
“Nearly eight.”
“Eight? Why didn’t you wake me?” She flung back the covers and hunted around for her clothes. “We were supposed to return to visit your grandfather in hospital this afternoon.” And then I was going to tell you I’m leaving.
Jacques rose and wrapped his arms around her. “I called the hospital and they said Grand-Papa was sleeping so not to come until tomorrow morning. They’ll telephone me immediately if there’s any change in his situation. Daniel has gone back to Paris, taking my mother with him. So there’s only us. And you obviously needed the rest. But I couldn’t bear to be away from you, so I brought my laptop up and worked from here. Do you know you giggle in your sleep? For a tattooed bad biker girl, you certainly are cute.”
She raised her gaze to his, memorizing the look in his eyes. “For a cold, ruthless billionaire, you certainly talk sweet.”
His lips descended and the kiss they shared was so full of promise Maya didn’t want it to end. Jacques unhooked her bra and his hand came around to cup her breast, the rough pad of his thumb circling her nipple. Passion flared and she pulled his hips closer to grind against his growing erection. He groaned and his lips left hers to trail down her throat. One last time before I go.
His phone rang.
“I’d better get that; it could be the hospital,” he said.
As he released her, a draft of cool air blew across her hot skin, making her shiver. She refastened her bra and reached for her wrap as Jacques answered the phone.
“What? How the hell did that happen?”
She froze. He must have noticed the blood drain from her face because he pulled the phone away from his mouth for a second. “It’s Daniel, not the hospital.”
Relieved that his grandfather appeared, at least for the moment, to be okay, she relaxed for a second. Only to seize up at his next words.
“That is a blatant invasion of our privacy. She’ll never set foot on this property again.” Daniel was speaking on the other end, but she couldn’t hear him. “Okay. Thanks for calling. Yeah, I’ll keep you up to date on Grand-Papa’s condition. Bye, Daniel.”
Jacques put his phone down, but rather than resume their embrace, he strode over to his laptop. Maya joined him.
“What’s happened?”
“Mother.” He opened a search engine and began typing.
“Again, not so helpful. What did she want? Why did she stay when the rest of her friends left?”
“She wants money. Her marriage is ending and her current lover has liquidity issues, so she needs something to live on. I gave her a million euros and told her that was all she was ever going to get. Had I known she’d pulled this stunt, I wouldn’t have given her a single cent.”
Maya’s heart thudded in her chest. “What’s she done?” But the answer was staring her in the face. On Jacques’s laptop screen was a photo of her and Jacques at the party last night. Underneath was the caption: Next Comte de Vendee, Jacques de Launay, captivated by unknown Canadian artist Maya Tessier.
Her blood ran cold and she started to shake all over. She clutched the edge of the table to keep upright.
“Daniel says it’s all over the Internet. One of Maman’s entourage was a journalist for one of the trashy celebrity magazines. He even caught us kissing in the hallway.” Jacques scrolled down a few more photos while Maya sank into the chair. He grabbed his cell phone from the table and called another number.
He barely gave the other person a second to answer the phone before he began to bark orders while he paced. “I want a takedown notice issued immediately. I want all photos and any mention of me or Maya off the Internet by morning. Then sue the bastards for enough to put them out of business permanently.” A pause. “No, they were taken on private property, within my house and they didn’t have my agreement.” Another pause. “He came with my mother. I did not invite him.” A longer pause this time, and Jacques scraped a hand through his hair. “I don’t give a shit how you do it. Hire a hacker for all I care. Get the goddamned photos off the Internet. And if they appear in print, heads will roll. I don’t want my relationship with Maya publicized. And I sure as hell don’t want them to dredge up Clarisse’s death again.”
The poor person on the other end of the call was trying to calm Jacques, but he wasn’t having it. “If they’re not off by nine a.m. tomorrow, then buy the whole damn company and shut them down. Fire every single employee. I don’t care what it costs.”
He canceled the call and tossed his phone back on the table. He scrubbed his face with both hands. Then he turned to her.
