Page 31 of Isabelle’s Forbidden Love

“Do you have a spare for the Hummer?”

“I do. Guess you wanna see that one too?” He didn’t wait for the answer. Instead, he walked to a chest of drawers and opened the top drawer. He rummaged through it, before he cursed, “What the fuck!” He whirled around to her. “It’s not here. And this is the only place I’ve ever put it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course, I’m sure.” He drummed his fingers on the wood. “That doesn’t prove anything. It could be anybody’s car key. I’m not the only one who drives a Hummer in San Francisco. Give me the key you found and drive me to the Mezzanine. My car is there. We’ll try out the key, and you’ll see that it doesn’t fit my car.”

She shook her head. “I can’t.”

He glared at her. “You’re not even giving me a chance to prove I’m innocent?”

“That’s not it. I don’t have the key.”

“Then where is it?”

“The police have it.”

“Why?”

“Because I went to the house with the SFPD’s liaison for Scanguards. The guy gave me access to the house earlier tonight. He was with me when I found the key. He’s taken it into evidence and is checking it for fingerprints. And tomorrow he’ll check with the manufacturer to see if they can identify which vehicle it belongs to.”

“Fuck! Why didn’t you bring him with you to accuse me? Then he could have carted me off right away. I’m sure two pieces of evidence are enough to get an arrest warrant.”

Isabelle understood his anger, but she had to calm him down. “He doesn’t have two pieces of evidence.”

He lifted the hand in which he still held the letter. “I can count.”

“The police don’t know about the letter. When I saw your name on it, I hid it. And they have no idea that you drive a Hummer or who you even are.”

With a flash of surprise on his face, Orlando stared at her. “You hid evidence from SFPD? To help me?”

She nodded silently.

Disbelief spread over his features. “Why? I could be the killer. I could be guilty. And you just walk into my home and tell me all this. Aren’t you afraid of what I might do to you?”

Taking a deep breath, she made a step toward him, and put her hand on his forearm. “I’ve never been afraid of you, Orlando. Never for a second from the moment I first met you. I’ve always felt safe with you.”

“That’s crazy.”

“Maybe. Or maybe it’s just a gut feeling. My gut never betrays me.” She smiled. “And I have an idea.”

“About what?”

“If the key to the Hummer is really yours and somebody planted it at Hong’s house, then that person would have had to steal it from you first. So, all we need to do is to go through your security footage. I mean you saw me break in.”

“Nice idea. But it won’t work. I installed the security system earlier this evening before I went to work.”

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why did you install a security system out of the blue? I mean, you’ve been living in this house for how long, around one and a half years?”

Orlando hesitated, and she realized that this was a question he wasn’t prepared to answer. But she had to push him. Something had made him come to the decision that a security system was necessary. And she needed to know what it was.

“Orlando, what happened? Please tell me. I think I deserve to know. You said by being with you, your enemies might use me to hurt you. If you want me to help you, then you have to tell me what’s really going on. No more vague explanations about enemies from the past. I need something to work with.”

Isabelle looked up at him. Behind his eyes, a storm seemed to rage. Orlando was battling with himself. Would he tell her the truth now? Did he trust her enough to realize that she would do everything in her power to help him? Because even though he was so much bigger, so much stronger, and so much older than her, he needed her help. And she hoped that he needed her too. Because she needed him. She realized in that instant that she’d always needed him, even before he’d shown up at her father’s doorstep and asked for a job. And she’d always loved him, even though she knew nothing about him.