AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The cellphone ring on Maddox’s phone was annoying, causing an instant snarl to roll from my lips.
As Maddox turned around, heading away from the group to answer, I took a long stride in Thomas’ direction. “Talk.”
“He’s trying to help, Francois. Keep that in mind. He’s family.”
Arman’s voice was terse, but he was as concerned as I was, adding additional security to every business location. At this rate, we’d need to hire more soldiers.
“There’s some talk that he’s been gambling,” Thomas said, doing his best not to sound accusatory.
“Gambling? That’s not Brandon. Not in the least.” While I didn’t want to think the worst, I wouldn’t put it past him. When we were younger, he’d bet on the horses, his penchant forcing me to get him out of hot water more than once.
Old news but something that could easily be discovered. I was more eager than ever to determine what business had taken him out of the country. “Where did you hear that piece of news?”
“Old buddies of mine handling an investigation.”
“An investigation into what?”
Thomas’ jaw clenched. “As you might imagine since my retirement, very few people will provide details, but it would seem Brandon had gotten in with the wrong crowd.”
Maddox suddenly moved closer to Arman as if giving his boss a heads up something was wrong. “I have news none of you will like.”
“What is it, Maddox?” he asked.
“We have an issue in Key West. The shipment arriving had been detained,” he said, looking at the others then to me.
“Detained? Why?” I instantly bristled but had suspected Key West would be hit next.
“Cocaine was discovered on board by the Coast Guard. They want answers.”
“They’re setting us up,” Thomas huffed.
Yeah, they were. If Alturo couldn’t destroy us one way, he would use another.
Arman looked away, his expression unreadable. Why did I continue to have the feeling he was holding something back from me?
There were far too many questions, including how the hell someone had managed to get on board.
“Well, it would appear our plans have changed. I’ll be headed for Key West later today.” I turned toward Rocco. The entire situation was unraveling for Alturo’s benefit while we’d been chasing our tails.
It was time to end this before it was too late.
CHAPTER 22
Key West
Delaney
I was standing at the window of an extremely posh condominium staring out at the ocean in what had to be one of the most tropical settings I’d ever been to. The last few hours had been nothing more than a whirlwind of activity, including catching a flight in a private jet. While I’d been around such luxurious accommodations before, the reasons had been for business only.
A part of me felt like a princess; the glorious sunset I was experiencing was surreal, the penthouse and view something dreams were made of. Sadly, a huge part of me remained in New Orleans, images of the fire lingering in the forefront of my mind. I hadn’t been given a choice as to whether or not I wanted to come with Francois.
He’d stayed on the phone for the entire flight, leaving me to my vivid imagination, which had continued to conjure up boogeymen. He’d said nothing else about the man I’d been socertain I’d seen, although I’d been the only one, which meant I could have imagined it all along. At this point anything was possible.
I rubbed my arms and glanced over at Sadie. She was happily snoozing on a fluffy bed, which had been here when we’d arrived. I heard activity from behind me and was surprised when the furry baby did little more than lift her head, not bothering to greet whoever was at the door. I couldn’t understand what was being said, but the woman’s voice seemed pleasant.
I leaned my head against the glass, hoping the gorgeous view of the Atlantic Ocean would take me away from the daytime nightmare that had already started plaguing me. Francois had lost his house, but he hadn’t acted as if he cared whatsoever. Sure, I knew he had more money than God, but he’d barely talked to the insurance company, whatever discussion he’d had with the police something he’d refused to talk about.
Yet I sensed there was something on his mind, details that he’d decided against talking to me about for a reason. The man was determined to protect me at all costs, more so now that we were lovers. I rolled my eyes at the thought. I couldn’t label what we shared any kind of relationship. But I’d heard the agony in his voice after he’d carried me from the burning house, easing me down onto the ground with complete gentleness.
