31. Logan
I rode the fences with my new best friend happily trotting beside Dudley. Carter was a big, shaggy German Shepherd with a heart of gold and a bark that would frighten the dead. Danny and Pete had brought up two dozen of the mustangs that ran free on Lago Colina, including three pregnant mares. I had over a hundred acres for them to run on and plenty of Colorado forest to shade them. Carter and I took our time getting back to the house, enjoying the sweet breeze from the creek that sifted through the pines and cedar of the grove near the house.
There was only one thing missing from my idyllic new home, and I hoped my information was correct, and she was on her way. My pulse hadn’t slowed down since I’d gotten calls from Heidi’s former employer and her mother the day before. When Heidi had called the house like Eli directed her, looking to fill a bookkeeping position, my bookkeeping position, it had taken all my self-control to let the maid answer and give her an interview.
Kate had loved playing Cyrano de Bergerac with me and had enthusiastically offered to fly Heidi out for a test run. The air in the room had been unbreathable while I waited for Heidi to decide to take that chance. I prayed that Eli had done the sales job I’d given him and made my new place sound irresistible to her. The website was already set up; I’d simply deleted my name and used Kate’s so Heidi would be making the choice of her own free will.
At least, that was what I told myself, and everyone else I roped into the plan. I was tricking her, and I knew it. Heidi seemed to believe, to the bottom of her heart, that survival was the only gift she deserved from God, or the universe. I believed that she’d meant it when she said she loved me, and I knew we’d both felt it when we touched, that whatever strange circumstances had thrown us together, what we had was real.
I’d outgrown plastic women with no light in their eyes or love for the miracles of the world in their souls. Love had been granted to me once, and I’d lost it. Then Heidi had walked out of her office in that horrendous uniform, ready to bite my head off, and her eyes went to that deer in my arms. That was it for me. God help me, I wanted to feel her under me, but after so long, I just wanted to see her face. To see her recognize that I’d taken my dream and found a way to mesh it with hers. A herd of mustangs and a private nature preserve. No hunting, no fishing, no interference with the land, and a beautiful fence to keep it safe, but not a prison for the wildlife.
If she still wanted to tell me to rot in hell, I’d already paid for a round trip ticket. I checked my watch, and my stomach flipped. Less than two hours to get ready to see her. I glanced up at the wrought-iron sign over the gate and wondered if I’d give it all away before she made it onto the property.
New Hope Mustang Rescue, the sign read. It was in the same lettering as the Lago Colina sign back home and, like the mustangs, a way to bring home with me to a new frontier. I handed the reins off to my new horse trainer, Maddy, who I hoped would be with us for many years to come, and her girlfriend, Beth, took Carter for a treat and some babysitting time with his favorite aunts.
The ranch hands all knew I was trying to bring Heidi into our operation. They’d dubbed her Wendy, insinuating that I was trying to find the lost boys a mother. In a way, I guess I was. I’d brought a couple of guys, who were ready for an adventure, with me from Lago Colina. We had Kate and Beth and Maddy, but I was nowhere near the businessman Danny was, and without her brains, I felt a little like a lost boy myself.
I showered and dressed in a suit and tie, and then changed when Kate laughed at me for looking like a mobster instead of a cowboy. I wanted Heidi to see me, the man she’d let into her life in the most surprising and unprecedented ways. She’d trusted me to be different, and I’d never let her down, at least not on purpose. I grabbed my cowboy hat and put on clean Wranglers and a button-down shirt I didn’t have to tuck in, and waited by the fire for Heidi to arrive. Kate gave me a nod of approval and disappeared into the kitchen to make supper, and the boys from Lago Colina made sure they weren’t around when the car service pulled up the drive to the house.
Beth ran out to help her out of the car, and when the driver held out a pair of canes for her to walk with, I couldn’t stop the tears. She was walking on her own. No one had been willing to tell me the extent of her disability, but seeing her upright and walking made me instantly rethink the saddles I’d started designing for her. Instead, she could have stirrups like George’s. Here, she’d be able to do everything she wanted to be independent, including horseback riding and using the all-electric ATVs I’d purchased for use on the property.
I’d done everything in my power to give her the perfect home to live in. All that was left was for me to convince her that she had a reason to let me stay, too. If not, then I’d take another job, visit a few more countries, and open that stupid gallery in New York that even Boyden was pushing me to take. He was going to open it either way, but I wanted to fill it with pictures of mustangs and the Rocky Mountains I’d already fallen in love with.