“Don’t think this is because I’m embarrassed to be seen with you. But after Clarisse’s death there was a lot of very nasty press, including rumors that I had been unfaithful and abused her. I had to sue several publications, and even though I was exonerated in court, it took a toll on me, Grand-Papa, Daniel, and even my businesses. I won’t allow anyone to profit from my personal life.”
If only he knew how this was about to blow up.
She went over to him, put her hands on his face, stood on tiptoe, and kissed him. “I understand. But—”
There was a frantic pounding on the bedroom door. Jacques automatically turned and pushed her behind him to protect her.
“Monsieur Jacques, the police are here. The house is surrounded. They are demanding to see Mademoiselle Maya.” The frantic voice of the butler came through the paneled door. “They say if she is not down in two minutes, they will come up.”
Jacques turned to her, his face white.
“Maya?”
Chapter 19
Maya grabbed her clothes off the chair and pulled them on as fast as possible. She’d barely done up her jeans when she heard heavy footsteps in the corridor outside. Jacques stood there, his hands on his hips, looking every inch the ruthless businessman who’d just threatened to take an entire company down due to a few photos. But the damage was done. They’d found her.
She scanned the room, mapping all the escape routes. They could use the secret passages and evade the police. But in her heart she knew the time for running was over. She didn’t want to live the rest of her life as a fugitive. And no way could she do that to Jacques.
Grace and serenity, Maya.
“Maya Tessier, this is the local gendarme acting on behalf of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Come out now or we’re coming in!” someone yelled from the hallway.
Maya dashed to the door and flung it open. Several police officers in full Kevlar pointed guns at her. Who knew she’d merit an entire SWAT team to take her down.
I’m a legend in my own lunchtime.
“All right, all ready. Keep your hats on, ladies. I’m coming,” she said.
“What the hell is going on?” Jacques bellowed from behind her.
She turned and had to take a deep breath before she could look into his eyes. “It appears the Canadian government takes their subpoenas to appear in court very seriously.”
“Explain.” His face was rigid, the muscle in his jaw jumping radically.
“Please, Jacques. Let’s go downstairs and I’ll tell you everything.” She pushed past the policeman who stood at the door and headed for the stairs. She wanted Jacques’s memories of his bedroom to be of the incredible joy and passion they’d experienced there. Not marred by the sludge from her past that was about to float to the surface.
At the bottom of the stairs stood a familiar face. What the hell was he doing here? Etienne was the very last per
son she expected to see. She’d figured he was either dead, in jail, or sipping cocktails on a beach in Rio. Were these even real cops? Her eyes darted from face to face. Ice crawled up her spine, and a scream lodged in her throat.
She scanned the uniform of the nearest police officer, looking for some sign he was legit. She wouldn’t put it past Big Tony to get his thugs to pretend to be law enforcement. Etienne had obviously passed the test and was now Tony’s right-hand man. How ironic that he’d be the one to come to dispose of her. Could she leverage their previous relationship and beg for Jacques’s life?
Etienne spoke first and flashed a badge at her, complete with the RCMP crest. “Maya Tessier, you are under arrest for failure to appear. You have the right—”
“You’re a cop?” Fear turned to rage and the ice in her veins became molten lava.
Etienne barely had time to nod while she launched herself at him. Before anyone could react she slapped him hard across the cheek. Two policemen standing beside him grabbed her and shoved her arms behind her back, snapping handcuffs on her wrists.
“Now we can add assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest to your charges,” one of them sneered.
“There will be no additional charges,” Etienne said. “I deserved that. I have some explaining to do.”
“Damn right, you do.”
Princess came racing down the hall, barking loudly, her teeth bared as she skidded to a halt at Maya’s side. All the cops drew their guns again and leveled them at the dog, except Etienne.
“Call off the dog, Maya. This doesn’t have to get ugly,” he said calmly.
“Princess, heel,” she unclenched her jaw enough to command. She needed to keep her temper in check. The dog sat beside her but kept a wary eye on the men with guns.
Jacques pushed through the crowd and stood on the side opposite of Princess. Her two protectors. “I’m calling my lawyer,” he said.
“No. Don’t. Look, I’m not going to run, especially barefoot. Let’s sit down and discuss this,” she said. She had to keep Jacques out of her trouble.
