Public affair, p.10
Public Affair, page 10
part #2 of The Private Investigation Series
“I only heard the one.”
“Where were you when it happened?”
I show them the spot. They make notes, call in reinforcements to come get photographs of the scene, and all the while, I’m crawling out of my skin, wondering if Matt’s okay.
“Can I go now?” I ask the woman. “I need to check on my friend.”
“Of course. Would you like me to take you?”
“I’ll drive my mother’s car. Mine’s a little too gangster now with that bullet hole.”
“All right,” she concedes. “We’ll be here for a while. You might want to let your landlord know.”
After dropping Sasha off with Mrs. Yang and explaining to her what happened, I race to the hospital.
By the time I walk into Matt’s room, he’s been bandaged and drugged and is out cold. A pretty nurse with dimpled cheeks, even though she’s not smiling, is checking his vitals. My heart is in my throat as I watch him lie there so helplessly. Because of me.
“How is he?” I can barely utter the words. My hands reach out, lightly touching him.
Matt’s eyes open and he turns to me. “I’m not gonna lie. I feel pretty damned good right about now.”
“Mr. Grayson here is on a nice cocktail that’ll keep him comfortable overnight,” the young woman says.
“Is he going to be okay?” I ask, clenching his blanket, wanting to touch him again but afraid I’ll hurt him.
She glances over Matt’s chart. “You’re Eva Cage?”
“That’s her,” Matt says with a grin. “My girl.”
Tears flow of their own accord when I hear it. “Matt…”
“The bullet grazed him. It took a good bit of skin but didn’t pierce anything,” she informs me.
“Not like you pierced my heart, woman,” he says to me, his eyes barely open.
The nurse unlocks the wheels of the cart with her computer and other medical gadgets and starts rolling it out. “The doctor should be in to see him in about an hour. In the meantime, it’s best if you let him rest.”
I nod and she walks away. Matt’s asleep before she’s out the door. For a while, I watch him, running my hands over his body, trailing fingers over his scruffy cheeks and thick, messy hair.
He moves a little, pulling on the IV line. It calls my attention to all the machinery around the room—the monitors that track his breathing pattern, his blood pressure, and the strong beat of his heart. A heart that could have stopped today because of me.
The nurse said his injury isn’t life threatening. That’s this time. What about the next or the one after that? Because whoever is trying to kill me is hiring people to do the dirty work, of that I’m sure. They can arrest people all day long, but until we know who’s behind it, the attacks won’t stop. I decide I need to text Seidi.
Me: Can we talk?
My phone rings two seconds later.
“I hope you’re wanting to give me an apology.”
I don’t bother replying to that. “Someone tried to kill me. Again.”
“What! Who? Are you all right? Where are you?” Seidi goes from condescending to terrified in a split second.
“Yes. I’m at the hospital.”
“What hospital? I’m on my way.” I can hear fumbling on the other end. She covers the mouthpiece, but I can still make out Eduard’s voice as she tells him what’s going on.
“Seidi, I’m not hurt. Matt is.” Although my ribs feel like they were bruised all over again. Touching them gently, I wince, wishing I’d left the bandages on.
“What happened?”
After making sure Matt’s completely out, I move away from the bed. “Someone shot at us.”
“Do you know who it was?”
I shake my head as if she can see me. “That’s what I was hoping you could help me with. I want to go through the book, see if any names stand out.”
“But we check everyone’s background before they’re accepted into Ember.”
“We must have missed something, because I can’t fathom why anyone outside of Ember would want me dead.”
“I can’t either,” she says. “Where do you want to meet?”
“Our usual.”
It’s time I end this, one way or another. When it was just my life on the line, I didn’t care. I’ve been waiting for the day anyway. But with Matt… I can’t let him get hurt because of me.
Chapter 17
The Hippa Club. Our spot. Where it all began nine years ago.
By sheer coincidence, I’m seated under the same chandelier I sat beneath back then. Though the tables are different, the feeling’s the same. From the blue glass bar with the stainless steel stools that match the brushed nickel paneled walls to the dim lighting and the servers dressed in clothes so fancy that they rival the outfits of the patrons.
“May I get you a drink while you wait?” the young brunette, Taylor, asks.
It’s been a long time since I’ve drunk anything other than hard liquor, because that’s the only thing strong enough to numb me at night. But tonight, I’m in the mood for something different. Something that matches the reminiscent ambiance.
“Could I order a bottle of Unico?” I ask her.
“Of course. I’ll bring that right out.”
“With two glasses.”
“Yes ma’am.” She returns a few minutes later with the bottle, pouring me a glass and setting an empty one at the place across from me. “As soon as I see your friend arrive, I’ll serve her as well.”
Taylor leaves, and while I wait for Seidi, I think about everything that’s happened these last years. How much I’ve earned. The night the match was lit, I couldn’t afford a glass of this stuff. But now, it’s pennies compared to what I have.
“E!” I hear the name from behind me, and when I turn, Seidi and Claire are making their way through the busy restaurant.
They each hug me, and it feels so good because I didn’t know if we’d ever be together like this again.
