Chapter Forty
The morning sun peeked through the windows, and I cuddled closer to Garrick. We’d made love in front of the fire for most of the night. It had been magnificent. This time Garrick made me orgasm twice before he entered me.
“Morning, sweetheart.”
I stretched a little more. “Morning. Are you sore from sleeping on the floor?”
Checking myself, I realized I was fine. The special soft floor in front of the fire in the sitting area of the bedroom was comfortable to lie on. It felt like I had been on a mattress all night.
“Not at all. This floor works well. I imagine the previous owners had this built for this exact reason. I think I’ll have this done in our apartment.”
Laughing, I playfully hit his chest. “You don’t have fireplaces in your Florida apartment.”
He ran his hand down my back and cupped my ass. “I think I may add fireplaces, too.”
“I wouldn’t object to either. I’ve never done what we did in the bathroom or made love in front of the fire before.”
For a second he stopped stroking my back. “I like being your first. I crave it.”
“Me, too.”
Garrick shifted so we were on our sides, facing each other. By his grin, it was as if I’d given him the Christmas gift of a lifetime. “I’ll never take that for granted.”
“I know you won’t. Today we get to check off more items. I can’t believe you remembered to bring our bucket lists.”
Earnestly, he watched me. “I remember it all. You’re it for me, Knoah.”
A shiver ran through me. I wanted that more than anything. “I want to be it for you.”
With each passing declaration, we danced closer to the next level of commitment. Is he ready? Am I? We would know when it was time and nothing would hold us back. Nothing worth having came easy. Futures changed in an instant, and I would treasure each moment of happiness I had.
Beside us, Garrick’s phone vibrated like crazy, and he released me. “Hello. Yes. Give me a few.” He ended the call. “I need to go see Joe. Do you want to come?”
“Is this about me?”
“Yes.”
I hated that answer. The only thing I wanted was this mess to be behind us. “Is it about what happened last night?”
“Yes, but if you want to stay in your bubble, I’ll make it happen.”
I thought for a second. “No, I’m ready to know.”
After quickly dressing, we headed downstairs and across the house to another office. I nodded to a few security men we passed along the way. Joe sat at a mahogany desk with several laptops open in front of him. He looked up from the screens when we walked in. His face was unreadable.
“What did you find?” Garrick asked tersely.
“Navarro bailed Mr. Wade out of debt one week before you two met. One day after Knoah had dinner with the family at Le Chef in Orlando, which is one of Navarro’s businesses.” Joe turned to me. How did he know we were at Le Chef? That had been my precelebratory birthday dinner with the family. “Do you remember anything out of the ordinary from that night?”
Christopher and Tonya were involved with the mob? It made me sick to think they’d gotten themselves entangled in such a dirty web. I would have helped them financially if I’d known. But those thoughts were to be sorted through another time.
I thought about Joe’s question. Nothing had seemed out of place. At one point, I had felt uncomfortable, but I’d thought it was a figment of my imagination. “No, nothing I remember. We were all together the entire time. It was a family dinner to celebrate my birthday.”
“Okay, watch this and see if anything jogs your memory.”
The video queued up. It was grainy, but I saw us pull up in Sawyer’s car. My hair was up in a French twist. I rarely put my hair up like that as it showcased my birthmark, but I’d been up late the night before and took the easy way out. We’d left the car with the valet and met Cameron on the sidewalk. Soon, their parents had joined us. We greeted each other and headed inside. It was exactly as I remembered the night.
I shook my head. “Nothing unusual happened at dinner.”
“Okay, here’s the footage where you guys were leaving.”
More video played.
We walked out of the restaurant and handed the car ticket to the valet. The conversation continued as I remembered. We were talking about Cameron’s getaway with his girlfriend. Sawyer handed him some sticky notes with reminders of things he needed to check out. She wasn’t a fan of the girlfriend, but she supported her brother. The cars pulled up, and one by one, we left.
“Anything?” Joe asked.
“No, we were talking about Cameron taking his girlfriend away. Toward the end, Christopher and Tonya said Thanksgiving was at their place and invited me to come. That was it.”
Joe zoomed in on the video. A man with a mustache and full beard stood at the window, holding a phone up. It was pointed at our group.
Involuntarily, a shiver ran through me. “Navarro?”
“Yes. Keep watching.”
The video looped and played again. Cameron’s car came first. He left. Next their parents. Last were Sawyer and me. We got in the car, and Navarro came out of the restaurant. Sawyer and I stood talking across the hood of the car. I remembered the conversation. “We were talking about what ice cream place to go to. On the way home, we changed our minds and didn’t stop.”
