Caught Up (Indigo Vibe) (14 page)

He took out a long velvet box and examined the emerald bracelet inside. Anna would love the bracelet he’d bought for her. Unlike Harriet, she was truly appreciative.

“Daddy!”

Rosa’s terrified scream sent Ernesto into virtual cardiac arrest. Harriet’s cries for help followed almost simultaneously. The bracelet and jewelry box fell to the floor as he ran for his baby.

“Daddy!” She continued calling for him between loud crying fits.

The hallway seemed to lengthen with his every stride, turning his home into the house of horrors. What if one of the cartel’s rivals put a hit out on his baby like they’d done David’s son? How had they found out who he was? Speaking of security, where was his? How had anyone gotten close enough to hurt his Rosa? He’d never imagined he could experience more fear than when Mac held a gun to the base of his head. Now he was living it. He chastised himself for considering allowing Rosa into the drug world.

“
Papi
!”

“I’m coming, baby!” He couldn’t move fast enough. Rounding the corner, he looked over the balcony. Harriet was crouched over Rosa who was lying on the marble floor crying. He missed more steps than he hit on his way to his baby. “What happened?”

Rosa swiped the tears out of her eyes, then reached her hand out to him.

Harriet’s whole body quaked. “Sh-she fell. She fell!”

Thinking she’d sprained an ankle, he put his arms under Rosa’s legs and back. As he lifted her, her forearm turned an unnatural way. Rosa screamed out in pain and buried her head in his chest.

“Oh my God!” Quickly, gently, he grabbed the arm before causing more damage and ran her outside to the limo that was to take them to the fireworks show. “Hospital!” he snapped at the driver.

Harriet barely had time to hop in before the car sped off.

Rosa’s dazed, blank stare traveled over Ernesto’s face. He knew her arm had to be killing her, but she’d stopped the loud crying. She was a tough cookie, just like David. Tears still flowing, she buried her face in the crook of his arm.

Harriet stroked Rosa’s hair. “It’ll be okay, sweetie.”

Ernesto ripped his focus from Rosa to Harriet. “How did this happen?” he bit out.

She continued stroking Rosa’s hair. “She fell off the banister.”

“How the hell…” he trailed off, drew in several deep breaths and released them slowly. “Why was she on the banister?”

“She’d wanted to slide down. I didn’t think she’d fall.” She wiped the tears from her eyes.

Rage quickly consumed him. “How could you be so stupid? She could have been killed.” He turned his massive body, so Harriet couldn’t touch his daughter. “We’ll discuss this later.”

* * *

“Is it safe to speak?” Samson asked into the phone in Spanish. He knew the trouble he would be in for arranging this call outside of the agency’s radar, but he needed privacy.

“Yeah,” David said. “I guess shuffling-ass Giles ain’t all bad.”

“I need your help.”

“I’m busy preparing to die. What the hell do you want?”

“I messed up with Rosa today.” Now he could clearly see how distraught she’d been. Just as he’d done with his sister, he’d allowed his job to interfere.
Shit.”
She won’t even speak to me.” Deciding if he should tell David everything, he smoothed down his goatee. There was no sense in denying his feelings. He knew what he wanted. “I’ve fallen in love with her.”

“Why the hell you tellin’ me? Go tell her.”

“I can’t. Everything’s so convoluted. Please, David, give me some clarity. Give Rosa and me a chance.”

After a long pause, David said, “I can give you a little clarity, but I won’t cop to anything illegal.”

“How did Ernesto end up marrying Harriet? Why did they divorce? Why does Ernesto go through selling spurts every few years? And what happened in the MacKenzie murder?”

“Damn! You want to know all my business. I’m not telling you shit about Mac unless you promise not to stall my execution with another prosecution. I’d deny everything anyway, so you’d be ass-out.”

Knowing David wouldn’t give him enough information about the murder of Mac, he agreed to the terms. David spent the next two hours telling Samson everything from his affair with Harriet, to how he’d watched Rosa grow up from afar. He also told Samson that every few years Ernesto tried to make a break from the drug world and how he’d saved Ernesto’s life from Mac.

“You set Harriet up.” Alton would get a kick out of this. He mulled over if he should ask the next question. The old saying, “nothing beats a failure but a try,” came to mind. “When did Ernesto stop laundering for you?”

“All I can say on that subject is that Ernesto isn’t the same person today as he was when we set Harriet up. He was never really in the game.”