“You came!” I exclaim, holding Claire by the arms.
“Seidi called. I had to come.”
We sit, smiling at each other. “I’m so glad you’re here,” I say to the two of them. “I wasn’t even sure if Seidi would show.”
“Of course I did. You know I get over shit quick.” Seidi waves the concern away as if nothing that happened matters.
“Now the only one missing is Betty.” I gaze at the empty chair, made to look emptier because three of the original four are here.
“Well, she was never really part of the crew,” Seidi says.
“At the beginning she was,” I remind her.
“Is that what the wine is for?” Claire asks. “To remember?”
“I thought it was to celebrate the fact that you’re still breathing,” Seidi throws in, tapping long red nails against her glass.
Taylor arrives just in time with a third glass, filling it and Claire’s. “Can I get you anything to start?”
“Another bottle of this stuff, I’m thinking,” Claire says, taking a taste of her wine. “So good.”
“How’s Matt doing?” Seidi asks as soon as the server is out of hearing range.
Taking a sip of my own wine, then another, I set it down pensively. “He’s good. It was just a scrape.”
“Do you have any idea who could have done it?” Claire asks.
“None. And that’s what scares me. I have no idea how close this person is to me.”
“Let’s go over the book. Maybe we missed something,” Seidi suggests.
I pull out the brown leather-bound book we’ve kept sacred for years. Only the three of us here have seen it, read the names of every single person that ever hired Ember. All but one. Ben. I could never bring myself to write his name, because he was always something more. Something special.
This is the holy grail that the police have been after ever since they first learned about Ember. It’s what we’ve sworn to protect. But if any one of these names has anything to do with Matt getting hurt, I’ll disavow any promise I made.
Seidi takes the book from me, automatically flipping through the hundreds of pages, each with hundreds of names. “It’ll take us a year to go through these.”
“I was thinking you could glance through and identify names that stand out to you. People who seemed unhappy at the end of the desire. Married people. The ones with the most to lose if I were to talk. I made copies of the whole thing before I came.” I hand her the sheets and take the book back. “I’ll go over them too. See if anything triggers a memory.”
“And me, what can I do?” Claire asks.
“Reinforce our firewalls,” I order. “Make sure no one can access anything. Delete anything you can’t fully protect. We can’t allow them to find, let alone trace, our phones.”
“Already done.” Claire nods, her brown curls bobbing. “That was the first thing I did when you were arrested.”
“Right. I’m glad everyone else was able to keep a level head, because I lost mine,” I admit.
Claire reaches over, touching my forearm. “We’ve all done that at one point or another. Even the head of Ember is allowed to do it. That’s why you have us to catch you when you fall. Do you need money? Seidi said they froze your accounts.”
“Did they not freeze yours?” I ask them. Both shake their heads and I continue, “My checking has been left alone. It’s only my investments. But Monica made sure to hide Ember’s assets well. Nothing can be tied to any of us.”
Monica is my financial manager. She wasn’t always, though. She started at Ember after having lost everything to an abusive partner. When I found out she’d had to leave school, I sent her back to finish her degree in finance. And she’s damned good at it—buying and selling businesses, investing in properties overseas. Whatever it takes to keep my money squeaky clean.
“What about your charges? Is there any way to get them dropped?” Seidi asks.
“Maybe Judge Wolfe can help,” Claire suggests.
I don’t tell her I used up my favor of the month by getting her off the hook. “He can’t help me. It would risk his job.”
“Abernathy? Lopez?” Seidi throws out the names.
I shake my head. “I’m too close to the fire, girls. No one’s going to risk going down in flames with me.”
“Unless…” Seidi bites her full lower lip, thinking. “Unless they’re already in the fire and getting you out would mean saving themselves.”
“You don’t mean giving up a name?” Claire says.
“Not giving a name. Using one.” Seidi scrolls quickly through the long list of names in front of her.
“What are you searching for?” I ask her.
“I don’t know yet. But when I do…”
Claire and I look at each other, wondering what Seidi is up to.
“What about Matt?” Claire asks when we realize Seidi isn’t coming up for air anytime soon.
I swallow down the rest of the contents of my glass, along with the pain of what I’m about to say, then I take a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “That fire I’m in… He’s going to get burned if I don’t push him out of the way.”
“After everything you’ve been through with him, do you think he’ll let you go?”
The answer to that is no. He won’t let me go if he believes I’m doing it to protect him. “He will if I hurt him. Just a little.”
Once I’ve packed up my shit as quickly as I can, jumping at every sound, I grab Sasha and head to the nearest hotel. It’s an okay place, meant more for business travelers who are staying for only a night or two. But there’s a bed and a television, which I now have tuned to the news.
“We’re here at the apartment complex where Eva Cage, dubbed Madam Luxe, resides, according to sources. This”—the young dark-skinned man with blinding white teeth points at the bullet hole on my red Accord—“is her vehicle. Reports say a man was shot with a bullet meant for her.”
“Fuckers,” I whisper. How the hell did they get my address? I left to avoid being attacked again, but it looks like it was a good move for more than one reason.
