A Lover's Vow (16 page)

That automatically made him think of Jules. Why was she back in his mind? Hadn't he just said she was out of his system? “I have work to do,” he said, standing to his feet. “It was nice to take a few days off, but I need to catch up on some things.”

Before he reached the door, Jace asked, “Did you notice Stonewall on your trip?”

Dalton glanced over his shoulder and couldn't help but smile. “He was there but stayed inconspicuous as much as possible, which I appreciated.”

Jules had appreciated it, as well. The man was the only one who knew their secret. Well, it really wasn't a secret, just no one else's damned business. There was a difference. “See you later, Jace.”

Twenty-One

J
ules glanced across her desk at Manning and smiled. “You've been busy.”

Manning leaned back in his chair. “Just doing what you're paying me for.”

They both knew that was a lie. He was an over-achiever. When you gave Manning an assignment, he always went above and beyond. She looked at the stack of files on her desk. “I need to begin reading.”

“And I need to get out of here in a few hours. Dad has a doctor's appointment today.”

She lifted a brow. “He's okay?”

Manning smiled. “Yes, he's doing great. This is just a routine checkup. Getting them to move from Boston was the best thing I could have done.”

Jules agreed. Making the decision to move to Charlottesville from Boston had been hard on Manning, because that meant leaving his parents behind, with the responsibility falling on the shoulders of his younger sister and older brother. He'd soon discovered his frequent trips back home hadn't been enough, and when he saw the opportunity to make his parents' dream of one day owning a restaurant a reality, he made it happen. Now the senior Carmichaels were happy and so were Manning and his siblings. His sister, Deborah, had even relocated to Charlottesville and was working on her master's degree at the University of Virginia.

Two hours later, Jules stood to stretch her muscles, specifically to get the kink out of her neck. It was her opinion that the police officer that'd been called to the scene had done a terrible job recording details. The impact of Imerson's hitting that utility pole had been so great that he'd been killed instantly. One thing she found interesting was the officer's notation of there being two sets of tire tracks at one point. That could have meant a couple of things. Either someone had tried dodging Imerson on the road if he'd been driving erratically, or Imerson might have been trying to flee from the second car and lost control of his vehicle. Of course, for now, the latter was just a theory.

Another thing she found interesting is that no one had tested Imerson's blood-alcohol content. It had been the officer's opinion that testing was unnecessary since the victim's body reeked of alcohol and a half-empty bottle had been found open on the front seat of the car. It was merely speculation on Jules's part but for her, the entire scene was too tidy. What if someone had staged things to appear as if Imerson had been drinking heavily? According to the police report, an unidentified caller had reported the accident but hadn't stuck around until the police arrived. She found that interesting, too. As far as the police were concerned, the case was pretty cut-and-dried, so there had been no investigation into the anonymous caller. In that case, why had the police report been sealed? The only reason that made sense was to hide the number of red flags that should have been investigated more.

She refilled her coffee cup and glanced out the window. She couldn't help but take a moment to daydream, remembering her time last week in Miami. The state attorney's office had called earlier that day to let her know the jury had found Marcos Rodrigo guilty. As far as she was concerned, there was no other verdict that could have been delivered. The prosecution had presented a fantastic case, but when the mother, Carla Rodrigo, had taken the stand with her heart-wrenching testimony, that had pretty much nailed it.

Jules went back to her desk and sat down. She wished those were the only thoughts she had about Miami, but they weren't. She couldn't forget the days and nights she had spent with Dalton. Once they had finally gotten out of bed that first morning and showered, she was able to see that he didn't have just a hotel-room suite like she had. The man had the penthouse that could have held at least three suites the size of hers comfortably with room to spare. Needless to say, that's where she had spent most of her days and nights. There was no need to let all that space go to waste. It had been his suggestion, and she saw no reason not to go along with it.

Pretending had been nice. It had given them a chance to put out of their minds their dislike for each other and concentrate on satisfying their bodies' hunger. And that hunger had bordered on being downright greedy. Ravenous. To the point where they had made quickies a very fashionable pastime. She had to hand it to him; the man definitely knew how to please a woman between the sheets. Although she still didn't care for arrogant men, at least he could back up the attitude with skill.

