Finding out that Uma had bribed the correctional officers to leave Dumay unattended had his mind racing. He’d underestimated Dumay and the lengths she’d go to for revenge against him and Mena. He needed to go on the offensive, but he couldn’t. He was trapped, just like she wanted. Stuck in Tiverton prison with no way to take her down.
Julian propped his head on his hands.
From what he remembered about Uma, she was just a pawn in Bond’s game. The bastard had convinced Uma he was in love with her. That was the only reason she’d agreed to forge the authentication of the fake art. Once she found out Bond was screwing other women, Uma had walked away from Bond and his scam.
Was Uma clever enough to bribe the correctional officers on her own? Julian’s gut told him hell no. Uma was a follower. Whoever had called Farouk using the voice distortion device was the real mastermind behind the plan. Uma was just the mule, delivering the cash. He was sure of it, but how the hell could he prove it? And who was the caller?
Two people came to mind—Adam Russell or Quentin Tufa.
Russell was in PIIB custody, so he was likely out.
But Dr. Tufa could be pulling the strings.
“You won’t believe what I found out.” Xander entered the cell, arms overflowing with envelopes of various sizes.
“What?” Julian asked.
“Zak Webber is going to try to kill you while you’re in here.”
Julian bolted up from the mattress. “Who told you that?”
“Little Rico. Josue Chartres’ messenger. Seems the PC-5 got wind of it and Josue wanted you to have a heads up to watch your back. Word is, there’s two million dollars in a bank account with Zak’s real name on it—Teo Juarez, collecting interest,” Xander said, sorting his mail into piles on the mattress. Postcards near the edge. Letter sized envelopes in the middle. Large envelopes by the flat square that served as his pillow. “Zak’s in for twenty years. Compound that interest, bitch. That’ll be a nice nest egg at the age of fifty when he walks out of here. And all he has to do to make sure that money stays put in his account is send you out of here in a body bag.”
“No fucking way that bastard can kill me. He’d be stupid to even try,” Julian said, shaking his head. There was only one person who’d pay Zak Webber to off him behind bars, and that was Dumay. Was that her fucking plan all along? Did she really think that punk Webber could get the best of him, even in here? Julian couldn’t even pretend to be concerned, although he did appreciate the intel from Josue.
“Well, look-a-here. This one’s for you,” Xander said, extending a single brown, flat envelope toward him.
“Is it like that for you every time mail gets delivered?” Julian asked, reaching for the envelope. He glanced at the label and recognized Mena’s handwriting. Inhaling slowly, he fought the smile threatening to spread across his face.
“This is a light day, but usually.” Xander collapsed down onto his bed and opened one envelope. Lifting a picture out, he turned it toward Julian. A woman in a string bikini stared seductively into the camera for the shot. “Normally, these kinds of photos would never make it to me. They are real strict in here about mail, opening everything and throwing shit away they don’t want us to have. But I pay a little extra to Josue and he makes sure I get all my mail. This beauty is Jamie, she wants to come in two weeks.”
“You going to put her on the schedule?” Julian asked.
Xander shook his head. “Nah, not in the right head space with all this shit going on with my case. All my focus has to be on getting another lawyer to take me on pro bono.”
“That’s going to be tough,” Julian said. Octavia Constant was a damn good attorney, but she didn’t come cheap. Turning his attention back to the envelope from Mena, he hesitated. Was this what their relationship would come to? Exchanging handwritten letters like lovers hundreds of years ago? Did he even want that kind of life for her?
He knew the answer, and he didn’t like it.
Flipping the letter over in his hand, he felt sick. Could he really end things with Mena? Put her needs before his own if he couldn’t get out of this mess with Dumay. What other choice did he have? He wouldn’t let her waste precious years of her life, clinging to a relationship, if he ended up stuck behind bars. But it would rip his fucking heart out. Without Mena, wasn’t much left for him to live for.
Unclasping the metal prong, he opened the envelope and slipped a hand inside. Julian’s fingers slid across a stack of glossy paper. He lifted them out and stared at the first photograph.
A sensual look graced Mena’s face in the photo as she looked into the face of the man standing next to her. The guy’s arms were wrapped around her waist in an intimate embrace as he stared back at Mena, enamored and full of lust. In the background, Julian could barely make out the illuminated name of the Blue Moon Resort on the side of the building. The only five-star hotel on the island was tucked away in the St. Basil Mountains.
“What you got?” Xander’s question floated across to him, but Julian couldn’t answer. He didn’t know what the hell he was looking at. Why would Mena send him a photo of her and another man?
Julian flipped through the other pictures. The man with Mena looked familiar, but Julian couldn’t quite place where he’d seen the guy before. Dark brown skin and intense hazel eyes. The position of their bodies suggested an intimacy that sent a swell of jealousy pumping through Julian.
Standing, Julian arranged the pictures across the mattress and stared at them.
The guy kissing Mena’s neck as she laughed.
Mena resting her head against the guy’s shoulder as they walked away from the resort restaurant.
Mena and the man outside a casita in an embrace, his hands resting against her ass like he owned it.
The two of them walking into the casita.
