She did as I asked, and I turned my attention back to the asshole that had her scared. There was so much I wanted to pound out of him, like what the fuck was he doing to Lily that had her scared shitless to leave. But this was the address Lily had given New Hope when they hired her. There was a lot of fucking missing pieces to this puzzle. When I talk to Bennett, maybe things will become clearer.
Taking another step towards him, in a low, deep tone I through gritted teeth I gave my one and only warning. He was lucky he was getting that much. “If I find out you even drove by New Hope looking for her, you’ll answer to me. And trust me, I won’t be back to talk.”
He was pissed, but no longer able to meet me in the eye. I had made my point, but how long would that last? Was he just one man who stood alone or did he have people to go to for back-up? I wasn’t concerned for myself, but the safety of the guests at New Hope needed to be taken into consideration.
Before I left, I snapped a picture of him with my phone and immediately sent it to Bennett. Once inside the Rover, I quickly texted him a quick update while keeping an eye on that piece of shit. He seemed frozen, afraid to make a move, even to go back inside. Lily didn’t even look in the guys direction as though whatever bond her to this place, was still there.
Hold on Lily. It won’t be long until you’re safe.
Bennett sent back a response. I’LL MEET YOU WHEN YOU ARRIVE. TEAM HAS BEEN NOTIFIED.
If I blew it and read the situation wrong, this could easily have a negative effect on the relationship the Hendersons have been working all these years to build with the Tabiqian people. It could affect New Hope as well. But above all, I trust my gut. It’d saved my ass before, and I hoped it was doing the same for Lily now.
When we pulled into the resort parking lot, Bennett was outside with a few of the security staff that I had met earlier. He walked over to us alone and greeted Lily.
“I’m glad you’re here. I know you must be scared, but you’re safe here. My sister-in-law, Ziva, is on her way. Would you be willing to come with me and speak to her?”
Lily nodded. “Yes. I will speak to Ziva. But I don’t want anyone else there. I know you want to help, but you don’t understand. She is Tabiqian. She will understand.”
Bennett turned to me and asked, “Can you please escort Lily to the guest room 318?”
“Of course. Do you want me to stay until Ziva arrives?” I asked.
“No.” Bennett turned to Lily and said, “You’re safe. But only as long as you don’t leave the resort. Understand?”
She nodded. “I won’t. But…I was supposed work today. Do…do I still have a job?” her voice trembled as she asked.
Bennett nodded. “Yes.”
She closed her eyes briefly and when she opened them, I could tell she was relieved by the news. “May I go to work now? I brought my uniform. I don’t want to sit in a room. I need to earn money,” she stated.
Damn, that sucked. She just had to be pulled out of God knows how bad of a situation, and still, she is worried about surviving financially. I’ve been through some really fucking bad times, but never that bad.
“You are welcome to work any time,” Bennett said.
“Thank you. I will go and get ready now while waiting for Ziva,” she said.
I carried her suitcase inside and delivered her to room 318 as directed. Part of me wanted to stay, but I had orders.
Once I’d made sure the door locked behind me, I headed down the hall toward the elevator but stopped abruptly. Room 312. Should I knock? I had promised Robin a walk on the beach, and dusk was fast approaching. The last thing I needed was for us to be on the beach at sunset. It would give the evening an air of romance, but all I actually wanted was to keep my word. A walk I had promised, and a walk it would be, just delayed a bit
I opted to walk on by and text her instead.
LILY IS BACK AT THE RESORT. SPOKE TO BENNETT. POSSIBLE MEETING LATER. HOW ABOUT ARAINCHECK FOR TONIGHT? SORRY ABOUT THE CHANGE OF PLANS.
That was simple enough. She had spoken to Lily, so I’m pretty sure she anticipated this that’s why her reply to my text was so confusing.
YOU DIDN’T. PLEASE TELL ME YOU’RE JOKING.