“Hey, Boss-man. They’re on the ATVs now. Wanted to get the tour done before we lose the light,” Kate updated me.
“Wouldn’t hurt to have her out there for what’s going to be a gorgeous sunset, either,” I laughed.
“As it turns out, we’re all just a bunch of romantics around here. It can’t be helped that we happen to live on the most beautiful piece of God’s green earth and want a lovely lady like Heidi to have a chance to help it flourish.” She shot me a quick grin and ducked back out again, while I paced the floor, the knots in my stomach getting tighter by the minute.
I’d just decided I had to call the whole thing off when the front door opened. Kate was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, and I called her over. “I can’t do this. Tell her I love her, and all this is hers. I can’t bribe her into loving me.” Kate shook her head, but I waved her off. “It isn’t right. We all might wish it was, no one more than me, but that won’t make it so.”
I hugged her and walked out the back door, just as Kate’s warm alto welcomed Heidi into her new home.
I walked around the building to the front and headed for my truck, hating myself every step of the way. I heard the front door open and bang shut, and a high-pitched bark resounded across the fields as little Hope threw herself off the front porch and raced to my side, jumping and yipping like my pockets were full of bacon. I bent down and she leaped into my arms, licking my face and wriggling until I was afraid I might drop her.
I held her close and thought about poor Carter and how he was going to react to this little ball of energy, and my throat became clogged with unmanly tears. I set her down and looked around for someone to stop her from following me, and Heidi was there, with the same peeved look on her face as the first time I saw her.
“You’d better not be leaving now, Logan Hargrave. You have a lot of explaining to do.”
I picked Hope back up and weathered the tornado of wet puppy kisses to the face as I ducked my head and climbed the steps to Heidi’s side. She didn’t speak, and I couldn’t find words now that I’d thrown my own plan completely off track, so I simply led the way to the front door and waited for Heidi to pass through first. I forced my hands not to clench as I watched her struggle over the high threshold. I hadn’t changed it because I had ordered a wheelchair accessible ramp instead. It didn’t matter though. With the ranch came a trust fund that would take care of all of them as they built their refuge.
I was still thinking about all that Heidi could accomplish with the land when we reached the study, which was why I didn’t see the glint in her eyes before she started to yell.
“Do you think I’m stupid, Logan?” she belted at me as I stood, gaping at her. I set Hope down, and she ran in circles around us, yapping and wiggling as she rolled over my feet and banged into Heidi’s crutches.
Kate appeared in the doorway with a slice of chicken, and Hope took off like a shot, leaving me utterly alone with the one person on earth who wanted to see me the least.
“Of course, I don’t think you’re stupid. Why would you even suggest that?”
“This is my dream, Logan. All of it. The forest, the mountains, the cause. I knew the moment that I looked it up online that you had something to do with it. And I’d like to know how you got Eli on board, because he practically used note cards to persuade me to give this place a chance.”
“Maybe he was just making up for not being a better friend before,” I offered, but it sounded lame, even to me.
“Why did you go to all this trouble, only to leave me here alone?”
“Oh, Heidi. You are not alone. Not even close. I brought Will and Jerry and Reed with me to help with the stables and the day to day. Maddy’s a great horsewoman, and Beth is just great. And Kate’s here to be your own personal Patty. I’d never dump a big place like this on you and leave you all alone.” It was her turn to gape at me, but I didn’t get why. “I’m sorry about the threshold,” I added. “I wasn’t sure what you’d need, so I left it until you could ask for—”
“Just shut up, Logan,” she blurted, and I shut my mouth with a snap. “You went to a lot of trouble on this con of yours. The least you could do now that I’m here…” She sniffled and ducked her head as she cleared her throat. “Now that you have me, the least you could do is kiss me.”
In two strides, I lifted her out of her crutches and held her up, pulling her legs around my waist as I kissed her with all the finesse of a middle schooler. I went to my knees and buried my face in her neck, breathing her in as I cupped her ass in my hands and pulled her as tightly against my body as our clothes would allow. I felt hot tears on my ear as Heidi clutched me to her, trembling as she wept, and I shed tears of my own.
“I’ve missed you so much; I hate myself for letting you go so far away,” she sniffed and pulled away just enough to meet my eyes with her own.
“I’m not going to ask why, unless you really want to tell me,” I replied. “All I know is that you changed my life the moment you walked into it, and I would do anything to make sure that the life you have with me is the life you deserve.”
