CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
WITH HANDS SHOVED into the pockets of his slacks, Nolan stood at his office window and looked out. Paris was beautiful this time of year and the land Lee and DeAngelo had chosen for the Grand MD Paris was perfect. He had enjoyed dinner last night with Lee and his wife, Carly, at this restaurant known for its fine cuisine. DeAngelo had joined them and it was quite apparent he was anxious to return to the United States and his pregnant wife, Peyton. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that DeAngelo was looking forward to fatherhood.
Nolan could recall the days when DeAngelo had been quite a ladies’ man. Now he had given all that up for the woman he loved. Nolan allowed himself to ruminate over that for a minute. Now that he knew without a doubt that he had fallen in love with Ivy, the thought of his life changing didn’t bother him.
He was anticipating the day he returned to Houston. He would let her know that she could forget coming up with a reason for them to break up because it wouldn’t be happening.
Memories of their lovemaking the last night they’d been together sent wonderful shivers through his body. Making love to her was always off the charts and that night had been even more so. The intensity of what they’d done was so profound that afterward they had fallen asleep in each other’s arms.
The buzzer on his desk claimed his attention and he moved away from the window. “Yes, Delphine?”
“A Joe Altamonte is on the line for you, Mr. Madaris,” the woman said in a deep French accent.
Nolan lifted a brow. Joseph Altamonte was actually Lee’s grandmother’s brother. When Nolan was growing up, he’d been Uncle Joe to everyone and still was. They considered him part of their extended family. Nolan wondered why Uncle Joe would be calling, especially at this hour. Nolan knew with the seven-hour time difference, although it was ten in the morning in Paris, it was around three in the morning in the United States. No doubt Joe and his cronies were ending a card game or something. “Please put him through.”
“Uncle Joe?”
“Nolan, how are you?”
“I’m fine. What about you?” Nolan asked, easing down into his chair.
“Doing well. I hear you’re in Paris with Lee.”
“Yes, and I will be here for another two weeks before returning home.” And he couldn’t wait.
“Well, I’m glad you’re not holding that little incident against me, though.”
Nolan knew exactly what “incident” he was referring to. Uncle Joe owned the cleaners that had led Ivy to believe she’d won that week on Tiki Island.
“No, I’m not holding it against you. I’m sure Mama Laverne twisted your arm to get you to go along with it.”
He heard his uncle’s robust laugh. “You know how much I love Felicia Laverne. Over the years she’s been the best mother-in-law my sister could ever have. Even going against Lee Senior and standing up for Bessie in the early years of their marriage whenever he was wrong. Not all mothers-in-law will do that.”
“No, they wouldn’t.”
“I hear everything worked out, though, between you and Miss Chapman. I like her. She’s one of my best customers. She always takes the time to hold a conversation with me.”
Since Uncle Joe was a talker, Nolan could see why the older man would appreciate that.
“Well, I don’t want to take up much of your time but I wanted to tell you about an incident yesterday that concerns me. I called and told Felicia Laverne about it and she suggested I mention it to you.”
Nolan lifted a brow. “Mention what?”
“Yesterday around two o’clock I noticed a car parked outside my establishment. What caught my attention was that the driver of the car didn’t get out. He just sat there. I got concerned that I was about to get robbed so I got my gun ready.”
Nolan didn’t doubt that since Uncle Joe was an ex-cop. He’d heard stories about how back in the day when those Madaris brothers—namely the senior Milton, Lee, Nolan and Lucas—got into trouble by causing a ruckus at the local bar in town, Joe would deliver them to Mama Laverne instead of locking them up. “Was it a would-be robber?” he asked, leaning back in his chair.
“No. The guy took the time to stretch his legs, and when he got out of the car I saw he was well dressed in a suit and tie. A businessman. So I relaxed and figured he was just waiting for someone.”
Nolan wondered where this was leading. Why would any of this be of interest to him? “So, was he waiting for anyone?”
“Yes. He was waiting for your Ivy Chapman.”
Nolan quickly sat up. “Ivy?”
“Yes. As soon as she came in around four thirty and dropped off her clothes to be cleaned, the guy stopped her before she got back into her car. By then I was on full alert. You know how my mind works. I’m suspicious by nature.”
Nolan knew that was true. Although Joe had retired from the police force before Nolan was born, Uncle Joe liked to entertain himself by watching all those criminal and cop shows on television. Claimed he was keeping his mind sharp and staying one step ahead of criminals.
“Did anything happen to cause you concern?”
“Yes. For one, she wasn’t happy to see him. That was apparent from the way she looked at him. It was also apparent whatever he was saying to her was upsetting. They talked for fifteen or possibly twenty minutes before he got into his car and left. Then she got into her car and left as well.”
Nolan wondered who the man could be. The only person he could imagine upsetting her would be her ex-boyfriend Damien Fargo. He recalled how the man had tried reaching Ivy when they’d been at the cottage. He also recalled Ivy telling him Fargo had moved to New York. What if Nolan was jumping to conclusions and the man wasn’t Damien Fargo but someone else? But then, who? “Uncle Joe, you still keep video cameras around your cleaners, right?”
