Mimi's Mix - A Book From Each Series! Hot Suspense & Active Spirits! (16 page)

Pedro piped up and added, “There’s a garden for me to play, and lots of grass. And an old man who will maybe be my friend.”

“If you behave like a good boy.” His mother smoothed his curls.

“I will be the best good boy,
Mamá
. I promise.”

Sadie fell in love with the little man all over again. She felt the muscles in her throat tighten from hearing the happiness in his voice. Swallowing became difficult, and she had to speak low so as not to wake the now sleeping baby.

“He’ll love you, kiddo. He won’t be able to help himself.”

Bea nodded and agreed. “I just met you, and already you’re my hero.” She laughed when Pedro grinned and hid his face against his mother’s neck. Then she turned to Sadie. “That look suits you, my love.”

Sadie backed away. “Don’t get any ideas.” Her touchiness belied her true feelings. Watching the tiny face between the folds of the soft, blue, well-worn blanket had instigated the most unique flow of emotions she’d ever experienced.

Visions of a different baby, Liam’s baby, with his features and his dimples, evoked tingles of pleasure that started in her tummy and strangely made her knees feel weak.

***

While driving, Liam glanced into the rearview mirror and teased Bea in the back seat. “Thank you for your kindness tonight, Miss Nightingale. It was really appreciated. The Ruiz family has no money, and they fear doctors since they’re here illegally. I hoped your nursing knowledge would be enough to help them.”

Bea, surrounded by her black bag and her huge purse, smiled. “Teresa’s basically healthy and seems well-cared for. So is their little boy. Therefore I knew they weren’t being neglected. There had to be another reason for the baby’s symptoms.”

“They’re good people.”

“As you guaranteed earlier. It’s not Isobela’s fault that her milk hasn’t enough sustenance to nourish the baby. I’m glad you explained how stressful things have been for them lately. It did help me in my prognosis. Isobela needs to sleep and let her body become stronger. Birthing is traumatic; it takes a lot out of a female’s constitution.”

His voice droll, Liam added, “Not so easy on the old man, either.”

Bea chuckled in sympathy. While the men had gone to get the formula, Isobela had shared her experience with the women about Teresa’s birth. In fact they’d had a bit of a giggle after listening to her graphic details.

“Once they get settled in their new home, and she has the benefit of some good wholesome food, she’ll be just fine. Speaking of good food, what time do you want me and the girls to pick you up tomorrow, Sadie?”

Sadie turned to look into the back seat. “Why? Where are we going?” She knew her voice came out sharper than she’d intended, but being shocked out of her fantasy world of picking up with Liam from where they’d left off earlier, she hadn’t taken the time to filter her attitude.

“To the lake, remember? You promised! We want to get an early start. Is that a problem for you? I’ve got all the food and necessities organized, so all you need to do is bring a swimsuit and a change of clothes.”

“Aw, Mom. I totally forgot, and I—”

“Uh-huh, Sadie. You don’t get to back out at this late date. We’ve all been looking forward so much to having family time. The girls downloaded two of the top romantic comedies, I baked and cooked all your favorites, and we’ve loaded up on all the good junk food. It’ll be a blast, sweetheart.”

“Sounds wonderful! Don’t know how you can refuse.” Liam grinned wickedly in her direction, and under cover of darkness, she pinched his side. Hard! Heard the expletive and felt some satisfaction.
Turncoat
!

They pulled up in front of the house, and Bea leaned over the seat to give Sadie an awkward hug. She squeezed Liam’s shoulder in farewell and opened the car door. Before she could step out, Liam had made his way to her side and leaned in to offer his hand.

“You are one sweet man, Liam. If I weren’t old enough to be your mother, I’d lasso and corral you.”

“Hey, I like older women.” He kept her hand as he led her up the front walk, her bags tucked safely under his free arm.

Once they approached the door, Bea passed him a card and whispered in a voice only he could hear, “Here’s the address and phone number of where we’ll be for the next two days. If you were to show up Sunday morning to rescue Sadie before she loses her mind, I know she’d be thankful. Never underestimate how far a crazed girl might be willing to go in payment for such a sensitive deed, my lad.”