I re-read her text again but still didn’t understand why she was so upset I had asked for a raincheck. It was just one night, but it really seemed to bother her. Damn. We’re not even…involved. Well, I could handle this. If she didn’t like it, she could just stop speaking to me.
WORK IS A PRIORITY. He typed back.
She didn’t text. She called. I tried not to groan. When I answered, she laid right into me. “I can’t believe you did that. I know what you are doing is important, but…”
“Yes, it is. But shouldn’t you be thanking me for following up on your complaint, rather than giving me shit for standing you up?” I snapped.
“I’m not giving you grief over that. You called Bennett.” I heard the frustration in her tone.
I still wasn’t making the connection. Maybe her outing wasn’t all she thought it’d be. Or maybe she was hoping that something more was going to happen tonight besides just a walk. Not that I was opposed to that, but right now, it’d just be a complication I didn’t need.
“I work for him, if you’ve forgotten,” I said.
“I know you do, but tonight was…special. Zoey…well, it was special and you ruined it,” she sighed.
“What about Zoey?” I asked.
Robin gave a sigh and said, “It’s their wedding anniversary and she and I had gone out shopping for tonight. You know, so they could have some alone time? Guess that’s not going to happen now.”
Was that what they were doing off the resort today? I wanted to ask what kind of shopping, but it wasn’t any of my business. Really, I didn’t want to know, either.
“It was only a brief interruption.” One that couldn’t be helped.
“Well, I hope they can get back in the mood. She must be so disappointed. Heck, it’s not even my anniversary and I am,” Robin said.
That didn’t make any sense, but then again, women rarely did. “Would it help if we still went for that walk?”
“It wouldn’t hurt. I mean you did promise me,” she stated.
Great. I didn’t want to hear all about my boss’s romantic night and I knew that was going to happen.
She added, “But I think I’ll take your offer of a raincheck. Let’s do it tomorrow. I want to go see Lily.”
“Not sure she wants to talk right now,” I said. Lily hadn’t said one word to me the entire ride to the resort.
“Really? That’s odd. She told me she would go with you, but only if I promised to come and see her when she arrived.”
“I stand corrected. She’s in room 318.”
“James?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you for believing me. And for going and getting her.”
“Just doing my job,” I said. “Honestly, I’m not sure she’d be here if you hadn’t spoken to her. She was very leery of getting in the Land Rover with me.”
“Do you blame her? You’re a stranger and Tabiq has…well….It’s not the United States,” she said.
No, it’s not. Robin sounded as though she knew more about Tabiq than she should. How was that possible? Well, I hope she keeps her mouth shut. The Hendersons would flip if anyone knew the history between their father and this country. From what Bennett had said, the Hendersons had sacrificed a lot to keep their secrets. Tomorrow I might just have to play dumb to find out what Robin actually knows.
I decided to dropping the subject. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, Robin. Have a good night.”
“You too, James.”
I ended the call and headed down to the lobby to return the keys for the Rover. There was still a part of me that wanted to be with Robin right now, but I was glad Lily wasn’t going to be sitting in her room waiting on Ziva before clocking in for work. For as withdrawn Lily had been with me, from what I’d learned, Lily had seemed comfortable with
Robin.
I chuckled to myself. For a woman who said she wanted to be alone, and even travelled half way across the world along, Robin had a knack of drawing people to her. Even me.
As I passed by the large picture window, I knew the sun would be setting soon .It wasn’t the sun I wanted to watch, but the reflection in Robins eyes.
Fuck. I know where my focus is and it sure wasn’t on some beach staring in a woman’s gorgeous blue eyes. What the hell are you doing to me woman? I hadn’t even touched her yet and somehow I can’t stop thinking of her.
I turned away from the window and headed towards the bar. With nothing else to do to do tonight I might as well end my night with a glass of bourbon or two or three. Since it’s Bennett’s anniversary, I doubted he was going to call me in for a meeting. Happy wife, happy life.