Samson grabbed onto the tiny ray of hope and ran with it. “So he’s changed. His money laundering days are over.”

“He’s changed. Don’t worry about Ernesto. I’ll take care of him. You just protect Rosa from my enemies.”

Samson noted David didn’t include Ernesto as his enemy. Maybe he’d been wrong about Ernesto, and David was actually angry with him about letting out their secret.

“Thank you.” David spoke in double meanings quite often to throw people off, so he needed to meet Ernesto and judge for himself.

After a long pause, David said, “No one can replace the son I lost, but I consider you my son. I take care of my family.”

Samson was left momentarily speechless by David’s admission. “You mean a lot to me, too.”

“Now, don’t go all soft on me. You’re a good man. You’ll be good for Rosa.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

It was done. Rosa used the remote control to turn off the television, then she balled up in a fetal position on the living room couch in a heap of tears. Her father was actually dead. It was all so senseless. He was young and full of life. He shouldn’t have died.

She reached across to the coffee table for the cordless phone, dialed the first six digits of Ernesto’s number and hung up, thinking it wasn’t fair to seek comfort from him. The phone fell from her hand and quietly thumped onto the plush carpet.

Piled on her sorrow was worry about Samson. She knew he’d grown close to David and would need comforting. In a way, they were both isolated from their families, thus needed each other.

The phone rang. “Hello,” she answered.

“I know it’s late, but I knew you’d be awake,” Samson said. “I’m sorry about earlier. I’m sorry about David. I’m sorry.”

Relief swept over her. She knew he was in a difficult position, and she should have been more understanding. She wiped the tears from her eyes. “How are you holding up?”

“Come to the door and see.”

Emotionally drained, she thought she’d heard wrong. “Excuse me?”

“I said come to the door and see.”

Cordless phone in hand, she padded out of the living room and peeked into the entry hallway at the frosted windows framing the front door. She would recognize Samson’s giant of a silhouette anywhere. She slid across the marble floor and opened the door.

Samson stood in the doorway with his arms outstretched. “We have to stop meeting like this.”

She hopped her bunny-slipper, rainbow pajama-wearing self into his arms. She’d never been so happy to see anyone in her life.

He carried her into the house and gently kicked the door closed. The moonlight streaming through the kitchen window provided the only light. “Which way?” he asked.

“Just go straight and turn left.” She rested her head on his shoulder and felt anchored for the first time in days.

Samson stepped into the living room. “I’m putting you to bed.” He turned and went down the other hallway. “Which door is it?”

“Last one on the left.” She gazed into his face, wondering if they had a chance. Ernesto wouldn’t protect himself, so she had to protect him. What would Samson do when he found out she’d been withholding vital information? She relaxed in his arms. She wasn’t ready to deal with the future. She needed to accept David’s death. “I’m glad you came.”

He set her on the bed. “I’m glad you allowed me in.” He knelt in front of her, took the slippers off her feet and set them under the edge of the bed, then rolled down the covers. “You’ve been through a lot these past few days. I know you’re exhausted.” He tucked her in.

“What are you planning on doing?” she asked. “Leaning on the bed all night?”

“If I have to.” He fingered the curls by her ear.

She scooted back and patted on the bed for him to lie beside her. He hesitated, then kicked off his shoes, set his cell phone on the nightstand and lay on the bed, fully clothed. They eventually fell asleep in each other’s arms, and both had their first peaceful sleep in a long time.

* * *

Harriet drank sparkling grape juice to celebrate David’s demise. “One down, one to go.”

She wanted to call Rosa and console her, but she still hadn’t figured out how to explain why she hadn’t stayed at the hospital when Rosa was a child and had broken her arm. After she could come up with a good enough answer for those questions, she’d work on an explanation for her marriage.

Thinking back, she could see Rosa’s point.
I should have stayed at the hospital, but everything happened so fast. I was distracted…

Chicago, twenty-four years ago

Harriet had never seen Ernesto so angry, but she understood and agreed with him. They were both terrified. In a way, his anger turned her on. It showed he had life.

She went home from the hospital and poured herself a rum and Coke. If anything ever happened to Rosa, she’d never forgive herself. She guzzled down the drink, and then poured another, this time straight rum.