Navarro came out of the restaurant to talk with one of the valets but angled himself so I was in his direct line of sight. Seeing him hadn’t registered with me at all. We left, and Navarro soon ended the conversation. Before he went inside, he looked directly at the camera as if he were looking straight at me. I scooted closer to Garrick’s side, feeling that sense of discomfort. Navarro had known he was being watched by someone.
I glanced up at Garrick, who was staring back at the screen with anger in his eyes. Finally, he spoke. “So, Navarro was already interested in Knoah prior to me or Kurt coming into the picture. What about Hastings?”
So Kurt had been wrong. Garrick had nothing to do with the mob taking an interest in me. Why is this happening? If I hadn’t found Garrick… would they have gotten me by now?
Joe switched to another laptop. “The next morning, Hastings was in the lobby when Knoah got to work.” The video played. Hastings sat at the table with his newspaper. I walked through the door, and he lowered the paper slightly. “He was there also at lunch, sitting at the table next to Knoah and Sawyer.”
The video played, showing what Joe had just described. He continued, “Before that, I have found nothing showing Hastings and Navarro interacting. Since the night of Le Chef, they have met at least four times I can find, which I assume means there’s more. But that’s not all I found.”
How in the world can there be more? Each time a new screen popped up, my life altered a little more.
“What else did you find?” Garrick’s voice had lost all warmth.
The smell of coffee from Joe’s cup made me wish I had some caffeine to tackle such an ugly subject.
“The day after you went to Dylan Reynold’s grave to find Knoah, Navarro reached out to Vivian Reynolds. They met at a coffee shop. I only have still shots from there. The place had closed-circuit security. The power light had burned out, so I assume Navarro thought he was off the grid.”
Pictures flashed across the screen. Navarro and Vivian at a table. A package being handed to her. And him leaving. “How long did they talk?” I asked.
“About three minutes.”
I closed my eyes and felt the final stab of betrayal. It hadn’t mattered that her son had loved me—that I’d been his wife or we’d created a child together. None of it mattered. All she cared about was money and getting revenge against me.
Beside me, Garrick hadn’t said a word, but fury emanated from him. “Do you have anything else?” The words were controlled steel. “What about videos of Kurt and Knoah popping up?”
Joe took a deep breath. “Since last night, one other attempt to upload a video was made. It was taken down within minutes. Someone doesn’t want Knoah in the spotlight is what I assume.”
Why? None of it made any sense. I was glad I hadn’t left my bubble last night, choosing to face it today, instead.
Garrick prompted. “What else?”
Another image flashed on the screen. A picture of a van on a street. Wait… was that my parents’ neighborhood? Joe confirmed it. “Hastings’ men are watching Knoah’s parents. Navarro’s have been spotted in the vicinity, as well. The day Knoah went home, it was Hastings’ men who followed her there.”
“What?” It came out as a near-screech. My heart beat faster. Mom. Dad. “Are they okay?” I grabbed Garrick’s arm. “I can’t lose them. I can’t.”
Another picture came on the screen, and I saw my parents’ house. My parents. Why are they watching my parents? I stared in horror at the screen, aware that Garrick was speaking, but I wasn’t processing the words. He gripped my shoulder and spun me around. “Knoah, listen to me. You’re not going to lose your parents. We have men watching their every move.”
This was insane. Men watching men who watched my parents. Why weren’t they able to tell me what they wanted? My stomach turned. “I want them out of this mess. Why does Navarro want me? Hastings? What could I have possibly done to have sparked all this?”
I saw utter frustration on Garrick’s face. More than anything, he wanted to figure this out. Keep me safe and all these dangers away. “I have no clue. It seems a little extreme to do all this if he wanted to ask you out. Somehow, you fit into something bigger he’s trying to accomplish.”
“Kurt?”
“You were never in any of the pictures with Kurt. And he spotted you at Le Chef.” That was right. I racked my brain to understand how all of this fit together. “Any pictures of Dylan that were shared never included you. You never changed your name. The hospital records never mentioned your marriage. The only thing on record was a license request that had been all but buried.”
“What?”
Joe leaned back. “Someone paid a hell of a lot of money to hide the fact that you and Dylan were married at one time. It took me a while to find your marriage license. Kurt doesn’t mention you when doing interviews.”
“I requested that. Even before I took off, we never associated the two of us together. It was easier.” Sometimes I felt like a coward for not facing the loss sooner. “Wait. It was Vivian, wasn’t it? She had the license hidden.”
Joe nodded. “Yes, she paid to have it done.”
Vivian. I couldn’t stand how much she hated me. It had bothered Dylan, too. So many times, I’d wished to be part of a family that wanted me because of me. It was tough dealing with a vindictive mother-in-law at every turn.
“What’s next?” I asked.
“I’m going to force Hastings to come to me.” Garrick’s menacing tone and thinned lips were a vow.