She collapsed into my arms and kissed my neck over and over, then planted sweet, soft kisses on my cheeks and forehead and finally, let me taste her sweet mouth as her tongue slipped between my lips. I deepened the kiss, and she moaned, her body growing soft and pliant as she rocked her hips on me and locked her right leg, whispering to me over and over, “I love you, I love you, I love you.”
There would be storms that upset our happiness and times of trial and sorrow. But we’d already ridden those trails and come out the other side together. Heidi was finally in my arms for good, and every heartbeat declared back to her, “I love you, I love you, I love you.”
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BILLIONAIRE’S TRUST
By Alexa Davis
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2016 Alexa Davis
CHAPTER ONE
" the hell is wrong with you, Beck?" I yelled. "You fuck up everything you lay your hands on!"
"Aww, c'mon, Dax," he said with a hangdog look. "I didn't do it on purpose. It's not that big of a deal, only a couple of ounces got lost."
"Lost my ass," I said as I rubbed my eyes and then looked at him. "Beck, I don't care if you are my fucking brother, if you don't get your shit straight and run your business right, I'm gonna fuckin' kill you."
"Dax, it's not my fault," he whined. "I sold the stuff the way you told me, it's just that your connection shorted me on the buy."
"Bullshit," I said. "He's never once shorted me before. This is your fuck up and your fuck up alone. Get your shit straight, Beck, or I'm gonna have to do something you're not gonna like."
"Fine, whatever," he said as he turned and walked across the empty floor. He stopped before he got to the door and turned to look at me as he spoke. "You're not always going to be on top, you know, big brother. Someday, someone is going to come along and knock you off your throne and then where will you be, huh?"
"Let them try," I said as I held his gaze. He looked away first and then shoved the door open with a loud bang before walking out into the street.
I turned to the figure sitting in the shadows and said, "Keep an eye on him, Riza. He's gonna fuck things up for all of us, I just know it."
"Don't be too hard on him, boss," she said as she stood up and stretched. "He's young and wants to impress you."
"That may be, but I'm not going to risk the entire business for his growth opportunity," I said. My younger brother was a Class A screw up and had been his entire life. It wasn't entirely his fault.
We'd spent the first years of our lives in a violent home before my father, a failed inventor, shot my mother, a financial analyst, and himself and left us orphans. We'd been placed with my father's mother, an Irish woman who ran a grocery store on San Pedro and lived in a shack behind the store. We didn't know it at the time, but she was in the early stages of dementia and often left the store closed up and us to fend for ourselves while she wandered out into the streets on Skid Row looking for a way back to her hometown of Dublin.
When she was home, it was obvious why my father had ended up the way he had and why we rarely saw my grandmother while he was still alive. She held the firm belief that children who were heard rather than seen should be severely punished in ways that would have horrified even the toughest disciplinarian. Gram hated Beck and often punished him for minor infractions that I was allowed to get away with. Needless to say, I looked forward to the days when she'd disappear and leave us on our own. They were a respite from the torment and abuse.
With no one to check up on us, I quickly got used to being the protector and provider. We didn't really have to struggle much, since my grandmother was well connected in the neighborhood and people looked out for us, but it took awhile for Beck and I to figure out the system. By the time my parents died, we were living in an abandoned house that had no running water or electricity. The switch to the Grand brought us into a different world that was more consistent in many ways, but still left us on our own for long stretches of time.
Gram had little interest in us, aside from ordering us to stock shelves or haul boxes into the storage area from the truck that arrived every Monday. She didn't bother to buy us any clothes or toys or even register us for school.
I had to figure all of that out on my own.
We moved in with my grandmother when I was ten and Beck was eight. By the end of the first week, I knew which neighbors would feed us without asking questions and which ones were inclined to call nosy social workers. I learned to call Elsa, the woman who ran the liquor store on the corner of 6th Street and who knew my grandmother the best, and let her know that Gram was gone again. Elsa was the one who helped me order clothing for Beck and I and register us both for school. I quickly became wheeler-dealer and, as a result, I was able to maintain a good front and keep people from asking too many questions, despite the oddness of our living situation.