It might work for Bennett, but to me, it would only get in the way of what I wanted. Right now, I’d be out there looking for that scumbag and wouldn’t sleep until it was over.
Chapter 8
Robin
This is not at all what I planned for tonight, but Lily needed me. Or maybe I just needed to be needed. Sitting here with her didn’t really seem to be doing her any good.
“You look…anxious,” I said. “Are you worried about…that guy coming here? Because I can assure you, he won’t make it onto the grounds,” I stated, praying that was the truth.
“He won’t come.”
“Did you want to talk about what happened?” I asked.
Lily nodded. “But I am waiting for Ziva. She will understand.”
And I won’t? “I’m a good listener,” I prodded.
“Listening won’t help. I need…Ziva,” she sighed.
With that, there was a knock on the door. “Did you want me to get that for you?”
She shook her head and said, “No. You sit. You’re still a guest here, remember?”
It didn’t feel like that to me. I sure wasn’t out enjoying this little piece of paradise, at least not like a normal tourist.
When Lily opened the door she greeted the person in her native Tabiqian tongue. Even most of the staff at the resort were natives, they all spoke English while working. I assumed it was part of the rules here to make the guests feel comfortable. When the woman entered, the two briefly hugged. There was no question, Lily was happy to see her. But who was she? She not only spoke the language, but as with all Tabiqians, she had black hair, dark eyes and gorgeous naturally tanned skin.
She looked in my direction and then back to Lily. “Maybe you want to talk another time?”
I was about to get up when Lily said, “No. That’s okay. This is Miss Wellington. She’s a…”
“Friend. And please, call me Robin,” I said.
“Well, if Lily is comfortable with you here, so am I,” she stated. “My name is Ziva Henderson. How about we sit down and you tell me what happened?”
Lily opted to sit alone in the armchair. Ziva joined me on the couch and we shared a glance that seemed to mean, We’ll do this on Lily’s terms. After a moment, she started.
“Vecca, that is his name, is a…distant cousin. For many years we have not seen him. Some family said he was in the military.”
“I know there are some that have been able to allude being arrested by hiding in the woods. It sounds as though your cousin thinks those who committed crimes again Tabiqian citizens are not being sought after any longer but he would be mistaken. This doesn’t’ end until every last one has paid for their…crimes.” Ziva stammered.
I wasn’t sure what crime Vecca would’ve committed while in the military, but whatever it was, I could see neither women wanted to talk about it. Their eyes reflected a pain so deep that I couldn’t even imagine what it was. I sat quietly and let them continue.
“Vecca was low in rank and when the government crumbled, he tried to have my uncle hide him but was turned away. Then he approached other family members. No one would hide him. He was forced to run,” Lily explained.
Ziva turned to me and said, “I’m sure this is…confusing for you. But there is a lot of…history that the world does not know about Tabiq. We are not proud of our past, but together, we are working for a better future.”
“That’s all one can do,” I responded.
I was missing something here. What did the Henderson family have to do with bringing down the government? I thought Zoey had said her family was here building the country up. Also, the Hendersons were big business. Granted, they had enough money to crush a company, but how would they benefit from taking down a foreign government? I think Zoey failed to mention a few important things.
Ziva turned back to Lily and asked, “Why are you living with Vecca?”
“I…have no choice. He…said that if I do not help him, he would go and kill my parents and my baby sister,” she sobbed out. “I believe he…he would do it,” Lily said.
My heart ached for her and I wanted to get up and wrap my arms around her. But a hug wasn’t want she needed right now. Lily needed help to free herself from Vecca. And if I was right, she needed Ziva’s and the Hendersons help to do it.
Ziva said, “You telling me everything you know is the only way we can help them.”
“I know,” she said softly. “I didn’t help Vecca. I wouldn’t ever do that. All I did was all the cooking and cleaning,” Lily said. “For all of them. There are…more men that hide. They meet with Vecca while I’m at work,” Lily stated.
