HEAT Vol. 3 (Master Chefs: HEAT Series #3) (2 page)

Chapter 2

“
I
’ll have to take a rain check on that offer,
but I do look forward to it.  I’m sure a meal cooked by Chef Errol King must be
quite memorable.”

“Lunch
with Errol King might be memorable, but I’ll give you a rain check for a good
beating if you don’t let her go,” Bobby snarled.  “And I’ll guarantee it will
be memorable.”

I
was sure I’d never seen him so angry before, but his anger did nothing to
lessen Rial’s grip on my arm.

“Nothing
doing,” Rial said.

“Listen
carefully, little brother,” Errol said in a tone that was menacing in its
calm.  “You might have heard of Errol King, the famed chef, but you’ll see
there’s more to me than just whipping up a gourmet meal if you don’t release
her unharmed.”

“Tsk,
tsk.  Such a shame our first family meeting has to be so full of angst and
discomfort.  I’d always fantasized a pleasant stroll through one of Paris’
great parks.  We’d reminisce and trade stories…”

“The
angst is through no fault of my own, brother.  No fault of my own.”  Errol took
a step closer.  “You brought all this on yourself.  I’ve tried to be civil by
inviting you to lunch.  I’ve offered you an olive branch, and you spat on it. 
You’re the one who insists on being an ass.  Now let her go.”

Errol
lunged at us, but Rial gave me a good shove directly into Errol’s arms.

“Take
her,” Rial shouted as he jumped back and ran.

“Wait,
get back here you weasel,” Bobby cried out as he ran after him, but Rial had
too great a head start.

“Business
awaits, but I’ll contact you, big brother,” Rial shot over his shoulder as he
ran in the opposite direction and headed to the back door.  “I look forward to
our little
tête a tête
.”  He disappeared through
the door and slammed it shut.

The
echo of the slammed door was the only sound in the warehouse.  For a long
moment we simply stood there stunned.  Errol shot a quizzical glance at Bobby
while Bobby looked straight at me.  His face was a collage of emotions; his
eyes sad, his brow confused and his lips hard with anger.

“What’s
all this craziness about?” he finally said, looking from me to Errol.  “Lilly’s
father.  Your brother.  And this engagement?”  He turned to me.  “How the hell
can you be engaged?”

I
didn’t know what to tell him.  I barely understood myself what had just
happened.  It would have made things so much easier if I’d known about this
supposed engagement before, but as it stood, I was just as stumped as he was.

“Don’t
let all this upset you guys,” Errol told us.  “We’ll figure it all out.  For
now, let’s get you guys home.  Once our heads have cleared a bit, we’ll find
out who that man really is and what he really knows about Lilly’s father.”

“If
my father’s alive…”  I barely dared consider the possibility.  It was so
outrageous, so unbelievable.  All those years orphaned…

“Don’t
get your hopes too high, Lilly.”  Errol led the way out of the warehouse. 
“This guy is probably some great con artist and he knows exactly what to say to
get to you.”

“Yeah,
like telling her she’s engaged to him,” Bobby said as he followed behind
Errol.  Though he walked at my side, he seemed distant, almost cold.

“Let’s
not freak out until we know more.”

“Freak
out,” Bobby muttered.  “How can I keep from freaking out when I just learned
that my girlfriend is engaged to some pompous jerk?”

We
reached Errol’s car and he unlocked the door with a quick click of his remote. 
Surprised to see Bobby go around to sit up front with Errol, I quietly slid
into the back seat.

The
ride to Errol’s building was long and tense.  No one said a word and with every
passing second I felt responsible for what had happened.  If I hadn’t accepted
to meet this man.  If I’d just hung up when he called.

I
glanced at Bobby’s profile and could feel his frustration, but I also had
trouble controlling my own.  Not only was I troubled by everything Rial had
said, but I felt Bobby was blaming me for what had happened.

As
for Errol, he seemed miles away and I wondered how he managed to get us all
home safely.  The dark cloud followed us as we got out of the car and rode up
the elevator.

“Errol!”
Taryn shouted the moment we entered the penthouse.  She hurried to the door to
greet us, obviously worried.  “Lilly!  I’m so glad you're all right.”

“Hey,
honey,” Errol pulled her into his arms and gave her a tender embrace.  It
almost seemed like he wanted to free his troubled soul through the warmth of
her arms.