Jules took another sip of her coffee, consumed in her memories. Hot. Racy. Sexy. She figured it wouldn't hurt to give in to them a few minutes longer, and she leaned back in her chair. Not only had her nights been spectacular, but her days with Dalton on the beach had been pretty fantastic, as well.

She wondered what he was doing now. More than likely he had returned to the office today as she had. And...more than likely he had moved on...like she should be doing. They had agreed that Miami was not to be repeated, and she had no reason to think he wouldn't keep his end of the deal, like she intended to keep hers.

But still, the memories were nice, and nothing was wrong with indulging in them.

* * *

“I'm glad we could all get together and do lunch,” Sedrick Timmons said, smiling over at Shiloh and Caden. “My hours are crazy at the hospital.”

“I can imagine,” Caden replied, taking a sip of his wine and studying his brother-in-law, the heart specialist.

He would admit that he had been surprised when Shiloh mentioned her brother's invitation to lunch today. Growing up, Sedrick had been Jace's best friend, just like Shiloh had been his. Yet when Shiloh had chosen to defy her father's orders, Sedrick had not.

In fact, Jace admitted to not even recognizing Sedrick at first, when he'd arrived at the hospital after their grandfather's heart attack. And then, only a couple of months ago, Caden could clearly remember attending the open house for Shiloh's wine boutique and the discomfort of Sedrick staring him down with blatant dislike and hostility in his eyes.

But, to be fair and to give the man credit, the animosity could have stemmed from the fact that Sedrick hadn't wanted Shiloh to get back with him after what he'd done all those years ago, which Caden would admit had been shitty. But he and Shiloh had worked out their differences and put the past behind them. Caden hoped this invitation meant Sedrick was ready to do the same.

“Before the waitress comes back with our meal, there are a few things I need to clear the air about, Caden. And an apology to you tops the list.” Sedrick paused a moment. “As you know, I was upset by the way you treated Shiloh when you were to be married the first time, but the two of you have worked things out and are finally happily married. All I have to do is look at my sister to see how happy she is, and if she's happy, then I'm happy.”

“And I am happy, Sedrick,” Shiloh said, taking Caden's hand. “I couldn't be happier.”

“I can tell,” Cassie Mayfield, Sedrick's girlfriend, said, with a huge grin on her face. “You're practically glowing.”

“Thank you,” Shiloh said, smiling.

“Your apology is accepted, Sedrick. And I promise to take care of Shiloh, and to always make her happy.”

“That's all a big brother can ask.”

The conversation then went to other areas until the waitress brought their food. The atmosphere was pleasant, but although Caden had accepted Sedrick's apology, there was something that still bothered him about that night at Shiloh's grand opening. He could understand Sedrick's hostility toward him somewhat, but what was up with the Greene family? Namely Michael Greene, his wife, Yolanda, and their son, Ivan, who was currently running for mayor. Granted, at the time, Caden hadn't known about his mother's affair with Mr. Greene, but even if he'd known, why would the family hold animosity toward him for what his mother and Michael Greene had done? Hell, he'd only been fourteen at the time. Had the hostility he'd seen in their eyes had anything to do with the affair, or was it something else altogether?

“How's your father doing?”

Caden lifted a brow and glanced over at Sedrick, surprised he'd asked. “Dad is fine. We go see him fairly regularly.”

“That's good. I understand he's doing great things while in jail.”

Honestly, his father's imprisonment was a topic he didn't want to discuss with Sedrick. His bitterness wasn't as deep as Dalton's, but he hadn't yet let go of the way the Timmonses had treated them when their father went to prison. “That might be true, but he doesn't belong in prison.”

“Oh.”

Caden heard doubt in that
Oh
. “And we plan to hire someone to prove his innocence.” Sedrick nodded, and for a brief moment, Caden thought he saw an odd expression cross Sedrick's features.

Caden turned to his meal, convinced he'd just imagined it.