“The heck with Sadie. How about you and me getting it on? You’re just my kind of chick.”

Sadie flinched at the loudness of her mother’s bellowing laughter and shook her head when she heard Liam join in. One was just as bad as the other. But the warm glow that started in her body couldn’t be stopped, and so she let it fill her and erase the pissy feeling she’d gotten when her mother had reminded her of her earlier promise.

Visions of spending the night with Liam wilted and died. Her hands clenched as she crossed her legs and tightened the throbbing areas in her lower half that had dared to anticipate a glorious night of celebrating her newly awakened libido.

Chapter Eighteen

After dropping Sadie at her house with a light embrace and a friendly kind of kiss, Liam took his unsatisfied body, still aching from the earlier disappointments, and escaped temptation as fast as he could without looking too much like an asshole.

Before Bea had warned Sadie of their early-morning plans, he’d envisioned them returning to her place and spending the night wrapped around each other.

But family couldn’t and shouldn’t be ignored. The thought of coming between Sadie and her mother and sisters wasn’t on the table. Look at his relationship with his own father. Growing up he never knew whom he hated worse. The shrew of a mother who could turn from a sweetheart to a bitch at the drop of a hat, or the man who let her use him as her personal whipping boy.

To this day he was screwed up because of these sentiments. Having already sensed elements of unease when Sadie passed time with her family, he also understood that she loved them dearly and would never hurt them. He envied her that kind of relationship and would honor it.

Enough! Out from under her spell, he could think more clearly. He knew he needed to stop fixating about a girl he had no right to care for! Ruiz’s call had come at a fortuitous moment. And he knew just who to thank for that happening.

Earlier, while shopping, the two men had talked and Ruiz had explained how Liam’s name had come to his mind as if sent from some force that wouldn’t let up until he’d placed the call. No doubt about it—Johnny-come-lately working his magic. Guess he owed him his thanks. With his life in such a mess, Liam knew he’d best concentrate on how the hell he’d be able to once again have a full night’s sleep.

Too bad tonight wasn’t the night. Wide awake, he pulled to the side of the road and reached for the iPad he carried in a special pouch in his car. Scrolling through the Internet, he did a search on the Bradford brothers. In no time at all, he had a fairly good idea of the scope of these two men, where they lived, their business background and associates.

Since he knew there’d be no rest for him that night, he decided to do a drive-by and survey their fancy pet store where they sold a huge variety of dog breeds. Advertised as the best, he’d noticed the quality of the photographs on their distinctive website. Those had to have been taken by a professional. In fact, the whole enterprise looked to be uniquely expensive.

Certain the culprits would never keep the newly stolen dogs in so inappropriate a place, nonetheless he felt it imperative to get a good feel for what he and Sadie were up against.

The night warranted putting the top down and he drove along happily, letting the warm breeze cool the heat still rampaging inside his body. As he passed near the Potomac River, he spotted the glorious Lincoln Memorial ablaze with lights, glowing as a reminder that his country had fought and won the battle for freedom and Independence. Just like the battles he fought with his conscience every night…
Hey, man! Don’t go there!

He shook off the waiting depression and realized it had been easier. With so much on his mind, he hadn’t had time to dwell and smolder in all that pain. Maybe the shrink was right.

No! Staying busy helped, but a man had to relax sooner or later. And if every time he closed his eyes he saw bloodshed and horror, then it wasn’t getting better.

The honking behind hurled him from the sickening memories and made him pay attention to his driving.

The ostentatious building that housed the pet store stood amongst other buildings full of designer-like commodities—a fancy shoe store on one side and a jewelry boutique on the other.

Leaving the car, Liam made his way over to glance into the window, not surprised to see that fancy wooden blinds closed off the view of the inside. He wandered over to the other side of the building and noticed there was a narrow walkway that led to the back. Glancing each way first to see if anyone paid attention, he skulked forward and made his way under a lit window.

High up on the brick wall, the ledge poked out some three or four inches, enough that he could use it to chin up in order to briefly see inside.

Three men sat around a luxurious office of brown leather, crystal artifacts, and dark wooden bookshelves. They all held drinks and a tray with a decanter sat on the low table in front of them.