A chill went down her spine. She’d actually considered aborting the one person who loved her unconditionally. She thought about the bouquet of dandelions and clover that Rosa had picked for her. She’d spent all afternoon in the park selecting only the best flowers for her mommy. Harriet held the glass of rum close to her chest, wishing it were Rosa.

She walked out of the study and headed up the winding stairwell to her bedroom. She was lucky to have caught a man like Ernesto. He was generous and genuinely loved Rosa. She looked over the banister and thanked God for saving her baby. Her neglect could have killed her little girl. She rushed down the hallway, away from the scene of Rosa’s fall.

The house line rang as Harriet passed Ernesto’s office. She stopped at his door. He’d never allowed her into his home office. The shrill ring of the phone continued. She hesitated, then marched into the office and answered the phone. This was her home, too.

“Hello, Bolívar residence.”

“Hello, honey,” Ernesto said, sounding as warm and loving as usual. “I wanted to let you know the baby is fine, but more importantly, I wanted to apologize for yelling at you. I overreacted. This was an accident.”

She settled in the leather executive chair behind his desk. A sensitive man, he had never raised his voice to her before. “I don’t know what I was thinking. How is she?”

“She’s my little trooper.” He chuckled. “She’ll be taking over the hospital any second now. We’ll be home in a few hours. I love you.”

Ernesto’s sweetness brought a smile to her face. He was so unlike the men of her childhood, or any man for that matter. “I love you, too.” She hung up, then leaned back in his chair, inner thighs tingling with thoughts of how he’d make up for his behavior. Ernesto was always so controlled. The only place he showed her true fire and passion was in the bedroom. None of her men had come close to Ernesto’s lovemaking skill, not even David. If she could get Ernesto to be the same tiger out of the bedroom, she wouldn’t have to look elsewhere for excitement.

She saw a picture of Ernesto tossing Rosa, who was a toddler, into the air sitting on his desk. They were so cute together. He seemed to come to life whenever Rosa was around. Sometimes she thought he pushed Rosa too hard. Her baby girl was bilingual, had a larger vocabulary than most of the adults Harriet knew, and acted more mature.

Harriet didn’t interfere with Ernesto’s teaching. Somehow he’d found a way to control the fire she’d inherited from David, adding in his own charisma and business sense. With Ernesto’s training, Rosa would be CEO of the largest corporation in the world someday and never have to depend on anyone.

She scanned the office from his desk. There were several pictures of Rosa throughout, but none of Harriet. A familiar feeling stirred in her gut. Ernesto said and did everything like a man who loved his wife, but she didn’t feel any emotion behind his words. Often, Harriet felt as if he married her for the baby. She pushed her jealousy of Rosa away as silliness. Ernesto spent freely on them both. It was she who couldn’t love a man.

Anxious to see what type of “work” her baby was into, she crossed over to Rosa’s desk and searched. Just about every time Harriet asked Rosa to go shopping with her, Rosa would say, “Sorry, Mommy. I have work to do.”

Seeing a picture of herself, Harriet smiled. Rosa was the one person Harriet knew would never turn on her. She sighed, missing her sister, twisting the ends of her shoulder length hair between her fingers. Someday Angela’s dirt poor, preacher husband would show his true colors, and Angela would come running back to Harriet. Of course, she’d take her in. Angela may have disowned her, but Harriet would never turn her back on her sister.

The open safe grabbed her attention. She returned Rosa’s desk to the way she’d found it. Like Ernesto, Rosa was orderly and would notice if anything were out of place. She padded over to the safe and tried to peek in. The safe was too high for her to see into. She dragged a straight-backed chair from his four-seat conference table and placed it under the safe.

The glitter of a bracelet on the floor caught her eye. She picked up the string of emeralds; Ernesto obviously wanted to surprise her. She dismissed all misgivings about his feelings toward her. He was just giving them both what he thought they needed. She set the bracelet back on the floor beside the box to keep from ruining Ernesto’s surprise.

She climbed on the chair and fingered through the safe. A pile of papers presented nothing exciting. She reached further to the back and pulled out a stack of cash, fifty-dollar bills. So far, his office was as boring as Ernesto. She didn’t know why he wasted energy keeping her out.

A whiff of Tea Rose enticed her to sort through the papers to see if Ernesto had hidden a bottle of perfume for her, but she found none. She wasn’t crazy. She knew the faint scent of her favorite perfume. She looked through the papers and saw a few colored envelopes. Realizing some of the envelopes were scented, she frowned and opened one.