“What
happened to you guys?”  Still holding onto Errol, she reached out to pull me
into the hug.  “You look like you’ve all been dragged through hell and back.”

“Lilly’s
engaged,” Bobby roared.  “Is that hell enough for you?”  Avoiding the threesome
hug, he stomped by and headed to the large window that overlooked the city. 
“And not to me!”  Muttering to himself, he paced back and forth.

Taryn
frowned at him and turned her attention to me while Errol headed to the
kitchen.  “Come sit down, honey.  You look exhausted.”

“Were
you in the middle of something, honey?”

“Good
old chicken pot pie.  The way your grandmother used to make it.”  Cupping my
cheeks in her hands, she said, “Are you okay?”

I
glanced at Bobby and wanted more than anything for him to hold and console me.

“Give
him a few minutes,” Taryn said.  “Sometimes there’s just no point talking to
him when he’s this upset.”

“I’m
not engaged,” I said, trying desperately to contain my tears.  “It’s all a big
misunderstanding.”

“I’m
sure she’s right,” Errol called from the kitchen.

“Okay,
can someone help me understand what’s going on?” Taryn pleaded.

Errol
poked his head in.  “It seems a long, lost family member of mine has suddenly
come out of the woodwork, and he seems to have a peculiar bond to Lilly.”

“Errol,
honey, if that’s your way of helping me understand what’s going on, you’re
doing a really lousy job.”

“Lilly’s
not an orphan,” Bobby blurted out.  “Her father’s alive.  Can you believe it?”

Taryn
glanced at me then shook her head in amazement.  “Really?”

I
could only shrug.

“Damn!”
Bobby let out.

“Bobby,
please calm down,” Taryn said.  “I just made some coffee.  Come sit down and
tell me what happened?”

“I’m
high octane enough as it is.”  He punched his fist into his palm then planted
his feet firmly to the floor as he turned his back to us and stared out the
window.

I
wanted to reach out to him and tell him everything would be okay, but I wasn’t
sure if things would ever be okay.

After
checking on things in the kitchen, Errol returned.  “Smells great.”

Her
eyes on her brother Taryn nodded and softly said to Errol, “What really
happened out there?  I’ve never seen him so agitated.”

“Apparently,
the guy who brought Lilly to the warehouse is my brother.”

“Hmm,
small world.  You never told me you had a brother.”

“Oh,
yeah,” Bobby shot out.  “And you should see this guy.  A real keeper.”  He
looked over his shoulder at Taryn and twirled his finger around his temple.

“That’s
because I didn’t know I had one,” Errol said, ignoring Bobby’s assessment of
his supposed brother.  “Nana never mentioned him.”

“Gee,”
Bobby groaned as he finally made his way to the living room.  He threw himself
into the recliner facing us.  “I wonder why.”

Taryn
shot him a reproachful glance, but brought her attention back to Errol as he
sat down beside her.  “What are you doing here if your brother is out there? 
Why aren’t you catching up, getting to know one another?”

“I
think we know enough about the guy,” Bobby answered.  “He’s nuts. 
Certifiable.”

Errol
looked at me, his eyes full of concern and questions.

“Okay,”
Taryn said.  “Enough with the coded glances and the irate tantrums.  Spell it
out for me, people.”

“The
bastard kidnapped Lilly,” Bobby said.

“He
retained her,” Errol corrected.

Bobby
glared at him and grunted.

“I
think he’s just confused,” I threw in.

“Confused
my ass,” Bobby said.  “He came back to Paris to claim you.  That much was
clear.  As far as he’s concerned, you’re his.”

For
the first time since this whole ordeal started, I saw the depth of pain in his
eyes.  Did he really think this engagement could be for real?  That Rial could
really hold me to it?

“Bobby,
there’s no reason to lash out at Lilly,” Taryn said.  “She has nothing to do
with what this guy expects of her.”  She turned to me suddenly.  “Do you?”

“No. 
Of course not.  I didn’t even know of his existence until a few hours ago.”

“I
should have tackled the guy when I had the chance,” Bobby said.  “I could have
pinned him to the floor and punched his lights out.”

Looking
down at my nervously twitching hands, I smiled, pleased to see how prepared
Bobby was to defend me.  Then again, I didn’t want him to get into any trouble
and was happy he’d restrained himself.