Beck was too young to know just how strange our situation was, but he quickly learned to follow my lead and do as I told him. He knew that not following directions would often lead to something terrible, so he became both cautious and reckless in the way he behaved. At home, he was a silent child who hid in the storage room or a closet to avoid the wrath of Gram, but at school, he was a hellion who refused to follow the rules or even stay in his seat. On more than one occasion, I'd been called out of class to go to Beck's classroom and deal with his misbehavior, since I was the only one he'd listen to. It was exhausting caring for both of us, but I didn't see any other option. So I shouldered the burden and did the best I could to ensure that we were fed, clothed, and had a roof over our heads.
By the time I was twelve, I was playing dice with the neighborhood hustlers in back alleys. They taught me about smoking, drugs, drinking, and what little they knew about women. As a result, I never touched the first two, but the last two, well, I always say I've never met a drink I wouldn't sip and a woman I couldn't enjoy. The problem was that I also learned not to trust anyone.
Except for Riza. I'd met her on the streets when we were twelve, and she'd quickly decided I was her best friend. She was taller than most of the boys in our neighborhood and her exotic looks, thanks to her Honduran father and Moroccan mother, gave her face a mysterious look of danger. It also helped that her father was a known drug lord during the ’70s and had a reputation for "disappearing" anyone who dared cheat or disagree with him. Riza was his pride and joy, and since I was her best friend, he trusted me.
"Hey, boss, you want me to take the car and follow the kid?" she asked. "I can tail him tonight, if you want. The next shipment isn't scheduled till Tuesday, so I've got some down time."
"You sure you want to do that?" I replied.
"Yeah, sure, why not? I've got the time. Why not nip it in the bud now and bring him to heel?"
"Alright. If you're up for it, then do what you can," I said as I walked behind the bar, filled a glass with ice, and then hit it with a shot of soda water. I had a meeting coming up later and I needed a clear head. "But don't let him know you're following him. He'll lose his shit and then I'll have to deal with it, and I don't have time to deal with a Beck meltdown this week. Clear?"
"Crystal," she saluted as she sauntered across the floor towards the door.
"Be back here at three," I said. "I need you here for the meeting."
"Aye, aye, boss." She waved as she pushed open the door and let sunlight briefly enter the darkened club. Then she was gone.
Riza's dad had taught me the business from the ground up and then made me a silent partner in his cartel. I worked my way up from a corner boy, to the top dog on Skid Row. I kept my head down, worked hard, and listened to every single thing Hernando D'Oro ever told me.
Hernando, or Papi as we all called him, had groomed me to run the empire and when he was gunned down in a gang fight two years after he'd made me his second in command, I stepped up and took over the business. I now owned a hotel on Grand Avenue and this club, and, with the help of a loyal band of warriors, I ran a billion-dollar drug business that owned the entire Los Angeles market. Everyone hated me.
Except Riza. When it had become obvious that her father wasn't going to train her to be the head of his cartel, she joined the Marines and spent a few years in Iraq. Papi had gone ballistic the day she'd told him what she'd done, but since she was eighteen, he had no say in the matter. I knew it hurt him to watch his beautiful daughter pick up a gun and fight in "a man's war," as he called it.
There had been nights when we'd made a run down to Tijuana to pick up a shipment and Papi would talk to me about Riza and war the whole way down. But despite the pain, deep down he was also incredibly proud of his daughter.
He just never told her.
When she came back from Iraq, something about Riza had changed. She’d seen too much and done too many things that she said she didn’t want to talk about, but it came out in other ways. She was constantly picking fights and winning them. She was one of the most feared gang members in LA, mostly because it was rumored that she had no conscience. I knew better, but she wanted to keep her secrets safe and maintain a certain level of respect via fear. So, I looked the other way and watched her try to self-destruct.
Papi was furious about his only daughter’s behavior. He’d wanted her to settle down and get married so he could have a bunch of grandkids to bounce on his knee, but Riza was stubborn and refused to settle for any of the guys in the cartel. For a while, I thought maybe she didn’t like men, but when I asked, she said it was that she didn’t trust anyone outside of Beck and me. She was quiet and wary, much like her father. And, when he was gunned down just a couple of months after she returned stateside, she turned even further inward. For two years after Papi’s death, the only people she'd talk to were Beck and me.
Even now, she was a woman of few words and didn't tell me too much about what was going on with her. She simply showed up and did her job 24/7, 365 days a year. She was still my second in command, only now she also functioned as my bodyguard during trips and meets with other cartel leaders. She was my shadow, and she kept a lid on the business in ways that even I didn't know, but I trusted her, so I didn't ask.