I could tell from Ziva’s expression that this wasn’t a good thing. Maybe Tabiq wasn’t the paradise they thought it was.
“Lily, I need to you be very clear as to what Vecca and the others are doing,” Ziva said firmly.
“I…I don’t know. They wait untill I am gone and then come,” she said.
“Then how do you know they go there?” I asked, and instantly regretted intruding.
“Because I make the food and clean. When I return, the dishes are many and food, gone. Vecca could not eat it all himself,” she stated.
That didn’t explain why Vecca was watching Lily while she was at work. I wasn’t sure Ziva even knew about that part. I might be overstepping here, but I think Lily would do better answering questions, than just saying what she thought we needed to know.
“Lily, was that Vecca who was watching you the other day?” I asked. She nodded.
Damn it. How was he getting into the resort? I made a mental to note discuss it with James later. He probably was already looking into it and was only going to tell me it wasn’t any of my business, but I seem to be in the middle of it all, whether James liked to admit it or not. Who knows, maybe I can actually be of some help too.
“Do you know why he was here?” Ziva asked.
Lily looked down. Very softly she said, “Yes.”
“Can you tell us, please?” Ziva coaxed.
“I spilled food all over my uniform the other day. I went home and changed. But when I was leaving to come back to work, I saw Vecca and the others. They were loading a truck with boxes.”
“How many men were there?” Ziva inquired.
“Maybe six or eight. I was hiding so I couldn’t see clearly.”
That made sense. If you’re doing something illegal, you don’t want witnesses. “Do you know what was in the boxes?” I asked.
She shook her head. “But Vecca was holding a gun. A big one that didn’t look like anything I have seen. Then I saw him put it one of the boxes.”
Ziva asked, “Did he see you?”
“No.”
There had to be something that motivated Vecca to risk it all by sneaking into New Hope? “Then why was he here?” I asked.
“Vecca said he had seen my dirty uniform at the house. He wouldn’t believe me that I didn’t see anything. That’s why he was watching me. He thought I might tell someone what I saw.” She clenched her fists. “I never would. I know what would happen if I did.”
Ziva stood and knelt in front of the armchair, covering Lily’s hands with her own. Tende
rly she said, “That is what they want us to believe. That we are still trapped. That if we stand up for ourselves, we will…disappear. But I give you my word as a Tabiqian woman, it is no longer that way.” Lily lifted her head to look at Ziva. I could see her eyes glistening with tears she could barely hold back. Ziva continued. “We have come a long way, but it takes us to work together. Lily, do you trust me?”
Lily nodded. “I know what you have done for our people,” she said.
What did you do Ziva? Why does Lily trust and idolize you so much? Besides being Alex’s wife, who are you?
Ziva pleaded, “Then I am asking you to help me.”
“How? I am not strong like you. I am a coward. I’m…afraid,” Lily choked.
“Lily, I was afraid, too. Even now, as you told me about your cousin Vecca, I tremble.”
She shook her head. “No. Look at you. You are so brave.”
Ziva smiled. “Only on the outside. Inside, I am just like you. But I have learned to trust and to lean on others.”
“You mean the Hendersons?” Lily asked. Ziva nodded. “But James has done so many horrible things. How can you trust them?”
My heart leapt into my throat. James? What did James do? Granted, he could be difficult and intimidating, but horrible? That isn’t a word I’d use to describe him.
Ziva said, “James might have been evil, but not his children. My husband Alex risked his life to save mine. And he has done so much to help Tabiq. They all have.”
It wasn’t James Burke that Lily had been talking about. Thank God. I let out a long, slow breath of relief. Neither of them seemed to notice. But now I had another question. What had the late James Henderson done? It wasn’t something I could ask Zoey, and I’m not sure James Burke would share that information with me even if he knew. Maybe it wasn’t for me to know, but I could never set something aside, once I had set my mind to it.
“What do you want me to do?” Lily asked.
Eleven Days in Paradise (Barrington Billionaires Book 11) Page 7
