CHAPTER THREE
“Jesus, Emma! Why are you ignoring me?” Jonas sounded jittery and panicked over the phone, as usual.
She glanced around to make sure no one in the bar was staring, then no attempt to hide her exasperation from her voice. “I sent you fourteen hundred dollars tonight, Jonas. And now you say that isn’t enough! Or are you calling because you’re ready to pay me back?”
“This is serious! These guys are the real deal. I paid back what I borrowed, but they want another eight hundred. Can’t you sell Mom’s engagement ring?”
“I already pawned it two months ago. Do you think I’m made of money?” It had half killed her to see her mom’s modest ring go, but then her parents had never actually been married, so how much did it mean? And she knew her mom would want her to help Jonas. “But listen, I have a plan. Are you at home?”
“Yeah.” He lived in a walkup in Hell’s Kitchen with two other wannabe actors. They weren’t all that far from there right now.
“I can give you all the money you need to pay back the debt, on one condition—”
Darias grabbed her hand, startling her and making her look up at him. He held a finger to his lips, reminding her to keep their whole plan secret. She nodded.
“I’ll give you the money tonight if you agree to go into rehab at The Fountains tomorrow morning at nine A.M. You’ll have to stay with me all night, though, because I don’t trust you not to disappear.” It hurt to be so cold to him, but she’d been burned before.
“The Fountains costs a fricken fortune, sis. Did you win the lotto?”
How could she explain this? Presumably, the whole world would soon know she was marrying Darias. But until she’d seen and signed the contract, she didn’t want to let any cats out of bags. “I have something going on in my life, Jonas, that I haven’t told you about yet. I’ll tell you tonight, if you’ll stay with me, then go to The Fountains.”
“Are you messing with me?”
“I’m not. You have to take this seriously.” She wanted to tell him that this could be his last chance to turn his life around, but Jonas didn’t respond well to pressure. “They’re professionals who help people with addictions all day long, but you have to commit.” If he didn’t, there would be no point in going along with Darias’s wild plan. “Things keep getting worse and worse for you. I’m worried you’re going to wind up dead.”
“I tried to quit. But then Danny came over and…”
“At The Fountains you’d be away from all the people who’d try to drag you under. It’s a chance to get your life back.”
She could almost hear him thinking, while tapping his fingers nervously on something, the way he did when he was strung out. “Okay. Deal. I’ll do it if I can get the money tonight.”
“And I’m coming with you to drop it off.”
“No way, sis. These dudes are heavy. You don’t want to go anywhere near them.”
Darias took her hand again, and she looked up. “I’ll go with him,” he mouthed.
Her eyes widened. “We’ll figure it out. I’ll call you within the hour. Stay home. Don’t go anywhere or do anything until you hear from me.” She hung up.
Darias lifted a brow. “I overheard. Of course you can’t go with him.”
“And you can?”
He shrugged. “I have security.”
Forty-five minutes later she was inking her name to a surprisingly short contract in which she agreed to be the legal wife of Darias Xavier Augustin Leone of Altaleone, and to perform all offices required to convince both family and the public that there was indeed a legitimate and loving union for the period of one year and one month. (The lawyer had pointed out that the year couldn’t start until after the wedding—which would take place in Altaleone—and Darias had thrown in another fifty thousand dollars for the extra month or so that would require.) She was pledged to absolute secrecy, both now and forever, and if she broke the contract at any point she’d be legally obliged to return all the money. The first portion would be wired into her account tomorrow as soon as the banks opened.
A single paragraph committed the funds for her brother to remain at The Fountains until such time as she returned to the States, or he was considered by their expert staff to be free of his addiction, whichever came first.
“I feel like I just signed my life away.”
“You did.” He smiled. “But only for a year. You’ll get it back. And I’m deliriously grateful for your sacrifice. Let’s go find your brother.”
In less than twenty minutes, they were climbing the steps to Jonas’s walkup. He opened the door looking harried. “You got the money?” Then he noticed Darias.
“I have a surprise, Jonas. This is Darias.” She pushed an attempted smile to her lips. “We’re getting married.”
“What?” Jonas looked confused for a moment. Then he shoved a hand through his tangled hair and stared at Darias. He thrust his hand out, and Darias shook it.
“Pleased to met you, Jonas.” Darias didn’t smile.
Jonas stared at her. “Does he…know?”
“About the money? Yes. And he’s arranged your stay that The Fountains. I’m very thankful.”
Jonas looked doubtful. “You do have it, though, right? The eight hundred. Because they just called again. They want it by nine.”
“It’s not easy to get that kind of money at night, Jonas,” she said. She was so angry with him, and she didn’t want to make it too easy. She’d just introduced the man that—for all Jonas knew—she planned to spend the rest of her life with, and he barely acknowledged him. “My ATM won’t give out that much at once.”
“Shit.” He shoved a hand through his hair again.
“But we have it,” said Darias. “Let’s go.”
Darias had arranged for two members of his personal security staff to tail them to the location. One would go in with Jonas and escort him out again. Darias wanted to go himself, but Emma persuaded him that he might be recognized if news of his family tragedy had been circulating.
By 9:45, Jonas’s debt was paid. Darias went home to his loft in Soho, and she went back to Jonas’s place to help him pack. One of Darias’s security guards stayed outside as a precaution. She told Jonas she’d be living abroad with Darias, and that she’d store his stuff with hers until he needed it. Since he’d sold nearly everything he’d ever owned to buy drugs, his worldly effects fit into three cardboard boxes from the liquor store, and the security guard loaded them into the back of his SUV.
“This is weird, sis. I can tell your new man is loaded. Is he mobbed up?”
“No.” At least she didn’t think so. She only knew what she’d read in the media like everyone else. “He’s from a small country called Altaleone. I’ll tell you more about it after I move there.” She didn’t want to reveal that her future husband was royal. Jonas would find that out soon enough, and it would be better if he was safely in rehab before he considered the enticing financial implications.
She stayed up with him all night—not that she would have been able to sleep, anyway—then they went out for breakfast at a nearby deli. At five to nine they were climbing the polished white marble steps of The Fountains at an exclusive address on the Upper East Side.
“I feel like they’re going to take one look at me and throw me out.” Jonas raked a hand through his hair again.
Emma didn’t mention that she felt the same way, especially after staying up all night without even taking a shower. “You’ll be fine. This is what they do. In a few months you’ll be a—”
“Months! What?”
“Fighting addiction takes time. Look at it as a free luxury vacation at a very expensive resort.”
They pushed through shiny revolving doors into a gleaming lobby with tall arches and potted palms. “Now that you put it that way.…” A smile spread across his crooked mouth.
Her chest filled with emotion. Hopefully, this big break really would help to heal whatever was so broken inside him. “I’ll miss you. I hope I’ll be able to come visit, but I’m really not sure how easy it will be to fly back here regularly. Call me any time, though. If I can’t answer right away, I’ll call back when I can.” It was weird not having any inkling what her daily routine would be.
They checked him in with just one small bag of clothes, and she watched as her skinny, crazy brother walked off down the hallway, already trying to charm two staffers.
When she turned around with a sigh, she was shocked to see Darias standing there.