Anchoring himself with one arm, Liam reached for his cell phone and, using the video feature, panned the room and then zeroed in on all three men. By this time his muscles were screaming.

Liam wished he could read lips. Not a sound came through the double-paned glass, so he had no idea what was being discussed. From the celebratory way they’d clinked glasses, he had no doubt these three dudes were happy about something. And he couldn’t help but wonder if the missing dogs had anything to do with their contentment.

Just before he lowered himself, the three stood up and shook hands. Back on his feet, he meandered to the sidewalk, trying to look inconspicuous, and then headed for his convertible. To put the top up took only a few seconds but gave him a reason for being parked there, and the men who all left the store together didn’t even look his way.

Head lowered, he snuck glances and saw that two of the men stood side by side as if a team, while the other backed away first. He now knew which ones were the Bradford brothers. Dressed in expensive suits with ties to match their shirts, carrying brimming briefcases, they stood shoulder to shoulder, the same height. And both were partially bald, slim built, and wore glasses.

Having just read their resumes, he knew they lived on the same property, in separate houses. Talk about togetherness. How ridiculous!

Their Lincoln SUV wasn’t hard to follow, since they had chosen white with all the bells and whistles. Then again, the cheesy lit-up license plate reading I “heart” Dogs would have kept him on track anyway.

Sure enough, they drove to their property, where the gate swung open to let them enter. Liam just kept driving along and didn’t pull up until a block later. He’d done everything he could tonight. If he got the video to Stan early in the morning, before the scheduled move for the Ruiz family, he hoped the identity of the third man might give some clues to where Giorgio and the other missing pets were being kept.

If nothing else, at least he’d tried to do something rather than just accept. There was so much going on in his life right now that he had no choice but to put up with, and damned if it wasn’t making him sick inside. This crisis had chosen him, and he had no intentions of backing away.

Seriously, how many times can a man back away?

Before he breaks…

Chapter Nineteen

Sadie plodded around her place, dreading the coming trip. Knowing there wasn’t a damn thing she could do to stop it from happening, she chose her least favorite swimsuit, a sexy, revealing number she knew would please her mother, and shoved it into her backpack. Then she whipped out a cute little sundress she’d gotten for her last birthday, one she’d never have bought herself but had to admit fit perfectly, and rolled it up to add to the rest. She grabbed the matching cardigan she’d worn a few days earlier and rolled it up, also.

Her plush towel, flip-flops, suntan lotion, and makeup bag were retrieved, and pretty soon she stood ready. Not willing, but ready. A check to her cell phone, hoping a text awaited her, had her pushing down the disappointment when the screen came up blank. She understood Liam had a lot to do this morning. They were moving Angelo and the family, and she shouldn’t expect any calls or messages. She knew that in her head, but her stupid heart wasn’t as reasonable.

The honking, loud and typical, made her run to the door. Trust her mother to forget that people liked to sleep in on the weekends.

“Hi, baby. Are you ready for a great time?” Bea’s floppy hat shielded her eyes and had Sadie wondering if she could even see the road. Next to her mother, the shotgun seat waited—empty. Sadie knew her other two sisters, both of whom were grinning impudently from the back with an ecstatic, tail-waving Susie nestled between them, were fully aware of the unwanted honor of sitting in the front. The foolish woman collected tickets for traffic violations without any qualms whatsoever. And on the two-hour drive they were sure to be stopped at least once.

Knowing there was no escape, Sadie stuffed her backpack as best she could into the jam-packed trunk and then settled into the low front seat. Desultory topics floated around her, of course in the screamy tones she was used to, but she let their voices lull her into a delicious daydream where Liam had actually stayed with her the night before. Their banter finally broke into her trance and made her aware of her surroundings.

Warmth from the sun settled her nerves, and she started to look forward to their time at Lake Anna. Balmy weather and beautiful scenery helped soothe, also. Reminiscences of their cozy cabin, which had made many of the summers worth living in her youth, had her anticipation growing. Relaxing against the leather seat, she breathed in the fragrance of various perfumes that radiated around the happy females of her zany family.