Mastered by His Touch-Complete Box Set (20 page)

But soon he pulls out and collapses next to me. I lean over to kiss him, but realize I'm still bound.

He laughs, climbs over me, and unties me.

I fall back into his arms, motionless.

Chapter 8

I sneaked under the big window and over to the garden where the older boy was digging. Bags of soil and a row of plants sat on a cart near him. I hid behind the large bush. I liked it here. My brother and sister could never find me when I hid here. Nobody could see me.

I was going to jump out and say hi to the boy but I saw the man with the cigar coming. I crouched down.

The man with the cigar stopped near the boy.

"Is everything in place?" said the boy.

"Yes, he's going for it," said the man with the cigar. "We've got him right where we want him. The locket will be in our hands soon."

"Why does he want to meet you out in the water?"

"I don't know. He feels safer out there, away from prying eyes. It's fine with me. Valentina and I will take the catamaran out and show him the case of money."

"Why would he agree to this?"

"Because he needs the cash now. And it's too hard for him to get back to the mine to get more gold. He can't do it with the wife and kids. Don't worry, it will all work out. Just continue working and listening."

"I don't know. I don't like the fact he wants to meet you at sea."

I coughed.

They both turned and looked at the bush behind which I hid.

"Who's back there?" said the boy. "Kiri, is that you?"

I stuck my head out from behind the bush. The man with the cigar looked furious.

"It's okay, Kiri," said the boy. "You can come out."

"She heard us!" said the man with the cigar. "That's not good. I'm not supposed to know you."

"Don't worry. Little Kiri here is okay. She couldn't even understand what we said. She's just a little girl."

The boy patted me on the head.

The man with the cigar glared at me like he wanted to kill me.

I gasped as my eyes swung open. Somebody was talking. I was still buried in Caden's chest. The world slowly formed its reality around me.

"... tonight mostly cloudy with highs in the 40s, with a possible shower west of 495..."

What's that voice?

I opened my eyes, still buried in Caden's chest. I turned to the radio that read 6:00 AM by the dresser and shut it off, returning to my nook.

Shit, I had another flashback. The man with the cigar was Sebastian. Who was in the pictures wearing the Panama hat and flowered shirt that Agent Henderson showed me. He looks much older now.

He spoke with Caden who had been... what?... a landscaper? He was planting plants.

And did I have a brother and sister?

That's it! Today I'm going to get answers! I'm going to question Caden and face the truth of what happened back there, no matter how painful it might be! I've got to know, so I can move on.

With Caden at my side, I can face anything.

"Good morning," said Caden as he leaned down and kissed my forehead.

"Good morning yourself," I said as I looked up at him. He leaned down and kissed me on the lips.

"Wow," I said.

"Wow what?" he said.

"Just wow. Last night, wow. This, wow."

He began to get up, but I yanked on his shoulder to keep him in place.

"Are we really going to get up?" I said.

"We slept for nine hours," he said. "And today is going to be another long day. I told the FBI they could come up and talk to you at 7:30. You shower while I make breakfast."

He threw on a pair of shorts and left the room.

I rose groggily, looking around me at the mess we made. We're getting very good at making a mess, aren't we?

I showered and picked out a textured sleeveless dress by Cynthia Steffe. There was a green one there I liked better, but I'm sick of green. Not to mention it's QV Bank's signature color.

QV Bank! Shit, I have to go back there today!

Yes, at some point today I'm going to have to walk into my old life. Troy. Barbara. Ken. It feels like a lifetime ago since I was there.

I looked at the clock in the frilly girlie bedroom in which I never slept. 7:01 AM. Twenty-nine minutes until the FBI.

Shit, I'm going to have to go over what I'm going to say with Caden before they get here!

I was about to open the door to the hallway when I thought to check my Android.

There were so many unread messages on my phone that I couldn't possibly check all of them.

But one made me gasp. It was from a number I didn't recognize but whoever it was had sent me a text every five minutes since 4:00 AM today. Each one had the same message:

Kiri, your life is in danger. This is an emergency. Call me NOW! Agent Henderson.

The same message thirty-seven times in the last three hours.

