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“Are you certain you don’t want me to come in with you?”
I exhaled as I pulled into the parking lot, throwing the gear into park. Then I turned my head toward Suzannah. I was still marveling in her beauty. She was even more beautiful than she’d been before, the woman positively radiant. We’d spent the week together handling aspects of business and getting to know each other better. I had to say, they’d been some of the most memorable days I’d ever experienced.
She’d also spent time with her mother and sister, learning to tolerate her mother more than she’d originally wanted to. Then her mother had nearly driven her crazy talking about our upcoming wedding.
Little did the woman know we had plans on eloping to a tropical island.
“This is something I need to do, ending a chapter.”
“I understand. I’ll try and be a good girl while you’re gone.”
“You know what happens if you don’t. Perhaps I should handcuff you to the steering wheel.”
“That won’t keep me from getting away. You forget how resourceful I am.”
After throwing open the door, I cut the engine and snagged the keys. “You’re right. How silly of me.”
“We need to work on our trust issues,” she cooed. I sensed she noticed the weapon in my holster, which up until today I hadn’t carried. There was no need to disguise who I was or the family I’d come from. Her father had been forthcoming over the course of several meetings, providing details of how merciless he’d been over the years.
He and my father should have remained friends. They were very much alike. I was happy to see Suzannah had allowed herself to get closer to him, although they’d never be bosom buddies.
We were building a form of Camelot. After several discussions and a fair share of arguments, a course had been tentatively laid out about shifting our combined businesses into the future.
And into very legal endeavors. It would seem I was headed toward becoming a law-abiding citizen.
All because I’d taken a commercial flight.
I chuckled and closed the door, staring at the entrance to the jewelry store. Talking with Carlos would be difficult, possibly even dangerous. Enough so, I’d instructed Grayson to follow us to the location. I glanced over my shoulder before heading inside. He remained in position, ready to react if anything out of the ordinary occurred.
Carlos was behind the counter with a customer, but I sensed sadness in the man when he lifted his head.
I glanced at the various cases, admiring his work. This would be the last time I was in his company. It would be the best for both of us, but I would always value his training and his friendship. Through Suzannah’s help, I’d realized that my life had been two-dimensional. While the bloodshed had seemed normal, now I knew better. I’d tasted the land of the living and needed more.
That meant cutting old ties. Hopefully, the man allowed me to walk away. If not, my soldiers would step in.
As he finished up his business, I thought about the original deal made with the vixen who remained in my car. The truth was I’d enjoyed it, but the possibilities of the future were so much better.
After the customer left, Carlos locked the door behind the man, sauntering toward me more slowly than he normally would. “I wondered when you’d stop by. Come. We’ll have a drink together.”
“Sadly, I don’t think this is a time for celebration, Carlos, especially given you’re mourning the loss of your other son and grandson. Yes?”
He lifted his head, studying my eyes. Then he smiled. “The woman made you soft. It’s what I suspected.”
“You were testing me. I’m curious as to why. As far as the woman, Suzannah allowed me to view the world entirely differently. And to show me what’s most important. Just as your beautiful wife did for you.”
“Yes, well, my wife is not doing very well as you might imagine. Her despair is thick with hate.”
“Only you can decide to change that, Carlos, by telling her the truth. That’s something else I learned the hard way. Lies and deceit will only bring tragedy.”
“You want me to tell the woman who bore my children that her husband hired someone to kill his only remaining son? That would crush her.”
“As I said, I learned a very valuable lesson over the last month or so. Truth is more important than the need for vengeance. I wasted far too much of my life exacting revenge for other people, including my father. Including you. When it came time to seek revenge for myself, I learned it was for all the wrong reasons. I almost destroyed the best thing that’s ever happened to me because of it.” I could tell he was searching my eyes, trying to figure out if I knew what he’d done. Then a spark in them brought a strange smile to his face.
“You’re a wise man, just like your father, Kendrick. Perhaps more so.”
“I’d like to think so, but life has a way of challenging our beliefs. Doesn’t it? What happened? Diego is dead. Isn’t he?”
He laughed. “Yes, he is dead.”