* * *

Dalton reached for his cell phone when it rang. He glanced at it quickly, not recognizing the number, but that didn't mean anything. “Dalton Granger.”

“Mr. Granger. This is—”

“I know who this is,” Dalton cut in, recognizing the voice. “Percy, I thought we agreed that you would drop the ‘Mr. Granger,'” he said, leaning back in his chair.

“It's hard. You own the company.”

“My
family
owns the company. How are things working out for you in the systems and technology department?”

He and Percy Johnson had attended the same high school, and although they hadn't been what one would consider close friends, they had played on the same football teams since middle school. Percy had been a damn good quarterback in high school and had gotten a scholarship to attend South Carolina University. He surprised everyone and turned it down when his girlfriend Tina got pregnant. He'd done the honorable thing by staying here and getting married.

Dalton had run into Percy waiting on tables in a nightclub he often frequented, the same club where he'd met Jules the first time. He had been holding a conversation with Percy, catching up on old times, when Percy mentioned he had recently gotten a degree in computer technology, graduating at the top of his class, but was having a hard time finding a job. Percy had been working during the days at Cullum Meat Plant as a forklift operator and moonlighting at night as a waiter.

The one thing Dalton would never forget was that Percy had been one of the few kids at school who hadn't given him a rough time about his dad being in prison. In fact, Percy told him that he thought Dalton's father was innocent. That had meant a lot to Dalton at the time and was something he would never forget. That was the main reason he'd given Percy a job at Granger Aeronautics, right there on the spot. That had been a few months ago and, from what he heard, Percy was a hard worker and an asset to the company.

“Things are just wonderful, Mr....” Percy cleared his throat. “I mean, Dalton.”

Dalton shook his head. “Let's agree that it's okay for you to call me Mr. Granger while at work if that makes you comfortable. But otherwise, it's Dalton.”

“That's a deal.” There was a moment's hesitation before Percy said, “I'm sitting in the parking lot, and so I guess officially I'm not at work.” He paused. “Dalton, the reason I called is because I noticed something unusual. I just got this job, and I don't want to be a snitch or anything but...”

Dalton sat up straight in his chair. “You noticed what?”

“A program on one of the computers that shouldn't be there.”

How could there be a program on a Granger Aeronautics computer that shouldn't be there? “You sure?” Dalton asked.

“Positive. Unless you are familiar with this type of stealth program, you wouldn't be able to detect it.”

“But you can?”

“Yes. I might have just gotten my degree last year, but I've been messing around with computers for years. Besides that, I used to work for a company that did that sort of thing, legally, to monitor their employees. This one is more high-tech, and it's not monitoring anyone. It's taking information from somewhere in the building.”

“Have you mentioned this to anyone else, Percy?”

“No.”

“Good. Let's meet tonight, away from the office, and talk more about this. What about meeting at that nightclub where you used to work?”

“That's a good place. Percy Jr. has a football game after school, so would seven o'clock be okay with you?”

“Seven is fine. I'll see you then.”

When he clicked off the phone, Dalton thought about getting security involved but then changed his mind. Security hadn't detected the spy devices implanted in Shana's office earlier in the year. Not to mention that someone had tried hacking into her computer around the same time, and it had been someone from within the building. That's one of the reasons Jace had asked him to supervise security with the company and, as far as Dalton knew, everyone was doing their job and things were running well. But was there someone in the department who was compromising things? Someone with the ability to undermine his entire team of technical experts? He couldn't help but remember that Vidal Duncan had been able to embezzle money from the company for years without being detected, so Dalton knew such a thing was possible. Besides that, he mustn't forget that the person who'd tried hacking into Shana's computer had never been identified. It was assumed it was one of the employees who had been arrested. What if it wasn't, and what if the person was still working for Granger? The one benefit to working for the USN was knowing that anything was possible and that new technology, both good and bad, was being created every day.

He picked up the phone to call Jace and then put it down. Before taking the matter to Jace and Caden, he needed to first determine just what kind of program Percy had detected. He checked his watch and figured he had enough work to get through until his meeting at seven.

* * *