Taryn
looked at all of us.  “So, what are you going to do now?”

“I
don’t know.”  Errol was the first to answer.

“How
come we’re not going to the police with this?” Bobby said.

“That’s
not an option at this point.”  Errol turned to Taryn.  “This guy, Rial, he
knows things about my parents, things I want to know.  He refused my invitation
to have lunch with us and discuss all this like civilized human beings, but at
some point, I am going to have to talk to him.”

“Civilized
human beings,” Bobby grunted.  “You really think you could sit down like
civilized human beings with this guy?  After what he did to Lilly?”

Pressing
his hands together as if in prayer, Errol brought his chin atop his
fingertips.  “Yes.  Even after what he did to Lilly,” he finally said.

“Errol,”
Taryn said.  “If this man really did kidnap Lilly, do you really think it’s
safe to meet with him.  Maybe he’s deranged.  I mean, for all we know this
whole thing could be some fantastically fabricated story… maybe just to get… I
don’t know… attention, or money.  Who knows?”

“You
haven’t said much since getting in the car, Lilly” Errol said.  “Are you sure
you’re okay?”

I
nodded.  “I’m not sure what to make of all this.  Rial seemed so convinced we
were engaged.  It didn’t seem like a deranged fabrication.  Maybe my father
really did set this up all those years ago.”

Taryn
shook her head.  “That’s impossible.  And even if he did, you’re not obligated
to it.”

Errol
raked his fingers through his hair and looked at Taryn.

“What
is it?” she asked.

“There’s
one last part of the conversation that we haven’t mentioned yet.”

Taryn
waited.

“Lilly’s
father killed Errol’s parents,” Bobby blurted out.

“Bobby,”
I scolded.

“What? 
Let’s stop dilly dallying and get to the bottom of this.  That lunatic accused
your father of murder.”  Bobby looked pointedly at Errol.  “Still want that
luncheon with him?”

“Okay,
hold on a minute,” Taryn said, trying to smooth things over.  She looked at
Errol.  “Is there really a possibility this guy could be your brother?  I mean
is there any family resemblance, or what?”

Errol
grinned.  “There’s a resemblance all right.  I mean he’s a little scruffy and a
little rough around the edges, but he’s definitely as younger version me.”

“I
find that hard to believe.”  Taryn patted Errol’s cheek with affection.  “There
can be only one face like yours.”  She kissed him and for a moment it seemed
like they had forgotten that Bobby and I were still there.

“Yoo-hoo,”
Bobby called out.

Grinning,
the pair pulled away from each other, but it was clear they were deeply
affected by the embrace.

Errol
shook it off.  “Like I was saying… he looks like me.”

“I’ll
believe that when I see it.”  Taryn laughed.

Bobby
stood and looked at me.  “Can I talk to you a second… in private?”

I
stood and followed him out onto the terrace.  I’d barely closed the door behind
me that he was all over me, his arms holding me tight while he dropped tender
kisses all over my face.

At
first I giggled, tickled by the kisses and his sudden reaction, but when he
cupped my cheeks and kissed me with fiery passion, my giggles were replaced
with groans of hunger and desire.

“I
thought you were mad at me,” I said when he pulled away.

“Never. 
I’m sorry I acted like a jerk, getting mad when I should have been taking care
of you.”  His eyes were brilliant with tears.  “When I saw him, holding you
against your will… man, it was like a knife in the gut.  I was so afraid of
what he’d do to you.  And then with that whole engagement business.”  He gave
me a quick, wet kiss and looked at me.  “I love you.  I want you for life.  The
thought of this guy…”

“I
love you, too, Bobby, and you're the one I want for life.  I can’t imagine
being chained to a man like Rial.”

“Really? 
A tall, handsome duplicate of the celebrated Errol King?  Any girl would go crazy
for the chance.”

“Is
that what this is all about?  You think I could really be attracted to this
Rial?  That I would prefer him over you?”

“Well.” 
He shrugged.

“It’s
you I love, and don’t you forget it.”

I
gently brought my lips over his pout.  It wasn’t a fiery kiss like moments
before, but a tender kiss filled with love and the promise of our lives
together.  I wanted to reassure him as much as myself that things would be
okay.  “Together we’ll figure out what to do.  We’ll find a way to break the engagement,
we’ll go to court.  And if all fails, we’ll run away together.  Anything, so
long as we’re together.”