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“This place belongs to Charlie Jenson,” I explained.
“He is one of the viejos, yes?”
I nodded, kissing her temple. “I love you,” I murmured.
She turned to face me. “And I love you.” She cupped my cheek with her hand. “And while the view of the shoreline is spectacular, there is another I’ve been craving.”
“I believe we may have the same craving.”
The next night,I sat at the table at the Wicked Winemakers’ Ball, reliving our lovemaking of yesterday and last night. When my eyes met Jacy’s, I could tell she was thinking of the same thing.
As I’d anticipated, my family and our friends were overjoyed to learn she and I were together. While that announcement didn’t seem to surprise anyone, they were all stunned to hear we were living together in a house I’d built on another part of my ranch. The only person not surprised was Brix, who’d helped me construct it.
I took a sip from the glass of Cabernet Sauvignon that the waiter set in front of me, shuddering as I recalled making love to Jaicon with my mouth the night before. “This is the wine I crave,” I’d said, making her come with my tongue.
As much as I wanted us to relax and enjoy the evening, Jaicon was working. She and her team were positioned around the ballroom, communicating through a comms system. The majority of Los Caballeros wore the headsets too. It would more likely be one of us who noticed someone who seemed out of place at the event or someone none of us recognized. The Central Coast of California wine region was large in terms of square miles, but operated like any small town where the residents lived and worked together.
I turned to the stage when Alex announced the start of the bachelor auction. As during previous years, the bids for dates with the single billionaire winemakers escalated quickly, raising thousands of dollars for the local children’s hospital.
“Ladies, I’m thrilled to open the bidding for a date with a man who is a fan favorite year after year: Zin Oliver!” I heard Alex say several bachelors later.
While she’d made the announcements, she didn’t appear to be paying attention when people around the room began raising their paddles.
“Where is she?” I heard her ask her assistant, then she quickly turned off her mic. My eyes met Jaicon’s. In them, I saw the same worry that something was wrong.
Seconds later, Zin jumped from the stage and ran, weaving his way through the crowd of people.
“The office!”he said through the comms.
“Suspect reported in back office. Possible hostage situation,” I heard someone else say.
“Who is the hostage?” Jaicon asked, already running in that direction.
“Jada Yáñez,” the voice responded.
Fear for Jada put me in a state of shock. I jumped up and raced in the same direction I saw several other people, all either part of Jaicon’s team or my fellowcaballeros, were going.
“Support needed in rear hallway of the building,” Jaicon’s voice came through the comms.
I entered the hallway at the same time I heard her voice yell, “Freeze!Hands in the air!”
Seconds later, Zin raced from the room with Jada in his arms at the exact moment I heard a gunshot. I rushed into the room, saying a prayer of thanks that it wasn’t Jaicon who had been hit. Instead, I saw her and Tank kneeling on the floor by someone I recognized. His name was Harry Crosby, a man I’d known and despised for decades.
Jaicon was on the phone, calling for an ambulance, when Tank raised his head.
“There’s no gun. No weapon of any kind,” he said.
“Sorry, what did you say?” she asked.
“He was unarmed, Jaicon.”
25
JAICON
“Come with me,” said Tryst, taking my hand.
“I cannot. I need to wait for emergency services.”