“Yes, I sure do.”
“Would it be possible for me to look at that footage from yesterday?”
“Yes. Romeo will be here around noon. He’s good with that technology stuff. I’ll have him email you a copy.” Romeo Altamonte was Uncle Joe’s grandson who was in his senior year of high school. And from what Nolan had heard, the kid was living up to his name to the point where Uncle Joe had to call former playboy himself Blade in to council Romeo when girls began fighting over him.
“Thanks, Uncle Joe.” Nolan had no idea what Fargo looked like but chances were the man had a photo of himself out there somewhere on social media.
After ending the call, Nolan leaned back in his chair. If the man was Fargo, why had he returned to Houston? More important, why had he upset Ivy?
He could call Ivy and ask her directly. The last time they talked, she’d told him she had finished the Wonderbelly project and was sleeping normal hours for a change. For that reason, he didn’t want to wake her. First thing he would do was watch the video to determine if there was reason for concern.
* * *
“I THINK YOU should tell Nolan, Ivy.”
Ivy drew in a deep breath as she listened to Tessa’s words. More than anything she wished that was possible but it was not. Adjusting the cell phone to her ear, she said, “I can’t do that, Tessa. You know Nolan’s and my agreement. When he returns to Houston, he will expect me to have come up with a plan for us to break up. The last thing he would want is to get involved with my problems with an ex-boyfriend.”
“This is about more than problems, Ivy. This is about a crime. What Damien wants you to do is illegal and he is threatening harm to your grandmother to make sure you toe the line. There has to be something that can be done.”
Tessa paused for a minute and then added, “You can’t convince me that Nolan wouldn’t want to help, regardless of any plans he expects you to make.”
“Yes, but involving him might place his life in danger as well, and I can’t allow it to happen. I shouldn’t be telling you about it but I had to tell someone. I haven’t slept at all last night.”
“You did the right thing by telling me, Ivy. I never liked Damien but I never thought he would end up getting mixed up in something like this.”
“Me either.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’ll try to stall him and figure out something. There is no way I will go along with what he wants, Tessa. No way.”
A short while later after her call with Tessa ended, Ivy was pacing the floor when her phone rang. She hoped it wasn’t Damien calling. She crossed the room and picked up her phone off the table, and her heart began pounding when she saw the caller was Nolan.
Of all the times for him to call her, why now? As much as she wanted to hear his voice she knew the last thing she needed was to talk to him. There was no way she could without telling him what was happening and she couldn’t do that. She refused to unload her problem with Damien on Nolan. And like she told Tessa, telling Nolan could pull him into Damien’s craziness. It was bad enough she had Nana to worry about, she couldn’t put Nolan’s life in danger as well. There was no doubt in her mind that if Damien knew about Nolan and how much she cared for him, he would make it his business to be a threat to him, too.
As much as she hated doing so, she would ignore any calls from Nolan for a while.
* * *
NOLAN GLANCED UP upon hearing the knock on his office door. “Come in.”
Lee walked in, smiling. “I’m leaving to grab dinner at one of those cafés on the corner. Carly is going shopping. You want to join me?”
Nolan shook his head. “I would but I can’t. I’m waiting for a copy of a video from Uncle Joe.”
Lee raised a brow. “Why would Uncle Joe send you a video?”
Before Nolan could answer, a ding from his computer alerted him that he’d received incoming mail. He glanced at his laptop screen. “This is it.” He picked up a remote on his desk to roll down the video screen on the wall across from where he sat. He then answered Lee’s question.
“Sounds like Uncle Joe is playing cop again,” Lee said. “It was probably nothing.”
“I’ll see,” Nolan said, pressing the start button on the remote.
Within minutes Nolan’s suspicions were confirmed. The man in the video was Damien Fargo. He recognized the man from the photo on his Facebook page. Uncle Joe was right, Ivy seemed pretty upset about something. At some point she pulled her phone out of her purse and made a call. To who? Her conversation with the person lasted a few minutes and when she hung up it was apparent her irritation with Fargo had increased. He also saw when she was about to make a second call, the man snatched the phone out of her hand.
“I wonder who she called and talked to, and who she was trying to call when he snatched the phone,” Lee said.
For a minute Nolan had forgotten Lee was there. “I don’t know. The guy is her ex-boyfriend. And from what she told me, he was a real ass.”
“Looks like he still is,” Lee said. “And Uncle Joe appears to have been right. The guy was harassing her. Have you talked to Ivy?”
Nolan rubbed a frustrated hand down his face. “I tried calling her several times but for some reason she’s not answering. I even sent her a couple of text messages and she hasn’t responded to them either.”
“That doesn’t sound good, Nolan.”
“I know and it has me worried.” He glanced at Lee. “I know there’s a lot to be done here but I need to return to Houston to see what’s going on for myself.”
“And you should,” Lee said in understanding. “If something is going on with your woman, then you need to find out what. That should be your first priority. Everything else can wait until you get back. I’ll have my pilot get the plane ready.”
Your woman. Nolan knew at that moment that yes, Ivy was his woman and before returning to Paris he was going to make sure she knew it, too.