The reporter continues, “So we have to ask ourselves if perhaps the rumors of the group called Ember are based in truth. Is someone trying to silence Eva Cage before she takes the stand? Whose name is she about to release from her little black book?”
“It’s brown. The book is brown!” I yell at the screen.
Sasha lies with her head down, staring at the door and waiting for Matt. It hurts me to see her aching for him. I pat the bed beside me. “Come up here, girl.” Sasha’s ears move, so I’m sure she hears me, but she doesn’t comply.
“He’s not coming, Sash. And we’re not going.” I inflict as much determination into my tone as possible so that she knows I won’t change my mind. She turns to me and I swear I see defiance in her brown eyes before she glances back at the door.
Sighing, I shut off the television. I kiss my fingertips, then touch them to Brandon and Sam’s pictures that I placed on the floating nightstand. “Goodnight, sweet boys.”
After turning off the lights, I curl up on the cold bed. The unfamiliar dark space feels all the more alien because in the few nights I spent with Matt, I grew accustomed to his warmth always being there.
I called the hospital the moment I got home, needing to make sure he was still all right. His family came into town and is with him now. When the nurse offered to patch me through to his room, I hung up.
The thought of staying away from him makes me physically ill. Knowing I can never see him again, not unless I want him in constant danger, makes me feel like I’ve already died a thousand times. If only I could.
Chapter 18
White silk shirt with diamond cufflinks, black linen pants, and three-inch heels. It’s my outfit of choice today. It reminds me of who I am at a time when the victim in me will try to take control. I have power. Leverage.
I certainly needed it today. Needed it to do what had to be done, taking a risk that could cost me so much more than prostitution ever could. But I didn’t have a choice, and I’ve come out on the other end unsure of what the outcome will be.
The name Seidi sought wasn’t on the list at all. There was nothing that linked anyone to the District Attorney that filed criminal charges against me. James Leiland was as squeaky clean as my money. No one in his family or in his close circle seemed even remotely near the fire. But you don’t get ahead without sucking a few dicks. I don’t care who you are.
I only had one hand left to play, and I was going to go purely on gut instinct.
James was all self-righteous indignation when I first stepped foot in his home, which I found thanks to Seidi, who located his address. He threatened to press felony charges against me for trying to talk to him. That all came to a screeching halt the moment I pulled out my brown book and flipped through the pages.
His already protruding eyes popped out a hint more when he read some of the names. Suddenly, he wasn’t just all eyes but all ears too.
“What do you want?” the older man asked after he escorted me through his beautiful Naples home to his office.
“I’m not asking for anything, Mr. Leiland. All I came here to do was to give you this.” I offered him the leather book, and he took it cautiously.
“You’re giving me this? In exchange for what?”
“Nothing.” I shook my head, smiling. “I simply want you to search through it very carefully. At all of the names in there.”
Leiland looked up from the book over thin glasses. He was skeptical. I would have been too were I in his shoes. “You’re not here to ask me to drop the charges against you?”
“Not at all. In fact, I’ve been counseled to plead guilty and hope that I can make a bargain with you. The book for less time in prison.”
“But you’re giving it to me. You can’t bargain with a chip you don’t have.” One side of his mouth pulled up.
“True. Though, of course, what you and your people are really after are the names in it. So I’ve made copies to provide everyone with exactly that. I just want to give you a head start on the reading. It’s a long one. It was good to meet you, sir. I’ll see myself out.” And with that, I left.
Yes, it was a risk. A big one. Seidi was right. We didn’t have time to reference every one of those names to see if we’d missed something on anyone’s background. Holly’s taking my plea to the court in a few days.
But the good DA knows plenty of the people in that book. He can quickly scan the list and spot friends, hopefully good ones. Friends he doesn’t want to see go down. Perhaps even ones he himself owes favors to. It’s a gamble and all I can do is hope I don’t lose.
I should have let Holly handle it. That would have been a safer course of action, but I didn’t want to get her in trouble should this go south. And, in truth, I don’t want her to have access to that book. Letting Leiland see it in the first place is like playing Russian roulette. I loaded the gun, pulled back the hammer, and handed it to him. There’s no way for me to know whether I’ll be spared when it goes off or I’ll go down, taking half the town with me.
Now as I drive to Holly’s office, I shake a little, feeling the nerves I’ve kept at bay.
When I walk in, I find Detectives Pruitt and Kingston sitting on her pristine couch, Holly on one of the chairs across from them.
“Mrs. Cage, we were just talking about you,” Kingston says with a smile.
“Is that so?” I sit by Holly, folding my hands in my lap. “What about?”
“We have a few questions about the shooting at your apartment complex yesterday.”
Glancing at Holly, I wait for her to nod in approval, then look back to the detectives. “All right, I’ll do the best I can.”
“Did you see or hear anything unusual?” she asks.
“Nothing,” I say.
“Where were you headed?”
“Here, as a matter of fact.”
“Mr. Grayson was hurt,” Pruitt states. “What was he doing in your apartment?”
My eyes go to him. “We’ve become friends.”
“Just friends?” His pen hovers over the notepad in his hand, as though he’s waiting for me to tell the truth before he writes it down.