…The diamond earrings are beautiful, but I’m not comfortable accepting them. I love you for you, not the things you buy me.

Furious he’d spend her money on some other woman, Harriet cursed. Ernesto was just gullible enough to fall for such a lame line. She’d kill him. Ernesto’s money belonged to her, and she had no intentions on sharing.
Humph, all this time he’s been pretending, just like David
.

…I’ll always love you. Anna

She only knew one Anna—Rosa’s kindergarten teacher. Seething, she slammed the box on the desk. She, Harriet, was way more attractive than Anna. Not only was Anna as big as an ox, she looked like one, too. She reread the love letters. There was no way she’d be played for a fool by Ernesto or any man. She’d tolerated him long enough. Men weren’t worth fighting over. It was time for her to move on with her baby and collect a fat alimony and child support check. Staying a part of Rosa’s life would cost Ernesto dearly.

Quickly, she put everything back into the safe, replaced the chair, and straightened the office. She had a lot of calculating to do and calls to make before Ernesto returned home.

* * *

Rosa woke in Samson’s loving embrace, but she didn’t want to open her eyes. Hurt that Ernesto never called to comfort her, she wanted to stay in this place forever.

Samson’s cell phone rang. She felt him roll away. From the first moment they’d met, she had known he was special. She searched her soul for why he’d become so special so fast, but she couldn’t find a logical explanation. It was as if their being together was fate. Whatever the reason, she thanked God for his goodness and prayed Samson would continue standing by her. She wanted everything with this strong, loving man, but couldn’t give her all until after the DEA finished investigating Ernesto.

“What do you want, Alton?” he said quietly as he spooned Rosa into his body. “I didn’t realize it was so late. I overslept… I know I’m not in my hotel room, but thanks for telling me…” She felt him toying with the curls by her ear. “None of your business. I’ll be in when I get in.” He disconnected, gently kissed Rosa on the ear, then got out of the bed.

A few seconds later, she heard running water. She opened her eyes and saw he’d left his cell phone on the nightstand, so he wasn’t in the bathroom having a secret conversation with Alton.

He returned to the bedroom. “Go back to sleep.” He grabbed his cell phone. “I need to go to the hotel and wash my funky butt.”

“You really know how to turn a girl on.”

“I wish I could stay with you today, but we have a lot of work to do. I’m already an hour late. I heard about a free concert in Grant Park the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is giving. Do you want to go tonight?”

“Sounds terrific.”

He rested his forehead on hers. “I know your mind and heart are being tugged in a thousand directions right now. I know there are things you want to tell me but can’t. Just know that I’m here for you. I’m not going anywhere.”

Grateful for the reprieve, she hugged him tightly, praying he could feel the love she felt for him through her touch. He kissed her lightly, then reached in his back jeans pocket and pulled out a letter. “I meant to give you this last night, but I forgot. It’s from David.” He handed it over.

She fumbled with the letter, then slowly opened it.

“I guess I should give you some privacy,” he said nervously.

She reached for him. “I’d like for you to stay.” Two photos fell out of the envelope. Joy from David’s love and sadness from his death battled for control. The first photo was of David holding his son and embracing his lover, Rosa. The second photo was of David beaming with pride as he held his baby daughter, Rosa.

“He always loved you,” Samson said as he embraced her.

“I wish we’d had more time,” she murmured. “Would you please read the letter?”

Holding her with one arm, he unfolded the notebook paper with his free hand. “I wish I had eloquent words to take away your pain. I wish I had chosen the path in life that would have allowed me to show my love for you. I pray you understand that no one can take me from you. I pray you understand I am always with you, loving you, protecting you. My love for you will never die. Your father, David.”

Missing her father, she sunk fully into Samson’s embrace.

* * *

After a second and third call from Alton, Rosa insisted Samson leave. She tried to take her mind off her fathers by throwing herself into work, but it took her three hours to apply a small update to Bolívar International’s network system when it should have been an hour job. She knew it was irrational, but she was angry with Ernesto for not calling her. David was his best friend and her biological father. How could he just let his death pass without a word? How could Ernesto not realize that she needed him to be there for her as he always had?

The phone rang, startling her. She peeked at the caller ID, inhaled and exhaled deeply, then answered the phone in the calmest voice she could muster. “Hello, Samson.”