I felt a chill as I remembered the icy Agent Henderson with his red crew-cut. If I had to go by instinct alone, I would swear he's the real criminal here.

But that's ridiculous. I saw his ID. He's legit.

Shit, he's probably going to be the FBI agent who comes up here to talk to me this morning! I seriously don't want to see him.

The smell of coffee and French toast hit me from the other side of the door.

No, I'm not going to pay any attention to the texts from Agent Henderson. I trust Caden.

But now I'm curious. What does he mean by "emergency?" Is somebody hurt?

Oh, what the hell?

I hit the Call icon and put the phone to my ear. I held my breath. It rang twice before he picked up.

"Kiri!" he said.

"What do you want?" I said.

"Kiri, you've got to get out of there!"

"How do you know where I am?" I said.

"I'm outside. We're watching the building. But Kiri, you need to know something. There are two men downstairs in the lobby who are going to tell you that they are FBI agents. They are not. They are imposters. They will have fake IDs that look one-hundred percent real."

"What the fuck are you talking about, Henderson?"

Ooooh, I'm getting bold, aren't I?

"Kiri, you are in danger. Caden is working with Sebastian and Valentina, the people in the pictures I showed you. He is conning you. Your life is in danger."

"Look, Agent Henderson, I appreciate your concern. But to be quite honest, I'm not sure if I trust you. If you're the FBI, why don't you just raid this building and arrest the imposters? You have the power to do that. I'm beginning to think maybe
you're
the fraud."

There was a long pause on the other end.

"Because we can't jeopardize the investigation. We need to find out what Caden Storm is up to. Kiri, it's important that you do not tell the imposters that you met me at QV Bank. It's imperative! If you tell them, they may kill you."

"Caden wouldn't let that happen."

"Kiri, Caden Storm is in on it! He's manipulating you! I wanted to go in and get you out but my department head isn't concerned about you, only the investigation. I'm breaking the rules by calling you. I don't want you to get hurt or worse, killed."

No, this is bullshit.

Isn't it?

I felt a stab of fear. I hadn't felt fear anywhere near Caden Storm yet, not even when I was bound to his bed.

Shit. Why am I shaking?

"Kiri!" shouted Caden from the kitchen. "Breakfast is ready. The FBI will be here soon!"

My breathing went rapid and just like yesterday morning at almost the same time, I felt the need to escape.

No, Kiri. Hold on a minute. Your gut tells you Caden Storm is good. Your gut also tells you that Agent Henderson is evil. Are you just going to take Agent Henderson at his word? Or are you going to trust the man who saved your life? What happened to your decision to trust him? Where's your backbone?

"Agent Henderson," I said, "no offense, but I don't believe you."

There was another long pause.

During the pause, I got control of my breathing. The fear passed. No, I refuse to believe Caden is dangerous to me.

"Kiri," said Agent Henderson. "You remember the pictures I showed you of the man and the woman with Caden?"

Sebastian and Valentina, Caden's mentors from many years ago. The man with the cigar in my flashback just an hour ago.

"Yes," I said, wondering what bullshit he was going to throw at me now.

"Kiri, let's go!" shouted Caden.

"Just a minute!" I shouted through the door.

"Kiri, do you remember Sebastian and Valentina?"

That's odd. Caden asked me the very same thing.

"No," I said, not wanting to share my flashback from this morning.

"Yes you do," he said.

How does Agent Henderson know this?

The stab of fear returned full force. My mouth went dry and I started to shake.

"I do?" I said.

"Yes," said Agent Henderson. "I hate to have to tell you like this, Kiri, but Sebastian and Valentina murdered your parents and you saw it."

The room collapsed in on me.

"You deceived me!" shouted the man with the cigar as he leaped toward my father. "You thought you could take my money and give me this?!"

He slammed a locket down onto the deck of the yacht and pulled out a small gun. His face was very red and he was breathing hard.

"Sebastian, don't!" shouted the tall pretty woman in the flowered dress.

"No!" shouted my mother as she leaped in front of my father.

The gun fired.

Several times.

I stayed in the corner of the galley where I was hiding, shut my eyes, and put my hands over my ears.